July 18, 2016

Page 1

MONDAY EDITION

ADDISON COUNTY

INDEPENDENT

Vol. 28 No. 15

Middlebury, Vermont

Monday, July 18, 2016

40 Pages

75¢

Comic books illustrate migrant workers’ lives Local babies and families • Do you have a new one at home or on the way? Read our New Babies special section on Pages 17-24.

Project aims to help workers adjust to Vermont By CHARMAINE LAM MIDDLEBURY — Imagine that your family is living in poverty. However hard you work, there just isn’t enough money to make a difference. The only way to make enough money is to leave. You have to leave behind everything you have

ever known — your family, your language, your country, even your favorite foods. You don’t know exactly where you’re headed or how long it is until you can return, only that your leaving means money and a better future for your family. This is the reality for migrant

workers residing in Vermont. They come to Vermont largely from Mexico and Guatemala because of, among other reasons, immense poverty, extortion and gang violence. They make the arduous journey here often by foot, across the desert and the border where robberies, kidnappings and sexual violence pose threats.

They carry the baggage and the trauma of these experiences with them into a foreign land. They don’t speak the language, they have never dealt with snow, and they are separated from their families and their culture. Now Open Door Clinic outreach nurse Julia Doucet and other staff (See Comic books, Page 16)

Champs offer summertime fun • For generations, the city pool has been a spot to get together for good times and competition. See Page 26.

Harmony TWO SETS OF performers joined forces for a song during the first act of Middlebury’s Festival on-the-Green last Thursday night. Seen here are Nicole Nelson and Dwight Richter, the second act on the bill, sing with Brett Hughes from the first band. For more photos from the festival, see Pages 14 and 15. Independent photo/Trent Campbell

Banjo teams with a Chinese zither • American-Chinese musical duo will combine Appalachian and Asian traditions. See Arts Beat on Page 10.

Petition triggers balloting on Salisbury law limiting gun use By JOHN FLOWERS SALISBURY — A new law endorsed by the Salisbury selectboard that aims to reduce the odds of accidental shootings in town has backfired in the opinion of some local residents. They are seeking to repeal the ordinance through a townwide vote on Tuesday, July 19, because they believe the measure might restrict hunting within the community and per-

haps even affect their right to own guns. But Salisbury selectboard members — who unanimously backed the ordinance back on April 26 — said the local law is simply a public safety measure that would not affect hunters and would in no way infringe on citizens’ Constitutional right to bear arms. “This is in no way intended to obstruct or (See Salisbury, Page 25)

Little brown bats get big new home at state park By SAM HARTLEY FERRISBURGH — The little brown bats of Ferrisburgh’s Kingsland Bay State Park are getting a major housing upgrade thanks to the freely donated efforts of two dedicated bat enthusiasts and the local utility company. Green Mountain Power lineworkers last Thursday morning planted four tall utility poles near the (See Bats, Page 7)


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