Colchester Sun
February 15, 2018 • Colchester Sun •1 Prsrt Std ECRWSS U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 266 Burlington, VT 05401 Postal Patron-Residential
FREE Vol. 17, No. 7 colchestersun.com
{ Thursday, February 15, 2018 }
ANR: Colchester company fined for mismanaging septic waste
Owner says fee will sink his small business By MICHAELA HALNON
PHOTOS BY KYLE ST. PETER
ABOVE: The 2018 Lake Champlain Pond Hockey Classic brought a record high of 1,200 participants, 150 teams and 14 rinks to Malletts Bay this past weekend. BELOW: A skater enlists a four-legged friend to the ice.
PonD PLay Malletts Bay hosts seventh annual hockey classic
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The Colchester company Enviro Tech of VT Septic Services was fined $58,550 last week after unlawfully managing septic waste for over a decade, according to the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. Enviro Tech of VT has not had a valid waste transporter permit since 2006, a press release from ANR said, but transported and delivered almost 4 million gallons of septic waste between 2012 and 2017. ANR said Enviro Tech of VT also temporarily stored solid waste on its Colchester property on multiple occasions and failed to submit quarterly reports of “waste management activities and associated fees.” Randy Duval, the owner and sole employee of Enviro Tech of VT, admitted in an interview last week he had not held the waste transporter permit since 2006. But he said he didn’t receive a violation report until 2016, almost a decade later. “The guilt goes both ways,” Duval said. “They should have told me. They never said anything to me. I was dumbfounded. I was hit in the side of the head going ‘Where’d this come from, how’d this happen?’” Duval said he has well over 1,000 clients, mostly in Chittenden County, and disposes waste at a handful of area wastewater treatment plants. His services include septic tank pumping, locating and uncovering septic tanks, septic system inspections, sewage pump station services See SEPTIC, page 3
By KAYLEE SULLIVAN
ast weekend — “the best weekend of the year” — attracted hockey players from near and far for the seventh annual Lake Champlain Pond Hockey Classic in Colchester. This year saw 25 more teams than last, amounting to 14 rinks, 150 groups and 1,200 skaters, event founder Scott Crowder said. Hundreds of spectators lined the Malletts Bay arenas, cheering their friends and family on with a beer in hand, capturing the true spirit of the event, sponsored by Labatt Brewing Company. “For a lot of [the players] it’s a nice escape,” Crowder said. “It’s an escape from their reality of home and work, and a lot of people are traveling in, so it’s a weekend away with their buddies.” Only between 10 and 15 of the teams were from Vermont, Crowder said, but it’s an escape
JORDAN BURKE
See HOCKEY, page 3
District shifts health curriculum in younger grades By MICHAELA HALNON Three Colchester schools are implementing a new “matter-of-fact” health curriculum using anatomically correct language this year, all part of a coordinated effort to prevent early childhood sexual abuse. “Whether adults feel comfortable about this or not, it’s incredibly important that we’re talking to kids about this,” Porters Point School principal Carolyn Millham said. “Most of the time, I find that kids are most afraid when they don’t have a plan.”
The six-part program, called “Care for Kids,” was created in Canada but entered into the Vermont education sphere during the late 1990s. Prevent Child Abuse Vermont has been the sole proprietor of the program since 2015. Units include “Asking for Help” and “Bodies,” each allotting time for two to four age-appropriate messages, a book and an activity. Millham said the district has long emphasized personal safety in their teachings. Still, Colchester early educators might have previously used terms like “private area” or refer to body parts “covered by a bathing
suit” during health classes, she said. The benefits of anatomically correct language — rather than pet names or code words — are multifold, according to Lori Howe, a PCAVT educator helping local teachers at PPS and Union Memorial School adapt to the new program. Malletts Bay School uses a similar program with its classes called “We Care.” “It’s been shown to reduce the chance that a child might be abused,” Howe said. “If the perpetrator [was] targeting a certain child and they realize they know the name See HEALTH, page 3
Burke tapped for MBS principal position By MICHAELA HALNON Malletts Bay School assistant principal Jordan Burke will lead the institution after principal Julie Benay’s July retirement, district officials announced last week. Burke, a Colchester native, has served as the MBS second-in-command for nearly four years, according to a district press release. Her key projects have included the implementation of school-wide Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports, according to the release. See PRINCIPAL, page 2
bridal 2018
For wedding photog, every minute counts By COLIN FLANDERS It’s an odd time to be a professional wedding photographer. The average cost for a wedding in 2016 was over $35,000 — more than $2,000 higher than the previous year, according to The Knot. But skyrocketing debt rates paired with advancements in consumer digital cameras have spawned a new market for amateur photographers, offering a tempting alternative for cost-conscience couples. But while most amateur services run well below the thousands of dollars a professional can cost, a once-in-a-lifetime event deserves the investment, says Colchester-based photographer Lis Companion.
“They're going to regret it if they don’t,” Companion said. “They always do.” Companion understands some simply can’t afford it. But for others, it comes down to priorities, she said, pointing to a recent bride who sacrificed an expensive meal and served wood-fired pizza instead: “But she had the money to do the dress she wanted,” Companion said. “And a good photographer.” Though almost anyone can navigate a digital camera these days, weddings pose a unique challenge: Photographers must document one of the most joyous moments of a person’s life amid the stress of ensuring the day lives up to expectations. Companion said the trick is in the planning.
“I don't get nervous or stressed because I hammer the timeline so many times before the wedding — at least three months before,” Companion said. “I go through the timeline with the bride, the wedding planner, to make sure we're all on the same page.” It’s a routine she’s refined over the years, codified on a printed checklist that budgets shoots through the day to ensure she hits all the notables. The couple wants a photo with some old college friends? That will cost three minutes. A few shots with their dog? Add it to the timeline. She throws in some buffers, too, understanding the task of corralling relatives of ranging sobriety for formals. See PHOTOGRAPHER, page 10
COURTESY PHOTO
Lis Companion, left, is pictured at a photoshoot for a bridal magazine.