August 23, 2014
College of St. Joseph STEPS gets nod By Lou Varricchio lou@denpubs.com
RUTLAND Ñ Rutlandbased College of St. JosephÕ s STEPS program, for foster youth transitioning to college, is gaining attention on the national level. CSJ will act as a consultant for NAEHCYÑ the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, assisting in creating a toolkit of best practices that colleges and universities have implemented in order to reach out to foster youth and youth at risk for homelessness in general. The toolkit will be distributed to colleges and universities across the country in order to give ideas and support to schools that aspire to create support systems for their students, similar to CSJÕ s STEPS program. Mark Gagnon, associate dean of student services and director of the STEPS program, said CSJ has also been called upon this summer by the vice president of finance for Morgan Stanley and Western Michigan University to act as a consultant related to CSJÕ s work with STEPS. Gagnon will act as a consultant as Morgan Stanley advises Metropolitan College of New York in developing a program similar to STEPS. CSJ, UCLA and Western MichiganÕ s programs for youth transitioning from foster care will all be interviewed as part of the process.
Serving more than 30,000 Readers Weekly
Mary Hogan Elementary preps for back to school MIDDLEBURY Ñ Mary Hogan Elementary School Principal Thomas Buzzell and Assistant Principal Steven Lindemann welcome Mary Hogan students and parents to the 2014-15 school year. As the new school year approaches, the Mary Hogan staff is preparing for opening day on Aug. 27. The traditional “Muffins at Mary Hogan” will be held in the school gymnasium from 7:50-9 a.m. on the first day of school, Aug. 27. Parents and guardians are invited to bring their children to their classrooms on the first day and then to stop in the gymnasium to spend a few minutes visiting with other families, board members and members of the school and district staff. If you are a veteran Mary Hogan parent, please come and welcome new Mary Hogan families. If you are new to our school, please come and meet a great group of parents.
GETTING READY
For MHES Bus routes See Page 7
CONTINUED ON PAGE 16
Nurse Mary Gill of the Mary Hogan Elementary School in Middlebury helps fit a safety helmet on a student. As the new school year approaches, the Mary Hogan staff is preparing for opening day on Aug. 27. Photo by Louis Varricchio
Sleuthing a local road of mystery in an annual event Aug. 23 tour of Hubbardton Military Road By Lou Varricchio lou@denpubs.com
ORWELL Ñ Right in our own backyard is an historic 18thcentury byway that helped, in no small way, to turn the tide of battle and help create the United States of America. Once dubbed the “Rebels’ Road” by some British Army officers, the Mount Independence-Hubbardton Military Road was constructed during the Revolutionary War years of 1776 and 1777. Sometimes visible, sometimes lost among woodlands and meadow, the 35-mile-long road passes through Addison County and Rutland CountyÑ from Orwell to Hubbardton. It is an ancient road that deserves not only more attentionÑ but more efforts to explore it and preserve. According to Steve Zeoli, president of the Mt. Independence Coalition, Ò The Mount Independence-Hubbardton Military Road provided a lifeline for the American troops stationed on Mount Independence during the harsh winter months of 177677. And in July 1777, the road through the wilderness was the scene of a desperate retreat by the American army, and a fierce engagement between the rear guard of that army and pursuing British forces at the Battle of Hubbardton. Participants of a 2013 guided auto tour of the Hubbardton Military Road stop along a creek to examine remnants of the historic road. Image courtesy of Steve Zeoli & Road2Hubbardton.com
CONTINUED ON PAGE 17