Opponents plead with school board on environmental concerns
BY JASON STARR Observer staff
The Champlain Valley School Board’s June 30 approval of a gift of a free artificial turf field at CVU from a group of community benefactors led by Healthy Living CEO Eli Lesser-Goldsmith is unlikely to be the end of the story. It is perhaps just the end of the beginning.
The field site is in Hinesburg after all, where residents once sustained opposition to a Hannaford grocery store for nine years before the chain finally gave up on the location.
Residents, under the umbrella Responsible Growth Hinesburg, are no less committed to opposing the installation of artificial turf on what is now a grass playing field at the high school. Dozens delivered impassioned pleas against the project during the school board’s June 30 meeting, before the board voted 8-3
to proceed with the project.
Concerns about PFAS chemical and microplastic contamination were the primary themes of the opposition. Speaking in favor, Lesser-Goldsmith highlighted the community building potential of the field and claimed the artificial turf to be PFAS-free. CVU student body president Alex Joval shared the perspective that hundreds of students support the project.
Before their approval, the board sought the hydrological expertise of Waite Heindel Environmental Management. The firm’s report indicates PFAS chemicals from the turf may become present in the town’s groundwater but not above federal drinking water standards and that microplastics from the turf are likely to be released into the watershed.
The district also consulted with the Vermont Attorney General’s Office regarding the legality of
installing artificial turf in light of the 2024 passage of a law banning the sale of products containing PFAS chemicals in the state. Under the law (Act 131, Act 54), PFAS chemicals cannot be “intentionally added” in the manufacturing process.
“If the (attorney general’s) office receives information of an actual or impending violation, we can pursue enforcement under the statute,” said Attorney General Chief of Staff Lauren Jandl.
Williston Rep. Angela Arsenault, a member of the Vermont House of Representatives that passed the PFAS law, told the board to expect a lawsuit.
“The claim that the field is 100 percent PFAS free is virtually impossible,” she said. “I’m not convinced this field would even meet the legal standard required in Vermont
Aeronautic acrobatics
Trinity Baptist shutters school
Founded in 1971, TBS offered private, K-12 Christian education
BY JASON STARR Observer staff
Trinity Baptist School, a private, Christian school for kids in kindergarten through high school, is closing after 51 years.
Parents were notified over the winter that the school would not
continue for the upcoming school year. Located on Mountain View Road in Williston, the school is affiliated with Trinity Baptist Church. Its enrollment grew to roughly 100 students during the pandemic as parents sought alternatives to public school COVID restrictions. That marked a rebound from the previous decade, when the school was nearly forced to close as enrollment bottomed out below 50 students, according to Observer reports at the time.
Paul Dame, a St. George resident who has taught algebra at the school and had enrolled his children there in the past, said parents were not given much reasoning for the decision. The school drew students from Williston, Essex, Milton, Georgia and as far away as Addison County.
“It was really sad to hear the school was closing,” Dame said. “It’s really the only non-Catholic
Trintiy Baptist School was co-located and affiliated with Trinity Baptist Church on Mountain View Road.
see TURF page 3
The Royal Air Force Red Arrows of the United Kingdom put on a surprise air show out of Burlington International Airport on Monday, seen here from Taft Corners in Williston.
WCAX reported that the planes remained on display at the airport headquarters of Beta Technologies throughout the afternoon.
OBSERVER COURTESY PHOTO BY ERNIE ROSSI
Conger captures Special Olympics gold
Williston athlete Kevin Conger won a gold medal and two silver medals in the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games last month in Minnesota. The gold came in the Running Long Jump event, where Conger achieved a personal best 16-foot-6 jump. He won silvers in the 200- and 100-meter races.
Team Vermont’s 20 athletes came home with 16 medals across swim, athletics and unified basketball.
The event was held June 2026, bringing together thousands of athletes, coaches, volunteers and supporters from across the country.
District champs!
VERMONT FIRST
GERALD MALLOY
Around Town
Lake Iroquois Association welcomes loon expert for annual meeting
Eric Hanson, a biologist with the Vermont Loon Conservation Project, will speak at the Lake Iroquois Association Annual Meeting on July 23 at the Isham Family Farm, 3515 Oak Hill Road.
The meeting time is 5:307:30 p.m.
The Vermont Loon Conservation Project is a joint effort between the Vermont Center for Ecostudies and the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department.
The meeting will also include updates from the Lake Iroquois Association about ongoing lake stewardship initiatives, including water quality monitoring results, aquatic invasive prevention efforts, and other projects that support the health of Lake Iroquois and its watershed.
The Lake Iroquois Association is a nonprofit organization of volunteers established to protect the quality of the lake for environmental and recreational purposes.
The event is free and open to the public. Light snacks and beverages will be provided.
Local artists contribute to Birds of Vermont art show
Williston artists Nancy Stone and Tricia Knoll are displaying works at the Birds of Vermont Museum in Huntington as part of the museum’s “Wings, Waters, Ways” exhibit.
The exhibit features oil paintings, collages, photography, watercolor, words and sculptures that explore how birds, water and humans interact on varied landscapes. The exhibit runs through October, Sundays through Wednesdays, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the museum at 900 Sherman Hollow Road.
Artists from ages 5 to 70 have works on display. For more information, visit www. birdsofvermont.org.
The Williston Little League 8-10-year-old softball team celebrates its recent district 1 championship. COURTESY PHOTO
Kevin Conger competes in the Running Long Jump event at the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in Minnesota last month. contributed photo
Kevin Conger celebrates his gold medal at the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in Minnesota last month. contributed photo
now, and it will certainly be litigated.”
Board Chair Meghan Metzler noted that the company, Field Turf, which project leaders have identified as the supplier of the field, has given assurances that PFAS chemicals are not intentionally added in the manufacturing process.
“It is their responsibility to comply” with the state’s PFAS ban, Metzler said.
Sarah Showalter-Feuillette, one of Williston’s four representatives on the school board, was one of three board members to vote “no” on the proposal. In an email following the meeting, she described her reasoning.
“Good people can carefully examine the same information and act with integrity, yet still disagree,” she wrote. “My ‘no’ vote reflected the weight I placed on environmental stewardship and the principle of sufficiency. I genuinely believe my fellow board members approached this decision
Trinity
continued from page 1
Christian school in Chittenden County. So it’s a big impact on the community.”
Trinity Baptist Church pastor and school superintendent Rob McIlwaine declined to comment. The home page at www.tbsvt.org says only “We’re sorry but Trinity Baptist
thoughtfully and in good faith. I respect the care they brought to it, even though I ultimately reached a different conclusion.”
None of the eight board members voting in favor of the proposal stated their reasons for approval during the meeting.
Dave Connery, the board vice chair from Shelburne who was among the three “no” voters, based his vote on the uncertainty of the future structure of the district in light of stateled school district consolidation efforts.
“Moving forward with an investment like this, whether some of it is a gift, and saddling the future of whatever our district looks like with a financial requirement that we have no idea what it’s going to be, I think is a bad idea,” said Connery.
The school board took nearly an hour of public comment on the proposal during the June 30 meeting, then heard from its consultants at Waite Heindel Environmental Management, then went into closed-door deliberations. Upon returning to open session,
School is closed.”
Dame pulled his kids out of Trinity Baptist after the 2024-2025 school year and homeschooled them this past school year. With the closure, other Trinity parents are considering the same thing for the upcoming school year, he said.
“There are a lot of families who feel like this happened sort of suddenly. They weren’t expecting it,” Dame said. “A lot of
board member Keith Roberts made a motion to “authorize the administration to move forward with the gift agreement as modified (in) the (executive session).”
He later clarified that the motion was “to accept a gift which includes among other things the installation of an artificial turf field.”
The board then took public comment on the motion. But some residents in attendance were aghast that they were being allowed to comment on an agreement that they were not given access to read.
“We have not seen the (agreement) … We have no understanding of what we’re actually discussing with you now because we don’t know what’s contained in that document, so we don’t know what to respond to,” said Hinesburg resident Rebecca Foster.
Two weeks after the meeting, the agreement the board approved is still not publicly available.
“Based on the legal advice we have received, the document is exempt from public disclosure while it is still being negotiated,”
parents are not really sure what they are going to do … Some are trying to decide whether or not they can figure out how to home school. Other families who have both parents working know they can’t do that, so they are looking at going into the public school system. And some folks are still trying to figure it out over the next couple months.”
Dame and a handful of other Trinity
said School Superintendent Adam Bunting. “Releasing it before both parties have agreed to a final version could jeopardize the negotiating position of either party and create confusion by making public terms that may still change.”
As a member of Responsible Growth Hinesburg, Foster is calling on the Attorney General to require the turf manufacturer to earn a certificate of compliance under Act 131.
“Our campaign has asked … for a product sample to prove, via independent testing, that PFAS isn’t present,” Foster said. “The Attorney General could get involved to prevent the installation of artificial turf by including strict testing requirements in the certificate of compliance that the AG is entitled to ask for under ACT 131. The law ought to be based on the precautionary principle, because spreading toxins through the environment is harmful to the community, including student athletes, and our shared water supply.”
parents have talked about launching a private Christian school that could fill the void left by the closure. But Dame, a former state legislator who is currently chair of the Vermont Republican Party, said provisions in Act 73 of 2025 has made it harder for independent schools to open.
“(That) definitely created a chilling effect on parents who are interested in creating an alternative,” he said.
BY JASON STARR Observer staff
Business at Main Street
Sports Cards is expanding — and evolving.
The sports card and memorabilia dealership, which dates
back 35 years to its inception in Winooski, celebrated its move into a larger space Saturday with none other than the Spaceman.
Owner Jeff Francis met Bill “Spaceman” Lee, a Major League Pitcher for the Boston Red Sox and Montreal Expos
from 1969-1982 who once ran for governor of Vermont, through a customer friend. Lee spent Saturday welcoming people to Main Street’s new headquarters at the Taft Corners Shopping Center.
The business’ move was small in distance — just a few doors down from the space it had occupied since 2021 — but significant in square-footage, a roughly 40% increase.
“It was an opportunity to be more organized and have a better shop for the customers,” Francis said. “It was a little tight in (the previous location). This is a lot more open and accessible, and the inventory is easier for customers to see.”
Thousands of sports cards and memorabilia items fill the shop and attract loyal customers. The growth in popularity of gaming cards such as Pokemon see SPORTS CARDS page 5
Bill ‘Spaceman’ Lee greets customers at Main Street Sports Cards.
OBSERVER COURTESY PHOTOS
Sports Cards
was one reason for the increased space needs.
Another was Francis’ foray into live online auctions using the Whatnot platform. He started them in 2025, and they’ve grown into something that needs
their own studio space in a backroom of the shop. From there, Francis conducts live auctions multiple days a week.
“It is a side business to the card shop,” he said.
Main Street Sports Cards has certainly evolved since its inception in 1991 — no longer on Main Street (in Winooski) and no longer just sports cards.
Secretary of State launches ‘Civic Connect’ with business leaders
Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas and leaders from several Vermont businesses and nonprofit organizations held a joint press conference Monday to launch a program called “Vermont Civic Connect.”
Through the program, the Secretary of State’s office will provide information and resources on voting and civic engagement to participating businesses and organizations to then pass on to their employees, clients and customers.
Some businesses, known as Civic Connect Champions, have agreed to provide flextime or paid time off on election days and opportunities for employees to volunteer in their communities.
“My office has the tools and information to spread the word about voting and promote civic engagement, like a seed ready for planting,” Hanzas said. “The Vermont businesses/nonprofits joining this program have the reach to make our
democracy and civic life flourish and bloom.”
Founding members include: AgriMark (Cabot), Coldwell Banker Hickok and Boardman, Common Good Vermont, Washington County Mental Health Services, Ben and Jerry’s, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont, Gordon’s Window Décor, Lawson’s Finest Liquids, Mamava, Norwich Solar, Stone Environmental Inc, Vermont Artisan Coffee and Tea, Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR), Vermont Chamber of Commerce, Vermont Foodbank, Vermont Glove Company, and Vermont Professionals of Color.
“At VBSR, we believe that businesses help weave the civic fabric of Vermont,” said Executive Director Chelsea Bardot Lewis. “When employers encourage participation, dialogue and community engagement, we strengthen both our democracy and our economy.”
Williston Little Leaguers visit with former Red Sox and Expos pitcher Bill Lee on Saturday at Main Street Sports Cards in Taft Corners.
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Growth is the answer for Vermont
This column was submitted by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce on behalf of authors Vermont Futures Project Executive Director Kevin Chu; Vermont Professionals of Color Network Co-Executive Director Tino Rutanhira; Vermont Business Roundtable President Seth Bowden; Vermont Chamber of Commerce President Amy Spear; Let’s Build Homes Executive Chair Miro Weinberger; and Lake Champlain Chamber President Cathy Davis.
Vermont is in trouble. Not someday in some distant future. Now.
We are aging, shrinking and pricing out our own children, workers and entrepreneurs. Schools face consolidation, taxes are climbing and employers struggle to fill jobs. We’re too dependent on federal funding to support state spending. A housing shortage is driving up prices, slowing economic growth and leaving young people feeling forced out.
Staying the course is not a viable option. It only gets worse from here if nothing changes.
THE COST OF SCARCITY
For decades, Vermont has treated growth as a threat to mitigate. We are living through the consequences
of that mindset, and it hits marginalized communities hardest. True equity requires expanding supply rather than fighting over the crumbs of a shrinking economy. Otherwise, people lose hope and leave. This is already happening: Vermont experienced the nation’s largest percent decrease in population last year, becoming the only state losing population to both natural change and net migration.
The data are clear: Over the next decade, Vermont must add roughly 13,500 workers annually just to maintain economic stability. We need 7,500 new homes each year, yet we only permit about 2,500. When we fail to build, we aren’t “preserving” Vermont. We are pricing out multi-generational families, working-class neighbors and Vermonters of color, who represent our state’s fastest-growing demographic.
Saying no to growth denies depopulated rural areas the chance to revitalize their communities. A shrinking tax base concentrates economic pressure on fewer people, creating a vicious cycle that erodes even the most resilient communities.
Most Vermonters support more housing and population growth, and policymakers keep saying they intend to follow the will of the people. However, intentions do not house
families, fill classrooms, staff hospitals or make life more affordable. Outcomes do. Right now, tangible outcomes are coming far too slowly or not at all.
It doesn’t have to be this way. We can choose a different path forward.
FROM ROADMAP TO RESULTS
The planning is done. Between the Vermont Futures Project’s Economic Action Plan and the Vermont Business Roundtable’s Systems Innovation Framework, we have the data-informed roadmaps. We know where the hurdles are — a regulatory system that prizes “no” over “how,” and a fiscal trajectory where spending outpaces tax base growth, both exacerbated by unfunded mandates adding layers to an already inefficient system.
Process continues to overshadow results. It is time for outcomes.
Future policymakers should focus on these four immediate shifts.
Regulatory Modernization: Move from a culture of “permission” to a culture of “production.” If a project meets established goals, it should be approved in months, not years. Start with “yes” as the default.
Fiscal Stewardship: Align our budget with economic reality. Vermont cannot tax its way out of a shrinking population and a
constrained economy. Families and businesses need a predictable environment that allows them to plan, invest, stay and grow.
Intentional Population Growth: Actively recruit and retain a diverse, working-age population. Growth funds our schools, supports our healthcare system and sustains our communities, benefiting the people already here.
Accountability: Ensure enacted policies achieve their goals. If the goal is housing, did we build the homes? If it is affordability, did we bring costs down sustainably? Revisit system design and policies if they fail to produce tangible results.
WHAT COMES NEXT
Data is not destiny. Vermont’s future is a choice. Let’s choose abundance because Vermonters can no longer afford to choose scarcity. Here’s how you can help.
To the business community: Step forward to share your experiences with the downstream impacts of public policy. Your insights are crucial to modernizing our rules, regulations and system design, and restoring Vermont’s competitiveness to build an economy where everyone can thrive.
To policymakers: We stand ready to be your partners. The data is clear, our organizations are aligned, and the roadmap is ready. We don’t need endless studies; we need your help to produce results. As the election cycle approaches, remember that accountability is measured by tangible outcomes for Vermonters, not intentions.
To our fellow Vermonters: Say “yes” to the possibilities in your own communities. Welcome new housing, support the local businesses, and champion a growing tax base over rising tax rates. But wanting change is not enough, you must participate to make it happen. Engage with your elected officials, serve on a local board, and turn out to vote for the future you want to see.
We must all reshape the narrative about Vermont. Share stories about why you love living and working here and why others should consider Vermont too. Your voice can help break the vicious cycle of scarcity. Speak openly about how growth can improve well-being and why you support it.
Growth is not a threat to Vermont. Growth is what will save it.
Brave enough for a change of governor
I am supporting Aly Richards for governor because she has shown she can steward policy to make lasting change, with balance, optimism and technical know-how in government (as seen with Act 76).
She brings her raised-in-Vermont, motherof-twins grit, paired with a youthful energy our state deserves.
One of the things I respect most about Vermont is the deep-rooted sense of balance running through our culture. It’s reflected in our love for changing seasons and the mix of sophisticated urban and deeply rural places where we live, work and play. Many of our businesses (including mine) are mission-driven but sustained by a capitalist model. Our state motto, “Freedom and Unity,” rings true to that equilibrium.
The very same people will vote for a democratic socialist from Brooklyn for Senate and a Republican from Barre for governor. While I respect that instinct, I’ve seen it hinder progress on our most pressing issues.
As an employer with teams in both Burlington and Springfield, I understand the dynamics affecting Vermonters daily. From healthcare to housing, we need an executive with the vision to set an agenda and truly lead, just as Aly has done with childcare.
Vermont has proven it can counter the division and misinformation plaguing much of the country, and Aly will continue that legacy with good humor and strong ideas that will move us forward.
Vermont is showing its age, both in demographics — we have the second-highest share of senior citizens in the country — and in infrastructure, where the Vermont Agency of Transportation reports state road repairs are down 45%. Vermonters need more than roads and bridges; we need care infrastructure like quality childcare, affordable healthcare and housing.
Vermont might be little, but we are brave enough to make meaningful change. I believe Aly can lead. Visit www.alyforvt.org, and vote Aug. 11.
Sascha Mayer Williston
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
An attitude of kindness
The Friends of the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library would like to thank the Williston Community for all its help in having a successful book sale this year!
Community groups such as Boy Scout Troop #692, Williston-Richmond Rotary and over 50 individual citizens made this a very special year for the sale. We saw numerous acts of generosity, including one gentleman paying for many books chosen by children as they came through, several unsolicited donations, some folks “paying it forward” for others and a general attitude of kindness.
The Friends raised over $8,000 from the sale. The proceeds will be used to support library purchases and host events and activities separate from the library operating budget. These include buying “Golden Dome” books and audio editions for children, gingerbread house materials for the holidays, events such as visiting authors and various programs open to the community.
We appreciate the continued support of the Williston community with this fantastic event, which bolsters our wonderful library.
Gerald
Ortego
Secretary Friends
of the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library
This job takes training
The Aug. 11 Democratic primary for Chittenden County sheriff comes down to one question for me: Who is qualified to lead this office?
The sheriff oversees sworn, state-certified deputies entrusted with enforcing the law and, when necessary, using force. That responsibility demands training, experience and a proven record. It is not a position someone should learn on the job.
Dan Gamelin has dedicated 45 years to law enforcement. He began with the Winooski Police Department in 1981 and
joined the Chittenden County Sheriff’s Office in 1982. Over the years, he has served in nearly every major assignment, earned Vermont Police Academy certification, supervised prisoner transport, civil process, and court security, and led a retail theft enforcement unit that helped stop more than 1,000 retail thefts.
Dan’s opponent is a musician and com munity organizer with no law enforce ment experience or police certification. Their commitment to housing issues may be genuine, but sheriffs do not make
housing policy. Their job is to enforce the law, execute court orders and manage a professional law enforcement agency. Experience matters. I would not entrust the leadership of the Sheriff’s Office to someone learning the job for the first time. On Aug. 11, I will be voting for the candidate I believe has the qualifications, training and experience to serve Chittenden County as sheriff: Dan
Asah Lauren
Monthslong elevator outage frustrates Waterbury renters
Otis Elevator provides ever-shifting repair timelines
BY OTIS ROESSLER Community News Service
On Sunday, Feb. 1, Bronté Campos and her infant son returned from church to their apartment in the Green Mountain Seminary complex on Hollow Road in Waterbury. As a thirdfloor resident with a child in a carrier, Campos elected to take the elevator.
But when the elevator stopped on Campos’ floor, the door wouldn’t open.
She called her neighbor, Victoria Maradiaga Ramos, who dialed 911. After 40 minutes, first-responders had pried them out of the elevator using crowbars.
“I felt really bad for her,” Ramos said. “She started panicking, and her son was in there.”
Unfortunately for Campos, Ramos and other residents, this was only the beginning.
In the more than five months
since Campos’ incident, the elevator has still not been fixed. The situation has proven to be a major roadblock for residents, some of whom are elderly or disabled. Property managers at Downstreet Housing & Community Development in Barre, which owns and runs the apartments, blame the delay on the elevator company, which has provided ever-shifting deadlines for when the equipment might be fixed.
Angie Harbin, Downstreet’s executive director, said her organization has done all it can do. “I’m sure residents are really upset. We are really upset,” she said.
In the meantime, residents’ patience is running short.
“I can understand maybe two weeks, but (five) months? That’s a little ridiculous,” said Douglas Perry, an 84-year-old veteran who lives on the third floor.
Perry says he’s feeling limited by the lack of a working elevator, but he’s managing to come and go from his apartment. He carefully goes down the building’s back stairs, but he said family members
are helping him out when it comes to doing errands like grocery runs where he needs to carry things back to his unit.
The three-story Seminary building was built in 1869 as a school for Free Will Baptists, a subgroup of the Baptist church. Around the turn of the 20th century, it was transferred to the town and run as a school into the 1960s.
Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, this building has also hosted a childcare center, public library branch and an art center, which continues today.
In 2001, Downstreet converted much of the building into apartments, which it rents at subsidized and flat rates. Downstreet operates three other apartment complexes in downtown Waterbury, including senior apartments in the Stimson and Graves building on Stowe Street and the recently opened Marsh House apartments on South Main.
Harbin said the 16 units in the Seminary Apartments today house 39 people. But at least one resident has recently moved out due to the
Peace of Mind for Families and Loved Ones
elevator outage, according to Neil Smith, Downstreet’s director of property management.
With a growing child, Campos buys a lot of groceries and does a lot of laundry. The washers and dryers are on the first floor. A functioning elevator is important for Campos’ life, she said.
“It’s been a huge issue, especially having him,” she said, gesturing to her son. “He’s 17 pounds.”
Perry, the veteran, said he’s staying at home more often because the prospect of climbing the stairs back to his apartment is so daunting. Routine tasks like doing laundry or buying groceries have now become a tiring affair, and Perry has been forced to enlist his 77-year-old sister for help, he said. With a recent cancer diagnosis, Perry will need to attend more
Shelburne Museum stays open after hours on select summer evenings with live music, food trucks, access to galleries, and fun for the whole family!
5:30–7:30 p.m. June 25, July 23, August 27. Admission is free!
With live music each evening from: String band The Tenderbellies on June 25 Singer/songwriter Myra Flynn on July 23 Ray Vega Afro-Caribbean Jazz Ensemble on August 27
Doug Perry, a veteran who lives in Waterbury’s Green Mountain Seminary apartments, navigates a staircase with the building’s elevator out of service.
Elevator
doctor’s appointments. He hopes the elevator is fixed when that time comes.
Perry said he recently filed a complaint with the Vermont Human Rights Commission over the matter. The commission has not responded to a request for details about the status of Perry’s complaint.
The broken elevator has also created a problem for first-responders who need to transport people from the building to an ambulance.
Waterbury Ambulance Service
Chief Zachary Rounds said EMTs have had to manually move patients down the stairwell.
“It often requires additional manpower and ultimately delays transport to the hospital,” Rounds said.
A similar scenario played out at a Montpelier apartment building last fall when an elevator failure left some elderly residents stranded for months, VTDigger reported at the time. The contractor, Otis Elevator Company, blamed the lengthy delays on backordered parts. The issue has since been
fixed, a representative from the Montpelier Housing Authority, which operates the building, told the Roundabout on Monday.
Likewise, the elevator in Montpelier’s City Hall, damaged by flooding in July 2023, only in early June was restored and put back into service. In the two years and 11 months it was out of order, the building was not accessible to those unable to use the stairs, including audience members for Lost Nation Theater productions in the building’s second-floor theater.
Intermittent elevator stoppages have also plagued Decker Towers, an 11-story low-income complex in Burlington, WCAX reported in March. The building owner, Burlington Housing Authority, hired Otis Elevator to fix the issue, which required bringing in a technician from California, according to Steven Murray, the housing authority’s executive director. The repairs took three months and $40,000 to address, Murray said.
The same company is now working with Downstreet. According to Otis, the age of the Seminary Apartments elevator
has created technical difficulties in the repair process. Otis has had to contact the original manufacturer, ThyssenKrupp, which has sent technicians to the building. The arrangement has caused numerous delays.
Landon Wheeler is the deputy director of the Vermont Division of Fire Safety. He said these issues depend on the age and make of the elevator. While the state works with housing managers to make a “plan of compliance” to ensure a timely repair, issues in the repair process are settled between the building owners and the elevator company, Wheeler explained.
State inspectors who do regular elevator inspections also inspect after an elevator is repaired, he said. So in this case, Downstreet is responsible for posting signage about the elevator status and arranging for a certified mechanic to fix it.
Emails obtained by the Waterbury Roundabout show Downstreet’s growing frustration with the situation.
On June 3, Otis employee Hannah Miele told Downstreet that a planned repair had been delayed “once again.”
“My sincerest apologies for this change,” she wrote in an email. “It is my understanding that there will be no more delays from the vendor.”
Smith, the property management director, responded later that day. “It seems that every update we receive is another delayed service appointment, or the tech has the wrong laptop, or the laptop is right but the software is wrong, or some combination of that, etc. etc.,” he wrote. “There have been months of messages like this and it seems as though Otis simply cannot meet the needs for a timely repair within reason.”
By June 29, little had changed. Garrick Casavant, Otis’ Vermont territory manager, emailed Downstreet with another murky timeline, writing, “the plan is to have their adjustor onsite mid to end next week to move forward here.”
Jenny Hyslop, Downstreet’s senior director of housing operations, responded with a pointed email.
“That timeline is not one that is acceptable in the midst of a heat wave with tenants who have gone without an elevator for six months,” she wrote. “I would like to speak
with an accountable member of the leadership team at Otis today.”
But Otis has still not provided a concrete timeline for fixing the elevator. Otis officials declined an interview request with the Roundabout, instead providing a statement on July 2 acknowledging the inconvenience caused by the delay.
“We are working closely with the elevator’s original manufacturer to troubleshoot issues primarily related to the elevator’s software and the age of the unit, and will return the elevator back into service as quickly as possible,” the statement says. “There is nothing more important to Otis than the safety of our customers, employees and the riding public.”
Residents so far have mixed opinions on whether their landlord should be doing more to fix the problem. Perry suggested that the elevator company is likely to blame.
Ramos, however, is less forgiving. “You don’t get apologies, just excuses,” she said. “It’s absolutely ridiculous.”
Via Community News Service, a UVM internship, on assignment for the Waterbury Roundabout.
Vernon mulls uses for former Vermont Yankee nuclear plant
BY GRETA SOLSAA VTDigger
Vernon Selectboard members are raising concerns about being left out of the planning process for the future of a former nuclear power plant, which
closed over a decade ago and is set to be decommissioned by the end of the year.
The company NorthStar Group Services bought the former Vermont Yankee nuclear power station property in 2019 and has taken on
decontamination, demolition and restoration efforts. NorthStar entered a lease agreement in 2024 with the private-equity backed, Texas-based company PowerTransitions that converts industrial sites to energy
Members of the Vernon Selectboard listen as representatives from PowerTransitions discuss plans for the redevelopment of the former Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant during a meeting in Vernon on July 7. From left to right are board members Shelli Harvey, Sandra Harris and board chair Brandon Bucossi.
PHOTO BY GLENN RUSSELL/VTDIGGER
see VERMONT YANKEE page 11
Vermont Yankee
development.
PowerTransitions representatives discussed short-term and long-term goals including battery storage, a small nuclear reactor and even a data center at a Vernon planning commission meeting in May.
The potential redevelopment plans for the site, in particular the possibility of a data center, caused a stir at last month’s selectboard meeting.
PowerTransitions met with state and regional stakeholders before the town planning commission, said selectboard member and planning commission chair Jim Pinkerton at the Tuesday night meeting. That outreach included the Windham Regional Commission and Kerrick Johnson, who serves as commissioner of the Vermont Department of Public Service, Pinkerton added.
“I want you to realize that’s the legacy that you’re bringing into this discussion right now,” Pinkerton said. “That’s the
history you’re going to have to deal with very, very quickly.”
Carrie Hitt, spokesperson for PowerTransitions, sought to repair the relations, acknowledging that turnover at the company “left a void” as questions and concerns circled about the company’s plans. Hitt assured the town that the plans are in preliminary stages and that the company wants input from residents before going forward. She added there should be “no surprises” for the town about PowerTransitions’ plans.
Still, discontent hung in the air at a joint selectboard and planning commission meeting drawing dozens Tuesday night, where PowerTransitions representatives fielded questions and concerns in person.
“It feels like there’s been a little bit of trust broken at this point in how it’s developed so far,” said selectboard member Shelli Harvey.
PowerTransitions had already invested time and money in assessing the site, and the town could have been involved when those site reviews were
It’s Vermont Road Trip Season
happening behind the scenes, Harvey said.
Selectboard chair Brandon Bucossi said that there had been a longstanding relationship with Vermont Yankee and NorthStar. He questioned how PowerTransitions would offer the same.
PowerTransitions and NorthStar have told Bucossi that if the town felt left out of planning, it was a “giant misunderstanding,” he said. He added that the town is worried about “frankly getting shoved around” due to PowerTransitions’ resources as a large-scale company.
There are no clear plans yet, but developing battery energy storage is the company’s goal in the near-term, said Derek Porter, who works on development in the Northeast for PowerTransitions. Porter said the 140-acre former Vermont Yankee plant is an “outstanding site for redevelopment,” and the company wants to find energy customers in Vermont.
The company’s plans appear preliminary at this point, Pinkerton said in an interview,
but there would need to be additional fire prevention measures if battery storage is built given the location on the same lot as spent nuclear waste. At a public meeting in June 2021, residents weighed in on potential reuse, with industrial and alternative energy emerging as top choices at the time, Pinkerton said.
While there has been stress early on in the relationship between the town and PowerTransitions, Pinkerton added that it is a “trick” to find a company with the skill set to redevelop a former nuclear site, and the company should stay involved in the project.
Last month, Johnson said the state and PowerTransitions were working on crafting an agreement on expectations for the process of redevelopment. That agreement had yet to be finalized as of last Wednesday, according to Audrey Fargo, the commissioner’s executive assistant.
NorthStar CEO Scott State wrote in a statement provided to VTDigger that the company went to the town in January 2024
to introduce PowerTransitions before the two companies entered a lease agreement. The decommissioning company’s agreement with the town requires collaboration, but “not ultimate consensus on any final use,” State wrote.
The company’s goal is to ensure the site is restored for safe and productive use, and is looking forward to continued collaboration, according to the statement.
A lot has changed since Vermont Yankee operated in Vernon, said Hitt, and recognized there are formal development and community engagement requirements. Hitt suggested a monthly meeting to continue discussing options with the town and eventually creating a memorandum of understanding with the town.
“Ultimately, I don’t see us proposing a plan of something that I don’t think the town’s going to accept,” Hitt said. “Communities have more say in outcomes, and I think it’s important to figure out how we can work together.”
A study in contrast
The two Democrats running for Chittenden County sheriff
BY CHARLOTTE OLIVER VTDigger
Kevin Bloom has never been a cop and doesn’t own a gun. But now, they want to be sheriff.
Bloom runs a music studio and works for an audio software company. They have no law enforcement background, and their campaign platform questions whether the regular duties of Vermont sheriffs are even necessary.
“This isn’t a law enforcement job,” Bloom said in an interview, pointing instead to the role’s administrative responsibilities.
In the Aug. 11 Democratic primary, Bloom is set to face current Chittenden County Sheriff Dan Gamelin.
In contrast to Bloom, Gamelin worked more than 40 years as a sheriff’s deputy before being elected to run the office in 2022.
In his first term in office, Gamelin has proudly grown his department’s size and income. He
manages 22 full-time and nine part-time deputies. He said he’s bought 17 new police cruisers that cost about $70,000 a pop. Sheriffs get to pocket 5% of the money their office makes from contracts. And for Gamelin, he said that’s more than $50,000 annually from his economically thriving department.
Bloom accuses Gamelin of growing the department for his personal gain. If elected, the newcomer says they would instead pursue unpaid work for the public good.
Chittenden County voters are no strangers to progressive law enforcement officials. State’s Attorney Sarah George, the county’s top prosecutor, has garnered fans and skeptics alike for her progressive policies, such as opposition to cash bail.
But Bloom’s outsider bid may test the county’s appetite for outside-the-box thinking.
Take the candidates’
endorsements. Gamelin touts support from men in uniform, including former Vermont National Guard Adjutant Gen. Gregory Knight and Lamoille County Sheriff Roger Marcoux.
Bloom, meanwhile, celebrates their endorsement from Ben & Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen and a local juggling cyclist.
Even Bloom’s campaign slogan — “Stop evicting children!” — appears to reject a key tenet of a sheriff’s legal duties.
A sheriff’s daily work involves administrative police tasks like serving civil court notices, managing the office’s finances and leading a squad of deputies. Vermont law mandates that sheriffs carry out parts of the eviction process.
But to Bloom, change happens from inside the system.
“There’s so much potential in this office to be really useful for our community, but we’re just letting all this potential rot on the vine,” they said.
WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES?
Bloom’s not just a law enforcement outsider — their background could scarcely differ more from
Gamelin’s.
Bloom grew up in Sherborn, Mass., a suburb west of Boston. Their dad, who they said is estranged from them and does not financially support them, is the CEO of a prominent Boston finance firm.
Bloom, 32, moved to Vermont to attend the University of Vermont, where they majored in creative writing, and has lived here for the last 15 years. Although they were born outside the state, they said they could never see themselves living anywhere else.
“The biggest mistake I ever made was not being born in Vermont,” Bloom said, only somewhat in jest.
On their campaign website, Bloom describes being a musician and writer who runs a music studio downtown “with razor thin margins.” Their day job is working full time for an audio software company based in the Queen City see SHERIFF page 13
Kevin Bloom
called Sound Toys, which creates tools for music production.
If Bloom is elected, they might be the first openly transgender sheriff in the United States.
Gamelin’s roots began close by. He grew up in Winooski, just a few blocks from a small dairy farm owned by his grandparents, where he’d go to milk the cows before school.
After high school, he studied criminal justice at Champlain College. He went on to join the Chittenden County Sheriff’s Department at age 23 as a deputy under then-Sheriff Kevin McLaughlin.
More than 40 years in that job led Gamelin to head the office’s civil division. In that role, he was responsible for serving subpoenas and court notices in divorce cases, small claims cases and landlord-tenant disputes.
When McLaughlin, who was sheriff for 36 years, decided not to run for reelection again, Gamelin stepped up. He ran for the office in 2022, and in an uncontested race won 98% of the vote in the general
LIMITED TIME
election.
Forty years on the job made the transition pretty seamless, said Gamelin, 65.
That seamlessness rubbed Bloom the wrong way. They said they decided to run for sheriff because they believe the office has been uncontested for too long and occupied by people who are part of the “far right.”
Although Gamelin has always run in the Democratic primary (he was on the general election ballot as a Democrat/Republican in 2022), Bloom said they consider him part of the far right because they think some of Gamelin’s policies are “dehumanizing.” They specifically point to his decision not to provide rides for people when they’re released from prison.
EVICTIONS AT ISSUE
In an unconventional approach to a law enforcement campaign, Bloom has rallied supporters around the idea of eviction reform.
Despite sheriffs’ legal duties to carry out evictions, Bloom said they believe it’s within the job’s purview to try to reduce evictions because of the role the office plays in the process. They want to create a job program for people facing
eviction for not paying rent, they said, and would still carry out evictions when ordered by a court. Their plan is informed by the city’s struggles, but limited by state law.
Under Vermont law, if a judge decides that a tenant can be evicted, the judge can issue a mandate that the tenant vacate the property within 14 days. Sheriffs and their deputies are directed under state law to deliver those court orders to
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a tenant. And if the tenant doesn’t follow the order to move out, a sheriff can forcibly remove the person from the property.
Bloom thinks it’s the sheriff’s role to address evictions not only because of their administrative duties in the process, but also because they see the state’s housing and homelessness crises as the driving force behind crime.
During the pandemic years, the Burlington-area rental vacancy rate hit astonishing lows under 1%. That contributed to a housing crunch in the county, with renters scrounging for places to live amid the limited options — and landlords holding the upper hand in the market.
In 2023, Vermont property owners were on pace to file hundreds more eviction cases than in prepandemic years, with pronounced effects in Chittenden County, according to a Seven Days report.
Advocates say Vermont’s tight rental market has contributed to the state’s homelessness. In 2024, Vermont had the fourth-highest rate of homelessness in the country.
Bloom pointed out that more
than 72% of evictions in the state are because of tenants not paying rent, according to Vermont Legal Aid. So they want to create a program that could help people facing eviction keep their housing and get a job.
The proposed program would start with a group of local businesses that need employees, Bloom said. If a tenant was facing eviction, the sheriff could get the person enrolled in the program, and an employer would front an amount of money, say $500, that the tenant owes the landlord.
The tenant would be able to keep their housing, pay off their debt through working and have a lasting job to pay rent, Bloom reasoned.
If someone were ordered to be evicted from their house, Bloom said they would carry out that court order and would connect the tenant with housing resources and social services.
“There’s not going to be a Vermont where we don’t do evictions, but we need to do them thoughtfully and consider the consequences,” Bloom said.
Bloom’s reformist vision
see SHERIFF page 21
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WILLISTON POLICE
May 31 at 11:49 a.m. — Suspicious female at the bus stop on Wright Avenue. Female was located, refused all services and moved along.
June 2 at 4:19 p.m. — Report of a physical altercation on Williston Road. Male suspect was intoxicated and was transported to the correctional facility for detox.
June 2 at 6:03 p.m. — Served an emergency evaluation warrant on a male having a mental health crisis. He was transported to the hospital for evaluation.
with all major dental insurances.
May 31 at 3:10 p.m. — Report of a female at Panera Bread who was in the bathroom for a long time and slamming things. Female was gone before officers’ arrival.
June 1 at 10:55 a.m. — Retail theft reported at Dick’s Sporting Goods. Male was located and all items were recovered. Male was issued a notice of trespass.
June 1 at 5:19 p.m. — Verbal altercation at Sandri. Male had an outstanding arrest warrant. He was lodged at the correctional facility.
June 2 at 3:46 p.m. — Retail theft reported at Dick’s Sporting Goods. Suspects were gone before officer’s arrival and were unable to be identified.
June 3 at 12:28 a.m. — Traffic stop conducted on Williston Road. Male operator was issued a citation for suspicion of DUI.
June 3 at 2:58 p.m. — Physical altercation at Zephyr Place. Male was transported to the hospital for evaluation.
June 4 at 2:04 p.m. — Assisted Williston Fire Department with smell of smoke in the lobby of a business on Williston Road.
June 4 at 8:41 p.m. — Traffic enforcement conducted on Old Creamery Road. Two speeding tickets issued and a cell phone violation ticket issued.
June 5 at 5:23 a.m. — Assisted Williston Rescue with an unresponsive female. Female was transported to the hospital.
June 5 at 9:19 a.m. — Male called to report a stolen vehicle. Car was located a short time later in Milton and returned to the owner.
June 5 at 7:19 p.m. — Traffic enforcement conducted on Old Creamery Road. Five tickets issued for speed.
June 6 at 8:46 a.m. — Female in the EastRise parking lot sleeping in her vehicle. Female was moved along.
June 6 at 2:00 p.m. — Female in Style Encore who has stolen in the past. Female was located and issued a citation to appear in court for retail theft. She was also issued a notice of trespass.
Officers also conducted 20 traffic enforcement operations resulting in 101 traffic stops and responded to seven alarm activations and ten motor vehicle crashes during this time frame.
JULY 3
WILLISTON FIRE DEPARTMENT
• 7:22 a.m. — Crews responded to a carbon monoxide alarm on Johnson Lane.
• 10:18 a.m. — Firefighters investigated an electrical hazard on Talcott Road.
• 12:30 p.m. — Firefighters responded to a fire/smoke alarm on Eagle Crest.
• 4:36 p.m. — Crews responded to a carbon monoxide alarm on South Road.
• 5:34 p.m. — Firefighters responded to a fire/smoke alarm on Commerce Street.
• 5:39 p.m. — Firefighters responded to a fire/smoke alarm on Falcon Manor.
• 5:40 p.m. — An accidental fire alarm was reported on Eagle Crest.
• 10:09 p.m. — Crews responded to a carbon monoxide release on Seth Circle.
JULY 4
• 5:32 a.m. — Firefighters responded to a fire/smoke alarm on Day Lane.
• 6:46 a.m. — Crews provided a citizen assist on Eagle Crest.
• 6:57 p.m. — Firefighters responded to a fire/smoke alarm on Butternut Road.
JULY 5
• 1:25 a.m. — Crews provided a lift assist at Falcon Manor.
JULY 6
• 12:40 a.m. — Firefighters responded to a fire/smoke alarm on Tyler Way.
JULY 7
• 5:27 a.m. — Crews provided a lift assist on Brookside Drive.
• 11:09 a.m. — Crews provided a lift assist on Southridge Road.
• 4:05 p.m. — Firefighters investigated a reported hazardous release on St. George Road. No hazard was found.
• 7:09 p.m. — Firefighters assisted at a confined cooking/appliance fire on Margarets Way in Shelburne.
• 7:11 p.m. — Crews responded to a reported incident on Maple Tree Place, but found no emergency.
• 7:52 p.m. — A mutual aid response to Richmond Road in Hinesburg was canceled.
• 9:14 p.m. — Crews provided a lift assist on Brookside Drive.
JULY 8
• 9:31 a.m. — A mutual aid response to Vermont Route 116 in Hinesburg was canceled.
• 11:20 a.m. — Firefighters responded to a fire/smoke alarm on Whitewater Circle.
• 12:33 p.m. — Crews responded to Seymour Street, but found no emergency.
• 5:48 p.m. — Firefighters provided a lift assist on Meadowbend Road.
• 11:59 p.m. — Crews provided a lift assist on Tyler Way.
JULY 9
• 7:06 a.m. — Firefighters provided a citizen assist on Williston Woods Road.
• 9:30 a.m. — Crews responded to a fire/smoke alarm on Whitewater Circle.
• 1:00 p.m. — Firefighters responded to Harvest Lane, but found no emergency.
• 4:12 p.m. — Crews responded to Zephyr Road, but found no emergency.
SAVVY SENIOR
By Jim Miller
How does Medicare cover telehealth
Dear Savvy Senior, I don’t drive much anymore, so getting to the doctor can be a hassle. They suggested telehealth visits, but I’m not very tech savvy. How does Medicare cover these kinds of appointments?
— Trying to Keep Up
Dear Trying, You’re certainly not alone. Many older adults are running
into the same issue. Getting to appointments is not as easy as it used to be, and the idea of using technology for doctor visits can feel a little intimidating at first.
The good news is that telehealth has made it much easier to get care without leaving home, and it’s usually much simpler to use than people expect. Medicare covers many of these services, too, making it easier to stay connected with your health care providers. Here’s a look at how it works and what Medicare pays for.
WHAT IS
TELEHEALTH?
Telehealth is simply a way to see or talk to your doctor from home using a phone, tablet or computer. Visits can be done by video, where you and your doctor can see and talk to each other, or sometimes by a regular phone call.
And don’t worry, you don’t need to be a tech expert. Many doctor’s offices use simple systems and will walk you through it step by step. In some cases, all you have to do is click a link they send you or answer your phone at the scheduled time.
It’s also important to understand that telehealth visits are not just quick chats. They are considered full medical appointments. Your doctor can go over symptoms, review medications, discuss test results and recommend
treatment, much like an in-person visit.
DOES MEDICARE COVER IT?
Yes, Medicare does cover many telehealth services. While telehealth has been part of Medicare for years, it was expanded significantly during the COVID 19 pandemic so people could safely get care from home. Those expanded services are still in place today.
Right now, Medicare allows you to receive telehealth services from home no matter where you live. Covered visits include a wide range of care, such as reviewing lab results, managing prescriptions, routine checkups, preventive screenings and even evaluating minor illnesses like colds, coughs or infections. In many cases, follow up visits and ongoing care for chronic conditions can also be handled this way.
Another big plus is flexibility. If you are not comfortable with video or do not have internet access, some telehealth visits can still be done using just a regular phone call. And it is not limited to your primary doctor. Many types of health care providers can offer telehealth services.
WHAT’S AHEAD?
Here’s where things get a little uncertain. The expanded
telehealth coverage that began during the pandemic is not permanent, at least not yet.
Under current law, these broader telehealth benefits are set to continue through Dec. 31, 2027. After that, Medicare will likely scale back coverage to more limited rules unless Congress steps in and extends the changes.
Even so, some telehealth services are expected to continue long term. Mental and behavioral health care, diabetes education, nutrition therapy and certain dialysis-related visits should still be covered. Audio-only phone visits for mental health care are also expected to remain available.
If you are curious about telehealth, start by calling your doctor’s office and asking what options they offer. They can guide you through the process and help you feel comfortable before your first appointment.
It may feel unfamiliar at first, but many people find that once they try telehealth, it’s a simple and convenient way to stay on top of their health, especially when getting to appointments is difficult.
Send your questions or comments to questions@ savvysenior.org, or to Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070.
TODAY’S HISTORY:
• In 1790, the District of Columbia was established as the permanent capital of the United States.
• In 1945, the United States successfully detonated a test nuclear weapon at the Alamogordo Air Base in New Mexico, an event now considered to mark the beginning of the Atomic Age.
• In 1951, J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye” was published.
• In 1979, Saddam Hussein became the president of Iraq.
• In 1999, John F. Kennedy Jr., along with his wife and sisterin-law, died in a private plane crash near Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.
TODAY’S FACT:
• The world’s first parking meter, installed on this day in 1935 in Oklahoma City, charged 5 cents per hour.
SOLUTION FOUND ON PAGE 22
Take a Ride!
Have you ever ridden a roller coaster? These thrill rides can be found at many amusement parks around the country. Parks advertise their rides as the tallest, longest or fastest coasters, hoping to draw kids and adults to try them out.
This week, The Mini Page learns more about how roller coasters became so popular and the science behind them.
Riding on science
You don’t have time to think about it when you’re screaming your way through steep hills and loops on a roller coaster, but your ride is demonstrating several properties of physics (FIZZ-iks), the science of matter and energy.
Roller coasters convert potential energy, or the energy that’s built up as the car goes up the hill, into kinetic energy — the energy that takes you down the hill.
Roller coaster cars don’t have motors. They work because of gravity, the force that pulls items back toward the Earth.
Momentum, or the force an object has when it is moving, keeps the cars going forward even as the track levels out or goes up
Try ’n’ Find
Next Week: Our states: Idaho
Sliding down
Mini Fact:
Almost 30 new roller coasters are opening in the U.S. in 2026.
a little bit. But friction, or the rubbing of the wheels on the tracks, slows the cars down.
As the roller coaster speeds up and slows down during the ride, your body feels different forces at work: gravity, acceleration and inertia (in-ER-sha). Inertia can be explained by saying that an object will stay still, or keep going, unless something else acts upon it. For instance, the roller coaster car would keep going forever if there were no friction or gravity to slow it down. These competing forces can make you feel as if you’re weightless.
Roller coasters also have brakes to slow the cars at certain points along the way and at the end of the ride. Which force is demonstrated through the use of brakes?
Roller coaster Fact-a-Roonies
• The tallest coaster is Falcons Flight at Six Flags Qiddiya in Saudi Arabia. It stands 535 feet tall and has the tallest drop of 518 feet.
• Falcons Flight is also the fastest roller coaster. It goes just over 155 mph!
• The fastest wooden roller coaster is Goliath at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois, which goes 72 mph.
that remind us of roller coasters are hidden in this puzzle. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally, and some letters are used twice. See if you can find:
About 400 years ago, the Russians invented the first coasters. A rider climbed to the top of a tower, got into a sled and slid to the bottom over an ice-covered course. He or she would get off and climb to the top of a nearby tower and do it again. These rides were called Russian Mountains.
LaMarcus Thompson was the father of the modern roller coaster. In the 1880s, he invented the “switchback.” People climbed a tower, rode down and got off at the end. They then climbed another tower at the end and rode back to where they started.
Thompson’s
Switchback Railway opened at Coney Island in Brooklyn, New York, in 1884. It was a wooden roller coaster.
Steel coasters
Disney opened its Matterhorn Bobsled coaster in 1959, the first to use a tubular steel track. Using steel, coaster designers can bend tracks in any direction, which means they can include loops and corkscrews in the ride.
It Works: Roller Coasters” by
Mini Jokes
Rob: Why did the roller coaster feel cold?
Carrie: It had too many chills and thrills! Rhiana: What vegetable loves roller coasters? Ryan: Celereeeeeeee!
Founded by Betty Debnam
photo by Benoit Deniaud
Momentum, or the force an object has when it is moving, keeps the cars going forward even as the track levels out or goes up
Try ’n’ Find
Words that remind us of roller coasters are hidden in this puzzle. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally, and some letters are used twice. See if you can find:
Rhiana: What vegetable loves roller coasters? Ryan: Celereeeeeeee!
Eco Note
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices in a large bowl. Mix well.
2. Beat pumpkin, oil, sugar, applesauce and eggs in separate mixing bowl until smooth.
3. Add flour mixture gradually and stir until just moistened. Add chocolate chips and gently fold in.
4. Line muffin tins with paper liners; fill each liner with batter until 2/3 full.
5. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes until done. Makes 2 dozen.
7
Little Words for Kids
Use the letters in the boxes to make a word with the same meaning as the clue. The numbers in parentheses represent the number of letters in the solution. Each letter combination can be used only once, but all letter combinations will be necessary to complete the puzzle.
Barbary macaques living in Gibraltar have developed an unusual coping mechanism for a modern problem — eating soil to soothe their stomachs after consuming human junk food. The Guardian reports researchers observed that monkeys exposed to tourists were the most likely to consume processed snacks, and to eat dirt, a behavior known as geophagy (JEE-uh-fay-jee). The study suggests the soil may help rebalance gut microbes disrupted by foods high in sugar, fat and salt. In some cases, macaques were seen eating soil shortly after consuming ice cream, bread or sweets.
For later:
Look in your local newspaper for items or advertisements about amusement parks in your community.
SPORTS
Wolfpack felled by Diamondbacks
CLOCKWISE (l to r): Willston Wolfpack’s Zeb Perreault gets his pitch to hit during the second game of a double header with the Browns River Diamondbacks on Sunday at Williston Central School. Out in right field Ben Tufano catches a high one. Pitcher Timber Russell toes the rubber. Liam Wheeler lays down a sacrifice bunt to advance the basemen. Zeck Butterfield draws a walk.
The Wolfpack lost both games in this Green Mountain Baseball League battle.
OBSERVER
PHOTOS BY AL FREY
would be a better fit for the Legislature, not law enforcement, Gamelin argues.
“I think Kevin Bloom, if he wants to change the laws on landlord-tenant stuff, he needs to be a legislator,” Gamelin said. “I think this office is the wrong place to do that.”
Although he carries out plenty of evictions — and was busy with them the morning of his interview with VTDigger — Gamelin said he considers them “the worst part of our job.” He makes sure to connect people he evicts to social services, he said, and at times has given tenants hugs.
While Bloom rallies supporters in favor of eviction reform, some of Chittenden County’s most prominent rental business owners are backing Gamelin’s campaign.
Campaign finance records show the sheriff received $1,000
from “Bissonette Properties,” which appears to refer to Bissonette Properties and Rental Management. Gamelin also received $1,000 from SWB LLC, which is named as a plaintiff in a handful of landlord-tenant disputes in court. He also received $1,000 from Handy’s Hotel and Rentals, $500 from “Salamin and Mountaha Handy’s Apartments” and $200 from Jim Handy.
That’s on top of smaller sums from other landlords and rental companies.
According to Gamelin, he and the Bissonettes and Handys were friends long before he became sheriff.
“They’re supporting me as a friend, not as an owner of an apartment complex or an apartment building,” he said, rejecting the notion of a conflict of interest. “The evictions that I do for the Bissonette properties or the Handys are directed to me by the court system, not by the Handys and not by the Bissonettes.”
BALANCING THE BOOKS
Sheriffs are responsible for generating the lion’s share of the funds to support their departments due to the limited money Vermont provides for county government.
Gamelin runs his office like a business, funding its operations through contracts. If the upgrades he’s brought to the department are any indication, that approach seems to be working.
When he started as sheriff, Gamelin hired eight new deputies, he said. He also got the whole staff new uniforms and body armor. Throughout his first term, he said, he has bought the office 17 cars — so now everyone has a car to take home.
Gamelin has largely funded upgrades through security contracts with a host of nearby businesses, which pay $90 an hour for a deputy.
Deputies, sometimes in plainclothes, stand watch to stop people from committing crimes, making arrests if necessary.
Businesses including Barnes & Noble and Vermont Railway, plus affordable housing groups such as the Burlington Housing Authority and the Champlain Housing Trust, all work with Gamelin’s department.
As city officials have been criticized as not doing enough to deter crime in the Queen City, companies like Goldman Sachs have even paid for deputies to escort employees from their cars to their offices.
In part through these efforts, Gamelin boasts that since he started a unit to crack down on property crimes, his deputies have made 1,000 apprehensions.
The contracts haven’t just funded office upgrades — they’ve funded Gamelin’s pay. State law allows sheriffs to personally pocket up to 5% of the money their departments make from contracts, as long as the sum isn’t more than 50% of their salary.
Bloom has criticized the practice as unethical. They want to take on unpaid public service work rather than security contracts.
Across the state, sheriffs no longer get paid to give rides to people who were just released from prison. That sometimes leaves people stranded in a rural area with few belongings or transportation options. Bloom said they’d restart the practice, which hasn’t been in place for years.
In a way, it makes sense for Bloom’s vision to involve alternatives to police work. After all, they don’t have a law enforcement certification, which is not required for the job.
That concerns Gamelin. His deputies made an arrest on Church Street recently, Gamelin said, and the sheriff should have the expertise to give those deputies advice.
“This office is a law enforcement office,” the sheriff said. “We make arrests.”
Gamelin said he does take up to 50% of his salary, which adds up to about $58,000 a year. It’s a practice common among sheriffs across the state.
Lead
The Terraces, a 55+ independent living condominium community in Shelburne, seeks an individual to oversee the day-to-day operations of the property and its programs. This position offers flexibility within a twenty-five hour work week. As the Property Manager, you will work with the Board of Directors to insure the smooth operation of the community and its programs.
Interested candidates should send resumes to theterracesvermont@gmail.com. For more information about the position go to https://theterracesshelburnevt.com/ careers/.
Town
Lead infrastructure design, construction management, capital planning for wastewater, stormwater, streets, and paths. Civil engineering degree + 6 years’ experience required. Salary range $102,000 - $112,000 DOE with excellent benefits package.
Coming Together
A B O U T U S
For five years, Coming Together has connected our community, elevated recovery, & driven change. Our summit brings together individuals, families, professionals, providers, advocates, & policymakers to build a stronger, healthier Vermont
This event is free and open to the public. Whether you ' re seeking support, looking to help a loved one, or wanting to make a difference this summit is for you
Together, we raise awareness, expand access to resources, strengthen partnerships, and save lives Recovery is possible. No one has to do it alone
A recovery program featuring inspiring guest speakers and presentations We have some surprises too!
100s of Recovery and Recovery-Related Booths Excellent networking and resource opportunities We look for programs that model success
We are highlighting several Key Summit Goals Listening and learning from “boots on the ground” input
