Seasonal news
To buy or not to buy
Rickert Nordic Center adds 5k race course to trail map.
Rusty weighs the pros and cons of buying a new tractor for Christmas.
See page 3
By Lou Varricchio
Highway brine eating up cars Mechanic believes brine is corroding vehicles
“Brine—it’s nasty stuff.” (Don Thibeault, mechanic)
newmarketpress@denpubs.com
NORTH FERRISBURGH—It’s the Ferrisburgh area’s first illustrated meditation path and it now provides comfort and joy to ar ea r esidents including pet owners. The path’s inspirational quotations include passages from scriptur e to Albert Einstein. And the artwork that lines the pathway includes everything fr om rainbows to angels. The North Ferrisbur gh United Methodist Chur ch has unveiled its meditation path just in time for the Christmas season. It is open to anyone who seeks a few moments of solace in order to r eflect on the meaning of the season and beyond. The path was created by the chur ch’s youth gr oup and Sunday School students during recent weekends. To find the path, visit the North Ferrisbur gh United Methodist Chur ch located at 227 Old Hollow Rd. It is situated east of U.S. Route 7. V isitors ar e asked to park in the church’s r ear lot next to the Knowles Pavilion. Young people worked on the design of the meandering path and selected special, inspirational quotes that could be easily illustrated. As a visitor follows the path, the illustrated quote cards line the way and inspire contemplation. It is a path designed for walking, praying, and meditating. The path was plotted to include majestic views of the distant Adir ondack Mountains along the way. Dog owners ar e welcome to bring their pets but are asked to pick up after the animals.
P.O. BOX 338 ELIZABETHTOWN, NY 12932 POSTAL PATRON
Serving Addison and Chittenden Counties
By Lou Varricchio
newmarketpress@denpubs.com
ECRWSS PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID NEW MARKET PRESS/ DENTON PUBLICATIONS
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December 17, 2011
Illustrated meditation path created
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NEW HAVEN—Ask auto repairman Don Thibeault, owner of Juncto see any of this. But I will say it sur e makes a mess and is terrible tion Auto in New Haven, about what the state of Vermont is dowhen it comes to keeping your car clean.” ing to autos and trucks, thanks to its application of brine— Davignon said he viewed a television pr ogram on the a r ecent r eplacement for traditional r oad salt—on r eDiscovery Channel that compared road salt and brin and gional roadways. Many states, like Vermont, are using ultimately disproved claims of accelerated corrosion. low cost brine to stretch budgets. Despite the opinions of local auto technicians and T.V. “Brine—it’s n asty s tuff,” T hibeault s aid. “ Salt shows, Germany’s Volkswagen Corporation found highwas bad enough. Rain rinsed it away, but this new way brine mixtures are indeed a corrosive brew. mixture, which includes corr osive chemicals, A 2008 technical study conducted by V .W. in Eur ope clings to the underbodies of cars. I see good cars discovered that brine mixtures accelerate the corrosion of with no suspensions left due to corrosion.” vehicles compar ed to traditional salt. The study found Thibeault said he started seeing pr oblems five that underbody warranty claims of V.W. owners in Ausyears ago when vehicles operated by his New tria rose dramatically where brine was used. York customers began showing up with corrodEnvironmental writer Eric Leech of Discovery Online ed underbodies. New York was using r oad writes about transportation and cars. Leech noted that brine before Vermont. when you combine salt and brine, you have a mix“I sell and repair Subarus,” he said. “It isn’t ture which melts snow with better efficiency. The just Subar us. I see other makes, including mixture uses less salt which pleases envir onpickups. It’s the same story.” mental groups. Not everyone in the local auto r epair inOn two related blogs, Leech noted that highdustry agree with Thibeault. way brines have thr ee facets: the good, the Steve Deupois, owner of County Tire Cenbad, and the ugly. ter, Inc. of Middlebury, said, “I don’t see the The good: problem.” “If you wet the salt with a chemical such as Jim Davignon, Jr., owner of Weybridge brine, it sticks to the oadway r better, allowing Garage, said, “W ell, I can’t say for sur e. I more of it to do its job without gettingblown haven’t noticed a difference, but I am not posaround,” Leech posted. “It melts the salt, Brine truck in Ferrisburgh itive. Brine hasn’t been used long enough her e See HIGHWAY BRINE, page 17 Photo by Lou Varricchio
Hinesburg Jiffy Mart rising from the ashes By Lou Varricchio
newmarketpress@denpubs.com
Work continues on the new Hinesburg Jiffy Mart on Ballards Corner Road Photo by Lou Varricchio
R. Brown & Sons
INC
HINESBURG—A fire destroyed the Hinesburg Jiffy Mart on Ballards Corner Road in March of this year. Now a new convenience stor e with fuel service station is rising fr om the ashes. A faulty ceiling fan was blamed for the fir e which prompted fire crews from five towns to battle the blaze which was a total loss. Owner Tony Cairns wasn’t going to let the building fir e destroy his plans. Out of the ashes of the blaze, he imagined 1.6 acres with a cafe, sandwich shop, and gas station in place of charred ruins. Cairns sited his new store just west of the where the original structure stood. He planned the new Jiff y Mart to be 20 percent lar ger. It includes North W oods Cafe, a Subway sandwich shop, gasoline and diesel pumps. The location will be busy especially when Champlain Valley Union High School’s school buses start using Cairns’ diesel pumps. According to store manager Kristi Brown, 14 people lost their jobs following the fire.
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