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CVU turf proposal clears hurdle
JULY 16, 2026
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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 see TURF page 3
Trinity Baptist shutters school Founded in 1971, TBS offered private, K-12 Christian education BY JASON STARR Observer staff
Trintiy Baptist School was co-located and affiliated with Trinity Baptist Church on Mountain View Road. OBSERVER FILE PHOTO
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.
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
OBSERVER COURTESY PHOTO BY ERNIE ROSSI
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
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see TRINITY page 3