The Charlotte News | April 5, 2017

The

Charlotte News Charlotte’s award-winning community newspaper

VoluMe LIX NuMBeR 18

THe VoiCe oF tHe ToWn

WeDnesDay, APRil 5, 2017

Is it spring yet?

On the inside:

Many old goats in town are sick of winter.

• Addie Toensing wins big, page 1 • Bernie Sanders visits CVU, page 11 • The Russians are coming, page 17

Photo by Lee Krohn

CharlotteNewsVT.org

Vol. 59, no. 18 April 5, 2017

Charlotte News

The

Vermont’s oldest nonprofit community newspaper, bringing you local news and views since 1958.

Addie Toensing tops the HITS Ocala Equitation Championship Staff report

March was a big victory month for the Toensing family of Charlotte. Addie Toensing won the HITS (Horse shows In The Sun) Ocala Equitation Championship, and her younger sister, Lily, also had success in Florida by earning enough points in her division of equitation aged 14-15 to be grand circuit champion.

HITS, Inc., based in Saugerties, N.Y., is the largest hunter/jumper horse show management company in the United States.

Sisters Addie and Lily ride together every day and are each other’s biggest support, their mom, Karla, said. “The most touching part of the night of Addie’s big win was the first thing she did after getting interviewed was to call her sister.

Warms a mom’s heart.”

Riders must qualify by placing first through third in a major equitation class

“The most touching part of the night of Addie’s big win was the first thing she did after getting interviewed was to call her sister. Warms a mom’s heart.” during the 10-week HITS Ocala circuit.

Courses included gymnastics, trot fences, oxers, verticals and combinations. It’s open to junior riders who have placed in the USEF Medal, ASPCA Maclay, USEF Talent Search, WIHS Equitation, M&S Junior Medal, or EJ Haun Medal during HITS Ocala I-X.

Pat Leclaire opens his sugarhouse to the public Lynn Monty EDITOR IN CHIEF

It’s the one-man show and old-school maple sugaring operation run by native Charlotter Pat Leclaire since 2012 that had folks stopping in for a sample during Vermont’s Maple Open House Weekend in Charlotte on March 25. His was one of more than 90 family-owned sugarhouses across the state that participated.

This retired Green Mountain Power lineman spends his days preserving a sweet Vermont tradition and jumps at any chance to explain the process. He’s been married to Aline Leclaire for 26 years. The two make about 90 gallons of maple syrup a year and have shipped it as far as Japan.

“It’s a one-man show, but I have lots of support from Aline, and I have friends and family who come over to help,” Leclaire said.

Vermont leads the nation in maple syrup production. A whopping 47 percent of all maple syrup produced in the United States comes from Vermont. That’s two million gallons, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture says.

The Leclaire’s sugar house is located on Lime Kiln Road. “You don’t need an invitation,” Leclaire said. “If I am boiling, please stop in.”

Pat Leclaire mans his sugarhouse on Vermont’s Maple Open House Weekend in Charlotte on March 25.

Photo by Lynn Monty Be sure to see the rest of Leclaire’s story in a video on The Charlotte News Facebook page.

Rider Adelaide Toensing won the HITS Ocala Equitation Championship in March.

Photo by Frances McGivern

Charlotte Library celebrates 20 years TarynMartin-Smithcelebrates with joy after having her face painted at the library birthday event. It’s hard to believe that 20 years has gone by since the Friends of the Charlotte Library broke groundfor thebuilding that we use and visit every day.

Many friends and patrons gathered on Sunday, March 19, to celebrate in style, withcake,face-paintingand scavenger hunts, as well as photos and mementoes from the first days.We hope that the entire Charlotte community will continue to enjoy and use the library with as much support and enthusiasm as it has in the past 20 years. Submitted by Margaret Woodruff

Real Estate 7 • Senior Center 20 • Community Events 21 • Crossword & Sudoku 21

2 • April 5, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Editorial Amicable solutions found amid uncertain times is a true sign of a cultured populace Yet another bout of snow threatens to reinforce the white layer of compact precipitation in my backyard as I write this. The ground beneath is burgeoning with Lynn Monty life ready to spring EDITOR IN CHIEF up to greet me, but I will have to wait yet another day. I remind myself that those red tulips, yellow daffodils and purple crocuses will eventually emerge with or without my anguish. Truly good things refuse to be forced. And so I chose to be patient and looked for color-filled warmth elsewhere.

This day, I found it in the blue eyes of my almost-adult daughter as she told me “I love you” before leaving for school.

It’s clear the most precious things in life come after sometimes painstaking perseverance and patience. It brings to mind

the old adage that often gets me through the day … the one about the student who asks his instructor a question about feeding monkeys. He asks, “I feed them in the morning and they complain at night. I feed them at night and they complain in the morning. What do I do?”

The instructor answered, “Let them.”

“Let them” is what I tell myself as I work on my own harried homestead. I say it while raising these two rapidly growing children, while nurturing my marriage into its 25th year, and while juggling to find any semblance of success in my two parttime jobs, one, of course, being the editor of this wonderfully demanding nonprofit newspaper that has an average of 35 items of interest packed into each edition. This is no small feat.

It’s good that everyone has something to say, and I let them.

In big, bustling newsrooms they say, “You are only as good as your last story.”

Nowadays my inner voice repeats, “You are

only as good as your last edition.” And thus I strive to become a better editor for you with each passing publication. Sometimes it feels like a swing and a miss, but it’s refreshing to know that I have another chance at bat every two weeks. Thankfully, Charlotte has proven to be a forgiving and caring community of dedicated and involved individuals who take the time to educate, communicate and find amicable solutions. If only the compassion we extend to each other here in town could make its way out into our nation to find some solutions there…but I digress.

Needless to say, being a part-time editor at this lively local newspaper is a bigger job than I had anticipated, but ultimately it’s a true joy in my life. I thank you all for your continued patience as our new team learns and grows together toward greater success. We are a paper for Charlotters, by Charlotters, so I urge you to write in, send photos, share your art and become a regular part of our team. We welcome you. This is your paper.

Hopefully by the time you read this, all of this snow will have melted away and vibrant bulbs will begin to sprout. May your mud season slide right on by, nary a winch needed. But I have one if you need one.

Email me at Lynn@TheCharlotteNews.org.

I am here.

Take good care, Lynn Monty, editor in chief

Publication dates

Publication date: April 19 Columns/features deadline: April 10 Letters due: April 14 Ads deadline: April 14 Publication date: May 3 Columns/features deadline: April 24 Letters due: April 28 Ads deadline: April 28

The Charlotte News The Charlotte News is a nonprofit community-based newspaper dedicated to informing townspeople of current events and issues. It serves as a forum for the free exchange of views of town residents and celebrates the people, places and happenings that make the Town of Charlotte unique.

Contributions in the form of articles, press releases and photographs pertaining to Charlotte-related people and events are accepted and encouraged. For submission guidelines and deadlines, please visit our website or contact the editor at news@thecharlottenews.org.

The Charlotte News is published in Charlotte by The Charlotte News, Inc., a Vermont domestic 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation. Distribution is made every other Thursday to all households and businesses in Charlotte and to more than 50 outlets in Shelburne, Hinesburg, North Ferrisburgh, Ferrisburgh, Vergennes and Burlington. The Charlotte News relies on the generous financial contributions of its readers, subscriptions and advertising revenue to sustain its operations.

Editorial Staff news@thecharlottenews.org / 425-4949 Editor in chief: Lynn Monty Layout manager: Anna Cyr Contributing editors: John Hammer, Edd Merritt Copy editors: Beth Merritt, Vince Crockenberg, Carol Hanley, Edd Merritt, Janet Yantachka Business Staff ads@thecharlottenews.org / 343-0279 Ad manager: Monica Marshall Business manager: Shanley Hinge Board Members President: Vince Crockenberg Secretary: John Hammer Treasurer: Patrice Machavern Board members: Bob Bloch, Rick Detwiler, Carol Hanley, Gay Regan, Louisa Schibli Contributors Jordan Blucher, Nicole Conley, David Huber, Jim Hyde, Lee Krohn, Mary Mead, Heather Morse, Alice Outwater, Candy Padula, Beth Phillips, Kerrie Pughe, Mary Recchia, Laurie Thompson, Sallie Mack, Margaret Woodruff and Mike Yantachka Subscription Information The Charlotte News is delivered at no cost to all Charlotte residences. Effective May 1, 2016, we will no longer offer bulk mail subscriptions. Subscriptions are available for first-class delivery at $40 per calendar year. Want a subscription? Please send a check payable to The Charlotte News, PO Box 251, Charlotte, VT 05445.

Postmaster Send address changes to: The Charlotte News P.O. Box 251, Charlotte, VT 05445 Telephone: 425-4949 Circulation: 3,000 copies per issue.

Copyright © 2017 The Charlotte News, Inc. Printed in Burlington, Vermont, by Gannet Publishing Services Member of the New England Newspaper and Press Association and the Vermont Press Association.

The Charlotte News • April 5, 2017 • 3

Letters Support the trails on April 11 Please support the Trails Committee with your vote to approve adding $40,000 to the Trails Reserve Fund. Trails do not just appear, and they are never free. In some parts of the world, common usage in a totally different society may have created trails, but without the consent and support (financial and otherwise) of each landowner, those trails cease to exist.

Trails cut on private property in Charlotte provide no guarantees for public use. If residents want a system both usable and accessible, it will take investment.

We and dozens of volunteers have worked on the trails in the Charlotte Park & Wildlife Refuge, spreading wood chips on paths, rebuilding and replacing bog bridges, cutting brush, and know we could not have established the original trails. A trail network requires planning, special equipment, trail construction materials and a sizeable number of hours by trained individuals to bring it to fruition. Once constructed, the average volunteer brings knowledge, expertise and muscle to help maintain it.

New trails with modest terrain would be beneficial to people who shy away from climbing Pease Mountain or trying to navigate the hills and swales of the Refuge. A gravel trail would make it practical for strollers or even wheel chairs for a wider range of folks to enjoy.

Dog owners need a place where dogs are welcome, and they can stroll in a safer environment than on our roads.

Those who no longer have children in school—and those who have never had children—support our schools understanding the benefits of education, supporting our neighbors who have students. Voters approve fire/rescue equipment hoping they never need it but also knowing that it can help their neighbors in a crisis. We support recreation even if we don’t participate, knowing our neighbors do. We do so because we are a community.

Every medical professional in the world will advise that a good walk is excellent exercise for enhancing physical, spiritual and mental health for all ages. No, a

trail will not resolve the problems of the world. But right here in Charlotte, a path can be a place of stress-relieving solitude; we can be surrounded by birdsong, see a doe and fawn watching us warily across a field, or buzzards soaring on thermals, wild and free, and realize, “You know, this is a special place,” and be renewed.

Jenny & Dan Cole, Charlotte

Our friend and mentor Shirley Marshall Among my most treasured keepsakes are my letters from Shirley Marshall.

Like any good survivor of the Great Depression, she used every bit of space on the card or stationery with her tiny precise writing. Often her letters were written over a period of days, a modest reflection of the thought and care she bestowed upon her art and audience.

Shirley Marshall died on December 15, 2016, transitioning peacefully into the next world while leaving this world a better place from her life of service.

I don’t remember our first meeting. So many of us knew her as the warm and reassuring presence between us and the principal’s office at Charlotte Central, back in the day when teachers were trusted to teach and Shirley and a halftime principal handled everything else.

But by the time I rode my first bus to high school, Shirley was my friend and mentor—for life.

We lacked the commonalities of religion and politics. Shirley was a devout Catholic, politically progressive and gently Irish. I was casually Congregational, a default Republican and 10th- generation English right off the boat. Our shared loves were farming and community.

When I started maple sugaring at 13, the Marshalls and two other East Charlotte neighbors let me tap their maples. When I started making hay for my sister’s fledgling horse stable, Shirley’s husband, Tommy, and youngest son, Andy, taught me to thread a baler, change mower knives, and how to tell when the hay was

dry enough to rake and bale.

Shirley’s husband, Tom, faithfully and gently milked his cows and delivered mail on Saturdays. Their elder children, Michael and Cindy, pursued their educations and careers and were part of Vermont’s most significant exports—our youth.

Shirley continued her life of service after retiring from CCS. Serving lunches to family and friends, volunteer bookkeeping at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, watching and feeding the birds and writing her wonderful letters were favorite activities.

The loss of their son, Andrew, during the maiden voyage of his ultralight plane was a heavy blow to Shirley and Tommy.

Several years after Andrew’s death, Suzanne and I were fortunate to adopt a child named Andrew. Not surprisingly the occasion of his adoption brought a present and welcome from Shirley. I have long since forgotten what was in the package, but I will never forget the wrapping paper. It was faded but neat and covered with the name “Andrew” all over it.

How many years had she kept that used sheet of wrapping paper now passed from one child to another? She had lost her beloved youngest son and welcomed ours in his memory.

I cannot summon the words to do justice to Shirley’s beautiful life, but I will always treasure memories of my friend and mentor Shirley Sheehan Marshall.

Clark Hinsdale, Charlotte

The mouse that roared At the end of the March 7 Town Meeting, Charlotte voters adopted my proposal to call on the U.S. Congress to investigate whether sufficient grounds exist for the impeachment of Donald J. Trump for violations of the two Emoluments Clauses of the U.S. Constitution: • The Foreign Emoluments Clause, which provides that “no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under

[the United States] shall, without the Consent of Congress, accept any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or Foreign State.”

• The Domestic Emoluments Clause, which provides that, besides the fixed salary for his four-year term, the President “shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.”

• A multitude of such violations has been spelled out in a lawsuit by the Committee for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). But at the Town Meeting, a “call the question” request came immediately from the floor, and I had no need to spell out the sleazy details.

I think that, like me, many Charlotters have taken an oath to support and defend the Constitution—all teachers take this oath, so do all officials in Civil Service positions, all members of the U.S. armed forces and the National Guard, all governors, all members of Congress, and, of course, all U.S. Presidents.

Strict allegiance to the Constitution is what distinguishes the United States from a great many Banana Republics throughout the world that have copied our Constitution but allow their leaders to violate it at will.

Charlotte became one of three municipalities in the nation to pass this resolution, following Richmond, California, and a few hours ahead of Alameda, California. I have been gratified by the warm response around town and even in Shelburne, where my bank teller said, “Now Trump knows where Vermont is.”

My only disappointment is the silence of the media. The resolution wasn’t adopted on tweets, gossip, alternative news, obnoxious personality, or the Ivanka clothing line. It was adopted on facts: Trump’s disrespect and violation of the Constitution.

Yes, let’s make America great again.

And above all, let’s make the Constitution great again.

Susan Ohanian, Charlotte

4 • April 5, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Report from the Legislature

Marijuana legalization Any controversial issue under consideration by the Legislature will generate a lot of emails and phone calls, both pro and con, from constituents and advocates. Marijuana legalization is the Rep. Mike controversial issue of Yantachka this session, and I heard from many of you as well as from organizations advocating for and against legalization. I have taken the time to read the emails and listen to the phone calls, and I have tried to answer most of them. I also discussed the issue with fellow legislators, with doctors, police, attorneys and teens. I found people in all those categories on both sides of the issue.

My two major concerns about marijuana have to do with driving under the influence and its use by youth. Anything that alters perceptions and slows reactions is dangerous when combined with driving. This is true of marijuana and equally true of alcohol.

Young people, whose brains continue to develop well into their twenties, risk their futures with heavy use of marijuana, which dulls ambition as addiction takes over. And while tobacco is more of a stimulant, it can

do considerable damage to a person’s physical health. All of these have greater effects on young people than on adults.

So, any of these substances can be abused with terrible consequences.

Prohibition did not work for alcohol and, so far, hasn’t worked for marijuana, either. However, education and regulation can minimize abuse even if it doesn’t eliminate use. The fact is, marijuana has been easy to get whether we want to recognize it or not. Ask a high school student and they’ll probably tell you that it is easier to obtain marijuana than alcohol. Those who want to use it will use it with or without legalization, and those who recognize the danger will avoid it.

There will be irresponsible people who get behind a wheel while high just as there are irresponsible people who get behind a wheel after drinking. We should not tolerate either behavior, whether or not the substances are legal.

Another concern is whether marijuana

is a gateway drug, leading a user to try more dangerous drugs. Data does not substantiate that, and we are now seeing that overprescription of pain killer drugs to treat injuries or pain after surgery has been a much greater precursor to opiate addiction.

H.170 eliminates all penalties for the possession of one ounce or less of marijuana for a person 21 years old or older, while retaining civil and criminal penalties for possession of larger amounts and criminal penalties for unauthorized dispensing or sale of marijuana. It also allows up to two mature marijuana plants to be cultivated by a person 21 or older with a limit of two plants per dwelling. The bill retains civil penalties for possession of marijuana by a person under 21, the same as for alcohol, and exacts heavy penalties on anyone who furnishes marijuana to a person under 21 and on anyone, regardless of age, who drives under the influence. Consumption of

marijuana in public places is also forbidden.

The bill was presented on the floor of the House, but before much debate took place, the body voted to send the bill to the Human Resources Committee for further consideration.

As one doctor told me, “Accepting that there are potential dangers associated with the use of marijuana should not automatically lead one to favor continued criminalization.

The policy of criminalization also has serious adverse effects for individuals and for society. These include impacts on the criminal justice system, how citizens view the law, and high rates of incarceration.

Criminalization will not stop people from using marijuana. … It may even be beneficial to go further and legalize sale so that marijuana users could be protected from illegal dealers who may adulterate marijuana with dangerous substances.” I agree with this assessment and will vote for H.170 when it comes to the floor again.

I encourage you to let me know your concerns and opinions. I can be reached by phone (802-233-5238) or by email (myantachka.dfa@gmail.com), and you can find this article and past articles at my website, MikeYantachka.com.

The Charlotte News • April 5, 2017 • 5

Around Town Gratitude for our dedicated plow drivers Edd Merritt CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Although Charlotte is relatively small in population, its area is relatively vast and much of its landscape still rolling and open. The roads to many houses head up through forests and hills and require snow plowing. Stopping by either of the two town stores in the morning after a snowfall, one is likely to find a number of plowers grabbing breakfast between jobs.

Many have been up since the middle of the night clearing driveways and gravel roads for their customers – their foods may, in fact, be more lunch-like than breakfasts.

Speaking with Road Commissioner, Junior Lewis, I learned that he has a ritual to which he adheres when a snowstorm is predicted. Hearing it is headed toward Charlotte, Junior calls his four plowers who arrive at the town garage ready to clean their assigned roads. Each of them has a specific route for which he is responsible.

Junior says they do blacktop roads first. The Charlotte/Hinesburg Road between CCS and our neighboring community starts their day. During the most recent snowfall, commissioner and crew were up at three a.m. and plowed the roads three times that day. The week prior, with a heavier blizzard, they plowed six times.

Because Junior owns the equipment they use, he and his cohort make sure it is in good-running order. They have even gone so far as to replace engines themselves, he said. However, as we move forward, more of the equipment has a strong technological bent, and he has to bring in an outside expert for an increasing number of tune ups.

Another plower who maintains it as a family business, Dick Preston, echoes Junior’s comments. Prestons plow school roads, which are always among the first. He said he has over 160 customers and the number of developments in Charlotte is increasing.

As a plower, Dick is conscious of two things. He knows where people who need to get to work early live, physicians and the like, and he will head there first.

In the developments, he will plow the roads into them and let the homeowners do their own driveways.

Dick also says maintaining equipment is a major concern. Since a number of Charlotte roads are either gravel with potholes or other elements that will knock equipment out of line, they constantly need to check and align their plows after each storm.

If we bear the brunt of another storm this spring, we will notice and thank the pickups galore that cruise the town, keeping families safe as they need to get to-and-from their houses.

Congratulations: to Alison Bechdel of Bolton who was named the next Vermont “cartoonist laureate” by the Center for Cartoon Studies. A resolution recognizing her for the honor will be read on the Statehouse floor in Montpelier April 6. According to an article in the March 29 Burlington Free Press, Vermont is the only state that “regularly appoints a cartoonist laureate.”

Bechdel’s illustrated novel, Fun Home, was made into a Broadway musical in New York in 2015. Charlotte’s Oscar Williams played Bechdel’s younger brother in the production, which won a Tony Award as “Best Musical.”

Photo of the week

to Denise Danyow, Director of Operations for the Committee on Temporary Shelter (COTS) who was recognized for her efficient management of the agency’s finances in their recent newsletter. A longtime volunteer in the Charlotte Library, in schools, in her parish, she used her background as a commercial banker as well as having earned a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) graduate degree to connect her to COTS. to the “other Rik” at the Little Garden Market in Charlotte, Rik Carlson whose photographs were displayed at Noyes Auto and Tire Service in Burlington through March 31. His show was titled “Celebrate Your Ride: The Passion & The Art.” to Marley and Nick Powden of Charlotte on the birth of their son Oliver on February 11.

Charlotte dawn crescent moon on Greenbush Road.

Photo by Lee Krohn

Town budget and trails article – Australian ballot on April 11 Mary A. Mead CLERK/TREASURER

Hopefully, everyone is aware that we still have another vote coming up on Tuesday, April 11. We will be voting that day by Australian ballot on our $3,046,847 town budget and on a $40,000 allocation for trails. These two articles were discussed on the floor at Town Meeting and neither one was amended, so they are coming before the town for an Australian Ballot vote exactly as they appear in your Town Report.

If you weren’t at Town Meeting, read your Town Report, or you can watch the meeting and listen to the discussions that took place that day on VCAM (Vermontcam.org) to become informed and ready to vote.

If the town budget does not pass, it will go back to the Selectboard, which will have to bring it up for another vote at a later date, just as we have done with our school budgets in the past. If the trails article fails, the Selectboard can either bring it back for another vote at a dollar

amount of its choice or not. The board has discretion when it comes to “budgetrelated” articles according to the Charter that was voted on this past year.

As always, absentee ballots are available at the Town Clerk’s Office. You may stop in and vote or request a ballot be mailed to you. Absentee ballots need to be returned by the close of polls on April 11. There is no longer a deadline for registering to vote as we now have same day registration.

Email your news announcements to news @thecharlottenews.org

6 • April 5, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Town Selectboard update on litigations, fraud risk and Lake Champlain John Hammer CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

The Selectboard meeting of March 27 was relatively short and sweet. It began with the decision to engage the firm of Murphy, Sullivan and Kronk to represent the town with other lakeside municipalities in the continuing litigation over the tax implications of the TDI New England submarine power cable in Lake Champlain. The board also set the date for advance opening of the town mowing and brush-hogging bids for March 31. Formal bid opening and letting contracts will occur at the next regular Selectboard meeting on April 10. The advanced opening will enable Dean Bloch to perform an analysis of each bid to help standardize the terms that will enable the board to make an informed decision.

The board has set itself a goal of establishing a fraud risk assessment process in accordance with the contracted auditors’ recommendations. It authorized Sullivan

Powers & Co., the town’s contract auditors, to work with the elected auditors to facilitate the assessment and produce a report for an amount not to exceed $1,000.

The Lake Champlain Conservation Committee (LCC) requested and received permission to include the Town Beach as a Lake Champlain Paddlers’ Trail day site and to include it in the Trail Guidebook. Copies of the guidebook may be obtained by visiting the LCC website at lakechamplaincommittee.org or calling (802) 658-1414.

In a spate of appointments and reappointments, the following persons were approved to town entities: John Quinney to the Energy Committee for the term ending April 30, 2018, Greg Smith to the Charlotte Park and Wildlife Sanctuary Committee for an indefinite term, Laurie Thompson and Stephanie Hasse reappointed to the Trails Committee for terms ending April 30, 2019,

Susan Blood reappointed to the Conservation Commission for the term ending April 30, 2021, Ken Spenser and Kim Findley appointed for a one-year term as Vermont Green-up Day coordinators (May 6).

Mark Dillenbeck was also reappointed as tree warden for a one-year term. Shortly following his reappointment, the Selectboard went on to proclaim May 5, 2017, as Arbor Day, during which another tree will be planted at the Charlotte Central School.

Of general interest, the Selectboard briefly reviewed its extensive work plan for the year and the list of contracts that will come due, needing their attention. The next regular Selectboard meeting will be held on April 10, during which the town clerk’s salary plan for the future will be considered for final approval. There will also be a public informational meeting on the budget-related articles to be voted by Australian ballot on April 11 in accordance with the new Town Charter.

Upcoming Public Meetings Informational hearing on articles to be voted on at Town Hall: April 6 at 6 p.m.

Planning Commission: April 6 and 20 at 7 p.m.

Selectboard: April 10 and 24 at 7 p.m.

Special Town Meeting at Charlotte Central School, Australian ballot voting: April 11 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Zoning Board of Adjustment: April 19 at 7 p.m.

Conservation Commission: April 25 at 7 p.m.

The Charlotte News • April 5, 2017 • 7

What is on the Charlotte real estate market right now?

Heather Morse CONTRIBUTOR

Charlotte has a very active real estate market with a diverse number of homes for buyers to choose from. Homes that are priced correctly from the start will sell more quickly and draw more attention from potential buyers. Many home owners believe that it is better to start high, as a potential buyer will make an initial low offer or try during negotiations to bring the sale price down. Correctly priced homes bring in more buyers, tend to have initial offers closer to the asking price and make for an allaround friendly and positive real-estate experience for both the buyer and the seller.

What is on the market in Charlotte right now? There are presently 42 single-family homes for sale in Charlotte and five homes currently under contract. Last year, 28 single family homes were sold, and the average sale price of those 28 homes was $531,827.

The average number of days on the market was 52.

There are many decisions to make when you decide to sell your home. One of the key points is determining the best price for your home and how to get the most money in the current real estate market. When determining your list price, you should compare your home to other similar homes that have recently sold. Over the last few years, the real estate market has been more favorable to

Town

the buyer than to the seller; it’s a “buyer’s market.”

In listing your home realtors will reference current listed homes and recently sold homes to help you decide on a competitive list price. They will do a market analysis and target specific properties that share the same features and condition as your home. They will take into account, square footage, number of bedrooms and baths, land, location, age and condition. Once comparable properties have been selected your agent will use the sale price of those homes to best determine the value of your home in the current market.

There is great news for buyers looking in Charlotte and for anyone contemplating selling their Charlotte home. Charlotte currently offers a wide variety of homes ranging in price between $189,900 and $4,295,000. The square footages range from a compact 952 square feet to a grand 7,296 square feet. The land parcels they are situated on range from 0.07 acres to 134 acres. There might only be 42 Charlotte listings, but each home is unique in its own way and will satisfy even the most diverse search criteria, including the firsttime homebuyer to the most seasoned homeowner.

Happy spring. It’s a great time to get that house on the market or to shop for your new home! If you ever have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask! Email heather@vermontgreentree.com.

Community Energy Dashboard introduced

Alise Certa from the Energy Action Network introduces the Community Energy Dashboard to Charlotters at the Charlotte Library on March 21. Charlotters can expect to hear more in the coming months about the dashboard, an online tool that will help Charlotte meet the state goal of 90 percent renewable energy use by 2050. The evening was sponsored by the Energy Committee and the library.

Courtesy photo

Property Transfers Feb. 24 Peter J. and Leslie Spier Bodette to Geoffrey Miller and Beth Buttles-Miller, 6.9 acres with dwelling, 2330 Guinea Road, $517,000.

Mar. 22 Clark W. Hinsdale III to Dylan Preston and Ward Preston, 103 acres with dwelling, 839 One Mile Road, $350,000.

Mar. 20 Robert and Nicolai and James Roderick to Mary McGrade, 2.7 acres with dwelling, 2943 Hinesburg Road, $475,000.

Mar. 24 Walter and Susan Beller to David and Cheryl Shive, 3.22 acres with dwelling, 187 Stone Wall Lane, $364,000.

Mar. 20 Estate of Constance M. Morrill to Tyler Gauthier and Tess Gauthier, 1.1 acres with mobile home, 30 Upper Old Town Road, $189,900.

Mar. 20 Estate of Loraine Moureau to Eric Levine and Krista Hoffsis, 1 acre with dwelling, 4500 Greenbush Road, $225,000.

Mar 22 Clark W. Hinsdale III to Dylan Preston and Ward Preston, 6.44 acres with farm buildings, Guinea Road and One Mile Road, $150,000.

8 • April 5, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Town Charlotters sleep outside to support homeless youths

This group of sleepmates, some of them from Charlotte, participated in the sixth annual Spectrum Sleep Out and collectively raised more than $336,000. SpectrumYouth and Family Services is a nonprofit that works to empower teenagers, young adults and their families to make and sustain positive changes through prevention, intervention and life skills services. Community leaders, business members and students slept outside between March 23 and 26 to support homeless and atrisk youths.

Courtesy photo

Help wanted!

The News is looking for writers, photographers and drivers to join the community of Charlotters—more than 130 of us last year—that every two weeks throughout the year produces the paper and then distributes it to every mailbox in town and to more than 50 drop-off sites up and down Route 7.

If you’re interested in supplying news

stories or photography, please email the paper’s editor in chief, Lynn Monty, at lynn@thecharlottenews.org. If you’d be willing to take on a paper distribution route or would like to know more about what’s involved, please contact Vince Crockenberg at vince.crockenberg@ gmail.com.

The Trails Committee and friends working on the Town Link Trail

Courtesy photo Laurie Thompson CO-CHAIR TRAILS COMMITTEE

Thank you all for the healthy debate through Front Porch Forum, at our Trails public meetings in November and February, and with friends and neighbors about the Town Link Trail and Article 6.

This is democracy in action.

There have been many points made on all sides, and there has also been some misinformation in several posts. I would like to clear up any misconceptions by stating the facts about the Town Link Trail and Article 6.

This $40,000 investment in trails, Article 6, is probably a one-shot deal.

That is why it was not added to the budget.

The Selectboard created Article 6 to show commitment to this alternative transportation trail and to help get the trail done more swiftly.

With this $40,000, we can leverage the money to get up to $400,000 in grant funding.

To date, the Trails Committee has received three grants totaling $85,000.

The town has supported these grant efforts with $15,000 (which has come out of our annual request for $5,000 over the past three years). We have fund-raised $35,000 through an annual fundraising campaign (these are non-tax dollars). All the money raised goes toward design, permitting and construction of the trail.

The Trails Committee has tried very hard to defray most of the cost of this trail with grants and fundraising so as little as possible would come out of our taxes.

The cost per household for Article 6 is about $20–25 depending on your property value.

The all-volunteer Trails Committee has put in hundreds of hours of maintenance on our trails.

Putting in blood, sweat and tears (of joy!) to maintain our trails is one of the prerequisites for a Trails Committee member.

This trail is not like our other loop trails in town. The Town Link Trail is an alternative transportation route to connect neighborhoods with important destinations. It is a way for Charlotters to get around town without getting into our cars and a way to stay off our very busy roads when biking, walking, snowshoeing or cross-country skiing.

We on the Trails Committee understand that not everyone uses trails. But not everyone uses our beach or the tennis courts or the ball fields, and not everyone uses the Senior Center or the library or the Grange or the school. Yet some people use each of these resources, and it’s the combination of these resources that makes ours a vibrant community.

Please vote YES for Article 6.

The Charlotte News • April 5, 2017 • 9

April showers bring May flowers…and great programs at the Charlotte Library!

For more details about all of our activities, visit our website, charlottepubliclibrary.org, or call us at 425-3864.

Mondays, April 3, 10 and 17, 1:30 p.m.

Hospice and Heart Book Group. Reading and discussion about The Hummingbird, Stephen Kiernan’s novel on hospice and healing. Meets at Charlotte Senior Center.

Registration required—please call the Senior Center to sign up: 425-6345.

Tuesdays, April 4, 11 and 18, 9 a.m. Baby Time @ the Library! Join us to chat, sing songs and read to baby. Sponsored by Building Bright Futures.

Tuesday, April 4, 2:15 p.m. TinkerBelles Program Poetry.* Brains, books and “Makey Makeys” create fun ways to celebrate National Poetry Month! For grades 3–5. Funded by a grant from John and Alice Outwater. Registration required.

Tuesdays, April 4, 11 and 18, 2:15 p.m.

Story Explorations. Stories and crafts for kindergarteners and 1st graders. Registration required.

Tuesday, April 4, 7 p.m. Great Decisions, The Future of Europe: Coping with Crisis. The Brexit vote underscores the complexities of integrating an extremely diverse continent. Materials available at desk prior to program. Registration required.

Thursdays, 3:15 p.m. Coding Club.* Join kids coding with Scratch. Beginners and

advanced. 4th grade and up. Registration required.

Fridays April 7, 14 and 21, 10:30 a.m.

Friday Free for All. Join us each Friday for a new adventure with stories, experiments and snacks! For ages 3–5. Registration required.

Saturday, April 8, 10:30 a.m. to noon Seed Library Seed Swap. Share seeds and check out Seed Library offerings for 2017.

Co-sponsored with the Charlotte Grange.

Tuesday, April 11, 7 p.m. TEDxCharlotte Library: Nationalism vs. Globalism— The New Political Divide. Historian Yuval Harari places our current turmoil in a broader context. Jonathan Silverman facilitates conversation following the screening.

Tuesday, April 11 and 18, 2:15 p.m.

TinkerBelles Sew Electric! Design and make a plush monster that lights up in this e-textiles program. For grades 3–5. Funded by a grant from John and Alice Outwater.

Registration required.

Monday, April 17, 10 a.m. Mystery Book Group: Open Season by Archer Mayor. Introducing Lt. Joe Gunther of the Brattleboro, Vermont, police force.

Tuesday, April 18, 7 p.m. Great Decisions, Trade, Jobs and Politics. A critique of current U.S. economic metrics for perspective on our standing in the world.

Registration required.

Wednesday, April 26, 1 p.m. Vacation Movie. Join us for a brand-new movie screening for all ages. We provide the popcorn!

Thursday, April 27 Poem in Your Pocket Day. Join us to observe National Poetry Month by creating a poem pocket, with your favorite verse inside!

Contact us! We’d love to hear from you.

Margaret Woodruff, director Cheryl Sloan, youth services librarian/ assistant director Susanna Kahn, tech librarian Charlotte Library, 115 Ferry Road, Charlotte, VT 05455 charlottepubliclibrary.org Follow us on Facebook and Instagram: @ charlottelibraryvt

Food Shelf News Kerrie Pughe CONTRIBUTOR

Thank you

Thank you for the support this month from Lynn and Greg Cluff, Friendship Lodge #24 Masons, Susan and Hans Ohanian, Valerie and William Graham, Charlotte Congregational Church members, Charlotte Organic Coop, Janet Morrison, Caroline Slater, Joe Banks and the Shelburne Supermarket coffee bar customers.

Nancy Bloch and John Lavigne received the Foodbank order for February of 1,416 pounds. The shelves were well stocked for the families who needed a little extra help in February.

On May 14, U.S. Postal Service carriers will be picking up nonperishable food donations on their mail routes at your mailbox. These items will be donated to the Charlotte and Shelburne food shelves.

Thank you in advance for leaving out your cans or boxes of nonperishable items.

Nonperishable food items along with toiletries such as hair shampoo, toothpaste and toilet paper are always welcome here at the Food Shelf. Also, spring is on the way, so this is a friendly reminder to plant an extra row in your garden for us! The Food Shelf will be happy to distribute your fresh veggies to those in need. Root crops such as carrots, potatoes, onions, beets and squash have a long shelf life and can be stored at the Food Shelf.

Donations

donations you make to the Food Shelf go directly for food and/or assistance to our local neighbors in need. Thank you so much for considering donating today.

Checks may be mailed to Charlotte Food Shelf & Assistance, P. O. Box 83, Charlotte, VT 05445.

Donated food drop-off locations

All nonperishable food donations may be dropped off at the Charlotte Library, the Charlotte Congregational Church vestry, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church (main entrance) or at the Food Shelf during the distribution mornings. We request that all fresh foods be dropped off at the Food Shelf before the Wednesday distribution hours or before 7:30 a.m. on the Thursday distribution mornings.

New Facebook page

“Like” us at our new Facebook page, Charlotte Community Food Shelf and Assistance, to see photos and get updates on all the Food Shelf activities.

The Charlotte Food Shelf is located on the lower level of the Charlotte Congregational Church vestry. Distribution days/times are posted in this newspaper and on the bulletin board in the Charlotte Congregational Church Hall. You may also call the Food Shelf number (425-3252) for a recording of the distribution times.

We are open to all community residents.

Privacy is very important and respected in our mission of neighbor helping neighbor.

For emergency food call John 425-3130.

For emergency assistance (electricity, fuel) call Cindi at 425-3234.

For more information call Karen at 4253252 .

Important Upcoming 2017 Charlotte Food Shelf Distribution Dates: Wednesdays, April 5 and 19, May 10, 5–7 p.m.

Thursdays, April 6 and 20, May 11, 7:30–9:30 a.m.

We are a volunteer organization so all

Support for local libraries Margaret Woodruff CHARLOTTE LIBRARY

No doubt you’ve heard about the threats to funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Of equal concern, especially here in Vermont, is the threat to funding for library services. According to the American Library Association, “The Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) is the only federal program exclusively for libraries. It is administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). State libraries use the funds to support statewide initiatives and also distribute the funds through subgrants or cooperative agreements to public, school, academic, research, and special libraries.”

While this may seem remote to Charlotte library users, here are some of the programs and services that LSTA dollars support at our library: -Access to downloadable ebooks and audiobooks through Green Mountain Library Consortium

-Resource sharing, both interlibrary loan facilitation and special services for blind and visually impaired -Continuing education for library staff, promoting the best service for library patrons -Literacy initiatives including the summer reading program and the early literacy projects with Vermont -Databases and digital learning opportunities for Vermonters seeking employment, education and advancement.

These programs are invaluable to the Vermonters who need them, and the resulting benefits to our community are essential for our state to thrive and grow. Our own library has stories to tell that demonstrate the need for these services, from the preschooler who developed early aptitude for math in STEM storytimes to the

middle-aged college student who sharpened study and reading skills online.

So what should we all do about this?

We invite, encourage and urge you to contact Representative Peter Welch and ask him to sign the “Dear Appropriator” letters supporting the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and the Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) program. His phone number is 202-225-4115.

In addition, we invite you to join Chittenden County librarians for a pre-

Library Legislation Day event on Saturday, April 29. We plan to march up Church Street in Burlington to demonstrate the strength and support of Vermont Libraries. If you’re interested in participating, please contact Margaret Woodruff at the library, 425-3864.

We thank you for your continued support for the Charlotte Library. We welcome any suggestions and ideas you want to share so we can keep the conversation and support alive and ongoing.

10 • April 5, 2017 • The Charlotte News Nicole Conley RECREATION DIRECTOR

Summer job posting

Charlotte beach attendant: a parttime seasonal position beginning Memorial Day weekend. Responsibilities include maintenance of beach area and facilities near the beach (tennis court, playground, volleyball court and picnic area), set-up or cleanup of the beach, supervision of parking area and sale of parking passes. Visit the recreation web page for the full job description and application form. Submit your application with three references to the Charlotte Town Office. For more information contact the Recreation Director at Recreation@townofcharlotte. com or call 425-6129.

Youth Spring Programs

Creative Dance Class Contemporary dance combines music, choreography and improvisation in a fun and active art form. In this all-levels class, students will warm up their bodies safely, practice interesting footwork and floor work, and learn improvisational structures that draw on their own creativity and movement knowledge. Thursdays after school at CCS, April 6–May 11. Grades K-3, 3–4 p.m. Grades 4-7, 4–5 p.m. Fee:

$55.

After-school Horseback Riding Steeple Ridge Farm will host weekly horseback riding lessons after school.

Ashley Meacham enjoys working with her students and bringing in a young, positive atmosphere, making sure her students feel comfortable and confident. This program will be offered to 1st through 12th grades.

Tuesdays 2:15–5:30 p.m. and Thursdays 3:15–5:30 p.m. at Steeple Ridge Farm, April 11–May 25. Fee: $500 ($100 per week; one day per week prices available). Grades K–8.

Mini Lacrosse Mini lacrosse practices for 1st and 2nd graders. Participants learn more about the game while having fun. Saturdays 9–10 a.m. at CCS, April 29–May 27. Fee: $35.

Equipment needed: lacrosse stick.

After-school Kindergarten Soccer It’s time to lace up those cleats and enjoy a fun afternoon of outdoor soccer. Mondays 3–4 p.m. at CCS, May 1–May 29. Fee: $25.

Spring Soccer (1st-2nd grade) Soccer practices and games for 1st and 2nd graders. Come join the fun with all your friends! Fridays, 3–4 p.m. at CCS, May 5–June 2. Fee: $35 by May 1.

see Charlotte Rec page 23

The Charlotte News • April 5, 2017 • 11

Education Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks on funding for the arts at town meeting

Vermont Council on Reading award goes to …

Charlotte Central School teachers Monica Lubic and Michelle Filardi are this year’s recipients of the Vermont Council on Reading’s John T. Poeton Award, pictured here with VCR Vice President Jensa Bushey. The council annually selects outstanding educators working in Vermont schools that foster literacy development with students and colleagues.

Lubic and Filardi will be honored during the council’s conference in April.

Courtesy photo

Student choral singers performed at an arts and education town meeting presented by Sen. Bernie Sanders at ChamplainValley Union High School in Hinesburg on May 25. Sanders told the crowd that he would do everything possible to keep federal funding for the arts and humanities in place. Choruses and musicians from the ChamplainValley School District, Barre, Colchester, Essex, Stowe and area universities also performed at the event.

Photo by Jay Rose Glavin

New parent connection at Charlotte Central School budget, community outreach and anything that relates to the big systems within the school,” Komons-Montroll said. “That is still the case.”

Komons-Montroll and Sumner are not now, nor have they ever been, co-principals.

“I am lead principal,” Komons-Montroll said, “and we divided up the grades the way we did originally because we believed in being cohesive. We didn’t want the traditional co-principal situation that is more separated and divided. We are able to maintain a community as a whole school and not operate in siloes. Both of our hands are in everything because we work so well together.”

Lynn Monty EDITOR IN CHIEF

In an effort to make themselves as accessible as possible to families and the community, Lead Principal Barbara Anne Komons-Montroll and Instructional Leader/Principal Stephanie Sumner are collaborating with the PTO to host monthly Q & A sessions.

“We will be providing alternating times at drop-off and at pickup to enable people to come by and ask us a question or two as well,” Komons-Montroll said. “Our hope is that people will build an even greater comfort in communicating with the principals and know that our door is always open.”

At the March 22 meeting there was no agenda. The principals and PTO president Carol Blanshine were present to answer questions. One parent attended, Hilary Jordan, who asked questions about her child’s transition into middle school. “I love everything I am seeing in the 5th grade and I know everything tends to change in the 6th grade. Fifth grade curriculum is incredibly strong at CCS, and I want that to continue.”

Komons-Montroll described the number of community outreach opportunities given in middle school and explained the organizational structure of teachers and curriculum. An action plan is also in the works for a parent wish-list survey that was taken last year.

The next Q&A with the Principals will be held from 2:30 to 3:15 p.m. in the CCS

CVSD website revamp Charlotte Central School Lead Principal Barbara Anne Komons-Montroll offers up some sweet treats at the school’s inaugural Principal Q&A in March.

Photo by Lynn Monty library on Wednesday, April 22.

Principal adjustments

This semester brought with it new CCS responsibilities for Lead Principal Barbara Anne Komons-Montroll and Instructional Leader/Principal Stephanie Sumner. Their titles remain the same but the grades they oversee have been adjusted. Sumner is now the “go-to” principal for kindergarten through 4th grade and Komons-Montroll for 5th through 8th grades.

This is a teacher-requested change from Komons-Montroll being the “go-to” for kindergarten, 3rd, 4th and 7th grades. “When I started here my responsibilities were

Superintendent Elaine Pinckney said everything will be changed from Chittenden South Supervisory Union (CSSU) to Champlain Valley School District (CVSD), including the website. Each school in the district will still have its own page that will be part of the new CVSD website, just as it is now with the current website. A committee of administrators, integrationists and systems administrators has been exploring a new website. “This new, and much better, website will be online by July 1 when we officially shed the CSSU designation and become the Champlain Valley School District,” Pinckney said. “We’ve already started changing letterhead and job postings to reflect this new entity, which has been operational since Sept. 7.”

Odyssey of the Mind

Four Charlotte Odyssey of the Mind

teams competed at the state finals at CVU, and all four won trophies. Two teams can compete at the world finals competition in Michigan this May. First-place team: Riley DeCell, Charlie Taylor, Taylor Marchand, Wolfy Louchheim, Nik Blasius, Katie Shattie, Josh Batchelder.

First-place team: Kate Silverman, Charlie Buchwald, Ronan Evans, George Taylor, Elizabeth Nostrand, Whitley Pidgeon, Anderson McEnaney.

Second-place team: Harry Evans, Jameson McEnaney, Zachary Santos, Coco Eyre, Hadley Stockwell, Grave McNally.

Third-place team: Cassie Bastress, Tabitha Bastress, Estelle Emmons, Ella Emmons, Cessie Forero, Natalie Scriver.

THIS WEEKEND: Empower Youth Leadership Conference at CCS

The 2nd annual Empower Youth Leadership Conference will be held at CCS for students in 6th, 7th and 8th grades from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on April 8.

The conference will focus on leadership skills. Middle school youth will participate in interactive workshops where they will learn success strategies, tips for stronger minds and bodies, how to create a vision for their future, and how to communicate more effectively with parents and peers.

Lunch, snacks and drinks are included.

For more information email Mary Muroski at mmuroski@cssu.org or Kathy Batty at kbatty@cssu.org. This event is cosponsored by the Children’s Legacy Partnership, a nonprofit organization in Vermont.

12 • April 5, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Education CVU teachers named to class of fellows by The Rowland Foundation Staff report Champlain Valley Union High School visual art teacher Abbie Bowker and librarian Peter Langella have been named to the 2017-18 class of fellows by The Rowland Foundation, located in South Londonderry, Vermont.

The foundation receives many applications from educators across the state each year for these highly sought-after fellowship grants. “Each year up to ten Vermont secondary school educators are selected as Rowland Fellows from among all qualified applicants. The foundation provides grants up to $100,000 to each of their schools for the Rowland Fellow to implement a vision to transform an aspect of the school which will positively impact its culture and climate,” said Charles Scranton, the Foundation’s executive director.

Bowker and Langella’s fellowship comes with a $75,000 grant for CVU. A portion of the grant money will allow Abbie and Peter released time from their daily jobs to research school transformation initiatives and create an interest-based, embedded

ChamplainValley Union High School visual art teacher Abbie Bowker and librarian Peter Langella.

Photo by CVU Senior, Caroline Averill

program at CVU that allows students to practice skills, gain knowledge and meet proficiencies through regularly scheduled experiences of their choosing.

Principal Adam Bunting said, “The beauty of Abbie and Peter’s proposal is that it is elegant in its simplicity… this is the thing I am most excited about

right now.” In fact, he is not the only one excited about this at CVU. “I have had so many congratulatory remarks and great conversations already stemming from this award—from faculty, staff and even students,” said Bowker. “It makes me realize what an amazing and supportive school and community we have. We are always looking for ways to bring betterment to our school, for our kids. I’m thrilled that we are going to be able to have the time to really dig in and work on this next year.”

The work that Bowker and Langella are taking on directly fits with CVU’s current vision and the State of Vermont’s Act 77, also known as the “Flexible Pathways Initiative,” which encourages and supports personalized learning processes and alternative pathways to graduation. The idea might be “elegant in its simplicity,” but it really holds up as incredibly innovative in approach.

Langella recognizes the charge that is set in front of them. “It’s exciting. There isn’t a research and development department in our school. To be awarded the opportunity to research, build and implement new

programming from the bottom up is quite special.”

Bowker recognizes the role of the whole community in this process. “I grew up in Williston. I went to CVU. I know this community very well. I recognize the importance of community involvement and voice when working through new programs and making adjustments to a system—especially one that is so dear to our community. I recognize that we must work with our faculty, our students and hear voices from our full community to understand the best path for our school. We want to form relationships and partnerships within our school and community. We are planning on taking our time to do this right.”

Bowker and Langella begin their Rowland journey this spring at a series of orientation events and will be fully involved for the 2017-18 school year. They will be sending us updates throughout next year, but if you are interested in what they are working on please feel free to contact them at abowker@cssu.org or plangella@ cssu.org.

Theater troupe Gets Smart at CVU Candy Padula

CHAMPLAIN VALLEY UNION HIGH SCHOOL THEATER DIRECTOR

Our production of “Get Smart” was a big success. We had very nice audience turnout, the students had a great time, and, based on the audience reaction, I think it’s safe to say that those in the audience also enjoyed themselves. Get Smart is based on the classic 1960s

television program from the master of comedy Mel Brooks. Agent Maxwell Smart and his lovely assistant, 99, tried to prevent the evil organization, KAOS, from blowing up the Statue of Liberty, while also protecting a Scandinavian princess and tracking down four kidnapped blondes. It’s all in a day’s work for Max Smart. The performance was held March 17 and 18.

Church Services Charlotte Congregational Church, UCC 403 Church Hill Road, 425-3176 Regular Sunday service: 10 a.m.

KAOS evil operatives, the Wong Sisters, brandish multiple weapons on Maxwell Smart (Kai Reinsborough, seated left) and the lovely 99 (Charlotte resident Meg Young, seated right) in a Chinese restaurant. (Wong Sisters from L to R: Hannah Frasure, Elise Askew, Mishka Rehak, Halina Vercessi and Alexa Kartchoke.)

Easter Schedule Sunday, April 9, Palm Sunday, 10 a.m.

Thursday, April 13 Foot-washing Service, 6:30 p.m. (in the Vestry) Tenebrae Service, 7 p.m. (in the Vestry) 19-hour Holy Vigil begins, 8 p.m. (until 3 p.m. Friday) Friday, April 14

Stations of the Cross, 3 p.m.

Saturday, April 15 Easter egg hunt, 1 p.m.

Sunday, April 16 Easter Sunrise Service, 5:30 a.m. (meet in the parking lot) Joyous Celebration, 9 a.m. / 11 a.m.

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church Spear Street, 425-2637 Sister parish: St. Jude’s, Hinesburg Regular schedule of masses: Saturday, 4:30 p.m., at St. Jude’s,

The Charlotte News • April 5, 2017 • 13

Sports Edd’s Sports Report EDD MERRITT CONTRIBUTOR

State champion Redhawks’ women basketballers fill the all-star pages

Both the league coaches and the Burlington Free Press sports writers were praiseworthy of CVU women basketball players, and the two groups named a number of Redhawks to their all-star rosters. Although Sadie Stetson of St. Johnsbury garnered “Player of the Year,” CVU’s Marlee Gunn and Abby

Thut were placed on the first team, Metro Division all-stars. Their teammates Shannon Loiseau and Jaime Vachon received “Honorable Mention.” The Free Press picked Gunn for its top roster, Thut for its second team and Loiseau again received “Honorable Mention.”

Four all-stars from a team that fields five players on-court at a time shows where the well-balanced effort emanates. Add Coach Otley’s skills from the bench and, despite the team’s first loss in years, one learns why it repeated its state championship.

A blur of red marked this year’s Nordic trails

Four men and two women earned places on the coaches’ picks for top Nordic skiers in the state. Baxter Bishop, Jack Koskinen, Jared Leonard and Tyler Marshall all earned top honors; Justin

CVU Unified Basketball is back

CVU Redhawks fan section and bench during Wednesday’s matchup.

Courtesy photo David Huber NEWS INTERN

Champlain Valley Union High School Redhawks Unified Basketball kicked off its season Wednesday, March 22, against the Burlington Seahorses. The Seahorses fell to the Redhawks 47-36 in what was a very close game through three quarters, Hinesburg Sunday, 8 a.m. and 11 a.m., at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Sunday, 9:30 a.m., at St. Jude’s, Hinesburg Easter Schedule Thursday, April 13 Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper at St. Jude’s, 7 p.m.

Friday, April 14 Good Friday Worship at Our Lady of Mount

until the Redhawks fourth quarter surge brought them out on top. Emily Scott led the team with 8 points, Justin McQuistan had 7 points, Wayne Elias ,6, and Kevin Conger, 6. Special Olympics Unified Sports teams operate in almost all of the schools in our district to break down stereotypes about people with intellectual disabilities in a really fun and empowering way for everyone involved.

Carmel, 3 p.m.

Good Friday Interfaith Service at the United Church of Hinesburg, 3 p.m.

Good Friday Celebration of the Lord’s Passion at St. Jude’s, 7 p.m.

Saturday, April 15 Holy Saturday Easter Vigil and Mass at St. Jude’s, 8 p.m.

Sunday, April 16 Easter Mass, 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. at Our Lady of Mount Carmel

McAuliffe received “Honorable Mention.” Charlotte’s Sophia Gorman and her teammate, Emma Strack were named first-team women in the First Division.

Sudden death shootout decides Rotary Classic hockey

For thirty-three years the Rotary has sponsored an all-star hockey game.

This year the contest nearly expanded to two full games as the Austin team finally topped the Harris squad in a sudden-death shootout, 5-4. CVU’s Ty Parker stopped six shots in the Austin goal to help his team’s cause. He split goalie duties with two others, with North Country’s Dana Marsh receiving Austin honors as his team’s Most Valuable Player. CVU’s Charlie Bernicke and Nate Shanks joined Ty on the Austin roster.

Palmer gets first collegiate goal

Snow did not seem to stop men’s lacrosse on Virtue Field at UVM as the Cats and the University of Hartford went at each other in hard order. Hartford overcame a deficit in the middle periods with five goals to win 15-13. Former CVU star, Matt Palmer scored his first college goal.

Three Redhawks on Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl football team

August is yet a ways away, but CVU has placed three players off last fall’s team on the Vermont squad that will take on New Hampshire at Castleton University.

The coaches selected Redhawks Jacob Griggs, Chris O’Brien and Zach Toensing.

14 • April 5, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Home & Garden Small tick, big problem Sallie Mack HOMEOPATHIC PHYSICIAN AND LYME DISEASE SPECIALIST

Lyme disease is caused by a particular bacteria, called a spirochete (spir-okeet). These are some of the most ancient bacteria on earth, having been around billions of years longer than humans, and they are very clever. There are over 200 different species. The word spirochete means coiled hair, as that is what they look like under a microscope. There are eight different genera, some of which can be harmful to humans. The organism that is causing the Lyme disease in the US is Borrelia burgdorfei. All of the Borrelia species are pathogenic—that is, they will cause disease.

Lyme spirochetes resemble a corkscrew-shaped worm that invades its host’s blood stream and then finds its way to the connective tissue sites, in which they colonize by screwing into and multiplying in the tissue. Sites such as the knees and aqueous humor of the eye, most joint tissues, spinal column, the heart tissue and the brain, all have the perfect viscous medium. The spirochete, being highly mobile, move around and colonize. A bio-shield or film encapsulates them and makes them very difficult to detect and to treat. Like many

“Epidemiologic data suggest that the actual incidence of Lyme disease could be as much as 10 times higher than CDC data indicate. This probably is the result of a restrictive case definition for theCDC,inevitablemisdiagnosisandthe fact that physicians tend to underreport reportablediseasesofallkinds,”Jonathan Edlow, M.D., Harvard Medical School.

Courtesy photo Photo contributed

see TICK page 15

The Charlotte News • April 5, 2017 • 15

Home & Garden TICK

continued from page 14 pathogenic bacteria they alter themselves rapidly, and because of excessive antibiotic use, they have become resistant to most antibiotics. Unfortunately, Lyme spirochetes can rapidly rearrange their gene structure to hide from antibiotics, while at the same time avoiding the host’s immune systems.

Once the tick larva, about as small as a period at the end of a sentence, attaches and releases its saliva into the host’s blood stream, a series of complex reactions begin; basically, it inactivates the host’s innate immune system.

The spirochetes alter themselves in a variety of ways to enhance the potential infection. Some 37 changes to the outer protein membrane of the spirochete have been so far found to occur. Lyme spirochetes are exceptionally good at rapidly altering their structure in order to evade the host’s immune responses and to better the chance of colonizing different parts of the body.

Lyme spirochetes love collagen tissues, i.e., the joints, aqueous humor of the eye, the meninges of the brain and other collagen sites like the skin, and heart tissue. Typically, they live deeper within the tissues than most other kinds of bacteria. Lyme infection, like many chronic conditions, produces an imbalance in the Th1 and Th2 immune complexes. These T cells are the helper cells for the immune system. There are three stages of Lyme: early, earlydisseminated and late. Early detection is within the first few days or weeks of infection. The middle stage is when the

disease begins to spread but is not yet entrenched. Late stage or chronic is when it has penetrated many parts of the body and has established itself as a chronic disease.

Lyme’s progression is markedly different for each infected person.

Treatments vary depending upon the stage. As time goes by, the organisms adapt themselves to the person they inhabit and adjust to the immune response in that individual. They also alter their genotype, making their offspring more viable to continue to colonize the host.

Early detection is the easiest to treat, while the more advanced stages take

longer and need a stronger antibiotic regime. At this time, there is no cure for late-stage Lyme, and many experts are using a combination of an herbal protocol and antibiotics. Antibiotic treatment is standard within the first weeks of contraction. Homeopathy and other herbal protocols have shown to be helpful in all stages of Lyme disease.

Obviously, there is a lot to learn.

Sallie’s Safety Tips: Prevention is the key. If you go into the tall grasses or

woods, always tuck pants into socks, wear a hat with hair tucked in, and wear light-colored clothing to make it easier to spot the ticks. Take off all clothes down to underwear before entering the house.

Place all clothes in a plastic bag and tie off. Place clothes in a hot dryer for 20 minutes. Go take a shower. Do tick checks every day on all members of the family, even your pets. A sticky lint roller by the back door can also help remove any critters clinging to your clothes.

16 • April 5, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Multi-vehicle collision on Route 7 in Charlotte Staff report

Six vehicles were involved in a crash on Route 7 with two of them colliding head on just before noon in Charlotte on March 31. Multiple people were injured and some trapped in their vehicles, Charlotte Fire Department Assistant Chief Rob Mullin said.

Traffic was temporarily diverted at Route 7 and Church Hill Road and the intersection of Route 7 and Ferry Road.

Both of the people trapped were extricated in less than 30 minutes from arrival of the first unit, Mullin said. “The cars were so spread out that we had to re-position the heavy rescue after the first extrication,” he said.

A vehicle operated by Edward Woodruff, 70, of Westport, New York was traveling southbound when it crossed the center line and sideswiped a northbound vehicle driven

by Patricia Richardson, 66, of Shrewsbury,

police said. Woodruff’s vehicle then continued and struck a second northbound vehicle driven by Michelle Brick, 55, of Colchester before striking a guardrail on the northbound shoulder.

Woodruff’s vehicle then collided head on with another northbound vehicle driven by Ashley Francis, 22, of Milton, police said.

A northbound vehicle driven by Shannon Ryan, 28, of South Burlington attempted to avoid both vehicles but struck the back of the vehicle driven by Francis. A northbound vehicle driven by Kathy Rivard, 47, of Morrisville was struck and damaged by flying debris as a result of the final impact.

Four people were transported to the hospital with injuries. Road conditions were wet, Mullin said.

Based on the preliminary Vermont State Police investigation it does not appear that

Courtesy photos excessive speed or road conditions were a factor in this crash, police said. Operator Edward Woodruff was being processed at the UVM Medical Center for suspicion of DUI

Home & Garden

after providing a preliminary breath sample of .077% BAC after the crash. The exact cause of this accident remains under investigation.

The earlier days with Jackie-O Taking Care Alice D. Outwater, Ph.D. CONTRIBUTOR

We are all born into history and influenced by those we meet. I recently saw the movie Jackie and was surprised at the memories it evoked, as if it were a journey into my past.

In 1947 Jacqueline Bouvier, later Kennedy-Onassis, and I arrived as freshman at Vassar College feeling nervous with so many bright girls.

She and I shared a few courses, and I remember her as a diligent student with well-crafted essays in English class.

We were relieved to leave campus for Christmas vacation. This was our debutante year filled with parties. It meant white dresses, eight-button kid gloves reaching to our elbows. Each of us was accompanied by three male escorts. We had limited access to boys since we had gone to all-girl schools, so we chose cousins or brothers of friends to join us.

It felt awkward telephoning to invite them because they might decline. They were less enthralled with this rather archaic tradition that introduced young girls of marriageable age to society.

However the boys didn’t want to miss out on any parties.

For any girl who loved dancing as I did, debutante balls assured we were on the dance floor the entire evening, being twirled around and cut in on constantly by our escorts and other boys—a dream situation. That entire holiday was packed with gaiety. Lester Lanin was the orchestra of choice, playing Frank Sinatra songs, keeping up the lively rhythm until long after midnight.

Jackie was especially attractive, and by the end of the season she was named Debutante of the Year. It was both an embarrassment and an honor because Vassar had a no-nonsense scholastic tradition; debutante activity seemed on the frivolous side. I remember a southern classmate who took the entire year off to do the debutante thing—and even went to London to be presented before the Queen. She rarely mentioned this afterward.

Jackie spent many a weekend running to New York City to meet dates under the clock at the Biltmore or to New Haven to check out the Yalies. It was not easy to juggle courses and achieve decent grades, but apparently she managed. Junior year she opted for the Sorbonne in Paris where her acquired

fluency in French served her well in the future. She finished her senior year at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. After graduation my job search loomed. Sheldon Chapin, the American ambassador to Amsterdam, needed help in arranging embassy events, and Mrs. Chapin wanted a social secretary. At that age nothing was beyond my reach, and I was certain I could handle both. My family nixed this possibility,thinking I might marry abroad. Father had a rule that none of his four daughters would marry until they worked for a year. “You never know what the future holds.”

They felt comfortable about my going to Washington, D.C., because Kitty, my older sister, and her family lived there.

In 1951 Washington resembled a small city with a sleepy town approach, and drew young men hoping to get into government. It was an exciting time with JFK soon to become president. An astronaut had recently landed on the moon, unemployment dropped to 3.3 percent. New roads were being built for ever-more luxurious cars—some with two-tone paint and turn signals. “I Love Lucy” premiered. A sense of idealism prevailed throughout the country.

Everyone in Washington wanted to be part of the future.

I couldn’t wait to spread my wings.

Landing at National Airport, the reservation desk told me no hotel rooms were available. The person in charge said she could recommend a private home; I hesitated, but she assured me the owners were charming.

I took a taxi to an enormous residence off Dupont Circle. Mrs. McDonald, a stunning, tall woman in an evening gown, swooped down the steps to greet me saying, “This house is too large for the Admiral and me, so we’ve been renting three rooms.” The building was later sold to the Arabian Embassy. She offered me a room on the third floor in what had been the maids’ quarters.

Mrs. McDonald reviewed the rules: No guests were allowed, and we were to be quiet because they often entertained downstairs. Meals must be eaten out.

That suited me; I planned to find a job and then move elsewhere with friends.

I would return afternoons from job interviews and join Mrs. McDonald for tea in the spacious living room with floor-to-ceiling windows and heavy satin drapes. One day she said, “You handle yourself well. The Admiral and I would like you to join us for cocktails, but you’ll need a long dress.” So the next day I stopped at Lord and Taylor to find a long black skirt and simple top. I was nervous joining them that evening.

Next time I’ll tell you what happened.

Until then keep your eyes open for historical plays, movies and books.

Surprising memories might surface for you.

The Charlotte News • April 5, 2017 • 17

The Russians are coming Burlington Yaroslavl Sister City Program to celebrate “Days of Russian Culture”

The Burlington Yaroslavl Sister City program will host a delegation from Yaroslavl, Russia, celebrating the “Days of Russian Culture” from April 18–24. Courtesy photo Staff report The Burlington Yaroslavl Sister City program is a nonprofit group promoting the exchange of people and ideas between Burlington, Vermont, and Yaroslavl, Russia.

Continuing a long tradition of cultural exchange between the two cities, Burlington will host a delegation from Russia celebrating the “Days of Russian Culture” from April 18–24.

The group will consist of three officials from the local government of Yaroslavl, the chair of the Russian American Friendship Association and a 16-member theater troupe, here to put on two performances of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. This is the largest delegation Burlington Yaroslavl Sister City (BYSC) has ever hosted other than the Torpedoes hockey team (now Lokomotiv) that came over in the 1990s to play UVM. The Atmosphere Theater Troupe will give a full performance—in Russian with English subtitles—of The Cherry Orchard at Burlington High School on April 20 at 7:30 p.m. The performance will be free and open to the public.

A more intimate reading of the play, again in Russian, will take place at Middlebury College on April 21 at 7 p.m. in Chateau

005. There will be time for a Q&A with a translator after the performance.

Between performances the delegation will visit local education institutions and businesses and meet local people.

This exchange would not have been possible without the support of many local businesses and organizations. The Hotel Vermont and the Courtyard by Marriot deserve special thanks for sponsoring the delegation’s housing. Other organizations that have helped with venues, food, tours or logistics include B.good, Burlington High School, City of Burlington, Church Street Marketplace, Farmhouse Group, Flynn Theatre, Manhattan Pizza, Middlebury College, RiRa Irish Pub, Short Stop Deli and The University of Vermont.

This trip comes after an official delegation from Burlington visited Yaroslavl in October 2016. The delegation consisted of Burlington City councilors Adam Roof and Sara Gianonni and BYSC board members Alex Bunten, David Seaver and Martie Majoros. While there they took part in the “Bridge over the Ocean” festival, met with local officials and were joined by the U.S. Ambassador to Russia.

For more information email info@ burlingtonyaroslavl.com.

Shelburne Players bring “Black Comedy” and “The Real Inspector Hound” to Shelburne Town Center Staff report

In Peter Shaffer’s “Black Comedy” described as “an orgy of blind slapstick”

by The London Sunday Express, the action supposedly in the dark is illuminated; when the lights are on, the stage is dark. In the second one-act play, “The Real Inspector Hound” by Tom Stoppard, two feuding theater critics are swept up into the whodunit they are viewing. The New York Times called it “an exceedingly clever lampoon,

sharply in focus.”

This double bill of comedy comes to Shelburne Town Center at 5420 Shelburne Road with performances on April 14, 15, 20, 21 and 22 at 7:30 p.m. and a matinee on Saturday, April 15, at 2 p.m. Open seating tickets are $15, with a discounted special at the Saturday matinee of $12. Tickets can be purchased in advance at Shelburne Market, reserved online at shelburneplayers.com, or call 3432602.

18 • April 5, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Charlotte-owned Evan Webster Ink Custom Apparel to host open house Staff report

Get to know your local screen printer.

Evan Webster Ink, at 120 Graham Way in the Shelburne Green business park, is opening its doors to the public from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Friday, April 7. Attendees can meet the staff, enjoy refreshments, enter a T-shirt raffle, learn more about the screen printing process, view a live demonstration of screen printing, receive a special custom apparel offer, enjoy live music, meet local creatives and visit with friends and neighbors.

Evan Webster Ink has been screen printing custom apparel in Shelburne since 2013. Local clients include Charlotte Central School PTO, Vermont Teddy Bear, Yoga Roots, the Charlotte Library, Shelburne Farms, Drop-In Brewery, Bread and Butter Farm, The Farmhouse Group, the Burlington Fire Department and many more.

Webster founded the company when he was still living in his hometown of Brookline, Mass. Now happily settled in Charlotte, he is excited about the recent growth of his business, which has expanded its space and invested in a larger automatic screen printing press. These upgrades will allow for higher volume jobs, with quick turnarounds.

WHAT: Get to know your local screen printer! Refreshments, music, raffle, screen printing press demo, and custom apparel special offer.

WHEN: Friday April 7, 4:30–6:30 p.m.

WHERE: 120 Graham Way, Suite 220, Shelburne, VT 05482 CONTACT: (802) 222-0344 or EvanWebsterInk.com.

Take a look at a new automatic printing press in action. On April 7 at 5:15 p.m., Evan Webster will be giving a screen printing demo at his Ink Custom Apparel.T-shirts printed during the demo will be raffled off at the end of the evening.

Courtesy photo

Parenting Quietly Making Noise:

The nuances and memories of life

Jordan Blucher CONTRIBUTOR

I reached into my pocket as we stood in the security line at the Orlando airport, my hand closing around my Swiss Army knife as a wave of regret and sadness washed over me. That morning, at the hotel, after using the knife, I had forgotten to put it back into the checked baggage. This was the knife that had been given to me by my friend’s mother shortly after he had been killed in a car accident. It is just an object, I told myself; losing the knife doesn’t degrade his memory.

I’m a sentimental person, and there was a time when losing something like the knife would have devastated me. It was not until after my father passed away and we moved back to Vermont that the grip of material possessions began to lessen. I want to show the kids that material objects are not what keep the memory strong. To this end, I now try to only hold on to the things that I can use or I try to turn non-useful items into something useable. Not long ago I had the copper printing plate from my grandfather’s business cards and his money clip turned into a belt buckle. But completely giving something away can be hard. It took me a month to muster the resolve to give away two of my dad’s polo shirts that I had not worn in over a year. I am sure there are other things tucked here and there that should probably be given away or tossed out, but I cannot think of any off the top of my head.

Which brings up the point. What good is that cherished object if it is sitting in a box in the basement and you only remember you have

it when you come across it while looking for something else? If you didn’t know it was there for the past year, then chances are you’re not going to miss it next year.

I have a lot of mementoes of my dad.

My most cherished are his fountain pens.

I love to use them and know that his hand once held the same pen. But what brings me the most joy, and at times sadness, are not the mementos themselves but rather the nuances and memories of life. How I write some of my letters the same way he did or my movement up the stairs, reflected in the window, that are his movements. When I listen to jazz or am sitting by the fire reading a book on a Saturday morning and I can see my parents doing the same in their living room and feel myself there. Turning down NPR when I pick up the kids at school so that it is not so loud that people outside the car can hear the broadcast triggers the memory of all the times Dad would pull up to the curb when I was in high school with NPR that loud, and how embarrassed I was.

These are the things that I hold onto with all my might. All the mementoes could vanish, and though I would be sad and I would miss using them, the memories are not going to disappear with them.

Twenty years on I don’t need a knife to remind me of my friend. When a song comes on the radio, he is there. When I see his favorite color, I remember him. This is what I want the boys to learn. That a memento may seem like the most important thing in the world, but losing it is not the end of the world. You still have the memory.

Dwelling on the loss of the object is what clouds the memory and causes it to fade— not the actual loss of the memento itself.

The Charlotte News • April 5, 2017 • 19

Health Matters Jim Hyde Americans got a reprieve last week when the president decided to pull the American Health Care Act (AHCA) from consideration in the House. It was a stunning development and an acknowledgement of the complexity of the issues and the deep concerns Americans have about health care. It also reflected an astounding level of dysfunction both within the GOP and in the party’s relations with the White House. But this is only a temporary reprieve. Trump has made it clear, through the deals he made to try to pass the AHCA and through his 2018 budget, just how willing he is to compromise the health coverage of millions of Americans.

He spent months during the campaign declaring that his first act as president would be to repeal and replace Obamacare with a “wonderful plan” that would “cover everyone” and be “better and cheaper.”

Responding to pressure from the right in his own party, he showed just how committed he is to those ideals by offering to abandon maternity and emergency care benefits, preventive screenings, and mental health and substance abuse services. The proposed elimination of Medicaid expansion would have further threatened the coverage of 24 million people.

It doesn’t take a health expert to know that if you remove preventive services from the benefit mix you will ultimately push people into a sicker and sicker state before they show up for care. Also, just because you remove a disease from the covered benefit list doesn’t mean the disease disappears. It still happens, and ultimately everyone—taxpayers, insurers and providers—must shoulder those costs.

Even those with employer-based health insurance would have been harmed by this plan.

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan also revealed exactly where his priorities lay by counseling the president to rush into “repeal and replacement” of Obamacare before the Republicans even had a viable and acceptable plan. His long-term goal of wanting to rein in entitlements, cut the deficit and privatize Medicare bears special watching in the weeks and months ahead.

But it was the right wing of the Republican Party, the Freedom Caucus, that held all of the cards on this one. They were the ones holding out for more cuts in benefits and higher tax credits for the wealthy. In the end, both Trump and Ryan came to realize that they were being held hostage and that the demands of the Freedom Caucus would only escalate.

There may be some good news. The events of the last week just might spark a bipartisan effort in the House and Senate to actually try to fix those parts of Obamacare that all agree need fixing. But a word of

THe HealtH oF tHe PuBliC:

Will we be safer and healthier under the Trump administration?

caution. Trump opined shortly after the AHCA was pulled that “the best thing politically would be to let Obamacare explode,” reflecting a sort of “I told you so” approach to governing (The Washington Post, 3/24/17). Sadly, he might be able to accomplish this through regulatory decisions that do not require Congressional approval. Were the administration to engage in this sort of sabotage, it would be an odd way to demonstrate its compassion and concern for the health of the American people. “The Democrats will make a deal with me on health care as soon as ObamaCare folds—not long,” he tweeted after the AHCA debacle. “Do not worry, we are in very good shape!”

Other developments of grave concern Many of the critical institutions that we rely upon to monitor our health (the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), protect our food and drug supplies (the Food and Drug Administration), protect our air and water (the Environmental Protection Agency), study climate and weather (the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration) and provide ground breaking biomedical research (the National Institutes of Health) are under siege in ways that we have not seen in our lifetime.

Trump’s current budget proposal calls for a $6 billion, or 20 percent, cut in the N.I.H., a $2.6 billion or 31 percent, cut in the E.P.A, and a $15 billion, or 26 percent, cut in the Health and Human Services budget that includes the CDC and the FDA. Worth noting is that had the attempt to repeal Obamacare succeeded, it also would have eliminated the Public Health and Prevention Fund, a major source of funding for the CDC and state and local health departments. Among other things,

the fund supports 40 percent of the CDC’s immunization program and provides varying levels of funding for childhood lead-paint poisoning prevention and chronic disease prevention as well as nearly half the funding for epidemiology and laboratory services in the U.S. The impact on Vermont would have been more than $14.5 million over the next five years.

A war on science and public health While many of these cuts likely will not be sustained by the Congress, the president has gone out of his way to find appointees for some of the most critical health and science agencies whose careers have been built on attacking and demeaning the very agencies they are now directing. Critics have characterized these moves as a “war on science.” It’s hard to conclude otherwise when Trump budget director, Mitch Mulvaney, says: “Regarding the question as to climate change...we’re not spending money on that anymore; we consider that to be a waste of your money”. (March 17, 2017) What’s shocking about our president is not that he knows nothing about health care, public health or science—not many presidents do—but that he shows little inclination to learn. Freedom Caucus members who met with the president during AHCA negotiations were “shocked” by how little he knew about the content of the very bill they were discussing. Going forward it is likely that this will embolden the ideologues in his party to do as they wish with governmental agencies that do not produce results that conform to their political orthodoxy.

Trump’s proposed budget sends savings to the military, a $54 billion increase, Homeland Security, a $2.6 billion increase

(Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Border Patrol and a down payment on the wall), and Veterans Affairs, a $4.4 billion increase. Threats of pandemic flu, emerging diseases and disease vectors, global environmental change, bioterrorism, air and water pollution, and the opioid epidemic all require that we ramp up not tear down our technical and scientific capacity.

The rhetorical and fiscal assault on our scientific and health infrastructure is not much different from the smashing of priceless artifacts in Palmyra, Syria, by the ideological zealots of ISIS. Granted our public health and science infrastructures can be rebuilt. But at what cost in terms of human life and suffering—and for what end?

Will we be safer and healthier under a Trump administration? Based on the first 75 days, few people I know would say yes.

Jim Hyde is a professor emeritus of public health at the Tufts University School of Medicine. He lives in Charlotte.

20 • April 5, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Charlotte students win big at Mater Christi science fair Submitted by Sr. Joanne LaFreniere, Mater Christi School

Mater Christi science fair winners pose with their teacher (left to right): 1st place, Willam Tritt, Shelburne, Special Award for Color Advantage; 2nd place, Ben Hershey, Colchester, Special Award for Under the Lights; 3rd place, LaurenBuhman,Colchester,SpecialAwardforCallingAllGermaphobes; Owen Dinklage, Grade 6, second place for Experiment With Evaporation; Chris Haigney, Charlotte, Grade 7, third place for Chris’s Bridge is Falling Down; Ellie Haigney, Charlotte, Grade 6, first place for Regeneration Acceleration; Julien Buttolph, Colchester, Grade 7, second place for Materials AffectingWi-Fi Signal; George Huffman, Burlington, Grade 8, tied for second place for Crash Text Dummy; Wolfie Davis, Charlotte, Grade 7, first place for Wind Turbine Efficiency; Charlotte Vincent, Charlotte, Grade 8, tied for second place for Dusting for Dollars; Ethan Hoak, Grade 8, third place for CloudyWith A Chance of Energy; Juliette Hassenberg, South Burlington, Grade 8, first place for Hyperaccumulators: A Solution to Lake Pollution; Mr. Mark Pendergrass, Mater Christi School science teacher.

Missing from picture: Jared Kennedy,Williston, Grade 6, third place for Mud is Better than Wind, Water or Flubber.

Courtesy photo

Senior Center News

Mary Recchia CONTRIBUTOR

On Wednesday morning April 12, from 9–11:30, Ruth Whitaker will show you how to make Microwave Potholders

in two sizes. The design of these potholders allows you to safely warm food in the microwave and remove the hot bowl without a clumsy potholder. Participants need to bring two 10-inch squares and two 12-inch squares of 100 percent cotton fabric, cotton thread (to avoid risk

Mater Christi School in Burlington held its annual science fair on the last day of school before winter vacation. Judges of the fair spent most of the preceding days that week conversing with grade 6, 7 and 8 students about their projects and experiments.

The posters, although important, were not the main criteria used by the judges to determine outstanding work. This was done by listening to the students as they explained their hypotheses and defended the outcome of their efforts. In some cases, students admitted that they had discovered that what they had assumed to be the fact about a given situation, after putting it to the test (in some cases for several months), was not true.

These conclusions did not affect the way judges determined who deserved to be awarded. In fact, in some cases proving oneself wrong was a plus in the judges’

of melting), a sewing machine and basic sewing supplies (scissors, pins, seam ripper). Batting will be provided. A sample of this potholder is available at the Center.

Registration required. No fee.

Step Aerobics with Pam Lord continues Friday mornings from 8:30–9:15.

Dates: April 7, 14, 21 and 28. With a portable platform (provided), you will do choreographed exercise routines up, onto, down and around the step for great cardio fitness, as well as exceptional training to shape the lower body, strengthen and tone muscle groups and improve coordination.

The aerobic benefits are equally effective if you choose to do the workout without the step. Pam was previously certified with the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America and will show you how to perform the moves safely with the correct technique and have you stepping like a pro in no time!

Registration necessary. Fee: $7 per class.

With the delay of spring weather this year, Liz Fotouhi and Friends have decided to move their Spring Tea to Friday, May 5.

While delighting in fragrant tea, savory treats and sweet confections we will welcome and celebrate the return of the lovely lady we call Spring. We will be reading and discussing poems about spring by some of our favorite writers. Bring your favorite poem to share, whether from a beloved poet or one you have penned yourself; all are welcome! Registration necessary. Max. 25. Suggested donation: $4.

Vermont Birds in Colored Pencil with Elizabeth Llewellyn returns on Thursday mornings from 10 to noon, April 13, 20, 27 and May 4. Colored pencils are nontoxic, clean, inexpensive, portable, and don’t require any complicated set up or clean up. In this four-week class we

criteria, since it showed the learning curve of the youngsters throughout the time spent on trying to prove their stance on the topic.

A majority of the themes touched on some current-day problems that science is attempting to solve. These topics included wind energy, Wi-Fi signals, lake pollution, texting and crash test dummies, physical fitness, and solar energy.

After their assessment of the entries, the judges expressed their appreciation to Mark Pendergrass, grades 6–8 science teacher, for being invited to interact with the students.

Not surprisingly, both teacher and students went into their winter break with a real sense of accomplishment.

will learn the basics of colored pencils, including the most popular techniques: layering and burnishing. Working from the instructor’s photos, we will complete several portraits of beautiful Vermont birds. This class is open to those with some drawing experience. Please bring whatever colored pencils you have, an HB graphite pencil and a kneaded eraser to the first class where more instruction on supplies will be provided. Registration necessary. Limit 10.

Fee: $85.

A collection of lectures, performances and special events showcasing the diverse interests of our community Wednesday afternoons beginning at 1 o’clock. No registration or fee.

April 5: Moving better, living better, with Liesje Smith, Certified Rolfer™ Please join Liesje for an interesting discussion about your body in the field of gravity and discover how to relate to this pervasive force field. Liesje teaches a functional movement class that looks similar to a fitness class, using chairs, balls and light weights, only the emphasis is upon clarity of alignment and movement in space. It is easy, new and fun!

April 12: Hear smarter, live better, with Dr. Julie Bier Find out about all of the new and exciting changes in hearing aid technology.

How about 100 percent invisible solutions worn 24/7 for months. Hearing aids that don’t require battery changes, ones with a dedicated music processor, accessories that allow you to hear phone calls, TV, music and more! She will follow her presentation with a complimentary on-site screening or a hearing aid check of your existing equipment. Registration required.

The Charlotte News • April 5, 2017 • 21

Community Calendar Kindergarten registration: If your child will be five years old by Sept. 1, please call Naomi Strada at CCS at 4256600 to register for kindergarten for the 2017/2018 school year. Registration will take place April 6 and 7. Once you have called to make an appointment indicating your child will be coming to CCS, you will receive a registration packet. Be prepared for your child’s special day!

Workshop: Yoga Roots in Shelburne is hosting a “From Clutter to Clarity” workshop from 7 to 9 p.m. on April 7.

“Understanding the Power of Thought” with Avis Silverstein is a donation-based workshop with a suggested donation of $5 to $20 to support the Yoga Roots Kula Community Fund that supports speakers, scholarships and community events. Sign up at yogarootsvt.com/workshops or call 985-0090.

Open house: Vermont artists with original art or handmade crafts are invited to participate in Shelburne Pond Studios’ Vermont Craft Council spring open studios weekend. Saturday, May 27, and Sunday, May 28, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Deadline for applications: Friday, April 15. Application fee $35.

Contact kastockman@aol.com for an

application and details.

SCHIP: This spring as you sort through your clothes please remember SCHIP’s Treasure Resale Shop, which has donated more than $615,000 to other nonprofits in the past decade. Donate, volunteer or shop. SCHIP’s accepts any season clothing at any time during the year, provided it is gently used. It also accepts home décor, jewelry and other small items. Call the shop at 985-3595 for more information.

Moth-inspired evening: Storytelling, live music and good food will be served up at HomeShare Vermont’s “There’s No Place Like Home: Celebrating 35 Years” event from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Sunset Ballroom atop Comfort Suites, 1712 Shelburne Road in South Burlington, on April 20. Moth award-winning storytellers Sue Schmidt and Kevin Gallagher will headline the event, along with other storytellers. Live music will be performed by The Brevity Thing. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased online homesharevermont.org or by calling 802863-5625.

Earth Day planting: The Charlotte Park Oversight Committee will plant 20–30

disease-resistant elm trees in the park on Sunday, April 22. The planting is made possible by a $1,000 grant from the Vermont Urban and Community Forestry Program. For more information email Tree Warden Mark Dillenbeck at mark@ ocmqa.com.

Spring rummage sale: This year’s Grange spring rummage sale will be later than usual. It will be held Friday, May 5,

from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday, May 6, from 8 a.m. to noon. Drop-off dates will be Saturday, April 29, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Monday, May 1, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Please email Lynn@TheCharlotteNews. org to list your community event.

Puzzles SOLUTIONS ON PAGE 23: 45. Some auction bids 49. Enzyme ending 51. Acquiesce 52. “Angela’s Ashes” et al.

59. 1935 Triple Crown winner 60. Capital of Ecuador 61. Make a lap 62. Clemson athlete 63. Of an arm bone 64. Catullus composition 65. Great balls of fire 66. Roll top?

67. Surfing site

Across 1. Measure 4. Belt the ___ 9. Iota 14. Old NOW cause 15. Come from behind 16. Certain student 17. Deck (out)

18. Succeed 19. Bad loan 20. “Audition” et al.

23. Jack 24. Thumbs down 25. “The ___ of Night” (old soap) 26. Ever, old style

30. Start of a giggle 33. Echo 35. Thirst 37. Gardner tomes 41. Monastic officer 42. Apprehensive 43. Econ. figure 44. Scratch

Down 1. Move 2. Roughly 3. Disheveled 4. Cousin of a loon 5. Doctor Who villainess, with “the” 6. Not to mention 7. Ballyhoo 8. Ogler 9. Tope 10. Like some mothers-inlaw 11. Needle holder 12. Wrap up 13. Florida has them 21. Wear oneself out 22. Whichever 26. Visa statement abbr.

27. Long-tailed primate 28. Detroit’s county 29. Befuddled 30. Skater Babilonia 31. “___ Time transfigured me”: Yeats 32. Dash widths 34. Suffix with pamphlet 35. Survey choice 36. Decorative plant 37. Car ad abbr.

38. Samovar 39. Van Winkle 40. Little ‘un

44. Vereen 46. Prayer 47. Mock 48. Sonnet section 49. Son of Jacob 50. Takes off 51. Lifeless, old-style 52. Cookers 53. Utter 54. Eastern music 55. Prefix with plane 56. Break in the action 57. Series opener?

58. Greek letters

22 • April 5, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Essential Elements Editor’s note: This column features a different guest writer each month who writes about comical musings, quirky happenings and other essential elements of getting through this thing called life. Care to share?

Email your column ideas to Lynn@TheCharlotteNews.org.

Beth Phillips CONTRIBUTOR

When I picture my husband, John Hollenbach, just off the phone with a perspective client, I see him grinning, shaking his head, as he emerges from the half bath to tell me about the call. You, reader, may wonder why John took calls from perspective clients in the bathroom.

I think back to the deserted farm house on Champlin Hill that John gutted and stripped to the timbers and boards. I think back to the young architect intent on reconfiguring the interior for modern living and bringing light, style and architectural humor to the old place. John designed a tiny powder room just inside the back entry and close to the kitchen.

Remember, this renovation happened before cell phones, when a small house usually

The phone booth in the bathroom had just one telephone, a land line. Earlier, telephones were often placed on a table in the living room. But now, the early 1970s, wall-mount phones were popular, and in many homes wall phones were mounted in or near the kitchen. John came up with a novel solution: he built a bathroom telephone booth.

Picture that first floor half-bath. The door opened in against the left wall. Straight ahead one faced a small white toilette, its back against the exterior wall, a colorful painting above. Also on the outside wall, to the right of the toilette, was a good-sized casement window, taller than it was wide. It opened with a crank and the windowsill was a little above waist height. Beneath the window, at 90 degrees, sat a narrow vanity with a onepiece Corian sink and counter top. Standing at the sink, one’s back to the toilette, one could look left, out the window, and in good weather chat with someone on the patio.

That describes the traditional water closet aspects of our powder room, but the space contained another important part of life. It served as the household telephone booth.

When the bathroom door opened inward against the left wall, across from the door and recessed slightly was a bright red wall phone mounted at eye level. Beneath the phone was a six-inch wide shelf that always held a cup of pencils and pens, and later a slender rolodex. Fourteen inches below that was another

shelf with a lip that held telephone books and a yellow legal pad, kept upright by a wooden slat.

Now step inside the powder room, close the door, and you are in a snug unconventional phone booth. Weary perhaps? A handy seat is available. Need a place to take notes, the Corian sink counter suffices. Long time on hold? Spruce up. John was often seen buzzing his chin with an electric razor, telephone to his ear, as he waited for a connection. And, of course, with the door closed the bathroom phone booth allowed for quiet, private phone calls in the midst of a noisy house.

For many years, the sheetrock all around the red telephone was covered with names and telephone numbers. Absent paper, John jotted down names, numbers and even materials prices on the wall. Occasionally he’d be heard sputtering in the bathroom, “Where’s the number for that South Burlington plumber?” Or, “I’m looking for the lumber yard in Springfield?” as he scanned the wall searching for a phone number.

There were other entertaining things about the phone-booth bathroom. At least entertaining for us, sometimes disconcerting for guests. Imagine the newcomer, excusing herself from the dinner table for a trip to the loo. Comfortably seated on the toilette, the red wall phone starts ringing. At the table we might giggle quietly at our guest’s likely dis-

comfort and, at her return to the table, apologize for not giving a heads up.

If it was a kid in the bathroom and John was expecting an important call (and remember, if you didn’t answer the phone, there was no way of knowing who had called) he might go to the bathroom door, open it a crack saying, “I’m sorry, excuse me, I have to get this.” He’d open the door just enough to slide in an arm, pluck the phone from its cradle, pull it out into the hall and take his call.

John got a lot of phone calls in those days from clients, subcontractors and his workmen. As his business grew so did the volume of calls. Late afternoon, John not yet home, fussy children, trying to get dinner, the phone would ring. I’d answer and take a message on John’s behalf. Then another call. And another, interrupting kid time and dinner prep.

A day came when I swore off phone duty and let it ring and ring and ring behind the closed bathroom door—telephone on hold until John got home.

Later, when the kids were a little older and we had a firm commitment to dinner together each evening, the phone was a different kind of problem as clients and colleagues telephoned during the dinner hour. Finally John started telling folks he was not available between 6 and 7 when he had dinner with his family. For that sweet hour, the bathroom was just a bathroom, not a phone booth.

Local Business Directory

The Charlotte News • April 5, 2017 • 23

Eggs on the lawn, moonlight in Vermont OutTakes Mother, should I run for president?

Mother, should I trust the government?

Mother, will they put me in the firing line?

Mother, is it just a waste of time?

“Mother,” Pink Floyd

Edd Merritt CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Well, this Easter will be somewhat different from last year when two of my grandsons were lucky to receive tickets for the White House Easter Egg hunt. Rumor has it that rather than Easter eggs scattered around the president’s lawn, there will be Trump buttons tied to legislators’ ankles. As the kids find them, they get to keep both items, relieving the president of one onerous task.

He can hoard Easter eggs for his family and not have to worry about kids of the world— plus the fact that his wife and daughter Ivanka, both former models, can strike poses in the midst of a lawn filled with color and claim close connections to the egg business . . . Egg McTrump is apparently a regular breakfast item at the Towers.

Turning toward an item closer to home, I found it interesting to read about the recent hubbub at Middlebury College over student protests aimed at a conservative speaker coming to campus. As a former college dean, I would have to acknowledge the college president’s remarks were correct and necessary as she urged the students to let the speaker express his point of view, take it as they will, and decide its validity based on factual data. Let it be a basis for learning.

Charlotte Rec

continued from page 10 After-school Tennis Lessons The tennis program is open to grades 1 through 8 and age groups will be split into two time slots. Depending on roster sizes, those in 4th and 5th grades may be assigned to either group. Grades 1-5, 3:30–4:30 p.m. Grades 4–8, 4:30–5:30 p.m. Session 1: Mondays and Tuesdays, May 1–May 16. Fee: $70 (6 lessons); pay by April 26.

Session 2: Mondays and Wednesdays, May 22–June 6. Fee: $70 (6 lessons); pay by May 17. At tennis courts at the Charlotte Beach.

Youth Summer Camps Champlain Valley Track and Field Charlotte is part of a track and field program that includes Hinesburg and Williston. The program will continue its affiliation with the Parisi Speed School. Participants learn the basics of running, jumping, throwing and relays. There will also be some casual meet options with other rec programs.

Participants receive a T-shirt. For ages 7–14 (as of 8/31/17). Mondays and Wednesdays,

On the other hand, I know we are dealing with students largely protected in their beliefs by being on campus at this stage in their lives. College itself is a test, often the last time you can say and do as you please without immediate and serious consequences. And as far back as I can remember, that protection has allowed and fostered challenge—while the Middlebury students could verbally protest safely, the incident did lead to an injury that should have been avoided.

In my days in college, we took over highways and marched to the Wisconsin state capital to protest the Vietnam War. During graduate school in New York we promoted Jimmy Breslin and Norman Mailer’s desire for the city to secede from the rest of the state because Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan were a different world from Saugerties, Woodstock and Skaneateles.

I suppose you could say that one of the funniest incidents of my college days came as a result of some students kidnapping members of the opposing school’s band and locking them in our bus. Our bass drummers donned the band-member uniforms, grabbed the opponents’ drum sticks and instruments and proceeded to do a half-time march with no sense whatsoever where they were going or what they were playing.

It amounted to about 50 horns and reeds marching in sync on the football field with five bass drummers, clueless about formation or rhythm but beating the hearts out of their instruments and trying to follow the real band. The college presidents may not have vented their criticism of the act, but the opposing school’s bandleader certainly did.

Would these actions (kidnapping and stealing) now lead to a court case?

The recent Middlebury incident also takes me back to my first trip to this region in the early 1960s. I was a college freshman playing hockey, and we were packed on a bus heading north. We were serious about where we were going because Middlebury was a major competitor. It was also before

four-lane highways, so I thought we were really in the wilderness, not a car or house in sight. Needless to say, however, another vehicle did come speeding past us on the right with a bare butt mooning us through the back seat window. A face attached to the lower extremity appeared, and someone on our bus recognized the person as Mike Pyle, a well-known All-American football player from Yale. We had the honor of being mooned by a highly touted athlete.

Mooning on the highway is probably then and now not a common activity, and our parents would not have found the same level of humor in the incident as we did.

“We’re paying tuition for this?” may have been a common complaint from the older generation. Don’t forget that these are the schools that also served beer to 17-year-olds such as myself as a normal part of orientation and who had us clean up the basement at the real “Animal House” after a drunken party.

I cannot remember who won the hockey game, except for the fact that one of the stars for Middlebury came from my family’s hill in Duluth, Minnesota, and I had played against him as a youth. He was as talented on ice as anyone I had ever seen—which makes me believe that the Panthers probably clobbered us.

I’m sure that Pyle was headed there for other reasons, as road trips were often the basis for inter-gender relationships before the days of co-education. If you want to be critical of sexism, look at the fact that women then weren’t thought to be worthy of studentship at places like Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth and Princeton.

Aah college! One can’t get overly serious about it. As a student, you learn from it and you leave it, hopefully taking the important elements of that learning with you and leaving behind others. One would hope that our president would feel the same about his present job. Unfortunately, John Belushi is deceased. Otherwise I’d suggest a replacement.

6:15–7:45 p.m. at CVU, June 21–July 26.

Fee: $50.

three-week program will be taught by Joe Barch, who has over 15 years of experience teaching in the public schools.

Monday–Friday at CCS. Times: June 20, 21, 5–7 p.m.; June 22–July 14, 8-10 a.m. No class 7/3–7/4. Fee: $690. Space is limited!

Driver’s Education Our Driver’s Education program this summer is by the 802 Driving school. The

Classifieds Reach your friends and neighbors for only $7 per issue. (Payment must be sent before issue date.) Please limit your ad to 35 words or fewer and send it to The Charlotte News Classifieds, P.O. Box 251, Charlotte, VT 05445 or email ads@thecharlottenews.org.

For over 40 years, Lafayette Painting has provided top quality interior and exterior painting services. Our specialized crews can do your job quickly and the result is guaranteed to look great. Call 863-5397, visit LafayettePaintingInc.com Redstone: Affordable small office spaces available on Ferry Rd. Starting at $250.00 including all utilities. For more information or to schedule a tour call 658-7400.

Interior and Exterior Painting If you’re looking for quality painting with regular or low voc paints and reasonable rates with 35 years of experience call John McCaffrey at 802-999-0963, 802-338-1331 or 802-877-2172 Mt. Philo Inn A unique hotel situated at the base of Mt. Philo State Park with stunning panoramic views of Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks. Spacious 3 bedroom suites with 2 bathrooms and a complete kitchen.

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Privacy, space and tranquility. Bigger on the inside. MtPhiloInn.com 802-425-3335 Let Lupine Painting help warm up your home this winter with a fresh coat of paint or brand new look. Trusted and stressfree painting for 20+ years. Call for a free consultation (802)598-9940.

Tree Service. Lot clearing. Tree and brush removal. Local and fully insured. Call Bud 802-734-4503 The News is looking for writers, photographers and drivers to join the community of Charlotters. If you’re interested in supplying news stories or photography, please email editor in chief, Lynn Monty, at lynn@thecharlottenews.org. For paper distribution contact Vince Crockenberg at vince.crockenberg@gmail.com.

ANSWERS TO THIS ISSUE’S PUZZLES FROM PAGE 21:

For those of you who don’t know me already, my name is Ethan Tapper, and I am the Chittenden County forester for the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. When asked what my job entails, I find that most people assume that I am some combination of Paul Bunyan and Smokey Bear. The truth is, while I would aspire to be as eminent a figure as either of those two giants, my job comes down to facilitating the relationship between humans and forests in this little (about 400,000 acres) county. To understand why this is important, let’s break the issue down into two questions: “Why forestry?” and “Why county foresters?”

after being about 80 percent deforested in the mid-1800s. Today, county foresters’ roles have expanded apace with our forest, which now covers just under 80 percent of our state. Broadly, we support the maintenance of healthy forested ecosystems and the practice of responsible, sustainable forest management, both in theory and in practice.

Nested within these lofty objectives is our role as administrators of the Use Value Appraisal Program (often called “UVA,” “Current Use” or “Land Use”) in our counties, the support of towns in their management of municipally owned forest land, and education and outreach to the citizens of our counties, from non-landowners generally interested in sustainable land stewardship to forest landowners who practice extensive forest management on large acreages. I visit with landowners on 1,000-acre forests and on half-acre lots, talking about trees, forests and how to “do the right thing” with regard to the forest.

Perhaps now you have a better idea of who I am and the role that foresters and county foresters may already play in your lives. I look forward to meeting you all and collaborating with you to see how we can keep the forests of Chittenden County as vibrant and beautiful as possible.

Local Boxholder U.S. POSTAGE PAID MAILED FROM ZIP CODE 05482 PERMIT NO. 9

presorted standard

Why county foresters?

The office of county forester in each county in Vermont was created in 1941. This office was established to support responsible forestry in our state after more than a century of clearcutting and extractive, degradative land-management practices. At that time, Vermont was in the process of recovering and re-growing its native forest—and establishing a new, more responsible land use ethic—

“Forests support the growth of virtually all native forms of life in Vermont, and it would be an understatement to say that they are staggeringly complex systems.”

Courtesy photo

Deliver to:

Why forestry?

To understand forestry, you must first try to wrap your head around the concept of “forests.” Forests support the growth of virtually all native forms of life in Vermont, and it would be an understatement to say that they are staggeringly complex systems.

We all know that forests grow trees, but some fail to realize that they also grow an array of resources (lumber, firewood and pulp for paper among many, many others) that virtually all humans use on a daily basis. The extraction and processing of these resources provide jobs for Vermonters and inject money into our state economy. The economic outputs from the harvest of timber also provide a means and an incentive for landowners to keep their forested land intact, growing trees and supporting healthy ecosystems.

The niche that most foresters fit into, in the context of this hugely important industry and these hugely complex ecosystems, is in the extraction of these resources. Foresters are trained in the intricacies of forested ecosystems: how they work and how to keep them healthy and productive. It is their job to figure out how to encourage the growth of healthy forests, often using harvesting as a technique for harvesting forest products while ensuring that the ecosystem they leave behind is healthy, beautiful and productive for generations to come.

I am constantly communicating to landowners the fact that forests don’t need our management to be healthy. I follow this statement by saying how important the working landscape is to Vermont, culturally and economically, and the ancillary benefits that managed forests provide. Foresters are the people who strike the balance between the needs of humans and the needs of our ecosystems so we do not have to choose between these two things.

T he C harlotte N ews

Ethan Tapper Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation

Voice of the town since 1958

A combination of Paul Bunyan and Smokey Bear