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March 5, 2016
Published by New Market Press, Inc.
Town to host open house of new rec building
Bike shop owner works to put smiles on the faces of foster children
From News Reports
By Lou Varricchio
MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury Select Board member Dean George announced that an open house has been scheduled at the townÕ s new recreation building at 154 Creek Rd. for Wednesday, March 2, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. to celebrate the completion of the project. All members of the community are invited to attend. The Board authorize the purchase and installation of security systems in both the new town hall and recreation buildings. For the recreation facility, the Select Board accepted the Building CommitteeÕ s recommendation to allocate up to $2,450 to purchase and install a logo and silhouettes of sports figures in the lobby, as shown in the original architectural drawings of the lobby. Also, the Board approved the purchase of a walk-behind floor scrubber for $5,568, to clean the gym floor and all other hard floor surfaces at the new recreation facility. Board member Laura Asermily noted that recent testing results of the tightness of the new recreation facilityÕ s building envelope show that building is the tightest ever in Bread Loaf ConstructionÕ s portfolio. Middlebury Select Board members accepted the Building CommitteeÕ s recommendation to approve change orders totaling CONTINUED ON PAGE 10
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lou@addison-eagle.com VERGENNES Ð ThereÕ s a lot controversy among bicycle historians about whether or not Leonardo Da Vinci came up with the idea of the cycle back in 1493Ñ thereÕ s that dubious sketch of an antique pedal-pusher, uncovered in 1974Ñ but thereÕ s no disagreement that Tim Mathewson, VermontÕ s Renaissance man of cycles, carbon-free activist, all-terrain wheelchair patent holder, and master mechanic, has done more to promote the use of bicycles in the Green Mountain State than any other single person. The owner of Little City Cycles shop, located at 10 N. Main St., in Vergennes, has been coming up with innovative and unusual ideas about bikes and related transportation for years. Now, the dynamic wheelmanÑ with help CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
Little City Cycles owner Tim Mathewson inspects a collection of donated bikes which will be transformed into “magic bikes” for the Green Mountain Foster Bike project headquartered at the Vergennes bike shop. Photo by Lou Varricchio
Activists say local control of solar projects must be legislated By Bruce Parker Vermont Watchdog Report
Activists behind the Vermont Public Service Board’s rejection of a solar farm last week say the unlikely outcome shows lawmakers must legislate local control of renewables. Pictured: New Haven Select Board member Doug Tolles is an outspoken critic of aggressive solar and related energy project sitting in the Addison County town. Photo by Lou Varricchio
MONTPELIER Ñ Two activists behind the Public Service BoardÕ s rejection of a solar farm last week say the unlikely outcome shows lawmakers must legislate local control of renewables. In one of the rarest events in VermontÕ s energy history, the Public Service Board on Feb. 16 denied certification of a 2-megawatt solar project planned for Bennington. The energy plant, Chelsea Solar, was one-half of a 4-megawatt, 27-acre solar array planned for a forested area east of U.S. Route 7, in the Apple Hill residential area. Libby Harris, a retired school teacher and Apple Hill resident who was the sole citizen intervenor against the project, was surprised by the decision. Ò We revved up all of these months feeling it was a lost cause, yet we were never going to stop,Ó she said. While HarrisÕ written briefs about the projectÕ s adverse effect on aesthetics didnÕ t control the boardÕ s ruling, her decision to CONTINUED ON PAGE 10