Charlotte News The Hometown Paper Since 1958
Volume lVII Number 16
The VoIce of The TowN
A New Hand at the Old Brick Page 1
CCS Board talks principals 1 A gallivanting gap year 7 New faces at Humbled Parent 14 Owl meets wildlife whisperer 17
Thursday, march 26, 2015
The Charlotte News
Volume lVII Number 16
The VoIce of The TowN
Thursday, march 26, 2015
Selectboard Shows Drive for New Policies John Hammer
Photo: Emma SlatEr
THE CHARLOTTE NEWS
Little Library Lego Club Gets Big Donation The Charlotte Library Lego Club stands with its 841-piece Hobbit Lego set, donated by Jamie Two Coats toy store. Group members include Libby Manning, George Taylor, Charlie Taylor, Will Sprigg, Sawyer Carr, Harrison Wade, Wolfy Lochheim and Josh Batchelder with coordinators Katie Taylor and Caroline Sprigg.
Board Chair: CCS Needs Two Principals • Demonstrated knowledge and underReducing administrative structure from pre-K–8) and 85 full- and part-time staff, as well as interfacing with parents standing of special education requireto one principal would save and the community as a whole. ments taxpayers only $23
Mark McDermott CONTRIBUTOR
The role of school administrators has changed dramatically in the past 25 years. The primary responsibility of principals used to be managing the operation of the school. Today, the primary function of administration is to provide instructional leadership, which is especially crucial as we move forward with implementing Common Core Standards and Next Generation Science Standards as required by Vermont law. Our administrators are charged with leading our 400 students (ranging in grade level
As the School Board examined the administrative structure, we considered the qualities and responsibilities of our current principals which include: • Experience working with students grades pre-K–8; demonstrated knowledge of the development stages of students grades pre-K–8 • Ability to lead a school through enrollment changes • Strong organizational and interpersonal skills • Experience and familiarity with the Vermont education system and related laws and regulations • Working knowledge and understanding of the Vermont Framework
• Strong background in curriculum, instruction and assessment • Excellent community/public relations skills • Strong educational leader; proven ability to gain and maintain the respect of faculty, staff and peers • Assisting in the development and coordination of the school’s budget • Communicating effectively and frequently with other administrators, professional staff and School Board directors • Providing regular presentation to
CCS Budget
continued on page 6
At its meeting on March 23, Charlotte’s new Selectboard showed a lot of energy in discussing a number of issues related to the town’s financial policies. The absence of these policies was noted in last year’s town audit. Subsequent to their first meeting on March 9, Selectmen Morrison and Spell collaborated in developing five draft policies. The first to be considered was a purchasing policy, and during the intervening two weeks it was circulated several times among some board members as well as with the elected listers and the Town Clerk/Treasurer. Morrison described all activity as being “energized” and was thankful for all the work being done in such an enthusiastic manner. This seemed in contrast to comments made early in the meeting by Claudia Mucklow, who took Morrison to task for the “dismissive, rude and condescending manner” in which he described the new board in the last issue of this paper. She suggested that “it set the wrong tone for a good start.” Morrison, in comments made later in the session, pointed out that his remarks in the article suggested that he “didn’t want to write policies ... let’s not spend a lot of time writing policies and maybe have the professionals do it.” He ended up helping lead the charge and complimenting Spell for his hard work in the initial drafting process. Morrison agreed that in the end much good work had been done without the need for guidance by professionals. The discussion continued with plans for further collaboration with the clerk/
Selectboard
continued on page 6
New Hands at the Old Brick Emma Slater CONTRIBUTOR
On March 20, Whitney Williamson Finley brought her history with the Old Brick Store, her business acumen and love of food to a logical conclusion—she bought the place from Carrie Fenn. In 1998, Finley got her first job at “the Brick” (as it’s known locally), working for Ralph and Carolyn Sennhenn from her sophomore through her senior year in high school, as well as periodically in college. “I’ve always loved the community feel,” she says. “The Brick is like a second home to me. It’s been a big part of my life.” It’s challenging to describe the Old Brick Store to friends in Burlington though, she explained. The terms “country store” and “convenience store” don’t fully encompass its role in the community, because it’s not just another
Mobil station. For Finley, the Brick’s friendly atmosphere makes it an ideal community hub, with a legacy that she intends to carry on. “Locals come in here, have one bite of a butterscotch cookie and can relive part of their childhoods,” Finley says. Working with an engaging community for pleasant employers kept her coming back through high school and college, but the love of baking she developed at the Brick inspired her to leave and enroll in the New England Culinary Institute baking and pastry arts course. “I enjoy experimenting in the kitchen and trying new things,” she says. After pursuing a career in the food industry, she decided to change things up in 2011 and got a job at Dear Lucy in Burlington. For the past four years she worked as an office manager, getting
Old Brick
continued on page 8
After taking over the store on March 20, Whitney Williamson Finley is already head-down hard at work.
2 • March 26, 2015 • The
Charlotte News
Voices What’s to Come The Charlotte News publishEd by And for ChArlottErs sinCE 1958 The CharloTTe News is a nonprofit community-based newspaper dedicated to informing townspeople of current events and issues. It serves as a forum for the free exchange of views of town residents and celebrates the people, places and happenings that make the Town of Charlotte unique. Contributions in the form of articles, press releases and photographs pertaining to Charlotte-related people and events are accepted and encouraged from all townspeople and interested individuals. For submission guidelines and deadlines, please visit our website or contact the editor at news@charlottenewsvt.com. The CharloTTe News is published in Charlotte by The Charlotte News, Inc., a Vermont domestic 501(c)4 nonprofit corporation. Distribution is made every other Thursday to all households and businesses in Charlotte and to selected outlets in Shelburne, Hinesburg, North Ferrisburgh, Ferrisburgh and Vergennes. It relies on the generous financial contributions of its readers, subscriptions and advertising revenue to sustain its operations.
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On the cover WHITNEY WILLIAMSON FINLEY
STANDING TALL IN
HER NEW ROLE AT THE FRONT OF THE
OLD BRICK
STORE. PHOTO: ALEX BUNTEN
Next issue deadlines NexT issue daTe: Thursday, april 9 CoNTriBuTioNs: moNday, marCh 30 By 5 p.m. leTTers: moNday, april 6, By 10 a.m.
Spring is on the way. It may not feel it yet. But it’s coming. And that means you can all come out from under your Netflix-induced winter coma. The sun is shining, the sap is running, farmers are wondering when to till, gardeners are thinking about new bulbs, bikers are tuning up their spokes for Catamount, skiers are dreaming about wearing T-shirts at Sugarbush, marathon training is starting in earnest, and Mt. Philo dog walkers are wondering when they might take off their Yaktrax. It’s all go. But if all that isn’t enough for you, we at The Charlotte News have quite a lot going on, too. Scroll your eyes down the page and check out our writers workshop—Pens on the Land—coming up on April 11, from 1-3 p.m. at the Mt. Philo Inn. It’s going to be a lively meeting of the minds for locals interested in putting more pen to paper. I’m really look-
we also need local actors to push agendas and defend tradiThe sun is shining, the sap is tions. Thinking about the town, the running, farmers are wondercoming few weeks here will ing when to till, gardeners are be interesting. We’ve got a big thinking about new bulbs, bik- CCS budget vote coming up 5), stirrings in the shape ers are tuning up their spokes (page of Town Meeting (page 1), and for Catamount … and Mt. a new owner at the Old Brick Philo dog walkers are wonder- Store (page 1). And then turning our attening when they might take off tion out of town, this month their Yaktrax. It’s all go. we’ll start a short series informally dubbed “Where have the kids gone?” Charlotte is an interesting place to grow up, but it’s mainly a place young ing forward to meeting some of folk say they are from rather our current contributors (rather than where they live. We want to than just reading our usual email know where they went off to! exchanges), and also welcoming With our all-star education sysa few new ones to the fold (we’ve tem, many locals go on to do got 10 new participants signed up interesting things. The tale of already). Maddy Hyams (page 7) beginning The News has been in a solid her collegiate career with some local institution for 57 years in travel starts us off this issue. Keep large part because of our ability an eye out for some interesting to enliven the spirit of the writ- Charlotters in the world in our ing community. To carry on this upcoming pages. legacy, we need to get more voices Speaking of all these happeninvolved in the paper. Bring some ings, the events calendar (beyond ideas and your thinking cap—we our usual hyper-local Rec News look forward to seeing you there! activities on page 13) is still to Beyond our own office doors, be done. If only someone knew a due to some recent changes in good events editor, we’d be all go town policy, there are also more on all fronts. ways to get involved in the town (page 5). Just as The News needs Alex Bunten involved citizens to document the Editor in Chief town’s path forward on our pages,
joiN The News! Ad sAlEs rEprEsEntAtivE. The Charlotte News is expanding its advertising department. We are looking for someone who is energetic, creative, independent, and enjoys meeting new people. Come join our team and be a part of the new Charlotte News. This is a commissioned position with flexible hours. Bring your imagination and out-of-the-box thinking to help expand the client base for our paper and website. Computer experience and a car are needed. For more information please contact Monica Marshall at 802-343-0279 or ads@charlottenewsvt.com. EvEnts Editor. Do you like to know what’s going on around town? Are you interested in events for all ages? Want to get some experience working with a dynamic nonprofit news team? The Charlotte News is looking for an events editor to put their ear to the ground and help brighten up the community social life. This is a volunteer position. For more info, email Alex at news@charlottenewsvt.com.
lEttErs poliCy: The Charlotte News welcomes signed Letters to the Editor on any subject of interest to the community. To allow the publication of a diverse selection of views in each issue, please limit letters to a maximum of 300 words. The editors reserve the right to edit for clarity, English usage and length or to publish submissions in full.
THE CHARLOTTE NEWS presents
Pens on the Land: A Contributors’ Workshop Generously hosted at the Mt. Philo Inn
April 11, 1–3 p.m. All welcome—young and old, newbies and newshounds! •
Meet the editor and some fellow writers • Get writing tips • Find out how we work • Pitch projects
For more info, sign up at this link: eepurl.com/be8rZr or send us an email: news@charlottenewsvt.com
The Charlotte News • March 26, 2015 • 3
The Vermont Carbon Tax Conundrum Despite an online advertizing blitz, the VPIRG carbon-tax promotional event at the Senior Center on March 18 garnered fewer than two dozen participants. Most of them arrived with palpable fear of carbon dioxide in their hearts, and the VPIRG lecturer tried to trigger a stampede by showing pictures of the damage inflicted by Hurricane Irene. Maybe Irene was caused by too much CO2, maybe not, but in any case the blame lies not with Vermont CO2 but with global CO2. Even with the increase of carbon footprint contributed by the Vermont Yankee fiasco, Vermont still ranks as the state with the lowest per capita footprint, 15 tons of CO2 per capita per year. The carbon pollution tax bill H.412 now before our state Legislature is based on a study by REMI, an analysts-for-hire outfit in Washington funded by, among others, the Blittersdorf Family Foundation. According to the economic projections of REMI, here is how the carbon tax will work when it’s fully implemented: You’ll pay an extra tax of a bit more than $1 per gallon for gasoline and homeheating fuel, which will gain the state $500 million in revenue per year. Of this revenue, $153 million will be distributed to Vermont businesses and corporations, as a free thank-you gift for operating in our state. This windfall will be awarded on a per-employee basis, but corporations won’t be required to hand this money to their employees—instead the top execs can just pocket it, as a bonus. Of the remaining revenue, $229 million will be redistributed to individual Vermonters. If you’re a typical taxpayer, this redistribution will consist of an income-tax refund of about $400 per year (with some complicated adjustments for the poorest taxpayers). I’m eagerly waiting for that $400 refund, which might pay for my cats’ food. But will I ever get back in refunds or services what I paid in carbon taxes? Well, no. For corporations, the tax is meant to be a windfall, whereas for me it’s meant to inflict enough pain to compel the replacement of my 15-year-old car with a new $30,000 hybrid or electric vehicle. And never mind the 20-ton carbon footprint embedded in the new vehicle’s manufacture—that footprint doesn’t happen in Vermont, so who cares? The remainder of the tax revenue will go to various state expenditures, such as education, transportation and “general,” with minor amounts for weatherization and renewables, and with a $300,000 allocation for administration of this convoluted tax program.
Voices
The problem here is that this “carbon tax” is not really a carbon tax (I wish it were). It’s a fossil-fuel penalty. It arbitrarily focuses on fossil-fuel emissions while ignoring all other sources of greenhouse gas emissions, and it assigns a penalty that’s totally out of proportion to what’s reasonable. Vermont has many other sources of greenhouse gases besides fossil fuels: methane released by municipal waste-treatment plants, manure, agricultural soils and belching dairy cows, and CO2 released by wood-burning power plants, heating plants, stoves, furnaces and fireplaces. The burning of wood or wood pellets emits more CO2 than fuel oil, because wood furnaces aren’t as finely tunable as oil furnaces. But by a legalistic fiction, the burning of wood is deemed “renewable” and therefore is exempt from carbon tax. Apparently our legislators can’t wrap their minds around the idea that cutting down forests for fuel is a renewable process only in the long run. A clear-cut forest takes about a hundred years to re-grow. But how do we know it will ever regrow in the face of changing land use or changing climate? A carbon tax on heating fuel poses a great risk to our forests, because it encourages Vermonters to burn more wood. To eliminate this risk, we would need to impose a carbon tax on firewood. The price of $100 per ton of CO2 assumed in H.412 in setting the carbon tax is another arbitrary legalistic fiction and a wild exaggeration. The CO2 problem is a global problem, and the best and cheapest solution is a global solution. Norway and Germany have financed large forest-preservation projects in the Amazon basin that delete CO2 from the global carbon balance at a much lower price—merely $5 per ton of CO2. For Vermont, this best solution is as if cows could fly—our legislators don’t think globally and they would never invest Vermont tax money in a Brazilian forest-preservation project. As an alternative solution, we could implement such a project locally. Vermont forests are growing more vigorously than Amazon forests, and they absorb prodigious amounts of CO2—in tons per year per acre, the score is Vermont 2, Amazon 0.8). Each year, our existing forests absorb more CO2 than produced by all Vermonters, so we actually have no carbon footprint at all. Instead of redistributing carbon-tax money to corporations or individuals, we should use all that money for the preservation of our forests by forest-land trusts with absolute prohibitions against development and forest destruction.
Hans Ohanian
Legislative Report by Representative Mike Yantachka
Win Some, Lose Some During the past few weeks I have received many emails and phone calls from constituents about budget cuts, taxes and education. I have made it a point to pass those messages on to members of the Appropriations and Education committees. I would like to give you some inside information on what is going to be in the budget, or out of the budget, and what the final education bill will include; however at the time of writing, those bills have not been finalized. Nevertheless, by the time this article is published, we will have a proposed budget in front of us. We will then know the final decisions that were made, subject to change by amend-
ments from the floor. It is pretty apparent, however, that no one will be completely satisfied with the result. The same goes for the education bill. Provisions regarding teacher strikes and the imposition of a contract by a school board when negotiations fail are still being discussed by more than one House committee, as is the proposed two-percent cap on school budgets. So, until the shifting sands solidify, allow me to instead just write about the fate of two of the bills I introduced this session. The Natural Burials bill (H.25) was recently passed by the House on a voice vote and is on its way to the Senate. It had been assigned to the Committee on General, Housing and Military Affairs. After committee members spent weeks listening to testimony from funeral directors, cemetery commissioners, advocates and skeptics of natural burials, and the
Charlotte
Zach Wells
Happy Birthday, Zach! This would’ve been our happy refrain on the fourteenth of this month had our son and brother Zachary not left us two Decembers ago. In honor of Zach’s birthday, we would like to let you know that the Zachary James Wells Dedicated Fund has been established in Zach’s name at Camp Ta-KumTa in South Hero, Vermont. The following is paraphrased from a letter recently sent to donors: Most of you know that Zach was diagnosed with cancer when he was sixteen. What many may not know is that Zachary was still living with cancer at the time we lost him. What is relevant is how troubled he was by what he witnessed young children enduring while he was a patient on the pediatric floor of the hospital. We believe that at some point in his life, had he been able, Zach would have made an effort to enhance the quality of life for children dealing with cancer. Camp Ta-Kum-Ta embodies much that
Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, they made several changes that substantially improved the bill. They tightened the specifications for creating natural burial grounds, ensuring that they would fit into the current regulatory framework of existing cemeteries. They also set parameters on how such burial grounds would be located in relation to groundwater sources to ensure that they would pose no risks to public health. This is the value of the committee process the Legislature employs; a good bill is made into better law by careful deliberation taking many points of view into consideration. The other bill I introduced to secure the unclaimed bottle deposits for the state, H.140, did not even make it out of my committee. These unclaimed nickels amount to more than $1 million that have already been paid by Vermonters and remain in the hands of beverage distributors. In testimony the beverage industry mounted a major defense of its claim to the abandoned deposits. They claimed that it would drive the cost of beverages up in Vermont and drive consumers along the Connecticut River to New Hampshire. While they provided a breakdown of the costs of the bottle deposit program show-
was important to Zach. It is all volunteer, it is local, and it is primarily about providing one thing for kids with cancer—fun—and for those of you who knew Zach, he was all about fun. This past summer we were honored to have sent Autumn to camp. Our mission is to “Send a Kid to Camp” for as long as we possibly can. For those not familiar with Camp Ta-Kum-Ta, we encourage you to visit its website (takumta. org) and view the extraordinary things they do with extraordinary kids, allowing them a respite that is infused with fun and fosters hope. If this strikes a chord with you, please keep Camp Ta-Kum-Ta in mind when considering your next charitable contribution, and help us “Send a Kid to Camp” through the Zachary James Wells Dedicated Fund. Whole-hearted thanks for your consideration. Happy birthday, Zach.
Jim, Stephanie, Alexandra & Nathaniel Wells
Charlotte
ing that it was a costly and inefficient way to recycle, I was able to use the same information to show that their giving up the unclaimed deposits would add only a half-cent to each container. Nevertheless, my committee voted 5 to 4 not to approve the bill. When a bill comes out of committee, it has been thoroughly examined and discussed and has the support of at least a solid majority of members. The committee process works, and that is why I usually feel comfortable voting with the committee when a bill I have not been involved with reaches the floor. I listen to the debate with an open mind and will support amendments if I think they can improve the result. In the coming weeks there will be a lot of debate on many important and controversial bills. The decisions I make will be informed by my constituents as well as the committees of jurisdiction. So, please continue to send me your thoughts and questions. I can be reached by phone (802-233-5238) or by email (myantachka.dfa@gmail.com). You can find this article and past articles at my website, MikeYantachka.com.
4 • March 26, 2015 • The
Charlotte News
Man Shot at Charlotte Gun Range A Shelburne man was hospitalized after another man’s gun accidentally discharged at the Laberge gun range on Lime Kiln Road in Charlotte on Friday, March 13. According to state officials, Joshua Ramstrom, 20, of Hinesburg, and Joshua Scarfing, 19, of Shelburne, were target shooting at the range. As he converted the rifle to a pistol, Ramstrom’s gun experienced a negligent discharge that struck Scarfone in the pelvic region. Scarfone was transported to the University of Vermont Medical Center for treatment of a non-life threatening injury. Detectives with the Vermont State Police along with members of Charlotte Rescue and the Shelburne Police Department responded to the scene. The incident is still under investigation, and more information will be released as it develops. The case will be forwarded to the Chittenden County state attorney’s office for review.
CorreCtion: In the last issue of The
“A wonderful moment of serendipity at sunrise—being fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time, and as always, being open to observing and experiencing the moment.” —Lee Krohn, Charlotte Would you like to be featured in our Lens on the Land series? Email a highresolution photo to news@charlottenewsvt.com, and include a 50-word description.
Charlotte News, under engagement announcements in Around Town, we incorrectly said that Alexandra Orben Small’s fiancé, Michael James Kavouksorian, owns Switchback Dunes Farm in Jericho. In fact, Alexandra (Alex) is the owner. She is also a registered dietician at the University of Vermont Medical Center. Michael earned a bachelor’s degree in biomedical technologies and business as well as a master’s degree in business administration from UVM and is a senior life sciences director.
Charlotte Meetings MarCh 26–april 9 SeleCtboard: april 6, 7 p.m. planning CommiSSion: april 2, 7 p.m.
UpCoMing CCS SChool board: april 14, 7 p.m. CVU SChool board: april 14, 7 p.m.
seleCtboard MeMbers Chair Lane Morrison: 425-2495 Matthew Krasnow: 922-2153 Carrie Spear: 425-4444 Jacob Spell: 425-6548 Fritz Tegatz: 425-5564 Selectboard Regular Meetings are usually at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall on the second and fourth Mondays of each month. If you would like to bring an issue to the attention of the Selectboard, contact the board chair or administrator Dean Bloch at 425-3071, ext. 205.
CCs sChool board Chair Mark McDermott: 425-4860 Vice Chair Erik Beal: 425-2140 Kristin Wright: 425-5105 Clyde Baldwin: 425-3366 Susan Nostrand: 425-4999 CCS School Board Regular Meetings are usually at 6:30 p.m. at CVU on the third Tuesday of each month.
Charlotte CVU board Lorna Jimerson: ljimerso@wcvt.com Marilyn Richardson: mkrichardson1520@gmail.com
PLANNING COMMISSION Administrator Jeannine McCrumb: 425-3071; jeannine@townofcharlotte. com Chair Jeffrey McDonald: 425-4429 Vice Chair: Peter Joslin Members: Gerald Bouchard, Paul Landler, Linda Radimer, Donna Stearns, Marty Illick Planning Commission Regular Meetings are usually at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall on the first and third Thursdays of each month.
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Committee meetings are listed on the town website. Check times and agendas online or by phone; for the town: charlottevt.org, Town Hall, 425-3071 or 425-3533.
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The Charlotte News • March 26, 2015 • 5
Despite $25,000 reduction in tax rate from budget, some decry proposed two-principal model Brett Sigurdson THE CHARLOTTE NEWS
Those walking in to the CCS School Board meeting last Tuesday were greeted to a video of students, staff and faculty dancing to Pharell William’s bouncy pop gem “Happy.” The meeting was sometimes anything but as Charlotters in attendance voiced strong opinions on both sides of the budget issue, which has yet to be settled in the wake of its 47-vote defeat on Town Meeting Day. Beginning next school year, CCS will move from a co-principal structure to a different two-principal model, one that will feature a full-time lead principal
and an instructional leader, who would be contracted for fewer days each academic year. According to the job descriptions for each position, the lead principal would be responsible for the oversight of all school operations, budget development, and board and community relations. The lead principal would also serve as an instructional leader for a segment of school grades. The instructional leader would oversee the remaining grades. Despite the fact that this proposed budget would in effect lower property taxes, several Charlotters have expressed vocal opposition to the budget at the meeting. Telling the board taxpayers “spend a fortune on administrative costs,” Tammy Hall said the 47-vote rejection on Town Meeting Day was representative of a population opposed to the two-principal model. If the budget passes with the twoprincipal model again, she told the board,
Get Involved in the Town! The Selectboard recently decided to change its practice of automatically reappointing volunteers to positions on town committees, commissions and boards when their terms expire. In doing this, they hope to give more residents the opportunity to become engaged in public service. The following committees currently have unfilled seats: • Community Safety Committee • Conservation Commission • Zoning Board of Adjustment The following committees and positions will have open seats as current terms end in March 2015: • Energy Committee • Planning Commission • Recreation Commission • Thompson’s Point Design Review Committee • Trails Committee • Town service officer • Tree warden • Fence viewer • Regional Planning Commission town representative and alternate representative If you are interested in any of these posts, please contact Dean Bloch, the Town Administrator, no later than Friday, April 3, 2015 (dean@townofcharlotte.com or 425-3071 ext. 5).
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“A lot of people will talk to their friends and we’ll be right back here again.” “We spend a fortune in administrative costs,” added Hall, citing both the Chittenden South Supervisory Union and CCS budgets. “That’s why the people of Charlotte are saying ‘no.’” Yet, most of the 20 or so people in attendance voiced support for the budget and the two-principal model. Noting that a move to a single principal would save taxpayers an average of roughly $23, Jason Bushey said, “We’re talking bake sale money, something that’s really insignificant. I don’t see two principals as a luxury to run the school.” Jeff Morgan agreed, telling the School Board he was upset that it was reducing the role of one administrator, as the responsibilities of a school principal have changed in the last 20 years. He cited in particular their oversight of nearly 500 students and staff, face time with parents and community members, and ever-changing education standards and practices. Moreover, Morgan expressed apprehension about a voting model that puts the power to influence educational policy in the hands of voters who collectively know little about school operations. “While as taxpayers we are paying for the school system, it’s somewhat offputting that we can walk into a system and simply proclaim ‘you can have this and this but you can’t have this’ because we feel that we know better than you as administrators and school board members and teachers who say they want this level of support,” he said. “I just don’t think it’s responsible to think that 470 people can be properly administered by one person. I think this has been used and abused by people who express anger and frustration about the amount of property taxes we pay in Charlotte.” Vice Chair Erik Beal echoed Morgan’s thoughts, indicating he’s surprised the two-principal issue has become the centerpiece of discussion on the budget, as the board crafted a responsible budget for the school and taxpayers, he explained. “We’ve done our best to understand exactly what the administrative needs are,” he said. “The majority of the board feels it would be irresponsible to go to one person. We have two people who are
CCS Board Approves Hire of New Lead Principal Just before The News went to print Tuesday evening, School Director Clyde Baldwin shared that the CCS School Board approved the hire of a new lead principal at a special meeting earlier that afternoon. According to Baldwin, the woman’s name is Barbara Anne Komons-Montroll, who is currently the principal at Doty Memorial School in Worcester, Vt. The hire was approved 4-1 after an executive session at the meeting. Baldwin was the only school director to oppose the hire, as he abstained due to the board not having an opportunity to review Komons-Montroll’s qualifications prior to the meeting, he noted. Komons-Montroll is one of two principals slated to replace outgoing coprincipals Greg Marino and Audrey Boutaugh, who are departing CCS at the end of the school year. The school board has planned to hire an instructional leader to augment Komons-Montroll’s role. working very, very hard. It’s implausible to me that we could get rid of one of them and continue to succeed.” He added, “This is a budget that doesn’t add to our taxes this year and continues to deliver a good product.” With the $25,000 budget reduction, as well as a $180,000 fund balance transfer passed on Town Meeting Day, the revised 2015-16 budget would save 3.4 cents on the tax rate, reducing taxes on a $400,000 house by $54. The school board will hold a budget hearing Tuesday, March 31, at the CCS multipurpose room beginning at 6 p.m. Voting will take place in the school’s multipurpose room on April 13 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Absentee ballots are available via the Town Clerk’s office.
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School Board to Bring Budget Back to Voters April 13
6 • March 26, 2015 • The
CCS Budget
Charlotte News
The budget presented to the town in February would have resulted in a decrease in the CCS portion of the property tax bills for Charlotte residents. The continued from page 1 revised budget further reduces the CCS portion of the property tax bill. For a school boards as needed house assessed at $400,000, the revised • Performing such other tasks and budget further reduces the tax burden by assume such other responsibilities as may approximately $54. from time to time be assigned by the Some community members continue superintendent. to demand the elimination of a full-time There is not a single administrator as a way to K–8 school in Vermont further reduce the propwith just one adminiserty tax burden. Doing trator, likely because so, with all the negative the span of curriculum Having two full-time impacts this would have and child developmenprincipals to administer on the quality of educatal stages for those nine CCS is not a luxury, but tion at CCS, would only years is so vast. State rather represents what is result in an additional school-quality standards savings to a taxpayer necessary to allow our mandate a full-time with a $400,000 home of administrator for every students to succeed in the approximately $23. 10 teachers and propor21st century. As has been discussed tional increases thereafat many CCS board meetter. Numerous teachers Mark McDermott ings, Charlotte, unlike expressed to the board the other schools in our their appreciation for supervisory union, gains having access to an very little from non-resiadministrator with spedential property taxes to cific knowledge of the curriculum and support our school budget. We have a testing data for the grade level they are choice as a community to either willingly teaching. These teachers would like to pay high property taxes to maintain our have more, not less, time to meet indirural landscape and character or to encourvidually with administrators to improve age some commercial development in their instructional practices. Having two town to help shoulder the tax burden. If full-time principals to administer CCS is you are interested in the latter, we encournot a luxury, but rather represents what is age residents to make this position known necessary to allow our students to succeed to the Selectboard. in the 21st century. The greatest impact on our local propAlthough a majority of the board erty tax bills are the decisions made by believed that continuing with two fullthe Vermont Legislature and the govertime principals was justified, in recogninor. The Legislature is considering many tion of concerns expressed by community proposals to reform education and educamembers about the cost of funding two tion funding in Vermont. We encourage positions, we elected to move forward you to contact our representative, Mike with one full-time lead principal and Yantachka, and our six state senators for one part-time (approximately 0.8 of full Chittenden County to express your views time) instructional leader. The reduction about education financing in our state. will provide a savings of approximately $25,000.
Selectboard continued from page 1 treasurer and the elected auditors to draft a number of these policies before professional review is sought. Accordingly, the three groups will meet on March 30 at 7 p.m. to work through the purchasing policy. The result might then be passed to the town’s contract auditor for comments. The Selectboard agreed to determine the costs of conducting such a review beforehand. In the matter of drafting a legislative town charter for the approval of the municipal budget, the Selectboard voted to ask the town attorney to draw one up. The final and exact wording of the charter language will be discussed at the March 30 meeting. In essence, the draft would require the Selectboard to warn the budget numbers approved at Town Meeting for a vote by Australian ballot at a later date. The later date was the subject of discussion and will be determined at the next meeting after consultation with various interested parties. Gary Pittman presented a brief overview of an 11-foot extension to the front of the Charlotte Senior Center. This extension will give an airlock for the entryway, free up space for offices and reduce congestion in the lobby area. It will cost about $100,000, with the funds being raised by the Friends of the Senior Center. The Selectboard granted a waiver of the $900 permitting fee and asked to review construction plans before the bidding process. Anticipated completion is 2016. Chris Ouellette of the Charcot-MarieTooth (CMT) Association requested and received permission to hold a fun ride on Sunday, September 20, starting at the Old Lantern and covering 6-, 25and 40-mile courses. The objective is to spread awareness of CMT disorder, to allow some 200 participants to enjoy themselves and to raise money for the promotion of CMT research. CMT is a progressive neurological disorder affecting the extremities and afflicts 2.8 million people worldwide. Details
of the ride can be found at http://bit. ly/1LQQsBI. In a series of administrative actions, Mow, Mow, Mow LLC was granted the mowing contract for town lands and W.R. Preston Co. the brush-hogging contract, both for FY 2016. Other actions included approving the annual local emergency management plan and appointing the town’s fire chief, Chris Davis, as local emergency management director. A move to invite public access cable television station, VCAM, to make a presentation on the potential of video broadcasting Selectboard meetings was defeated. Finally, during the Selectboard reports section, Fritz Tegatz, the new Selectboard liaison and director on the board of the Charlotte Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service announced some officer changes. For the first time in a long while the board is now fully populated, with incumbent President John Snow being joined by Charles Russell as treasurer and Joe Condon as secretary. The next regularly scheduled Selectboard meeting will be on April 6 beginning at 6 p.m. During this meeting, new and returning candidates for town committees, commissions and boards will be interviewed and selected. It should be noted that all positions are open to new candidates, and applications must be received at the Town Office by Friday, April 3. A list of positions can be found at bit.ly/1LQUv0Y. All positions, including those in which there are incumbents, are considered open to application by interested persons. As noted above, there will be an extra Selectboard session at 7 p.m. on March 30.
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The Charlotte News • March 26, 2015 • 7 Madison Hyams at a Holi festival in Nepal this spring—just another stop on her worldly gap year.
A Gallivanting Gap Year by
tains, immersed in Nepalese culture. She will be there for the next three and a half months before returning for the fall semester and to stock up on Nature Valley granola bars. She’s considering studying medicine and plans on traveling more in the future—perhaps to India, Peru or back to Australia.
Emma SlatEr
You’re traveling to the other side of the world,� Hyams spent time rock climb- ing. She would highly recommend conthe world. What would you take in your ing, hiking, working on an organic farm sidering a gap year for graduating seniors pack if you could bring only five things? and living in a spiritual gathering center and suggests attending gap-year fairs to Madison Hyams would bring her safari of a native Maori community. In Fiji check out many of the great programs that hat, a camera, Nature Valley granola bars, they lived in a remote village, where they are available. snorkeling gear and a silk sleeping-bag bonded by building homes and sidewalks A great bonus to the CDE program liner (for bed bugs). and surviving a group-wide outbreak of is that, by applying, students are also The last time Hyams was featured giardia. In Australia they did conservation automatically enrolled in Portland State in The News (April 10, 2014) she was work in the Daintree rainforest in northern University. By keeping a daily journal researching prenatal ultrasound imaging Queensland, which is one of the world’s of her travels and writing a final paper, in Uganda for her graduation challenge most complex ecosystems. Hyams also Hyams will earn four to seven credits that project at CVU. Now a CVU gradu- visited Sydney and, for her favorite part, can be transferred to UVM, where she ate, Madison has moved on to her next went scuba diving in the Great Barrier will start in the fall. adventure—a gap year. Reef, swimming with sharks, sea turtles For now, Hyams is in Nepal, working ! DIVISION OF !DDISON 0RESS )NC So far, Hyams has traveled to Australia, and dolphins. According to Hyams, “It on an organic yak farm in the mounNew Zealand0/ "OX q -IDDLEBURY 64 q and Fiji, spending a month in was a good time.� each location with 10 American students Hyams decided to take a gap year the and two leaders from a program called summer after receiving her acceptance to Carpe Diem Education (CDE). In New UVM, inspired by her love of travel and a &REEDOM 0UBLICATIONS STRIVES FOR ACCURACY IN ALL ADVERTISING 0LEASE REVIEW AND CHECK THE ACCURACY OF THIS AD Zealand, the “outdoor adventure capital of desire to participate in experiential learnINCLUDING NAME ADDRESS PHONE NUMBER AND HEADING
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Hyams with a koala bear.
Kindergarten Registration Opens at CCS Children who will be five years old by Sept. 1, 2015, are eligible to attend kindergarten at Charlotte Central School. Please call Naomi Strada at 425-6600 to notify the school that your child will be coming to CCS and to receive a registration packet. Registration for the 2015-2016 school year will take place April 6-7, 2015. We are looking forward to meeting your child on this special day!
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8 • March 26, 2015 • The
Charlotte News
News From CVU by Kim Schmidt
SBAC: Coming This Spring to a School Near You Find out what’s different about this new national standardized test Context: the groundwork leading to SBAC In 2010, Vermont adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in math and English. Since that time CSSU schools have been working diligently to integrate these more rigorous standards into daily lesson plans. The aims of these standards are to 1) provide high-quality academic standards that are consistent across the country, 2) raise the bar for student achievement,
and 3) help ensure that students are college and career ready. CCSS accentuates the importance of applying learning to new, real-life circumstances and emphasizes problem solving and the ability to articulate and justify one’s answers. In 2011 CSSU launched a four-year plan to facilitate the implementation of CCSS at each school. This spring CSSU will administer the new national test, called the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC), which will be used to measure student achievement based on the Common Core standards Change: How is SBAC different from NECAP? And how does it link to the Common Core? SBAC replaces NECAP—New England Common Assessment Program—math and English tests. Beginning in March, SBAC will assess students in grades 3-8 and 11. The new tests differ from NECAP tests in several ways: • Students at all tested grade levels will use computers to take the test. • The test is computer adaptive. This means test questions are adjusted based on student responses, individually tailoring the exam to the range of a student’s ability. Not only should this make testing a more positive experience for students, but it should provide a more accurate picture of a student’s achievement as well as information that can be used to immediately inform individual instruction plans.
• SBAC questions are expected to be more complex, require multiple steps and take more time to solve. To complete SBAC tasks, students must be able to organize, analyze, describe, defend, conclude, argue, articulate and evaluate information presented in charts, graphs and challenging informational text. • Student performance will be calculated and compared across the 31 states that have adopted the Common Core rather than among only four NECAP states. • SBAC tests will be given in the spring rather than the fall and over the course of an extended test window (mid-March to early June). • Individual student results (with the exception of longer performance tasks) will be available for teachers shortly after student tests are completed. We do not know yet whether parent reports will be available this first year. • National, state and CSSU results will be available sometime this summer. Outcomes: What can we expect? In the first two to four years of SBAC implementation, while students and educators adjust to the new test standards and expectations, student performance results are expected to decline throughout Vermont and across the country. Since the NECAP and SBAC tests use different assessment tools based on different foundational standards, the Agency of Education has advised school districts not to compare the results they yield. While we know that any new initiative of this magnitude comes with challenges and altered results, CSSU will nonetheless watch trends as they evolve over time and learn from our performance results.
Final TB Tests at CCS Begin March 30 The Department of Health has scheduled its final round of tuberculosis skin tests for the week of March 30 at CCS, with the main testing days Monday and Tuesday. This round of testing will focus on 223 students who received initial tests in February. The follow-up tests are meant to recognize any presence of the bacteria after the original tests, as TB can lay dormant in the body for several weeks. The results of this round of testing will be read by the end of next week. Since January, 15 children and one adult have tested positive for the presence of TB.
Old Brick continued from page 1 into the “nitty-gritty” of accounts, bookkeeping and customer relations. With a business hat on and hands ready in the kitchen, she plans to bring her own fresh energy to the store—“to put my own stamp on it,” she says. Starting with a remodeling job in mid-April, Finley wants to keep the store’s wide appeal, but roll out “a few tweaks.” When asked what these might be, she says with a wry smile, “You’ll have to come in and see.”
SEND US YOUR NEWS, PHOTOS, EVENTS news@charlottenewsvt.com
The Charlotte News • March 26, 2015 • 9
Charlotte Senior Center
The Café Menu
by Mary Recchia, Activities Coordinator
Monday, MarCh 30 Manhattan clam chowder Garden salad Homemade dessert
A new Spanish conversation class with Maria Acosta meets on Tuesday mornings from 11 a.m. to noon through May 5. Challenge your brain! With an eye toward speaking and understanding the language better, this group comes together to “chat” about the week’s activities or interests with a goal of improving fluency through listening and speaking. A fun, no-pressure way to meet some new folks, sharpen your mind and practice your Spanish. No fee.
Wednesday, april 1 Baked ham with raisin sauce Mashed sweet potatoes Steamed asparagus Birthday cake and ice cream
Monday, april 6 Corn chowder Tossed salad with oranges and avocados Maple/apple blondies
Join Jim Lovejoy for another poetry reading on April 6 from 1 to 3 p.m. Building on the fun and excitement that has developed with our Poem in Your Pocket readings over the years, this afterlunch poetry bonanza provides a regular time for listening, reading, writing and sharing a love of language. All are welcome. No fee. The Center is pleased to host the American Red Cross blood drive, a much needed community event, on Thursday, April 9, from 2 to 7 p.m. The comfortable atmosphere and great snacks make giving the “Gift of Life” at this site most pleasurable. While our first annual Oscar Celebration has passed, there are several other nominated films that it is our privilege to enjoy. Mark your calendars for a showing of Theory of Everything on Thursday, April 16, from 1 to 4 p.m. Registration required. No fee. Getting ready for an active summer. Fitness for every body with Ginger Lambert on Friday mornings from 9:15 to 10. Dates: April 17, 24, May 1, 8, 15, 22. We all have different body types and fitness experience but know that being strong and fit helps us to live our lives to their full potential. Using timed intervals and a series of stations, this class will incorporate body weight, light weights and other cardio/strength-building tools to boost strength, cardiovascular fitness, agility and flexibility. Some active games
Wednesday, april 8 Rosemary roast pork with cranberry-orange sauce Cauliflower gratin Homemade dessert
It’s all smiles at the Tuesday afternoon mahjong group with Jan Lawrence (right) and Patrice MacComber.
will be included to make this a fun and interesting workout. Joint and ligament issues will be taken into account. Every exercise can be modified for any ability or level of fitness. If you have been looking for a class that challenges you but doesn’t leave you in the dust, then this is for you. Registration required. Limit 10. Fee: $60 A collection of lectures, performances and special events showcasing the diverse interests of our community continue on Wednesday afternoons beginning at 1 p.m. April 1: Hear Smarter, Live Better with Julie Bier, AuD. Hearing affects everything! Come enjoy a presentation and Q&A on hearing health and how your brain is involved in the hearing process. Dr. Julie Bier of Better Living Audiology
will follow her presentation with a complimentary on-site hearing screening or a hearing aid check of your existing equipment. Registration required. April 8: “How I Picture It” with Liza Woodruff. Liza Woodruff is a local children’s book author and illustrator. Her art exhibit, “How I Picture It,” is on display at the Center for the month of April, and she joins us to talk about the process, from sketch to finished artwork, of how a children’s story becomes an illustrated and published picture book. Books and original artwork will also be on display.
senior lunCheons are held every Wednesday at noon. Reservations are necessary in advance and can be made by calling the Senior Center at 4256345. A $4 donation is requested. Reservations are not required for the Monday Munch.
Upcoming charlotte Food ShelF diStribUtion dateS Wednesday, April 1, 5–7 p.m. Thursday, April 2, 7:30–9:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 16, 5–7 p.m. Thursday, April 17, 7:30–9:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 29, 5–7 p.m. Thursday, April 30, 7:30–9:30 a.m.
The Charlotte Food Shelf is located on the lower level of the Charlotte Congregational Church vestry.
10 • March 26, 2015 • The
Charlotte News
Getting Messy: A Portrait of Kathleen Fleming Emma Slater THE CHARLOTTE NEWS
For most, the term “pastel” brings to mind soft colors and gentle light, tranquil landscapes and sentimental portraits, perhaps from the work of Manet, Degas or Mary Cassatt. However, pastel also has a reputation as a tactile medium. “What I like about pastel is that it’s dirty, it’s direct, it’s right there,” Charlotte artist Kathleen Fleming says. “You know, there’s not the brush between you and the painting. And I really like getting messy and getting right into it.” For her, landscapes are the ideal subjects to explore this process because they give her room to lend her own interpretation. “I don’t try to do it exactly the way it looks. I like to take it and make it into my own and play with it and make it sort of reminiscent of the original place,” she says. This impressionistic approach imbues each painting with a sense of playfulness and vitality, drawing the viewer’s eye with vibrant colors. Almost all of the landscapes she paints feature vistas in Vermont or occasionally in Maine. Fleming prefers to work by observing outdoors, painting “en plein air.” However, New England weather conditions can make that challenging for much of the year, so working from photos is often necessary. When she can’t be outside, Fleming said she likes to scout a location and sketch
it, taking photos and notes. She will then return home to create the actual painting with pastels. Although the process resembles drawing because no liquids are involved beyond the priming layers, working with pastels is actually referred to as painting. It’s considered painting because each color of pastel is made with a pure pigment, mixed with a binder to lend shape. If they were mixed with oil instead, they would become oil paints. That’s the beauty of pastels, though. While watercolors or oils demand that you continue working after you start because they dry, pastels can be used in shorter sittings. “With pastels you can work for 15 minutes and it’s exactly how it is when you left it,” says Fleming. And although pastels may have a less intensive cleanup process than liquid-soluble paints, they are just as playful and tactile, which is perfect for Fleming’s busy schedule. When she’s not painting, Fleming is working with underserved populations as a career counselor at the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation, taking care of her family of four, or participating in a yoga teacher-training course at Laughing River Yoga in Burlington. She has just started getting back into her art now. “There’s been a lot of ups and downs, depending on the time that I have,” she explained. Fleming has loved art from a young age and took several drawing classes while attending St. Michael’s College
Local artist Kathleen Fleming working in her home studio. in Burlington, but she was discouraged from majoring in it. She continued to participate in workshops though in Burlington, at the Shelburne Craft School and at the Senior Center in Charlotte. At the Senior Center, she took classes with Shirley Reid-Thompson, who she remembers as helpful, encouraging and inspirational. She motivated Fleming to continue to create art. “She was the best mentor—just awesome,” said Fleming. These classes were especially important to Fleming when her two children were young. “When the kids were little I needed something that was a little bit mine, you know, so I took a couple more serious workshops with nationally known artists through the Vermont Pastel Society,” she said. Fleming’s paintings have been shown
“Pond Brook in Autumn,” in pastel.
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at Art on Main in Bristol and the Shelburne Farms Coach Barn Show. She enjoys participating in juried shows, like the Coach Barn Show, because they provide the structure of deadlines. She also thinks it’s helpful to have the feedback of being admitted into a show or not. Now getting back into her art, Fleming looks forward to painting more in the summer months and maybe expanding her workspace. Teachers in the past have encouraged her to explore a more abstract approach, so she’s also considering a shift towards looser, even more interpretive landscapes. However they are sure to express the same joyful celebration of color and appreciation for the Vermont landscapes that inspire her.
“Standing Tall,” in pastel.
The Charlotte News • March 26, 2015 • 11
‘Roughing It’ in the Huts of Maine
Crossing the Dead River on a bridge for skiers—too bad they forgot to make it wide enough for the trail groomer! What comes to mind when you think of skiing to a hut? Starting a fire in a leaky stove with damp wood? Heating a can of baked beans for supper? Sleeping with 16 snoring strangers in an unheated bunkroom? Think again. The Maine Huts are four stunning, architect-designed buildings with radiant heat throughout, hot showers, banks of south-facing windows, delicious meals, wine, beer and toasty drying rooms for wet clothes. There are four huts in total: two perch on hilltops, one on the shore of Flagstaff Lake, and the fourth is just minutes from the Great Falls of the Dead River. The sustainable huts use solar panels, hydropower (when it’s not on the fritz), wood gasification boilers and sophisticated Clivus composting toilets. And they are big, sleeping from 32 to more than 40 in rooms of two to eight beds. I recently skied to the four huts in western Maine. Our days began with breakfast at 7:30 a.m., fueling us with pancakes or muffins, plenty of maple syrup, frittata or scrambled eggs, bacon or sausage, and orange juice. We then prepared our own
lunch sandwiches from big bowls of tuna, curried chickpea and barbecued chicken salads. Throw in an apple and a box of raisins and we were ready to hit the trail. Our overnight bags, stuffed with sleeping bags, extra clothes and toiletries, often departed before we did, towed by a snowmobile to our next hut. The 50 miles of ski trails are groomed regularly with classical tracks. Let me tell you about the toilets— please. The huts use porcelain toilet bowls from Japan—a small exception to otherwise local sourcing. Each toilet flush consumes only three ounces of water in contrast to the several gallons for toilets in common use. Wood shavings, bacteria and red worms—the same you might have in a kitchen compost bin—are added to the Clivus hopper in the basement. Six years after the first hut opened, the Clivus yielded only two wheelbarrows of garden-ready fertilizer! The scenery is not unlike that in Vermont as the ski trail winds through mixed northern forests and lowland alder swamps. Glacial erratics dot the woods. The skiing is easy to moderate, averag-
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Out-Doors
by Elizabeth Bassett
ing 10 miles per day. Only our final day, nearly 15 miles of steep ups and downs, was long and tricky. (This section can be avoided by using a different trailhead.) Overlooking the Bigelow Range and Flagstaff Lake is the Halfway Yurt. In no hurry to end a beautiful day in the outdoors, four of us lingered. We collected birch bark and lit a damp match. Soon a fire blazed in the leaky stove. Wind rattled the canvas walls as we hung our wet clothes to dry. A mouse peeked out from the woodpile looking for crumbs. In the warmth we shared a Lake Champlain Chocolate bar. The mouse got none. The success of Maine Huts derives from corporate and individual philanthropy as well as memberships. New Balance sponsored one hut, L.L. Bean another. After seeing three huts, a donor offered to pay for a fourth as long as it was built in his lifetime. A few years and $750,000 in construction costs later, Stratton Brook Hut was completed in 2012. Lists of donors hang in every hut. Our late afternoons were filled with reading, conversation and games of Scrabble or bridge. Each hut has a quiet space and a good supply of novels, bird and nature books, animal-tracking charts and, always, the Maine Gazetteer. Dinner
is served at 6 p.m. Our menus included braised beef stew, shepherd’s pie, baked ziti with sausage, lentil loaf for vegetarians, lots of vegetables, salad and dessert. No one went hungry. Each evening the hut crew leads an energy tour. Cordwood fills tidy basements where it feeds Tarm wood gasification boilers. Enormous tubs store water that flows through the radiant heat system. In all but one hut, which is netmetered to the grid, there are storage batteries for electric power. And as always, the giant Clivus; Rube Goldberg would be happy here. After skiing many miles on a winter’s day, there were few complaints, except about the snoring! Maine Huts & Trails is a nonprofit organization creating and operating “a world-class system of backcountry trails and eco-lodges for people-powered recreation.” More information can be found here: mainehuts.org.
Elizabeth Bassett is the author of Nature Walks in Northwest Vermont and the Champlain Valley, available at area businesses and bookstores.
At the top of yet another hill, the last herringbone to Poplar Hut, where hot chocolate around a woodstove awaited.
12 • March 26, 2015 • The Charlotte News
SPORTS
by Edd Merritt
In case you missed it—CVU girls three-peat!
On the Court and Off, Otley Seeks to Challenge
Yes, the CVU women’s basketball team won the state Division I championship! That makes it three straight state titles in a row, this one by outscoring Essex 41-23. And, yes, again it was a core of Charlotte girls that tipped the balance. Laurel Jaunich led with 16 points and 10 rebounds and Sadie Otley followed with nine points. But it was not just offense that brought the Redhawks to victory. Their zone defense held Essex to only eight points in the second half with no field goals in the third quarter. Couple that with CVU’s rebounding and that brought the well-organized and efficient Redhawk team to its 71st straight win.
Edd Merritt THE CHARLOTTE NEWS
For CVU women’s basketball coach Ute Otley the classroom and the basketball court are venues for the same kinds of challenges. After the Redhawks’ third consecutive Division I state championship earlier this month, Otley took some time to reflect on the role of high school sports in education. “Being a coach is very similar to teaching a course,” said Otley, who teaches social studies, including AP U. S. Government and Politics. “You have to break things down into their basic elements.” If a student is not answering a question correctly, it may not be the concept that she doesn’t understand, explained Otley—it may be the language that is being used to describe that concept. In coaching, if rebounds are not coming from one area of the court, it is not enough to say, “Do it better!” The coach needs to help the players break down the elements of play and adjust to the circumstances, she added. Otley brings the same focused sensitivity to the basketball court, where she sees success in building teamwork among players and coaches by focusing on the present moment and challenging the players to learn and carry out the details of play that make the wins happen. As a sport requiring five players at a time, CVU’s basketball team is a wellrounded unit. Each player has a specific task that will contribute to the success of the whole—no jealousy allowed. Otley’s history in the game goes
Laurel Jaunich, only a junior but player of the year CVU girls basketball coach Ute Otley (far left) and her team celebrate their third consecutive Division I state championship and 71st straight win. back to her childhood in Indiana, where the basketball court was the throne. She continued playing in college at Dartmouth as a starting point guard. After landing a teaching position at CVU, she quickly took over the reins of the women’s basketball program. She says she prefers to have coaches at the high school level be teachers as well. It brings continuity between sports and academics, and ideally one fosters the other. After defeating Essex in the state final, Otley told her team, “Don’t touch a basketball for six weeks.” While basketball is fun, good for health and compatible with academic values, it should not become the sole focus of a person’s life, she explained. She agrees with hockey great Wayne Gretzky that
diversity in activities is valuable—if not necessary—to help one become better in whatever one chooses to focus on. Otley is also a basketball mom, however. Having had her ten days off, she is coaching a boys AAU team in a tournament this week. Otley’s record at CVU stands at 71 straight wins (a Division I record). Yet, she cannot hide her desire to achieve the 74 straight wins that would mark an alltime Vermont record. Losing only two seniors to graduation this year should help make that goal achievable. Charlotte girls have played important roles in CVU’s success. Junior classmates Laurel Jaunich, Sadie Otley, Annabella Pugliese, Maddie Randall, Emma Hess and Maeve Higgins have come up through the ranks together, going back to their days at CCS. They don’t seem to know what it means to lose. Otley herself has been recognized by others for her work. She recently earned coach of the year honors for Division I from the Vermont Basketball Coaches Association for 2014-2015.
Sadie Otley drives the ball up the court in the championship game against Essex.
CVU star from Charlotte, Laurel Jaunich, was named Vermont’s Basketball Player of the Year by Gatorade last Thursday. The award is made in conjunction with USA Today newspapers. A 6-foot-1-inch forward, Laurel averaged 15.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and two steals per game for the Redhawks. She is the third CVU girls player to earn the honor. The Vermont Coaches Association followed suit by naming Laurel its player of the year as well. She follows the Redhawks’ Emily Kinneston, who won that honor the past two years and Allison Gannon who won in 2010. The coaches also placed Jaunich and Otley on their “Dream Dozen” for Division I girls. Kinneston, meanwhile, finished her first college season in the opening round of the women’s NCAA tournament for American University. American lost to the University of Iowa 65-57, but Emily was a starting guard for American as a freshman.
Austin versus Harris in hockey
For the last 31 years the Essex Rotary and Key Bank have sponsored an allstar hockey classic, putting high school seniors into Austin and Harris teams. On the women’s side, Harris outscored Austin 6-3, although CVU’s Rachel Pitcher (who plays for the combined South Burlington/ CVU team) scored one of the Austin goals. The Austin men topped Harris 4-3 with CVU’s Greg Talbert sharing the goaltending and Charlotte’s Oscar Kelly and Elliot Mitchell skating for the winners. Kelly scored one of Austin’s four goals. Cam Rivard and Kaleb Godbout were also on the squad.
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The Charlotte News • March 26, 2015 • 13
Rec News by Kristin Hartley
What’s not to do in Charlotte!? Currently
We are all taking a deep breath and getting ready for spring after a long cold winter! As I have spoken to many parents in our community I hear the dilemmas we all have as parents when it comes to making choices for our children’s activities.
Personal note I feel I have come full circle as a parent. My children, now young adults, participated in recreational, varsity and college sports along their path, and I have seen a lot of good and unfortunately not so good things along the way. As an avid lover of all sport, I have seen all sides of the coin—competing as a youth, college student and aging adult, as well as coaching others in youth programs, varsity sport and adult athletics. As parents we ask ourselves why we want our children to participate in recreation and athletics. Why do we ourselves want to participate? Recreation in all forms, at all ages, is fun and yet challenging. The benefits are a gift. You learn that when you fall down, you get back up. You learn not to be afraid of making mistakes, to keep trying and to believe in yourself. You learn how good it feels to be a supportive teammate and to be supported. You have the opportunity to enjoy friendships with others facing the same
challenges. All these things build selfesteem and a healthy personal outlook. Recreational sports support all of these values at all ages. It is easy to forget what it is all about and why we do this. It is easy to feel the pressure of today’s trend toward early specialization and the increasingly professionalized approach to youth sports. It is hard to jump off the wave and say “no” even if your gut tells you otherwise. We want to do what’s best for our children, and every family is different. A lot of research and information is out there on the value of recreational sports versus specialized training. It is worth doing the research for yourselves. Allowing your children to play and recreate in a variety of activities, in an environment where all participants are respected and supported and challenged equally, is what makes for great memories when you look back and creates a lifelong love of sport. Just my two cents!
outdoor sPring Programming
It is not too late to register for spring lacrosse for grades 1-8. We combine our program with the Hinesburg’s and call ourselves the Hawks. Coaches needed for grades 1-2 and 5-6 girls! If you have equipment that your child has outgrown or are looking for equipment, you can come to the town offices and be a part of our equipment swap. Practice will begin around April break depending on your coach and the weather. The practice times are listed below. Our other spring programs include: Afterschool tennis takes place at the town courts and is run by Kylie deGroot, an experienced player and teacher of tennis. This is a great way to introduce your child to the sport. Afterschool golf is now full. Kindergarten soccer will take place five Fridays after school, beginning May 1. This is a chance to get out and play a little soccer with your friends and enjoy a snack on the playground. Track and field is shared with our neighboring towns Hinesburg and
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Participants in Charlotte Recreation's Early Morning Adult Boot Camp work out in the CCS multipurpose room on a recent morning. The group meets Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 6 a.m. Williston and will continue its affiliation with the Parisi Speed School. Participants will learn the basics of running, jumping, throwing and relays. This program is for ages 7-14 and begins June 17 at the CVU track.
summer CamPs
Here is a list of what we have so far. There may be additions as the spring continues. Green Thumbs, directed by Tai Dinnan and Stacey Carter. This camp takes place June 22-26 and August 3-7 at CCS and is for 5-year-olds through rising 5th graders. Days filled with gardening tasks, art projects, free play, taste testing, outdoor exploration, sprinkler play and garden-to-plate cooking. Tim Serrell Tennis Clinic is a free clinic run by Amy deGroot. This is a Charlotte tradition made possible by a generous trust set aside by Tim Serrell. This program takes place June 22-26. Three soccer camps will be held in Charlotte this summer: the British Challenger Soccer Camp from July 13-17, the TetraBrazil Soccer Camp from July 20-24 and the Voltage Soccer Camp from August 17-21. Charlotte residents can enjoy a horseback riding camp at the Livery Stables in Hinesburg. We have two weeks set aside: July 27-31 and August 10-14. It should be lots of fun! Camp Hoopla will be held at Charlotte Central School the week of June 29-July 3. Play with the pros in music and circus arts. Develop talents in music, theatrical clowning, juggling and improvisation with Mr. Smith and Mr. Woodhead. Summer sailing camp will be happening the week of July 6-10 at the Community Sailing Center in Burlington. Sign up with your friends for a morning on the lake learning how to sail!
adult Programming
Mat Pilates is a great way to start your week. Class is held Monday mornings 6-7 a.m. in the MPR room at CCS. Come flow through a series of dynamic movements that restore balance to core muscles of the lower back and abdominals. There are four class sessions, but you can join class at any time. Registration required. Adult Early Morning Boot Camp is the place to be 6 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday mornings at CCS. It is so much fun! We have such a great community— come out and join us and make a commitment to fitness. There are eight class sessions, but you can join at any point. Registration required. Pickle ball is the new rage! We now have two inside pickle balls courts at CCS. Monday and Wednesday evenings from 6 to7:30 p.m. are the times allotted to our pickle ball drop-ins. Paddles are provided if you do not have one as is instruction if you are just starting out. Fee is $2 for each time you come, as we are saving for new nets. This spring Charlotte will be hosting a puppy workshop and basic dog obedience workshop, Saturday, May 23. These classes are two hours in length and run by Lori Bielawa of Waggles. The Recreation Department now has a Facebook page for program updates and action photos. Check it out at Charlotte VT Recreation Dept. Registration forms for all programs and more information can be found online at charlottevt.org or here at the Charlotte Town Offices. As always, full and partial scholarships available for all Recreation programs. If you have any questions about any of our programs contact me at recreation@ townofcharlotte.com or 425-6129 ext. 204.
14 • March 26, 2015 • The Charlotte News
that is in the middle of a room or the middle of the sidewalk, he simply refuses to move. He will stand there with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. If I ask what’s wrong he will scrunch his face up even more, pull his shoulders up to his ears, stare straight into my eyes and say nothing. If I try to move him he goes limp and crumples to the ground. For the longest time I would threaten him with the loss of toys or playing with friends. When these failed I would just scoop him up and carry him to the car. Then I’d go back for whatever else I needed, his coat, his shoes or his little brother, Luke. Saying I was going to take something away posed another problem in that I would often forget about it five stomp their feet or yell at you. If your minutes later. To Noah’s credit, though, children are anything like our boys they he often reminds me of what I said. have done all of these things, After a particularly long sometimes in a single tanstring of protests I got so fed trum. Noah, who is five, also up that I walked out of the employs what I have come room and literally hopped up to call the passive protest. and down and roared, lookWhile the previously mening very much like Yosemite tioned actions can contribute Sam without the chaps and to hearing loss or be downten-gallon hat. (And thus right embarrassing in public, learned that you can in fact it has been my experience that get hopping mad.) After this Jorden Blucher the passive protest is by far wonderful display of total CONTRIBUTOR the most exasperating of all loss of control, I decided that the ways children can show I’d better come up with a their displeasure. new approach. Now I meet Once a protest has begun, silence with silence, save for the occaNoah will stand rooted to the spot where sional warning or toy removal. he became annoyed. It doesn’t matter if The one thing that I don’t do is use the “I’m going to leave you here� threat, even on the days when I would really like to. Not because I think it’s cruel to say that to
The Humbled Parent
Make Way for Passive Protest Editor’s Note: Over the next month, we’ll welcome two new voices taking over the Humbled Parent column. Jorden Blucher will make his entrance this issue and Carrie Fenn will weigh in next time. Let us know what you think in a letter to the editor. How do your children show their displeasure? Perhaps they run off and hide, fall to the ground kicking and screaming,
your child, but because the one time I did say it, Luke broke down into a sobbing, fear-filled frenzy over the fact that we were going to leave his brother who, as he repeated many times, is part of the family. Having a sobbing child and a silent unmoving child is extremely counterproductive. Like all aspects of parenting, how I deal with a situation, as well as how the kids deal with it, is always changing. Often our coping ability hinges on how much sleep either party has gotten and how many days in a row my wife has been working. For the most part though, meeting silence with silence seems to be working. I just continue to plod along and, when things get really bad, tell myself that other parents must be going through this sort of thing as well. As frustrating as the boys’ protests can be, I am secretly impressed with how strongly they hold to their positions. In an age of bullying, extreme peer pressure and a divided society, having the tenacity to stand up for what you believe is right or wrong is something that should be fostered. Figuring out how to do that without becoming a complete pushover is the real trick to all of this.
Jorden Blucher is a stay-at-home-dad in Charlotte who uses his passion for trail running to help fight cancer (runningdowncancer.com). More of his musings on life and parenting can be found at, smartmenmarrydoctors.com.
Dog Registration Due April 1 It's that time again—Charlotte's dogs must be registered by April 1. Owners should bring the animal's latest rabies certificate and a spaying/ neutering certificate to the Town Clerk's Office. The cost is $8 for spayed/neutered dogs and $12 for intact males/females. Four dollars from each license fee goes to the State of Vermont for rabies control and spay/neuter surcharges. Charlotte has a Nuisance Animal Ordinance, which requires that owners keep their dogs under control at all times. It is available on the town website, charlottevt.org.
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The Charlotte News • March 26, 2015 • 15
Charlotte Conservation Currents
by other large birds. Me: What about your babies? eleanOr: I usually lay two to five eggs during nesting season in January. They take a month to hatch. After six weeks they are walking around, and after three more weeks they are ready to fly. We have one mate for life. My husband does most of the hunting during the incubation period, and then we take turns guarding the owlets after they hatch. We are very protective and might even attack one of you humans if you get too close. The owlets will stay with us until October when they are ready to go out on their own. Then it’s goodbye and good luck.
Conversation with a Great Horned Owl Howard Verman
Lady,” shares this urgent message with us on Wednesday, April 1, at 7 p.m. We hope you’ll join us to learn about appropriate pollinator plants—including vegetables, flowers, herbs and shrubs— nesting requirements, and best cultural practices in your garden and landscape to support native pollinators and honeybees. Don’t forget to pick up some suitable seeds from the Charlotte Seed Library while you’re here and help the library with its Local Landscapes project.
CONTRIBUTOR
Many nights this winter, I’ve been hearing owls calling to each other. It’s been many years since I have seen an owl in the daytime, so I was excited just recently when I spotted a great horned owl sitting in a tree above our driveway. Perhaps because she had heard of my uncanny ability to converse with wildlife, she flew down to have a chat. Me: Thanks for being willing to talk with me, what’s your name? Owl: It’s Eleanor, pleased to meet you. Me: Nice to meet you too. I’ve always been curious about those huge ears you have. Do they help you to hear better? eleanOr: Those aren’t ears, Mr. Wildlife Whisperer, they are tufts of feathers. You should know that my ears are located behind my facial disc feathers. My ears are covered with special feathers that help me detect a mouse squeaking from 900 feet away. They are asymmetrically placed so that they pick up sounds at slightly different times, which helps me zero in on my prey. I have excellent hearing. Me: My, what big eyes you have! eleanOr: Very funny! Actually, my eyes are so big, they almost touch inside my skull. But I can’t really move them from side to side like you can because they are tube shaped. Their large size helps me to hunt at night and act like a pair of binoculars as well. Unfortunately, I’m farsighted so I can’t really focus on anything up close. No reading Harry Potter books for me. Me: So is that why you have to swivel your head around to see things to the side and in back of you? eleanOr: Exactly. I can rotate my head 270 degrees—that’s three quarters of the whole way around. Unlike most birds, which have seven vertebrae in their neck, I have fourteen. If you could turn your head around like me, you would pass out because the veins and arteries in your neck would get closed off and you wouldn’t have any blood flowing to your brain. I have the special ability to conserve blood during my extreme head movement that continues to allow my blood to flow to my eyes and brain. Me: That’s pretty cool. So when you hunt at night what do you eat? eleanOr: I eat all kinds of food: insects,
A great horned owl with his “ears” up and eyes on the land. rabbits, skunks, woodchucks, mice, rats, squirrels, birds, ducks, quail, geese and even an occasional fish. I think I may be one of the only animals to eat a skunk! Me: Wow, that’s quite a varied diet. How do you catch your prey? eleanOr: It’s all about stealth. At night, small animals listen for sounds of danger. I can swoop down silently because I have special serrations along the leading edges of my wings that help muffle the sound the air makes as it flows over them. I can also spread out the feathers on my wingtips, which helps to make for a very silent flight. I also can glide down so my flapping wings don’t make any noise. In the daytime, my feathers form their own camouflage so I blend in with my surroundings. I have very sharp talons to stun, snatch and crush my prey and a sharp beak for tearing larger prey to smaller pieces. I have no teeth so I swallow small rodents and birds whole. Me: Ouch! How can you digest a whole animal? eleanOr: My stomach has two parts. The first part digests the soft parts of my food and moves it through my intestines. The second part is my gizzard, which acts as a holding place for the indigestible parts like bones, teeth and fur. Several hours after eating, these parts are compressed into a pellet, which I regurgitate and drop onto the forest floor. Me: I think I’d like to move on to a subject a little less gross! eleanOr: Yes, and I’ll refrain from making any comments about your digestive system! Me: Deal! Tell me more about where you like to live and nest. eleanOr: I usually like holes in trees, but also stumps, caves or nests left behind
RESIDENTIAL
Me: Do groups of owls ever get together? eleanOr: Yes, I have a rabbit discussion group that gets together once a month, and my mate has a men’s group that…I don’t even know what they do! Anyway, a group of owls together is called a parliament. Me: So each individual in that group would be a member of parliament? eleanOr: Oh please! I can see this conversation is devolving and I have to get back to my babies. Sorry to fly off, but nice chatting with you. Me: Bye.
Upcoming at the Library For more information about these and other programs, visit our website: charlottepubliclibrary.org.
Saving Books and Saving Bees Margaret Woodruff CONTRIBUTOR
We’ve just finished a spring clean-up here at the library during which a cache of old library books came to light, all from the Breezy Point Library just down the road. What a treat to delve into these yellowed pages and peek at the signatures of BPL patrons who enjoyed them. And how glad I am that such treasures exist to remind us that the joy of reading extends across the boundaries of time, geography and even generation. If you doubt the last, check out the article from the Washington Post, “Why digital natives prefer reading in print. Yes, you read that right.” Here is the link: goo. gl/4VSlOF. Despite many rallying cries to the contrary, it looks like books are here to stay. The same may not be true of our six-legged pollinator, the humble honeybee. Hope Johnson, known across Chittenden County as “the Garden
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16 • March 26, 2015 • The Charlotte News
Charlotter Lambs it up at Fully Belly Farm Becca von Trapp CONTRIBUTOR
The trick is to be extremely quiet. Don’t slam the truck door, don’t make a squeak as you squeeze through the gate. And don’t, whatever you do, turn on your flashlight yet. The night check is all about listening first—your ears alone will tell you right away what your check has in store for you. There might be a ewe cooing to her freshly born lamb over here, while another ewe is maahh-ing desperately over there. Has she lost sight of her lambs in the orchard? Is there a predator nearby? Or is she about to go into labor? Sometimes one ewe will give birth to three lambs and another ewe is absolutely sure those three lambs belong to her. At three o’clock in the morning, it’s up to you to figure out which ewe they actually belong to. Sometimes there are two ewes that have obviously given birth with four lambs around their legs—with all
four nursing from either ewe. Sometimes there are a few fresh lambs in one corner and no ewes taking ownership of them. Sometimes there is a deafening silence, which means you can head right back to bed. (That one doesn’t happen very often!) I’m talking about lambing season, folks, and for the animal team here at the Fully Belly Farm, this season’s almost over. Farming animals is quite different from farming vegetables. For example, a farmer can plant a seed, water it, weed around it a few times, and then let Mother Nature take the reigns for a while until it comes time to harvest. His carrots won’t die if he takes a day off. On the other hand, a farmer who keeps animals has many mouths to feed other than his own, every single day. And it doesn’t stop at food—they need clean cool water, fresh straw for nest boxes and clean coops. A cow has to get milked at dawn and dusk, the eggs need to be collected in the morning and afternoon, and everyone needs to be moved to new pasture every couple of days. It’s a rather demanding trade, this animal husbandry. We farm both animals and vegetables here at Full Belly Farm, which makes for year-round excitement. Summer is
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chock-full o’ fruits and veggies. By July, we all have melons, tomatoes, peaches and sweet corn coming out our ears. Winter isn’t as brimming with produce as it is with babies. This past fall and winter has been especially fruitful on the babe front. Arlo Muller and Teo Ochoa made their autumn debuts; Flax, our newest calf, was born one chilly January night; Blueberry, our sow, birthed 11 wiggling piglets mid-February; and since February 4, our flock of 80 ewes has produced over 160 baby lambs. There are many ways for a farmer to approach lambing. Some will simply let their ewes lamb out on pasture and never step in for any reason. This method tends to result in about an 80% survival rate, which is not bad. However, our method, though very labor intensive, results in about a 90% survival rate. I’ll try to paint for you a little picture of what the lambing scene looks like at Full Belly Farm… With temporary electric fencing, we split our old almond orchard into four sections—the still-pregnant ewes on one end, “headquarters” in the middle, “kindergarten” on the other end and a small “preschool” off to the side. This is how it works: when a ewe gives birth out in the orchard, we make sure her lambs are moving about—if she’s a good mom, she’ll immediately get up and lick them off. She could have anywhere from one to four lambs—or in our case this year, one ewe had five! It only takes a healthy lamb about ten minutes to acclimate to life on earth before it’s up walking around and, hopefully, finding one of its mama’s teats to nurse from. If it’s a nice day, we like to give the ewe and her babies at least an hour to relax and get to know each other before we bring them into headquarters. Headquarters is basically an openended greenhouse that we built in the orchard, next to a small barn filled with yummy alfalfa hay. In the greenhouse, there are nine pens—or jugs—each
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equipped with a feeder, a water trough and enough space for a ewe and her brand-new lambs to really bond to one another. Getting them in the jug is actually quite easy, despite the skittish nature of sheep. Unless she’s a particularly nervous mom, a ewe will always go where her babies go. So, all we do is pick up her lambs, walk slowly backwards (so she can see them) into a jug, lay them down in the straw, and she hastily joins them. A flake of alfalfa from the barn and a scoop of organic grain for post-partum energy, and they’re all good! We jug for several reasons. To make sure a ewe and her lambs really get bonded is a big one. We want to be sure the ewe has the ability and desire to protect and provide for her lambs once we let them back out. Jugging also allows us to check her udder to make sure she has plenty of milk. It makes it easy to catch her for trimming hooves and tagging, which is a quick shear of just the rear end to keep her clean. In inclement weather, jugging keeps the new lambs cozy and warm. Finally, it gives any unhealthy or very small lambs easy access to their mom’s milk in the first couple of days and therefore a much greater chance of thriving. After two to three days in a jug, we assess each little sheep family and decide whether they’re ready for preschool. Preschool is a much larger pen—about ten times the size of a jug—where we join six or seven of the sheep families together so the ewes and their lambs can get used to finding each other in a crowd. After one or two days in preschool, they’re ready for kindergarten. Pretty soon after that, they go out onto one of our lush winter cover crops to graze vetch, rye grass and peas. Jugging is a lot of work. It requires someone to be there checking the orchard and the greenhouse every two to three hours. And yes, that includes all through
The Charlotte News • March 26, 2015 • 17
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Becca von Trapp keeping two lambs happy at Full Belly Farm.
the night. Luckily, we have a fantastic crop of interns with us at the moment, all of whom have put a lot of time and energy into making this a smooth and slightly-less-tiring-than-years-past lambing season. Among the four of them, Dru and me, we alternate night checks so we can all get at least one uninterrupted night of sleep per week. With 162 lambs born and only eight moms left to give birth, it’s been a fast, intense and super fun lambing season! The best part of the whole process is watching a pack of happy, healthy lambs at sunset, running back and forth across the pasture—a furry blur while their moms stand by, contentedly chewing their cuds. Lambing is awfully exhausting and at times incredibly depressing. But it is also a truly rewarding and most miraculous thing. Such is the life of a farmer, I suppose, and I love every darn minute of it.
Becca lives and works on Full Belly Farm, a 350-acre organic fruit, vegetable, and animal farm in the Capay Valley of northern California. Back in 2010, she moved to San Francisco after graduating from Colorado College. Having grown up in Charlotte, surrounded by dairy farms and not very many people, she realized that she didn’t really belong in the city. In search of some fresh air and an opportunity to explore a newfound interest in farming, she applied for an internship at Full Belly in August of 2011. She came for a visit that September and got the job by November. She quickly fell in love with the farm (and the farmer’s son!) and the rest is history.
Rural or In-Town Lifestyle Options!
Real Estate Listings
SIXTY ACRES OF COUNTRY LIVING, HINESBURG 1910 Four Square Farmhouse recently renovated with all new wiring, new heating system, new bathroom fixtures and floors, new standing seam roof and all new kitchen with stainless appliances and solid surface counters. Historic post & beam 1860’s barn, a mother-in-law apartment and 60 acres. Offered at $780,000 | MLS# 4406718
BEAUTIFUL, CONVENIENT TO EVERYTHING, MTN VIEWS
One owner beautifully cared for South Burlington Condo. Lovely east side back yard with perennial beds and large patio. First floor master, built-ins in office/den and flanking the fireplace. Upstairs bedrooms with spectacular view. Central vac in house & garage. Open floor plan with a cozy feel! Offered at $497,000 | MLS# 4400026
For more information or to schedule a showing, contact: Bobbe Maynes (802) 846-9550 | BobbeMaynes.com Bobbe@BobbeMaynes.com
North Ferrisburgh 2.70 acre building lot in North Ferrisburgh on the town line. Nice quiet open land bordered on two sides with mature hedgerows, view of Mt. Philo and great exposure to the south. Part of a small neighborhood with only 3 other homes. Power and septic in place, and site specific house plans available if needed. $129,000
Dottie Waller 802-846-7849 dottie.waller@ fourseasonssir.com
www.ChrisvonTrapp.com Open House
Sunday, 3/29 1-3pm
Other CharlOtte PrOPerties fOr sale ice Pr ion! 7K ct $2 edu R
Chris von Trapp, REALTOR®
Chris@ChrisvonTrapp.com Country Contemporary Long Lake & Mtn Views (802) 343-4591 Located on 13.5 private acres, Beautiful views you have this 4 bedroom home has been always dreamed about! This 3 Come Tour this Spectacular One of a Kind Property! This historic building has been a Tavern, a single family home, thoughtfully updated including bedroom contemporary Cape 3 updated baths, chef’s has an open floor plan design, professional office space and apartments- and now is being kitchen, and some new paint private master bedroom, and offered to the next steward. Many possibilities for this 4,000+ living room cathedral ceiling. square foot landmark home with 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms plus & carpet. 3 bay garage with insulated attic storage. On 10.4 acres in Charlotte. adjoining 2 car carriage barn with apartment. 9 acres of land. $598,000 | MLS# 4355115 $597,500 | MLS# 4378694 Please Join Us! $798,000 | MLS# 4406880
18 • March 26, 2015 • The Charlotte News
Community Events Pre-K OPenings The Charlotte Children’s Center has openings for its fall program beginning Sept. 2. The pre-K program will help prepare three and four year olds for kindergarten. It will run on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. There is a low student-teacher ratio so that each child can receive individual attention. For an application or to learn more about the program or funding please call Nancy Elder at 425-3328 or visit the website at charlottechildrensctr. com.
garden Club The Shelburne Charlotte Garden Club will meet at the Shelburne Town Hall Offices at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 2. The program will be “To Bee or Not to Bee: Trials and Tribulations of Producing Honey,” featuring Dr. Judy Brook and Steve Silverman, who started the hives and producing honey at Shelburne Farms. All are welcome. For more information, call Ann Mead at 985-2657.
The saP is bOiling aT Palmer’s sugarhOuse David and Michele Palmer welcome you to their Shelburne sugarhouse for
an authentic Vermont experience—the annual celebration of maple sap being boiled into syrup. Enjoy maple demonstrations, maple goodies, a petting zoo, and horse rides. Taste traditional sugar-on-snow (served with a donut and a dill pickle!), maple cotton candy, maple lollipops, maple hot dogs, and more. Free. There’s plenty of comfortable seating and plenty of accessible parking. Live music—The Mystic Party Band on Saturday; John Holland plays Sunday. Dates: Saturday, March 28, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, March 29, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. More info: palmersugarhouse.com or call 985-5054.
auThOr PresenTaTiOn aT CVu Young Adult author Matt de la Peña will visit CVU on Wednesday, April 1. He’ll work with classes in the morning and give a presentation about his personal journey in the library from 12–1 p.m. Matt is a dynamic speaker and he has taught in the creative writing programs at both the Vermont College of Fine Arts and New York University. All welcome. More info about him can be found at his website mattdelapena.com or check out his recent contributions to NPR.
ONGOING EVENTS
geT YOur WOrds in sWing aT KWiniasKa Kwiniaska Golf Club has announced its annual junior membership essay contest. Vermont junior golfers (18 and under) are invited to submit essays on “Life Lessons of Golf.” The top essay will receive a 2015 junior membership to Kwiniaska Golf Club. Entries must be original and tell a story of a person (living or deceased) you would like to play a round of golf with and what life lessons you would hope to learn from him/her. Essays should be at least 500 words, may be submitted via email or USPS mail. One entry per person. All essays must be submitted by May 15, 2015. Submissions may be sent via email to tomjarrett@kwiniaska.com or mailed to Kwiniaska Golf Club, 5800 Spear Street, Shelburne, VT 05482. Judging criteria is based on creativity, grammar and passion for the sport. The selection will be determined by a committee of club members. Selection will be made by May 29. The winner will be posted on the Kwiniaska website kwiniaska.com.
MONDAYS Senior Center Café, 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m. Featuring soup, salads, bread and dessert. No reservations necessary. Charlotte Multi-Age Coed Pickup Basketball Open Gym, 7–9 p.m. at the CCS gym. High school students welcome. 425-3997 for info. WEDNESDAYS Charlotte/Shelburne Rotary Club, 7:30–8:30 a.m., Parish Hall, Trinity Episcopal Church, Shelburne. Newcomers Club of Charlotte, Shelburne and surrounding area meets once a month on the third Wednesday from September to June. Variety of programs, day trips and locations. Information: Orchard Corl, president, 985-3870. AA Meeting, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, 7 p.m. Senior Luncheon, Senior Center, noon. For reservations, call 425-6345 before 2 p.m. on previous Monday. Volunteer Fire Dept. Mtg., 7:30 p.m., Fire Station. Charlotte Multi-Age Coed Pickup Basketball Open Gym, 7-9 p.m. at the CCS gym. High school students welcome. Call 425-3997 for information. Food Shelf, open from 5–7 p.m. Lower level of the Charlotte Congregational Church vestry. Information: Karen at 425-3252; for emergency food call John at 425-3130. THURSDAYS Food Shelf, open from 7:30-9:30 a.m. Lower level of the Charlotte Congregational Church vestry. Information: Karen at 425-3252; for emergency food call John at 425-3130. FRIDAYS AA Meeting, Congregational Church Vestry, 8 p.m. Charlotte Playgroup, 9:30–11 a.m., CCS MPR. Free, ages 0-5.
Thoughts about Charlotte from a Temporary Absentee in a Nursing Home Larry Hamilton CONTRIBUTOR
In late 2008, immediately following double knee-replacement surgery, I broke my femur, and wound up in a nursing home for two months. I penned these thoughts there, and I pull them out now in response to questions I’ve been hearing about whether we have too much conserved land in Charlotte. It also seems like a good time to share them since we now have a newly constituted Selectboard to guide town policy. If these thoughts sound slightly sentimental, please forgive your aging tree warden. This is my personal opinion… Many of us who live in Charlotte, whether for two years, 30 years or a lifetime, feel that we have found “our
place.” This is a place where we want to have roots and find a grounding sanctuary in a world of rapid change, of turmoil we feel powerless to alter. As I lie or sit here in my room, longing to get back to the Bittersweet Lane homestead, I try to analyze why it is that I feel so fortunate that I have found my “place,” living in our town. Two major reasons stand out. First of all, there is the physical, or more aptly biophysical, surround or habitat in which I live. The lake, hills, farms, forests, streams, wetlands, wild plants and animals, clean air and distant mountains—this environment is absolutely stunning. Yet it is more than superficial beauty to an observer, it is a habitat in which one can immerse oneself—feel bonded to this lovely creation, Earth. It permeates all the senses: Canada
Scripts & Quips
Quote submitted by edd merritt
geese honking overhead, barking fox, the “peent” of a woodcock, autumn foliage, forest/field mosaic, warmth of summer garden soil, taste of newly picked blueberries, even the smell of newly manured fields—the bonding vignettes go on and on. Here one feels connected to the real world, which is not the world of shopping, finance, political power or rushing from one meeting to another. Rather this is the world that sustains life, provides oxygen, water, food and fiber, and acquaintance with many of the other forms of life that share this planet with us. Charlotte can provide opportunity to repeatedly re-connect with life. Land conservation is one of the best ways of assuring that “rural” and some “wild” remain in our future. In the second place, there is the human community: the potlucks; the public places such as the library, post office and Senior Center where you meet friends; the volunteer groups of all kinds; or even our small stores such as Spears, the Old Brick or the Little Garden Market. We are so fortunate in Vermont, and in our town in particular, that we can easily work with others to shape our future. We are not powerless. Government is close to us, not some distant, impersonal entity or process that cannot be influenced. We may often encounter our congressional or statehouse members, or the governor, at modest public events. Town Meeting, Selectboard meetings and hearings, Planning Commission meetings and those of Zoning Board of Adjustment, or the many volunteer committees and commissions that have been established to assist govern-
ment are all available for information and input into decision-making. We have a Town Plan, shaped by the community to provide a vision of what we collectively want the town to remain or become over time. It will be coming up for review. Do we want to maintain the quality of rich rural and small village living? Or do we want to become another example of a town that has trashed nature and the rural landscape in favor of the false idea that the development of any agricultural or wild land equals progress? We have a choice. I can’t wait to get back! To return to the present. The Town Meeting of March 3 should be viewed as a celebration of democracy, but it is always a shame that such a small percentage of citizens are in attendance. Though I was forced to be absent to attend a funeral in Canada, I understand that in many ways it was inspiring in its civility. And the Town Plan is in process of revision by a hard-working Planning Commission. (Thanks be to this group!) This is a key document, and citizen input of all flavors is needed to make it a valid guide. We can influence the path of Charlotte continuing to be a desirable place to live and to coexist with a rich and wonderful natural world. Participate! Larry Hamilton is Charlotte's volunteer tree warden.
The Charlotte News • March 26, 2015 • 19
Around Town Congratulations to Amanda Comai of Charlotte who earned the Dean’s Award for academic excellence for the fall semester 2014 at Colgate University, Hamilton, N.Y. Having graduated from CVU last year, Amanda then entered Colgate where she is majoring in geography. to Charlie Proutt, owner and landscape architect for Distinctive Landscaping, located in Charlotte. His design project, “An Artful Retreat,” on the Hills Point property of Lynn, David and Ethan Bond-Watts won an award from Green Works, the Vermont Nursery and Landscaping Association. Sarah Stradtner, a landscape designer for Distinctive Landscaping, also received an honor award for a large-scale residential design in Charlotte. to Lisa Boege and Nate Carr of Church Hill Landscapes, Charlotte, who received awards from Green Works for projects in Richmond and Burlington. to CVU’s Chefhawks, a cooking team that competed in the Junior Iron Chef competition at the Champlain Valley Exposition, winning the “crowdpleaser” prize for their vegetarian pizza recipe. About 260 students from 61 schools participated in the event. The vegetables for the pizza were all locally grown.
Property Transfers
to Joseph Carrara, 20, who recently completed a semester in the Pacific Northwest with the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). Carrara’s course, which enrolled eight students and had five instructors, took place over 79 days. Beginning in the North Cascade Wilderness, Carrara and his coursemates hiked over 98 miles in 23 days.
Sympathy is extended to family and friends of Marie Jacqueline (Shappy) Dubois of South Burlington who passed away March 8 at the age of 76. She is survived by her daughter Vivian Sheehan and her partner Kevin Kaigle, by Vivian’s daughters Lindsay and Emily Sheehan and Marie Kaigle, all of Charlotte, and Courtney Griffin and her husband, Charlie, of Carthage, N.Y., and by Kevin’s daughter, Chelsea. The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, donations in her memory be made to the VNA of Vermont, 1110 Prim Road, Colchester, VT 05446 or to a charity of the donor’s choice.
The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations in his memory be made to Relay for Life, Chittenden County Team, Get your Rear in Gear, relayforlife.org/ getinvolved/donate/. is extended to family and friends of Neil F. Raymond of Charlotte who passed away March 14. He and his wife, Doris, purchased a farm in Charlotte in 1949 where they raised their family. Neil served as a volunteer firefighter and earned recognition as a fourth-degree member of the Knights of Columbus. His son, Ronald, and Ronald’s wife, Barb, live in Charlotte, where Neil spent the last days of his life. The family asks that those wishing to make a donation in his memory, consider doing so to Addison County Home Health and Hospice, P.O. Box 754, Middlebury, VT 05753. is extended to family and friends of Rene Marie Gustave Zimmerman of Burlington, who passed away February 19 at the age of 98. His surviving family includes his nephew Chuck Burns and Chuck’s wife Cindi, plus their two daughters, Samantha and Stephanie all of Charlotte. The family asks that those wishing to make a donation in Rene’s memory, do so to the charity of their choice.
is extended to family and friends of James John Lawrence of Williston who passed away March 8 at the age of 52. A graduate of CVU, James served as a volunteer firefighter for the Town of Charlotte.
Feb. 12. Alan D. and Christine L. Palmer to Vermont Agency of Transportation, .41 acre easement, 5582 Ethan Allen Highway, $10,600.
March 2. Anthony and Josefina Bower to Vermont Agency of Transportation, .21 acre easement, 32 State Park Road, $5,500.
Feb. 23. Mario Falsetto and Carole Zucker to Therese Ciampa and Melissa Jones, 2.71 acres with dwelling, 139 Fire Pond Road, $550,000.
March 6. Todd and Lisa LaChapelle to John Welch, 1.0 acre with dwelling, 159 Wesley Drive, $260,000.
Feb. 23. Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity to Jordan and Renee Paquette, .25 acre with dwelling, 155 Albert’s Way, $131,897. March 2. Rodney and Donna Stearns to Todd and Lisa LaChapelle, 2.18 acres with dwelling, 5 Elcy Lane, $414,500. March 2. Bruce Barry to Vermont Agency of Transportation, .23 acre easement, 5697 Ethan Allen Highway, $3,000.
March 17. Louis Kirschner to Richard and Kelly Devine, 2.6 acres with dwelling, 4717 Spear Street, $370,000. March 17. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation to Jason and Rachel Miller, 0.5 acre with dwelling, 295 Ten Stones Circle, $275,000. March 20. Unity Farm LLC to Vermont Agency of Transportation, 2.79 acre easement, 200 Higbee Road, $1,300.
Regular Church Services SATURDAYS St. Jude Catholic Church, Mass, Hinesburg, 4:30 p.m. SUNDAYS Community Alliance Church, Hinesburg, Gathering Place, 9 a.m., Sunday School, 9 a.m., Worship, 10:15 a.m. Information: 482-2132. Charlotte Congregational Church, Worship, 10 a.m., Sunday School, 10 a.m. Information: 425-3176. Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Mass, 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. Information: 425-2637. St. Jude Catholic Church, Mass, Hinesburg, 9:30 a.m. Information: 482-2290. North Ferrisburgh United Methodist Church, Hollow Road, Worship, 10 a.m., Sunday School, 9:45 a.m. Information: 425-2770. Cross Roads Chapel, Ferrisburgh Ctr. Rt. 7, Sunday Worship 10 a.m. Information: 425-3625. Assembly of God Christian Center, Rtes. 7 and 22A, Ferrisburgh, Sunday worship, 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., Sunday School, 9 a.m. Information: 877-3903. All Souls Interfaith Gathering, 291 Bostwick Farm Road, Shelburne. Sunday Service 9 a.m., Evensong Service 5 p.m. 985-3819 Trinity Episcopal Church, 5171 Shelburne Rd., Shelburne, 8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist, 9:15 - 10:15 a.m. “Space for Grace” (educational hour), 10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist (with child care and Sunday School). 985-2269.
Classifieds The Charlotte News Classifieds: Reach your friends and neighbors for only $7 per issue (payment must be sent before issue date). Please limit your ad to 35 words or fewer and send it to The Charlotte News Classifieds, P.O. Box 251, Charlotte, VT 05445 or email us ads@charlottenewsvt.com.
NEW AT THE MT. PHILO INN: Overnight accommodations, spacious 2-3 bedroom suites available by the day, week or month. Adjacent to Mt. Philo State Park, with panoramic views of Lake Champlain. Each "wing" in the historic inn has a private entrance, full kitchen, laundry and porch. MtPhiloInn.com, 425-3335. INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR PAINTING: If you're looking for quality painting with regular or low-VOC paints and very reasonable rates, call John McCaffrey at 802-999-0963 or 802338-1331. (-18)
FRUIT TREE PRUNING SEASON: Better distribute sun, flowers, and fruit. Minimize pests and storm damage, get back to a little each year. Dave 453-4992 (-16) For over 37 years, LAFAYETTER PAINTING has been transforming the interiors of homes in Chittenden County. Allow our experts to give your space a new look in just a day. Call 8635397 or visit LafayettePaintingInc.com (-16) FOR SALE. Flynn Theater Tickets for Peter and the Starcatcher on April 14, 2015 at 7:30PM. Four tickets available, seats Orch Right F11-17, cost $314, will take best offer. Call Michael at 985-8269.
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5247 Shelburne Rd. Shelburne, VT. (802) 985-5552 www.edohair.com
Offers ends 6/1/15.
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