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February 6, 2016
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Science nerd, Bristol’s autopsy VERMONT FARM SHOW specialist: new fire Miss Vermont station: has grace, I.Q. Built for the future By Lou Varricchio lou@addison-eagle.com
By Lou Varricchio lou@addison-eagle.com BRISTOL Ñ Bristol Fire Chief Brett LaRose has served as a volunteer member of the Bristol Fire Department for 21 years. Chief LaRose, a third generation family member to serve with the all-volunteer company, is presiding ov er the construction of a spanking new $3.19 million fire station which includes 2.7 acres of a 9-acre site. The Bristol community has a long, proud heritage of firefighting; it is among Addison CountyÕ s best allvolunteer squads. The original fire department, founded as the N.H. Munsill Hose, Hook & Ladder Co. in 1894, operated on Main Street. According to local fire historian Reg Dearborn, Ò In 1893, Fire District 1 was survey in the Town of Bristol... The area of the district was approximately the same as the area that later became the incorporated Village of Bristol in 1903.Ó In effect, Newcomb Ò N.H.Ó Muncill (1852-1900) was BristolÕ s equivalent of Los AngelesÕ s mighty water magnate William Mulholland, but on a very much smaller scale. (Curiously, Mulholland, too, had an interest in developing the Los CONTINUED ON PAGE 19
FERRISBURGH Ñ If you Google Alayna WestcomÕ s 2015 Miss America competition bikini bathing suit photographs, you may come away thinking, well, sheÕ s gorgeous, and nothing much more. Ah, but search a little deeper online and youÕ ll discover that she looks even better in a chemical lab coat in a classroom. In the case of Miss Vermont Alayna Westcom, a resident of Northfield, there’s nothing wrong with using all of your best assets. In fact, our Miss Vermont is a science nerd; she makes the fictional forensic scientist character Abby Sciuto, of TVÕ s popular Ò NCISÓ , look like a lickspittle undergrad. Westcom was in Addison County last week where she met with local girl scouts. Meeting two troops of more than enthralled Brownies, Westcom did what she does best--that is, demonstrate that science and mathematics are an important aspect of CONTINUED ON PAGE 21
Several Eagle agribusiness advertisers attended the 2016 Vermont Farm Show held in Essex Junction. Pictured: Staff of Mountain View Equipment of Middlebury and Rutland, greeted customers and visitors at the business’s booth at the Vermont Farm Show last week. Mountain View sponsored a special fundraising drive for the Vermont Foodbank and successfully raised $512.90 thanks to generous customers and friends. Photo by Bethany Sargent
Lawmaker says spending cap fix best for taxpayers By Bruce Parker
Vermont Watchdog Report
Vermont Rep. Paul Dame, R-Essex Junction, says school districts should be held harmless against the Agency of Education’s spending threshold miscalculation.
MONTPELIER Ñ On Jan. 27, lawmakers weighed changes to VermontÕ s education spending caps after the Agency of Education sent the wrong spending limits to districts. The rush to amend the 2 percent statewide cap comes after officials from the Agency of Education miscalculated the allowable growth rate for individual school districts. Under Act 46, districts that spend too much face a double tax on every dollar above their threshold. Changes under consideration in the House include raising the threshold by 0.9 percent, reducing the dollar-for-dollar tax penalty to 25 cents per dollar of overspending, and holding harmless districts forced above their limit due to the agencyÕ s mistake. In this interview with Vermont Watchdog, state Rep. Paul Dame, R-Essex Junction, says his Ò hold harmlessÓ solution is the best for taxpayers.
Bruce Parker: What does your amendment do to address the current spending cap confusion? Dame: My amendment allows schools to use whichever calculation is more advantageous: the one the Legislature originally put in, or the one that every school board in the state was operating under until a couple weeks ago. BP: How are school districts being affected by the AOEÕ s mistake? Dame: Some schools were going to be in a position where they had to make a last-minute change of substance. In my district, they were talking about cutting $144,000 if they wanted to get under the cap under the new calculation. Under the old calculation, we were right at the spending threshold. But because we paid off a bond, that didnÕ t factor in under the previous calculation Ñ but with the new interpretation it totally changed everything for us. If our school wanted to avoid the penalty, we were going to have to cut $144,000 on two weeksÕ CONTINUED ON PAGE 20