MONDAY Â Â EDITION
ADDISON COUNTY
INDEPENDENT
Vol. 25 No. 52
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Middlebury, Vermont
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Monday, March 3, 2014
Middlebury  cleared  in  WRZQ RI¿FH ÀLHU ÀDS By  JOHN  FLOWERS MIDDLEBURY  —  The  Vermont  $WWRUQH\ *HQHUDO¶V 2I¿FH KDV IRXQG no  illegalities  with  an  informational  ÀLHU WKDW 0LGGOHEXU\ RI¿FLDOV FUH- ated  and  mailed  to  all  local  residents  explaining  the  details  of  a  new  town  RI¿FH EXLOGLQJ DQG UHFUHDWLRQ FHQWHU proposal  that  will  be  decided  by  vot-Â
ers  on  Tuesday,  March  4. Middlebury  Selectman  Craig  %LQJKDP KDG DVNHG VWDWH RI¿FLDOV IRU DQ RSLQLRQ RQ WKH ÀLHU ZKLFK KH claimed  contained  false  and  mislead- ing  information,  and  was  not  vetted  by  the  selectboard  prior  to  being  sent  out.  Bingham  —  a  vocal  oppo- (See  Ruling,  Page  20)
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Bristol  tapped  for  statewide  Boy  Scouts  veterans  parade By  ZACH  DESPART BRISTOL  —  Town  residents  are  hard  at  work  planning  the  16th  annual  Scouting  Salute  to  Veterans  Parade,  which  will  be  held  in  Bristol  next  November. The  event,  which  is  sponsored  by  the  Green  Mountain  Council Â
of  the  Boy  Scouts  of  America,  is  held  in  a  different  Vermont  town  each  year.  Veterans  and  Boy  Scouts  alike  walk  in  the  pa- rade,  which  is  held  in  honor  of  the  men  and  women  who  have  served  in  the  armed  forces  of  the  (See  Parade,  Page  25)
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Laugh  track VERGENNES  UNION  ELEMENTARY  School  student  Kaylee  Colby,  center,  and  her  schoolmates  get  a  laugh  out  of  a  video  that  was  shot  DW WKH VFKRRO DQG VKRZQ GXULQJ WKH RSHQLQJ FHOHEUDWLRQ IRU WKH VFKRRO¶V UHDG D WKRQ ODVW )ULGD\ PRUQLQJ 6WXGHQWV ZLOO NHHS WUDFN RI WKHLU UHDGLQJ PLQXWHV GXULQJ 0DUFK DV D IXQGUDLVHU IRU WKH VFKRRO ,QGHSHQGHQW SKRWR 7UHQW &DPSEHOO
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Construction will close Rt. 125 bridge for parts of April-June By  JOHN  FLOWERS EAST  MIDDLEBURY  —  Con- struction  crews  are  mobilizing  heavy  equipment  for  the  upcom- ing  replacement  of  the  Sand  Hill  Bridge  on  Route  125  in  East  Mid- dlebury,  a  project  that  contractors Â
said  will  impose  some  short-Âterm  pain  for  neighbors  and  travelers  in  RUGHU WR JHQHUDWH D ¿QLVKHG SURG- uct  in  a  shorter  period  of  time. First  erected  in  1924,  the  Sand  Hill  Bridge  is  deteriorating  and  (See  Bridge,  Page  7)
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By  ZACH  DESPART MIDDLEBURY  —  A  group  of  Champlain  Valley  business  owners  spoke  out  against  the  Addison  Rut- land  Natural  Gas  Project  at  a  press  conference  this  past  Tuesday  at  the  Vermont  Soap  Works  factory  in Â
Middlebury. The  speakers,  led  by  Vermont  Soap  CEO  Larry  Plesant,  urged  businesses  in  Addison  County  not  to  use  natural  gas  when  it  arrives  here,  possibly  in  2014.  The  press  confer- ence  was  organized  by  the  Vermont  Public  Interest  Research  Group  93,5* D OREE\LQJ ¿UP WKDW RS- poses  the  pipeline.  (See  Pipeline,  Page  23)