April 21 2016 A Section

April 21, 2016 section C

local high school

SPORTS Spring sports!

addison independent presents

Local Foods

Whitewater

Check out the season prospects for all four local high school team in our special section.

See where your food comes from and read our comprehensive list of local growers in a special pull-out.

Paddlers headed to Lincoln this past weekend for a race down the New Haven River. See Page 1B.

ADDISON COUNTY

INDEPENDENT Vol. 70 No. 16

Middlebury, Vermont

◆

Thursday, April 21, 2016 ◆ 94 Pages

75¢

Bristol seeks $1.1M for new water main By GAEN MURPHREE BRISTOL — The 110-year-old water main along West Street in Bristol is overdue for replacement, according to selectboard members and engineers they hired. At a public hearing on Monday evening, they explained why Bristol residents should approve a $1,115,020 bond to replace a large portion of the West Street line and extend the town water system to Lovers Lane. A vote by Australian ballot will be held May 10. “The West Street line is in very poor condition,” said Jamie Simpson of Green Mountain Engineering, who presented plans for the system replacement and extension. “It has given the town many issues as far as leaks and breaks and is due for an

upgrade as it was installed around 1905. So it’s six-inch cast iron and it’s got some holes in it and some issues.” Green Mountain Engineering was hired by the town in December 2013 to evaluate and prioritize the town’s water distribution lines most in need of replacement. The study looked at age, condition, population served and fire prevention, among other factors. The study “identified West Street as one of the highest-ranking projects for consideration for improvement due to leaks, breakages and overall poor condition.” At Monday’s meeting in Holley Hall, Selectman John “Peeker” Heffernan described one repair of a “radial crack” on the West Street line as (See Bristol, Page 16A)

Cidery ready to move to Kennedy Brothers By ANDY KIRKALDY will be reached shortly. VERGENNES — Shoreham hard “We’re hoping to finalize the lease cider maker Shacksbury Cider and here in the next week or two,” Davis the owners of the Kensaid. “And once that nedy Brothers Markethappens we’re going place building have “We were looking to move forward with applied for a zoning for a place where renovating the old permit that would al- there is a story, creamery and buildlow the three-year-old with some history. ing out a facility with cider company to set We like that a tasting room and evup its brewing, boterything.” about Kennedy tling, warehousing and Feuerstein, who coBrothers, that it’s shipping operations, signed the conditional plus offices and a tast- had a long history use zoning application ing room, in the Ver- in town, and the with Davis, echoed gennes landmark. Davis’ point of view. fact it’s been a Shacksbury co- creamery before, “I expect we’re founder Colin Davis going to come to an we thought that and Kennedy Brothagreement,” he said. ers co-owner Robert was cool.” “I’m certainly hope— Colin Davis ful we’ll make it come Feuerstein said some details of a long-term through.” lease for the long-vacant, three-story The permit they seek will be to renorthern end of the 41,724-square- store manufacturing to the first floor foot building remain to be worked of Kennedy Brothers’ white “Creamout, but both believe an agreement (See Vergennes, Page 13A)

New Haven must skip vote on VGL; will rely on survey By GAEN MURPHREE NEW HAVEN — New Haven residents’ call for a direct vote on the proposed Vermont Green Line power converter station may be thwarted by a technicality. That technicality — which could delay for two months a townwide vote on the power project that could

bring millions of tax dollars to the town — prompted the selectboard to opt for a nonbinding survey on the question. At an emergency meeting Tuesday morning, the New Haven selectboard voted to hold a townwide survey in response to the question: “Shall the (See New Haven, Page 16A)

SENA VONCUJOVI, CENTER, is joined by fellow Middlebury College students, Christian Johansen (left), Pele Voncujovi (behind) and Vikram Kaleka at the beginning of a voodoo ceremony in Havana, Cuba, earlier this month. Senna, who was raised in the African spiritual practice of voodoo, or vodu, went to Cuba to learn more about the related Cuban religious practice called santería.

Photo credit: Asher Brown

Voodoo

Brothers seek respect for African spiritual practice By DAVID FUCHS from what you think. HAVANA, Cuba — Two weeks ago The brothers, raised in West Africa, in a cool, tiled room in Havana, Cuba, have been practicing voodoo for years. Sena Voncujovi handed me a chicken. While Pele is still only a practitioner, As instructed, I held it from behind, Sena made the decision to become a thumb and forefinger slipped under fully-fledged babalawo, or voodoo its wings. I thanked it, whispered my priest, four years ago. While they don’t struggles into its left ear and my wish- sacrifice animals here in Vermont, the es into its right one, before two are currently working to passing it back to Sena, who “Back raise awareness about their calmly pressed a knife to its home, the tradition and demonstrate to throat and offered its life to practice people at home and abroad Eleguá, the spirit guardian how it can be compatible with of the crossroads. A moment (of voodoo) a modern, cosmopolitan lifeis not a later, his younger brother Pele style. snapped a photo for Insta- religion. It’s To prepare for their presengram. more like a tation this Saturday at the colSena and Pele Voncujovi way of life.” lege’s Amka Conference — an are not typical political sci— Sena event dedicated to “awakenence students at Middlebury Voncujovi ing the Middlebury communiCollege, though they are that, ty’s attention regarding issues too. The brothers practice relevant to Africa” — the two an ancient yet ever-evolving form of recently led a trip to Cuba to explore spirituality commonly referred to as the connections between West African voodoo. Yes, voodoo — the “dark art” voodoo and Cuban santería. As part of that Hollywood movies portray with their effort to broadcast more accurate shrunken heads, pins and dolls. information about voodoo to outsiders, However, according to the Voncujo- they brought along a handful of stuvis, the reality of this form of African dents, including myself, to join them. spirituality might be very different (See Voodoo, Page 18A)

MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE JUNIOR Sena Voncujovi works on a paper while sitting in front of a voodoo shrine in his dorm room. Photo credit: Neil Steiner

STEAM camp steers local girls toward science College, town teaming up on program

MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE SENIOR Kae Fink keeps an eye on some “gluep” made by students Clare Molineaux, 12, left, and TC Finn, 11, during a science, technology, engineering, arts and math camp sponsored this week by Middlebury’s parks and recreation department and Middlebury College. Independent photo/Trent Campbell

By JOHN FLOWERS ed jobs currently dominated by men. MIDDLEBURY — Nine MiddleAccording to the U.S. Census Bubury-area girls are spending their reau’s 2009 American Community spring break week studying science, Survey, women make up around 48 math, chemistry and other subjects percent of the U.S. workforce, but that can scare the socks off a lot of only 24 percent of workers in STEM kids. fields. While the number No, they are not on aca- “Chemistry of women majoring in demic probation, in need of science-related fields has never gets been on the rise, many of “extra help.” They are doing it for old; it’s those same women aren’t fun, as part of the new always using their degrees to land MiddSTEAM Camp, STEM-related jobs, noted cool.” a collaboration of the Molly Costanza-Robin— Molly Middlebury Parks & son, associate professor of CostanzaRecreation Department and Chemistry and EnvironRobinson Middlebury College. It was mental Studies at Middlespearheaded by Middlebury bury College. Parks & Recreation Director Terri “They call it the ‘leaky pipeline,’” Arnold, who has been a veritable Costanza-Robinson, a MiddSTEAM dynamo in creating new sports and Camp instructor, said of the postenrichment offerings for area residents. graduation thinning of women in the The camp’s inspiration first came science fields. “We have all of these from an article Arnold read on Sci- women who have made it through ence, Technology, Engineering and college chemistry and then they start Math (STEM) and the importance of finding other fields, or maybe sciintroducing girls to that subject mat- ence isn’t as welcoming to women.” (See Science, Page 17A) ter early to spark an interest in relat-

By the way The graduating class at Lyndon State College has chosen Naila Baloch, associate chaplain at Middlebury College’s Scott Center for Spiritual and Religious Life, to speak at their commencement ceremony on May 15. As the associate chaplain at Middlebury’s (See By the way, Page 13A)

Index Obituaries ................................ 6A Classifieds ....................... 9B-13B Service Directory .......... 10B-11B Entertainment ........................ 12A Community Calendar ...... 8A-10A Sports ................................ 1B-4B

PAGE 2A — Addison Independent, Thursday, April 21, 2016

Dead Creek working on center for visitors It will be Fish & Wildlife Dept.’s first By ANDY KIRKALDY The department is taking advanADDISON — The Dead Creek tage of the site’s location at a gateWildlife Management Area is best way into Vermont (it lies just a few known for the annual visit of thou- miles east of the Lake Champlain sands of snow and Canada geese Bridge) and the fact there was an to its farm fields and wetlands. But empty building on the site (a ranch Vermont Fish & Wildlife Depart- home that once housed site managment officials say — and many year- ers) to install a visitors’ center. round visitors already know — there Funding that Alfieri estimated at is much more to the 2,858-acre site roughly $50,000 will cover the althat includes land in ready completed inPanton and Bridport “It’s not only terior renovation of as well as Addison. the home and the onabout showcasing Birdwatchers visit going creation of diDead Creek year- Dead Creek, it’s oramas and displays round, hunters and also about having to be installed inside trappers get permits the opportunity it. That funding came to make use of the from the annual state site, it is a destina- to educate and capital budget, she tion for anglers, and interpret what we said. the landscape is also have, not only at Just as Alfieri said surprisingly diverse, Dead Creek, but Dead Creek is unique according to Amy among Fish & Wildalso all the work Alfieri, the departlife’s management ment wildlife biolo- we do across the areas, so will be the gist who manages state.” visitors’ center — Dead Creek. there is not another — Amy Alfieri, “Dead Creek is like it in Vermont, wildlife biologist unique because it and thus it will be captures such a vaused to promote the riety of habitat. We’ve got the vast department as well as Dead Creek. wetlands,” Alfieri said. “We’ve got “It’s not only about showcasing the agricultural fields as well as some Dead Creek, it’s also about having upland habitat. It’s really kind of like the opportunity to educate and intera quilt, where you have a patchwork pret what we have, not only at Dead quilt of habitats, basically, differ- Creek, but also all the work we do ent kinds of habitats that provide a across the state,” Alfieri said. “The diversity of homes for a diversity of Fish & Wildlife Department really species.” doesn’t have another place like this By 2017 — assuming all goes as far as an actual visitors’ center smoothly — it will be easier for the where people can go and interact public to learn more about Dead with someone and do some handsCreek’s history, habitats, 200 species on work in the various displays and of birds, eight species of mammals walk away with a piece of knowland five species of salamanders and edge they didn’t have before. We newts, and about other Fish & Wild- just get so many visitors, and we get life projects around Vermont. so little opportunity to interact and to

A REPRODUCTION OF a trapper’s shelter is part of a new visitor’s center being renovated in the Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area in Addison. The facility will open in 2017.

Independent photos/Trent Campbell

teach. This will be a great place for this to happen.” Planned displays to be created and installed over the next year will focus on the timeline and history of the conservation of Dead Creek; on hunting, fishing and trapping there; on its wetlands and waterfowl management program, active farmlands and clayplain oak-hickory forests; and more. At least one will be updated regularly. “We’re going to have kind of an emerging issues display, a kind of changeable display, so we can talk

THIS RANCH HOUSE in the Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area in Addison is currently being remade into a visitor’s center that will highlight the diverse habitat of the nearly 3,000-acre wildlife refuge and management area.

about some of the latest hot-button issues, whether it’s white-nose (bat disease) syndrome, or maybe we’re having a snowy-owl eruption and we’ll do a snowy owl display,” Alfieri said. Alfieri is also putting out a call to local residents for historic photos or videos of the area, which includes man-made ponds that can be drawn down to encourage migrating birds to stop and feed on fish. “We’re looking for any historical photos of these lands that will show the changes in management and land use over time. We are especially in-

terested in photos of the area before the dams were built,” Alfieri said in a press release. “If anyone has old home movies of people using Dead Creek for hunting, fishing, or birdwatching, that may be useful to us as well for a video we are producing about the history of this area.” Those who have material to contribute may reach Alfieri at amy.alfieri@vermont.gov. Overall, Alfieri envisions the visitors’ center as a destination for group visits, from schools, senior centers and clubs, and she also mentioned its prominent location on the state

highway. “It’s going to hopefully reach out to anyone and everyone,” Alfieri said. “Families passing through on Route 17 may see it and think, what is that, that’s new, that’s exciting, let’s check it out.” And she is looking forward to meeting those interested in Dead Creek. “We’re excited to have an opportunity to interact with all the visitors, and this is the best way to do it,” she said. Andy Kirkaldy may be reached at andyk@addisonindependent.com.

FISH AND WILDLIFE Specialist Ariel Burgess, right, and Dead Creek Manager and Wildlife Biologist Amy Alfieri stand with some of the new displays going up in the new Dead Creek visitor’s center being renovated in Addison.

Renewable energy policy the focus at legislative breakfast By JOHN FLOWERS VERGENNES — Vermont’s renewable energy policy once again took center stage at the season’s final legislative breakfast, held on Monday at St. Peter’s Parrish Hall in Vergennes. Participants debated the pros and cons of the latest solar siting legislation (S.230) and suggested other renewable energy strategies to help the

state wean itself off of fossil fuels. Bill S.230, endorsed by the Vermont Senate on March 31 by a 22-3 tally, encourages communities to develop energy sections in their town plans that map out their solar siting priorities, along with specific locations within their borders where renewable energy projects could be sited. Those municipal energy plans would ultimately have to pass mus-

ter with the Vermont Department of Public Service and be deemed compatible with the state’s green energy priorities. As it stands, the Vermont Public Service Board — a quasi-judicial panel — gives local town plans “due consideration” when evaluating renewable energy project applications, according to Bray. Under S.230, the PSB would give “substantial def-

erence” to towns’ certified energy plans that dovetail with the state’s renewable energy objectives. Bill S.230 is now being discussed by the House Natural Resources & Energy Committee, of which Rep. Warren Van Wyck, R-Ferrisburgh, is a member. Van Wyck was candid on Monday in his criticism of the bill and of a Vermont renewable energy policy that he said is rewarding

out-of-state purchasers of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) at the expense of rural Vermont communities that are hosting large solar arrays. Van Wyck said he is concerned that a lot of the RECs coming out of solar farms in Vermont are being sold to industries in Massachusetts and Connecticut, to satisfy their respective state’s green energy portfo-

lio requirements. “There’s a grand misconception going on around here,” Van Wyck said. “When you drive around Addison County and see all these solar arrays, wind turbines and biomass projects — (the power) is being generated here, but the legal right to use it in Massachusetts and Connecticut. So we cannot say that is clean en(See Energy, Page 3A)

Addison Independent, Thursday, April 21, 2016 — PAGE 3A

Vermont Gas makes sales pitch Explains options to Midd. residents

ing, Vachereau explained. The distribution pipe — ranging in diameter from 6 inches to threequarters of an inch — will bring the gas into customers’ homes, officials said. Gray said the company will pay the costs for first 200 feet of piping from the line to reach a customer’s home. Anything beyond that will be the responsibility of the customer, based on a formula that calculates the customer’s potential rate of use of natural gas, according to Gray. Laying of local distribution piping is due to be finished in December (See sidebar for details). Gray stressed that completion date could be pushed out for a variety of reasons, including weather and potential technical difficulties. Vermont Gas officials said they hope to attract 2,000 customers in

By JOHN FLOWERS MIDDLEBURY — Vermont Gas Systems officials on Tuesday unveiled plans and a timetable to install distribution piping within Middlebury’s core village area, infrastructure that they said should be ready to funnel natural gas to customers by the end of this calendar year. The informational meeting drew around 40 area residents to the new Middlebury municipal building to hear about Vermont Gas’s construction plans. Some attendees were eager to tap into natural gas, which company officials have promoted as a more cost-effective and cleaner-burning fuel than oil. But others voiced concerns about the prospect of excavation within their neighborhoods for piping that would bring “fracked” gas from Canada to the community. The Addison Natural A Vermont Gas Systems Gas Project, a pipeline map shows the planned phasthat will extend from es of pipeline construction in Colchester to Middlethe Middlebury village area. bury and Vergennes, Highlights include: has drawn consider• The laying of 6-inch pipe able controversy since along what officials called the it was proposed a few “Route 7 backbone,” from years ago. A member North Pleasant Street, along of Rising Tide Vermont Court Street, and down Route climbed and sat in a tree 7 south toward East Middlein Monkton early this bury. This work is projected to week in an effort to prelast from this week to June 24. vent pipeline progress. • Two-inch pipe to be laid Presenting the Verin the northeast section of mont Gas’s Middlebury town, including Washington plans on Tuesday were Street, Washington Street Tom Murray, director Extension, Chipman Heights, of sales and marketHigh Street and related side ing; Tim Vachereau, streets. This work is expected construction manager; to range from May 9 to July Brian Gray, sales, mar11. keting and efficiency • A “College north” secmanager; and Beth Partion of 2-inch pipe that will ent, communications encompass College Street and manager. related side streets (such as To date, Vermont Gas Chateau Road and Shannon has installed a total of Streets). This work is to occur 27,000 feet of piping in between June 27 and Aug. 4. various neighborhoods • A “College south” rein Middlebury, accordgion, to include Chipman ing to Vachereau. Plans Park, South Street, Franklin call for a combined toStreet, Hillcrest and Ridgetal of 55 miles of pipe line Road. This work is to to be laid underground take place between Aug. 5 in Middlebury and Verand Aug. 30. gennes before the end of • A segment of 4-inch this year, officials said. pipeline along Halladay Road That pipe will be laid (from Route 7 South) to the through three construcGoodrich Farm in Salisbury, tion methods, dependwhich has been approved ing on the logistics of for a methane digester that the terrain: horizontal will convert cow manure drilling, pneumatic drilling or open trench-

Middlebury and another 1,000 in Vergennes. But of course it’s up to business owners and homeowners to determine whether they want to become customers. Gray said property owners within the service area can choose to receive natural gas at any time, without financial penalty. For those who want to partake, Vermont Gas will offer rentals (at $23 per month) of “conversion burners” that can be installed in “fairly new” oil burning systems to allow them to burn natural gas, according to Gray. Customers can buy their own conversion burners for around $1,500, according to Gray. He promoted renting because, he said, the payback on a converter burner investment could be fairly lengthy — especially since the cost of fuel oil is currently on par with natural gas prices. Those who want to invest in a high efficiency furnace for natural gas fuel are looking at around $4,000, and and other organic matter into as much as $8,000 methane biogas. That gas for a boiler, accordwill be introduced into the ing to Gray, who overall Vermont Gas pipeline said Vermont Gas system, with the vast majoroffers financing and ity of it to be sold to Middlerebates for such inbury College. The remainder vestments. will be sold at a premium to Addison County customers who, like the colcustomers will also lege, want to increase their be able to access renewable energy portfolio. Vermont Gas’s efVermont Gas officials said ficiency program to the company will also import reduce energy costs methane from other sources further and use less to enhance that renewable gas energy, according offering. to Parent. Construction of the GoVermont Gas, acodrich Farm pipeline segment cording to Gray, has is slated for Aug. 18 to Oct. 12. already partnered • An “entrance” segment with some local of 2-inch pipeline to include contractors to serSeymour Street, Otterside vice and maintain Court, Jackson Lane, Catanatural gas burning mount Park, and Pinewood systems. Gray said Court. This work is to occur customers can hire between Aug. 31 and Oct. 21. Vermont Gas to do • A Route 7 South segment their burner convercalling for 2-inch pipeline on sions, or hire out portions of Boardman Street, the work to a their Wilson Road, Middle Road local plumbing and North, Rockwood Lane, Arheating contractor. mory Lane, Cottage Lane and Parent said VerLacrosse Drive. Timetable: mont Gas will hold Oct. 6 to Dec. 28. additional meetings • A “suburb” segment, inin the future to exvolving 2-inch pipe serving plain the project Seminary Street Extension, and sign up new Buttolph Drive, Birchard customers. Park, Woodland Park, MonReporter John roe Street and other adjacent Flowers is at roads. Timetable: Oct. 24 to johnf@addiDec. 7. sonindependent. — John Flowers com.

Middlebury pipeline work scheduled

College symposium on media and feminism on tap MIDDLEBURY — The 2016 Gensler Family Symposium on Feminism in a Global Context, April 25-29 at Middlebury College, will explore how a host of new media productions are focusing on people of color, and queer, trans, and gender non-conforming people. “#IntersectionalTV: Mediating Race, Gender, and Sexuality” includes activities at which students, scholars and media producers discuss how the internet has altered the landscape of programming. The symposium will hone in on the new media ecology as well as the emergence of a host of “minority” show runners to understand their impact on our understandings of feminism. On April 25, the symposium will start off with a student-curated screening of web-based productions that capture intersectional issues (Crossroads, 7 p.m.). On April 27, Susan J. Douglas, Catherine Neafie Kellogg Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Michigan, will give the keynote address, titled “Enlightened and Embedded Feminism: Where Are We Now?” at Dana Auditorium at 7

p.m. In “Excursion to Shondaland” on April 28, students will host and discuss a screening of contemporary television shows such as “Grey’s Anatomy” and “How to Get Away with Murder” at the Crossroads Screening Room from 8 to 11 p.m. On April 29, there will be two panels dedicated to television and webbased series at Axinn 229 from 1 to 5 p.m. The first panel, “Desires that Matter: Visualizing Web-Based Intersectionality,” includes presentations by Ariane Cruz, assistant professor of Women’s Studies of Pennsylvania State and Aymar Jean Christian, assistant professor of Communication Studies at Northwestern. Their presentations are titled “Mis(Playing) Blackness: Black Female Sexuality in The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl” and “The Value and Exchange of Intersectional Distribution,” respectively. The second panel, “Casting in the Dark: The Politics of Production,” will include presentations by Kristen Warner, assistant professor of Telecommunication & Film at Alabama and Brian Herrera, assistant professor

of Theater at Princeton. Their presentations are titled “When a ModifierLess Identity is the Goal You’re Gonna Have Problems: Shonda Rhimes and the Limits of Universal Discourse” and “All Ethnicities? On the Paradoxical Practices and Privileged Pleasures of Casting in Contemporary US Television,” respectively. All of the events are free and open to the public.

Donahue to headline jazz show at college MIDDLEBURY — People who have enjoyed Miles Donahue’s annual all-star jazz shows at Middlebury College will find some new faces at this year’s show, “A Vermont Jazz Experience,” which will take the stage at the Robison Concert Hall this Saturday night. In addition to Donahue, an affiliated artist at the college, playing saxophone and trumpet, the quintet will feature four Berklee College of Music professors. They include Sal Difusco on guitar, Tim Ray on piano, John Lockwood on bass, and Larry Finn on drums. Ray may be familiar to some outside the jazz world — he is a long-time player for Lyle Lovett. As usual, Donahue will distribute a free CD to everyone who attends the concert — admission is free, too. This year’s CD is called “The Journey Home,” which Donahue created with the Celtic group Donnchadha. The concert hall is in the college’s Mahaney Center for the Arts. The show begins at 8 p.m.

MILES DONAHUE

Energy (Continued from Page 2A) the state’s grid. ergy for Vermont. It’s clean energy “Net metering causes a tremenfor Massachusetts and Connecticut.” dous cost shift to other rate payers Sen. Chris Bray, D-New Haven, that do not have a net-metering cacountered that while an out-of-state pacity,” Van Wyck said. “In a way, entity can receive credit for RECs it’s somewhat like a state-sponsored purchased from Vermont-based proj- Ponzi scheme. How many people ects, the actual green energy created can you possibly give 19 cents or 20 by the arrays, turbine and/ cents a kilowatt hour to? or hydro dams is sent into “Every time It’s not going to last.” Vermont’s electricity grid Rep. David Sharpe, Dyou run an and used by Vermonters. Bristol, said most of those array in “It is consumed localwho invest in net-meterVermont, you ing projects are not doing ly,” Bray said. He added the renew- turn down so to make money. He citable energy Vermont pro- a fossil fuel ed the example of his own duces on its own is ener- generating home, recently equipped gy — some of it nuclear with 18 roof-mounted plant in or made with fossil fuels solar panels. Sharpe said — that Vermont does Connecticut.” he is using the premium — Sen. price he receives for the not have to import from Chris Bray excess energy generated Southern New England. “Every time you run an by the panels to pay for array in Vermont, you turn down a his solar equipment investment. fossil fuel generating plant in ConSharpe said there appears to be a necticut,” Bray said. “divide” within the business comHe noted a new net-metering law munity on the issue of investing in will take effect in Vermont on Jan. 1, energy. 2017. That law, among other things, “There are a group of businesses assigns greater value to RECs held in that look at short-term return for Vermont compared to those sold out their stockholders, and they want of state. to make sure they continue to make “We are making adjustments and profits and don’t care what the damI’m proud of what we have done,” age is to the environment or what Bray said. “We are making prog- other people might pay (for enerress.” gy),” Sharpe said. “There are also Van Wyck also questioned the fair- responsible businesses … that see ness of Vermont’s net-metering pro- the bigger picture. They are supportgram, through which the owner/operators of renewable energy projects are paid a premium for the electricity they manufacture and send back into

ive of renewable energy and look at what the effects will be for our children and grandchildren.” Natural gas and not renewables should be credited for lowering electricity prices in New England in recent years, according to Van Wyck. “There are diminishing returns on solar,” Van Wyck said. “Vermont has to look out for its economic base.” Rep. Harvey Smith, R-New Haven, suggested that Vermont purchase more hydroelectricity from Quebec. He also argued that Vermont should make “cow power” a bigger part in its renewable energy strategy. Several farms in Addison County have invested in bio-digesters that extract the methane from cow manure and convert it into renewable energy. The process also separates the liquid from the manure solids, which can be recycled as animal bedding. And the process also helps reduce phosphorous in cow manure from getting into the state’s waterways. “We have a long track record with (cow power),” Smith said. The Bridport Grange, Addison County Farm Bureau and Addison County Chamber of Commerce will sponsor a final forum on June 6 to wrap up the 2016 legislative session. That event will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Bridport Grange Hall. Reporter John Flowers is at johnf@addisonindependent.com.

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PAGE 4A — Addison Independent, Thursday, April 21, 2016

A DDIS ON INDE PE NDEN T

Letters

Editorials

to the Editor

The Big Apple speaks, but how Bernie still wins In the Democratic presidential primary, New York was a turning point for Hillary Clinton not only because it reversed the string of eight wins by the unexpectedly popular Sen. Bernie Sanders, but because she will enter the convention in July with a solid majority of delegates, as well as the bulk of the Super-delegates. There will likely be, in other words, little doubt as to which candidate has won the most state contests, the most delegates, and a solid majority of the popular vote by the time the convention convenes. Only if Clinton stumbles badly in the upcoming primaries next Tuesday, April 26, in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland and Rhode Island, is it possible that she won’t continue to hold an insurmountable lead right until the day she is nominated. That said, it’s time for Sanders to pivot slightly and broaden his rhetorical reach, rather than lose the strong purchase he has created since announcing his remarkable campaign for president almost a year ago. If he does, he can still be the star of the convention. What Sanders has done extremely well is excite millions of Americans about his progressive ideas, and tied those ideas to the Democratic Party. Of particular note is his theme of income inequality. It’s been his calling card at rallies across the nation, drawing as many as 28,000 supporters to a recent gathering at Brooklyn’s Prospect Park, the largest rally of the campaign among either political party. It’s an economic populist message that has resonated strongly with all Americans, oddly enough working for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump as well. In exit polling this Tuesday at the New York primary, the 26 percent of voters who thought that income inequality was the issue that matter the most voted for Sanders 57 percent to Clinton’s 43 percent. But that is one of many issues. In the other three top issues that “mattered the most” in exit polling in New York, Clinton bested Sanders handily: • 38 percent of the voters who thought the economy/jobs was the most important issue sided with Clinton 59 percent to Sanders’ 41 percent; • 18 percent of the voters who thought health care was the most important issue voted for Clinton 60 to Sanders’ 40; and • 16 percent of the voters who thought terrorism was the most important issue endorsed Clinton 66 percent to Sanders’ 34 percent. It’s also interesting that while Sanders carried the 28 percent of Democrats who considered themselves “very liberal,” 59 percent to 41 percent; but Clinton captured the 38 percent of Democrats who consider themselves “somewhat liberal” by 57-43 percent, as well as the 29 percent of Democrats who considered themselves moderates by 66-34 percent. Perhaps most surprising is that Sanders has not been able to win over more of the hearts of the Democratic Party’s black or Hispanic/Latino communities (Clinton won 75-25 percent, and 63-37 percent respectively in New York), winning only the white vote (60 percent of those who voted) by a bare 51 percent to 49 percent for Clinton. Sanders was also only able to win one age group, 18-29, which makes up 17 percent of voters, by a significant 67-33 percent. Clinton, however, virtually split the 24 percent of voters aged 30-44 (51 percent to Sanders’ 49), but solidly captured the 45-64 group by 61-39 percent, and those 65 and older by 72-28 percent (combining for 59 percent of the vote). In short, Sanders’ strength has too often been limited to male, white voters who are very liberal and consider economic inequality their most important issue. In our view, that reality sells Sanders far short of his message. Many Democrats adore him for his consistent approach on global warming, his skepticism of the use of military might to resolve regional conflicts around the world, his preference for diplomacy over force, and his domestic initiatives to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure as a way to boost the economy, adopt a livable minimum wage of $15 per hour, make college education affordable for all, push campaign reform and overturn Citizens United, and create a universal health care system. But somehow those positions have not resonated with the voters to Sanders’ benefit. Rather, Clinton continues to poll higher as a reliable world leader, as someone who would be better able to guide the nation’s economy and create jobs, and who would be a stronger candidate in November. While 19 contests remain (including 14 states, D.C., Guam, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico), Sanders’ best play at this point is not to double-down on the negative attacks against Clinton, but to revert to his previously positive campaign and expand his progressive message. Not only is that likely to be his best campaign strategy to gather delegates, but it will continue to excite more Americans to join the party and advocate the Democratic agenda in the presidential race and down ticket — and that’s a message and an end-result that could make Bernie a star at the convention in the eyes of all Democrats. It is not often in close presidential primaries that the candidate not selected as the party’s nominee is also a winner, but in this unusual year, Bernie has that too within his grasp. Angelo S. Lynn

Don’t cast blame, seek solutions Candidates these days can’t be outdone by the other on any issue, it seems. So when Republican candidates for governor jumped on Gov. Peter Shumlin’s administration for not having adequate oversight of the EB-5 program that lead to fraud charges in the Jay Peak/QBurke/Newport projects, the Democratic candidates for governor jumped on board as well. All three Democrats held news briefings or issued statements Monday calling for thorough scrutiny of the state’s role in the alleged fraud. The scheme, for those who somehow avoided the massive media coverage, alleges that the developers of the projects, Bill Stenger and Ariel Quiros, misused $200 million of investor money and that Quiros pocketed as much as $50 million for his personal benefit. While the media attention is rightly on the possible fraud, state officials have not been implicated in any way. So why focus on state oversight of the alleged fraud? Why call for an independent commission, as did Democratic Sen. Peter Galbraith, to investigate the state’s role? It’s an election year, and if candidates do anything these days, it’s jump at allegations that the other candidate (even from your own party) must be negligent of something — even if the opposite is what’s most apparent. As Gov. Shumlin outlined, it was his administration that referred the incident to the Department of Financial Regulation in 2014 and which worked hand-in-hand with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission to eventually press charges. The more complicated question is how do state leaders salvage the EB-5 program to bring needed economic development to underserved areas? The question candidates should be pondering is what policies they would implement to make the EB-5 program more secure to protect future investors. The challenge of being a state leader, after all, is proposing solutions to such problems, not pointing alleged blame at others. So far, none have asked the right questions let alone risen to the task. Angelo S. Lynn

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Flag vandalism is unacceptable Vandalism in Middlebury Cemetery. Along the road from the tennis courts at Middlebury College to Route 30, someone has been destroying flags. Not only is this disrespectful of the American flag, it is trespassing on private property (family gravesites), but also disrespectful of the veterans that fought for our country. As you walk or drive down the row, you can see the flags have been ripped off and only the wooden dowels are left. Local police and college security have been alerted. Perhaps the cemetery association should totally fence in the cemetery so pedestrians have to walk around the perimeter? Hopefully this situation will be addressed at the college. David Preble Middlebury

Lawmaker acted like police officer The next time the Vermont House Law Enforcement, excuse me, Judiciary Committee takes testimony on any criminal justice legislation, Ripton Rep. Willem Jewett should leave the hearing table, put on his police uniform, and sit in the audience with the cop lobbyists. Bradley D. Myerson Manchester Center

Being heard CHRISTOPHER ROSS TOWERS over his castmates during a rehearsal Tuesday night of the Middlebury Community Players’ production of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” The show opens at the Town Hall Theater on April 28. Independent photo/Trent Campbell

Calif. paradise doesn’t compare to Vt. It’s late afternoon, and I’m looking east through the big picture windows of my favorite café in Berkeley, Calif. I’m used to seeing the Green Mountains when I look east, but today I see the Berkeley Hills. There’s no confusing the Berkeley Hills for the Green Mountains. The slopes of the Berkeley Hills are covered with more houses than trees; the electric lights in those houses are blinking on right now, and will outshine the constellations tonight. The hills’ summits are ridged with cell phone towers. And to see the Berkeley Hills I must look across a parking lot, past six lanes of traffic and the commuter train tracks, and beyond a network of power lines and street lights. A refrain runs through my head that’s been haunting me since we arrived in Berkeley for my husband’s By Faith sabbatical. It goes like this: What Gong have we done? When I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area from New York City 10 years ago, I felt like Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz,” emerging from the grey-brown of Kansas into Technicolor Oz. I’d always considered New York a beautiful city, but it’s a manmade beauty: twinkling lights through a window, intricate stone carvings on building facades, a view of the sunset down the canyon of a street. Berkeley’s natural beauty is constant and vibrant. The Berkeley Hills, development aside, remain verdant and rolling. There are views of the sparkling San Francisco Bay, with the city skyline and the graceful outline of the Golden Gate Bridge emerging ghostly through the fog or silhouetted against glowing sunsets. Palm trees, live oaks and flowers bloom year-round. I

thought I’d arrived in paradise. Then I moved to Vermont, and I saw the story somewhat differently. New York City is an example of humanity dominating nature. Almost nothing remains of the original Manhattan landscape, and people have landscaped any green that persists. Vermont, on the other hand, is an example of nature subduing humanity: Try as we might, we can’t stop the snow from falling, the clay from being clay, the mosquitoes and ticks from existing, or the trees and rocks from popping out of the soil, so Vermonters are forced to live with some deference to the earth. Sure, there are houses and roads in Vermont, and people have altered the landscape for agriculture, but not many Vermonters would claim to be boss of the environment; that’s one thing that makes it hard to live in Vermont. What’s fascinating about the San Francisco Bay Area is that it’s an active battleground, a place where humanity is doing its darndest to beat nature into submission — and where nature keeps fighting back. This region is home to approximately 7 million people, and it’s the infrastructure necessary to support those numbers that I see out the café window: multi-lane roads, the web of public transportation, wires and towers, houses built so close together that a person can barely stretch out between them. There are also things I can’t see out the window, like the air. Ozone and particulate matter are closely monitored around the Bay Area. “Spare the Air” alerts are (See Clippings, Page 7A)

Clippings

Yoga helps keep ‘Bigfoot’ at bay Getting out of bed a while back, I heard a creaking Sure enough, there I found what I needed: hundreds of sound. yoga videos that focus on stretching and flexibility. And It was me. that is how, in a month, I’ve turned into a yoga addict. I’m not saying I normally expect to wake up, spring to I’ve been doing it every day and I can’t seem to stop. my feet, jeté into the hall and then somersaulting down While I haven’t bought any cool yoga clothes yet the stairs like a Slinky. My mornings start with a sub- (since no one in my living room cares), I have purchased dued but single-minded shuffle from the bed to the cof- a yoga mat. I quickly discovered that on the slippery rug feemaker. all standing poses devolve into full splits after 10 secBut this winter I started noticing a measurable lapse of onds or so. I want to limber up, not audition for Cirque time between “sitting up in bed” and du Soleil. “standing up.” My muscles and joints The videos I’m watching qualify seem to resent the sudden change in as “gentle yoga” at best; you won’t plans. find me attempting any complicated I just turned 48. What gives? poses that I might require outside It’s not just the slow starts in the help to get out of. Nor is it a personal morning, either. Even after I’ve goal of mine to balance on the finreached a comfortable cruising speed, gertips of one hand. I’m noticing that I’m not as flexible as I just want to follow along while By Jessie Raymond an appropriately mellow certified I once was. A few weeks ago while crossing the yoga instructor tells me, in soothing street, for example, I found I couldn’t tones, to “breathe into the muscle.” I look over my shoulder to check for traffic. I had to rotate don’t know exactly what that means but I enjoy trying. my entire torso to see if I was about to walk in front of I’m mostly interested in the feel-good aspects of yoga. a truck While I’m happy to work on some twisting triangles, All I could think of was that famous “bigfoot” video warrior poses and other yoga mainstays, I look forward clip from the 1970s, in which a shaky camera films a to the more relaxing postures, such as the corpse pose. large, hairy biped tromping through the woods. The crea- While it hasn’t helped my range of motion much, you ture — what I now realize was probably just an aging should see how good I’ve gotten at lying on the floor 48-year-old in a costume — turns its whole upper body with my eyes closed. to look at the camera. Yoga is having real results. Getting out of bed no I don’t want to be like bigfoot. longer feels like stop-motion animation with rusty-gate When I need help, I turn to Google. And when I need sound effects, and I can check for traffic without attracthelp but I’m too lazy to read the answer, I turn to You- ing the attention of any cryptozoologists. Tube. (See Raymond, Page 5A)

Around the bend

Pulling the plug saves energy April’s school vacation week is a perfect time to take a “Hibernation Vacation” by turning off or unplugging all unneeded appliances before everyone heads out. Heating water is the biggest household electric hog. Have you considered turning off your water heater when gone for longer periods of time and freezing pipes aren’t a concern? What’s the second biggest electric hog? See the “How to Lower Your Electric Bills” pamphlet from Efficiency VT that’s been on display downtown in various locations by the Middlebury Energy Committee. Laura Asermily Middlebury

Recovery center needs some help This is in regard to the Turning Point Center losing its lease, which seems most puzzling. I am not privy to any information as to reasons for this situation either from the good folk at Turning Point or the good folk who own and manage Marble Works. But given the apparent difficulties in finding a new place I can’t imagine that the Turning Point Center chose this. What I hope very much is that this request, decision, whatever it be is not due to a desire to “sanitize” Marble Works and central Middlebury by exiling some of the most courageous human beings in the county (meaning people doing their best to overcome addiction and all the people who love those people) from some kind of implicitly or explicitly desired sterilizing or gentrification of the area. What I hope is that this is not another example of our nations great desire, skill and success in sweeping things under the carpet — whether it be climate change, the unindicted obscenities of Wall Street, or the phenomenon of addiction. (Of course, we are a nation of addicts — some socially acceptable, even necessary to the status quo, like indiscriminately buying ever more of everything — and some not.) What I hope is that, if the reason for turning the Turning Point Center out is something like an inability to pay its rent on a strictly regular basis (which I do not assume to be the case), its lease would become gratis and a good tax deduction for whoever grants the center this. (And how wonderful if this were to happen even if paying rent on time has never been an issue.) What I hope is that things might still turn around and that the Turning Point Center can remain just where it is in its ideal, centrally located, easily accessible location (maybe with a few nice donated benches outside to sit on in good weather) as part of the vitality that makes a real as opposed to a Facebook or (See Letter, Page 5A)

Addison Independent, Thursday, April 21, 2016 — PAGE 5A

Echoes of ski winter that wasn’t Most of us have moved on from For ski gear hounds this spring, that winter. But for skiers, the memories has translated in to, “When winter of the past season echo like one long gives you rain, look for bargains on car crash. equipment.” Most Vermonters have enjoyed Though I wasn’t in the market for a winter of lower heating bills and skis, for example, I couldn’t resist the occasional day without wool hat 50 percent off on a shiny new pair of and gloves. Skiers and Nordica NRGY skis. boarders, though, have I hadn’t bought a new suffered through the pair of boards in many worst winter in living years. These astonishmemory. ingly good skis — just Someone reported that one of many terrific this was the mildest winbrands out there — were ter since 1955-56. I can’t a reminder of one bright really confirm that, havspot for skiers: Winter ing been three years old might disappoint, but the at the time. equipment is getting betBut it was certainly ter all the time. the warmest winter since It used to be that only I first strapped on skis snowboarders could easin 1957. (Hickory wood ily carve turns. Now that skis, bear trap bindings, magic is available to virand a rope tow powered tually every skier. The by an old Chevy engine climate may be melting, from the 1940s.) but technology marches This past ski season by Gregory Dennis on. wasn’t a disappointAt the Middlebury ment due just to the lack College Snow Bowl this of snowfall, although that certainly winter, thanks to solid snowmaking qualified as Disaster No. 1. We rare- and good grooming, it was a dely got more than a dusting of white. cent season for the front side of the Disaster No. 2: Seemingly every mountain once the temps dropped snowfall was followed by a tumultu- more consistently below freezing in ous drenching of cold rain. January. What should have been powder Mad River Glen, however, was not turns on the Snow Bowl’s Proctor so lucky. trail instead ended up in the upper Its snowmaking “system” conreaches of our rivers. sists of two small, outmoded guns to Ski Vermont reports that the previ- freshen a bit of terrain near the base. ous (2014-2015) winter set a record MRG lives and dies the old fashfor resort visits, topping 4.67 million ioned way, with natural snowfall. skier/rider days. In a typical season, After a 2014-2015 season that winter tourism (driven largely by extended from early December into skiing) pumps more than $900 mil- April, Mad River was open this winlion intro Vermont’s economy. ter for an estimated 45 days — and This winter’s numbers will likely some of those were just on the bunny be lower. And we fell pathetically hill. short of the average of 220 inches “Ski It If You Can” became of snow that fell in the 2014-2015 “Fuggeddaboutit.” winter. When Mad River closed for the This year’s lack of snow proved to season in mid-March, its roadside be a huge burden for even the most sign said simply “Uncle.” popular Vermont ski shops. The endSnowmaking came to the rescue at of-season discounting began pain- Sugarbush and other big resorts. But fully early for shop owners and em- again it was mid-January until conployees. ditions were decent. It’s said that when life gives you The enormous amount of snow lemons, you should make lemonade. that Sugarbush makes each winter

Between The Lines

has meant that they’re still open this week. Stowe, Jay Peak and Killington are keeping a few lifts running, too. So while sensible folks have already planted peas and put out their patio furniture, a few of us diehards are still hitting the hill. That’s because while artificial snow can make for some icy sliding during the winter, the manmade stuff turns into white gold when it warms up. At Sugarbush this past Sunday, I discovered the groomed runs were morning manna. And as the sun softened the steep stuff toward noon, it brought all the delights of easy-turning corn snow and forgivingly soft bumps. The best of the day? Stein’s Run, no doubt. Stein’s is a precipitously steep, straight shot down the fall line. Catch an edge on it in the winter and you could end up sliding for 200 yards. But when the trail is bumped up in spring T-shirt weather, it’s pure forgiving fun. The run was named after Stein Ericksen, the Norwegian skiing legend who helped design it when he headed the Sugarbush ski school in the 1960s. I remember seeing Stein there as a kid. It was like watching God on skis. Stein died this year at age 88, having inspired an entire generation of Baby Boomers to take up skiing and stay with it as we aged. Skiing Stein’s on a warm spring day is a kind of tribute, then, to all the great skiers of the past — and to all of the weekend powderhounds who keep hope alive. Until Vermont’s climate morphs into Florida’s and they shut off the snow guns for the last time, we’ll still be out there looking for one last day on the slopes. Gregory Dennis’s column appears here every other Thursday and is archived on his blog at www.gregdennis.wordpress.com. Email: gregdennisvt@yahoo.com. Twitter: @ greengregdennis.

Letters to the Editor Next president to inherit foreign policy challeng Among the most disturbing aspects of this bizarre election season is the absence of any serious discussion of America’s foreign affairs. Endless debates have produced simplistic themes that play to the gut feelings of parts of the electorate. But relatively little attention has been paid to the most critical world issues America will have to face in the years ahead. Of course ISIS and Islamic terror-

ism, which have held center stage, pose significant dangers, which we must guard against. But, while terrorists can cause mayhem, they are not capable of destroying our country as major wars with China and Russia, the two other great nuclear powers, certainly could. That’s the core problem we face and must learn to manage wisely. What makes this urgent is the fact, as The New York Times has just

confirmed, that the U.S., Russia and China have entered on a new, potentially highly destabilizing phase of the nuclear arms race involving dramatically upgraded weapons and delivery systems. The U.S. alone expects to spend close to a trillion dollars on these projects in the coming decades. Neither the wisdom of these grave decisions, nor the urgent need for new arms control initia(See Jaeger letter, Page 7A)

Letters can be found on Pages 4A, 5A and 7A.

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The same applies to waking and Editor’s note: This is the ninth in a series of essays on Lucretius, an ear- dreaming. Descartes observed that ly philosopher who provides a link to sometimes when dreaming, we are “lost classics” through his epic poem tricked into believing that we are awake. But, according to his method “On the Nature of Things.” The French philosopher René of doubt, if whilst dreaming, I dream Descartes (1596–1650) is commonly I am awake, then all waking beliefs styled “the father of modern philoso- should be set aside as doubtful. When he wrote these things, Desphy.” This has become an academic cliché. It is mistaken, and should be cartes probably had Lucretius in forgotten. If anyone deserves the ti- mind. The examples he gives are tle, it is Francis Bacon (1561–1626), drawn from Lucretius’ text, although for he championed the inseparable their meaning is inverted, if not sublink between philosophy and the verted. I discussed sensory knowlstudy of nature, whereas Descartes edge in the previous essay. Now, I turn to Lucretius’ account of dreamunwittingly caused their separation. ing. Then again, modern First, one must recall philosophy, which began that Lucretius was a during the 17th century consistent materialist. in Europe, has had many Not only are mind and progenitors, fathers and soul material things, mothers. Among the but so also are ideas, latter, special mention thoughts, images, flitshould go to Margaret ting about in space, Cavendish, the Duchentering the mind, uness of Newcastle (1623– seen, through pores of 1663), who fashioned a the body. Everything is materialist system of realconstantly casting off ity, and to Damaris, Lady films of its material subMasham (1659–1708). Lucretius: the stance, sometimes in the She was the daughter of Ralph Cudworth (1617– nature of things form of a subtle image of itself. In this fragile 1688), a Cambridge phiAn essay by state they move about losopher, who created a among a multitude of modern system of PlaVictor Nuovo tonism. Middlebury College other images, colliding, losing parts and gainBy her own admission, she was not a Platonist, professor emeritus ing others, so that the of philosophy atmosphere becomes although, in 1682, she filled with images of and John Locke became strange and impossible Platonic lovers and philosophical confidants, and the affair creatures. Unseen, because they continued until he died, on Oct. 28, are extremely subtle, they enter the 1704. She was with him at the time, imagination and become the subjects sitting by his side, reading to him of fantasies, dreams, and delusions, from the Psalms. Her philosophical and, sometimes, great painting and writings, especially her correspon- literature. Mirrors and puddles receive their dence, reveals a mind acute and powerful, or, as one commentator images as films, too subtle to see, has described it, “wickedly critical.” that cross the distance from objects Her published works, which ap- on wings of light or propelled by the peared anonymously, were attributed wind. The waking mind is free to to Locke, for there were affinities think about whatever it pleases; yet of style and content between them, its thoughts are nonetheless material although it could as well be said events. How this all occurs, where that his writings resemble hers just images reside when we are not thinkas much as hers did his. Influence ing them, Lucretius does not pretend among intimates works both ways. to know. How the mind chooses its thoughts at will from among images But I digress. Descartes, in his most widely read that float in and out of consciousness work, Meditations on First Philoso- remains an unsolved problem still phy, contended that one should not today. It is just another aspect of the begin to philosophize without first spontaneity of thinking, which we all abandoning all doubtful beliefs. Be- experience many times a day. When an animal sleeps, its senses cause this would be an unending task to examine every belief, he advised shut down, the body is senseless, classifying them according to type “our whole body lies in profound and seeking for each class a reason quietness,” yet “in the blind darkness for doubt. It was he who made as of night, we think we see the sun, and a staple of modern philosophy the the light of day, and we seem to exargument that because the senses change our narrow room for sky and sometimes deceive us, we ought not sea, rivers, and mountains … to uttrust the senses, and, therefore, all be- ter speech while saying nothing.” In liefs founded on sensory perception dreams, we are ghosts of ourselves, strangely incorporeal, deprived of the must be classed as doubtful.

physical reality of waking consciousness that only the senses provide. Every night, as we dream, we become ghosts. See for yourself. To be sure, dreams sometimes activate the body. Lucretius was an observer of animals, of horses and hounds, obviously dreaming of the race or the hunt, their limbs moving, snorting and yelping, as thought called to action, and of the dreaming of youths in puberty, longing for satisfaction. It is as though the mind, without the senses, has no way to control its mental activity. We are only delivered from nightmares by waking. Now from all of this, Lucretius would have us draw a difficult conclusion. Dreaming is not unlike waking thought, nor are mirages unlike the real things of which they are counterfeit. There is no silver bullet, like Descartes’ hackneyed “Cogito, ergo sum,” “Je pense, donc je suis,” “I think, therefore I am,” which he supposed would bring us home free in the hide-and-seek of conscious existence. There is only attentiveness. Anyone who supposes that the senses are not to be trusted, because they sometimes deceive us, should attend to those moments when the objects before us are perfectly evident, or if you worry about being in a dream and not knowing it, then pay attention to your dreaming, and to your waking. The differences are subtle but real. Sentient beings have worked their way up the ladder of being by just such attentiveness. Our difficulties with doubt and certainty are evidence to Lucretius that we are jerry-built creatures. In his discussion of dreaming and waking, he observes, anticipating Darwin, that our senses and our minds were not fashioned for certainty in everything. In fact, they evolved for no particular purpose, but we adapted them to our developing needs and purposes, and our species survived. Whether waking and dreaming, we human animals have made remarkable use of them, most efficiently in the useful arts and crafts, in medicine, surgery, cabinet making, in fine art and poetry, in laws of civil society, and in such sublime ideas as truth, beauty, goodness, and justice, and by employing them we have filled a storehouse of fantasies to entertain and console us. But, we must not forget, the fertile human mind is also the source of the most monstrous evil and destructive fantasies. Postscript: All that I have written in the last two essays are based upon the fourth Book of De Rerum Natura. There is more that I have not mentioned, in particular, Lucretius’ thoughts on romantic love, when concludes Book IV. It’s worth reading.

Letter

Raymond (Continued from Page 4A) But there’s something more: Even the YouTube yoga-light version I’m practicing is having effects that last all day: My shoulders are relaxed, my posture is improved, my breathing is deeper and my brow is less furrowed. I no longer have the anxious demeanor of a bank robber about to pass a note to a teller. It’s almost as if learning how to assume the physical attributes of a calm person is turning me into one. Whoa. It’s coming in handy, too. For instance, I typically wake up at least

Dreaming and waking, doubt and certainty

once during the night and spend an hour or so cycling through every hypothetical crisis my brain can come up with. What if I get old and forget to turn off the stove and the house burns down? What if the doctor calls, and “it’s probably nothing” gives way to “it’s definitely something”? What if Trump — Nope. No more. Through yoga, I’m learning how to use my breath to

slow my heart rate and let go of negative, unproductive thoughts. Most of the time I fall right back to sleep. I’m not sure which of yoga’s benefits means more to me: a flexible body or a quiet mind. Either way, I’m overjoyed. This morning I woke up and actually did want to somersault down the stairs like a Slinky. I bet there’s a YouTube video for that.

(Continued from Page 5A) Disney-designed community. Surely there are many of us, whether “addicts” or not who have benefited from the so-called Serenity Prayer: Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. What I hope is that there may be a someone or some many who might

have the courage to change what still can be changed.

Marianne Lust Lincoln

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ADDISON COUNTY

Daryl Lowry, 82, Vergennes

Obituaries

Judy Trudeau, 55, Weybridge WEYBRIDGE — Judy A. Trudeau, 55, died Tuesday morning, March 29, 2016, at Crescent Manor Health Care in Bennington. She was born Aug. 4, 1960, in Ticonderoga, N.Y., the daughter of Kenneth and Carmen (Dunklee) Lamb. Judy was an outdoors enthusiast and also enjoyed animals, country music and spending time with her family. She is survived by her husband, Alton Trudeau, whom she married in 1994; by her children, Chad Lamb of

Pittsford, Tonya Lamb of Castleton and Eva Trudeau of Weybridge. Also by her siblings, Shirley Lamb, Ronny Lamb, Johnny Lamb and Ricky Lamb. And by her seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her parents and her brothers, Donny, Larry and Jerry Lamb. There will be no services at this time. Arrangements are under the direction of the Sanderson-Ducharme Funeral Home. Online condolences at www. sandersonfuneralservice.com. ◊

Orlando Mustico, 54, Orwell ORWELL — Orlando John “Lando” Mustico, 54, of Orwell entered eternal life on March 4, 2016, at UVM Medical Center. He is survived by his partner, Charles Callahan; five brothers; and a sister. Trained as an artist, Lando was a free spirit whose creativity enriched all who knew him. A celebration of Lando’s life and memorial service will be held at Sts. Peter and Paul Cemetery in his hometown of Elmira, N.Y., on Saturday, May 7, at 11 a.m. Donations may be made in his memory to the American Lyme Disease Foundation, P.O. Box 466, Lyme, CT 06371. ◊

ORLANDO ‘LANDO’ MUSTICO

Ila Bowdish, 94, Weybridge WEYBRIDGE — Ila Bowdish, age 94, of Weybridge passed away peacefully on April 17, 2016, at her home in Weybridge surrounded by her family. Ila is predeceased by her husband Edward Bowdish, Jr., of Weybridge, sisters Velma St. Jock and Lula Simonds, and her grandson Aron Bowdish. Ila is survived by her sons Mark Drew and his wife Sally of Wolcott, Robert Bowdish and his wife Phyllis of Weybridge, Joseph Bowdish and his wife Alice of Oklahoma, Michael Bowdish and his wife Lisa of Salisbury. Ila is survived by her grandchildren whom she cherished greatly: Eric Bowdish and his wife Louise, Audra Ouellette and her husband Dean, Kristine Bowdish, Martha Bowdish, Jack Bowdish, Brian Bowdish, Kevin Bowdish and his wife Melissa, and Austin Bowdish and his wife Christian. Ila is survived by her great-grandchildren: Jon, Alex, Alexis, Matthew, Liberty, Patrick, Briana, Hayden, Michael, and Makenna. Ila was a nurse by profession, a poet by heart, but most important in her life was her family. She was a dedicated wife, mother, and grandmother. Her love and generosity for others inspired loyalty, reverence, and admiration from community and family alike. She was an active member of the Weybridge Congregational Church and a long-time leader with the Weybridge Willing Workers 4-H Club. Ila was cared for by her family and many wonderful persons from Addison County Home Health and

Suzanne Mierop, 63, Mount Abe graduate GERMANTOWN, Md. — Suzanne Barbara Mierop died April 14, 2016, from cancer. The daughter of Abraham and Margaret Mierop, Susie grew up in New Jersey and moved to Vermont in 1969. She graduated from Mount

Abraham Union High School and moved to Maryland and worked as a legal secretary. She enjoyed spending time with her family and her flower garden. Susie is survived by her daughters, Jackie and Jenifer; two

granddaughters in Maryland; her mother; and brothers Bradley, Abe, David and John Mierop of Vermont. She was predeceased by her father. A private burial will be planned by her family.

Patriotic employer PAULA GONYEA OF Plattsburgh, N.Y., director of Radiology Services at UVM Medical Center in Burlington, was recently presented with the U.S. Department of Defense Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) Patriot Award. David Wheel, right, representing Vermont Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, presented the award for the tremendous support that Gonyea had given to her employee and citizen-service member, Doug Sutton of Ferrisburgh, left, who as a lieutenant colonel in the Vermont Air National Guard serves as chief nursing officer for the 158th Medical Group of the 158th Fighter Wing.

ILA BLAISDELL BOWDISH Hospice in her last days. Visiting hours were on Wednesday, April 20, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Sanderson Funeral Home at 117 South Main St. in Middlebury. Funeral Services will be on Thursday, April 21, at the Weybridge Congregational Church at 10 a.m. followed by a committal and graveside prayer at the Weybridge Hill Cemetery. In lieu of flowers please make donations in her memory to Addison County Home Health and Hospice, PO Box 754, Middlebury, VT 05753 or the Addison County 4-H Foundation C/O UVM Extension Office, 23 Pond Lane, Suite 300, Middlebury, VT 05753.◊

VERGENNES — Daryl Edmund Lowry peacefully passed away at home with his family by his side on April 14, 2016, at 82 years of age. He was the second son born to Hazen Lowry and Geraldine Forgrave Lowry of Sawyerville, Quebec, Canada, on Dec. 6, 1933. He is survived by Liz, his loving wife of 62 years; daughters Sheryl and Randy Thurber and Phyllis and John Bull; son Bruce Lowry; daughter-in-law Patty (wife of H. Ross); foster son Kim Schroeder; sisters Dawn and Andy Theoret and Jill Lowry and Germain Boutin; brother Brian Lowry; 12 very helpful and caring grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his daughter Deborah Lynne, sons Lawrence Daryl and Hazen Ross, brothers Hazen Duane and Peter Terrance, sister-in-law Marilyn Lowry and parents Hazen and Geraldine Lowry. Daryl grew up working on the family farm in Sawyerville, Quebec, Canada. He attended MacDonald College, Castleton State College and the University of Vermont. Farming was an important part of his life and he assisted farmers as supervisor of the Rural and Farm Family Vocational Program for 27 years where he organized a nationwide Agrability program. He also received a plaque for one of the best extension programs in the 13 Northeast states. As master of the Vermont State Grange, under the auspices of Sen. Patrick Leahy, he testified for farmers to the Agriculture Committee in Washington, D.C. He served on the National Grange Executive Committee for four years. In his book, “Once upon a Farm,” he emphasized the need for young people to realize the important lessons that come from living on a farm. They are an important part of

DARYL LOWRY family endeavors that teach them to be contributors in their respective communities and hoped that there would continue to be a future for farming. Special thanks for Home Health nurses Kim Norton and Val Doria for taking him on yearly fishing excursions, and for Lana Delorme for care above and beyond the call of duty, and to grandchildren Shannon and Shawn for their loving care in assisting him in his illness. Funeral services were held on Tuesday, April 19, at Vergennes United Methodist Church. In lieu of flowers contributions may be made to Vermont State Grange Center in care of Ruth Hovey Sicely, 270 Eagle Ledge Road, Worchester, VT 05682, or Addison County Home Health & Hospice, PO Box 754, Middlebury, VT 05753. ◊

Robert Brisson, 91, Shoreham SHOREHAM — Robert W. Brisson, 91, died on April 16, 2016, at his home in Shoreham after a long and fulfilled life. Born the second oldest of 8 children to Wilfred and Laura (Yandow) Brisson on November 5, 1924, he spent his early years on the family farm in Shoreham then joined the Army and served in World War II in Germany. After returning home, he met, courted and then married Doris Wimett in 1953. They farmed for the next 37 years while raising their family. Over his lifetime in Shoreham, Bob’s most important roles were those of a model citizen and a dedicated family man. While operating a successful dairy farm, he still made time to serve the Town of Shoreham as Selectman and was a “founding father” of the Shoreham Volunteer Fire Department, jokingly known as the “Shoreham Cellar Savers” at the time. Bob was a lifelong member of St. Genevieve’s Catholic Church, beginning as an altar server in his youth. As a retired farmer, he served for many years as a town lister, but,

most importantly, he took the lead role as Grandpa, Pop Pop, and Dee Dee. Bob joins Doris, his wife of 59 years, his sisters Marion Provost and Eleanor Farman, and his brother Eugene Brisson. He is loved and remembered by his children, Connie Carroll and husband David, Neil Brisson and wife Meg, and Randall Brisson and wife Kathleen; his grandchildren, Alicia, Katrina, Tad, Sam, Nate, Ben, Kit, and Jack; his five lively great-grand girls; his siblings, Lorraine, Thelma, Armond and Mary Esther; and his many extended family members. Bob’s generous nature, sense of humor and easy smile put people at ease. His stories, jokes, tall tales, ditties and sayings will live on in the hearts of the family and friends that love him. The family thanks the several tender, selfless caregivers and hospice nurses that helped him. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Bob’s name to the Addison County Home Health and Hospice at P.O. Box 754, Middlebury, VT 05753.

ROBERT W. BRISSON A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, April 22, at St. Genevieve’s Catholic Church in Shoreham with graveside committal immediately following. Arrangements are under the direction of the Sanderson-Ducharme Funeral Home. Online condolences at www. sandersonfuneralservices.com. ◊

Oakley Palmer, 89, East Middlebury EAST MIDDLEBURY — Oakley M. Palmer, passed away on April 17, 2016, at Porter Medical Center. He was born November 24, 1926, the son of George W. and Jennie May (Carlin) Palmer. Shortly after graduating high school Oakley enlisted in the U.S. Army and transferred to the Reserves in 1952. He spent 29 years in the Reserves, 304th Regiment 76th Division, retiring as a Command Sergeant Major on July 31, 1981. He was a proud marksman, winning many division rifle matches. Oakley was a member of the Union Lodge No. 2 Free & Accepted Masons and The Shriners. For many years he delighted the young and old driving the Shriners mini cars in parades around the state. Oakley’s love for the outdoors was evident in his life choices. He was a farmer, owned a landscape business, which he passed on to his two sons, and worked 63 years as a property manager at the Heights Estate in Middlebury. He especially enjoyed hunting with his sons and gardening. He is survived by his wife Margaret

L. (Piper); three children from his first marriage, his son Michael of Salisbury, son David and his wife Darlene of Salisbury, and his daughter Susan and her husband Bill of Ludlow; four step-children, Debra Piper of New Hampshire, Scott Piper of Burlington, Joan Thorpe and her husband Ron of Starksboro, and Dawn Hatch of Leicester; ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Oakley was predeceased by his father, George W. Palmer; his mother, Jennie May (Carlin) Palmer; and his first wife Harriet J. (Lafountain) Palmer. The family would like to express their gratitude and thanks to the doctors, nurses, and staff at Porter Medical Center and Hospice for their compassion and great care of Oakley. You helped make him as comfortable as possible and we thank you. A gathering to celebrate the life of Oakley Palmer will be held Friday, April 22, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the American Legion in Middlebury. A private family graveside service with military honors is scheduled following the celebration of life.

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OAKLEY M. PALMER In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in Oakley’s memory to Homeward Bound – ACHS, 236 Boardman St., Middlebury, VT 05753. ◊

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Addison Independent, Thursday, April 21, 2016 — PAGE 7A

Letters to the Editor

Moving from a ‘vision’ to a plan

Time for Vermont to take action on pot legalization bill

In my first “Community Com- community after the loss of several mentary” as the interim CEO of providers this spring, the majority Porter Medical Center, I focused of these remaining providers are my message on the status of adult located in the communities surprimary care here in Addison rounding Middlebury (Brandon, County and the recent loss of a Bristol and Vergennes) rather than number of valued physician col- here in Middlebury — our populaleagues. Clearly, this tion center. It’s clear to is among the most me that we must focus immediate and iminitially on recruiting portant issues we primary care physineed to address as cians to fill the void an organization and in Middlebury. During community. one of my commuSince I wrote that nity presentations last first message just a week at the EastView few weeks ago, we Retirement Communihave been hard at ty, I asked the 40 peowork to determine ple in attendance how the best path forward many of them are losfor addressing this ing their provider. Evvery real and imery hand in the audimediate community ence was raised. This need, and although is our challenge and, This week’s writer I am reluctant to say is Dr. Fred Kniffin, as referenced earlier, that we have the level interim president we at Porter have adof detail required to and CEO of Porter opted the same sense call it a “plan,” we do Hospital. of urgency felt by our have a vision, and we patients. are moving forward So here is our vision. with a true sense of urgency. Given First and foremost, we are actively the importance of this topic, I want recruiting new providers. Ads are to share with you the progress we posted for both Internal Medicine are making on this issue. and Family Medicine, physicians First, let me describe how I view and Advance Practice providers. the challenge. We have suffered a We have already received some loss of adult primary care provid- interest in the open positions and ers. This loss has been greatest in have interviews scheduled. Middlebury and greatest in our The second issue is office space department of Internal Medicine. in Middlebury — and we are lookSo, although we will continue to ing at all options. We have rehave 18 Porter-employed provid- viewed what is available in terms ers of adult primary care in our of commercial real estate as well

In his April 14 column titled “It makes sense to go slow on pot bill,” Eric L. Davis makes several critical errors of fact and logic. First, Davis claims that there has been evidence of an increase in underage marijuana use in Colorado following legalization. This is incorrect. Two comprehensive surveys of marijuana use have been conducted (including one by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services), and neither found a statistically significant change in Colorado’s underage use rates following legalization. These results were expected, as multiple independent studies have consistently found that people who do not use marijuana choose to abstain not because of the drug’s legal status or lack of availability, but for a multitude of other reasons, with the top one typically being some variant of “I just don’t like it.” Second, Davis claims that “federally insured banks and credit unions will not provide accounts for marijuana-related businesses.” While this is hardly a compelling argument on its own for jailing otherwise law-abiding people for possessing more than 1 ounce of marijuana, it is also just plain wrong on the facts. As the commissioner of Vermont’s Depart-

Addressing adult primary care needs of our community

ment of Financial Regulation testified before both the Senate and House recently, VSECU already provides checking accounts to Vermont’s three medical marijuana dispensaries, and has expressed willingness to provide such accounts to licensed commercial establishments should the General Assembly choose to legalize and regulate the production and sale of marijuana in Vermont. Third, Davis states that Vermont is the only state in New England where legalization is “on the legislative agenda.” This is wildly misleading. Massachusetts voters are set to vote on a referendum legalizing marijuana this November, as are voters in Maine. Both referenda are polling at above 60 percent support. Moreover, legalization bills have been introduced in both the Rhode Island and Connecticut legislatures. The truth is that the General Assembly is, and for years has been, going very slow on marijuana. Vermont first legalized medical marijuana in 2004, and then authorized medical dispensaries in 2012. In 2013, possession of less than one ounce of marijuana was changed from a misdemeanor to a civil offense. In 2014, the General Assembly ordered a comprehensive independent study of

marijuana legalization, which was completed in 2015. Now, in 2016, after reviewing the results of that study, and looking at the experience (both good and bad) of states like Colorado and Washington, the Senate has passed a cautious bill under which regulated sales would not have begun until 2018 — giving the state even more time to carefully craft regulations for consumer safety, launch a youth education campaign, and continue to adjust to address new facts as they come in. We’ve been going slow on marijuana, for over a decade. Now that we’ve finally reached our destination, some wish to slam on the brakes, put the car in reverse, and pretend that continued prohibition will somehow benefit society — even though it has failed to do anything of the sort so far. It is time for the House of Representatives to follow the Senate’s lead, and pass a bill that ends our failed 80-year experiment with prohibition, and addresses marijuana as the public health issue that it is, rather than the crime we keep pretending it to be. It’s time, and Vermont is ready. Dave Silberman Middlebury

blooming in the narrow dirt strip between the sidewalk and the curb where we park our car. What I find intriguing is that the San Francisco Bay Area considers itself — and is considered by others — to be a pioneer in the “Green Movement.” Plastic shopping bags are banned here (bring your bag, or buy one.) Public restrooms are adorned with signs pointing out their eco-friendly fixtures and reminding us to conserve water. The Sierra Club was founded in Berkeley, and the East Bay has housed environmental luminaries like John Muir and David Brower. California Cuisine, emphasizing fresh, locally sourced ingredients, is largely attributed to Alice Waters and her Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley. The tiny kitchen in our rental home contains four disposal bins: Berkeley, eco-conscious city that it is, requires trash to be sorted into compost, paper, metal and plastic, and the guilt inducing “landfill waste.” These are all undeniably good things, but I remain troubled by the moral mathematics required to calculate the Bay Area’s environmental impact. To have 7 million recyclers crammed into a metropolitan area is certainly preferable to 7 million non-recyclers, but it seems a bit like bulldozing a forest to build a solar-powered building: Wouldn’t you rather keep the forest? That’s impractical dreaming at this point. In any event, we all filter the facts to justify our lifestyles. One example: Down the street

from our Berkeley rental home is a high-end wine store which has painted, on the side of its building, “Conserve Water. Drink Wine.” It’s a catchy slogan, playing on the twin Berkeley loves of social consciousness and fine food and drink. It’s not meant to be taken seriously; it’s meant to sell wine. I smiled when I saw it, before pausing to consider the ethics of such a sales pitch during the fourth year of a drought, when it takes an average of 4.74 liters of water to produce one liter of wine. Our human capacity to live in denial of potential disaster is on clear display in the Bay Area. We are flocking here in record numbers. We fill 10-lane highways with our cars. We culvert creeks around housing developments, and dump landfill into marshland to create towns. We build multi-milliondollar homes into the sides of steep hills. Whether this represents hope or hubris remains to be seen. After all, this is the state that made the grizzly bear its state mammal 21 years after hunting the last California grizzly to extinction. What have we done? Faith Gong has worked as an elementary school teacher, a freelance photographer, and a nonprofit manager. Since moving to Addison County in 2011, her work has involved caring for a house in the woods, four young daughters, one anxiety-prone labradoodle — and writing for her blog, The Pickle Patch. This winter she has been on sabbatical in California.

Clippings (Continued from Page 4A) issued when unhealthy air quality is forecast; on these days, sensitive residents are advised to stay indoors, and burning wood is illegal. One in four children in Alameda County, where Berkeley is located, have been diagnosed with asthma, with the highest rates in areas closest to highways and ports. Then there’s the water: California is in the fourth year of an extreme drought. The drought was caused by climate patterns, but it’s difficult to imagine that congestion hasn’t contributed to the crisis; the areas around Los Angeles and San Francisco have the highest population density in the nation. As University of Southern California history professor Kevin Starr told The New York Times, “Mother Nature didn’t intend for 40 million people to live here.” The Bay Area is subject to flooding, windstorms, wildfires, and landslides. Six major fault systems traverse the region, which sits under the sentence of an impending “Big One.” The U.S. Geological Survey places odds at 72 percent that the Bay Area will experience a magnitude 6.7 or greater earthquake in the next 30 years, the results of which — given the area’s population density — would be catastrophic. Despite all this, the Bay Area continues to bloom. In Berkeley in late January the camellia bushes were bursting with color, every yard seemed to have a lemon tree laden with citrus, and we had to hurdle wild irises that insisted on

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The Addison Independent encourages readers to write letters to the editor. We believe a newspaper should be a community forum for people to debate issues of the day Because we believe that accountability makes for responsible

as reached out to other community non-profit organizations which might have interest in collaborating. These conversations are ongoing. Once we identify the best space for this practice and successfully attract new providers, we will create a premier adult medicine practice right here in Middlebury. The plan is for a core group of providers — some of whom specialize in Family Medicine and some who specialize in Internal Medicine. Our vision calls for this medical office space to be newly renovated, efficient and fully equipped to meet the needs of both our providers and patients. I envision a truly great practice … a practice we can all be proud of … a practice that meets the high expectations set by our community and patients. This is a big project with many moving pieces, and, as I’ve said, it will take time. It could take 1218 months or so to complete. The important thing is that the work is under way. Please be assured that, for the short-term, we are applying all the resources at our disposal toward continuing to meet the health care needs of our community, communicating with our patients and providing the most seamless transitions possible. Providing care for our community is our mission. We will achieve our mission. I thank you for your patience and support during these challenging times.

debate, we will print signed letters only. Be sure to include an address and telephone number, too, so we can call to clear up any questions. If you have something to say, send it to: Letters to the Editor, Addison Independent, 58 Maple St., Middlebury, VT 05753. Or email to news@addisonindependent.com

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Jaeger letter (Continued from Page 5A) tives to curb them, have been issues in this election year. This is all the more disturbing given Washington’s current, increasingly tense military confrontations with both Russia and China, since even small miscalculations, particularly in the Baltic and the East China Sea, could quickly escalate and get out of control. Wise management of these core relationships should therefore be the corner stone of American policy. They are hardly being discussed. Nor have second-level questions fared much better. How much longer do we plan to slog on in Afghanistan and for what reasons? What roles should Iran and the Saudi-led alliance of Sunni states play in the ongoing reordering of the Middle East? What is the endgame in Syria? How should we deal with potentially loose nukes in Pakistan and the very real North Korean nuclear threat? Is waging drone and covert warfare wherever we choose defensible or counter-productive? And what of the dangers posed by cyber warfare and, the most important issue of all, of global climate change? Of course the candidates have “plans” and websites that abound in fine print. But the conundrum facing voters is who is more likely to

guide this nation wisely through the coming, probably more dangerous years and lay the basis for a coherent new long-term foreign policy. Trump, the erratic Republican front-runner, hardly qualifies, even though he is the only candidate who says that he could get along with Putin. Cruz is an unabashed foreign policy hardliner who spouts what far right-wing followers want to hear. Kasich, the most moderate of this threesome, waffles on issues like Iran and said in a debate that “it was time to punch Putin in the nose.” Which leaves Hillary and Bernie. Bernie’s problem is that he has had only limited practical exposure. But he has sound instincts, as shown in his key vote against the Iraq war. His call to move away from constant unilateral military action, to emphasize diplomacy to resolve conflicts and to go to war only as a last resort would be a highly sensible new start. As would focusing much more on deep-rooted domestic problems, including some of the adverse effects of trade agreements, to strengthen us as a nation without going isolationist. As to Hillary, there is no question that she has experience. She knows how the system works and how to work it. As secretary of state she has accomplished all sorts of help-

ful things, particularly the transformation of Burma into a more open democratic state. But where it counts most, her record is one of short-term activism, as in her famously wrong-headed vote for the Iraq war, her calls for a more interventionist policy in Syria and her insistent advocacy for military intervention in Libya, which swayed the president and proved counter-productive. It seems that in none of these cases did she reflect long enough on the key question: “What happens next?” Nor, for that matter, is there any indication in her approach, that American foreign policy again needs a wise long-term conceptual framework, like the policy of containment in the Cold War, which could help frame key national decisions facing us in the dangerous tripolar world in which we now live and moderate the action-reaction cycle in which we seem trapped. A Clinton presidency may therefore be a higher-risk continuation of Obama’s, but would certainly be much better than Trump. Bernie, the sagacious wild card, might, with luck and a very good team of advisers, even be better. George Jaeger New Haven Editor’s note: George Jaeger is a retired senior Foreign Service officer.

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77 Main Street, Middlebury, VT

PAGE 8A — Addison Independent, Thursday, April 21, 2016

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Apr

21

Things to do before spring cleaning: Clean up your estate plan!

388-3171

acpcc@sover.net • addisoncountypcc.org

• Community Playgroups • Parent Education Classes • Home Visits • Pregnancy Prevention Programs • Parent Training & Child Center

Helping Young Families Get The Right Start

THURSDAY

Hospice Volunteer Services annual meeting and program in Middlebury. Thursday, April 21, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Ilsley Library. Guest speaker Pamela McPherson will read poems from her new collection, “Vigil: The Poetry of Presence.” Info: 388-4111. Gloria Vicente talk on Guatemala in Cornwall. Thursday, April 21, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Cornwall Church. Vicente talks about her work with two groups that work with indigenous groups and foster peace, justice and reconciliation amidst the political and cultural conflicts in Guatemala. Dessert served. “Seminar” on stage in Middlebury. Thursday, April 21, 7:30 p.m., Town Hall Theater. In this provocative comedy drama, recently a Broadway hit, four aspiring young novelists sign up for private writing classes with an unorthodox international literary figure and learn what it takes to be an artist in the literary landscape today. Not suitable for children. Tickets $22, available at the THT box office, 382-9222 or www. townhalltheater.org. Student rush at the door: $12. Also on April 22 and 23.

Apr

22

FRIDAY

Green Mountain Club hike in Orwell. Friday, April 22, time TBA. The Bread Loaf Section will lead a hike at Mt. Independence. Up to 6 miles of easy trails with Lake Champlain views and, weather permitting, Revolutionary War ruins of barracks. Wear layered clothes, hiking poles, water, snack and/or lunch. Dog-friendly hike. Contact leader Jill Vickers at jvickers@gmavt.net or 802-759-3227 for meeting time. More info: www.gmcbreadloaf.org. Fill-a-bag clothing giveaway in Middlebury. Friday, April 22, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Caring Hearts Pregnancy Center, 52 Merchants Row, Suite B. Caring Hearts Pregnancy Center offers free used boys’ and girls’ clothing in sizes infant-5T and maternity clothes. Donations of gently used, freshly laundered, stainfree clothes welcome. Info: information@caringheartspc.org or 802-388-7272. “Off the Wall: Informal Discussions About Art” talk at Middlebury College. Friday, April 22, 12:15 p.m., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Room 125 and museum. Curatorial intern Madison Hampton presents “Look, Don’t Touch: How Aspen Defies What We’ve Come to Expect as the ‘Art Experience.’” Further conversation over light lunch in the lobby. Suggested lunch donation $5; free to college ID holders. Info: www. middlebury.edu/arts or 802-443-3168. Table of Grace free meal in Vergennes. Friday, April 22, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Vergennes Congregational Church. Meals are held the fourth Friday of the month. This month’s menu: roast pork, potatoes, applesauce, vegetable and dessert. Sister-to-Sister STEM event at Middlebury College. Friday, April 22, 7-9 p.m., Chellis House. All Addison County middle-school girls are invited to a science show with female Middlebury College students. Interactive chemistry demonstration, snacks and good company. RSVP to khanta@middlebury.edu or 802-443-5937. “Seminar” on stage in Middlebury. Friday, April 22, 7:30 p.m., Town Hall Theater. In this provocative comedy drama, recently a Broadway hit, four aspiring young novelists sign up for private writing classes with an unorthodox international literary figure and learn what it takes to be an artist in the literary landscape today. Not suitable for children. Tickets $22, available at the THT box office, 382-9222 or www. townhalltheater.org. Student rush at the door: $12. Also on April 23.

Apr

23

SATURDAY

Ladies’ Union Spring Sale in New Haven. Saturday, April 23, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., New Haven Congregational Church. Food table, attic treasures, Rada ware, books, plants, kitchen items, toys, puzzles, furniture, linens, crafts materials and more. No clothing. Indoor flea market and bake sale in Vergennes. Saturday, April 23, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., St. Peter’s Parish Hall. Bargains galore and more. Info: 877-2367. “E-textiles” workshop in Orwell. Saturday, April 23, 10 a.m.-noon, Orwell Free Library. Explore the emerging field of e-textiles with Susan Breen. Sew LEDs into fabric and build simple circuits using conducive thread. Learn basic circuit design and explore the aesthetics of circuits in wearables. Info: 948-2041. Spring into Art festival in Bristol. Saturday, April 23, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., downtown Bristol. Participating businesses in Bristol will celebrate spring in creative and artful ways. Open studios, art activities and more. At Art Sight Studios and Galleries, 6 South St.: “meet the artists” tea at 10 a.m., Celtic harp concert with Bo Price at noon, writers’ open-mike poetry reading at 2 p.m. Rokeby Museum volunteer orientation in Ferrisburgh. Saturday, April 23, 11 a.m., Rokeby Museum. People interested in becoming volunteers at the historic Robinson homestead for the May-October season are invited to come take a brief training course. Info: rokeby@comcast.net. Amka Conference at Middlebury College. Saturday, April 23, 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m., Bicentennial Hall and Dana Auditorium. Umoja, Middlebury College’s African student organization, presents its annual conference. This year’s theme: “Africa Through Film.” Keynote speaker: Nadia Sasso, a Sierra LeoneanAmerican filmmaker and digital storyteller. Blood drive in Middlebury. Saturday, April 23, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Champlain Valley Unitarian Universalist Society. Appointments at redcrossblood.org or 1-800-733-2767. “Hansel and Gretel” on stage in Middlebury. Saturday, April 23, 2 p.m., Middlebury Union High School auditorium. Bald Mountain Theater presents an original, fast, funny and moving adaptation of the folk classic. Part of a regional tour. Tickets $12 adults, $8 children under 16. Suitable for ages 6 and up. Tickets available at baldmountaintheater.org or at the door. “Seminar” on stage in Middlebury. Saturday, April 23, 2 p.m., Town Hall Theater. In this provocative comedy drama, recently a Broadway hit, four aspiring young novelists sign up for private writing classes with an unorthodox international literary figure and learn what it takes to be an artist in the literary landscape today. Not suitable for children. Tickets $22, available at the THT box office, 382-9222 or www.townhalltheater. org. Student rush at the door: $12. “The Lego Movie” in Middlebury. Saturday, April 23, 2-4 p.m., Counseling Service of Addison County. Free screening in honor of Autism Awareness Month. Free popcorn and juice boxes, as well as fine and gross motor toys to play with in the back of the room. Info: Info: 388-0302, ext. 404. “Closed Curtain” screening at Middlebury College. Saturday, April 23, 3 and 8 p.m., Dana Auditorium. An Iranian screenwriter hides from the world in a secluded beach house. His tranquility is shattered one night by a young woman running from the law. Come dawn, another unexpected presence will change

everything. In Persian with English subtitles. Free. Info: www.middlebury.edu/arts or 802-443-3168. “Hansel and Gretel” on stage in Middlebury. Saturday, April 23, 7 p.m., Middlebury Union High School auditorium. Bald Mountain Theater presents an original, fast, funny and moving adaptation of the folk classic. Part of a regional tour. Tickets $12 adults, $8 children under 16. Suitable for ages 6 and up. Tickets available at baldmountaintheater.org or at the door. “Seminar” on stage in Middlebury. Saturday, April 23, 7:30 p.m., Town Hall Theater. In this provocative comedy drama, recently a Broadway hit, four aspiring young novelists sign up for private writing classes with an unorthodox international literary figure and learn what it takes to be an artist in the literary landscape today. Not suitable for children. Tickets $22, available at the THT box office, 382-9222 or www. townhalltheater.org. Student rush at the door: $12. Rupert Wates in concert in Brandon. Saturday, April 23, 7:30 p.m., Brandon Music. Wates performs his eclectic mix of acoustic, melodic art/folk, with flavors of jazz, vaudeville and cabaret. Includes several songs from his upcoming album “Colorado Mornings.” Tickets $20. Reservations recommended at 802-2474295 or info@brandon.music.net. Miles Donahue in concert at Middlebury College. Saturday, April 23, 8 p.m., Mahaney Center for the Arts. Affiliate Artist Miles Donahue, playing saxophone and trumpet, leads an all-star lineup in a concert titled “A Vermont Jazz Experience.” With Sal Difusco, Tim Ray, John Lockwood and Larry Finn. Free.

Apr

24

SUNDAY

Spring wildflower walk in Orwell. Sunday, April 24, 1 p.m., Mount Independence State Historic Site. Amy Olmsted, a nursery professional for more than 20 years, will teach participants how and where to look for early wildflowers, will identify them by common and Latin names, and will discuss their habitat. Admission is $5 adults, free for children. Info: 802-759-2412. Ladies’ Night Out women’s chorus spring concert in Middlebury. Sunday, April 24, 3 p.m., Champlain Valley Unitarian Universalist Society. The chorus, made up of women from all over western central Vermont, presents its spring program, “Poetry in Motion.” Suggested donation $10, $5 seniors and students. Info: 802-342-8348 or lucytune@sover.net. Spring celebration in Bristol. Sunday, April 24, 3:30-5 p.m., Norton Brook Reservoir, the Waterworks Property. Come celebrate the arrival of spring with food, music, poetry, campfire and a bit of dancing around the maypole. Bring a dish to share and pruners, if available, to help clear around the maypole. Info: www.familyforests.org or 453-7728. Chicken and biscuit supper in Middlebury. Sunday, April 24, 5-6 p.m., Middlebury United Methodist Church. All-you-can-eat, buffet-style supper with homemade main dish, side dishes and dessert. Suggested donation: adults $8, children 5-12 $5, under 5 free.

Apr

25

MONDAY

Blood drive in Brandon. Monday, April 25, noon-5 p.m., Brandon American Legion. Appointments at redcrossblood.org or 1-800-733-2767. “On a Queer, Feminist, Socially Engaged Painting Practice” talk at Middlebury College. Monday, April 25, 4:30-5:45 p.m., 78 Chateau Road. Clarity Haynes, a New York-based painter who creates large-scale portraits of women, trans and gendernonconforming people, speaks. YouTube screening of “intersectional” web-based productions at Middlebury College. Monday, April 25, 7-9 p.m., Crossroads Café. Part of the 2016 Gensler Family Symposium on Feminism in a Global Context, “#IntersectionalTV: Mediating Race, Gender and Sexuality.” Symposium runs April 25-29. Info: http://sites.middlebury.edu/gensler2016/2016/03/21/ welcome.

Apr

26

TUESDAY

“Books for Lunch” discussion in Orwell. Tuesday, April 26, noon, Orwell Free Library. Bring a lunch and come to discuss “H Is for Hawk,” by Helen MacDonald. Drinks provided. Info: 948-2041. Milk & Honey Quilters Guild meeting in Middlebury. Tuesday, April 26, 6 p.m., American Legion. Beverly Desforges leads a string quilting workshop. Pattern and supply list will be emailed in advance. Bring your sewing machine and basic sewing supplies. Show-and-tell. Free to members, $15 to others. Info: 453-3954. Movie night for adults in Lincoln. Tuesday, April 26, 6:30 p.m., Lincoln Library. Movie and popcorn. Call the library at 453-2665 for the movie title. Informational meeting on Addison County Readers in Middlebury. Tuesday, April 26, 6:30 p.m., Ilsley Library Community Room. ACR supports the Dolly Parton Imagination Library book program for young children. Refreshments and childcare will be provided. More information: Marita at lmlkids009@ gmail.com

Apr

27

WEDNESDAY

Gallery talk in Middlebury. Wednesday, April 27, noon, Sheldon Museum. Vermont wood historian, educator and self-taught artist Chuck Herrmann will talk about the Sheldon’s exhibit “Out of the Forest: Woodcarvings by Chuck Herrmann.” Free with museum admission. Also on May 18. Info: 802-388-2117 or www.henrysheldonmuseum.org. Homeschool group meeting in Lincoln. Wednesday, April 27, 1-2 p.m., Lincoln Library. The group will continue its study of weather and wind by making pinwheels. Info: 453-2665. StoryMatters meeting in Middlebury. Wednesday, April 27, 4-5:15 p.m., Ilsley Library. Come listen to and share stories on the prompt “Discover.” Info: lar17g@ comcast.net. Curating Islamic art discussion at Middlebury College. Wednesday, April 27, 4:30 p.m., Mahaney Center for the Arts, Room 125.Islamic art historian and museum curator Leslee Michelsen discusses the changing role that contemporary museums play in curating and interpreting Islamic art amidst the sociopolitical realities of the 21st century. Free. Info: www. middlebury.edu/arts or 802-443-3168. CCV information session in Middlebury. Wednesday, April 27, 5 p.m., 10 Merchants Row, second floor. Free session for prospective students and parents. Info: 802-388-3032 or jennifer.stefani@ccv.edu. Computer Help Hour in Lincoln. Wednesday, April 27, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Lincoln Library. Email or call to sign up for a time and to tell us the topic you need help with: lincolnlibraryvt@gmail.com or 453-2665. “Enlightened and Embedded Feminism: Where Are We Now?” lecture at Middlebury College. Wednesday, April 27, 7-9 p.m., Dana Auditorium. University of Michigan Professor Susan Douglas gives the keynote at the 2016 Gensler Symposium, “#IntersectionalTV: Mediating Race, Gender and Sexuality.” Symposium runs April 25-29. Info: http:// sites.middlebury.edu/gensler2016/2016/03/21/ welcome. Poetry reading in Middlebury. Wednesday, April 27, 7:15-8:30 p.m., Champlain Valley Unitarian Universalist Society. Local poet Charles Sabukewicz will read from and sign his new collection of poetry, “In Sleep’s Circumference.” Parking in the MUHS lot. Stone wall building talk in New Haven. Wednesday, April 27, 7:30 p.m., New Haven Community Library. Charley MacMartin, a member of the Dry Stone Walling Assoc. of Britain, will talk about his craft, stone walls in Vermont, and basic dry stone building techniques. All welcome. 453-4015.

Apr

28

THURSDAY

Church rummage sale in North Ferrisburgh. Thursday, April 28, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., North Ferrisburgh United Methodist Church. Proceeds benefit children who will be going on mission trips and attending camps. Also on April 29 and 30. Poetry reading in Middlebury. Thursday, April 28, 1 p.m., Ilsley Library. As part of the library’s National Poetry Month Reading Series, Vermont poet and journalist Julia Shipley will read. Shipley is the author of “The Academy of Hay.” Info: 388-4095. Ownership succession workshop in Vergennes. Thursday, April 28, 2-5 p.m., KB Co-working and Conference Center, Kennedy Brothers, 11 Main St. The Vermont Employee Ownership Center offers this free seminar, “Introduction to Business Ownership Succession Planning.” Special guest: Bram Kleppner of Danforth Pewter. For owners and key managers. Registration required: http://bit.ly/1VxQEtH. SpeakUp! Addison County bingo fundraiser in Middlebury. Thursday, April 28, 4-6 p.m., Middlebury American Legion. Featuring prizes from local merchants. Concessions and raffle. Proceeds will help members attend conferences and workshops to advance their self-advocacy skills. “Thirty-eight: The Hurricane That Transformed New England” talk in Middlebury. Thursday, April 28, 5 p.m., Vermont Folklife Center. Vermont author Stephen Long will share his new book about the only Category 2 hurricane to ever reach Vermont. “The Real Story of ‘The Imitation Game’ and the Enigma of Alan Turing” talk in Hancock. Thursday, April 28, 7 p.m., Hancock Town Hall. Tom Perera, a retired professor of neuroscience and Enigma machine collector, will talk about the movie “The Imitation Game” and share the more accurate history of the cracking of the German Navy’s Enigma code. Free. Info: www.enigmamuseum.com. “An Excursion to Shondaland” at Middlebury College. Thursday, April 28, 7-9 p.m., Crossroads Screening Room. Watch and discuss the pilots of “Grey’s Anatomy” and “How to Get Away with Murder.” Free popcorn. Part of the 2016 Gensler Symposium, “#IntersectionalTV: Mediating Race, Gender and Sexuality.” Symposium runs April 25-29. Info: http:// sites.middlebury.edu/gensler2016/2016/03/21/ welcome. “One for the Road” on stage at Middlebury College. Thursday, April 28, 8 p.m., Hepburn Zoo. An uncomfortable exploration of power and psychological torture: An interrogator uses nothing but language to break down a family’s psyche. Running time: 30 minutes. Tickets $5. Also on April 29 and 30.

Writers reading LOCAL POETS GARY Margolis and Nancy Means Wright will read from their new collections on Sunday, April 24, at 4:30 p.m. at the Middlebury Inn.

community

calendar

Addison Independent, Thursday, April 21, 2016 — PAGE 9A

I’m looking for the person who bought the old Chevy firetruck in Ludlow to restore. I have some photos of it from better days!

Contact me at hiloyelp@yahoo.com!

Surrealism on screen IN “CLOSED CURTAIN,” an Iranian screenwriter who is hiding from the world in a secluded beach house has his tranquility shattered one night by a young woman running from the law. Come dawn, another unexpected presence will change everything. The award-winning 2013 film, in Persian with English subtitles, will be screened at Middlebury College’s Dana Auditorium on Saturday, April 23, at 3 and 8 p.m. “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” on stage in Middlebury. Thursday, April 28, 8 p.m., Town Hall Theater. Middlebury Community Players presents one of the brightest and funniest musicals ever written. Tickets $15 for Thursday shows, $23 for all other performance ($18 for students with ID). Tickets available at the THT box office, 382-9222, or www.townhalltheater.org. Runs through May 7.

Apr

29

FRIDAY

Rummage sale in Salisbury. Friday, April 29, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Salisbury Congregational Church. Drop-off and pick-up of donations available by calling 352-4375. Continues Saturday. Church rummage sale in North Ferrisburgh. Friday, April 29, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., North Ferrisburgh United Methodist Church. Proceeds benefit children who will be going on mission trips and attending camps. Also on April 30. Art history lecture at Middlebury College. Friday, April 29, 12:15 p.m., Mahaney Center for the Arts. Pieter Broucke presents “Orazio Samacchini’s Judith with the Head of Holofernes: An Art Historical Detective Story.” Broucke recounts the multi-year quest that resulted in the reattribution of one of the museum’s earliest acquisitions from 16th-century German artist Hans Von Aachen to Samacchini. Lunch provided; $5 suggested donation, free to college ID cardholders. 2016 Gensler Symposium panels at Middlebury College. Friday, April 29, 1-5 p.m., Axinn 229. Two panels: “Desires that Matter; Visualizing Web-based Intersectionality” and “Casting in the Dark: The Politics of Production.” Part of the 2016 Gensler Symposium, “#IntersectionalTV: Mediating Race, Gender and Sexuality.” Symposium runs April 25-29. Info: http:// sites.middlebury.edu/gensler2016/2016/03/21/ welcome. “Healing Voices” movie screening in Middlebury. Friday, April 29, 1 p.m., Champlain Valley Unitarian Universalist Society, 2 Duane Court, This is a film by people who have lived experience of hearing voices and other experiences commonly labeled as psychosis or mental illness. Co-sponsors Alyssum, a peer hosted hospital diversion service and respite house, and the Counseling Service of Addison County staff will co-facilitate small group discussions following the film. Phil Henry & Gary Moon, and Richard Ruane & Beth Duquette in concert in Bristol. Friday, April 29, 7:30 p.m., Bristol Bakery, 16 Main St. A double billing of Vermont singer-songwriters. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. BYOB. Suggested donation $10. Info: 802-453-3280. Bach Festival opening concert at Middlebury College. Friday, April 29, 8 p.m., Mahaney Center for the Arts. Featuring vocal works of the Renaissance and Baroque periods, performed by the Middlebury Collegium. Free. Info: middlebury.edu/bachfest. “One for the Road” on stage at Middlebury College. Friday, April 29, 8 and 9:30 p.m., Hepburn Zoo. An uncomfortable exploration of power and psychological torture: An interrogator uses nothing but language to break down a family’s psyche. Running time: 30 minutes. Tickets $5. Also on April 30. “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” on stage in Middlebury. Friday, April 29, 8 p.m., Town Hall Theater. Middlebury Community Players presents one of the brightest and funniest musicals ever written. Tickets $15 for Thursday shows, $23 for all other performance ($18 for students with ID). Tickets available at the THT box office, 382-9222, or www.townhalltheater.org. Runs through May 7.

Apr

30

SATURDAY

Green Mountain Club wildflower walk in Waltham. Saturday, April 30, time and meeting place TBA. A 2.5-mile round-trip trek on Buck Mountain, with a few moderately steep ascents. Views of Champlain Valley and Snake Mountain. Contact leader Mike Greenwood for details: mike802vt@comcast.net or 802-989-7434. More info: www.gmcbreadloaf.org. Church rummage sale in North Ferrisburgh. Saturday, April 30, 8-11 a.m., North Ferrisburgh United Methodist Church. Final day: Flat fee of $5 gives you unlimited merchandise. Proceeds benefit children who will be going on mission trips and attending camps. Rummage sale in Salisbury. Saturday, April 30, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Salisbury Congregational Church. Drop-off and pick-up of donations available by calling 352-4375. Electric car and bike demo in Middlebury. Saturday, April 30, 9 a.m.-noon, Mill Street parking lot. Come see Middlebury’s electric vehicle charging stations and meet with EV car owners and dealers. Learn about and test ride electric bikes, including electric-assist cargo bikes. Bike and outdoor gear swap and sale in Middlebury. Saturday, April 30, 9 a.m.-noon, Cannon Park. Between April 25 and 29, drop off bikes you wish to give away or sell on consignment at The Bike Center. Rental tables available for organizations. Proceeds benefit Middlebury Safe Routes. “One World/One Breath” tai chi/qi gong event in Middlebury. Saturday, April 30, 10-11:30 a.m., Middlebury Rec Facility, 154 Creek Road. In celebration of World Tai Chi/Qi Gong Day, people in over 80 countries will take part in this “One World/One Breath” event. Learn about tai chi, observe demonstrations, join in with simple forms. Free for all ages. Info: 989-7532. “Animal Encounters” presentations in Orwell. Saturday, April 30, 10 and 11 a.m., Orwell Free Library. The Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) offers two programs on owls, with live animal demonstrations. “Give a Hoot,” at 10 a.m., is for young children; “Owls and Their Calls,” at 11 a.m., is for all ages. American Cancer Society Relay for Life at Middlebury College. Saturday, April 30, noon-8 p.m., Battell

Beach. Event opens with a Survivors and Caregivers Lap. Luminaria ceremony at 6 p.m. Info: www.relayforlife.org/MiddleburyCollege or 802-872-6321. “Conquering Clutter” workshop in Middlebury. Saturday, April 30, 1-2 p.m., Ilsley Library. Maija Chamberlain, “The Clutter Coach,” will give a free workshop on achieving tidiness and getting organized. Register at thecluttercoachvt@gmail.com or 802-349-5638. Met Opera’s “Elektra” broadcast in Middlebury. Saturday, April 30, 1 p.m., Town Hall Theater. Richard Strauss drama starring soprano Nina Stemme, who portrays Elektra’s primal quest for vengeance for the murder of her father, Agamemnon. Run time 1 hour, 45 minutes. Tickets $24/$10 available at the THT box office, 382-9222 or www.townhalltheater.org. Pre-show talk with refreshments in the Byers Studio at 12:15 p.m. “Royal event” for kids in Bristol. Saturday, April 30, 1-2 p.m., Holley Hall. All area princes and princesses ages 3 and up are invited (with an adult) to come meet princes and princesses from their favorite stories. Entertainment, stories, music, refreshments and photo opportunities. Tickets in advance only, available at the Bristol Rec Office. Children $10, accompanying adults $5. Info: 453-5885 or bristolrec@gmavt.net. Reserve by April 20. Vermont Mozart Festival concert in Middlebury. Saturday, April 30, 7 p.m. Champlain Valley Unitarian Universalist Society. The Vermont Mozart Chamber Players present four of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Milanese” string quartets. Admission is $15 for adults and free for children. Info and tickets: www.vermontmozartfestival.org. “Art and Craft” screening at Middlebury College. Saturday, April 30, 3 and 8 p.m., Dana Auditorium. A documentary exposing the life of Mark Landis, one of the most prolific art forgers in U.S. history. Free. Info: www.middlebury.edu/arts or 802-443-3168. Havurah “Fun(d)raiser” gala in Middlebury. Saturday, April 30, 7-9 p.m., Havurah House, 56 North Pleasant St. Admission $15 per person, $25 for two, includes wine, appetizers and desserts, plus a chance to bid on over 80 items. Proceeds fun Havurah’s educational, charitable and religious programs. Park at Methodist Church. Info: 388-2986 or ejoselson@langrock.com. Bach Festival concert at Middlebury College. Saturday, April 30, 8 p.m., Mahaney Center for the Arts. The Middlebury Bach Choir and Festival Orchestra perform under the direction of Jeffrey Buettner. Tickets $12 public, $10 Middlebury ID holders, free to Middlebury College students with ID. Info: middlebury. edu/bachfest. “One for the Road” on stage at Middlebury College. Saturday, April 30, 8 p.m., Hepburn Zoo. An uncomfortable exploration of power and psychological torture: An interrogator uses nothing but language to break down a family’s psyche. Running time: 30 minutes. Tickets $5. “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” on stage in Middlebury. Saturday, April 30, 8 p.m., Town Hall Theater. Middlebury Community Players presents one of the brightest and funniest musicals ever written. Tickets $15 for Thursday shows, $23 for all other performance ($18 for students with ID). Tickets available at the THT box office, 382-9222, or www.townhalltheater.org. Runs through May 7.

May

1

SUNDAY

Middlebury Maple Run — The Sweetest Half in Middlebury. Sunday, May 1, 9 a.m., starting at Porter Hospital. USATF-certified half marathon and two-person relay on a 50/50 mix of paves and dirt roads. Live music on course, post-race pancake breakfast. Info and registration: www.middleburymaplerun.com. “Hansel and Gretel” on stage in Bristol. Sunday, May 1, 1 and 4 p.m., Holley Hall. Bald Mountain Theater presents an original, fast, funny and moving adaptation of the folk classic. Part of a regional tour. Tickets $12 adults, $8 children under 16. Suitable for ages 6 and up. Tickets available at baldmountaintheater.org or at the door. May festival in New Haven. Sunday, May 1, 1-4 p.m., New Haven Town Hall. Live music, maypole dancing, a spring dessert contest (free to enter, $5 to sample all), plant swap and sale (bring yours), storytelling and songs, family arts and crafts, mini-horse visit and the Shriner clowns. Info or to register a dessert: 453-5978 or 877-3080. “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” on stage in Middlebury. Sunday, May 1, 2 p.m., Town Hall Theater. Middlebury Community Players presents one of the brightest and funniest musicals ever written. ASL interpretation for this show only. Tickets $15 for Thursday shows, $23 for all other performance ($18 for students with ID). Tickets available at the THT box office, 382-9222, or www.townhalltheater.org. Runs through May 7. Gallery talk in Brandon. Sunday, May 1, 3 p.m., Compass Music and Arts Center. Fiber artist Judith Reilly talks about the works in her exhibit “The Girl with the Purple Hair: A Retrospective.” Exhibit runs through May 30. Info: www.cmacvt.org. Organist Nathan Laube in concert at Middlebury College. Sunday, May 1, 3 p.m., Mead Chapel. Laube plays a Bach program that celebrates Mead Chapel’s 45-year-old Gress-Miles organ. Pre-concert lecture at 2:15 p.m. Tickets $20 public, $15 Middlebury ID holders, $6 Middlebury College students. Hospice storytelling event in Middlebury. Sunday, May 1, 5 p.m., American Flatbread. Hospice Volunteer Services hosts “From the Hearth: Stories of Love and Loss at the End of Life,” a Moth-inspired storytelling event where pre-selected community members will tell true, first-person stories on the theme. Cocktails and light fare at 5 p.m., stories at 6:15. Suggested donation $10. Community dinner in Vergennes. Sunday, May 1,

5-6:30 p.m., St. Peter’s parish hall, 85 South Maple St. Bring your family and friends and enjoy a homecooked meal with your neighbors, free of charge. Menu: Turkey-n-biscuits, cole slaw, raisin rum bread pudding, ginger bread and beverages.

May

2

3

TUESDAY

Middlebury Fire Department ham supper in East Middlebury. Tuesday, May 3, 5-8 p.m., Waybury Inn. Fundraiser for the fire department. Dinner served continuously throughout the evening. Tickets $15 adults, $5 kids 10 and younger, and free for kids younger than 3. Tickets at the Caddy Shack, Cole’s Flowers, Goodro Lumber and the Waybury Inn, as well as from any fire department member. Takeout available at the door.

May

4

WEDNESDAY

Gallery talk in Middlebury. Wednesday, May 4, noon, Sheldon Museum. Museum Executive Director Bill Brooks talks about the exhibit “The Curious Cousins of Vermont Outsider Artist Gayleen Aiken.” Exhibit runs through May 21. Talk is free with museum admission. Info: 802-3882117 or www.henrysheldonmuseum.org. Bike safety fair in Middlebury. Wednesday, May 4, 3-4 p.m., Mary Hogan School side lot. Join Middlebury Safe Routes for a bike safety fair after school. Test your skills through our obstacle course. Helmets, safety checks, prizes. “Robert Frost in the World” talk in Middlebury. Wednesday, May 4, 7 p.m., Ilsley Library. Middlebury College professor and biographer Jay Parini explores how Robert Frost became America’s favorite poet by writing accessible poems, creating a uniquely appealing persona and pioneering the public reading of poems. A Vermont Humanities Council First Wednesdays event. Info: www.vermonthumanitiescouncil.org or 802-262-2626.

May

5

THURSDAY

Talk on “Community Belonging and Support of Recovery in Colombia” in Middlebury. Thursday, May 5, at 6 p.m., Counseling Service of Addison County, 109 Catamount Park conference room. Dr. Alberto Fergusson of Bogota, Colombia, will share the inspiring story of his highly innovative and internationally recognized community work with people in Colombia who are homeless and coping with major mental health challenges. Discussion following the talk on local issues. Twist O’ Wool Spinning Guild auction in Middlebury. Thursday, May 5, 6 p.m., 49 Wilson Road. Viewing starts at 6 p.m. Auction starts at 7 p.m. Info: 453-5960. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” on stage at Middlebury College. Thursday, May 5, 7:30 p.m., Wright Theatre. A fresh production of Shakespeare’s classic comedy, directed by Middlebury alumnus Cláudio Medeiros ’90. Tickets $12/$10/$6, available at www.middlebury.edu/ arts or 802-443-3168. “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” on stage in Middlebury. Thursday, May 5, 8 p.m., Town Hall Theater. Middlebury Community Players presents one of the brightest and funniest musicals ever written. Tickets $15 for Thursday shows, $23 for all other performance ($18 for students with ID). Tickets available at the THT box office, 382-9222, or www.townhalltheater.org. Runs through May 7.

May

6

Here’s

w h a t on e r

as to say abo

A reader from Bristol, VT writes, “Best paper in Vermont.”

ut us !

Quotes are taken from reader comments submitted with subscription renewals.

MONDAY

Kelly Boe Memorial Ride in Middlebury. Monday, May 2, 4 p.m., departs from Middlebury Union High School. A ride commemorating those who have been hurt or killed in road bike accidents. Ride loops through Weybridge. Student art exhibit opening in Vergennes. Monday, May 2, 6-7:30 p.m., Bixby Memorial Library. Celebrating the opening of the Addison Northwest Supervisory Union K-12 art exhibit. Music and refreshments. Exhibit runs through May 31. Laurie Patton and Bill McKibben in Middlebury. Monday, May 2, 6:30 p.m., Champlain Valley Unitarian Universalist Society. North Branch School in Ripton brings Middlebury College President Laurie Patton and author and environmentalist Bill McKibben together for “Spirit in Education,” a conversation offering some perspective on the role of religion in education, one of NBS’ year-long curriculum themes. Info: www.northbranchschool.org.

May

Reader eC omments ader h

FRIDAY

Ladies Aid Industria rummage sale in Lincoln. Friday, May 6, 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Burnham Hall. Annual event. Drop-off on Wednesday, May 4, from 1-7 p.m. No electronics. Info: 453-3364. Continues Saturday. “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” on stage at Middlebury College. Friday, May 6, 7:30 p.m., Wright Theatre. A fresh production of Shakespeare’s classic comedy, directed by Middlebury alumnus Cláudio Medeiros ’90. Post-performance discussion Friday only. Tickets $12/$10/$6, available at www.middlebury. edu/arts or 802-443-3168. “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” on stage in Middlebury. Friday, May 6, 8 p.m., Town Hall Theater. Middlebury Community Players presents one of the brightest and funniest musicals ever written. Tickets $15 for Thursday shows, $23 for all other performance ($18 for students with ID). Tickets available at the THT box office, 382-9222, or www.townhalltheater.org. Runs through May 7.

ADDISON COUNTY

INDEPENDENT

VERMONT’S TWICE-WEEKLY NEWSPAPER Middlebury, VT 05753 • (802) 388-4944 • www.AddisonIndependent.com

Middlebury Family Health would like to welcome Dr Peter Wilhelm to our team! Dr. Wilhelm attended UVM Medical School and Family Medicine Residency. He brings extensive primary care experience from his years as a flight surgeon with the US Naval Air Service. Peter will be joining Middlebury Family Health this summer. We are now scheduling his appointments.

About Middlebury Family Health

Established over 20 years ago, Middlebury Family Health has grown into a diversified independent, ALL PHYSICIAN, MULTI-SPECIALTY practice which includes INTERNAL MEDICINE, FAMILY MEDICINE, and PEDIATRICS. We provide comprehensive quality health care to our patients from birth to elderly. We are a certified level 3 Medical Home and Meaningful Use Certified with our Electronic Health Record. Our friendly, knowledgeable staff will be there to guide you through your visit. Come join us today!

We are pleased to announce that all of our doctors are accepting new patients: Dr. Eileen Doherty-Fuller – Family Medicine, Pediatrics Dr Linn Larson – Family Medicine Dr Wendie Puls – Internal Medicine Dr Jean Andersson-Swayze – Family Medicine Dr Katie Miller – Internal Medicine Dr Peter Wilhelm – Family Medicine Please call the office to schedule

802-388-1500 44 Collins Drive, Suite 201 Middlebury, VT www.middleburyfamilyhealth.com

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community

PAGE 10A — Addison Independent, Thursday, April 21, 2016

calendar

We hold on to the green cotton skirt

about the U.S. and Vermont constitutions and how to defend our rights. Five-Town Area Vigil for Peace. Friday, 5-5:30 p.m. Bristol green. All welcome to speak out for world peace. Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles Mobile Service Van. Second and fourth Wednesdays, 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.; Every Thursday, 8:30 a.m.-3:15 p.m. Addison County Courthouse, in Middlebury. The van offers written exams, customer service and road tests. 828-2000. BINGO American Legion Hall, Middlebury. Wednesday. Doors open 5:30 p.m. with early birds. Jackpot $3,000. Food available. Benefits veterans, scholarships and community programs. 388-9311. Brandon Senior Center, Brandon. First and third Mondays. 6 p.m. Refreshments sold. 247-3121. Brandon American Legion. Tuesday, warm-ups 6:15 p.m., regular games 7 p.m. Food available, complimentary hot tea and coffee. Info: 247-5709. VFW Post 7823, Middlebury. Monday. Doors open 5 p.m., quickies 6:15 p.m., regular bingo 7 p.m. 388-9468.

Eclectic and enthusiastic THE PARADIDDLES, MIDDLEBURY College’s all-female a cappella group, performs at 51 Main in Middlebury on Thursday, April 28, from 8-9 p.m. at 51 Main. Senior thesis dance concert at Middlebury College. Friday, May 6, 8 p.m., Mahaney Center for the Arts. Seniors Sky Williams/Celeste Allen and Otto Pierce examine the intersection of contemporary choreography with their varied additional educational disciplines. Tickets $12/$10/$6, available at www.middlebury.edu/ arts or 802-443-3168.

LI VE M USI C Pantet in Middlebury. Thursday, April 21, 7:30-9:30 p.m., 51 Main. Akoma World Music Ensemble in Middlebury. Friday, April 22, 6-7:30 p.m.. Marquis Theater. The Sound Investment Jazz Ensemble in Middlebury. Friday, April 22, 8-10 p.m., 51 Main. Bill in Middlebury. Friday, April 22, 9 p.m., Two Brothers Tavern. Tim Brick in Middlebury. Saturday, April 23, 8:30-10:30 p.m., 51 Main. Isabel Rosenberg in Middlebury. Thursday, April 28, 7:30-8 p.m., 51 Main. The Paradiddles in Middlebury. Thursday, April 28, 8-9 p.m., 51 Main. The Justin Perdue Quartet in Middlebury. Friday, April 29, 7-9 p.m., Marquis Theater. Glenn Roth in Middlebury. Friday, April 29, 8-10, 51 Main. Eric Despard in Middlebury. Saturday, April 30, 6-7:30 p.m., 51 Main. Moose Crossing in Middlebury. Saturday, April 30, 8:3010:30 p.m., 51 Main.

ONGOINGEVENTS By category: Farmers’ Markets, Sports, Clubs & Organizations, Government & Politics, Bingo, Fundraising Sales, Dance, Music, Arts & Education, Health & Parenting, Meals, Art Exhibits & Museums, Library Programs. SPORTS Co-ed volleyball in Middlebury. Pick-up games Monday, 7-9 p.m., Middlebury Municipal Gym. Jack Brown, 388-2502; Bruce at Middlebury Recreation Department, 388-8103.

Addison County Republican Party. Third Friday, 7 p.m., Ilsley Library, Middlebury. 897-2744. American Legion Auxiliary Post 27. Fourth Monday, 7 p.m. American Legion, Wilson Road, Middlebury. Addison County Council Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. Fourth Tuesday, noon-1:30 p.m. Addison County Courthouse in Middlebury. 388-9180. Brandon Lions Club. First and third Tuesday, 7 p.m., Brandon Senior Center. Brandon Senior Citizen Center. 1591 Forest Dale Road. 247-3121. Bristol Historical Society. Third Thursday, 7 p.m., Howden Hall, 19 West St., Bristol. Champlain Valley Fiddlers’ Club. Middlebury VFW, 530 Exchange Street. Third Sunday (except Easter), noon to 5 p.m. Donation $3. Refreshments available. Looking for fiddlers young and old. Open to public. Info: 342-0079. The Hub Teen Center and Skatepark. 110 Airport Drive, Bristol. Open mike night, first Thursday of the month, 5:30-7:30 p.m., free for all ages; reserve a spot at thehub@gmavt.net. Info: 453-3678 or www. bristolskatepark.com.

LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer). Youth support group meets Monday nights, 4-6 p.m., Turningpoint Center, Marble Works, Middlebury. Info: 388-4249. Middlebury Garden Club. Second Tuesday. Location varies. Pat Morrow, 802-462-3741. NEAT (Northeast Addison Television) Channel 16. Fourth Monday, 5-7 p.m. NEAT studio in Bristol. Bruce Duncan, bduncan@madriver.com. Neshobe Sportsman Club. Second Monday, 6 p.m. potluck; 7 p.m. meeting. 97 Frog Hollow Road in Brandon. Otter Creek Poets. Open poetry workshop held Thursdays, 1-3 p.m. Ilsley Library in Middlebury. Poets of all ages are invited to share their poetry for feedback, encouragement and optional weekly assignments. Bring a poem or two to share (plus 20 copies). Led by David Weinstock. Free. Orwell Historical Society. Fourth Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. Orwell Free Library. PACT (People of Addison County Together). Third Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Vermont state office building on Exchange St. in Middlebury, Health Department conference room. 989-8141. Salisbury Historical Society. First Saturday, 9:30-10:45 a.m. Salisbury Congregational Church. Samaritan’s Cupboard. Assembly of God Christian Center, 1759 Route 7, Vergennes. Third Thursday through October. Vergennes Lions Club. First and third Wednesday, 6:45 p.m., American Legion. Club address: PO Box 94, Vergennes, VT 05491. Info: President Tim Cowan, 877-2382. Vergennes Rotary Club. Tuesday mornings, 7:15-8:30 a.m., Champlain Valley Christian School, 2 Church St. Breakfast served at 7:15 a.m.

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CLUBS & ORGANIZATIONS ACT (Addison Central Teens). Drop-in hours during the school years: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, 3-6 p.m.; Wednesday and Friday, 3-7 p.m. 94 Main St. (Middlebury Town Office building), below rec. gym. Teen drop-in space for kids. Hang out with friends, play pool, watch movies, and eat great food. Baking: every Thursday from 3:30-5 p.m. Info: 388-3910 or www.addisonteens.com. Addison County Amateur Radio Association. Sunday, 8 p.m. On the air on club repeater 147.36/147.96 MHz, 100 Hz access tone. Nonmembers and visi- GOVERNMENT & POLITICS tors welcome. Addison Peace Coalition. Saturday, 10:30-11 a.m. Addison County Emergency Planning Committee. Last Triangle Park in Middlebury. Wednesday, 5 p.m. State Police Barracks. Public Citizens for Constitutional Government in Bridport. invited. Thursday, 7-9 p.m. Bridport Community School. Learn

WELLNESS CENTER

A Center for Independent Health Care Practitioners “Wellness is more than the absence of illness.” 50 Court St • Middlebury, Vt 05753 Jim Condon ................... 388-4880 or 475-2349 SomaWork

FUNDRAISING SALES Bixby Memorial Library Book Sale, Otter Creek Room, 258 Main St., Vergennes. Starting April 18, 2015: Monday-Friday, 2-4:30 p.m. (Thursday, 2-6:45 p.m.); and Saturday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Proceeds support library programs and materials. Ilsley Public Library Book Sale. First Saturday, 11 a.m.2:30 p.m., Vermont Room. Ongoing sale in The Last Word during library hours. Info: 388-4095. St. Peter’s Closet in Vergennes. Behind St. Peter’s. Open on Thursdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Two Brothers Tavern’s Charitable Mondays. First Monday. 10 percent of entire day’s proceeds go to designated charity. MEALS Bristol senior luncheon. First Thursday, noon, First Baptist Church of Bristol. Suggested donation $4. 453-5276. Free Community Lunch in Middlebury. Summer: MondaysThursdays at the Charter House, 27 North Pleasant St. (just north of the Middlebury Inn). 11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Eat in or take out. Supported by area churches. Free Community Supper in Middlebury. Fridays, 5-6:15 p.m. Congregational Church Fellowship Hall. Meals provided by over 35 different groups. Info: 388-7634 or 388-7613. CVAA Senior Meals: Bridport: Grange Hall Community Room. Noon meal on Monday and Wednesday. Evening meals on second and fourth Wednesdays at 5 p.m. Reservations: Michelle Eastman at 1-800-642-5119, ext. 1067. Transportation by ACTR: 388-1946. Middlebury: Middlebury Rec Center, Creek Road. Noon meal on Tuesday. Tracy Corbett, 1-800-642-5119, ext. 1070. Free transportation: ACTR, 388-1946. Middlebury: VFW, Exchange Street. Special noon meal on the first Friday of the month. Tracy Corbett, 1-800-6425119, ext. 1070. Free transportation: ACTR, 388-1946. Vergennes: Vergennes Senior Center. Noon meal on Tuesday and Thursday. Michelle Eastman at 1-800642-5119, ext. 1067. Free transportation: ACTR, 388-1946. Bristol Libanus Lodge, F&AM Breakfast. Second Sunday, 7:30-10:30 a.m. Eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, French toast, home fries, juice, coffee and tea. Buffet. $6. Benefits local charities. Middlebury Congregational Church Community Supper. Friday, 5-6:15 p.m. Free. 388-7634. Starksboro senior luncheon. Fourth Thursday, 11:30 a.m., January-October, Starksboro First Baptist Church. 453-6354 or mtgazette@earthlink.net. Vergennes Masonic Lodge Breakfast. Last Sunday, 7:30-10 a.m. Pancakes, French toast, home fries, eggs, bacon, sausage and beverage. All you can eat. Adults $6; children $3. Benefits the lodge’s charitable donations. VFW Fish Fry in Middlebury. Third Friday, 4-6 p.m., Men’s Auxiliary, VFW Post 7823, Exchange Street. $9 per person. Proceeds to benefit the post’s charitable donations. VFW Fish Fry in Vergennes. Second Friday, 5-7 p.m., Sons of the American Legion, VFW Post 14, Armory Lane. $10 per person. Haddock, fries, coleslaw and cash bar. Go online to see a full listing of

ONGOINGEV ENT S www.addisonindependent.com

When my friend cardigans. learned that treatThen I got to a ments were no light green cotton longer working skirt. She brightand the cancer was ened. “I haven’t spreading throughworn that in out her body, she years!” she softly embraced the next exclaimed. “But and final chapter now that I’ve lost of her life with all this weight I grace and equanimthink I can wear it ity. She had been again, next spring, a teacher and a when it warms up.” writer whose great She pointed to love was to inspire the save pile. others in their jourI puzzled over ney of learning. this. Half an Her last weeks of hour earlier she Ways of Seeing life held this lesson spoke about not for me. being around for By Priscilla Baker During a visit, in Christmas. Now early September, she was thinking we sat at her dining table while she about wearing a certain item of ate a few bites of lunch. She talked clothing next spring, a good many about how her body was chang- months away. ing, how the cancer was growThat’s when it struck me. You ing and she was now officially can hold onto the stark truth of on hospice. She said she had put your death for only a few minutes all her affairs in order including at a time. It’s impossible to look heartfelt conversations with her into its dark pool for long periods, husband and children. Her candor so you do so for a few minutes, and directness were not surprising. and then return to living your life, She had always been a realistic and whatever it is at that time. You self-aware woman. With a bit of might read The New York Times sadness, she reflected on how she and rant at delusional politicians, would not be around for Christmas, plan a trip to Florida or to deer so she was thinking about early gift camp, or imagine finishing a projgiving. She reflected on how she ect. It’s not that doing this is a form was filled with gratitude for all the of denial about one’s impending love and beauty in death which, most her life. “It’s been likely, will occur a very good run.” before the next She finished election or setting by saying she hat’s when off on a trip or hoped I would sewing one more it struck help her with a quilt. It’s that our particular, and minds, by nature, me. You somewhat dauntcreate the future. can hold onto ing, task. “I want Even while death to go through my the stark truth sits in the doorcloset.” way, we cradle of your death With some other possibilieffort, we got for only a few ties. We wait a her up the stairs minutes at a little longer, for and propped up a grandchild to among pillows time. arrive or an annion her bed. She versary to be celepointed to a spot brated — or the on the bedroom Red Sox to win floor and said she the pennant. Our wanted me to make three piles: one beings continue to lean forward, for throwaways, one for the thrift even as we die. shop, and one for things she would My friend died three weeks after still wear. we sorted through her clothing. I took out the first item, a well- She didn’t wear the green cotton worn jersey top, and held it up. skirt the following spring. But “Too ratty,” she pronounced. she had the pleasure of imagin“Throw away.” ing putting it on one more time, The next item was a sundress. wearing it as she walked through She reflected on when and where town, perhaps stopping to admire she bought the dress and how newly leafed-out sugar maples and much she enjoyed wearing it. She intoxicating lilac bushes. assessed that it was still in pretty Priscilla Baker is program direcgood shape. “Thrift shop.” tor of Hospice Volunteer Services And so it went, through many where, since becoming a hospice more items. The “save” pile was volunteer in 2003, her experiences slight compared to the other two with people at the end of life has piles: a couple pairs of elastic- taught her a little about death and waisted pants and two or three a lot about living.

T

wellness

directory

Caryn Etherington ................... 388-4882 ext. 3 Therapeutic Massage & Bodywork Nancy Tellier, CMT ......................... 388-4882 ext. 1 Therapeutic Massage, CranioSacral Therapy, Ortho-Bionomy®, Soul Lightning Acupressure Donna Belcher, M.A. ............................ 388-3362 Licensed Psychologist - Master, Psychotherapy & Hypnosis Charlotte Bishop ....................... 388-4882 ext. 4 Therapeutic Soft & Deep Tissue ...or 247-8106 Neuro Muscular Reprogramming JoAnne Kenyon, NCTMB, LMT(NM)..... 388-0254 Be your best! Energy Balancing: Brennan Healing Science®, Quantum Touch®, Matrix Energetics®. Relaxing Integrative Massage. www.joanne.abmp.com

DONNA BELCHER, M.A. Psychologist-Master

Gail Rex...................................... (802) 989-1989 Licensed Acupuncturist, Herbal Medicine

Donna Belcher, M.A., psychologist-master, has been in private practice in Vermont for 34 years. She has felt privileged to work with a wide variety of people. She has experience with such challenges as: depression, anxiety, grief, chronic illness, divorce, caregiver burnout, work stress, mid life transitions and developing a deeper connection with creativity and life purpose.

If you’d like to be listed in this Wellness Directory, call Pam at 388-4944.

Somaworks • Middlebury, VT 388-3362 • most insurances accepted

Karen Miller-Lane, N.D., L.Ac. .............. 388-6250 Naturopathic Physican, Licensed Acupuncturist, CranioSacral Therapy. Ron Slabaugh, PhD, MSSW, CBP........ 388-9857 The BodyTalk™ System Irene Paquin, CMT 377-5954 or 388-4882 ext.1 Integrative Energy Work & Therapeutic Massage. Ortho-Bionomy® & Reiki Master Robert Rex................................. (802) 865-4770 Certified Rolfer™, Movement Educator

Addison Independent, Thursday, April 21, 2016 — PAGE 11A

ND

AROU

Goings on

TOWN

Something special going on in your send it in! life? Send it in at:

Does your group or organization have something happening that’sAddison appropriateIndependent for the calendar? We want Box 31 please, send to hear about it! If P.O. you have a picture, Middlebury, Vermont 05753 that too. Pictures and text may be emailed to: or email it to: news@addisonindependent.com news@addisonindependent.com

MARY SWANSON OF Middlebury has designed WomenSafe’s 2016 Mother’s Day card, titled “Hazel and Jena.”

Benefit Mother’s Day Card focuses on co-operation MIDDLEBURY — WomenSafe of Middlebury presents the 2016 Mother’s Day card in the nonprofit’s 15th annual Local Women Artists Series. “Hazel and Jena,” by Addison County artist Mary Swanson, beautifully captures a mother and her new baby. Swanson’s house speaks clearly of her love of art. The space is full of light with a calmness. In her work she has experimented with a variety of materials, from brilliant artwork with linoleum to intricate explorations with oil painting. She is a meditation teacher, counselor, director, producer, writer, poet and visual artist. Through her work and friends, Swanson has had the opportunity to travel to many beautiful places. She then translates these environments into breathtaking artwork. Swanson created the art piece that is featured on this year’s Mother’s Day card specifically with motherhood and the work to end domestic and sexual violence in mind. It speaks beautifully to how we all can work together to create healthy and safe relationships and communities. Swanson is the mother of two brilliant daughters and one extraordinary grandson. She lives in Middlebury. You are invited to honor your mother or any special person in your life who has offered the gifts

STONE STRUCTURES CREATED by Hinesburg waller Charley MacMartin, such as this Lincoln footbridge, use the complementary forces of gravity and friction. MacMartin will discuss dry stone wall building in a talk at New Haven Community Library on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

Learn dry stone building basics in New Haven NEW HAVEN — On the evening of Wednesday, April 27, Charley MacMartin will present the basic principles behind building a dry-laid stone wall in a talk at the New Haven Community Library. Creating a lasting structure of function and beauty draws upon a waller’s

two best friends: gravity and friction. MacMartin will discuss the challenges involved in Vermont, where the types of stone are as diverse as the terrain. There will be plenty of time for questions and sharing stories about favorite walls in our state. The talk begins at 7:30 p.m. and is free

and open to the public. MacMartin is a dry-stone waller based in Hinesburg and a professional member of the Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain. His stonework emphasizes the use of local stone and the preservation of historic stone walls. He leads a series

of introductory stone wall workshops each winter in Hinesburg. His stonework has been featured in Seven Days and on Vermont Public Radio. The New Haven Community Library is accessible. For more information call 453-4015.

Lt. Col. Caputo discusses Air Guard’s mission Earns DAR award MARY SWANSON of love to you and those for whom you care. In doing so, you are helping people who may not be safe this Mother’s Day. Send a donation to WomenSafe at P.O. Box 67, Middlebury, VT 05753, along with the name and address of your chosen honoree. WomenSafe will then acknowledge your gift by sending them this heartfelt card. Editor’s note: This piece was contributed by Carol Rule.

milestones births

• Sara Kimball & Daniel Tompkins, Bridport, April 7, a daughter, Dixie Mae Tompkins. • Amber Jimerson & Todd Smith, Bristol, April 11, a daughter, Sabel Blaise Jimerson-Smith.

FERRISBURGH — Lt. Col. Laura Caputo of the Vermont Air National Guard spoke at the April 9 meeting of the Seth Warner – Rhoda Farrand Chapter of the DAR at the Assembly of God Christian Center in Ferrisburgh. Caputo’s current role is with the Air Guard’s Community Outreach program. Caputo gave a short history of the Green Mountain Boys, spoke of the Air Guard’s missions after 9/11 and during Tropical Storm Irene, and talked about some of the “everyday heroes” of the Guard. The goal of the Community Outreach program is to educate Vermonters about the Air Guard and to dispel any misconceptions about what they do. Caputo has been in the Air Force for 23 years. She commissioned as an officer in 1992 after attending the University of Illinois on a 4-year ROTC scholarship. Following the completion of her bachelor’s degree DAR REGENT JOY Minns, right, presents Lt. Col. Laura Caputo of the in biochemistry, she attended Air Vermont Air National Guard with a certificate for outstanding service at a Force pilot training at Columbus recent meeting of the Seth Warner – Rhoda Farrand Chapter of the DAR.

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Air Force Base in Mississippi. She spent the next 15 years travelling the world and flying T-37, KC-10 and C-21 aircraft in support of multiple worldwide operations throughout the Middle East and Europe. In 2008 Caputo re-trained into a new career field as an intelligence officer. She currently serves as the senior intelligence officer for the 158th Operations Support Squadron, and as part of the Fighter Wing’s Community Outreach Team. This is a fairly new program and Caputo is one of the first community outreach officers. Joy Minns, regent of the Seth Warner – Rhoda Farrand Chapter, presented Caputo with an award certificate for Outstanding Service to Our Community and to Our Nation.

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PAGE 12A — Addison Independent, Thursday, April 21, 2016

National leaders discuss education locally Patton, McKibben to consider role of religion

DREAM VACATION RAFFLE Co-chairs Elissa Cobb, left, and Stevie Spencer stand with Hawaiian vacation winners Nancy and Chip Malcolm and Milne Travel CEO Scott Milne at the recent Lu’au, an annual fundraiser for area hospice services, at the Middlebury Inn.

A lucky lady wins Hawaii vacation MIDDLEBURY — This year’s winner of a Hawaiian vacation, raffled off in support of area hospice services, is Nancy Malcolm of Middlebury. The Malcolms will be jetting off to the islands thanks to trip underwriter Milne Travel. The winning ticket was drawn at the annual Lu’au, sponsored by Middlebury Inn. One hundred seventy guests were treated to numerous culinary delights, donated by area restaurants and farms, and beverages donated by local breweries and wineries.

The true benefactors of the Dream Vacation Raffle are Addison County hospice patients and families. The funds raised from the Dream Vacation Raffle will be used to sustain excellent end-oflife care for the residents of Addison County. With community support from raffle ticket buyers, Lu’au attendees, sponsorships and countless donations from area businesses, Hospice Volunteer Services and Addison County Home Health & Hospice are able to raise money to support area hospice services.

In addition, an online component to the auction through Bidding for Good helped fundraising efforts expand beyond county lines. The patients, volunteers, staff and boards of Hospice Volunteer Services and Addison County Home Health & Hospice say mahalo (“thank you,” in Hawaiian) to the community for their continued support of hospice services in Addison County. Editor’s note: This piece was contribute by Kim Nichols of Addison County Home Health & Hospice.

Ill-conceived ‘Demolition’ missed mark fellow swamped by his creDemolition; Running ators in emptiness as they time: 1:41; Rating: R throw him into violent situ“Demolition” is a metaations designed to ignite phor all dressed up in its his emotions. best clothes by the filmmakWhen the hospital caners who probably thought dy machine denies him audiences wouldn’t get it his pack of M&Ms, Daunless they hammered it vis embarks on a series of home relentlessly. Let’s go complaints to the manustep by unfathomable step. facturer. His repeated letThe opening scene presters grow in length and ents Davis Mitchell (Jake personal revelation until a Gyllenhaal) and his wife By Joan Ellis young woman named KarJulia (Heather Lind) in en (Naomi Watts) begins familiar driving and chatting mode. In one of life’s terrible to respond. That’s as close as Damoments, a truck hits them; Julia is vis comes to expressing feeling. No hospitalized and dies. It’s at this point such luck for his boss Phil Eastwood that Davis enters an altered state that (Chris Cooper) who also happens to will last for most of the movie. Is he be Julia’s father. Cooper handles that wracked with guilt? Or, oddly, is he tough assignment well by trying to understand his son-in-law’s odd beunable to feel any emotion at all? That’s where director Jean-Marc havior. In that already imperfect scenario, Vallée and screenwriter Bryan Sipe wrap poor Davis in the metaphorical director Vallée indulges in some rotinability to feel anything. From that ten stuff that just doesn’t belong on time forward Davis is a zombie of a film in the current cultural climate.

Movie Review

Dining & Entertainment

TH E AT E R

OWN HALL

Merchants Row Middlebury, VT Tickets: 802-382-9222 www.townhalltheater.org

Thu-Sat 4/21, 22 & 23 @ 7:30pm & Sat 4/23 @ 2pm $22

Consider: Davis taking Karen’s young son to the woods in bulletproof vests and shooting each other repeatedly with bullet balls that knock them over; or Karen’s thug of a boyfriend beating up her gay son; or Davis, still unable to feel, handing Karen’s vulnerable son a sledgehammer and inviting him to help destroy the perfect glass house where he and Julia had lived. Is our takeaway from all this that the true path to learning to feel is physical violence? The astonishing part of this illconceived movie is that the actors who carry it are known by all of us to be genuinely accomplished. Jake Gyllenhaal, Chris Cooper, and Naomi Watts are praised repeatedly for doing excellent, often inspired work. Why did none of them see the problems here? Didn’t anyone consider talking to screenwriter Bryan Sipe — at the very least — about the wisdom of highlighting a recreational man/boy loaded gun duel in the woods? And the house. No doubt it was made especially beautiful so its destruction would seem even sadder. Isn’t this a perfect chance to ask some serious questions about the role movies play in igniting trends in the violent world that now surrounds us? Please, Mr. Sipe, don’t think you have written a metaphorical masterpiece. Your metaphors are too long, too excessive and too obvious. You don’t need to hit your audiences with the sledgehammer you used to demolish the house.

MIDDLEBURY — The North Branch School (NBS) of Ripton presents “Spirit in Education: A Conversation with Laurie Patton and Bill McKibben” on Monday, May 2, at 6:30 p.m. at the Champlain Valley Unitarian Universalist Society in Middlebury. Laurie Patton is the 17th president of Middlebury College and an authority on South Asian history, culture and religion. Bill McKibben is a Schumann Distinguished Scholar at Middlebury College, an environmental activist, and a best-selling author. This event is the third and final in an NBS series expressing gratitude to the community for supporting the school over the past 15 years. “This final event will offer some perspective on the role of religion in education — one of the North Branch School’s year-long curriculum themes,” said Tal Birdsey, head teacher and co-founder of the school. “This conversation by two eminent scholars is a celebration of active thinking, reflection and authentic dialogue.” “We are extremely grateful to have our alumni parent, Bill McKibben, discuss this important educational theme with Dr. Patton,” Birdsey said. Every third year the North Branch School focuses on comparative religion. Students are encouraged to explore theological issues and questions: Who, or what is god? What is my holy grail? How do we reconcile the observable, physical world with notions of faith and the spirit? How is religion both a force of unity and division among humans? “We feel that early adolescence is a crucial time for kids to be thinking about who they are and want to be in terms of questions that have been posed by philosophers and theologians for millennia,” said Birdsey. In this, the 15th year of the school, the speaker series has highlighted important educational movements and ideas in the community and state. In October the school sponsored a screening of Zeno Mountain Farm’s film “Becoming Bulletproof” at the

“Big Laughs! An authentic rush of pleasure.” – New York Times

TOWN THEATER Thu-Sat 4/28, HALL 29 & 30, 5/5, 6 & 7 @ 8pm; Sun 5/1 & Sat 5/7 @ 2pm Middlebury, Vermont $15 Thu; $23 adults/$18 students w/ ID for all other shows seeks a

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM

Technical director/ facilities manager

Applicants for this full-time, year round position should have the ability to maintain and operate all theatrical systems (lighting, sound, projection), Community Players Middlebury and have experience with set Don’t miss one of the funniest musicals ever written. construction. Other responsibilities include: facilitate load-ins, runs, strikes and turnarounds; provide tech for meetings andSat receptions; 4/30 7pmcreate $15/Adults Free/Children internship program in technical theater; maintain building by making repairs or hiring contractors. A janitorial service will clean the building, but this individual will make sure that the theater, studio THT welcomes the VMF to theday Middlebury Champlain Valley and gallery are ready each for public use. This historic theater will UU Church re-open in July, 2008, so the position will be filled as soon as possible. Limited benefits. Send cover letter and resume to: Sat 4/30 1pm $24/$10 Students Douglas Anderson, Executive Director Town Hall Theater PO Box 128 Middlebury VT 05753 or email materials to danderson@townhalltheater.org “Nothing prepared me for the seething intensity, 802-388-1436

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ELEKTRA

psychological insight and sheer theatrical inventiveness of this production” – Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times

BILL MCKIBBEN Town Hall Theater. The second event in the series featured a presentation on Vermont’s Act 77 Personalized Learning mandate and its implementation in schools throughout the country. The final event will begin with a reception at the UU, followed by a short film, titled “Life Is the School,” about the North Branch School. It was made by local filmmaker Ned Castle in conjunction with the Vermont Folklife Center. Immediately following the film, McKibben and Patton will discuss how education at both the secondary and higher education levels is evolving, and the role of religion and

spirituality in these places of learning. There will be a question-andanswer period following the discussion. The event is free and open to the public. Seating will be available on a first come, first served basis. North Branch School officials thank Patton, McKibben and the Doug Fund of the Vermont Community Foundation for making this event possible, and the CVUUS for hosting this event. The North Branch School, founded in 2001, is a nonprofit, independent school serving middle school age children (grades 7-9) in Ripton. For more information about the school, visit www.northbranchschool.org.

Porter auxiliary will host Derby Day fun MIDDLEBURY — If your upcoming travel plans do not include a visit to the infield at Churchill Downs in Louisville for the 142nd running of the Kentucky Derby, then plan to come to Cornwall on Saturday afternoon, May 7, for the annual “Kentucky Derby Day Benefit” sponsored by the Porter Medical Center Auxiliary. The event is open to the general public and all are encouraged to participate in this unique and enjoyable benefit hosted by Sue and Bruce Byers in Cornwall. As always, guests will be able to wager on their favorite horse — and then cheer on the winner during a live broadcast of the “Run for the Roses” at approximately 6:30 p.m. According to Auxiliary President Jan Bark, this year the Auxiliary has invited local businesses and indi-

viduals to participate as sponsors to assist the Auxiliary in covering the expenses associated with the event. “We want to express a special thanks to our sponsors: Two Brothers Tavern, Otter Creek Brewing and Woodchuck Hard Cider Co.; Mackey Insurance; J.P. Carrara and Sons; and two very generous anonymous donors,” she said. “We also want to thank the Waybury Inn for their generous underwriting of a portion of our expenses and their outstanding service during the event.” Proceeds from this event will be donated by the PMC Auxiliary to support a project at either Porter Hospital or Helen Porter. “Over the past 30 years, the Auxiliary has donated nearly $1 million in support of Porter Medical Center,” said PMC Board Chair Maureen McLaughlin. “We are deeply thankful for the on-

going and generous support of our Auxiliary.” Tickets are $45 per person and may be purchased by calling the Porter Hospital Public Relations Department at 388-4744 or online at portermedical.org. For more than 50 years, the Porter Medical Center Auxiliary has supported the work of Porter Hospital and Helen Porter Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center via donations for new equipment, programs and services. The Derby Day event is only one of the projects that generate funds; additional funds are generated by the Round Robin Upscale Resale Shop and other special events. The Auxiliary is governed by a board of approximately 20 volunteer women and men who oversee the projects and funds of the Auxiliary.

Author to discuss the big one: the Hurricane of 1938 MIDDLEBURY — The Vermont Folklife Center in Middlebury will host Vermont author Stephen Long for a presentation on his new book, “Thirty-Eight: The Hurricane That

SEMINAR

Presented by Middlebury Actors Workshop

LAURIE PATTON

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• Agway • Kubota • Sears PLUS Addison County Relocalization Network’s

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Spring High School Sports Report (a special publication of the Addison Independent)

Transformed New England,” on Thursday, April 28, at 5 p.m. The 1938 hurricane was New England’s most damaging weather event ever. To call it “New England’s Katrina” might be to understate its power. Without warning, the storm plowed into Long Island and New England, killing hundreds of people and destroying roads, bridges, dams and buildings that stood in its path. Not yet spent, the hurricane then raced inland, maintaining high winds into Vermont and New Hampshire and uprooting millions of acres of forest. In Vermont, flooding from “Thirty-Eight” was comparable to that of Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, but it also tore up the landscape with winds exceeding 100 mph, the

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VERMONT’S TWICE-WEEKLY NEWSPAPER

only time in recorded history that a Category 2 hurricane has reached Vermont. With archival photos, extensive research and firsthand accounts by survivors, the author makes the storm and its aftermath come alive. Long’s book is a groundbreaking account of the cataclysmic hurricane and its long-reaching impact on New England’s forests. His talk is presented in conjunction with the exhibition “Shedding Light on the Working Forest,” which will be on display at the Vermont Folklife Center through April 30. Stephen Long is co-founder and former editor of Northern Woodlands magazine. He lives in Corinth with his wife, novelist Mary Hays.

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Addison Independent, Thursday, April 21, 2016 — PAGE 13A

Vergennes

By the way

(Continued from Page 1A) ery” wing, which until about a decade ago hosted the Kennedy Brothers factory store. Long ago it served as a dairy creamery for the Kennedy family farm. Feuerstein’s wife and property co-owner, Lillian Kennedy, is a member of that family. Vergennes City Manager and Zoning Administrator Mel Hawley said retail and manufacturing, as well as the other uses Shacksbury is proposing, are all conditionally permitted in the Northern Gateway Zone in which the property lies. The project only needs a permit because of the use change from retail, Hawley said. The Vergennes Development Review Board has set a public hearing on the application for May 2 at 7 p.m. at Vergennes City Hall. According to the application, the three-story creamery wing includes 3,344 square feet on the first floor and 2,600 square feet on each of the second and third floors. Davis said Shacksbury, which he and David Dolginow founded in 2013 and began selling products in 2014, would first occupy at the ground floor and possibly some of the second level. “That’s still a little bit up in the air,” Davis said. “We’re kind of going back and forth on exactly what this first phase is going to look like.” Given that Davis said sales this year are up 400 percent over last year and Shacksbury has successfully penetrated markets that include Boston, New York and California, plans do call for the company to expand into the rest of the building in the next year or two — and possibly add onto the building at some point. “One of the things we like about that property is there’s some additional room to build,” Davis said. There were also other things Davis said Shacksbury liked about Kennedy Brothers, including the structure and location at the city’s northern gateway on Route 22A. “We were looking for a place where there is a story, with some history,” he said. “We like that about Kennedy Brothers, that it’s had a long history in town, and the fact it’s been a creamery before, we thought that was cool. And the space itself, it’s a little rundown now, but we think it has a lot of potential to be a really beautiful showcase for our brand. And we felt it was a good

(Continued from Page 1A) Scott Center, Baloch facilitates Islamic and interfaith programming and retreats, and also advises the Islamic Society of Middlebury. Before coming to Middlebury last year, she worked at Tufts University and Northeastern University. She has also worked for the Pakistan Senate, in the International Development sector in Pakistan, and in various capacities as a researcher at Harvard University and Williams College. The Addison County Firefighter’s Association will host its 46th Annual Regional Fire School this Saturday and Sunday at Middlebury Union Middle School. More than 250 firefighters from across the county and beyond will attend numerous classes on many important topics. These classes will be taught by experienced instructors from across the county, state and as far away as South Carolina.

KENNEDY BROTHERS CO-OWNER Bob Feuerstein, above, and Shacksbury Cider Co-owner Colin Davis have applied for a zoning permit that they hope will pave the way for the cider company to move into the former creamery end of the prominent Vergennes building. Independent photo/Trent Campbell

place in terms of traffic and visibil- great for Vergennes,” Feuerstein ity.” said, adding, “It will be a lot of fun Davis added that it was time for having them there. He’s got all sorts the company, which of plans for events.” uses specialty apples, “I think it will Assuming a permit is many of them long- be great. It will awarded and the lease forgotten varietals the details are ironed out, be great for company owners beFeuerstein will act as lieve are ideal for cider, the building. the general contracto make a move that It will be great tor for work that could will include adding sev- for Vergennes. begin soon. Davis and eral employees to the It will be a lot Feuerstein have been three already on board. discussing a deal for of fun having “We need to do somemonths, and now Davis thing from a produc- them there… would like to get the tion standpoint. We’re He’s got all wheels in motion. operating out of several sorts of plans “I would love to be in buildings right now, and for events.” there by August,” Davis it’s not very efficient,” — Kennedy said. Davis said. Brothers co-owner OTHER TENANTS Feuerstein believes Robert Feuerstein SIGN ON Shacksbury will make For Feuerstein and both an ideal addition to the site and Kennedy, completing the Shacksa draw for the city. bury deal will be one of their big“I think it will be great. It will gest successes since acquiring the be great for the building. It will be Kennedy Brothers property in a

family deal in December of 2012, although they have made steady progress on the north end of Main Street. They have recently inked two other new tenants, The Clock Shop and a web design and software firm called Brault and Barnes Design. Brault and Barnes will move into a second-floor office space sometime in mid-May. The Clock Shop will be leaving its longtime home on Green Street, and on or about May 1 will move into a first-floor space with a separate entrance at the rear of the Kennedy Brothers building. The Clock Shop’s move will allow its Green Street neighbor, Bar Antidote, to expand its operations, notably its kitchen, according to Feuerstein. The Clock Shop’s new space abuts Feuerstein and Kennedy’s latest venture, KB Co-Working, on the first floor next to the Creamery. Feuerstein said KB Co-Working

is still finding its footing. “It’s a little slow. The conference rooms are doing pretty well. We’re getting something almost every week,” he said. “I’m sure it’s going to slowly grow. Like everything else, it’s taking longer than I’d like, but it’s just the nature of the beast.” Feuerstein and Kennedy’s other new venture, the KB Café, at the other end of the building, is dealing with the mid-winter blues that most Vermont eateries experience, Feuerstein said. But only a handful of rental slots remain available in what is almost an acre of square footage in the building, and his assessment of the progress at Kennedy Brothers in the past three-plus years is positive. “I can’t complain,” Feuerstein said. “I can’t complain at all.” Andy Kirkaldy may be reached at andyk@addisonindependent.com.

The nation’s best fly anglers will be returning to upstate New York during the first week of June for the U.S. National Fly Fishing Championships, and organizers are looking for volunteers to assist anglers over the three-day catchand-release competition. Anglers will be fishing on the Ausable, Saranac and Salmon rivers while wading, and Mirror Lake and Lake Colby from boats. No experience is required of volunteers other than a love of the outdoors. Volunteers will receive an event hat, t-shirt and pin along with a chance to win some of the amazing gear from event supporters. For information on volunteer opportunities visit www.usffc2016.com or contact Ken Crane at kcrane377@ gmail.com or 315-725-7392. Weybridge resident Grace Weber will appear at the South Burlington library at 2 p.m. Saturday to give a slideshow and talk on her efforts and the efforts of a volunteer organization, Libera, to make Italy free from the Mafia. A fluent speaker of Italian, Weber volunteers for Libera, which holds properties confiscated from convicted mafia bosses and rededicates these lands to activities in the public interest, operating with volunteer labor.

PAGE 14A — Addison Independent, Thursday, April 21, 2016

Drama students win state show, move on to New England festival By LEE J. KAHRS BRANDON — Many who have seen the latest offering from Otter Valley’s theater students would say their success at the Vermont State Drama Festival was, well, inevitable. The one-act of the same name — “Inevitableâ€? — created by the students themselves under the direction of OV Theater Director Jeff Hull and Assistant Director Anita Hughes, won the State Champion Show at the festival in St. Johnsbury on April 9 and has been chosen for the New England Drama Festival in Old Saybrook, Conn., on April 23. This is only the second time that Otter Valley’s Walking Stick Theater group has won the state theater title. The ďŹ rst time was back in 2013 with the successful one-act “David & Lisa.â€? That show was responsible for Walking Stick being chosen to perform at the Fringe Festival in Scotland. “Inevitableâ€? is unique in many ways. It is a movement-based performance with very little spoken word. It visually tells the story of a young man struggling with his sexuality and the pressure from peers to conform, and their rejection of him. He contemplates

“This is the most amazing student/ adult event piece I have seen.� — Judge Miriam Cyr, artistic director of The Black Box Lab at Stage 284 in Boston

hurting himself, until the friends that care about him help him ďŹ nd his way. But the show speaks not only to adolescent struggles with sexuality, but the general fears and uncertainties about self-identity that come with high school years as teenagers try to discover who they are. It is powerful, moving and in many ways groundbreaking, as it was created by the students, for students. The judges at the state drama festival agreed. Steve Stettler is the artistic director of the Weston Playhouse. “Wow,â€? he wrote. “I salute you and your students for creating a deeply meaningful new work of art, for daring to examine this theme and to do

it largely in movement. A truly major achievement. Organic, strong, meaningful, truly extraordinary.� Judge Miriam Cyr is artistic director of The Black Box Lab at Stage 284 in Boston. This was beyond moving,� she wrote. “It was perfect in every way. Its beauty was arresting. This is the most amazing student/adult event piece I have seen.� There were other state awards for Walking Stick as well. Principal actors Jacob Miner, Ben Francoeur and Sierra Norford received Excellence in Acting. Owen Kulp received Excellence in Lighting and Stage Management. Hull himself said his students’ performance in St. Johnsbury was “phenomenal�. Now, the group must raise $3,000 to send the 20 student actors to the New England Drama Festival in Connecticut on April 23, and a Go Fund Me website has been established to that end. The money will be combined with other fundraising efforts for the trip. THE CAST OF Otter Valley Union High School’s “Inevitable� show their winning banner from the Vermont To make a donation, visit https:// State Drama Festival in St. Johnsbury earlier this month. The students have been invited to perform the piece www.gofundme.com/r6ygdbpa. they created at the New England Drama Festival in Connecticut on April 23.

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Addison Independent, Thursday, April 21, 2016 — PAGE 15A

Culprits disrepectful of veterans MIDDLEBURY — Two separate incidents that Middlebury police are investigating show disrespect to veterans. First, on April 11, police received a report that some American flags had been torn off of veterans’ graves at the West Cemetery near the intersection of South Main Street and Service Road — just south of Middlebury College campus. The, police were called to an Airport Road home on April 17 to look into a burglary during which the culprit(s) stole a Purple Heart decoration — a medal given to a member of the U.S. armed services who is injured. The thief also reportedly took miscellaneous jewelry, Dewaltbrand tools and black powder rifles. Anyone with information about these crimes is asked to call police at 388-3191. In other action last week, Middlebury police: • Checked on the welfare of a resident who had made some suicidal comments on April 11. • Assisted in locating a juvenile who had walked away from a Counseling Service of Addison County (CSAC) worker on Exchange Street on April 11. • Assisted a local woman who reported receiving unwanted text messages from an ex-boyfriend on April 11. • Were informed on April 11 of the recent theft of a metal A&W Restaurant sign from the exterior of the Route 7 South eatery. • Investigated an online stalking complaint reported by a Middlebury woman on April 11. • Received a call on April 11 about a man allegedly seen walking a bike across the Cross Street Bridge, pretending he was pointing a gun to his head and leaning over the bridge. Police said a CSAC counselor who was fortunately in the area at the time was able to intervene. • Were informed that someone

Middlebury Police Log

smashed a window out of a work truck parked at a Seymour Street business on April 12. • Received a report on April 12 that someone had made some fraudulent withdrawals from a local resident’s checking account. • Received a report that someone had broken into a construction trailer parked off McIntyre Lane and damaged a window on April 12. • Assisted CSAC workers with a mental health patient in Catamount Park on April 13. • Investigated a local resident’s complaint of fraudulent debit card use on April 13. • Assisted a resident who said he had been scammed by an on-line business on April 14. • Investigated a trespassing complaint in the Court Street area on April 14. • Helped calm a neighborhood dispute on Jackson Lane on April 14. • Investigated a report that two Middlebury Union Middle School students had sent each other inappropriate images on April 14. • Investigated the report of an intoxicated man on Merchants Row on April 15. • Responded to a report of an outof-control student at Middlebury Union High School on April 15. • Cited Cheryl Barrows, 51, of Salisbury for retail theft and driving with a criminally suspended license, following a stop on Route 7 South on April 15. Police said Barrows was suspected to have taken a Radio Flyer wagon from the Agway store on Exchange Street. Police said they recovered the wagon. • Responded to a report of parentchild argument at a Lower Foote

Street residence on April 16. • Investigated a report of a vehicle driving into the Middlebury Inn building off Court Square on April 16. Police said that while the vehicle was damaged, no one was hurt. • Cited Heath Bougor, 35, of Middlebury for petit larceny, for allegedly stealing items from a Delancey Lane resident’s truck on April 16. • Called Middlebury Regional EMS officials to assist a “highly intoxicated” man seen walking down Shannon Street on April 16. Rescue officials took the man to Porter Hospital. • Responded to a one-vehicle crash, with minor injuries, on Case Street on April 16. • Seized alcohol from minors during a traffic stop on College Street on April 16. • Served a no-trespass order on April 17 on a person not wanted at McDonald’s Restaurant. • Reported, to the local game warden, an alleged fishing violation while responding to a noise complaint on Creek Road on April 17. • Responded to a report of a drunken, out-of-control Middlebury College student on campus on April 17. Police said they found the young woman “very uncooperative,” and took her to the Rutland Regional Medical Center after she was denied entry at the Grace House and Marble Valley Correctional Facility in Rutland. • Issued court diversion paperwork to a drunken Middlebury College student who had allegedly been causing a disturbance in the Washington Street area on April 17. • Located a drunken man who had lost his sense of direction on Springside Road on April 17. A sober person helped the man find his way home, according to police. • Warned the hosts of a loud college party on Washington Street on April 17.

Assaults keep city police busy VERGENNES — Vergennes police on April 15 dealt with an assault and a separate dispute at which a blow was allegedly struck. In one incident, they cited Christopher Zeno, 49, of Vergennes for repeatedly punching another man. Police said Zeno argued with the other man because he had allegedly stolen something from Zeno. The other man during the argument pushed Zeno, and Zeno then allegedly began punching, police said. Police cited Zeno for simple assault and released him with conditions. In the other case, police responded to a Mountain View Lane incident in which two men were arguing and one allegedly struck the other. The man who apparently had been hit, however, said he was unhurt and in no pain. In other incidents between April 11 and 17, Vergennes police: • On April 11 calmed and separated a mother and daughter who were arguing at a West Main Street residence. • On April 12 and 13 went to the same Main Street apartment building twice because of the odor of marijuana, but could not pinpoint which apartment was the source. • On April 13 began dealing with a complaint of the regular odor of marijuana in the Armory Lane senior housing complex. Police said they have not been able to determine the source, but have been patrolling the complex regularly.

LETTERS?

Vergennes Police Log

• On April 13 checked the welfare of a 4-year-old child at a Main Street apartment on behalf of the Department for Children and Families; police determined the child was fine. • On April 14 dealt with a minor two-car accident on South Water Street. • On April 15 ticketed a driver for a counterfeit inspection sticker and for lack of insurance. • On April 15 helped a motorist get into a locked car on Main Street. • On April 16 cited Chase Gallison, 24, of South Burlington for driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with a criminally suspended license. Police said they stopped Gallison’s vehicle for driving the wrong way on a one-way stretch of East Street, and alleged that his evidentiary blood-alcohol test read 0.136. The legal limit for driving is 0.08. • On April 16 responded to the intersection of Route 7 and Little Chicago Road in Ferrisburgh to help the Ferrisburgh and Vergennes fire departments deal with an out-of-control brush fire. • On April 16 investigated a fight at the Vergennes Union Elementary School playground in which one individual was injured and referred

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the incident to the Addison County State’s Attorney. • On April 17 helped a motorist get into a locked car in the Shaw’s Supermarket parking lot. • On April 17 responded to a complaint of ATVs being ridden on the road in the Hopkins Road area, but they were gone when police arrived.

Hanging on ICICLES CLINGING TO a branch at the edge of Lake Dunmore melt into the water below as winter gives way to spring. Kathy Dick of Salisbury captured the photo on April 10, before more sustained seasonable weather came to Addison County.

Salisbury

Have a news tip? Call Mary Burchard at 352-4541 NEWS

SALISBURY — The Salisbury town office will be closed on Tuesday, May 10, as the town clerk will be at a training session. The office will be open on Friday, May 13, from

9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The town is looking for an assistant town clerk. Any person interested in this position should contact Town Clerk Sue Scott at the office

during regular hours or call 3524228. The town landfill will resume Wednesday hours on May 4. It will be open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

PAGE 16A — Addison Independent, Thursday, April 21, 2016

Monkton Town Wide Yard Sale set May 19 MONKTON — The community members of Monkton have joined together once more to offer another Monkton Town Wide Yard Sale on Saturday May 14, from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Monkton Fire House at 3747 State’s Prison Hollow Road and at homes throughout Monkton. Monkton Girl Scout Troop 30166 will be hosting this year’s sale, and all proceeds from vendor sign-up fees and food sold throughout the day will go toward their end of year whitewater rafting trip and events throughout the summer months. A limited amount of tables are available for $10 each at the Monkton Volunteer Fire Department, both

inside and outside. Early sign-up is recommended. Vendor setup will take place Friday, May 13, from 5-7 p.m. for those inside and 7 a.m. on Saturday morning for those outside. Vendors need to be set up and ready to sell by 8 a.m. on Saturday. The Girl Scouts will be at the Monkton Firehouse, where breakfast, lunch and snack items will be available throughout the day. Monktonites who wish to host a yard sale at their home and be listed on the yard sale map can purchase a sign for $10. Signs will be delivered to homes the week before the sale. Only those who have signed up by May 11 and paid for a sign will be included on the map.

Last year’s Town Wide Yard Sale was a huge success with more vendors than any other year, and organizers say they would love to host an even bigger event this year. They ask Monkton residents to help get the word out to those that may be interested in either being a vendor or attending this year’s event. Yard-salers can pick up a map detailing where sellers are located at the Monkton General Store or at the fire department on the day of the sale starting at 8 a.m. To participate in this year’s sale, contact Jamie Steadman at 802-3386731 or jls_2499@hotmail.com. Write “Monkton Yard Sale” in the subject line.

board will have to regroup.” The Bristol water system would be upgraded and expanded in three parts, Simpson explained. Part one would be to replace the old water main along West Street, from Airport Drive to Maple Street. The six-inch cast iron pipe would be replaced with an eight-inch main made of ductile iron, now the industry standard. Simpson said that according to GME’s study, eight-inch pipe would be adequate to meet current use and future expansion. The second part of the project would encompass stormwater upgrades along the same West Street stretch. Simpson explained that the Agency of Transportation is due to resurface West Street in around 2018 and that it would make more sense for the town to replace the water main and upgrade the stormwater system before VTrans resurfaces the roads, so that “new pavement wouldn’t have to be ruined and then repurchased.” Simpson described the street as “terribly rutted, which causes pools and puddles of water.” The stormwater upgrades would include seven or eight new underground structures, he said, connected by drainage pipe leading to existing outfalls. Simpson said that no new outfalls would be created for the stormwater upgrade. The stormwater upgrades also will make the system compliant with the Vermont Clean Water Act, also known as Act 64, which became law last summer. The third part of the project would extend the town water system to Lovers Lane so that town land di-

rectly behind the new fire station could be developed for a proposed Bristol business park. In his presentation, Simpson explained that in order to build the business park the town, water line must be extended to Lovers Lane because the parcel slated for business park development lies within the source protection area for the well that currently serves the Woodland Apartments. The Woodland Apartments well protection area extends all the way up the hill “almost up into the fire station’s parcel,” said Simpson. The new eight-inch line, said Simpson, would also be able to supply further development along Lover’s Lane. When queried by residents at Monday’s meeting, Heffernan emphasized that the much-needed replacement of the West Street main is separate from the construction of the new fire station on West Street. “I want to make it clear that the upgrade to the West Street waterline isn’t due to the fact that the new fire station is there. That was a planned upgrade because the line is old and because we’ve been having problems. I know there’s been some concern that we put the fire station in and we had to upgrade the line because we didn’t take into consideration the size, and that is not the case,” Heffernan said. The selectboard will hold a second hearing on the proposed repairs and expansion of the town water system on Monday, May 2, at 7 p.m. at the town offices in Holley Hall. Reporter Gaen Murphree is at gaenm@addisonindependent.com.

Bristol (Continued from Page 1A) “losing about 100 gallons a minute.” “If we’re pumping water into the ground, it’s a resource and dollars at the same time,” added Town Administrator Therese Kirby. Selectman Joel Bouvier described the recent findings of a free study by a firm called 64seconds (a Massachusetts company that makes utility management software) showing that leaks and fractures along the West Street line cause the town to lose hundreds of thousands of gallons of water a day. “The last report we got from 64seconds way back last spring was we’re pumping somewhere around 600,000 gallons a day and we’re selling about 350,000 to 400,000 gallons,” said Bouvier. “We’re losing 200,000 gallons or so into the ground.” According Kirby, Bristol would likely not have to pay the entire $1.1 million for the project, but it does have to bond for the entire sum. That is because Bristol is eligible for a federal rural development grant of up to 45 percent of the cost. That, along with other funding sources, would leave Bristol responsible for $585,156. According to an information sheet mailed to residents, around 56 percent of the town’s share of the cost would be covered by taxpayers, the other 44 percent would be paid by water department user fees. “It’s kind of crazy in a way, but we have to have a positive bond vote first and then get the package,” Kirby said. “Obviously, if (the cost is) way off from what we think, the select-

Thank You: On behalf of the board, staff and volunteers of WomenSafe, we would like to thank all those listed below and to those who remain anonymous for their generosity through giving of their time, in-kind gifts and monetary resources in 2015. Your continued support ensures that our community has the resources needed to serve people who experience violence. Through your generous gifts, you make a difference and play an important role in strengthening our community’s safety as WomenSafe works to prevent, address and end dating, domestic and sexual violence. 3 Squares Café 51 Main at the Bridge A&W Advanced Answering Center & Central Vt Comm. Almost Home Market American Flatbread American Legion Auxiliary No. 27 Antidote Bristol Bakery & Café Champlain Discount Foods Champlain Valley Equipment Cole’s Flowers Costello’s Market Cubbers Douglas Orchards Dreams To Reality Excavating Emeraldrose Gifts Fire & Ice Restaurant Gaines Insurance Agency Grapevine Grille Green Peppers Restaurant Hannaford Food and Pharmacy Happy Valley Orchard Middlebury Lions Club Middlebury Bagel and Delicatessen Middlebury Floral & Gifts Middlebury Indoor Tennis Middlebury Inn Middlebury Natural Food Co-op Middlebury Sweets Mister Up’s Monument Farms Dairy Orb Weaver Farm Rosie’s Restaurant Salamander Construction Shaw’s – Bristol Store Snaps Restaurant Storm Café Subway Swift House Inn The Diner The Minneapolis Foundation - Richard & Gloria Borden Fund The Quilters’ Corner at Middlebury Sew N Vac The Vermont Community Foundation - recommended by Cynthia & Michael Seligmann - recommended by Paula & George Bellerose - recommended by Caryn Etherington The Waybury Inn Two Brothers Tavern United Methodist Women ************************************* Martha Alexander Dana Allen Elaine Anderson - in honor of Karen Anderson, a survivor! Meredith Anderson - in honor of Annie Marie Schrader David Andrews - in honor of Laura Asermily Scott Barkdoll Janet Beers Winkler & Frank Winkler

Anna & John Benson - in memory of Isabel Stevie Betsey S. Benton Pam Berenbaum - in honor of Edna Schaffler Robert Bernstein Melanie & Edward Bessette Carol Birdsall G. Dale Birdsall Jennifer & Erik Bleich Emily Blistein & Drew Palcsik - in honor of Naomi’s years of service Margaret Borden Priscilla Bremser & Steve Maier Mary Louise & Graham Bright Barbara & Crispin Butler Suzanne & Bruce Byers - in honor of our volunteers Margaret A. Camara Bobbie Carnwath Foresta Castañeda & Sean McCaffrey Sue & Tom Colley - in honor of Jill Colley Robinson Sharon Compagna Carolyn Crowley & Glen Ernstrom Kitty & Eric Davis Becky & Chris Dayton S. Victoria DeWind Magna & David Dodge Anne Driscoll - in memory of Betty Jo Lynn Dunton & Charles Biss Kerri Louray & Jason Duquette-Hoffman Rita & John Elder Marilyn Freeman Joan Furchgott & Brad Sourdiffe Macky & Scott Gaines Tammy & Gary Grant - in honor of Bernadette LaBerge Christina R. & Keith Grier Michele Hadeka Liz & Derek Hammel Patricia A. Heather-Lea & John Lea J. Higbee - in memory or Kim Krans Martha Hill Cynthia Huard - in honor of Barbara Huard Eleanor & David Ignat Ingrid & Woody Jackson - in honor of Linda Purderson & Martha Graf John Kellner & Dayle Klitzner - in honor of Tillie Klitzner Bronwen & Gregor Kent Stephen E. Ketcham Barry & Warren King Susan Klaiber & Molly Bidwell Margaret & George Klohck Diane & Jeffrey Krans - in memory of Kimberly Krans Audrey LaRock Patricia & Guntram LeBon-Herb - in memory of Barbara LeBon John C. Lewis, Jr.

Christa Q. Little - in honor of Gale Quenneville Nancy & Chip Malcolm Yvonne & Raymond Many Gail & Ken Martin - in honor of all the volunteers at WomenSafe! Amy & Brian Mason Debbie & Frank Mazza Sheila & Chris McGrory-Klyza Leila & Joe McVeigh John & Mireille McWilliams Bethany Barry Menkart Linda Namy - in memory of Sam Lawton Thomas Noble -in honor of Naomi Smith Betty & Victor Nuovo Alison & Saul Nurok Susan & Michael O’Daniel Ellen Oxfeld Amethyst Peaslee Ann & John Perkins Melody & Clayton Perkins - in memory of my stepfather who raised 4 strong women! Mira & Paris Rinder-Goddard Rayna Rogowsky - in memory of Tobi Rogowsky Karen S. Rowland Yvon J. Royer Mary Kay Schueneman Robin Shalline & Jere Urban Patricia & Dave Sharpe Lauren Slayton Priscilla Slocum Cynthia Smith & Dale Goddard Leanne Smith Naomi Smith - in honor of JoAnn Dulin Linda Snider - in memory of Lois Simons Wendy Stone - in memory of Sandy Ward Julia Sturges Susan & Roberto Veguez Suzanne Ward

PO BOX 67 MIDDLEBURY, VT 05753 TEL: 802-388-9180 Hotline: 388-4205 or 800-388-4205

ENIGMA MACHINE RESEARCHER and collector Tom Perera will give a talk on Alan Turing and his efforts to crack Germany’s Enigma code on Thursday, April 28, at the Hancock Town Hall.

Collector to give a talk on his enigma machine HANCOCK — Friends of the Hancock Free Public Library present “The Real Story of ‘The Imitation Game’ and the Enigma of Alan Turing” on Thursday, April 28, at 7 p.m. at the Hancock Town Hall. The 2014 movie “The Imitation Game” tells the story of the cracking of the German Navy Enigma code and the extraordinary contributions of mathematician Alan Turing to this endeavor. In order

to keep the audience interested and involved, the movie has allowed some inaccuracies and omissions both in the history and in the masterful portrayal of the eccentric mathematician Alan Turing by Benedict Cumberbatch. This talk will trace the actual history of the cracking of the Enigma code and attempt to fill in some of the enigmatic aspects of Turing’s personality. Tom Perera is a retired profes-

sor of neuroscience who specialized in research on the coding of information in the human brain and nervous system. He has been hunting for, collecting, researching, restoring and selling Enigmas for over 25 years. He located, restored and sold the Enigma that stars in the “Imitation Game.” He provides extensive Enigma information through his Enigma book, his lectures and his website, www. enigmamuseum.com.

Annual Maple Run on tap Sunday, May 1 MIDDLEBURY — The eighth edition of the Middlebury Maple Run – The Sweetest Half is scheduled for Sunday, May 1, with a starting time of 9 a.m. The Middlebury Maple Run is one of New England’s “must-do” races with an estimated 800 to 900 runners expected for this year’s race. Every year race organizers add a few new features so that the race day experience is fresh and fun — keeping runners returning year after year. More than 600 runners have run the event two or more times during the event’s seven-year history. Some of the new and upgraded amenities being offered this year include: An easy-to-follow 14-week training program A pre-race pasta dinner the Saturday night before at Cornwall Elementary School. The dinner will benefit the school’s farm-to-school program, which will allow the school to purchase more local foods to serve

in its cafeteria. A bottle of WhistlePig rye whiskey, provided by event sponsor WhistlePig Farms, to the oldest male and female finishers. In 2015 the oldest woman was 70; the oldest man was 77. And back this year by popular demand: A post-race party meal featuring a pancake breakfast. The Rotary Club of Middlebury will be cooking and serving pancakes complemented by locally produced maple syrup. Live music along the route provided by Middlebury College student bands. Support from the business community is essential to the event’s success. There are many expenses incurred prior to race day, such as professional services, logistics, equipment and marketing. IPJ Real Estate and Addison Advisors return this year as title co-sponsors. Support is also provided by Deppman

& Foley, Omya, Addison County Chamber of Commerce, Cabot Cheese, Middlebury Fitness and WhistlePig Farms, as well as media sponsor Addison Independent. The proceeds from the Middlebury Maple Run are donated via grants to Addison County-based nonprofits. In 2014 race organizers distributed $8,500 to eight deserving groups; in 2015 six groups received $4,800. Local lodging properties, restaurants and merchants will reap benefits as well. Approximately 40 percent of the runners come from out of state — the majority from neighboring New England states and New York. Many runners will be traveling with family and friends resulting in more than 1,000 visitors in the area during race weekend. The Addison County Chamber of Commerce estimates the Middlebury Maple Run provides direct economic impact to the area of at least $100,000.

17, section 2680d (read the law in question online at http://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/17/055/02680). “The town has only voted to decide money issues by Australian ballot,” said Barrett. “So in order to change that we would have to have a townwide meeting that determines whether or not we’re going to vote public issues by Australian ballot. And then that would have to be prior to actually voting on the Vermont Green Line. So it would stretch the timeline out considerably.” Barrett said that the timeline needed for the additional vote would stretch the timeline out 60 days — that’s 30 days to warn and have a vote on whether to decide public issues by Australian ballot, then an additional 30 days to warn and vote on the public issue of whether to approve the VGL converter station itself. The VGL developers have also been considering Middlebury as an alternate local. And, while the VGL partnership agreed earlier to abide by the townwide Australian ballot vote, as called for at town meeting, they have let it be known that as far as they’re concerned the clock is ticking. “If (the results of this survey) is overwhelmingly for or against then we’re going to go along with what the town says,” Barrett said. “If it’s a close vote — what’s a close vote? I don’t know. It depends on the voter turnout. If we have 20 people come and it’s 9 to 11, that doesn’t tell us much. But if we have 800 people come and it’s 300 to 500 that’s a clearer message. We’ll just have to see what the voter turnout is and what the vote is.” According to Barrett, the vote is open to all New Haven residents (Barrett wanted residents to un-

derstand that voting as a New Haven resident has nothing to do with whether one is registered to vote). She said there are around 1,700 residents in New Haven and that typically, on Town Meeting Day, voter turnout is consistently over 50 percent — more if there’s a controversial issue. The selectboard hasn’t defined what number of voters they would consider a good turnout but instead encourages all New Haven residents to participate in the survey. “We would like to see a really good turnout because if you don’t make your voice be heard through the survey you can’t complain about it afterwards, whatever the result is,” Barrett said. “We’re making this available. And hopefully a lot of people will turn out and let their voices be heard, positive or negative, however they feel it in their heart to answer the survey.” Barrett said that residents could still force the issue to be brought to Australian ballot by petition, but that would involve the same two-part vote over a minimum of 60 days that the selectboard is trying to avoid. The New Haven-VGL Term Sheet is available on the town website. Print copies are available at the town office during regular hours and will be available at all three information sessions. Information sessions remain as previously scheduled. The first information session will be this Saturday in the town hall at 1 p.m. Barrett said that the selectboard hopes that the town’s sound expert will be available at the meeting. The other two information sessions, also at the town hall, will be held Tuesday, May 10 at 6:30 p.m., and Monday, May 23, at 6:30 p.m. Reporter Gaen Murphree is at gaenm@addisonindependent.com.

New Haven (Continued from Page 1A) residents of the Town of New Haven support entering into an Agreement with the Vermont Green Line Devco LLC (Anbaric) substantially in accordance with the term sheet signed by the selectboard on April 13?” The survey will be available and can be completed on any of six days next month: Monday through Thursday, May 16-19, and Monday, May 23, at the town office during regular business hours; and Tuesday, May 24, at town hall from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. When asked if technically, the survey would be nonbinding, selectboard Chair Kathy Barrett answered, “Technically it’s a survey, yes. It would be nonbinding.” Asked what would be the intent of the survey, Barrett clarified, “We would like to know the sentiment of the town.” The Anbaric Transmission/National Grid partnership has been developing the Vermont Green Line, a high voltage power line that would bring renewable power from upstate New York to Southern New England with a critical converter station in New Haven. Town officials last week signed a term sheet with VGL developers that promised payments of $1.4 million per year to the town for 40 years and $4 million to build a new fire station and a new town garage, among other things. But VGL representatives have said they want to move ahead with their project. After consulting with town attorney Cindy Hill and with the Vermont Secretary of State’s office, the selectboard early this week learned that in order for a town to vote on what Vermont statute defines as a “public question,” the town would first have to vote on whether to vote all such “public questions” by Australian ballot, Barrett said. The statute in question is title

Addison Independent, Thursday, April 21, 2016 — PAGE 17A

Science (Continued from Page 1A) Arnold thought it would be great to offer a local program or camp to help plug that leaky pipeline. Late last year, she made a pitch on the college’s work study website seeking an assistant to help create a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) camp tailored to middle-school-age girls (grades 5-8). Melanie Jane (M.J.) Pascual, a freshman computer science major, responded to Arnold’s appeal. Pascual had been looking for a way to make a difference through the college’s Community Engagement Office. “I had been doing STEM outreach, specifically in computer science, for two years,” Pascual said, referring in part to past volunteer work in her high school in Oakland, Calif. “I was really into it.” As a result, Arnold didn’t have to give Pascual a lot of prompting or direction on the MiddSTEAM camp assignment. “M.J. locked in on it right away,” Arnold said. “This was right up her alley. This was a perfect project to give to her to bring her up on her organizational skills, how to contact people and develop a curriculum. She has been a rock star; she has embraced it.” Over five months, Pascual took a lead in putting together a week-long camp that would fire up all the pistons in the STEAM genre. She recruited several college faculty members and officials from Vermont Integrated Architecture (VIA) to put some STEAM in the new camp’s engine. Among those on the camp roster are Michele Dube, assistant in Science Instruction in Chemistry/Biochemistry; Costanza-Robinson; Andrea Murray of Vermont Integrated Architecture, or VIA; Professor of Mathematics Priscilla Bremser; and a variety of Middlebury College students majoring in science, math and

artistic fields. Instructors declined compensation, meaning the $150 tuition per student will help support Middlebury Parks & Rec. SCIENCE SURPRISES Organizers decided to hold the camp this week, which happens to be spring break for area public schools. Nine girls signed up. And since organizers didn’t want to make campers feel like they were spending their school vacation inside a classroom, the instructors focused on putting fun in learning. Take Tuesday morning, for example. The nine young campers who showed up at “Chemistry to the Rescue!” were told they would spend a couple of hours learning about “polymers.” Polymers are a class of natural or synthetic substances composed of large molecules that are multiples of simpler chemical units called monomers. The campers were told that polymers make up many of the materials in living organisms and provide the foundations of such man-made materials as concrete, paper and plastics. But rather than staring at a blackboard or the periodic table, the campers put polymers into practice. They mixed glue, water, food coloring and then borax to make “gluep,” a PlayDoh-type substance the girls gleefully kneaded, bounced and stretched. Each of them held their polymerladen gluep in the air and timed how long it took for the substance to stretch six inches. The more viscous the substance, the slower the stretch, they learned. “Chemistry never gets old; it’s always cool,” Costanza-Robinson exhorted her charges as they put their rubbery spheres to the test. Campers also learned one of the sweeter rewards of science. Costanza-Robinson recited a new

CLARE MOLINEAUX, right, 12, stretches out a piece of “gluep” with the help of Middlebury College senior Kae Fink while TC Finn, 11, looks on during MiddSTEAM camp Tuesday morning in Middlebury. The camp is designed to get middle school girls excited about science, technology, engineering, arts and math. Independent photo/Trent Campbell

MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE JUNIOR Rachael Morris helps middle school students Madysen DeBisshop, left, and Lia Robinson measure the components of a science experiment during a science camp at Middlebury’s new town recreation center Tuesday morning. The week-long camp aimed to encourage middle school students to explore the sciences.

Independent photos/Trent Campbell

experiment using what she described as “equal suspension of protein, sugar and fat that is shown to be non-toxic and orally appealing.” They watched wide-eyed as some of Costanza-Robinson’s college students added the ingredients to a bowl and vigorously stirred in some liquid nitrogen to create a smoky, mysterious, frigid brew. It didn’t take long for the liquid to whisk into a solid, tasty payoff — ice cream. And the instructors just happened to have some chocolate sauce, whipped topping and bowls to allow the campers to share in the techno-treat. The girls also learned that it would be foolhardy to challenge Dube in a “find the hidden water in the cup” trick. Campers watched as Dube poured a small amount of water into one of three identical, red plastic cups lined up on a table. She then shifted the cups around repeatedly, cautioning the campers not to lose track of the one containing the water. After around 30 seconds of shifting, she stopped and asked the girls to pick the cup with the water. Nope. Nil. Nada. All three were empty. But unlike most magicians, Dube revealed her secret: She had placed a polymer substance — just like the one used to create absorbency in diapers — into one of the cups prior to pouring in the water. It had soaked up all the water. Science 1, leger de main 0.

MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE STUDENTS Rachael Morris, left, Betty Kodia and Kae Fink make ice cream with the help of a bottle of liquid nitrogen during a science camp for middle school girls at Middlebury’s new recreation center Tuesday morning.

Clare Molineau, a Mary Hogan Elementary 6th-grader, enjoyed the fun introduction to chemistry. “I’m a science-y type of person,” she said, “and I like ice cream, obviously.” Clare particularly liked making gluep. Amanda Kearns, also in grade 6, had nothing planned for spring break. “I thought, ‘Why not try out a camp?” she said. “It seemed like it would be fun.” Amanda conceded she was at MiddSTEAM Camp more for the arts than the sciences. She wants to pursue a career in theater and/or dance. “I think (science) is a fun hobby,” she said. Alex Bonavita, also in grade 6, aspires to becoming a photographer and basketball player. But science camp was fun this week. Asked to name her favorite part about the chemistry program, she replied “Everything.” IN THE CLASSROOM Costanza-Robinson said her classes at Middlebury have virtually an equal men-women ratio. It’s after college that some women tend to bail on careers in chemistry and other sciences, she said. At the teaching ranks, there also appears to be about 50-50 ratio of men and women at the associate professor level, but one tends to see more men when it comes to tenured faculty in many colleges and universities, Costanza-Robinson noted. “There are a lot of folks trying to figure out why, and trying to reverse it,” Costanza-Robinson said of the relative paucity of women in chemistry-related fields. “We want anyone who is fascinated (by chemistry) to feel welcomed by it.” Costanza-Robinson doesn’t expect every one of her students to pursue a career in the sciences, but she at least hopes they gain an “understanding that there is a molecular reason why everything in the world does what it does.” “Wonder is the start of it all,” she said. Other activities at the MiddSTEAM Camp included digital spatial analysis, improvisational comedy, sensory perception in the brain, jewelry making, introduction to architectural design, “math bingo,” the study of DNA, Adobe Photoshop, and saving the “Physics-verse” from evil “Dr. Entropy.”

AMANDA KEARNS, 11, and Middlebury College student Rachael Morris measure the amount of elasticity in a piece of “gluep” during science camp in Middlebury Tuesday morning. “Gluep” is made with Elmer’s glue, water and borax.

Arnold said she hopes to offer the camp on a seasonal basis, and also open it up to boys. “It has really worked out perfect-

ly,” Arnold said. “And I am really proud that as a parks and recreation department, we can offer something a little bit different.”

PAGE 18A — Addison Independent, Thursday, April 21, 2016

Voodoo (Continued from Page 1A) “Although the (practice) has been VODU FUNDAMENTALS stigmatized, it is functionally identiThe word “voodoo” or “vodu” — cal to mainstream ritual sacrifice such as it is more properly spelled — origi- as Kosher or Halal,” he said. nated with the Fon and Ewe peoples Once the sacrifice is complete, the of Benin and southwestern Nigeria meat is usually eaten, he added. and directly translates to the English Although sacrifice is a major diword, “spirit.” The term refers not to mension of the practice, the term can a religion in a Western, monotheistic apply to many things other than sacsense— which can be separated from rificing an animal. From giving up other aspects of one’s everyday life — certain foods or dear habits to offering but to a holistic worldview, Sena said. old clothing, the ritual of sacrifice is Although the highly complex spiri- considered to be essential for evolutual system takes a lifetime to master, tion and personal development, said it contains a few fundamentals that are Sena. “If you want to gain something, more easily explained. you have to give something.” At the core of vodu, there is a physIn my case, I sat down for a divinaical world and a spiritual world that tion session with a very experienced are interconnected, Sena said. “Every- and highly regarded babalawo in Hathing that has a material surface has a vana. The results of that session respiritual surface.” quired me to work with a babalawo to Not too dissimilar from the ancient offer a white hen to Eleguá in order Greek pantheon of gods, goddesses to ensure that he continue to guide me and deities, vodu is polytheistic and down the best possible path during recognizes a large numthis chapter of my life. ber of distinct vodus, In Cuba, where many spirits or orishas — each “Knowing that people practice santería, we, as halfwith its own name, hisit was easy to find a tory, personality and Ghanaian, chicken for this purpose function. However, un- half-Japanese and other necessary malike the Greek gods who people terials. were feared and apIn Middlebury, on coming from peased, spirits within the the other hand, it can be a traditional vodu spiritual system can much more challengbe controlled and em- background, ing, said Sena. Living ployed to solve problems we really on campus and not havif one possess the proper have a unique ing access to a car make knowledge. it difficult to find and perspective “All of these orishas, keep livestock. So, while and unique in many ways, you can they’re here, he and Pele say that they’re indepen- opportunity to refrain from performing dent of us but in other present this animal sacrifices, he exways, you can say that information plained. they’re inherent to our to people who However, when situaconsciousness and that tions arise that do call for don’t.” we just acknowledge a blood sacrifice, they’ve them and do rituals for — Sena Voncujovi developed a few workthem, so that, they in around strategies. turn, can help us,” Sena said. “The In his dorm room, Sena keeps a practice of controlling and manipulat- small bottle of cow blood blended ing spirits to use in your daily life is with moonshine as a preservative and what we call vodu. a container of corn powder mixed “Back home, the practice … is not a with chicken blood, which can be religion. It’s more like a way of life.” used as stand-ins. Lacking actual Mawu Ese is the female spirit blood, Sena said a combination of who is regarded to be the creator of palm oil and corn powder is an achumankind and the God of Destiny. ceptable, temporary replacement. In Within vodu, each person’s destiny is moments when a real animal sacrifice considered to be pre-determined but is non-negotiable, the brothers send a re-writeable through the tools of divi- Facebook message to their father in nation and sacrifice, he said. Ghana to perform the ceremony on Sometimes, a divination session their behalf. will call for the blood sacrifice of WHY CUBA? an animal. In these situations, it is “There has never been a country I believed that the atse — an energy have thought about more before visitunderstood to permeate the universe ing than Cuba,” said Sena, explaining — of the animal is transferred to a that the spiritual and historical conspecific vodu or spirit. Ritual sacrifice nection between vodu and santería requires humane slaughtering tech- has long held his and his brother’s niques as unhappy animals make for interest. poor offerings, said Sena. Santería evolved from the spiritual practices of the West African slaves who were brought to the Americas. To avoid the persecution of Spanish colonists, the slaves began using the names and images of Catholic saints to represent various orishas, an adaptation that has allowed the spiritual practice to survive and flourish through present day. Despite the way santería has changed over the last 500 years, both the brothers were struck with how many elements were still so similar to their practices in Ghana. “There is this stereotype that African culture is static, that it’s not dynamic but when you go to Cuba, you can see that it’s been extremely dynamic,” Sena said. “It’s changed its whole language but it’s been able to maintain its African gist.” Pele noted that one of the highlights LONGTIME VOODOO PRACTI- of their experience in Cuba was sharTIONERS Sena and Pele Voncujovi ing photos and videos of their cerguide fellow Middlebury College emonies back home in Africa with student David Fuchs through a locals on the island. ceremony during a research trip to “When we showed them pictures Cuba recently. of the things that we do in Ghana, the Photo credit: Asher Brown

EVERY WEEKEND

THE VONCUJOVI BROTHERS, Sena (seated) and Pele, relax on the main quad at Middlebury College, where they are both students. They use a variety of methods, including social media, to raise awareness about the African spiritual practice known as voodoo, or vodu, and to demonstrate how it can be compatible with a modern, cosmopolitan lifestyle.

Photo credit: Neil Steiner

Cuban people were super happy,” he said. Sena recalled one incident from a nightclub when a young Cuban recognized his bracelet as having to do with vodu. When Sena told him that he was a babalawo from Africa, he excitedly ran to his friends to share the news. “People were so proud of their spiritual practice,” he said. “Tears were coming to my eyes, I was so happy. I was getting goose bumps all over my body, not just because I was seeing people who knew but just the fact they were so open.” That stood in stark comparison to the discrimination vodu faces back home in Ghana. VOODOO IN GHANA Born in Tokyo and raised outside the Ghanaian capital of Accra by a Japanese mother and a Ghanaian father. The Voncujovi brothers were initially exposed to vodu through their father, Christopher, who is also a babalawo. While they grew up with talismans, herbal baths and a general understanding of the existence of a spiritual world, there is a big difference between being exposed to the worldview and actually practicing, Pele said. Both brothers decided to begin practicing as they entered their teenage years and made it clear that they made their choices autonomously and were in no way obligated by their father’s spiritual life. Even though their family openly practiced vodu, their beliefs were not accepted by society at large — an antitraditional stigma they feel many African people have carried over from the colonial era. “My friends used to tell me that what I was doing was evil and that I would burn if I didn’t go to church,” Sena said. Friends, teachers and other adults used to call him a “devil worshipper” and instructed him that he needed deliverance. Although growing up in a climate that opposed their beliefs could be trying, the Voncujovis learned strategies over time to engage people in dialogue. “Back in the day, the approach I used to try to justify my practice would be hostile,” Pele said. “Then, as I got older, my approach changed to asking people, ‘OK, why is this evil?’ At that point, you can bring in

Voodoo film, discussion to be held Saturday By DAVID FUCHS MIDDLEBURY — The Voncujovi brothers — Sena, a junior at Middlebury College, and Pele, a freshman — use a variety of tools to spread their message about the West African religion known as voodoo or vodu. Social media is a big one, they said. The two have their own Instagram account dedicated specifically to vodu. Their father’s temple in Ghana has its own Facebook page. They frequently post videos and photos of their ceremonies on Snapchat, complete with written explanations of what they’re doing and why. the context of colonialism and how an African tradition existed before. Once you present that side of the argument, people don’t think you’re just trying to convince them; they start to question themselves.” A GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE The Voncujovis attribute their unique outlook on African spirituality to the opportunities they’ve had to leave Ghana and see the world. As their mother’s family resides in Japan, the brothers grew up making an annual trip to the Asian nation to visit their grandparents. Due to the distance between Ghana and Japan, they invariably spent extended layovers in cities throughout Africa, Europe, and South

Beyond social media, the two have tried to take advantage of the opportunities available to them at the college. Last summer in their native Ghana, they collaborated with Middlebury College Visiting Assistant Professor of Studio Art Gigi Gatewood to produce a documentary and photo exhibit about vodu entitled “ReVodution.” They also have set up an official internship program, which allows college students to spend the summer learning about traditional African spiritual practices through assisting at their father’s temple. This Saturday, Sena and Pele Voncujovi will speak at the coland Southeast Asia, an experience that familiarized them with much of the eastern half of the world. They first made their way to the western hemisphere through United World College, an international group of 15 schools across the globe that collectively bring together students from more than 150 countries. While they didn’t overlap in the program, Sena and Pele both spent their final two years of high school at the United World College of Costa Rica before coming to Middlebury. Having seen and lived in so many parts of the world has made them cherish the aspects of their heritage that are uniquely Ghanaian. “It gave me a different respect for

lege’s Amka Conference, an event dedicated to “awakening the Middlebury community’s attention regarding issues relevant to Africa.” Following an abridged screening of their film, the brothers and their documentary team will be speaking as part of a panel discussion at from 2-3 p.m. in McCardell Bicentennial Hall. Afterwards, they will take questions at their photo exhibit, which will be moved to the hall specifically for the event. To keep up with the voodoo boys, you can follow them on Instagram at “vocujovibrothers,” on Facebook at “Afrika Magick Temple” or on Snapchat as “sena-voncujovi.” my culture and where I come from, especially my spiritual practice,” Sena said. “Knowing that we, as halfGhanaian, half-Japanese people coming from a traditional background, we really have a unique perspective and unique opportunity to present this information to people that other people don’t — not because they’re not good enough but because they’re never given the opportunity. “It’s made me want to capitalize on that and to use our position to further the cause and be the voice of these people who are never heard.” Editor’s note: David Fuchs is a Middlebury College junior and an Addison Independent intern.

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