MONDAY EDITION
ADDISON COUNTY
INDEPENDENT
Vol. 28 No. 34
Killington hosts World Cup race
•America’s Mikaela Shiffrin wins the slalom as Killington sets crowd records at Women’s World Cup. See Page 2.
Middlebury, Vermont
Monday, November 28, 2016
36 Pages
$1.00
Cherry planks donated to build funds for THT By JOHN FLOWERS SALISBURY — Town Hall Theater officials are giving area woodworkers a plum assignment using some well-seasoned cherry planks. It’s pretty straightforward; use the wood to make a fine piece of furniture or artwork, have it displayed at the Middlebury theater, and then harvest 50 percent of the proceeds once it is sold. The other half of the sales price will go to the theater to help fortify its operating budget. “We like to celebrate local talent at Town Hall Theater, and this is celebrating a group of talented peo-
ple who we don’t know about,” said THT Executive Director Douglas Anderson. “We hope to bring them out of the woodwork, as it were.” The approximately 70 cherry planks — ranging in length from around five to 18 feet — are a gift from longtime THT supporters Peter and Joann Langrock of Salisbury. The lumber was harvested more than a half-century ago from the Langrocks’ property by thenowners Douglas and Elizabeth Baker. The Bakers had thinned out the mature trees as part of a forest improvement project. (See Cherry wood, Page 20)
SALISBURY RESIDENT JOANN Langrock stands with cherry wood planks that were harvested and milled on her farm more than 60 years ago. Langrock and her husband, Peter, are donating the wood to a Town Hall Theater fundraiser that will make the wood available to local artisans to make into sculpture or furniture or anything of their choice. Independent photo/Trent Campbell
Performances,
Saving Vt. poet’s Goshen house • The family of Ruth Stone is working to salvage the late Vermont Poet Laureate’s home. See Page 6.
Covered bridge remnants cleared markets eyed By JOHN FLOWERS CORNWALL — Workers have until Dec. 9 to remove the charred remnants of the former Swamp Road covered bridge, in anticipation of the Vermont Agency of Transportation installing a temporary span to restore traffic between Salisbury and Cornwall before Jan. 1, 2017. That update was provided on Nov. 23 by Cornwall Selectman Brian Kemp and Salisbury Selectman Paul Vaczy, the local liaisons to VTrans in the aftermath of the Sept. 10 fire that destroyed the historic covered bridge spanning the Otter Creek on Swamp Road. Vermont State Police called the fire suspicious, though its origin has yet to be confirmed. The absence of the 151-year-old span has forced commuters to take sub-
stantial detours while state and local officials plan the next steps that will eventually lead to a new, permanent bridge. The Salisbury and Cornwall selectboards met together on Oct. 31 to open bids from contractors interested in removing what was left of the old bridge, including large pieces that had fallen into the Otter Creek. The boards unanimously voted to accept a bid of $93,506 from Wright Construction of Mt. Holly, in the process bypassing a lower bid submitted by Cornwall contractor Sean Stearns of S & J Stearns Inc. “Our reasoning for taking the bid that we took is because the (winning) contractor had experience with bridges and working over water,” Vaczy said. “And in (See Covered bridge, Page 29)
Panther women starting strong
• Middlebury’s defense and rebounding has been tough, including in last week’s home opener. See Page 18. A CRANE IS used to lift debris away from the Swamp Road covered bridge between Salisbury and Cornwall last week. A crew is dismantling the burned remains of the bridge and the state will install a temporary bridge in its place before the end of December.
Independent photo/Trent Campbell
for Ferrisburgh Resident working for series in Town Hall
By ANDY KIRKALDY FERRISBURGH — If the dream of one Ferrisburgh resident comes true, the town’s office building and community center will by next summer start hosting a series of monthly performances — and before then host two family-friendly artisans’ markets that will help fund that series. Resident Kate Yarbrough has already met with the Ferrisburgh selectboard about getting its permission to establish the Grange Series and Grange Markets in the town’s Route 7 landmark, and board members gave her an essentially friendly reception on Nov. 15. Yarbrough is set to meet with the board again on Dec. 6 to discuss necessary details, such as what she called the board’s understandable concern that an organization separate from the town should be set up that is capable of handling money and accepting donations. “I need to get 501-C3 status so that the money that’s changing hands is a very transparent process,” Yarbrough said. Once she handles that and other logistics, things could happen quickly. She hopes to have a dozen vendors in the community center upstairs from town offices on Saturday, Dec. 17, and to support the “Christmas Market” with horse-drawn wagons, kids games and refreshments. Even(See Grange Series, Page 28)