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RECIPE INSIDE! DECEMBER 30, 2021
WILLISTON’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985
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~ Y EA R I N R EV I EW ~
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mprobable as it seemed last spring, when Gov. Phil Scott dropped Vermont’s emergency public health order, the overwhelming majority of Vermonters were receiving Covid vaccinations and case counts dropped to a trickle, the pandemic persisted in casting a shadow over 2021. Sweet normalcy was in the air during the warm weather months: the return of Williston’s Fourth of July festivities, for example, and the full reopening of public schools in August. Then surging case counts in the fall wreaked havoc on school attendance, contributed to a crippling labor shortage and supply chain backup, and harkened the return of mandated mask-wearing. We’re going to take the following review of Williston news in 2021 in reverse chronological order, as the news from the fall and early winter is more representative of where we are at heading into 2022 than the false positives of last spring. May the new year bring with it lasting resilience and usher in a post-pandemic era.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT, the Black Lives Matter flag was raised at Town Hall in February; Ginger and David Isham starred in a Netflix documentary about relationship longevity; CVU’s Jack Sumner evades an Essex defender in the Redhawks’ snowy championship game loss in November.
— Jason Starr
DECEMBER The Town of Williston joined several other municipalities when the selectboard voted unanimously on Dec. 7 to re-mandate that masks be worn in public indoor settings. While Gov. Scott had rebuffed calls for a statewide mandate, he did sign a bill passed by the Legislature in November that gave municipalities the authority to institute mandates. Williston’s mandate will expire Jan. 21 unless the selectboard votes to keep it in place. The board carved out exceptions for children under age 2, people with disabilities that prevent them from safely wearing a mask, people while eating or drinking in a restaurant, people temporarily removing their masks to communicate with a group of people, and for places of worship.
four members and continued to take applications through December to fill out the committee’s ranks. The committee is tasked with implementing the energy plan, a 2019 document that lays out steps for Williston to reduce fossil fuel use and increase renewable energy production. Residents interested in moving the energy plan forward hailed the decision, but pressured the board to hire a full-time energy coordinator to work with the committee. Rep. Jim McCullough said the committee will be “a ship without a rudder” without an energy coordinator to lead its efforts. “This is a position that is going to really pay off and save money for individuals and for the town,” resident Gerry Davis told the board.
Town Energy Commitee takes shape
NOVEMBER
Mask mandate returns
Williston leaders took the first step toward implementing the town’s Energy Plan with the creation of a seven-member Energy Committee. The selectboard appointed
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Fire Department sounds the alarm on staffing shortage
Williston’s Fire Chief Aaron Collette said
his department cannot currently meet the fire protection needs of the community and requested at least nine new firefighters in the next annual town budget.
ed ramping up staff by nearly 40 full-time firefighters over the next five years. The need is precipitated not only by the town’s continued commercial and residential growth — the population has increased by roughly 150 people annually over the past five years — but also by a precipitous decline in on-call fi refighters to augment the fulltime staff. Over the past five years, the department has gone from about 30 oncall fi refighters to eight currently. “I’m not sure we are as prepared or well-equipped as many of our citizens think we are,” Collette said.
CVU football team gets first title shot The Williston Fire Department received two new fire trucks this fall but lacks the staff to operate them.
The request is backed by a staffing needs assessment the department contracted out to a California-based consulting company. The assessment said nine new firefighters is the minimum immediate need. It recommend-
For the first time in Champlain Valley Union High School history, the Redhawks football team earned a spot in the Division 1 state championship game. Despite a loss Nov. 13 in a snowstorm to Essex, the season marked a remarkable turnaround for the proSEE YEAR IN REVIEW PAGE 2
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