REPoRtER THE
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ESSEX
OCTOBER 15, 2015
Vol. 35, No. 41
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Essex High students invent an app for Green Up Day during hackathon By JESS WISloSkI For The Essex Reporter For the four Essex High School students who took the stage at the FairPoint Communications building at the Vermont Center for Emerging Techologies in Burlington last weekend, building a new piece of software in just 24 hours was a rush. The Green Up App, which the team, called Essex STEM, built after a few crash-
tutorials overnight in the programming language Javascript, was polished, professional-looking, and ready for work when they unveiled it on Oct.10 after a breakneck development process. The app’s goal: to improve the speed of the removal of garbage bags that are left out in various pickup locations during Green Up Day, the state’s annual spring cleaning event. “The worst part about Green Up Day is the fermenting garbage left out on the
streets,” said Parker Franz, 16, a student at Essex High School, as he introduced the app to the audience of around 80 developers and volunteers at the fifth annual HackVT event Saturday afternoon. Luke Potasiewicz, Daniel Meskill, and Ken Liu were the other members of Essex STEM, though they aren’t members of the STEM Academy. Using one of Google’s APIs, which stands for application programming interface, the team embedded a map into
their application, so mobile phone users can log in, and just enter the location they’re at when they set a Green Up bag on the curb for collection. Or, they can enter the location of a bag if they’re passing one after the day is over. All four Essex students had been enrolled in the Introduction to Computer Application Development class, though many met for the first time only after
– See EHS on page 2a
Suspicious activity surrounds King Spa principals Colchester spa shut down; state and local regulations debated By JaSon STarr The Essex Reporter
Keeping track of the news
essex High school runners Daniel Perry, left, and liam Kinney dress as dads reading The Essex Reporter for the costumed fairfax Relays last week. While we don’t recommend running while reading, we salute their choice of local media. thanks, Dan and liam! PHoto | JosH Kaufmann
The Colchester Police Department has made no arrests in its prostitution and human trafficking investigation of a massage business on Porters Point Road, but the woman who registered the business with the Vermont Secretary of State was arrested in 2004 on suspicion of prostitution and disorderly conduct, according to New Jersey State Board of Massage and Bodywork Therapy President Deborah Overholt. In a decision last February, the board denied an application from Jin Yu Berninger for a license to practice massage in New Jersey. Berninger’s failure to disclose the 2004 arrest in her application was cited as the reason. According to the board, the prostitution charge was not prosecuted, and Berninger pleaded no contest to the disorderly conduct charge. She was sentenced to 12 months probation and fined $2,500 for practicing massage without a license, the board noted. Eight months after the decision, Berninger filed the “King Spa” trade name with the Secretary of State’s office in Vermont, where there are no licensure requirements for massage therapists. Colchester police shut down King Spa last Monday. Two other names appear on the King Spa trade name registration: Inson Everett and Garth Schonert. Everett was investigated by the Bennington Police Department when police and FBI agents searched and shuttered two Bennington spas as part of a prostitution and human trafficking investigation in 2013, according to Bennington Det. Larry Cole. He said Tuesday that Everett was not arrested because of weak prostitution laws in Vermont. “We couldn’t charge for certain things being done there,” Cole said. “We couldn’t prove prostitution.” Schonert owns a business in Rutland
A balancing act
Local schools maintain security while encouraging an open learning environment By ColIn FlanDErS The Essex Reporter Cheers from a nearby soccer game echoed from beyond the brick exterior of Colchester High School during a late afternoon last week. Two students spoke animatedly on the sidewalk. A mixture of leaves scattered across the pavement, crunching under the tires of a passing car. The American flag soaked in fading rays of sunlight — resting motionless in its half-mast position — a visual reminder of the lives lost after a gunman terrorized a community college in Roseburg, Oregon on Oct. 1. And while that incident took place 3,000 miles away, the killings resonate locally, bringing with them the question that comes each time such a tragedy occurs — what is being done to keep schools safe? According to Colchester High School’s Assistant Principal Tim Emery, and Rob Reardon, principal of Essex High School, the answer is simple: planning and preparation. Among these
preparations are monthly lockdown drills, which begin with an announcement over the loudspeaker alerting those inside and outside the building a threat is present. Following the announcement, classroom doors are locked, lights are turned off and students are directed to a part of the room not visible from the hallway. “What we’re looking to do with our protocols is to make it difficult for [an intruder] to move throughout the building. The main goal at that point is to create as much time as possible for the police to arrive,” Reardon said. Reardon points to the school safety guide, a large blue binder located on the bookshelf in his office, as an important asset for such situations. The guide contains a list of the more common scenarios school officials may face. It spans allergic reactions and fights to bomb threats and the presence of weapons on school grounds, while providing a detailed assessment chart. “So in the heat of the moment when everybody’s emotions are running high,
you have something to focus on,” Reardon said. While Emery shared a similar sentiment, both administrators admitted that in a high-stress environment, even the best plans can fall short. “It’s possible the best thing to do isn’t just to sit there and do nothing,” Emery said. Emery said Colchester faculty discussed with police the best course of action in the event a shooter is coming towards a classroom — or attempting to enter — such as finding objects in a room that can be used for defense or covering the floor of a door’s entrance with soap. “It’s really something that you want to have thought about ahead of time so you’re not just reacting to the moment, when there’s a lot of anxiety,” Emery said. Reardon agreed, adding that while it depends on the situation, Essex faculty members are told to use their own discretion when assessing the best course of action to a threat. Since the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, police have also shifted their response
tactics, according to Essex Police Cpl. Kurt Miglinas. Instead of waiting for a tactical team to arrive to the scene, responding officers will enter the school quickly, heading “toward the sound of gunfire” in an effort to eliminate the threat. “We don’t wait for everybody to show up for what we need. We go in right away now,” Miglinas said. School administrators also stressed the need for preventive measures. Once the school day begins, both schools require people to enter through the main entrance as all other doors are locked. Visitors must then explain their presence and sign in. The schools also remain in contact with the local police departments in an effort to stay up-to-date with the best safety and security practices. “It’s a balancing act,” said Reardon, talking about maintaining an open and inviting school atmosphere while also ensuring a secure environment. “But if you’re going to err on any side, it’s going to be safety and security,” Reardon said.
called Hot Stone Massage that the Rutland Region Chamber of Commerce lists as a dues-paying member. But Chamber Director of Membership Development Joan Hill said the owner lives out of state and told her he planned to hire someone to manage the establishment. “I’ve been in there a couple times trying to find out who the manager is and a phone number, but every time I’ve gone it’s closed,” Hill said Tuesday.
rapid response
After Colchester police joined Department of Homeland Security investigators in a search of King Spa last Monday, they called in Colchester Building Inspector Derek Shepardson to cite the business with a zoning violation. Shepardson, in advising landowner Peter Handy of the violation, said the space had been closed because three beds and a full kitchen were installed in the unit without permits. “Three people were found to be living there,” Shepardson wrote. The three women reportedly living at King Spa were handled as human trafficking victims, according to Colchester Lt. Doug Allen. They were taken to police headquarters on Blakely Road and facilitators from a nonprofit called Give Way to Freedom, an anti-human trafficking organization that works with the Vermont Human Trafficking Task Force and the Vermont Network against Domestic and Sexual Violence, were called in. Give Way to Freedom Director Edith Klimoski, who lives in Essex, said the organization provides “rapid response” to suspected victims within the 48 hours after authorities expose a potential human trafficking case. The organization was there following the closure of two massage parlors in Essex in 2013, while the Vermont Network against Domestic and Sexual Violence provided victim services after the raids in Bennington.
– See KING SPA on page 3a
Ready to rise
Five Corners construction set to accelerate By JaSon STarr The Essex Reporter Monday marks a turning point in the construction of a four-story retail and apartment building at Five Corners. It’s the day the walls arrive on site and the structure begins to go vertical. Since ground was broken last winter at the corner of Pearl and “We are in talks Park streets — the former location of a with a number of People’s Bank branch — an underground restaurants and other parking lot has been excavated, a concrete retail establishments. foundation has been set and the steel Ideally we want a mix framing of a ground floor has been erected. of national as well as But construction has proceeded in fits local businesses.” and starts, and steel framing has remained – Brett Grabowski exposed since midFive Corners building summer. The project’s developer developer, Brett Grabowski of Milot Real Estate, had last spring predicted a spring 2016 completion date. Last week, that prediction had been revised to next September. Construction will continue through the winter. “It’s been tough. There is a lot of concrete and unfortunately there is no real quick way to get that done. It will move along pretty quickly starting
– See RISE on page 2a