The Wejua files
Harvest time
Part 3 of our series for the search for Bigfoot.
Apple pickers filled 104 bushels for the Vermont Foodbank.
Serving Addison and Chittenden Counties
October 30, 2010
By Jennifer Perellie Special to the Eagle Last Saturday, the Green Mountain Paranormal Society members were invited to the Shelburne Museum to investigate a suspected haunting. While local skeptics looked on, six GMPS team members spent seven hours investigating the Dutton House. They were joined by four museum employees. There have been many different experiences reported at the Dutton House. They’ve claims of doors unexpectedly slamming shut
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Things that go bump in the night? Group investigates area ‘haunting’
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By Lou Varricchio newmarketpress@denpubs.com By most U.S. agricultural standards, Joseph and Kathleen Hescock look like typical dairy farmers. But moving beyond farming stereotypes, the resemblance to the “average” ends— the Hescocks farm, located in Shoreham, is downright minimalist. The couple’s 800acre Addison County farm operation adheres to a scientific plan for healthy soil rotation with a small footprint on the local environ-
ment. The Hescocks’ success can be attributed to having made a transition from traditional to organic farming methods in the late 1990s. This year, the Vermont couple’s dedication to producing healthy dairy products, while looking beyond the day-to-day challenges of staying in business in tough economy, was honored with “runner-up” honor status for the 2010 Horizon Organic Producer Education (HOPE) Award. This annual organic farming award recognizes farmers who create positive change in their communities by practicing and serving as a model for organic agriculture
See FARMERS, page 18 Joseph and Kathleen Hescock of Shoreham, Vt. Photo courtesy of Horizon Organic
See HAUNTING, page 17
Students build longboats on Lake Champlain
BUILDING BRIDGES — Last week, Vermont and New York residents marked the first anniversary of the 1929 Lake Champlain Bridge closure noting the progress made to provide travelers with a 21st-century link across Lake Champlain between Addison, Vt. and Crown Point, N.Y. See story, Robin Knapp photos on page 5. Photo by Robin Knapp
Students from the Community High School of Vermont, a division of the Vermont Department of Corrections, spent four weeks in September and October in the boat shop at Lake Champlain Maritime Museum building two gorgeous Chesapeake Light Craft Northeaster Dories. The boats, named Morning Star and Students from the ComWindstorm by the students,were given munity High School of to the Lake Champlain Community Vermont row and sail Sailing Center. the two dories they built On Oct. 26 a celebration and dona- in a four week program tion ceremony was held at LCMM as at The Lake Champlain the boats were officially presented to Maritime Museum. representatives of the Sailing Center. This project is the latest initiative in the Maritime Museum’s Champlain Longboats program. “The student boat builders involved in this collaborative project put their hearts and souls into the job and deserve recognition and credit for a job extremely well done,” said Nick Patch, LCMM’s director of outdoor education. The Maritime Museum’s colorful student-built longboats have become a familiar sight on the Burlington waterfront, Otter Creek, and at regional rowing competitions. They are used by hundreds of participants in after-school programs and adult Community Rowing teams each year. For more information about Champlain Longboats, or to get involved, contact Nick Patch nickp@lcmm.org or visit the museum’s website www.lcmm.org.
Forbes: a bad state of business in Vermont By Lou Varricchio newmarketpress@denpubs.com Vermont’s low ranking among states in a new Forbes magazine survey is evidence that the state is overtaxed and over regulated. And hardworking Vermonters are on the losing end of the state’s anti-business policies. According to Forbes’ “Best States for Business” survey—which gets a lot of notice in CEO offices around the world—Vermont is ranked 45 of 50, making only five other states worse. Nearby Maine ranked lower than Vermont; it was at the bottom as the worst state for business in the USA. Fiscally conservative Utah was ranked no. 1, as the best state for business in the USA. Forbes placed Vermont at 42 in business costs, 45 in government regulations, 39 in economic climate and 45 in economic growth—not the kind of news the state’s cheerleading section will be shouting about anytime soon. What is the long and the short of the Forbes’ survey? Businesses will likely be looking elsewhere to set up shop. The National Federation of Independent Business in Vermont places the blame for the state’s dismal business performance directly under Monpelier ’s golden dome. According to Shawn Shouldice, director of the National Federation of Independent Business in Vermont, the state’s ranking should make voters steamed in the waning days of Campaign 2010. Shouldice also said that
See BUSINESS, page 17
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