Distressed helicopter makes unexpected landing in Williston field
A two-seat helicopter made an unplanned landing in an open field near Mountain View Road about noon on Monday, the Williston Fire Department reported in a news release.
The pilot told first-responders that the helicopter experienced mid-flight mechanical issues. No one was injured.
Traffic slowed by Route 2A construction
Traffic was backed up into Essex Junction on Tuesday as a road widening and resurfacing project continued to disrupt travel on Route 2A this week. Work is currently focused on the section of Route 2A between Meadowrun Road and River Cove Road, as well as its intersection with Industrial Avenue and Mountain View Road.
Single-lane closures with flagger-controlled alternating one-way traffic was planned this week between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Separately, utility work will affect southbound traffic turning from Route 2A onto Industrial Avenue between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.
The project is scheduled for completion by the fall of 2026.
Tuesdays
continued from page 1
families playing out in the yard and having a good summer night here was just really special,” said Antonioli. “A lot of people met new neighbors, and families had an opportunity to spend time together ... It definitely was a fun time, and it felt good to offer that to the community.”
Isham echoed that sentiment.
“It was a lot of fun,” he said. “I really enjoyed the camaraderie. I really enjoyed the community event.”
The Isham Family Farm is now under the ownership of Weston’s son, Dana Kamencik — also the owner of Vermont Construction. According to Isham, Kamecnik is focusing on opening a farm store in the sugarhouse on the west side
Red Cross makes call for blood donors; Williston blood drive set for May 20
Giving blood to the American Red Cross helps ensure blood is ready for patients in the most critical situations. Give blood or platelets during Trauma Awareness Month this May to keep hospitals prepared for all transfusion needs. Type O blood donors and donors giving platelets are especially needed right now.
Type O negative is the universal blood type and can be transfused to any person, no matter their blood type. This makes it essential in the most dire situations. Platelets are often needed to help with clotting in cases of massive bleeding.
Schedule a time to give by visiting RedCrossBlood.org, calling 1-800-RED CROSS or by using the Red Cross Blood Donor App.
Those who come to give between May 1931 will receive an American Red Cross solar lantern, while supplies last. All who come to give in May will be automatically entered for a chance to win a U.S. trip of their choice for two. Details can be found at RedCrossBlood. org/May.
“A lot of people met new neighbors, and families had an opportunity to spend time together ... It definitely was a fun time, and it felt good to offer that to the community.”
Kim Antonioli Adams Farm Market
of the farm, across Oak Hill Road from the main entrance and events barn. There, the farm plans to offer locally made products, including from some of the vendors who tabled at the farmers market.
Upcoming blood donation opportunities include:
• May 16, 12:30-5 p.m., St. Jude’s Parish Hall, 10759 Route 116, Hinesburg
May 20, 11:30 a.m.-4 p.m., Williston Fire Station, 645 Talcott Road, Williston
Memorial Day Observance set for May 26
The Williston-Richmond Rotary Club is hosting a Memorial Day Observance on Monday, May 26 at 9 a.m. at the War Memorial Park in Williston between Town Hall and the Town Hall Annex.
The community is invited to join to honor veterans who have paid the ultimate price for our safety and freedom. The program will include music, inspiration from club and community members, as well as verbal recognition of deceased veterans from the community and those honored with an engraved brick on the patio of War Memorial Park. Light refreshments will follow.
If you would like to be sure that the name of your beloved service member is honored with recognition during this ceremony, please email their name to: lesleymotr@gmail.com.
Adams Farm Market has plans to have local vendors visit the store and set up occasional displays as an opportunity to introduce new products and to talk face-to-face with potential customers. It also will still organize and sponsor food truck vendors at the town’s Fourth of July celebration.
As for a farmers market in Williston, there is a history of comings and goings. Over the past decade, there have been weekly markets at Catamount Outdoor Family Center, the former New England Federal Credit Union (now EastRise) parking lot and outside the Kismet building on Route 2A.
The Williston Energy Committee has on its agenda for its next meeting a discussion about future farmers market possibilities in town.
SHOP•EAT
THURSDAY, MAY 15
Anne Frank: A History for Today open house ♦ Student-led tours, speakers, film, art. 6:30 p.m. Williston Central School.
SATURDAY, MAY 17
Kids Fest ♦ Family friendly events and food at Village Community Park. 12-2 p.m.
MONDAY, MAY 19
Dorothy Alling Memorial Library Board of Trustees meeting ♦ 7 p.m. at the library. Agenda at damlvt. org.
TUESDAY, MAY 20
American Red Cross Blood Drive ♦ 11:30-4 p.m. Williston Fire Station, 654 Talcott Rd. To schedule an appointment, call 1-800-733-2767 or visit RedCrossBlood.org and enter: WFD.
Champlain Valley School District board meeting ♦ 6 p.m. CVU library. Agenda at cvsdvt.org.
Williston Selectboard meeting ♦ 7 p.m. Town Hall. Agenda at town. williston.vt.us.
Williston Planning Commission meeting ♦ Town Plan public hearing. 6 p.m. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library.
THURSDAY, MAY 22
Williston-Richmond Rotary Club breakfast and speaker ♦ Lt. Tony Simanskas of the Williston Fire Department speaks about stroke awareness. 7:15 a.m. Williston Federated Church. More information at https:// portal.clubrunner.ca/1453/.
Construction was in full swing on Route 2A between Meadowrun Road and River Cove Road this week. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
What about Bob’s?: It’s opening in June
Furniture chain preps for Maple Tree Place debut
BY JASON STARR Observer staff
It’s another Vermont first.
Several national retailers and restaurants have broken into the Green Mountain State with stores in Williston’s Taft Corners of late. Next up is Bob’s Discount Furniture, set to open its first Vermont store in June in the former Christmas Tree Shops location at Maple Tree Place.
Bob’s has bloomed to nearly 200 stores across 24 states since its founding in Connecticut by Bob Kaufman in 1991. Its Williston opening will complete the remake of the Christmas Tree Shops spot; Boot Barn opened its first Vermont store in a portion of the space in March.
“I was up there last week,” Regional Manager Bill Foppiano said last Friday from his Boston office, “and I was really impressed with the amount of traffic that we saw in the area. There were a lot of shoppers out, so you can clearly see it’s a major hub in northern Vermont.”
The store’s soft opening is set for Monday, June 9, and a celebratory grand opening is planned for June 20 with free entertainment, face-painting, food and coffee, as well as donations to an as-yet-undetermined local school and charity, according to company spokesman Rick Popko.
The store will also sell plushie likenesses of Kaufman — a cartoon character that has become the chain’s mascot — to raise funds for the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital through June 31, then for Family Promise to support families facing homelessness, through Dec. 31.
“We support a new charity every quarter,” Popko said.
Complementary in-store coffee and ice cream add flavor to the shopping experience. Delivery, along with old furniture removal, is offered with purchases.
The store will employ about 12 salespeople, in addition to warehouse and management staff, according to Foppiano. Delivery teams will be subcontractors, he said.
The sign for Bob’s Discount Furniture is under construction Wednesdsay at its first Vermont location, opening in June at Maple Tree Place.
OBSERVER PHOTO BY JASON STARR
Under new ownership, WDEV seeks a second wind
BY HABIB SABET VTDigger
On its face, the partnership between The Nation magazine and Myers Mermel, the new owner of WDEV-AM, is an unlikely one.
Earlier this year, Mermel, who previously served as president of the conservative Ethan Allen Institute and once ran for the U.S. Senate as a Republican, entered the fabled Vermont radio station into an exclusive deal with the progressive monthly and online publication.
Every weekday afternoon, WDEV now airs podcasts produced by The Nation, featuring left-leaning voices from the magazine like Jeet Heer, whose show “The Time of Monsters” is broadcast on the station each Monday.
“When we bought the station people were like, ‘Oh, well Mermel, he’s going to turn it into Fox News,’ right?” Mermel said. “But that’s not
what Vermont is. We’re trying to serve a community.”
The deal with The Nation is one in a constellation of sweeping changes that Mermel has enacted since acquiring the station from the Squier family last year. After 88 years of ownership, the family sold WDEV and its sister stations — WCVT-FM and WLVB-FM — to Mermel, his business partner Caroline McLain and his associate, Scott Milne, another former Republican candidate.
Although the Federal Communications Commission technically only signed off on the deal last month, Mermel has been serving as the station’s main owner and operator for just over a year, he said.
Under the leadership of Ken Squier, who died in 2023, the station developed a reputation as a paragon of independent media, celebrated for its emphasis on local culture and its lineup of eclectic, and often eccentric, shows like “Music to Go to the
Dump By.”
But since taking over, Mermel has begun to nudge WDEV in a new direction, trying to maintain what he called “the station’s DNA” as a community radio station while branching out in new directions.
Mermel has funded upgrades to
It’s Time To Plant
Finest Plant Nursery
the station’s infrastructure, including new microphones and computer systems. He has simultaneously been overhauling much of WDEV’s traditional programming, injecting more “talk” and syndicated news into its lineup, largely with the hope of courting Vermont’s younger,
more politically liberal population.
“We felt it was very important to try to improve certain areas where we could, and capitalize on missed opportunities,” Mermel said.
A NEW LINEUP
In addition to the programming from The Nation, WDEV has introduced a spate of new hosts to pad out its roster of commentators.
One of the new voices on air is David Zuckerman, a progressive and the state’s former lieutenant governor. He recently began serving as the Thursday host of “Vermont Viewpoint,” WDEV’s flagship daily talk program, which features a different host each day.
Featuring discussion of a wide range of topics from food insecurity to health care, the segment is aimed at “cultivating a reasonable presentation of a perspective that maybe some folks didn’t hear that much in
Radio host David Zuckerman records a promo at the WDEV studio in Waterbury in April.
PHOTO BY GLENN RUSSELL/VTDIGGER
HUB
Discovering Donwoori: diving into Winooski’s new Korean restaurant
BY TAITE BARRY Community News Service
Just east of Rotary Park, a new Korean restaurant opened its doors this spring. Inside, the servers race from the kitchen to the tables, the food sizzling. You can smell fried mandu dumplings as they pass by and, depending on your seat, watch the sunset over the Winooski River.
But Donwoori Korean isn’t entirely new. Before it moved to 65 Winooski Falls Way, the business had spent two years on Williston Road in South Burlington.
Winooski locals Summer and Khoi Cao, sister and brother, own Donwoori.
“Our family has (long) been talking about our dream of opening a small restaurant business in the State of Vermont,” Summer said.
The siblings, originally from Vietnam, thought Vermont was lacking in food diversity. So when the opportunity presented itself, they took the chance. Summer had worked in a lot of Korean restaurants, she told Seven Days last fall, so the move to open shop made sense, especially given the sparse options for Korean cuisine in the
BY ANNALISA MADONIA
Vermont food scene.
Summer, 26, formerly worked at a bank and during college worked in the restaurant business. Khoi, 21, is a student at the Community College of Vermont studying restaurant management.
Though they originally opened the restaurant in South Burlington in late 2023, the duo had always wanted to be in Winooski, where they live.
weekly “Outlaw Saturday Morning” on WDEV, announced he would be retiring after half a century on the airwaves.
recent years,” Zuckerman said.
Ross Connolly, regional state director of Americans for Prosperity, a conservative libertarian advocacy group, has joined the station as another host of Vermont Viewpoint. Joseph Woodin, president and CEO of Copley Health Systems, has meanwhile begun to host “Vital Signs,” a weekly show about healthcare in Vermont.
“I imagine (Mermel) is trying to get a wide range of voices to continue what WDEV had very much been, which is a community radio station, which means having a range of voices,” Zuckerman said.
But the new programming has been accompanied by a string of staff and host departures in the year since Mermel took over.
Most recently, in late March, Jack Donovan, who hosted the
Just a month earlier, Brady Farkas, host of a daily hour-anda-half sports talk show, abruptly announced he would be leaving WDEV (Farkas and Mermel declined to specify whether the longtime host was fired or quit).
The station has also moved Greg Hooker’s “The Getaway” and George Thomas’s “Dinner Jazz” off live air, making the two beloved music shows — previously daily, hours long live programs — available as podcasts instead.
Radio personalities aren’t the only ones who have left WDEV since the station changed hands.
Last March, just months after Ashley Squier initiated the sale of the station to Mermel, she announced that longtime general manager Steve Cormier was leaving his role.
“We’ve been eyeing this specific building for a long time since we’re Winooski locals,” Summer said.
When the space became available in late 2024, moving in was a no-brainer.
The restaurant business can be grueling, and the pair sometimes work 15 hours a day, they said. But they feel good about the venture.
“At the end of the day,” Summer said, “it’s all worth it.”
So far, the restaurant seems to be settling in well in Winooski.
“It seems like it has already generated good buzz,” said Melissa Pasanen, food writer for Seven Days. “I am looking forward to seeing how their business grows.”
Donwoori is not the family’s only presence in the Winooski business scene: Summer and Khoi’s mother owns a nail salon just across the street.
The restaurant offers dine-in and take-out options, with a menu that includes their signature KFC (Korean fried chicken) and surfand-turf fried rice.
Community News Service is a University of Vermont journalism internship.
Besides Cormier, the station has also seen the departures of just under ten of its former sales and production staff in the last year, according to current and former WDEV employees, who spoke to VTDigger on condition of anonymity citing concerns about professional retribution.
Like the departed hosts, other staff members have reportedly left the station for a variety of reasons, including retirement, health issues and, in some cases, personal disagreements with Mermel, current and former staff members said.
Mermel declined to comment on the nature of any specific departures, but he acknowledged the station had gone through a transition period and said it had recently taken on more people than it had lost.
“I think as we have refocused on our mission, we’ve had a lot of buyin for what we want to achieve,” he said. “For some people, they wanted to pursue different opportunities,
Donwoori owners Khoi and Summer Cao.
PHOTO
Vermont can hold polluters accountable
BY SEN. NADER HASHIM AND REP. MARTIN LALONDE
When floodwaters tore through Vermont in July 2023 and then again exactly a year later, they left more than physical destruction in their wake. They also revealed to Vermonters the mounting price tag of climate change. While national media attention may have shifted to climate-change catastrophes in other parts of the country, Vermont families are still displaced, businesses are shuttered or drowning in debt, and communities are struggling to rebuild.
The financial toll of climate change in Vermont is real and ongoing. Every washed-out road, damaged bridge and flooded home and business represents a cost someone must pay — and right now, that burden falls squarely on Vermont taxpayers. We see it through higher property taxes, rising insurance premiums and reduced municipal services.
This dire reality prompted our Legislature to pass the Climate Superfund Act, applying the same principle that has governed environmental cleanup for more than 40 years: Those who contribute to a problem should help pay for its solution.
Overwhelming scientific consensus tells us that some of the world’s largest and most profitable fossil fuel corporations are
at the root of the climate crisis. For decades, these corporations knew their products were likely to cause the kind of costly dam-
States have long served as the proving grounds for practical solutions to our challenges, and Vermont’s Climate Superfund Act continues this proud tradition.
age Vermont increasingly faces as the planet overheats. Vermont’s Climate Superfund Act applies this established polluter-pays approach to the mounting costs of our climate-related disasters,
requiring these corporations to pay their fair share and help clean up the climate mess their products and activities have caused.
Americans across the political spectrum have long embraced the ethical standard that when someone makes a mess, they should help clean it up. Directing these massive fossil fuel corporations to contribute to recovery efforts isn’t radical, it’s basic fairness.
The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court of Vermont to stop the law from being enforced. DOJ makes several claims, including that the Climate Superfund Act is preempted by the Clean Air Act, exceeds the territorial reach of Vermont’s legislative power, unlawfully discriminates against interstate commerce, conflicts with federal interstate commerce power, and is preempted by federal
see HASHIM page 7
Hashim
continued from page 6
foreign-affairs powers. Last year, when we took up the bill that would become the Climate Superfund Act, the House and Senate judiciary committees vetted the legal and constitutional claims that could be made against the Act, and we were confident that it would stand up in court.
As chairs of the Vermont General Assembly’s judiciary committees, we take our legal and constitutional obligations seriously. We appreciate proper balance between state and federal authority. States have long served as the proving grounds for practical solutions to our challenges, and Vermont’s Climate Superfund Act continues this proud tradition.
The law establishes a careful, science-based process to determine which companies should contribute and how much, ensuring fairness while addressing pressing needs.
This law passed with strong support from Vermonters of all political parties, but we knew that powerful interests would fight back. The recently filed lawsuits against Vermont and our neighbors in New York, who passed their own Climate Superfund Act, merely confirms what we already understood: Our approach is effective enough to warrant powerful opposition.
Vermont has always stood firm in defending our right to protect our citizens and preserve our way of life. From our founding days to the present, we’ve maintained that local solutions often best
address local problems. We deeply appreciate the work Vermont’s congressional delegation and state officials are doing to defend our state’s authority, and call on them to continue that work as long as necessary. We must hold accountable those who profit while others pay the price.
Climate change presents unprecedented challenges, but addressing them requires the same principles of responsibility and fairness that have always guided our legal system. Vermont’s Climate Superfund Act upholds these principles while protecting taxpayers from bearing costs they shouldn’t have to shoulder alone.
Sen. Nader Hashim is chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Rep. Martin LaLonde is chair of the House Judiciary Committee.
but we’ve been able to staff up with people who agree with where we’re headed.”
“I’LL TAKE ‘CHANGE’ OVER ‘GONE.’”
According to Mermel, WDEV, which broadcasts 168 hours a week, has changed less than 10 percent of its programming since coming under his control. But longtime devotees of the station say those changes have struck at the heart of what made WDEV unique.
Up until recently, Dwight Day, 66, tuned into the station every morning, a ritual he had maintained for over 25 years. “I used to turn it on as soon as I woke up,” he said.
An early riser, Day, of Duxbury, was an avid fan of “The Trading Post,” the call-in show that for over 70 years aired daily at 6:35 a.m. and allowed Vermonters to buy, sell and swap goods on air.
But as the station has shifted its schedule, some classic segments like “The Trading Post” — which now only airs on Saturdays — have faded from the airwaves.
“Music to Go to the Dump By” is still around, but many of Day’s other favorite programs are no more. As a result, Day has found himself tuning in less and less, if at all.
“It was always good to get some local news and then some other stuff,” Day said. “But the way it’s gotten now, it’s almost just non-stop news.”
Day is hardly the only listener to bristle at the new programming. Before it was recently taken down, the comment section on WDEV’s website had been rife with fans venting their frustration over changes in the station’s lineup.
“I try to avoid the comments right now because they hurt,” Ashley Squier said in an interview. “I’m not surprised about how people are feeling.”
Squier briefly took over
ownership of the station after her father, Ken, died in November 2023, and she facilitated the sale of the station to Mermel, which had been negotiated prior to Ken’s death.
Squier acknowledged the station had shifted its orientation in the intervening months, but said she fully supports the changes Mermel has made, which she considers necessary for the station to survive in a struggling industry.
Unbeknownst to most listeners, Squier said, WDEV had been operating at a deficit for much of the last few decades, maintained only by her father’s largesse.
According to Squier, Ken Squier spent “well over a million dollars” in recent decades to keep afloat the station, which she said occasionally lost as much as several hundreds of thousands of dollars in a given year.
“I knew that no matter who ran the stations going forward, changes would be necessary,” Squier said. “I’ll take “change” over “gone.”’
Many
BY MELINDA MYERS
Those shady spots in the landscape can make it challenging to grow a beautiful garden. Fortunately, there are more plants than you may think that will thrive in low light.
Monitor the amount of sunlight an area receives throughout the day, season and year. You may be surprised that it gets more
sunlight than you thought. Some plants, like spring ephemerals and even sun-loving spring flowering bulbs, receive sufficient sunlight early in the season before most trees leaf out. Other plants need sunlight throughout the growing season.
Make a list of plants you have had success with and those that failed in the shady location. Use these to help you select or avoid plants with similar light requirements. For example,
A shade garden with hostas, solomon seal and coleus grown in pots.
PHOTO
Tips for keeping handsome hardwood floors
With its rich tones and distinguished style, hardwood flooring can be a beautiful design element of your home. However, it’s important to know the proper care procedures to maintain its condition for decades to come.
Consider these tips for keeping hardwoods in tip-top shape:
Guard Against Water: Water can penetrate deep into the wood, causing stains and ruining the outside finish. Use plastic trays under potted plants and pets’ bowls. Wipe up spills and accidents immediately.
Use Area Rugs: If you have any heavy traffic areas — by the front door, hallways or around the kitchen table or couch, for example — use area rugs to protect against wear and tear. Area rugs are also an easy way to boost the style factor of your home.
Take Off Your Shoes:
Encourage family members and guests to take off their shoes when they walk in. Position area rugs at door entryways to act as barriers.
Sweep or Vacuum Regularly: Dust and dirt can act as sandpaper, wreaking havoc on your floor’s finish. A weekly sweep can help keep this at bay while enhancing your flooring’s general appearance. If using your vacuum, be sure to use an attachment with soft brushes to guard from additional wear.
mixing well. Use a soft mop and move in the direction of the floorboards. Go over with a clean, soft towel to dry excess water.
By following these simple steps, you and your family will be able to cherish your hardwood floors for many years to come. Learn more at eLivingtoday.com.
from page 8
if peonies bloom and tomatoes produce fruit, then the area receives enough sunlight to grow most full sun plants.
When planting under or near trees, be careful not to damage them when creating your shade garden. Don’t bury, cut, dig or shave off surface roots, creating entryways for harmful insects and diseases. Skip adding soil over the roots as even an inch can kill some tree species. Avoid deep cultivation that damages the fine feeder roots critical for water and nutrient absorption. Keep in mind, the majority of tree roots grow within the top 18 inches of soil with 50 percent of these in the top 6 inches.
Instead, carefully dig relatively small planting holes between major roots, then mulch and spot water new plantings to minimize root damage. It may take transplants a little longer to fill in, but your tree will be healthier and live longer.
Add a splash of color with a few potted annuals set among the perennials. Or permanently sink a few pots in the ground and set potted flowering plants inside them.
It’s easier on the tree roots and your back.
Check soil moisture several times a week and water thoroughly as needed. Plants growing under large trees or overhangs need more frequent watering, especially in the first two years until they become established. The dense canopy of many trees and impervious overhangs prevent rainfall from reaching the ground below. Plus, the extensive root systems of trees and shrubs absorb much of the rainfall that does make it through.
Avoid high nitrogen, quick-release fertilizers that promote lush succulent growth that is more
susceptible to insects and diseases. With limited light as a potential plant stressor, this can increase the risk of problems. Use a low nitrogen, slow-release fertilizer that promotes steady above- and below-ground growth.
You can create a beautiful shade garden for years of enjoyment with proper plant selection and care.
Melinda Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and was commissioned by Tree World Plant Care for her expertise in writing this article. Her website is www.MelindaMyers.com.
— Family Features
Clean Naturally: For a deep clean, ditch the harsh chemicals. Simply pour 1 cup of vinegar into a bucket with 1 gallon of water,
Hardwood is often a highly coveted flooring option. These floors do require some special care, however. PHOTO COURTESY OF FAMILY FEATURES
Honoring the Fallen
Have you ever been to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia? Just outside Washington, D.C., Arlington is the final resting place for more than 300,000 service members and their family members.
Military men and women from every American war are buried there. But Arlington is not the only cemetery where American soldiers, airmen and sailors lie at rest. In fact, all across the world, American cemeteries, memorials, monuments and markers honor military members who have fought for their country.
In advance of Memorial Day on May 26, The Mini Page explores some of these faraway tributes.
Mexican-American War
• Mexico City National Cemetery In 1847, as
Mexico and the United States fought over territory, American forces moved toward Mexico Nat Burial vaul ional Cemetery ts at the Mexico City City. Finally, Mexico surrendered, and the war ended. The United States won the territories of New Mexico and Alta California.
The remains of 750 unidentified Americans are buried together there. The
Mini Fact:
At Arlington National Cemetery, a soldier places flags on graves for Memorial Day.
remains of 813 Americans who served in the Mexican-American War and the SpanishAmerican War are also buried in wall crypts, or vaults, in the cemetery.
World War I
• Flanders Field in Belgium
In 1918, just before World War I ended, the U.S. 91st Division fought a battle where Flanders Field American Cemetery is now. With 368 service members buried there, it is the only American cemetery in Belgium.
The famous poem “In Flanders Fields” was written by John McCrae in 1915 after an earlier battle there.
World War II
• Normandy American Cemetery in France
A complicated plan to invade Germanoccupied parts of France in 1944 was called Operation Overlord. It involved U.S., British and Canadian paratroopers dropping from planes during the night to conquer and secure as many areas as possible. Then, at dawn, soldiers stormed five different beaches along the coast of Normandy, France. On the first day alone, at least 10,000 Allied troops were lost.
The cemetery contains the graves of more than 9,000 military dead.
Korean War
Next Week: Summer reading
• U.S. Monument at U.N. Memorial Cemetery in South Korea
The United Nations Memorial Cemetery in South Korea contains the graves of 2,300 service members from 11 countries. Thirty-six Americans are buried there. The U.S. monument reads: “Honor, Freedom, Peace.”
Folded flags
Why do we fold flags for military funerals? The U.S. flag is folded in this special way at ceremonial occasions.
As the flag is folded, the red and white stripes are covered by the star-covered blue field. This represents the light of day disappearing into the darkness of night.
The shape, similar to a Colonial hat, reminds us of the soldiers and sailors who served during the Revolutionary War.
•youtu.be/B7yMakv5Dwg •youtu.be/JqNy91cJgEw
At the library:
• “Arlington National Cemetery” by Barbara M. Linde
Try ’n’ Find
Aromas of India
Chef’s Corner
Observer rack locations
Goodwater Brewing
Healthy Living Williston
Home2Suites
Words that remind us of military cemeteries are hidden in this puzzle. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally, and some letters are used twice. See if you can find:
Call Rick Cote at (802) 373-2136 or email
Rick@WillistonObserver.com if you would like copies for your location
Dorothy Alling Memorial Library
Fairfield Inn
Folino’s Pizza
Gardener’s Supply Green Mountain Bagel
Island Homemade Ice Cream
Korner Kwik Stop
Marriott Courtyard
Men At Wok
M&T Bank
Ramunto’s Rehab Gym Shell Gas Station (Essex Rd)
Simon’s Mobil Williston
Simply Divine Café
Sonesta
Sunoco Station Town of Williston Offices
UPS Store
Vermont Meat & Seafood
Williston Coffee Shop
Essex/Essex Jct.
Essex Automotive
Five Corner Variety
Hannaford Inn at Essex
Mac’s Market
Martone’s Deli Price Chopper
Quality Bake Shop
River Road Beverage
Carrie: Why is tennis such a noisy sport?
Richmond
Cumberland Farms
Cam: Because the players are always raising a racket!
Richmond Free Library
Richmond Market
Founded by Betty Debnam
photo by Elizabeth Fraser, U.S. Army
The Reflecting Pool at Normandy American Cemetery in France.
An Army officer presents a folded flag to the widow of a fallen soldier.
Try ’n’ Find
Words that remind us of military cemeteries are hidden in this puzzle. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally, and some letters are used twice. See if you can find:
ARLINGTON, BELGIUM, CEMETERY, COLONIAL, CRYPT, FLAGS, FOLD, FRANCE, GRAVES, MEMORIAL, MEXICO, MILITARY, OVERSEAS, POOL, SERVICE, SOLDIER, SOUTH KOREA, VAULT.
Cam: Because the players are always raising a racket!
Eco Note
• 1 (4-ounce) can mushroom stems and pieces, drained
•cooking spray •1/2 cup slivered almonds
2.In a large bowl, combine rice, sweet peas, cubed cheese and mushrooms.
3. Spray a 1 1/2-quart baking dish with cooking spray. Transfer combined ingredients to baking dish.
4.Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.
5.During the last 5 minutes of baking, sprinkle almonds on top. Serves 6-8.
The U.K.’s endangered turtle dove population is making a remarkable recovery, thanks in large part to a recent hunting ban. The Guardian reports that after declining by 98% since the 1990s, the population grew by 25% across Western Europe since a 2021 ban on shooting the birds in key countries along their migration routes, such as France, Spain and Portugal. Conservation efforts in the U.K., including habitat support from over 400 landowners, have also been key to the recovery.
For later:
Look in your newspaper for events commemorating Memorial Day in your area.
Teachers: Follow and interact with The Mini Page on Facebook!
TODAY’S HISTORY:
• In 1918, the United States launched its first regular airmail service.
• In 1970, President Richard Nixon appointed Anna Mae Hays and Elizabeth P. Hoisington the first female U.S. Army generals. In 1972, Alabama Gov. George Wallace was shot and left permanently paralyzed below the waist while campaigning for the Democratic presidential nomination in Maryland.
• In 1988, Soviet troops began withdrawing from Afghanistan.
TODAY’S FACT:
• Las Vegas was founded on this day in 1905, when the 110 acres that would eventually become downtown were purchased at auction.
GARAGE SALES
ANNUAL SUNRISE DRIVE GARAGE SALE!
(WILLISTON)— Saturday, May 17 from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Multiple houses selling furniture, toys, clothing, bikes, tires, roof rack, exercise equipment and many more household items!
SALES
2015 MERCEDES GLK — $14,000 OBO. Call John at 802-878-5468 or email at pport1@yahoo.com
LEGAL
May 20, 2025
Alling Memorial Library 21 Library Lane
of Williston, VermontPlanning Commission
CLASSIFIEDS
New 2025-2033 Williston Comprehensive Plan
The Planning Commission of the Town of Williston will hold a public hearing to consider the proposed 20252033 Williston Comprehensive Plan (“Town Plan”) in accordance with 24 v.S.A.§4384(C). The proposed plan will replace the 2016-2024 Williston Comprehensive Plan upon final adoption by the Selectboard.
When: 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.
Where: in-person at Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, 21 Library Lane, Williston VT 05495. online with Zoom Meeting ID 873 0175 0819 on www. Zoom.Us/join or call 1-646-558-8656.
Public participation: Public comments are welcomed and encouraged. Letters or emails received prior to the hearing will be added to the record and presented to the Planning Commission as testimony. Public
comment at this hearing is welcomed and encouraged using the following methods:
In-person or Zoom Meeting participation during the public hearing.
Mail or email public testimony prior to the hearing (planning@willistonvt. org; Letters to: Town of Williston, c/o Planning Commission, 7900 Williston Road, Williston VT 05495)
The amendments are available for inspection on the town website and in the Planning & Zoning office (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.) at 7878 Williston Road. Go to www. Williston2050.com or www.Town. Williston.Vt.Us and click on Public Records & Documents > Agendas & Minutes > Planning Commission > May 20, 2025.
Questions? Call 802-878-6704 or email matt boulanger at mboulanger@ willistonvt.Org.
Thoughts at the semester’s end
This essay appeared in the May 13, 2010 issue of the Williston Observer in Katherine Bielawa Stamper’s “Little Details” column.
BY KATHERINE BIELAWA STAMPER
The e-mail was short and decidedly sweet: “I just wanted you to know I graduated and got my degree. Thanks for all of your help.”
I searched my memory to recall this former student, one who rolled into class a little scraggly with that “just out of bed” look. I learned not to judge students by attire or
level of physical dishevelment. This student actively participated in my Thursday morning Intro to Political Science class at the Community College of Vermont. His knowledge of current events and well-written essays were impressive. Only later would he explain that his academic career at a selective liberal arts college was derailed — by alcohol. CCV, he hoped, would serve as his ticket for re-admission to the school he was asked to leave.
There’s a point in the semester — typically around week 12 — when someone “falls out of the canoe.” He or she simply drops out of class without a word.
Teaching at a college with small class sizes allows me to get to know my students as learners and people. Fifteen students enrolled in my course this semester. We sat around a table, discussing political concepts. The intimacy of our space left little room for texting, sleeping or being otherwise disengaged. We were not distanced by a lecture hall, video screen or legions of teaching assistants. An acquaintance who teaches biology at a state university had 200 students and 15 undergraduate teaching assistants this semester. I’m impressed by the numbers and fully recognize it’s not for me.
Another served beef bourguignon and an Abenaki sweet potato soup while delivering a presentation on the “politics of food.”
When studying totalitarianism, students viewed an informal “gallery of totalitarian art” posted in our classroom. They served as docents, applying textbook learning to tease out political messages embedded in images from Mao’s China or Stalin’s Russia. We explored the concept of war via poetry, sitting in a circle while reciting Siegfried Sassoon and Robert Frost verses inspired by The Great War. Our study of utopian systems of Plato and Francis Bacon concluded with students creating and acting out commercials enticing others to join their “perfect” worlds.
My goals as an instructor include fostering a sense of community while challenging students to develop crucial reading, writing, public speaking and critical thinking skills. Traditional readings and lectures are complemented by theater, poetry, film, music and art interpretation activities.
Some students shine in their writing. Others may sparkle in an oral presentation. One student strummed a ukulele while making the case for alternative energy.
Political science courses require vast amounts of reading and writing. I tell students up front I’m picky, extremely picky, about writing. Weekly papers are assessed based on structure, grammar, punctuation and the distillation of one’s unique thoughts in response to readings. Synopses are boring. Genuine, well-articulated reactions to writings by William F. Buckley, Machiavelli and Martin Luther King Jr., demonstrate deeper understanding.
I encourage strong writers — and I’ve seen many — to commit to paper their best, most-polished work. Students who struggle with writing receive specific, supportive feedback on how to structure, edit and strengthen their pieces. It’s particularly
