MONDAY Â Â EDITION
ADDISON COUNTY
INDEPENDENT
Vol. 24 No. 51
Middlebury, Vermont
X
Monday, February 11, 2013
X
36 Pages
75¢
Planning starts for gas pipeline to paper company Serving up good eats
By  JOHN  FLOWERS SHOREHAM  —  While  Vermont  Gas  Systems  Inc.  is  now  actively  seeking  the  necessary  permits  and  easements  it  needs  to  extend  its  pipe- line  south  into  Vergennes  and  Mid- dlebury  by  next  year,  the  company  is Â
also  starting  to  lay  the  groundwork  for  the  second  phase  of  its  expansion  plans:  Service  to  International  Paper  Co.  in  Ticonderoga,  N.Y.,  by  2015,  a  FRQVWUXFWLRQ SURMHFW WKDW ZLOO DIIHFW several  property  owners  in  Cornwall  and  Shoreham.
9HUPRQW *DV RIÂżFLDOV KDYH DOUHDG\ met  with  the  Cornwall  selectboard  for  some  preliminary  discussions  about  the  10.5-Âmile  underground  pipeline  segment  that  would  extend  from  Middlebury  through  Cornwall  DQG 6KRUHKDP WKHQ Ă€RZ XQGHU /DNH
Ripton  eyes school  roof,  solar  power
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Monkton denies a new gravel pit ‡ 'HYHORSHUV RI WKH %ULVVRQ 6WRQH SLW VD\ WKH\ PD\ DSSHDO UXOLQJ WR (QYLURQPHQWDO &RXUW 6HH 3DJH
Men’s hoop in stretch drive ‡ 7KH 3DQWKHUV KRVWHG ULYDOV GXULQJ WKH ÀQDO ZHHN HQG RI WKH 1(6&$& UHJXODU VHDVRQ 6HH 6SRUWV 3DJH
Got  the  giggles CODY  MARTIN  IS  all  smiles  as  he  tries  to  get  out  from  under  Harley  Williams  during  a  special  youth  wrestling  exhibition  held  during  Middlebury  Union  High  School’s  recent  varsity  wrestling  meet. Independent  photo/Trent  Campbell
College  squash  court  project  is  wrapping  up
Familiar faces in new city venture ‡ 7KH RZQHU RI WKH %ODFN 6KHHS %LVWUR LV UHYLYLQJ DQRWKHU 0DLQ 6WUHHW UHVWDXUDQW 6HH 3DJH
Champlain  to  the  International  Pa- per  Co.  mill  in  Ticonderoga. And  Vermont  Gas  has  sched- uled  an  informational  meeting  for  Monday,  Feb.  18,  at  7  p.m.  at  the  Shoreham  Firehouse  to  explain  (See  Pipeline,  Page  7)
By  XIAN  CHIANG-ÂWAREN DUWLÂżFLDO WXUI ÂżHOG VXLWDEOH IRU DOO MIDDLEBURY  —  Construc- ¿HOG VSRUWV 7KH QHZ IDFLOLW\ ZLOO tion  of  Middlebury  College’s  new  be  twice  the  size  of  the  college’s  VTXDVK IDFLOLW\ WKH ÂżUVW SURMHFW FXUUHQW ÂżHOG KRXVH ÂłWKH %XEEOH ´ VFKHGXOHG LQ D PDMRU XSJUDGH WR which  is  50,000  square  feet,  and  the  college’s  South  will  sit  in  the  same  Main  Street  athlet- The college footprint. ics  complex,  should  The  college  has  be  completed  in  late  has budgeted budgeted  a  total  of  February  and  fully  op- a total of $46 $46  million  for  the  en- erational  by  the  start  million for the WLUH ÂżHOG KRXVH VTXDVK of  the  next  academic  HQWLUH Ă€HOG IDFLOLW\ SURMHFW year.  The  nearly  com- house/squash The  other  upgrades  plete  18,000-Âsquare- facility project. foot  squash  facility  —  will  include  the  con- struction  of  a  new  reduced  from  19,700  VTXDUH IRRW ÂżHOG KRXVH square-Âfeet  in  earlier  plans  —  will  DGMDFHQW WR .HQ\RQ $UHQD WKDW have  nine  squash  courts,  com- will  feature  a  six-Âlane,  200-Âmeter  SDUHG WR WKH FXUUHQW ÂżYH FRXUWV track  with  eight  60-Âmeter  sprint  in  the  Bubble.  That  increase  will  ODQHV DQG DUHDV IRU SROH MXPS- make  scheduling  practice  for  ing,  vaulting  and  throwing  com- Middlebury’s  men  and  women’s  petitions;Íž  and  within  the  track  an  (See  Facility,  Page  28)
By  JOHN  FLOWERS RIPTON  —  Ripton  voters  on  Town  Meeting  Day  will  be  asked  to  spend  up  to  $150,000  to  put  a  new  roof  on  their  elementary  school.  And  in  a  separate  vote  on  the  same  day,  they’ll  be  asked  to  add  to  that  new  roof  200  solar  panels  in  order  to  generate  electricity  to  reduce  the  school’s  energy  bill  for  at  least  the  next  20  years. The  Ripton  Elementary  School  building  is  22  years  old.  The  build- ing’s  shingled  roof  has  now  exceed- ed  its  20-Âyear  life  expectancy  and  has  occasionally  sprung  some  leaks  during  bad  storms,  according  to  Ripton  School  Board  Chairwoman  Carol  Ford.  A  contractor  did  some  troubleshooting  to  the  roof  a  few  years  ago  by  extending  the  eaves  and  making  related  improvements  to  the  school’s  ventilation  system. Âł,W LV D ORW EHWWHU WR SODQ IRU URRI (See  Ripton,  Page  24)
Credit  union  buys  former  Chittenden  Bank  building By  JOHN  FLOWERS MIDDLEBURY  —  After  several  years  of  standing  idle,  the  former  Chittenden  Bank  property  at  One  Court  Square  will  soon  reopen  for  business  under  new  ownership.
The  Vermont  Federal  Credit  Union  on  Jan.  23  closed  on  a  deal  to  buy  the  former  bank  property  for  $850,000.  Work  crews  are  now  busily  gutting  the  4,800-Âsquare-Âfoot  building  so  (See  Credit  Union,  Page  28)
THE  VERMONT  FEDERAL  Credit  Union  has  purchased,  and  will  eventu- ally  occupy,  the  former  Chittenden  Bank  building  at  1  Court  St.  in  Middle- bury.  Crews  are  currently  gutting  and  renovating  the  long-Âidle  property. Independent  photo/Trent  Campbell