Williston Observer 09/26/19

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SEPTEMBER 26, 2019

WILLISTON’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985

WILLISTONOBSERVER.COM

Library director hired

Observer photo by Jason Starr

Marge Cadran celebrates her 100th birthday Monday in Williston.

Observer photo by Jason Starr

Jane Kearns was hired Monday as director of the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library. She is expected to start Nov. 18.

College librarian to take the helm in Williston By Jason Starr Observer staff

The director of the academic library that serves Vermont Technical College and the Community College of Vermont has been hired as the next director of Williston’s Dorothy Alling Memorial Library. Jane Kearns, a resident of Charlotte, is expected to start Nov. 18, pending a background check. The Library Board of Trustees voted unanimously Monday to offer her the job. Library assistant director Debbie Roderer will continue as “acting director” — a role she stepped into after the August departure of former director Marti Fiske — until Kearns’ start date. In her cur rent role, Kear ns spends most of her time at Vermont Technical College’s main campus in Randolph. She said she wasn’t looking for a new job, but

the opportunity to apply her skills and experience in a new setting, and to have a shorter commute, was enticing. “I saw this opportunity and, knowing what great shape Marti left the library in, with a strategic plan and a great staff, I decided to pursue it,” she said. The town received 26 applicants for the position, according to Town Manager Rick McGuire. Two finalists were invited for on-site interviews last week with a panel of library patrons, trustees, town staff and selectboard chairman Terry Macaig. “Ms. Kearns has the leadership skills, experience and personal qualities that we’ve come to expect of our employees,” McGuire said. “She will be a valued addition to our management team, and I look forward to working with her.” Kearns started her stint at Ver-

mont Technical College working out of the Williston campus for four years before her promotion to the director spot in Randolph. She is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario and Rutgers University. This will be her first job in a public library. “I am looking forward to supporting the library staff and board of trustees, and exploring the many opportunities that lie ahead,” she said. Her first goal this winter will be to get to know the staff, patrons, volunteers, trustees and Friends of the Library group. She will also learn more about the library’s five-year strategic plan that was completed earlier this year under Fiske’s direction. “Everyone is excited and pleased with the choice,” said library trustee Barbara Mieder. “She is very well qualified, and she seems like a great fit for our library.” see LIBRARY page 4

Centennial celebration Friends and relatives gather for Williston resident’s 100th birthday By Jason Starr Observer staff

At Whitney Hill Homestead, an independent living home for seniors tucked against a wooded hillside at the east end of Williston Village, residents and family gathered Monday to celebrate the longevity of one of its most-tenured residents. Marge Cadran walked around the community room, individually greeting friends and relatives who had come to celebrate her 100th birthday. She was treated to cake and a rendition of “Happy Birthday” led by her great-great niece, Essex fourth-grader Piper Willis, who honored Cadran with a mini concert on the Whitney Hill piano. Cadran has lived at the homestead since she was 75 and spends a lot of her time with neighbors in the community room. She speaks with clarity, jokes wittingly and laughs frequently. Her personal relationships are a key ingredient in her formula for longevity. “One of the most important things,” she said, “is I like people.” Cadran also exercises regularly in the homestead’s “bone-builders” weight program and said neither she nor her parents ever smoked cigarettes. She grew up in Randolph, attending a one-room schoolhouse where her mother was the teacher. She is the oldest of four children. Her longevity is not reflected in her immediately family: Her mother died at 73 and her father at 65, and she has outlived all three of her see CELEBRATION page 5

FREE! OCT. 26•1-4

pm

University Mall, So. Burlington www.halloweenfamilyfest.com Presenting sponsor:


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