The Colchester Sun www.ColchesterSun.com
march 17, 2016
Vol. 15 No. 11
Prsrt Std ECRWSS U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 266 Burlington, VT 05401 Postal Patron-Residential
Selectboard: Just say ‘no’
Board approves resolution against pot legalization By Jason Starr The Colchester Sun The Colchester Selectboard hastened to finalize a resolution last week against the legalization of marijuana in Vermont, because board members believe state legislators are in a rush to legalize the drug. “I did hear they were aiming for April 20
— four-twenty — as the date of passage,” selectboard member Jeff Bartley said during the board’s March 8 meeting. The comment, referencing slang that connotes marijuana use, generated laughter in the Town Meeting House. But board members made it clear during a half-hour discussion that, for them, legalization is no laughing matter. Rep. Joey Purvis, from the audience, agreed. “This is going to change our way of life,” he said, informing the board that the legalization bill — already approved in the Senate — has landed in the House Judiciary Committee. The selectboard’s resolution “requests that the members of the Vermont Legislature vote
‘NO’ to any legislation in the 2016 legislative session that would legalize marijuana or other forms of (THC) in our state.” It lists five areas of concern, including opposition from law enforcement and education officials, impaired driving, health effects on children, damage to Vermont’s reputation and a desire to learn more from other states that have legalized pot. The resolution was written by Colchester Police Chief Jennifer Morrison, according to Town Manager Dawn Francis. The selectboard approved it on a 4-1 vote, with board member Herb Downing opposed. He argued that legalizing and regulating the sale of marijuana would better help the state address health issues associated with the drug,
CHS principal search down to two candidates
as well as youth access to it, than the current prohibition. The bill under consideration would make it legal for adults to possess up to an ounce of marijuana starting Jan. 1, 2018, and permit up to 30 retail marijuana stores in the first two years. A tax on sales would be 25 percent. “We are going to legalize marijuana in this state. In my view, there is no reason to delay it,” Downing said. “What disturbs me is that there is this underground economy, and we ought to bring it above ground and tax it and regulate it. I think we’ll do a better job protecting our kids and our citizens by regulating it.” –See marijuana page 2
Colchester shooting suspect pleads not guilty By COLIN FLANDERS The Colhester Sun
Dorinne Dorfman
By Jason Starr The Colchester Sun A hiring committee of Colchester students, parents, school administrators and school board members has forwarded two finalists to take over as Colchester High School principal in July. The job was vacated by 10-year principal Amy Minor, who was promoted to School District Superintendent earlier this year. Current CHS science teacher and professional development coordinator Heather Baron is competing with Dorinne Dorfman, the current principal at Leland and Gray Middle and High School in Townsend, Vt., for the job. The committee invites community members to meet the candidates at a forum on Tuesday from 6-7 p.m. in the CHS library. The committee will take feedback from the forum to its final meetings this spring before making a recommendation to the school board, which will conduct interviews and make the hiring decision. The committee
Heather Baron
was scheduled to make a site visit to Leland and Gray this week as well as observe Baron in action at CHS. Both candidates come with a wealth of experience in Vermont education. Both are graduates of the University of Vermont, Baron as a biology major and current doctoral candidate in the Education Policy and Leadership program. Dorfman earned a doctorate in the same program in 2004. She has led Leland and Gray, a rural middle and high school of 350 students, since 2010. Prior to that she was associate principal at Harwood Union Middle and High School in South Duxbury, Vt. According to Dorfman’s resume, posted alongside Baron’s on the Colchester School District website (www.csdvt.org), her educational philosophy emphases “a choice of multiple pathways that builds on students’ strengths and aspirations” and establishes “a pyramid of interventions that addresses their weaknesses.” Baron, as the high school’s instructional
Meet the finalists WHAT: CHS principal candidate forum WHEN: 6-7 p.m. Tuesday, March 22 WHERE: CHS library coach and professional development coordinator, plans, implements and evaluates all education for CHS faculty and works “closely with (the) administration and leadership team to realize the vision and mission of the school through determining and accomplishing school goals,” her resume states. Baron also works as an adjunct faculty member at St. Michael’s College, where she develops and teaches graduate education courses.
The Williston man police say committed a shooting in Colchester on Monday pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree attempted murder and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in court last week. Patrick J. Bombard, 29, was arraigned via video conference Thursday, March 10 at the Edward J. Costello Courthouse, where Judge Nancy Waples ordered him held pending a bail hearing. Bombard surrendered to Burlington police at their headquarters around 5:45 p.m. March 9, after police issued an arrest warrant, a press release said. Police say Bombard shot Travis Carl, 36, twice at a College Parkway apartment just after 9 a.m. Monday, March 7 before fleeing the scene. Carl was shot in the neck and leg, nearly hitting major arteries, and has since been released from the hospital. The altercation was believed to be over a debt, according to court records. Carl’s girlfriend, Nicole Stowell, who also lives at the apartment, was sleeping when she heard a “popping noise,” according to Colchester Detective Mark Jacobs’ affidavit. Stowell told police she saw Carl and Bombard fighting and that Bombard was holding a gun pointed at Carl’s leg. Stowell said Bombard left in a tan Chevrolet van, which police discovered belongs to Bombard’s girlfriend, Melissa Slingerland, court records state. Burlington police stopped Slingerland’s vehicle around 2:45 p.m. Monday, March 7. She told officers she’d driven Bombard to Carl’s Colchester apartment that morning, court records state. Slingerland said the men met outside the apartment and that Bombard held Carl’s identification and debit card as collateral for a drug deal, an allegation Stowell denied to police, the affidavit says. The two men then went to an ATM at the Days Inn, across Route 15 from St. Michael’s College, before going inside the apartment as Slingerland waited in her car, the affidavit states. –See shooting page 2
Shaw’s employee snags second place in national competition By Colin Flanders The Colchester Sun The art of grocery bagging is often overlooked in the shopping experience. As a procession of produce and household products head down the conveyor belt, the skillful bagger calculates the most efficient and secure way to prepare items for transport. “It’s kind of like one big game of Tetris,” said Franklin resident Bethany Berger, 22, a cashier at Shaw’s Supermarket in Colchester. Berger recently placed second in a national bagging competition, cashing in a $5,000 check along the way. Berger earned the title of Vermont Best Bagger last October at the annual Vermont Retail and Grocers Association statewide bagging championship. Her prize? An all expenses-paid trip to Las Vegas, where 25 baggers from all over the country competed in five heats before the finalists faced off on February 29. While Berger has honed her craft at Shaw’s for four years, she admits the Vegas experience was slightly more intense than her usual routine. “There was just so many spotlights and people —all the energy that was there — it was one big adrenaline rush,” she said. The first bagging contest was held in Dallas, Texas in 1987. According to the group’s website, the championship was created to “promote the grocery industry devotion to exceptional
customer service through superior bagging.” Contestants are judged on speed, distribution of weight between bags, bag building technique, along with style, attitude and appearance. Each receives an identical list of grocery orders consisting of up to 38 commonly purchased items. Berger also soaked in some Vegas sights and sun during her five-day stay. Back in Colchester on Friday for a regular shift, she ran through a handful of orders with notable swiftness. Her personality is not sacrificed for such efficiency, however, as she held a conversation with customers before sending them on their way.
BELOW LEFT AND ABOVE: Bethany Berger, a cashier at Shaw’s Supermarket in Colchester, speaks with Duff Goldman of the Food Network during the National Bagger Contest held in Las Vegas on Feb. 29.
Courtesy of National Grocers Association
“I love talking to people,” said Berger, citing this affinity as an inspiration for her pursuit of a career in social work. Berger, a Milton High School graduate, is a senior at the University of Vermont, on track to graduate this May. She plans to go back for her master’s and look for a job in the field until then. “Bethany is an exceptional employee,” said Linda Delpino, Shaw’s manager in Colchester. “She’s everything that you could want in someone: She comes to work everyday with a positive attitude, she engages with customers and she helps with other associates.”