Middlebury Yankee pg. 10
ECRWSS PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID DENTON PUBLICATIONS/ NEW MARKET PRESS PO Box 338 Elizabethtown NY 12932 Postal Patron
The MLB life of Ray Fisher
VERMONT
October 28, 2017
Published by New Market Press, Inc.
Serving Addison, Rutland & Chittenden Counties
Vermont: tickborne illnesses on the rise By Lou Varricchio
It's Lyme Time! ProtectYourselfAgainstLymeDisease
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2 Wear a hat ,tuck
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in hair, if possible .
MIDDLEBURY | The long-term prognosis for the health of Vermonters who work and play in the great outdoors isn’t good. A new message from the Vermont Department of Health indicates that in the coming years, we’ll have to pay a lot more attention to ticks and the growing list of diseases they carry, not just Lyme disease. Most often blamed on climate change, ticks are lingering longer into the autumn months and emerging earlier in spring here. “Ticks are back for one more meal before winter... this means a high risk to Vermonters in a year that already has a record rate of the tickborne disease anaplasmosis,” according to Bradley Tompkins, an infectious disease epidemiologist with the Vermont Health Department. Tompkins said up to Thanksgiving this year, people be prepared for tick bites. “We’re very concerned about the rate of anaplasmosis that we are seeing all over Vermont, and especially in the southern part of the state,” he said. » Ticks Cont. on pg. 9
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Walk in the middle of trails; avoid sitting on logs and leaning on trees .
3 Wear a long-sleeved shirt fitted at the wrist.
Consider Deet for skin and permethrin for clothes.
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Wear white or lightcolored clothing to make it easier to see ticks.
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Do tick checks immediately and 3 days after outdoor activity.
4
Wear shoes, no bare feet or sandals .
5 Wear long pants tucked into high socks or duct tape around pants .
9 If you find a tick, remove it carefully and save it.
JOAsk your veterinarian about protection for your furry friends.
Rutland man is Citizen Activist of the Year By Lou Varricchio STA FF W RITER
RUTLAND | Don Chioffi, a retired Vermont state legislator, educator and Vietnam veteran, has been named “Citizen Activist of the Year” by Washington, D.C.-based ACT! for America. Chioffi, a resident of Rutland Town, co-led the formation of Rutland First, a coalition of local citizens opposed to lessthan-transparent efforts by Rutland Mayor Christopher Louras to resettle 100 Syrian refugees in the area starting in early 2016.
Under Chioffi’s leadership, Rutland First was credited for bringing the secretive refugee placement program to light, which ultimately resulted in the defeat of Louras on Town Meeting Day in March. Louras spearheaded the resettlement effort with support from the Obama administration and U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, among others. Another local group, Rutland Welcomes, worked with Louras to help refugees find housing and job opportunities. “It’s a tremendous honor to receive this award,” Chioffi said. “It was a humbling and surreal experience. For somebody that’s steeped in Vermont and the trees here, it’s tremendous. But I accepted the award not for myself but for Rutland First. There are several of us who are founding members.” Chioffi said the honor really recognizes
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WEIRD VERMONT
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Rutland First for shining a light on the secret government program sprung by the mayor. The Rutland activist said he and other citizens became alarmed last year when they discovered the refugee program would have farreaching effects throughout Rutland County. Chioffi said the mayor knew about the resettlement plans six months before being forced to explain the action. “Mayor Louras didn’t tell the Board of Aldermen about this for six months. He had a responsibility to share this plan,” he said. “He was told to keep it quiet. Also, the board president was told to keep it quiet. Who was telling everyone to keep it quiet? Amila Merdzanovic, the leader of USCRI Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program, the group based in Colchester that’s settling the refugees here. » Citizen Activist Cont. on pg. 12
MAKING FRIENDS WITH FRESH AIR
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Panelists discuss race in Vermont By Lou Varricchio STA FF W RITER
MANCHESTER | A community discussion about race issues in Vermont was held at Burr and Burton Academy (BBA), a private high school located in Manchester, Oct. 18. Panelists included both black and white social-justice activists. The panelists approached the open forum with sensitivity as well as calls for action in towns, businesses and schools across the state. Panelists included host Jonathan Fine of Move-On Manchester, Rep. Ruqaiyah “Kiah” Morris, D-Bennington 2-2, Tabitha Pohl-Moore of NAACP Rutland, BBA graduate Naomi Johnson, and social-justice and carbon tax activist Theo Talcott, also a BBA graduate. “We’re not here to have you talked to… We’d like this to be an open conversation about race, no matter what your race is. Speak your mind… Silence is not an option,” said Fine. “…And we don’t want to question the veracity of anyone’s experience in relation to race.” Rep. Ruqaiyah “Kiah” Morris, D-Bennington 2-2: “Our court system sends more (Bennington County) people of color to prison then any where else in the state… I have a young black son and I have concerns about what this means for our future and for our students…” “These are really complicated, difficult personal conversations to have,” said Rep. Morris. “They will shake you to your core, they will make you question things you thought you understood… (but) it’s what’s needed for transformative work.” Morris championed H. 308 (Act 54) in Montpelier creating Vermont’s Racial Disparities in the Criminal and Juvenile Justice System Advisory Panel. The bill, which passed both the House and Senate earlier this year, was signed into law by Gov. Phil Scott in May. The panel’s first report is expected to be completed early in 2018. “I was the first black woman elected to the Vermont legislature in almost 30 years,” she noted. “This is an important conversation because Bennington County is anecdotally considered to be the most racist county in the entire state. Our court system sends more (Bennington County) people of color to prison then any where else in the state… I have a young black son and I have concerns about what this means for our future and for our students… I want to say that not everything is alright on this beautiful campus or in this beautiful state.” » Race Panel Cont. on pg. 11
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