The Charlotte News | September 6, 2017

The

VOLUME LX NUMBER 5 | WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 6, 2017

Charlotte News

Charlotte’s award-winning community newspaper

Another

one bites

the

dust

The landscape has changed at Baptist Corners in East Charlotte page 5

Neighbors of new hops Draft horses shake up “Farm Series” features farm speak out the county fair Unity Farm this week page 1 page 1 page 6

CharlotteNewsVT.org

Charlotte News

The

Vol. 60, no. 5

September 6, 2017

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

Neighbors of Mt. Philo Hops take issue with new crop Farm site visit set up to quell problems sparks heated debate

Keith Morrill STAFF WRITER

A crowd of prospective farmers, concerned neighbors and town officials gathered at Mt. Philo Hops on East Thompson’s Point Road to try to resolve fermenting tensions over proposed farming operations on Aug. 28. Though a single hop plant has yet to be put in the ground, just the prospect of things to come has been enough to put a bitter taste in neighbors’ mouths.

Some neighbors fear the farm will put undue stress on aquifers, dry up their own wells, and spread contaminants throughout their properties.

If the site visit on Monday was intended to put those fears to rest and smooth relations, it seemed to have failed. When the gathering transitioned from the farm to Charlotte Town Hall for an open forum, it was clear that rancor remained.

The persons behind the operation, owner Peter Briggs and farm manager Julian Post, were on hand to explain their plans and answer questions. Other

experts came out in support, including representatives from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture and the Vermont Land Trust, and several members of Vermont’s farming community. Experts explained that the farm was in legal compliance and that, with conscientious farming practices, neighbors had little to fear.

Though no pesticide plan is legally required, Briggs and Post are in the process of drawing one up because they said they want to do right by their neighbors. “We hold ourselves to a higher standard than compliance,” Briggs said. “We’re going to keep people safe. And if we cannot figure out how to do that, we will not grow hops on this piece of property.”

Briggs’ professional life lies in NYC, but he comes from a long line of Vermont farmers. He says bringing hops back to Vermont would represent a return to roots for Vermont agriculture, as the state was a top producer of hops in the US during the 1800s. But that’s as old-fashioned as Briggs wants to get; he’s interested in progressive practices.

At the site visit prior to the Selectboard meeting on Aug. 28, Mt. Philo Hops neighbor Peter Demick (far right) expresses concerns about the new holding pond excavated near his land.

Photo by Lynn Monty A big part of Briggs’ plan includes comes directly from UVM’s Extension hiring the right people, which is why he Northwest Crops and Soil Program and brought Post on board back in April. Post has a strong agricultural background and see HOPS page 18

For the love of draft horses

Locals head up horse show at Champlain Valley Fair Lynn Monty EDITOR IN CHIEF

The ground shook as draft horses, weighing about a ton apiece, entered the show ring at the Champlain Valley Fair the last weekend in August. “Rolling thunder,” Ring Master Karen Myers called it.

Myers, of Hinesburg, grew up in Charlotte. She gave commands to the teamsters during the Draft Horse Show at the fair. She knew what Judge Hugh Meehan of Carp, Ontario, wanted to see. He’s been a judge for about six years, scrutinizing the performance of the horses, how they drive in unison and how they are handled and presented during events.

“They are truly gentle giants, and they make your butt look smaller when you are riding them,” Myers joked. “They are a good, all-purpose horse.”

Camaraderie and laughter filled the sidelines.

Myers said it’s a big family of draft-horse lovers.

Rose-Ann Lombard of Charlotte has been a show superintendent for the draft-horse events at the fair for about a decade. She shares the responsibilities with Rick Fletcher of Jeffersonville.

“It sugared off that I do the paperwork and scheduling and he takes over the grounds and building prep and we go over both together,” Lombard said. “It’s not a high-stress fair. This show is a fun show. In the draft world everybody helps each other.”

Lombard is secretary of the Green Mountain Draft Horse Association. She’s been involved with the association since 1988 and was elected president in 1999. She served in that capacity for 14 years.

Draft horses were used on Lombard’s family farm where she grew up in Hinesburg. “Their uses have changed a lot over the years now, but we have farms like Unity Farm that still use them for farming. They still mow with them and other things. Pat Palmer of New Haven uses his for a trash route,” she said.

“The majority have been replaced with machines, and now they are a pleasure item. They do parades, sleigh rides and weddings instead of plowing or hauling freight.”

There is a youth class of 17 years and younger at the show. “A lot of young adults here have grown up showing in this ring,” Lombard said. “That’s what’s exciting for us—to see them now. It makes us proud.”

Jeremy Lang, 18, of Hinesburg hugged Lombard as he prepped Piper, a gelding, for the show with his brother and sister, Kyle, 16, and Emily, 13. “It’s a bond,” Jeremy Lang said. “We all work so hard together, as a family and the horses together.”

Lombard said all three of the Lang children grew up competing in her ring. Their family owns Mountain’s Edge Farm in Hinesburg. “We are so

Kyle Lang (from left), Rose-Ann Lombard, Emily Lang, Jeremy Lang and their draft horse Piper at the Draft Horse Show at the Champlain Valley Fair on Aug. 27. Lombard, of Charlotte, is secretary of the Green Mountain Draft Horse Association and co-superintendent of the Draft Horse Show. The Lang family see DRAFT HORSES page 18 was representing Mountain’s Edge Farm in Hinesburg.

Photo by Lynn Monty

Trails Talk 9 • Education 13 • Sports 14 • Real Estate 19

2 • Septembere 6, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Editorial

This “Little Paper That Could” turns 60 What a wonderful and tremendous thing that The Charlotte News is celebrating 60 years of existence.

This community is fortunate to have sustained its Melissa Obrien own homegrown, FORMER CHARLOTTE h o m e t o w n NEWS EDITOR newspaper for that long, especially at a time when so many newspapers are struggling to stay alive.

It is, for certain, a testimony to the fabric of this community and the values it holds. This is defi nitely a moment for a little back-patting. Well-done, citizens of Charlotte! Newspapers matter and you have been wise to keep supporting yours.

The Charlotte News is one of the many things that makes Charlotte unique— reason enough to have kept this precious paper fl oating all of these years.

When I fi rst came to the paper it was to write a story about a couple who were visiting from Mississippi. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina Charlotte formed a partnership with Lumberton, Mississippi and created a symbiotic relationship in which donated goods went south and humans traveled back and forth to visit and to create a bond between our two towns. It was a beautiful moment in time and because I had been asked to write an article, I got to spend an afternoon with a pastor from Lumberton and his wife. It’s entirely possible that the seeds for my current life as a UCC pastor were planted in my time with them, so much did I enjoy their company and so impressed was I by their faith and devotion to their community.

The Charlotte News may have had a role in the tremendous vocational shift that I experienced a few years ago when a series

Local Church Services Charlotte Congregational Church, UCC 403 Church Hill Road, 425-3176 Regular Sunday service: 9:30 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, 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

of strange and unexpected events inspired me toward hospital and hospice chaplaincy, seminary and ultimately to the pulpit of the Pawlet Community Church. Who knows?

I wrote the article about the visiting pastor and then I wrote more articles, then I had a regular column called Notes From 957 for a while. I took photos for the paper, too, and when Robbie Stanley decided to step away from the editorship in 2008 she asked me if I would be interested in the position.

“Well,” I thought, “I don’t really know anything about being an editor, but ... sure, why not?”

And that’s how I came to know the realities of being the editor of a newspaper in a small town.

Here is what I learned in my shortish tenure: people here are passionate, about their politics, about their land, about their events, their school and about their paper.

This town is full of some of the most interesting, kind, intelligent, creative and devoted people I have ever met. And I would not have met so many of them had it not been for my role as editor of the paper.

It was during my time as editor when one or two other papers crept in on the scene and at the offi ce we kind of looked around and said, “Huh? Wait, what?”

We didn’t really know what to think. We thought Charlotte was too small a town to support more newspapers. The reality is, of course, that competition is good. It can shake things up and wake people up. It helped us focus and it made us realize we had to look to the future. When you’re no longer the only game in town, you have to dust your shelves more frequently.

The thing I loved about being the editor wasn’t being the editor. As it turned out, I wasn’t very good at being an editor. I’m not much of one for details; I tend to let things slide. What I loved about being the editor was the people. I loved meeting people out in the community and I loved the people I worked with. Linda Williamson and Pati Naritomi and I laughed a lot in those days.

Robbie, too, who blessedly hung around to help me when I needed help, which

In this 60th year of production of The Charlotte News we will feature editorials from editors’ past. This edition features Melissa O’Brien who served in 2008. Here is a complete list: Nancy Wood, 1958 (summer) Connie Waller, 1958 Marge Coleman, 1961 Mary King 1974 Abby Sheldon-Dean 1987 Bob and Pat Turner 1992 Janice Heilman & Elizabeth Bassett 1994 Janice Heilman 1995 Laura Cahners-Ford 2001 Edd Merritt 2001 Peter Coleman 2002 Robbie Stanley 2004 Melissa O’Brien 2008 Nancy Wood 2009 Rowan Beck 2012 Brett Sigurdson 2013 Alex Bunten 2015 Lynn Monty Present turned out to be a lot of the time. I have no idea how we had so much fun creating a newspaper, working under a deadline, trying to get the thing together and looking good, but we did. And then we turned around and did it again, and again.

And, too, I loved seeing our paper out in the world, on newsstands. I was always very proud of what we created, of the communal eff ort it took to turn all those stories and photographs and advertisements into a tangible reality every other week. I have always loved the tactile experience of reading a newspaper; it was that much more meaningful and satisfying when I had a role in actually producing the paper.

To this day I am proud to say that I was once a newspaper editor. I was proud to have been a part of the story when we turned 50; I am delighted to be part of the celebration as this Little Paper That Could turns 60 and I look forward to its continued evolution in the years to come.

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 Staff writers: Keith Morrill, Heather McKim School board correspondent: Gail Callahan Outwater interns: Sarah Wolverton, Morgan Magoon Contributing editor: Edd Merritt Copy editors: Beth Merritt, Vince Crockenberg, Edd Merritt, Janet Yantachka Business Staff ads@thecharlottenews.org / 343-0279 Ad manager: Monica Marshall Business manager: Jessica Lucia Board Members President: Vince Crockenberg Secretaries: Rick Detwiler, Carol Hanley Treasurer: Patrice Machavern Board members: Rachel Allard, Bob Bloch, Rick Detwiler, Carol Hanley, Gay Regan, Louisa Schibli Contributors Elizabeth Bassett, Trina Bianchi, Meg Berlin, Tim Etchells, Jeffrey Fox, Heather Morse, Melissa O’Brien, Susan Ohanian, Alice Outwater, Deb Preston, Mary Recchia, Lindsey Smith, Laurie Thomas and Margaret Woodruff Subscription Information The Charlotte News is delivered at no cost to all Charlotte residences. 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 • September 6, 2017 • 3

School days, school days, dear ol’ golden rule days We asked our readers through a social media shout-out to share their “first day of school” photos with us for publication. These are the wonderful submissions we received.

ABOVE: Benjamin Fox, on his 11th (and final) first day of school at CCS. Photo submitted

by Jeffrey Fox LEFT: Hagan and Evie Smith on the first day of school last week.

Hagan is 11 and going into 6th grade, and Evie is 7 and headed into 2nd grade. “Thanks for the opportunity to share our special moment this morning,” Lindsey Smith said.

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4 • September 6, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Around Town Edd Merritt

Photo of the Week

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Congratulations: to Ceal Moran whose “Genealogy Day Get-Together” was featured in the August 27 Burlington Free Press under “the history space.” Ceal began genealogy get-togethers two years ago to honor her uncle, Father Romeo Trahan S.S.E. She had spent the last 12 years gathering data to assist in completing her sister’s family’s genealogy. She says in the article that she naturally sharpened her detective skills and soon she was “hooked.” She has presented her work in schools, libraries and senior centers, including those in Charlotte, and she always displays information at the Vermont Family Center for Genealogic Studies (VT-FCGS) as well as the Vermont Genealogy Library. Her uncle was one of the Genealogy Library’s founding members.

Photo by Deb Preston

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to Nick Landrigan of Charlotte who will be inducted into the Cathedral-Rice Athletic Hall of Fame on October 7. He joins 144 other Rice athletes, former coaches and supporters in the Hall. Nick was cited for his basketball abilities. He holds Rice’s all-time record for assists, many of them to Mike Cioffi , a fellow inductee. Nick was named to all-state second team and to the fi rst team in the Metro Division in 2001. He moved across the Canadian border to attend Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, where he started as a point guard for his four years there. After being named Conference Rookie of the Year as a freshman, he captained the team his junior and senior years. He has since moved back to Chittenden County where

he works as a real estate appraiser.

Sympathy: is extended to family and friends of Eric D. Mitchell, an attorney in Washington, D.C., whose family has a camp in Charlotte. Eric passed away August 18 at the age of 51. He graduated from Yale University (where he starred on the basketball team) and Georgetown Law Center. He was interred at Grandview Cemetery in Charlotte. The family asks that, in lieu of fl owers, donations in Eric’s honor be made to the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society.

Regional Bite: Do we really live in the snarkiest state in the union?

The September issue of Wired magazine reported on a study of “toxic” comments and where they come from. These comments appeared online over a 16-month time span. Almost 2 million authors wrote them on more than 7,000 forums that use software. Guess what?

Vermont led the other states of America in the proportion of crummy comments, with a 12.2 percent incidence. New Hampshire, on the other hand, had the least with 4.7 percent. Oh well, we shouldn’t compare ourselves to them, because they don’t really know what they’re saying. Live free or die? Yah, you bet N.H. ***

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The Charlotte News • September 6, 2017 • 5

Town

Where there were three, now there are none Silos at Baptist Corners in East Charlotte removed

T

Photos by Trina Bianchi

he landscape has changed forever at Baptist Corners in East Charlotte. Two Amish families from Westport, NY spent three days taking down the silos at the old Sheehan Farm.

Current owner, Steve Denton, made the arrangements with the families to remove the silos which were no longer in use. With the sole exception of the top portions, all parts of the silos were stacked and transported to Westport where the same two families will reconstruct them on one of their farms and put them back into farm use. These were taken down without any assistance of power equipment, simply using human ingenuity and labor.

6 • September 6, 2017 • The Charlotte News

FA R M S E R I E S

Cathy and “the boys” at Unity Farm Trina Bianchi CONTRIBUTOR

Editor’s note: In an effort to support local farmers the Charlotte Grange has volunteered to feature a new farm story each month in The Charlotte News. Here is part four of the series. Enjoy!

“The boys needed work,” Cathy Wells yelled. The four boys she was referring to have a very interesting skill set; they can pull farm equipment, wagons and sleighs.

They work any weather, any season, very reliable, but they needed a job and a place to live. And they are not small boys, each weighs between 1,700 and 2,000 pounds.

Living and working at Shelburne Farms had given Cathy her return to horses, now with English Shire draft horses. She had two teams, Pete and Jaguar, General and Rocket. These ‘boys’ worked at Shelburne Farms in the fields and provided guests with tours of the Farm with horse-drawn wagon or sleigh rides. In 2012, Cathy and her boys were moving and she wanted a place where the two teams would continue to work.

Thus, Unity Farm was born. Buying 54 acres from Clark Hinsdale was step one.

The acreage was an empty field used for hay and corn, but had no infrastructure.

Creating Unity Farms became an ongoing project, one that continues to evolve.

Cathy Wells grew up in a farming area in Indiana helping her grandparents with their vegetable garden; so, although she had never farmed herself when she started Unity Farm, the concept of farming was not totally unfamiliar. Owning and riding horses while growing up, loving animals and enjoying being a partner with her therapy dog, a Shiloh Shepard mix, getting the draft horses was a natural transition back into the horses. Falling in love with the easy going temperaments of the Shires, she started with one team, ultimately acquiring a second as one of the original team needed frequent vacations from work. A landscape architect by trade and having the mindset of ‘working together’ to create something better, Cathy took the empty field and has, over time, created a partnership with the land.

With the vision of building a sustainable ecosystem, every decision at the farm is made with that partnership in mind.

Natural springs kept the east side of the property wet and that wetland was starting to grow. Cathy built two ponds that now

“Our vision for Unity Farm is to unify the needs of everyone who lives and works here in a sustainable and harmonious way— people, domestic animals, wild animals as well as our cultivated land and the natural environment.” contain the springs so the rest of the land is usable, and the ponds provide home to frogs and turtles. The farm is open to southwest wind so she looked for edible windbreaks. Currants, aronia, hazelnuts, and elderberry bushes were planted. Her location, between Mt. Philo and Pease Mountain, is a wildlife corridor for bobcat and deer. They need to eat and Unity Farm provides them with edible cover crops like radishes and turnips. John Hayden from The Farm Between in Jeffersonville has worked with Cathy to attract natural pollinators to Unity Farm. Thus, the farm has some bee hives, butterfly bushes, black locusts, hawthorn trees, Echinacea and other flowers that attract birds, bees and other insect predators like praying mantis, walking sticks, toads, and snakes. A brush pile has been created to function as winter protection for predator wasps, along with voles, moles and rabbits. Plants that are either a bug deterrent or actually attract bugs, like Alyssum or radishes, are planted in the various hoop houses. If her radish plants are being eaten, she knows there are bugs in that house. Educating herself on how to improve the ecosystem, Unity Farm continues to evolve.

Starting with the goal of growing greens year around, Unity Farm now has one greenhouse for propagation and three hoop houses with beds between them.

After a year of just growing greens in the winter, Cathy discovered she needed to expand her horizons beyond simply selling winter greens. Kale, Swiss Chard, spinach, arugula, mustard greens, lettuce, mint and parsley now share the hoop houses

Courtesy photo

Cathy Wells and her boys at Unity Farm. with flowers. Perennials and other flowers that will attract insect predators grow both within the hoop houses and in beds outside. Both the flowers and vegetables are wholesaled to local markets, restaurants and caterers. The Unity Farm van can be seen every day during the growing season and two days a week during the winter making deliveries. Cathy’s basic premise of ‘partnering’ carries over to her customers, as she strives to develop good relationships with them, recognizing that as their needs and wants change, she also has to change.

This is especially true in flowers, where trends come and go and the popular colors can change. In addition, farming brings its own set of variables with the changing seasons, the weather, the ever changing climate. Each of these brings different challenges in how the plants, either flowers or vegetables, will be affected.

Cathy knows she has to constantly look for new opportunities on how to use the land and sell and promote her own product.

She also knows she needs to be prepared to change course mid-stream when Mother Nature throws a curve ball. This year she had to creatively find ways to use flowers that set their buds way earlier than usual because of the unexpected hot spell we had in early spring. These flowers, normally suitable for large table centerpieces, suddenly had very short stems. Quick on her feet and with a creative mind, Cathy found ways to use and market them. Recognizing that as a small farm she needed to learn how to work with other farms in the area, she and another farm decided “to join product” to sell their black currants to a winery. Red

Wagon Plants along with another farmer lease some of the land to grow their own products. Part of the property is an organic hay field – the boys do all the work in that field except for baling.

The original goal of finding a place for the boys to work and growing greens available year around (no small feat in Vermont!), has grown into a beautiful, small farm full of color from the various flowers and bushes producing both greens, flowers and berries all year for local markets, restaurants and caterers. Cathy herself has become both learned and proficient at dealing with the changing seasons, the vagarious weather and the decreasing light, adjusting the planting times to make full use of the growing cycle to cover the time from late December until mid-February when nature rests. Her customers know that produce and flowers from Unity Farm will still be on their shelves 52 weeks of the year.

The horseshoe which is the “U” in Unity Farms symbolizes the partnership Cathy has with her animals but her words as taken from her website, www.Unityfarmvt.com, best describes her relationship with her world.

“Our vision for Unity Farm is to unify the needs of everyone who lives and works here in a sustainable and harmonious way— people, domestic animals, wild animals as well as our cultivated land and the natural environment. “ Trooper, an 11 week old purebred Shiloh Shepard, is testimony to Cathy’s ongoing desire to partner with ‘all’ in her world.

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The Charlotte News • September 6, 2017 • 7

Town Cemetery Commission update

Let’s Take a Dip!

Susan Ohanian CEMETERY COMMISSION

Anyone driving on Greenbush Road past

Barber Cemetery (West Burial Ground) on Sunday morning, Aug. 27, probably noticed some activity. A sign announced that the Vermont Old Cemetery Association was at work again. VOCA, a nonprofit devoted to the restoration and preservation of neglected and abandoned cemeteries in the State of Vermont, sponsored a second gravestone-restoration working session at Barber Cemetery.

Again, the primary objective was straightening leaning gravestones, which means carefully excavating the area around each stone and “replanting” it.

Anyone seeing the crew at work would have noticed lots of people carrying levels, as part of the task is making sure the stone is level in all directions.

Pete Demick of Vermont Walkways and Stone Preservation and VOCA life member and James Laberge, trained stone mason, focused on epoxy repair of broken gravestones as well as helping everybody else with tips on straightening stones. We are very fortunate to have these Charlotte experts willing to give their time and expertise to train volunteers as well as do a lot of work themselves.

The Charlotte Cemetery Commission is grateful for the people who gave up their Sunday morning to travel to our cemetery for this worthy project: Allison Curran, Burlington Cemetery Commission chair; Emma Swift, BCC commissioner; Barry Trutor, VOCA webmaster and membership chair; and Jeni Newman, VOCA secretary.

Charlotters Chris Falk and Susan Ohanian, cemetery commissioners, and Dianne Leary, VOCA VP and grants administrator and life member, organized the event.

Barry Trutor and James Laberge reset a gravestone in Charlotte. Courtesy photo This crew worked on improving the condition of 21 gravestones.

Parking was generously provided by the Old Lantern.

Barber Cemetery has been in use since 1785, and just reading the names on the stones provides a fascinating glimpse into our history. If anyone is interested in helping with cleaning the gravestones, contact Susan Ohanian at Susano@gmavt. net. A dozen or so have been cleaned, leaving about 800 to go.

Photos by Deb Preston

Shelburne Charlotte Garden Club to host community tour Staff report The Shelburne Charlotte Garden Club was started nearly 50 years ago by a group of gardeners who called themselves the Dirt Diggers. Later it became the Shelburne Garden Club and, in more recent years, the Shelburne Charlotte Garden Club. We are still a group of gardeners, interested in gardening and all involved with it.

The Shelburne Charlotte Garden Club will meet at 11 a.m. at the Shelburne Vineyard at 6308 Shelburne Road in Shelburne on Tuesday, Sept. 12. All are welcome to join. Following the tour, anyone who wishes may stay for an optional wine tasting at $8 per person.

Over the years there have been many interesting programs. We have visited the Shelburne Museum gardens, Shelburne Farms to tour the Lila Webb gardens, Gardenside Nurseries, Horsford’s

nurseries, Claussens’s Greenhouse, Gardener’s Supply and the UVM greenhouses. We have also visited private gardens as well as Shelburne Orchards, held cooking events and had programs about bee keeping, bonsai and decorating for holiday time. You can see that the programs are quite varied.

Members of the Garden Club maintain the Shelburne community gardens: the

The Shelburne Charlotte Garden Club will meet at 11 a.m. at the Shelburne Vineyard at 6308 Shelburne Road in Shelburne on Tuesday, Sept. 12. All are welcome to join. Following the tour, anyone who wishes may stay for an optional wine tasting at $8 per person. For more information please call Ann Mead at 985-2657.

pond garden, the library garden and plantings around the flagpole on the Shelburne Village Green. Jeff Haddock, of Gardenside Nurseries, has generously donated plantings for these gardens each year. Volunteers are welcome for these projects.

Please join us as we start this new season. For more information please call Ann Mead at 985-2657.

8 • September 6, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Town Fifth annual Diamond Island Regatta, spinnakers galore Tim Etchells CONTRIBUTOR

The fi fth annual Diamond Island Regatta, on Saturday, Aug.19, matched last year’s record turnout, drawing 30 competitors for a day of sailboat racing on Lake Champlain.

Again this year, the benefi t race, sponsored by the Royal Savage Yacht Club (RSYC) and Point Bay Marina, netted more than $1,000 for the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum (LCMM) in Ferrisburgh.

The race, which in its fi ve years has become one of the favorites of Lake Champlain sailors, began just after 11 a.m., took competitors south from the start/fi nish line in Town Farm Bay to Diamond Island off Ferrisburgh, north to Sloop Island off Charlotte, back south to Diamond Island and then to the fi nish. The fastest time for the course of about 15 miles was just over two and a half hours. The race began in a southerly breeze that came and went throughout the day, dropping to a whisper at times but topping out at 15 knots.

For racers and club members, the day began and ended under the RSYC tent at the marina, starting with a pre-race breakfast and wrapping up with the awards ceremony at the club’s annual Lobster Fest. About 100 people attended this year’s dinner.

“Our thanks go to all those who sailed and everyone who attended the Lobster Fest for their support of the club and the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum,” said Gary Russell, RSYC commodore. “And kudos to Point Bay Marina and the many RSYC volunteers who made the day’s events possible. Thanks also to Dale Hyerstay, Keith Kennedy and Kathy Manning from the Lake Champlain Yacht Club (LCYC), who headed up the race committee. And they, and we, were thrilled that again this year RSYC member Al Martin provided his boat, the Nancy Ann, as the Diamond Island

Regatta committee boat.”

As has been the case for all fi ve editions of the race, entry was free. RSYC makes a donation of $1,000 to LCMM, made possible in part via the sale of Diamond Island Regatta logo items to racers and fans, and also through the sale to competitors of race photos, taken by professional photographer Buzz Kuhns. LCMM also raises some money on the day of the regatta through the sale of museum-themed items— including hats, pint glasses and books—at the breakfast and the Lobster Fest. This year, LCMM’s Helena Van Voorst attended the awards dinner and handed out day passes to the museum to racers and club members.

The Diamond Island Regatta race director this year was RSYC’s Steve Koch, assisted

by Wendy Friant, past RSYC commodore and founder of the Diamond Island Regatta.

In the race itself, competitors were divided into two general categories, those who sailed with spinnakers and those who sailed only with jib and mainsail (JaM). Boats came from the local Royal Savage Yacht Club, Lake Champlain Yacht Club in Shelburne, Malletts Bay Boat Club in Colchester, Valcour Sailing Club in Plattsburgh, New York, the Point au Fer Sailing Club near Rouses Point, New York, and elsewhere on the lake.

There were 16 boats in the four spinnaker fl eets, A through D, and 14 in the two JaM fl eets, A and B. The fl eets were determined by each boat’s rating under the Performance Handicap Racing Fleet system, which ranks boats based on their speed potential and is used for most sailing competitions on Lake Champlain. Winners are determined based on corrected time, with the faster boats “giving time” to the slower boats.

The six fl eet winners this year received trophies at the awards ceremony held during the Lobster Fest dinner. The trophies were historic replica deck prisms from the

Heading downwind during the 2017 Diamond Island Regatta on Aug. 19.

Photo by Buzz Kuhns LCMM gift shop, with custom settings created by Erik Cooper of M//E Design in Burlington. Here are the top three boats and their captains in each division: Spinnaker A: 1. Odinn, Kjell Dahlen, VSC. 2. Dunder, John Thouron, LCYC. 3.

Corbeau, Jeanne Pierre Turgeon, VSC. Spinnaker B: 1. Alchemy, Dana Bolton & Mark Damico, LCYC & MBBC. 2.

Sleeper, John Hammel, MBBC. 3. Lift Ticket, Samuel Pratt, MBBC. Spinnaker C: 1. Sundance, Tom Glynn, LCYC. 2. Muse, Doug Friant, RSYC & LCYC. 3. Talisman, Les Velte, LCYC. Spinnaker D: 1. Li’l Bot, Benedek Erdos, RSYC. 2. Osprey, Thomas Porter, RSYC. 3. Twig, Fritz Martin, RSYC. JaM A: 1. Absolut, Stephen & Francine Ramsey, RSYC. 2. Kinsale, Robert Finn, LCYC. 3. Avengers, Jocelyn Duteau, CPFC.

JaM B: 1. Dragonfly, John Beal, RSYC. 2.

Spirit, Steve Koch, RSYC. 3. Mackinac, Tim & Betsy Etchells, RSYC. Courbeau, in the Spinnaker A fl eet, was also the fi rst boat to cross the fi nish line, with an elapsed time of two hours and 32 minutes. RSYC sailors captured three of the six fl eets, and made up the entire eight-boat JaM B fl eet.

Complete results can be found at the RSYC website: rsyc.org/results-2017diamond-island-regatta/.

Host Royal Savage Yacht Club (rsyc. org) is named for the schooner Royal Savage, which served as Benedict Arnold’s fl agship during Revolutionary War battles with the British on Lake Champlain.

Point Bay Marina is a full-service marina on Thompson’s Point Road in Charlotte (pointbaymarina.com).

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The Charlotte News • September 6, 2017 • 9

Trails Talk: Part 1 Laurie Thompson

CHARLOTTE TRAILS COMMITTEE

The Charlotte Town Link Trail has been in the news frequently over the past several months. Although this trail has been in the works for about 20 years, now that it is becoming a reality many townspeople are more interested in the trail and have more questions about it. In an effort to answer as many questions as we can, the Trails Committee is starting this column, Trails Talk, in The Charlotte News.

Someone on Front Porch Forum cited a website where people could post questions about Charlotte trails. Since many questions are already posted on that website, we will begin Trails Talk by answering those questions. It will take a few months to respond to all the questions. To view the questions, please visit orchardroadcomputers.com.

Here are some pieces of information to help everyone frame the questions in this column: A trails’ scoping project was just completed in June 2017. The project was possible because of a VTRANS grant. The Town of Charlotte had to give a 20-percent match for the grant funds. The town money used for this scoping project was already in the town budget.

The Trails Committee recently received a letter of support from the Selectboard to apply for another VTRANS grant in July 2017. This new grant would be for construction of the State Park Road section of the Town Link Trail. The Town of Charlotte would give a 20-percent match if we do get the grant. At this time, there is about a 50/50 chance of us receiving grant funding because there are so many other towns in Vermont applying for the same

Town

grant money. And even if we do get chosen for a grant, the town can still decide not to accept the grant funds. VTRANS will notify all grant applicants in late September or early October.

Here are the first five questions from the above website, with answers.

Q

Does cost estimate for the 2,627 linear feet of the Charlotte Town Link Trails Segment A encompass the entire trail or just a portion? If just a portion, and I will call this phase 1, how much is phase 2 and 3?

A

This question refers to the trails scoping project that was just completed for the town. The scoping project looked at options for the trail on two sections. Section 1 is State Park Road, which is 2,627 feet long, from Mt. Philo to the Melissa and Trevor Mack Trail (Segment A). Section 2 is from Cohousing north into West Charlotte Village (Segments B and C). The draft scoping report can be viewed by going to the town website. The report is long and may be on the website in sections, but it shows the options for each section and the estimated costs.

Q

Since this is an estimate and the town trails would not be completed all at once, what do you estimate the price per linear foot to be five and 10 years from now for Phases 2 and 3 (Segments B and C) and completion of Phase 1?

A

Since we can only estimate with current values, we would estimate that there would be an increase that matches the cost of living increase each year.

Q

Will there be open bidding for this project? If not, who will be building our trails?

A trails’ scoping project was just completed in June 2017.

Courtsey photo

The Town’s purchasing policy requires open bidding, and the grant funding policy requires us to get several bids.

What this means is projects are advertised in newspapers and online, but a minimum number of bids is not required. Nevertheless, we try to obtain at least three bids.

A

Vermont National Golf Club carts/people.

It is certainly closer to Burlington and in a much more densely populated area of our county. To my knowledge, there have been no teenagers drinking/smoking pot (and it is close to South Burlington High School) in the Dorset St. underpass which has been there for at least 10 years.

Q

Q

A

A

How much is the underpass on Route 7 going to cost if not included in the proposed price? Will there be sufficient lighting at night? What happens if teenagers decide to drink or smoke pot under there?

What do our state troopers say about handling a situation like this?

The underpass is being built with state/ federal funding, not Charlotte town funding. The underpass is almost complete and we hope to be able to use the underpass and the two Town Link Trail sections it connects this fall. There is no lighting in the underpass or on any part of the Town Link Trail. Many of you may not know that there is a similar underpass on Dorset Street in South Burlington. It is used mostly by

Shelburne Village has blinking yellow lights flashing at a crosswalk when someone wants to cross the road by the Shelburne Museum offices. Have you considered this instead of a tunnel? If you have, would you please explain the pros and cons?

The underpass has been in the state plans for updating Route 7 for about 10 years. The State of Vermont decided that the underpass was the best option for crossing Route 7 safely.

Thanks for all the questions. Stay tuned for the answers to the next group of questions when Trails Talk continues in the next Charlotte News.

Memorials and monuments still have importance in Charlotte Morgan Magoon NEWS INTERN

Monuments and memorials are a big part of representing history in America. A great number of these honor soldiers who served in various wars. Charlotte remembers the soldiers who served from our town with two monuments and two memorials. These include the World War I monument, World War II monument, Fred D. St. George memorial and the Alan Bean memorial.

The WWI monument was Charlotte’s first monument, and it is located by the Old Brick Store. At town meeting on March 2, 1920, the townspeople decided to create this monument. In the record of the meeting, there is a statement saying, “Your committee further believes the conduct of our boys is worthy of emulation, and that all may see and know how greatly we esteem the heroism of our defenders, recommends that a suitable memorial will be a Roll of Honor consisting of the names of our boys who were in the service, upon a tablet of bronze.”

The WWII monument is on the Town Green by the Town Hall. On this monument

it reads, “Charlotte Honor Roll.” Beneath that it states that it is for WWII and has four long lists with the names of all the 98 soldiers from our town who served. There are flowers and American flags at the foot of the monument.

The Fred D. St. George memorial is at the Town Beach. It is in memory of Fred, who was a soldier in the Vietnam War. Seventytwo Charlotters served in the Vietnam War. Fred was killed in Da Nang on September 10, 1967. His name also appears on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC. The Alan Bean memorial is located near Spear’s Corner Store in East Charlotte. Dan Cole, the president of the Charlotte Historical Society, shared this about the Alan Bean memorial: “It was placed in memory of Alan Bean Jr. who was born March 11, 1982, and was killed at Iskandariyah, Iraq, on May 25, 2004. Even though the family had moved out of town by then, the Bean family was well liked and well remembered in town, and there was a groundswell of public support to do something in memory of Alan.”

Cole also explained how important the memorials and monuments are to our

community. He said, “There is a sizeable group of people in town who feel such things need to be eliminated or condemned because they glorify war. What these monuments seek

to memorialize—not glorify—is sacrifice, not war; the sacrifice, sometimes the ultimate sacrifice, of the soldier; the sacrifice of his or her family.”

10 • September 6, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Town Kids Programs & Activities Beginning September 12, Tuesdays @ 2:15 p.m. After School Story Explorations. Take the bus from CCS and explore the world of stories! For kindergarten and fi rst grade students.

Registration required.

Wednesday, September 13: Roald Dahl Day. Celebrate the creator of all things whoopy-splunkers. We’ve got phizz-whizzing quizzes to tweak your imagination and whoopsy-wiffl ing snacks to tickle your tum.

News Margaret Woodruff LIBRARY DIRECTOR

September is National Library Card Month. Stop for your card and enter ourT-shirt raffl e, too. We hope to see you here, at the library.

Beginning September 14, Thursdays @ 3:15 p.m. Coding Club. Beginners will learn to code with Scratch through guided video lessons to make their own simple games. Members with more experience will plan and create their own using skills they’ve learned. Chromebooks & earbuds provided or BYO. For 4th grade and up. Registration required.

Beginning September 15, Fridays @ 10:30 a.m. Friday Free for All. From rocks, blocks and socks to babies, bugs and hairy bread, join us to investigate on Friday mornings. Ages 3 to 5.

Registration required.

Wednesday, September 20 @ 3:15 p.m. Afterschool: A-Maze-ing LEGO. Using everyone’s favorite building block and glass marbles, create your own maze challenge. Grades 2 to 4. Registration required.

Info & Interest For Adults Tuesday, September 12, 7 p.m.

“Revolutionary War in the South.”

Join historian and interpreter David Ryan as he shares information about the economic importance of 18th century Charleston, SC, and highlights some key players from Charleston in the Revolution. This is a unique opportunity to hear a perspective of the Revolution that is rarely discussed. This program should be of interest to adults who wish to have a more complete picture of our Revolution as well as students who are studying U.S. history this fall.

David Ryan is a highly trained guide/ interpreter/docent who works at the Shelburne Museum during the summer months and volunteers during the winter months at the Charleston (SC) Museum, which owns two historic houses: the Joseph Manigault House (1803) and the Heyward-Washington House (1772). Cosponsored with the Charlotte Historical Society.

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Monday, September 18 @ 10 a.m.

Mystery Book Group. The intriguing debut by Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling), Cuckoo’s Calling, has the riveting storytelling style of Harry Potter without the Muggles and magic. Join us for coff ee and discussion. Copies available at the library circulation desk.

FREE APPRAISAL!

Monday, September 25–Saturday, September 30: Banned Books Week.

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Stop in to check out our annual BBW display, highlighting the value of free and open access to information. You can even join our Facebook photobooth with your favorite banned book!

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Last week the library trustees invited Selectboard members to the library to meet and share ideas on addressing the space situation at the library.

Formed earlier this summer, a committee made up of three library staff members, two library trustees and a Friends of the Library board member has been meeting with an architect to consider the possibility of adding on to the library building.

The library, built 20 years ago and originally designed to hold about 8,000 volumes, now houses a collection of nearly 16,000 items.

Space available for providing the increasing number of programs requested and supported by the community is inadequate.

The conversation centered on increased usage of the library, planning for reasonable growth of the library collection, providing much needed space for a constantly growing collection as well as for ongoing library activities, issues with the building site and parking, and, of course, funding.

The Friends of the Library group plans to fund a feasibility study. The committee will continue to assess and research the library’s options and welcomes community input.

by PLACE and NOAA. Using Bill McKibben’s hiking journal as a starting point, this session focuses on who and where we are to zero in on the stake we have in our community. Co-sponsored by the Pierson Library in Shelburne, the Tuesday, September 26 @ 7 p.m. Carpenter-Carse Library in Hinesburg, Wandering Home: Climate Change the Champlain Valley Union High School Up Close & Personal. The fi rst in our ENACT Club, and the UVM Extension three-part series on climate change Center for Sustainable Agriculture. and our own landscape, supported Registration required.

Email your news announcements to news @thecharlottenews.org

NMLS# 403372 nbmvt.com • 877-508-8455

Library looks to the future

Coming Up In October: Baby Time, Cooking Book Club’s local food buff et, Great Decisions, Irish poetry and Jane Austen. Stay tuned! For the latest information, visit our website, charlottepubliclibrary.org.

***

The Charlotte News • September 6, 2017 • 11

Town

Signaling a message

The Charlotte News!

like us on facebook!

Susan Ohanian CONTRIBUTOR

Recently, when we went to the Old Dock in Essex, we tied up our boat in front of the restaurant and hoisted a long string of signal fl ags up the mast.

During dinner, we were surprised when a woman came up to our table, told us that her husband was a Navy veteran, and thanked us for our message. Then more people came up, shaking our hands and thanking us.

We were impressed that so many people could read signal fl ags. Then we noticed the screens on their phones all had the same picture: The signal fl ag alphabet.

One woman said she had already sent a photo of our boat to her children. Hans told her of the resolution passed at Town Meeting in March. She replied, “I always knew Vermont would be a good place to live.”

Signal flags flying.

Photo submitted by Susan Ohanian

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Charlotte Congregational Church Blessing of the Animals

The Charlotte Congregational Church Blessing of the Animals Service was held on Aug. 27. Jon Gailmor performed. This photo is of Susan Cooke Kittredge giving a blessing. This annual service invites members to bring their pets to be blessed. Each person was able to introduce their pet with a short story about him or her and how they share their lives with their beloved friend.

Photo by Sarah Soule

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Solid Waste Distric t

12 • September 6, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Regional Burlington and New Moran Inc. disagree on redevelopment of Moran Plant; city may raze building Last Friday afternoon Burlington mayor Miro Weinberger announced at a news conference at City Hall Park that the city and New Moran Inc., the nonprofit headed by former Charlotters Erick Crockenberg and Tad Cooke and their partner Charlie Tipper, had failed to agree on the terms and conditions for going forward with the redevelopment of the Moran Plant on the

Burlington waterfront. Weinberger indicated that the city was now exploring options for razing the building, a former coalfired electricity generating plant that was decommissioned in 1986.

That same day, just prior to Weinberger’s announcement, the Moran team wrote the following letter to their friends and supporters:

Dear Friends and Champions, We write with heavy hearts. Tuesday, the mayor shared that he and CEDO [Community & Economic Development Office] Director MacKay do not see a path forward with us and intend to move towards demolition of the building. We have accepted the Mayor’s invitation to collaborate on an immediate press release. We wanted to share this pivotal information with you before it hits the public media.

After working with all of you for over four years, you will surely be looking for answers as to what happened and what could’ve gone differently. You all know that NMI [New Moran Inc.] and our entire effort have been about generating positive energy together, reimagining this ruin as a living landmark. We look forward to taking whatever time is needed to meet and talk through your questions and concerns around how we’ve landed at this juncture and do everything we can to honor and sustain the positive energy we have created together.

Erick Crockenberg (left), Tad Cooke (right) and Charlie Tipper (front) with Vermont Edition host Jane Lindholm, in July 2015.

Courtesy photo

Vergennes Opera House 2017-2018 Season!

Our season offers some new, as well as a few returning favorites. Check out our schedule below! Sign up for our newsletter, like us on facebook & follow us on twitter (@VOH) so you won’t miss a thing!

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We submitted our final proposal in December 2016 with the support of two outstanding building tenants, numerous program partners, hundreds of donors, and an awardwinning professional team bolstered by a national leader in challenging redevelopment projects. The proposal earned clear support from the business, nonprofit and philanthropic communities, yet despite tremendous effort and compromise, we were not able to reach common ground. We still love the building and hope that a positive solution will come to bear for the Burlington community.

As we’ve written, we will make sure we take the time to walk through all this with you as you desire. In the meantime, please accept our heartfelt thanks for being with us for this epic journey. The creative, positive culture behind this project is due in large part to the spirit and breadth of support you all have provided.

Sincerely, Erick, Charlie and Tad

Saturday, September 30, ALL DAY: Ladies’ Car Rally starts at 9am on the City

Green. Sign up online now.

Saturday, October 7th, 7:30pm: Downtown Bob Stannard and those Dangerous Bluesmen. Doors & cash bar open at 6:30pm. Tix online now.

Tuesday, October 10th, 7pm: Red Green Comedian/TV Personality presents his

“I’m Not Old I’m Ripe” tour. Tix online now.

Saturday, October 28, 7:30pm: Gang of Thieves, Rocking

Burlington-based band. Doors & cash bar open at 7pm. Tix online now.

Later in the season Friday, December 8th, 7:30pm: Broadway Direct in its 12th

year! Professional Big City talent on the Little City Stage.

Saturday, February 3, 7pm: LC Jazz Free Community “Winter

Thaw” Concert. Fantastic jazz, blues, and community fun.

Saturday, March 3, 7:30pm: Carnevale Vergennes! An evening of incredible, outrageous

and unforgettable FUN!

Saturday, March 17, 7:30pm: Prydein American Celtic Rock band celebrates St. Patrick’s

Day with the help of the Catamount Bagpipe Band. Doors/Cash bar at 6:30pm.

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The Charlotte News • September 6, 2017 • 13

Education New administrative trio heads up CCS Lynn Monty EDITOR IN CHIEF

Stephanie Sumner, Jen Roth and Cassandra Townshend are the trio heading up Charlotte Central School’s administration this fall semester. Lead principal Sumner is the PreK–8 building principal and PreK–4 instructional leader. Co-Principal Roth is the 5–8 instructional leader. Townshend is CCS director of special education and CVSD behavior systems coordinator.

The lead principal holds the responsibility of working directly with district leadership and the school board regarding facilities, operations, budget and policy work, but both principals take direct leadership roles in instructional and behavior structures at the school.

Sumner began transitioning into her new role over the summer after working

closely with previous lead principal Barbara Anne Komons-Montroll over the past two years. “Jen, Cassandra and I share many important core beliefs and values regarding education and working with children, teachers and families,” Sumner said. “Jen and Cassandra possess expertise in areas that I can learn from.”

Roth’s official title is “co-principal/ middle level instructional leader.” She grew up in Illinois and Wisconsin and moved to Vermont in her senior year of high school. She’s a graduate of Mount Mansfield Union High, the University of Vermont and Trinity College of Vermont.

Sumner worked with Roth over the past few years while they were both completing the Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in Educational Leadership program at St. Michael’s College. “Her passion for working with students, teachers, families and communities, as well as her capacity for

providing leadership stood out, and these were areas of immediate connection and shared core values for us,” Sumner said.

Roth comes to CCS from Hinesburg Community School where she was a classroom teacher.

Her first two weeks at CCS have been filled with getting to know staff and the building but also reaching out to families to hear about their hopes for their children’s year, she said. She will be working closely with Sumner and Townshend.

“We are calibrating our vision, sharing our knowledge and creating a cohesive voice to our staff and community,” Roth said. “By supporting teachers, I commit

File photo to the success and well-being of our students. Children are at the heart of everything I do.”

Roth said she feels blessed to be stepping into a passionate group of educators. “Their experience and knowledge should be celebrated,” she said.

Charlotte Central School updates announced Staff report Lead Principal Stephanie Sumner said she and the Charlotte Central School faculty and staff were excited to welcome back returning students and are looking forward to getting to know new students joining the CCS community.

Administrator update As many are already aware, Barbara Anne Komons Montroll has accepted the Champlain Valley School District director of communications and public relations position. Stephanie Sumner has moved into the lead principal position. Sumner will remain the primary administrator for PreK-4 and Jen Roth will be the primary administrator for grades 5–8.

In preparation for an exciting year of learning, members of the CCS staff have had a busy summer. Teachers and teams have participated in professional development and worked on various initiatives including curriculum mapping and developing learning targets and scales aligned with Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards; and participating in coursework or workshops in various areas, including responsive classroom, middle school advisories and personalized learning process, math best practices, and blogging.

New staff and new roles CCS is pleased to welcome the following new staff members: Ann Foster, digital learning leader Nihad Cekovic, K–2 physical education Beth Birmingham, special educator Ash Cotton, K–8 art teacher Katie Duprat, school nurse Marley Evans, 7/8 language arts teacher

Timothy Holcomb, behavior systems coordinator Matt Kent, 3–8 physical education Chris Giard, half-time facilities director (shared with SCS) Melissa Skinner, athletic director Facilities update A tremendous amount of work has been done at CCS over the summer by Audrey Hornbeck, Bill Schmidt, James Waite and Justin Leavitt, with support from Kurt Proulx from CVU, John Gallagher (painting), George Gosselin (former CCS employee), and Stephanie Schmidt, longtime summer facilities employee. This includes new carpeting in the library, new tiles and roof repair in Dave Baird’s classroom, roof replacement on the library and cafeteria annex (including some internal work in the cafeteria annex to remedy a water leak), several room/ office moves, professional cleaning of all carpets and cleaning and waxing of all tile floors.

New advisory model The new CCS advisory model is similar to CVU’s advisories. CCS students will meet daily from 9 to 9:20 a.m. in groups smaller than their support rooms. This reduces the number of students in each advisory from over 20 to roughly 10 to 12, as there are eight advisors this year. The advisors will be the Core Omega (7th–8th grade) teachers Marley Evans, Matt Lutz, Nancy Matthews and Mary Tierney, along with band teacher Andy Smith, school counselor Kathy Batty, school librarian Heidi Huestis and world language teacher Sarah Pierson.

Advisories will encompass many things, including community-building opportunities, project-based learning experiences, and essential work on students’ personalized learning plans. For the past two years, CCS has had a team

working on Middle Level Visioning— analyzing what middle school students are currently experiencing at CCS, want to experience, need to experience and could experience. Middle school and essential arts teachers, along with former lead principal Barbara Anne Komons-Montroll, Proficiency Based Learning coach Mary Muroski and school counselor Kathy Batty engaged in both empirical and experiential research.

This included engaging CCS students in school and district think-tank experiences

to provide feedback and ideas and visiting other middle school programs in Vermont. However, key initiation of this work came from CCS teachers and their connections with students—there was recognition that teachers and middlelevel students were all seeking stronger connections with one another. There is a desire to increase student engagement and create more personalized learning experiences.

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14 • September 6, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Sports Edd’s Sports Report Edd Merritt

considering the varsity teams have a number of new, inexperienced runners.

Leonard was among the top ten men, and the male Redhawks fi nished fi fth as a team.

The JV men fi nished second behind Essex running against four other schools. Jamie Williamson and Parker Soares placed third with Caleb Nye and Alec Mogielnicki across the fi nish line in fourth place.

Soccer and field hockey begin their seasons victorious

The varsity men lost out to South Burlington for third place on a tie-breaker. Baxter Bishop and Jared Leonard were the fi fth-place twoman team with Gavin Schaaf and Dylan Gooley fi nishing eleventh.

Traveling south to Burr and Burton, the CVU men’s soccer team came away with a dominant 6-0 shutout of their rivals. Nate Coffi n scored two of CVU’s four fi rst-half goals. Brigham Francis, Oliver Bijur and Nick Durieux followed Nate with single netters. The Redhawks only saw two balls on net compared to 14 saves for BBA.

In a side note, congratulations go out to CVU assistant coach Dick Hebert who is celebrating his fi ftieth year working with high school athletes. Last night’s game against BFA was particularly poignant to him because he attended high school there.

Dillon and Dylan drive to victory in Virginia

Charlotte’s Dillon Machavern and his driving partner, Dylan Murcott, won the Biscuitville Grand Prix at the Virginia International Cross-country runners start the Speedway on August 26. It was their fi rst fall sport season career win in the Continental Tire SportsCar August 26 saw the CVU Relays, run on the After graduating fi ve seniors from last year’s The fi eld-hockey women allowed Burlington Challenge. Driving a Porsche, their victory Redhawk course, open the fall sport season very successful team, Coach Bliss commented High School only a single goal as the demonstrates the dominance that brand has with strong showings by both men and that this was, in fact, an encouraging fi rst Redhawks dominated the game, winning 6-1. maintained over the years, giving Porsche women – particularly the women who won race. CVU had three freshmen running with Football is not as fortunate its fi ftieth win in the CTSC series. Dillon both JV and Varsity team prizes in a seven- the varsity.

Apparently north is not the direction to head and Dylan have two more races in the school race. Each individual team consisted Three days later saw CVU travel to Red if you are looking forward to winning football summer series, the next at Mazda Raceway of two runners. CVU had two teams at the Rocks Park for the South Burlington Class games. The Redhawks went up against BFA in Laguna Seca, California before ending the junior varsity level and four varsity teams. Races. The girls maintained their top ranking St. Albans, and while they led briefl y early season back east at Road Atlanta. They are Willow Devoe-Talluto and Lila Carelton won over Burlington, Essex and South Burlington. in the game with a single touchdown, they point leaders after fi nishing second in their the JV title with Fiona Love and Julia Hiller Both freshmen/sophomore girls and junior/ failed to get the ball again over the Bobwhite three prior races, followed by this win at placing fourth. senior girls placed fi ve runners among the top goal line, even though they ended drives Biscuitville. within BFA’s fi ve-yard line twice in the fi rst Alice Larson and Ella Whitman took fi rst ten individual fi nishers. half. Leading by one point at halftime, BFA Golf tees up for win place among varsity runners, with Chloe The CVU men placed second behind piled up two more in the second half while Cedar Knoll Course was the site of the CVU Andre and Jennifer Ireland close behind South Burlington with Redhawk individuals using a strong defense to hold CVU scoreless golf team’s fi rst win of the season over South in second; Cate Noel and Emily Kingston fi nishing third, fi fth and eighth. for the remainder of the game, beating the Burlington by eight strokes and Mount fi nished sixth, followed by Sadie Holmes and The Essex Invitational brought out runners Redhawks 34-7. However, CVU quarterback Mansfi eld by nine. Redhawk Ben Grambling Emma Strack in seventh. from fi fteen schools on September 2. Again, Graham Walker passed for 96 yards, hitting shot a medalist 43 for nine holes, followed Coach Scott Bliss said it was a good the CVU women placed fi rst with Alice his receivers eight times on eighteen throws. closely by Evan Forrest, Andrew Wilkinson and Hank Caswell. start among relay runners. The course was Larson, Ella Whitman and Jennie Ireland He also ran for 81 yards on sixteen carries. challenging, and they responded well to it, among the top ten individual fi nishers. Jared CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

The Bucs kick off football season

football at the high school level,” Boff a said.

“The Bucs are what community youth sports Chris Boff a is the president of the CSSU are all about.”

The Bucs, as everyone calls them, are an (now CVSD) Buccaneers this year after coaching for eight years. Both of his sons all-volunteer-run, nonprofi t organization went through the program and are now on that off ers second through eighth graders the CVU Redhawk team. “They got so the opportunity to learn and play football. much out of the program, along with their No experience is necessary, and they teammates, becoming well prepared to enjoy outfi t each and every player with the latest

Staff report

safety certifi ed equipment, Boff a said. The organization does not receive any funding from the CVSD district towns (Charlotte, Hinesburg, Shelburne, Williston and St George) and is a part of the Northern Vermont Youth Football League.

“Safety is the number one focus of our program, along with a positive learning environment for the kids,” Boff a said. “We want the kids, both boys and girls, to get excited about playing this sport that so many of us in the program love. We feel it is the greatest team sport and teaches the kids so much about life.”

He added, “We are very fortunate to have the support of CVU head coach Michael Williams, who has given us countless hours of time in helping our coaches teach his football off ense and defensive schemes, inviting our players to his summer workouts and hosting the winter fl ag football at the

high school for our kids.”

Boff a wants to make sure that everyone knows the Buccaneers organization understands the concerns of injury and, of course, concussions. “We hope families who are trying to decide on having their children play reach out to us to get an understanding of how the game is so much safer,” he said.

“The ways it is coached and played and the equipment are signifi cantly advanced from years ago. Our coaches are all certifi ed by USA Football.”

This includes the proper heads-up techniques of blocking and tackling that have proven to be dramatically safer, he said.

“We are so proud of our Buccaneers and are excited to start the season at our Palmer Field in Hinesburg. Special thanks goes out to Tinker Palmer and his family for allowing us to use their fi eld each season to run our program.”

Anderson McEnaney, of Charlotte, at a scrimmage at the Milton jamboree on Aug. 26.

Photo by Pam Niarchos

The Charlotte News • September 6, 2017 • 15

Sports Charlotte Covered Bridge 5K, 10K and Half Marathon treated to running through the Covered Bridge at Charlotte Beach, hence the race name: Charlotte Covered Bridge Half Marathon. The event is closed for registration capping out at 400 registered participants.

From Shelburne Beach, all runners travel up the hill on Beach Road, take a right onto Bostwick Road, then to Orchard Road. Racers will be on

Staff report Racevermont.com will host the Charlotte Covered Bridge 5K, 10K and Half Marathon at 8 a.m. at Shelburne Beach on Saturday, Sept. 9. All racers will be treated to the beautiful views of Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains of New York at Shelburne Beach. The half marathoners will also be

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CHARLOTTE COVERED BRIDGE 5K10K HALF MARATHON

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Bostwick, Orchard and Lake roads from 8 a.m. through 11 a.m. Many thanks to the Shelburne police for keeping racers safe and to the towns of Shelburne and Charlotte for their event approval.

The following are course descriptions for each distance: 5K runners: Runners turn around at Water Station #1 (mile 1.55) on Orchard Road and head back to Shelburne Beach.

10K runners: Runners continue by Water Station #1, take a right on to Lake Road, then turn around at Water Station #2 (mile 3.1) at Charlotte Beach and head back to Shelburne Beach.

Half marathoners: Runners travel by Water Stations #1 and #2, then through the Charlotte Covered Bridge, then turn around at Water Station #3 (mile 6.55) and back to Shelburne Beach.

RaceVermont.com will donate $1 per racer to the Charlotte Recreation Department and would like to thank the following sponsors for providing snacks and refreshments for our racers: Brueggar’s Bagels of Shelburne, Shelburne Market, Kinney Drug, and Vermont Smoke and Cure, as well as Rise ‘n Shine, which will be a chocolate milk vendor.

Awards will be handed out postrace and are provided by the following sponsors: RaceVermont.com (pint glass), Vermont Teddy Bear (teddy bear), Shelburne Vineyards (wine), Tifosi (glasses), Balega (socks), Saucony (shoes), and raffl e prizes from Fleet Feet.

Thank you to everyone involved!

The tentative race day timeline: 6:45–7:45 a.m. Race Day packet pick up 7:50 a.m. Race director announcements

8 a.m. Start of Half Marathon, 5K & 10K 8:18 a.m. Approx. 5K fi nisher 8:38 a.m. Approx. 10K fi nisher 8:30 a.m. Food and refreshments off ered 9:35a.m. Approx. Half marathon fi nisher 9:50 a.m. 5K and 10K awards ceremony 11 a.m. Last fi nisher. Race course closed after three hours 11:20 a.m. Half Marathon award ceremony Water Station volunteers are needed from 8 to 11 a.m. Volunteers will receive post-race refreshments, a volunteer shirt and a free entry in a Racevermont.com event of equal value within a year. Please call Rayne at (802) 316-7142 or email rayne@racevermont.com with questions, comments or to volunteer.

RaceVermont.com will host the Charlotte Covered Bridge 5K, 10K and Half Marathon at 8 a.m. at Shelburne Beach on Saturday, Sept. 9.

The event is closed for registration, capping out at 400 registered participants. Please call Rayne at (802) 3167142 or email rayne@ RaceVermont.com with questions, comments or to volunteer

16 • September 6, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Sports

Business

12th annual Kelly Brush Ride to support adaptive sports, ski-racing safety

Business of the week: Aurora Farm and Nitty Gritty Grain Co.

Staff report The 12th Annual Kelly Brush Ride, powered by VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations, is ready to roll on Saturday, Sept. 9, in Middlebury, bringing riders on the 85-mile and 100-mile routes through Charlotte.

The bicycle and handcycle ride supports the Kelly Brush Foundation’s mission to empower those with paralysis through sport and recreation and to prevent ski racing injuries.

“We have routes for riders of all abilities with beautiful views of Lake Champlain, the Adirondacks and Green Mountains.

It’s not too late to join us in our biggest fundraiser of the year and help make it possible for the Kelly Brush Foundation to further its mission to improve the quality of life for those with paralysis and to work with the ski racing community to make racing safer,” said Kelly Brush Foundation Executive Director Zeke Davisson.

Riders on the 100-mile and 85-mile routes will ride through Charlotte, fi rst headed north on Mount Philo Road where 100-mile riders will turn east on Hinesburg Road and 85-mile riders will head west on Hinesburg Road crossing U.S. Route 7 onto Ferry Road and turning south on Greenbush Road. Riders on the 100-mile route will head to Shelburne on Spear Street and come back into Charlotte on Greenbush Road turning west on Lake Street, east on Ferry Road and south on Greenbush Road headed back to Middlebury. A total of about 500 riders are expected to complete the 100-mile or 85-mile loops.

The ride, Vermont’s largest charity ride, draws more than 700 riders and several dozen hand cyclists from across the country and Canada. Last year’s ride raised more than $450,000.

Courtesy photo Funds raised from the event have contributed to the purchase of more than 475 pieces of adaptive sports equipment, such as handcycles, sport wheelchairs and monoskis to enrich the lives of those with paralysis. In addition, the foundation has supported ski clubs and race organizations in eff orts to improve ski racing safety, helping protect thousands of racers around the country with safety netting, trail widening projects and awareness campaigns.

VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations, the event’s title sponsor, continues to enthusiastically support the event and the foundation’s mission.

“This year will be our sixth as title sponsor of the Kelly Brush Ride. We are honored to be a part of the tradition that this ride has become and to be a part of an event that makes a positive diff erence in the lives of so many through sport and recreation,” said Timo Shaw, president of VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations.

The ride off ers rolling terrain through the Champlain Valley over several distance options from 20 to 100 miles.

Riders and teams of riders compete to raise the most money with prizes for reaching fundraising goals. The ride ends with a well-earned and festive barbecue.

Tom Kenyon on Aurora Farm in Charlotte.

Courtesy photo

mixes and fl ours. Their products are distributed to hospitals, schools and Corn crops are not looking all that restaurants in New York City and all promising on Aurora Farm right about over New England. Locally, Nitty now. “Unless September is hotter than Gritty Grains can be purchased at Hades, our harvest will be down,” Healthy Living, Middlebury Co-op and more. Its grain is also used by the Red farmer Catherine Kenyon said.

Her brother Tom Kenyon lives on Hen Baking Company in its artisanal Monkton farmland owned by their bread.

“Seven generations of the Barnum family for generations. While that land is not farmed any longer, Aurora family have farmed fi elds in and around the Champlain Farm across the way Valley. From an in Charlotte is the ancestor who perfect home for this fought and died generation’s newest at the Siege of endeavor of organic the Shelburne grain and corn crops.

Blockhouse to Tom Kenyon, 62, protect hearth and owns Aurora Farm home in the 1770s and Nitty Gritty to the grandparents Grain Co. on Lake with the top-notch Road in Charlotte. “I crops in Addison am incredibly proud of him,” Catherine said of her brother. County in the early 1930s, today’s Kenyon, his “What he does farming is not easy, descendants—Tom children, siblings, and friends—carry particularly organic.”

Nitty Gritty minimally processes on the Vermont farming tradition,” locally grown grains and blends them according to their website.

For more information visit in small batches to preserve fresh fl avor and nutrition of cornmeal, cornmeal nittygrittygrain.com.

Staff report

The

Charlotte News SEND US YOUR SPORTS PHOTOS!

Are you proud of your little sluggers and want to see your children featured in the newspaper?

Send your sports photos to Lynn@TheCharlotteNews.org

We would love to publish them!

The Charlotte News • September 6, 2017 • 17

Arts Milk & Honey Quilters’ Guild prepares for show and language, and the children gain selfconfi dence in reading. Lynn Blagden, who is organizing the fundraiser said, “For every quilt show, the guild chooses The holidays are still several months a diff erent local nonprofi t organization to away but members of the Milk and help; community giving is a wonderful Honey Quilters’ Guild are busily making part of being in the guild.” ornaments and gift cardholders to sell at The quilt show, titled “Quilting in their bi-annual quilt show to be held on the Land of Milk and Honey” will have Oct. 7 and 8. The money raised through many quilts made by guild members or the sale will benefi t Everybody Wins! anyone who submitted an entry into the Vermont, a literary-based mentoring non-juried show. The special exhibitions program for elementary school aged at this year’s show will feature quilts children. The nonprofi t organization made by two members of the guild: matches adult volunteers with children Rachel Eldredge and Phyllis Bowdish. at their local elementary school; the pairs In addition, there will be an exhibition meet weekly as part of the organization’s of Quilts of Valor® made for active-duty Power Lunch program. The mentoring service members and veterans. Projects relationship fosters a love of reading made by local children ages eight to 16

Barbara Rathburn

MILK & HONEY QUILTERS’ GUILD

will also be on view for the fi rst time at this year’s show.

“Between looking at the quilts, taking a chance on a raffl e basket, checking out the latest fabrics and sewing tools at the vendor booths, purchasing items made by guild members at the consignment booth, and shopping for ornaments, there is plenty to do at the show,” said Sandra Bonomo, show co-chair. The show also includes a raffl e quilt of a contemporary star block made from batik fabrics in vibrant colors. The quilt was designed by guild members Emmy Alford and Janice Gould by modifying a pattern

they both admired; several members of the guild helped to sew it together, and it was quilted by Andre Emmel.

“Quilting in the Land of Milk and Honey” takes place on Saturday, Oct. 7, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 8, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Middlebury Recreation Facility, 154 Creek Road, in Middlebury. Tickets are $5 and will be available at the door. Lunch will also be available for purchase.

For more information, visit the Milk & Honey Quilters’ Guild website at milkandhoneyquilters.com.

All that jazz on the green

Catherine Bock, the concert organizer, plays a few Mozart duets with her daughter Elsa Nilsson. Nilsson, an international recording jazz flutist, was there with her husband, Cody Rahn, to play Brazilian jazz at Champlain Valley Cohousing in Charlotte on Sept. 2. The concert was free. The next concert is Sept. 23 with guitarist and harmonica player Paul Sprawl. Photo by Bob Dill

The

Charlotte News

60

IT’S OUR JUBILEE YEAR!

th

Thank you for 60 years of support! Please send your story ideas and photos to:

Lynn@TheCharlotteNews.org

Send donations to: The Friends of the Charlotte News PO Box 211 Charlotte, VT 05445 Contributions are fully tax deductible and we welcome donations in any amount. Please do your part to ensure that we can continue to remain The Voice of the Town, as we have been since 1958.

Milk and Honey Quilters’ Guild members Lynn Blagden and Priscilla Leng show off some of the handmade ornaments the guild will sell this October as a fundraiser for Courtesy photo Everybody Wins! Vermont.

18 • September 6, 2017 • The Charlotte News

DRAFT HORSES

continued from page 1 proud of them, and this weekend these three are doing all of the work involved, which means washing the wagon, getting the horses all ready, braiding and harnessing and all of that,” she said. “It’s a testament to the skills of these three because their parents had another commitment for the weekend.”

Lang said, “It’s a real honor for our parents to trust us to do all of this. We are representing our farm here.”

For more information visit greenmountaindraft.org.

Siblings Kyle and Emily Lang of Mountain’s Edge Farm in Hinesburg compete in Draft Horse Show ring manager Karen Myers of Ferrisburgh and show superintendent Rose-Ann the Draft Horse Show at the Champlain Valley Fair on Aug. 27.

Photos by Lynn Monty Lombard of Charlotte laugh with Draft Horse Show judge Hugh Meehan of Carp, Ontario, before the show.

HOPS

continued from page 1 is a certifi ed applicator of pesticides and fungicides.

But residents say the farm has been poorly planned and stands to threaten their quality of life. They put together their own presentation, citing reports and studies about chemical sprays drifting on the wind and the harm certain chemicals can do to aquifers, ground water, insect life—particularly bees—and most importantly to their families.

Aside from proper application, Briggs and Post plan to introduce other measures to ensure neighbors’ safety, including planting trees to act as drifting buff ers. One neighbor, Susanna Kahn, was dissatisfi ed that the trees would not immediately match the 18-foot height of the hops poles. When Post said, “I don’t think I can aff ord to buy 18-foot trees,” Kahn shot back, “I don’t think I can aff ord to be sprayed on.”

After neighbors complained that a

Julian Post and Peter Briggs of Mt. Philo Hops greet Lane Morrison and Dean Bloch at a Selectboard site visit at the farm in Charlotte on Aug. 28. strong south wind would blow pesticides onto the organic farm and houses next door to the hops farm, Nick Cowles, the owner of Shelburne Orchard, said spraying is a regular part of his business and that a responsible and trained farmer, like Post, is savvy enough to keep drift away from neighbors. “I am able to control sprays, and the changing wind is a friend,” Cowles said.

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out that a hops farm requires far less spraying than an orchard. “We fi ght fewer pests at hops farms than they do at apple orchards.”

The sentiments were hardly comforting to attendants. Derek Chace, who lives with his wife and daughter in a property abutting the farm, came to the Selectboard meeting with his infant daughter. He wanted to know if the town had a plan for when his well dries up, his property value plummets and his daughter has cancer or special education needs as a result of long-term exposure to chemicals. “Who will pay?” he asked. “Electra and I are guinea pigs.”

Peter Demick, who owns a neighboring farm, was concerned about the holding ponds that were dug on the hops farm.

Demick said he was told the ponds would be 25 feet from his property, but once dug were only 9 feet, and that proximity would mean any overfl ow—and any

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Hop farmer Julian Post brought hops to the site visit of the Mt. Philo Hops farm in Charlotte on Aug. 28. No hops have been planted on the site. The hop in this photo is from another local farm.

Photos by Lynn Monty fungicide contaminants—would spill onto his property. “Keep your water off my land,” Demick told Briggs and Post.

“It’s an ill-designed pond with improper drainage.”

Not everyone was there in opposition.

A number of individuals came to speak in favor of the hops farm—though they often had to weather interruptions and outbursts to make their points. One young woman, a representative of the Vermont Young Farmers Association called for the townspeople to have a “more stable perspective” and said, “I implore you to listen to the experts.”

Stephen Kiernan expressed dismay, saying Briggs and Post have been vilifi ed by everyone. He took the townspeople to task for their treatment of the hops farmers. “As I watch how people have behaved, I know who I would want living

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The Charlotte News • September 6, 2017 • 19

Real Estate Tips on dealing with unexpected delays when purchasing a home Unexpected issues sometimes tend to rear their ugly head during real estate transactions. When that first offer is Heather Morse signed and the property is under CONTRIBUTOR contract, it can be a very exciting moment. Buyers might be thinking, “Yes, we have bought our dream home!” For sellers it might be, “Our house is sold!” But there are multiple situations that can delay or cancel a contract. Here is a heads up on some of these impeding issues and how to handle them.

The signed offer will most likely include contingencies, such as inspections, appraisal and financing. These contingencies must be met on time and signed off before closing.

Inspections are typically the first hurdle to cross. The buyers will most likely bring in their own inspector and might ask the seller to have some parts of the home inspected. The offer will include what components of the home the buyers are allowed to inspect. Major components such as septic, heating, plumbing, electrical and roof are very important and are typically the ones that cause the biggest concern. Once the buyers have all of the inspection results back they can cancel the contract, ask for money back at closing, ask for money off the purchase price or ask the seller to correct any concerns. The seller and buyer might counter back and forth until they can reach an agreement. This agreement might be to cancel the contract. If this happens and the buyer responded to the inspection deadline on time they get their deposit back. If the contract is canceled

the home goes back on the market and the buyers continue their search.

On the other hand if the buyer and seller are able to come to terms post inspection the contract will move forward. If the home requires financing an appraiser will be hired through the bank to appraise the property and confirm that the buyers are not paying above market value for the home. If the appraiser determines that the offer amount on the home is at or above value, the sale can move forward. If it comes in below value negotiations begin again. Depending on the loan type the buyers can make up the difference in price, they can have the seller reduce the price to the appraised value, or they can back out of the contract.

Lastly, the buyers will need to be able to finance the home for the agreed price. Different problems other than the appraisal can arise when trying to

get a loan. Buyers need to have adequate funds, credit score and debit-to-income ratio. Lenders track your bank accounts, paychecks and monthly payments looking for anything that seems off and to ensure you can afford the mortgage payment. It doesn’t matter how much money someone makes, if they have too much debt or too low of a credit score they will not be able to get a loan.

I remind my clients that each step brings them a little closer to completion, but until the deed is signed nothing is final.

Other unexpected events, such as title issues, can arise unexpectedly. Getting a signed contract is very exciting, but please keep in mind you have a few more steps to complete.

Heather Morse of Charlotte is a Greentree Real Estate agent. For more information email heather@ vermontgreentree.com.

reconstructed, there is plenty of historic evidence at this strategic site.

see OUT DOORS page 23

Out Doors: Walks from I to L

Mount Independence, Orwell A recent Vermont Public Radio commentary about Mount Independence by former Vermont Life editor Tom Slayton spoke to both the beauty and strategic importance of the Mount during the Revolutionary War. This fascinating venue for a walk is about an hour’s drive from Charlotte.

Mt. Independence rises gently from surrounding farm fields. The peninsula offered the Americans natural fortifications: cliffs, the lake and a marshy creek to the east. The Mount has a commanding view

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How about a back-to-school resolution?

To take at least one walk in a beautiful place with no ear buds, phone or schedule?

I’m enjoying the research for an alphabet of local walks—it’s too easy to return to the same haunts and to forget some of the beautiful and interesting places around us.

to the north, the feared invasion route of British troops. By the fall of 1776, camps, batteries and a fort accommodated 12,000 American troops and their families— nearly as large as the city of Boston at the time. When British General Guy Carleton considered an assault on the position he abandoned the idea and retreated to Canada.

This allowed the Americans precious time to prepare for battles the following year at Hubbardton, Bennington and Saratoga, where the American victory was decisive.

Today trees cover most of the peninsula, yet archeologists continue to uncover evidence of the past, from the foundations of officers’ quarters and a hospital to remnants of domestic life: fishing hooks, pots and bowls, hoes and axes, belt buckles and buttons, many of which are displayed at the Visitor Center.

More than six miles of walking trails with interpretive signs connect the various archeological discoveries and allow a circumnavigation of the peninsula. While the Mount will neither be excavated nor

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CONTRIBUTOR

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Elizabeth Bassett

20 • September 6, 2017 • The Charlotte News

White-nose syndrome causes the loss of millions of bats in the Northeast Meg Berlin CONTRIBUTOR

At an evening about bats at Shelburne Farms I was surprised to fi nd so many people. There were at least 25 gathered in the dark, warm library at the inn to watch a slide show given by Barry and Maureen Genzlinger, the husband and wife team who operate Vermont Bat Rescue Center in Milton. They gave us quite the show, with Barry doling out fascinating bat details while showing beautiful shots of a vast variety of bats from all over the world.

Among the facts we absorbed were the many types of bats there are in the world, including 700 diff erent kinds of insecteating bats, 250 kinds of “frugivores” that are dependent on fruit, 50 nectar-eating, seven carnivorous, fi ve fi sh-eating (they swoop down on the rippled surface of a body of water where fi sh have risen to eat bugs and snatch their prey beneath the surface) and fi nally, three blood-eating bats. The old myth about blood-sucking bats and their supposedly vampirish tendencies is simply not true. The story of their parasitic behavior involves licking the skin of a chicken leg or cow’s wound until they can gently, surreptitiously lap blood from their victims who will never know of their blood loss. There will be no dual bite marks on necks.

But I was really there to hear about Vermont bats. All nine Vermont species are insectivores—and most of them are either threatened or endangered. Only one, the big brown bat, has healthy populations,

and only one, the Indiana bat, is listed as federally endangered. Most of us who pay attention to the current state of bats have heard about white-nose syndrome and may also know that bats are vulnerable to this through their winter dwelling habitat, caves. According to Vermont Fish and Wildlife, “White-nose Syndrome (WNS) has resulted in the loss of more than 5.7 million bats in the northeastern United States since 2006. This disease has aff ected all six of Vermont’s cave bat species (bats that hibernate in caves and mines in the winter months). WNS is associated with a newly identifi ed fungus that invades the skin and damages the tissue in hibernating bats.”

The fungus was fi rst noted in a cave in Albany, N.Y., and spread quickly and widely through nearly all of the Northeast to as far south as Mississippi and east along the continental divide up into the eastern provinces of Canada. The spelunker who discovered WNS noticed a fuzz on bats’ noses and reported it.

From there the fungus spread like wildfi re to other states and caves. The bats itch from the fungus while in hibernation, waking often to scratch at themselves.

The frequent waking and chafi ng at their small bodies exhausts them—and more important, they lose crucial body fat they need to hold them over through the winter months. Typically the level of fat on their tiny bodies lets them know when it’s time to awaken in the spring, but with the fungus they lose their orientation and come out of the caves long before their hibernation period would come to a close.

Photo courtsey of Vermont Bat Rescue Center Upon leaving the caves they freeze in the colder temperatures. The Dorset cave here in Vermont used to host around 250,000 bats in a winter, but that number dropped precipitously to 2,000 when WNS hit.

After the slide show and talk our group wandered out into the cooling evening and headed over to the large bat house near the shore of the inn. We listened some more to Barry, waiting for that perfect but mysterious moment when the bats would know to emerge. Suddenly one fl ew out, then another. We waited a bit more and then smallish groups slipped out and fl ew off into the night in search fi rst for water and then, after their drink, to eat around 1,000 bugs per hour until dawn when they return to their cozy and very warm home.

That’s a lot of mosquitos per night. If one

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considers that bats can live to be 12 to 15 years old, that’s even more mosquitoes than I want to calculate.

Here are some helpful tips about injured or orphaned bats. If you should encounter one that has managed to make its way into your home call 1-800-4rabies.

This is particularly important if someone has been sleeping in a room where the bat has fl own. Do not release that bat because you’ll want to be sure that Vermont Fish and Wildlife can test it for rabies.

This is extremely important. For more information about bat rescue, check out vermontbatcenter.org where you can get help with an orphaned or injured bat.

***

The Charlotte News • September 6, 2017 • 21

Puzzle Across 1. Habit 5. Ne plus ___ 10. Vitreous substance 14. After-lunch sandwich 15. Sweet rice wine 16. Narrow street 17. Let-downs 20. Didn’t straphang 21. Come-ons 22. Dostoyevsky novel, with “The” 23. Fish-fowl connection 24. ___ weight 26. 2005 Best Picture nominee 29. Blowhard 34. Available 35. Homegrown artifact 38. Martinets 41. Finnic people 42. ___ frog

Taking Care

43. Geometric figures: var.

44. African grazing areas 46. Many an office has one 49. Grp. involved in “the Troubles” 50. Adjust 54. Handles 56. Garden worker?

59. Decays 62. Steep 63. Stock 64. Cut short 65. Positive 66. Chances upon 67. Countercurrent Down 1. Hephaestus and Demeter 2. Part of a score, maybe

SOLUTIONS ON PAGE 23

3. Lie 4. Stole 5. Jocko Conlan, for one 6. Rear half of a griffin 7. Prosecuted 8. Flush 9. Antenna holder 10. Split 11. Punjabi royal 12. Digging, so to speak 13. Feeler 18. Paranoiac’s worry 19. Above ground level 23. Sarge, e.g.

25. Old Mogul capital 26. Computer programmer 27. Unoriginal 28. Marinara alternative 30. Old World plant 31. Bleated 32. City in Scotland 33. Short pants

35. ___ maison: Fr. 36. Time div.

37. Starfleet Academy grad.

39. Natural 40. Home to the Palazzo Gambacorti 44. Some organs 45. While lead-in 47. In ___ parts 48. It’s located on Lake George 50. Annexes 51. In ___ of 52. Bygone despot 53. De Valera’s land 55. Social group 56. Fearless 57. Children’s author Blyton 58. Glimpse 60. Tease wool 61. Bump off

Jump into unknown adventures

surrounded by fi ve vivacious siblings yet feeling totally lonely and confused. Our beloved English bulldog, Duke, was my favorite comfort. I would sit on the oak steps to the second fl oor and throw my arms around his wrinkled neck, crying Alice D. Outwater, PhD. and crying until his fur was damp from CONTRIBUTOR my sad tears. His big brown eyes looked at me with sympathy. He was the only Sometimes I feel as if I’ve become one who understood. This lonely stage two people: half feels beyond elderly, eventually passed. and the other is youthful, self-assured All through life desolation can and full of energy. There’s nothing I loom; some people are more prone to can’t accomplish. For six glorious hours it than others. Being widowed, John yesterday my former vitality nearly is no longer by my side; unexpected swept me off my feet. My body was events or complicated choices can be tingling with nary an ache, and my mind overwhelming. Everything takes longer brimmed with new ideas. How could I to fi gure out. I have various trusted hold onto this superb shift? The aging people: fi nancial, medical, friends and process is unpredictable. When I’m my children. I can run things by them overtired, my spirit shuts down and feels before making important decisions. They depleted; it’s cranky and isn’t about to are dependable and care about me. be pushed around. I stretch out on my New research shows that extended window seat until it rejuvenates, then get loneliness can aff ect your health. up and continue with my day. Sometimes Often those living in communities or it takes half an hour or even several with others, deal with less loneliness. hours.

Continued deep isolation can drag any of Lonesomeness is a condition with us into a dark hole and it may be diffi cult which all ages deal, in one way or to climb out. another. I remember as a 10-year-old Depression on the other hand is

a medical condition and may need professional help, medication or counseling. Sometimes it has a genetic component.

Examine your beliefs and values. Line them up and adhere to them in your daily life. Prayer or belief in a higher being can add an anchor. I spot friends thriving as they adapt to change and create a new life for themselves. They may even be surprised by their own resiliency.

Gather your powers to create a safe climate around you. The human spirit has a basic need to be around others and to share.

We are drawn to participate in something larger than ourselves. So, socialize, laugh, place yourself in a wider spectrum. Sometimes I watch with wonder how bravely others are managing challenges such as a sick spouse. Life hands us unpleasant tasks with which we must cope.

Be grateful for the impulse to keep going, be sure you share your life, and don’t forget to fi nd some humor and lightness along the path. This can be a

potent addition to any situation and will keep rippling on, and on, even increase.

If you search carefully, choices emerge, even in bleak times.

You may fi nd a new niche popping into your vista. Give it a try, because it may off er gems you hadn’t noticed before.

Nothing like enriching yourself and embracing others with your generosity to elevate your vigor. Sprinkle in your unique grace and style. Can you imagine a more powerful mix? Your footprints might even lift others.

I fret at not having enough energy and then reexamine the many pleasures that come my way. Sometimes it’s luck, other times I almost trip over them. On my evening stroll I watched the clouds pass by and felt as if I could jump into unknown adventures. By the time I fi nished fantasizing I had enough material for a children’s book.

I realize it’s downright ridiculous I can enjoy the small things in life so much. Be alert to untapped amusement!

***

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22 • September 6, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Senior Center News

titled Capturing Radiant Color and Light in Your Art. The class will run Thursday and Friday afternoons from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sept. 28 and 29, Oct. 5, 6, 12, and 13. Capture the brilliant colors of autumn in Vermont with highly acclaimed landscape artist stamina, fl exibility and postural stability so Angela Manno. Angela’s teaching method Mary Recchia you’re getting your workout. Registration stems from the French Impressionists and PROGRAM DIRECTOR necessary. Fee: $60 per session. will enliven your art no matter what your level of experience. Students will learn A very big thank you to all who helped On Wednesday morning, Sept. 12, we con- the secret to working outdoors in changwith the BBQ Celebrating Summer on Autinue our Birding Expeditions with Hank ing light, how to simplify complex shapes gust 25!

Kaestner. Please meet at the Center by 9 into basic masses and establish the all-imPlease look for the fall schedule of proa.m. so we can carpool together to the lo- portant Light Key that allows a painting to grams and activities as an insert in this issue cation Hank has scouted for spectacular really “sing.” Beginners through advanced of The Charlotte News. bird watching. Good views are guaranteed students are welcome. Beginners will work through Hank’s “Oh my God” telescope. in soft pastel. All mediums are welcome.

Join Liesje Smith for a new class this fall, Register for this event; if we have to change Please pick up a materials list prior to the Moving Better, Living Better Through the date due to bird migration or weather, fi rst class. Registration required. Fee: $150.

Dance, on Friday mornings from 9:30– we will call you. Registration necessary. No 10:30 beginning Sept. 8. For generations, fee.

The fi rst Fall Hike in the Champlain Valdance was held in the center of social gathley with Marty Morrissey will be on Tueserings of all kinds. Dance provided the opJoin Lynn Cummings for More Fall Fun— day, Sept. 19 with a destination of Little portunity to develop incredibly valuable Watercolor Part I on Tuesday mornings River State Park, Waterbury. This hike starts skills, such as sequencing movement, being from 9 to noon. Dates: Sept. 19, 26, Oct. on the Stevenson Brook trail and climbs 2.5 precise in expressivity and rhythm, and en3, 10, 17 and 24. Students of all levels will miles through lovely old conifers and along gaging socially through movement. All of enjoy working on new projects in this six- the brook, over two bridges. We will then these qualities are critically important in week watercolor class. You’ll see examples descend on the Dailey loop back to the sharpening neuro-pathways of the brain that and demos of the morning’s project, engage campground. Total distance is approximateenhance our quality of life, no matter what in discussion, then work on your own paint- ly four miles. Please bring water, food and our age. These learning challenges, when ing. We’ll engage in supportive feedback good hiking or walking shoes for a 9 a.m. taught in a group with good music, can be and critique, learning from one another in a departure from the Center. Registration necirresistible! Smith, a dancer, performer and fun and supportive atmosphere. Be sure to essary. No fee. certifi ed Rolfer, is an inspiring and experileave your email address when you register enced teacher who brings an opportunity for so the instructor can send you the supply Our collection of lectures, performances you to develop the above skills in a fun and list. Registration necessary. Fee: $168. and special events showcasing the diverse inspiring atmosphere. And these classes still interests of our community resumes for the provide all the good things other movement Angela Manno, internationally acclaimed fall on Wednesday, Sept. 6, beginning at 1 classes off er, such as building strength, artist, returns for An Artist’s Plein Air Series p.m.

The

Charlotte News INTERNS NEEDED: If you are interested in writing and photography and would like to apply for a paid internship here at The Charlotte News please email Lynn@TheCharlotteNews.org

Sept. 6. Enjoy an afternoon showing of a contemporary dance performance titled “Imagine,” created by celebrated local dancers and choreographers, including Sara McMahon and Movement for Parkinson’s Dancers; Hanna Satterlee, director of Vermont Dance Alliance; Laurael Jenkins, Middlebury dance professor; and Liesje Smith, choreographer and Rolfer.

Sept. 13. Join Dan Bean for “Orphan Train Riders.” On November 11, 1905 a train arrived late in the afternoon at the station in Enosburg Falls, Vermont. Among the passengers disembarking were eight children accompanied by their supervisors. Within a short time all the children had been handed over to local couples and left with them for an unknown future. Who were these chil-

Steve Baietti preparing the coleslaw for the Annual BBQ at the Senior Center in Charlotte.

Courtesy photo dren? Where did they come from? What happened to them? Dan will address these questions and other aspects of the phenomenon of the Orphan Train Riders.

For more information please call (802) 425-6345, visit charlottevt.org, stop in at 212 Ferry Road or write us at P.O. Box 207, Charlotte, VT 05445.

Monday Menus

(11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

No reservations required) Sept. 11 Israeli couscous salad Watermelon salad Lemon cake with icing Sept. 18 Shepherd’s pie Corn and tomato salad Applesauce bread pudding

Wednesday Menus

(Noon to 1 p.m.

Reservations required, call the Senior Center 425-6345) Sept. 6 BLTs, Birthday cake and ice cream Sept. 13 Oven fried chicken with peas Homemade dessert

Katie Manges

The Charlotte News • September 6, 2017 • 23

OUT DOORS

continued from page 19 Two Johnsons and a Jackson, Middlebury and Hinesburg There aren’t many “J” nature walks in this part of Vermont, but two Johnsons and a Jackson do figure on local maps.

Johnson and Jackson Trails are segments of Middlebury’s 16-mile TAM, Trail Around Middlebury. The Middlebury Area Land Trust manages the footpath that encircles the town as it crosses a variety of landscapes on public and private land. Jackson Trail, at 1.9 miles, includes a cow pasture and meadow; Johnson Trail, 0.8 miles, is an easy walk that passes both a wetland and pond. If you are not inclined to walk the entire 16-mile loop, consider staging a vehicle and walking point-to-point on the TAM. Closer to home, but without marked trails, the Fred Johnson Wildlife Management Area in Hinesburg encompasses 1,172 forested acres in Hinesburg. It’s a great place to snowshoe as well as ramble.

Kingsland Bay State Park, Ferrisburgh Not many of Lake Champlain’s 587 miles of shoreline are publicly accessible. Kingsland Bay’s 264 acres afford visitors plenty of lakeshore and include sloping lawns, a swimming dock, picnic tables and a launch site for small watercraft.

Less well known is the 0.6-mile nature trail that winds above the shoreline of MacDonough Point.

Hemlocks stretch overhead, and tortured northern white cedars cling to the limestone shore. In the spring thousands of white trillium carpet the woods. Views open to Kingsland Bay and the lake.

LaPlatte River Marsh, Shelburne Just across the Bay Road from the busy waters of Shelburne Bay, there is a quiet place, far from the madding crowd. The Vermont Chapter of the Nature Conservancy manages a 245-acre preserve surrounding the confluence of McCabes Brook and the LaPlatte River. This rich habitat of river delta, swamp, marsh, lake and forest is home to scores of species of birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish.

Bobcat den nearby. A quiet walk of about one mile follows the shore of McCabes Brook. Eagles may fly overhead, turtles sun themselves on logs; great blue herons and families of ducks are frequent visitors.

Watch this space for a continuation of alphabetical walks in northwest Vermont.

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Community Events Boot camp: Boot Camp is back. After a month off, everyone should be ready to get their booties to Kristin Hartley’s boot camp at CCS. This early-morning wakeup call is fun and will leave you energized and smiling. For more information email Kristin at kristinmhartley@gmail.com.

Farm film: A film screening of Portrait of Wendell Berry will be shown at 6:30 p.m. at Shelburne Farms on Sept. 6.

Filmed across four seasons in the farming cycle, this film blends observational scenes of farming life, interviews with farmers and community members with evocative, carefully framed shots of the surrounding landscape. Wendell Berry, writer, poet, teacher, farmer and outspoken citizen of an endangered world, gives a compelling vision of the good and true life.

Road race: Racevermont.com will host the Charlotte Covered Bridge 5K, 10K and Half Marathon at 8 a.m. at Shelburne Beach on Saturday, Sept. 9. The event is closed for registration, capping out at 400 registered participants. Please call Rayne at (802) 316-7142 or email rayne@racevermont.com with questions, comments or to volunteer.

Garden tour: The Shelburne Charlotte Garden Club will meet at 11 a.m. at the Shelburne Vineyard at 6308 Shelburne Road in Shelburne on Tuesday, Sept.

12. All are welcome to join in on a tour.

Following the tour, anyone who wishes may stay for an optional wine tasting at $8 per person. For more information please call Ann Mead at 985-2657.

War talk: Join David Ryan who will share information about the economic importance of 18th century Charleston, South Carolina, and highlight some key players in the Revolution from Charleston, especially Thomas Heyward, Jr., the first owner of the HeywardWashington House, at 7 p.m. at the Charlotte Library on Ferry Road on Sept.

12. Heyward was one of the four signers of the Declaration of Independence from South Carolina and figured prominently in the Revolutionary War. This is a unique opportunity to hear a perspective of the Revolution that is rarely discussed. This program should be of interest to adults who wish to have a more complete picture of our Revolution, as well as

students who are studying U.S. history this fall. Co-sponsored by the Charlotte Library and the Charlotte Historical Society.

Tractor parade: The 17th Annual East Charlotte Tractor Parade will be held at Spear Street and Jackson Hill Road in East Charlotte on Oct. 8. Food vendors, a petting zoo and more will be set up by 11 a.m. and the parade will begin at 1 p.m.

Bake-off: A maple-themed bake-off is scheduled to happen at the East Charlotte Tractor Parade on Oct. 8, hosted by Spear’s Corner Store. Bakers are urged to sign up now. Visitors are the judges who will vote on their favorite baked goods from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Maple syrup (or flavor) must be an ingredient in the baked good. Please register with Emily at ejadsit@gmaill.com. Deadline is Oct. 1.

Parent and child classes: Join the parent and child classes at the Lake Champlain Waldorf School. The classes meet once a week and include circle time with songs and lap games, organic snacks and free play. These are led by early childhood expert Kirsty Gourlay. Each week she shares articles and discusses different aspects of child development and parenting. The program takes place at the All Soul’s Interfaith Gathering, off Bostwick Road in Shelburne. Early registration ends Friday; some of the classes in the fall session are already full. Please contact Pam Graham 985-2827 ext. 212 or pgraham@ lakechamplainwaldorfschool.org for more information.

Square dance: Learn modern country western square dance. The Lake Champlain Squares are having two free introductory sessions for new dancers on Tuesdays, Sept. 12 and 19, at 7:30 p.m. at the Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School, 500 Dorset St., in South Burlington. All are welcome. No partner, no special outfit, no equipment and no experience needed. Wear comfortable clothing and shoes. There will be snacks, smiles and laughter! See you there. For more information call 985-2012 or 878-2485.

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

ANSWERS TO THIS ISSUE’S PUZZLES FROM PAGE 21:

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.

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The News is look ing for wr iters, photographers and drivers to join the communit y of Char lotters. I f you’re interested in supplying news stories or photography, please email editor in chief, Lynn Monty, at lynn@ t h e c h a r l o t t e n e w s . o r g . Fo r p a p e r distribution contact Vince Crockenberg at vince.crockenberg@gmail.com.

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