MONDAY Â Â EDITION
ADDISON COUNTY
INDEPENDENT
Vol. 25 No. 51
Middlebury, Vermont
X
Monday, February 24, 2014
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48 Pages
75¢
Five  veterans  seek  three  city  council  seats Karan Casey sings at THT
By  ANDY  KIRKALDY VERGENNES  —  Vergennes  voters  on  March  ZLOO FKRRVH IURP D ÂżHOG RI ÂżYH H[SHULHQFHG candidates  for  three  two-Âyear  terms  on  the  city  council.  They  include  two  elected  incumbents,  one  of  whom  has  served  a  decade  on  the  board  and  the  other  who  is  the  former  city  manager;Íž  an  ap- pointed  incumbent  who  is  a  former  Panton  selec- twoman;Íž  a  challenger  who  is  a  former  alderman Â
and  city  mayor;Íž  and  a  candidate  who  is  a  former  alderman  and  current  member  of  the  Vergennes  Development  Review  Board. They  are,  alphabetically: ‡ =LJJ\ &RPHDX D UHDO HVWDWH EURNHU ZKR ZDV ÂżUVW DSSRLQWHG WR WKH ERDUG LQ DQG KDV ZRQ re-Âelection  ever  since.  She  has  also  served  on  the  city’s  zoning  board. ‡ 0LFKDHO 'DQLHOV D ORQJWLPH 9HUJHQQHV )LUH Department  member  and  a  recently  retired  state Â
employee.  He  served  several  years  on  the  city  council  this  past  decade  before  stepping  down,  DQG WKHQ UHWXUQHG WR SROLWLFV WR VHUYH VL[ \HDUV DV Vergennes  mayor,  from  2007  to  2013. ‡ /\QQ 'RQQHOO\ D UHDO HVWDWH EURNHU DQG IRU- mer  Panton  selectwoman  who  is  active  in  the  Vergennes  Rotary  Club  and  St.  Peter’s  Catholic  Church.  She  was  appointed  to  the  city  council  in  $SULO WR ¿OO D YDFDQF\ FUHDWHG ZKHQ 0D\RU %LOO (See  City  council  candidates,  Page  35)
Murray hopes third time is a charm for Midd. board
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Three vie for two seats in Lincoln ‡ ,Q /LQFROQ WKUHH FDQGLGDWHV DUH LQ D UDFH IRU WZR VHDWV RQ WKH VHOHFWERDUG 6HH 3DJH
Freestylin’ MIDDLEBURY 81,21 +,*+ 6FKRRO VHQLRU 6RSKLH 5\DQ SRZHUV KHU ZD\ XS WKH ODVW KLOO EHIRUH WKH ÂżQLVK line  of  last  Thursday’s  Vermont  State  High  School  Cross-ÂCountry  Championships  5K  freestyle  race  at  Rikert  Nordic  Center  in  Ripton.  The  championships  continue  this  week  on  Tuesday  and  more  photos  and  full  results  will  be  in  Thursday’s  edition  of  the  Addison  Independent. Independent  photo/Trent  Campbell
Senior Lifestyles special section: ‡ /LIHVW\OHV DPRQJ VHQLRUV KDYH EHFRPH LQFUHDVLQJO\ PRUH DFWLYH IURP GRJ VOHGGLQJ WR \RJD 6HH SDJHV
Local girls’ teams clash in playoffs ‡ 29 YLVLWHG 0W $EH RQ )ULGD\ DQG 0LGGOHEXU\ &ROOHJH KRVWHG LWV ZLQWHU FDUQLYDO 6HH 6SRUWV RQ 3DJHV
Major solar farm proposed in Middlebury By  JOHN  FLOWERS MIDDLEBURY  —  A  New  Jer- sey-Âbased  company  is  proposing  to  build  a  9,000-Âpanel,  2.2-Âmegawatt  solar  farm  on  13.5  acres  off  Route  7  south  in  Middlebury,  a  project  that  would  send  enough  electricity  into  the  state’s  grid  to  annually  power  519  Vermont  homes. It’s  a  project  being  proposed  by Â
Champlain  Valley  Solar  Farm,  LLC  (CVSF),  which  lists  itself  as  being  af- ¿OLDWHG ZLWK WKH 6XQ(GLVRQ RIÂżFH LQ Pennsauken,  N.J.  SunEdison  is  head- quartered  in  Belmont,  Calif.  7KH DSSOLFDQWV DUH VHHNLQJ D FHUWLÂż- cate  of  public  good  from  the  Vermont  Public  Service  Board  to  proceed  with  their  plan,  which  is  being  developed  under  Vermont’s  Sustainably  Priced Â
Energy  Development  (SPEED)  pro- gram,  established  in  2005  to  promote  development  of  in-Âstate  renewable  energy  resources.  SPEED  includes  a  Standard  Offer  Program  that  encour- ages  the  development  of  renewable  energy  projects  by  making  long-Âterm  HOHFWULFLW\ FRQWUDFWV DW Âż[HG SULFHV DYDLODEOH WR TXDOLÂżHG UHQHZDEOH HQ- (See  Solar  Farm,  Page  38)
By  JOHN  FLOWERS EAST  MIDDLEBURY  —  Eric  Murray  is  hoping  his  third  try  for  a  spot  on  the  Middlebury  selectboard  will  be  the  charm,  as  he  seeks  to  break  into  the  winning  column  on  0DUFK IROORZLQJ D VSLULWHG VL[ SHU- son  race  for  two  three-Âyear  spots  on  the  town’s  chief  elected  board. 0XUUD\ LV SDUW RI D ÂżHOG WKDW DOVR includes  challengers  Brian  Carpenter,  Ted  Davis,  John  Freidin,  Laura  Asermily  and  incumbent  se- lectman  Craig  Bingham.  The  top  two  vote- getters  will  win  seats.  Incumbent  Selectman  Dean  George  and  Heather  Seeley  ERIC  MURRAY are  competing  for  a  one-Âyear  term  on  the  board.  Mur- UD\ KDV ÂżQLVKHG VK\ LQ SUHYLRXV FRQ- tests,  most  recently  last  year. Murray  is  owner  of  East  Middle- bury-Âbased  EJM  Enterprises   —  a  company  that  specializes  in  heavy  equipment  and  truck  repairs,  as  well  as  towing.  He  has  served  on  the  ad  hoc  committees  Middlebury  River  Task  Force  and  Hazard  Mitigation  Planning  Team. (See  Murray,  Page  13)
State  eminent  domain  laws  tip  balance  toward  Vt.  Gas By  ZACH  DESPART ADDISON  COUNTY  —  If  Ver- mont  Gas  Systems  does  move  forward  with  eminent  domain  proceedings  against  Addison  County  landowners  to  secure  necessary  easements  to  build  its  proposed  natural  gas  pipeline,  it  will  have  both  state  statute  and  recent  prec- edents  on  its  side.
The  Canadian-Âowned  utility  sent  let- ters  to  nine  Monkton  homes  last  month  stating  that  if  an  agreement  on  a  right- of-Âway  easement  could  not  be  reached,  the  utility  would  have  no  choice  but  to  begin  the  process  of  eminent  domain. Eminent  domain  is  the  process  by  which  a  government  seizes  private  land  for  public  use.  It  is  enshrined  in Â
the  Fifth  Amendment  to  the  U.S.  Con- stitution,  which  mandates  that  the  gov- ernment  pay  landowners  just  compen- sation  for  property  it  appropriates. The  basis  for  Vermont’s  eminent  do- main  law  can  be  found  in  the  state  con- stitution.  Chapter  I,  Section  II  states  that  private  property  is  subservient  to  public  uses,  provided  that  “whenever Â
any  particular  man’s  property  is  taken  for  the  use  of  the  public,  the  owner  ought  to  receive  an  equivalent  in  mon- ey.â€? In  its  49-Âyear  history,  Vermont  Gas  has  never  acquired  land  through  emi- nent  domain,  and  has  said  that  it  does  not  want  to  use  this  approach  in  Monk- (See  Eminent  domain,  Page  40)