The Town of Williston is way past due for a reappraisal of private property.
Assistant Assessor Mychaela Harton estimates that the value at which properties are currently taxed is roughly 50 percent of their actual market value. The last townwide reappraisal occurred in 2016 — meaning property values have more or less doubled in the last 10 years.
Jill Remick, director of the Vermont Department of Taxes’ Division of Property Valuation and Review, sent a letter to the town in October requiring the town to submit a reappraisal plan. A law that went into effect last January mandates towns reappraise once every six years.
“Williston is out of compliance based on the six-year cycle,” Remick wrote. “You are required to take action immediately.”
In response, the assessor’s office plans to publish a request-for-proposals in December seeking to hire a company able to conduct a townwide reappraisal. The reappraisal involves assigning a new market value to each of the town’s roughly 4,800 residential
and commercial properties. The new value will become the value at which the town and school district will tax each property, based on the property tax rates approved annually by voters on Town Meeting Day.
“I’m in favor of doing away with the board of listers.”
Linda Levitt Williston Board of Listers
The current taxable property value of all properties in Williston — known as the town’s Grand List — amounts to roughly $2 billion, according to Town Manager Erik Wells. He anticipates that amount will jump to about $3 billion after the reappraisal.
Harton noted that, even after the town contracts with a reappraisal company, it could take several years before the reappraisal is complete.
Many Vermont municipalities are similarly overdue, and there is a limited number of companies qualified and available to conduct reappraisals.
Meanwhile, Harton and Wells are
asking the selectboard to consider seeking voter approval to abolish the elected Board of Listers, which is typically charged with hiring a reappraisal company, as well as signing off on the annual Grand List and hearing any property valuation appeals.
Linda Levitt, one of the members of the three-member board, supports the proposal. She said the listers often feel unqualified to determine property value appeals and typically defer to the town’s professional staff — part-time Assessor Bill Hinman and Harton, the assistant assessor who took over last year after the retirement of Dick Ransom.
“It’s very uncomfortable to sit and pretend like you know something when you don’t,” Levitt said. “So I’m in favor of doing away with the board of listers.”
Dissolving the board would require a majority vote from residents. The selectboard plans to decide in December whether to place a question authorizing it on the Town Meeting Day ballot in March. Without a board of listers, all property value appeals would be heard by assessor office staff, which is hired by the town manager.
School budget proposal adds $5.8
Board seeks reductions ahead of Town Meeting Day
BY JASON STARR Observer staff
A first draft of the Champlain Valley School District’s budget
proposal for the upcoming fiscal year shows a $5.8 million (5.6 percent) increase over the current year. District Chief Operations Officer Gary Marckres presented the $108.5 million proposal to school board members during their meeting Tuesday night at CVU.
He said the increase is
primarily attributable to a 5.5 percent increase in teacher salaries and a 5 percent increase in support staff salaries that the board and teachers union agreed to in their current employment contract. While the contract can’t be altered, board members still asked Marckres to return next month with a reduced budget proposal.
million
“I’ll advocate for reductions,” said board member Keith Roberts of Hinesburg. “A 5.6 percent (increase) just doesn’t feel comfortable to me. I’d feel a little more comfortable with 5 percent … That’s more in line with inflation, and people can stomach that a bit better.”
The board plans a series of hearings on the budget in December and January before finalizing a proposal in late January to put to voters on the Town Meeting Day ballot in March. Marckres did not venture any estimates on what the increase would mean see SCHOOL page 3
Rapunzel’s Prince (Kieran Coolidge), left, and Cinderella’s Prince (Rowan WIlliams), right, perform the ‘Agony’ duet in CVU’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Into the Woods’ on Saturday in HInesburg. More photos on page 14. OBSERVER PHOTO BY AL FREY
BTV Winter Market
Around Town
Dumpster fire causes evacuation of senior apartments
The Williston police and fire departments evacuated residents of the Eagle Crest Apartments last Thursday night as smoke from a dumpster fire in an underground parking garage filled the building.
Located off Blair Park Road, the apartment building contains about 60 apartments designed for seniors aged 55 and older. Firefighters from Essex Junction and South Burlington also responded.
Doors will open at 11 a.m., the Williston Central School choir will perform seasonal music at 11:45 and lunch will be served at noon. The holiday meal will include roast turkey and all the fixings.
Because space is limited. RSVP by Dec. 6 by calling (802) 489-8159.
Richmond blood drive planned for Dec. 3
The fire was likely started by “improper disposal of smoking materials,” the Williston Fire Department reported. The building’s automatic sprinkler system successfully contained the fire, and firefighters used high-powered fans to clear the smoke before residents returned. No one was hurt, and the building was not damaged.
“The building’s sprinkler system operated as designed and prevented the fire from escalating,” Williston Fire Chief Aaron Collette said. “The value of the operating sprinkler system cannot be overstated.”
Senior holiday luncheon registration open
The Williston-Richmond Rotary Club’s annual Jonathan Milne Senior Holiday Luncheon will take place Thursday, Dec. 11 at the Williston Federated Church, 44 North Williston Rd.
The Richmond Congregational Church at 20 Church St. will be the site of a Red Cross blood drive on Wednesday, Dec. 3 from 12-6 p.m. Appointments are required. Call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800733-2767) or go online to redcrossblood.org.
Richmond Holiday Market coming up
The annual Richmond Holiday Market will take place Saturday, Dec. 6 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Richmond Congregational Church and Richmond Town Center on Bridge Street.
Dozens of crafters will have items on display, and a food donation bin will be available benefitting the Richmond Food Shelf. A silent auction and toy donation bin will benefit Toys for Kids.
The event will feature lunch, live music, a Richmond Free Library book sale and Camel’s Hump Middle School sixth grade craft fair.
For more information, contact spochop@uvm.edu or 802-318-5360.
150 HANDCRAFTERS
SATURDAY, NOV. 22
Christmas Bazaar. Crafts, bake sale, plants, soups to go and more. Proceeds benefit local charities. 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Williston Federated Church.
SATURDAY, NOV. 22
Red Cross Blood Drive. 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Williston Fire Station. Schedule an appointment at redcrossblood. org or by calling 1-800-733-2767.
SATURDAY, NOV. 22
Turkey Donation Day. Drop off turkeys and gift cards for families in need. 8-11 a.m. Williston Community Food Shelf, 400 Cornerstone Drive #130. More information at willistonfoodshelf.com.
TUESDAY, NOV. 25
Williston Development Review Board meeting. 7 p.m. Town Hall. Agenda at town.williston.vt.us.
WEDNESDAY, DEC. 3
Red Cross Blood Drive. 12-6 p.m. Richmond Congregational Church. Schedule at redcrossblood.org or by calling 1-800-733-2767.
SATURDAY, DEC. 6
Richmond Holiday Market. Crafts, lunch, book sale, music, food and toy donation. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Richmond Congregational Church. For information, email spochop@ uvm.edu or call (802) 318-5360.
SUNDAY, DEC. 7
Williston Community Tree Lighting. Christmas carols, cookies and cocoa as town Christmas tree is lit. Donations of hats, mittens, gloves and socks accepted for the food shelf. 4:30-5:30 p.m. Village Green.
‘Fill the Ambulance’ drive a big success
CLOCKWISE (l to r): Thanks to a generous community, the joint food drive organized by the Williston Fire and Police departments on Sunday, combined with a food drive hosted by the Williston Federated Church on Saturday, delivered in a big way. Cadets from the Vermont Civil Air Patrol helped with traffic control and by receiving and organizing the donations.
Williston Federated Church volunteers give the thumbs up along with Paster Paul Eyer (l).
Williston Scout Troop 692 helped with the logistics.
Ginger Morton (not shown) president of the Williston Community Food Shelf, wrote in an email that they’d never had this much food collected for them before.
School
continued from page 1
for property tax bills, awaiting clarity from the Vermont Department of Taxes about the anticipated statewide education tax rate, expected in December. He plans to present a local tax rate projection at the board’s Jan. 13 meeting.
CVSD board chair Meghan Metzler said she would like to see the budget come in under $108 million.
“My bet is that will take a couple pennies off the tax rate,” she said.
One avenue the board identified to accomplish that would be
to allow positions that had been funded through federal grants to sunset as the grants expire. Marckres included $260,000 in the budget for the district to absorb the cost of the positions.
“As grants expire, we really need to evaluate what the value added is,” board member Brendan McMahon of Williston said. “Historically we would absorb grants. I just don’t think we’ll be able to do that in the coming years.”
Marckres said he would return to the board in December with an explanation of what areas of the district rely on federal grants, in light of “the uncertainly of the federal grant landscape right now.”
WILLISTONHUB
WILLISTON: BUSINESS HUB OF VERMONT
Meet your friendly neighborhood Chocolate Butcher
A
chunky
take on chocolate comes to Taft Corners
BY JASON STARR Observer staff
Is chocolate really meant to come in uniform molded shapes with repetitive ridges?
Jeffrey Mannion bets the answer is no. He’s carving out a place for rough cut chocolate chunks and experimenting with all manner of pairings, from nuts and toffees to potato chips and jerky.
On Saturday, Mannion takes these ideas out of his Williston factory on Boyer Circle — where he founded “The Chocolate Butcher” brand about 10 years ago
and has been shipping chocolate products to grocery stores out of state — and opens the doors of his first retail location.
The Chocolate Butcher shop occupies a nook at the corner of Route 2A and Marshall Avenue, co-located with the Casa Grande Mexican restaurant that opened in the main part of the building last year.
As a chocolatier, he first noticed the joys of rough hewn chunks when they would randomly fall off wholesale blocks in the production facilities he frequented.
“The market has plenty of really polished chocolate out there with the nice bows … It’s a very crowded space,” Mannion said. “We’re trying to take really
quality chocolate and make it very approachable and really unique in the way that people experience it. It’s rough around the edges, but there’s something beautiful about chocolate that way because it just has sort of a personality.”
THE DATE: SATURDAY DECEMBER 6TH, 2025
Experience the recreation of one of the greatest logistical triumphs in military history, right where it happened 250 years ago!
Join us for “Noble Train Begins,” a powerful commemoration marking the first step of Henry Knox’s legendary 300-mile journey to deliver captured British artillery to Boston. Witness the selection of guns, the dramatic ‘cleaning’ of the cannon and the loading and transport of artillery on the largest number of period vehicles assembled since 1775.
Visit fortticonderoga.org for the full schedule and to buy your tickets! 102 Fort Ti Road, Ticonderoga, NY
Williston hasn’t had a retail chocolate specialty shop since Amarah’s closed in the Taft Corners Shopping Plaza several years ago.
The Chocolate Butcher plans to be open Wednesday through Sunday, 12-7 p.m.
The first display that greets customers in the shop is a table of more traditional prepackaged treats: chocolate and graham crackers, chocolate and peanuts, chocolate and pretzels, for example. But the heart of the store is its array of chocolate charcuterie boards. This is where Mannion — a seasoned advertising executive and food industry inventor (ever heard of the Lid Lasso?) — can display his creative panache.
The typical charcuterie board, of course, is an array of cheeses, meats, fruits and crackers. The Chocolate Butcher version combines a base of chocolate chunks
Jeffrey Mannion opens The Chocolate Butcher this weekend on Route 2A. OBSERVER PHOTO BY JASON STARR
Beta Technologies’ wealth soars after IPO
BY THEO WELLS-SPACKMAN VTDigger
The top brass at Beta Technologies saw their collective net worth jump by nearly $1.4 billion following the electric plane company’s initial stock offering last Tuesday, according to a company filing with the federal government. Big investors, including BlackRock and an Amazon fund, also saw the value of their investments in the company soar.
Beta Technologies debuted on the New York Stock Exchange last Tuesday, raising more than $1 billion as it offered 34 million total shares at an initial price of $34 per share. In the following days, the South Burlington-based company’s stock price has oscillated around that figure, dipping to roughly $32 as the market closed on Friday.
Beta’s filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission details the share ownership of directors and executives. Their shares can be sold on the stock market following the expiration of a “lock-up” agreement that lasts 180 days from after Nov. 3, the October filing said.
Kyle Clark, the company’s CEO and founder, directly owns 487,100 shares in the company — an asset
Chocolate
continued from page 4
with different sweets and nuts, packaged and ready for snacking — a different mix with each handful. Like a typical charcuterie board, these are probably most at home at the center of a party.
Customers are also encouraged to create their own chocolate charcuterie boards with ingredients at the shop such as salami,
now worth roughly $15.5 million at Friday’s share prices. But over $235 million in stock is also held between trusts in his name and the name of his wife, Katie Clark, which do not allow for immediate access.
Clark, who was born in Huntington and traces aspects of Beta back to early engineering projects at Harvard University, said this week that he planned to keep the growing company headquartered in Vermont for now. Beta will be making further investments in its South Burlington-based production facilities in an effort to increase control of its own supply chain, Clark said.
Beta’s public offering also added to the portfolio of John Abele, a member of Beta’s board of directors reported to be Vermont’s only resident billionaire. A Shelburne resident, Abele co-founded Boston Scientific, a medical device company.
Abele directly owns roughly $1 million of Beta’s shares, but also controls roughly $550 million in further company stock via 11 other companies, at Friday’s share prices.
Chuck Davis, the chair of Beta’s board, is another top shareholder with direct or indirect ownership of nearly 15 million shares, valued at around $475 million. Davis, who grew up in Burlington, is the
jerky, toffee and brownie crisps sold separately.
“We’re trying to have fun with it,” said Mannion. “We’re trying to let people be creative in how they want to put everything together.”
Mannion, a native of the Boston area and resident of South Burlington, anticipates learning a lot about the direction
The Chocolate Butcher brand will take by bringing it out of the Boyer Circle lab and into a
founding CEO of the Connecticutbased investment firm Stone Point Capital.
Five other executives and board members own more than $100 million in stock between them, and Austin Meyer, a California-based engineer and early investor in the company, holds up to nearly $400 million worth of shares.
Directors and executives also hold options to purchase a combined total of 2 million additional shares in the next two months, the SEC filing said.
Some individuals in the company’s corps of over 800 employees may be granted equity-based compensation, with over 1 million shares in this offering being reserved for a “directed share program to our current employees,” according to the filing. The value of those packages combined could be in excess of $40 million at Friday’s share prices. Those shares would not be subject to the 180 day “lock-up” agreement constraining executives and directors.
Beta’s list of major investors includes BlackRock, as well as Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund. BlackRock, a New York-based wealth management company with over $13 trillion in assets under its management, is referred to as a
customer-facing retail environment. Will it spawn future wholesale products? Is it the first of a multi-location franchise?
“We’re trying to define what The Chocolate Butcher is because it’s kind of this living thing that just keeps building on itself,” said Mannion. “Opening a retail store, the brand is kind of talking back to you and finding what it wants to be. It’s just a great experience to go through.”
“cornerstone investor” in the company’s filings, and has indicated interest in purchasing up to $300 million of Beta’s stock. The Climate Pledge
created to drive Amazon’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions, was also an early investor in Beta before it went public.
A nation where work no longer matters
BY LARRY MOQUIN
Recently, the richest person in the world was granted a salary of one trillion dollars over ten years. Let that sink in. $1,000,000,000,000. One person will receive 100 billion dollars to run a company. One person, already unimaginably wealthy, was handed more money than the total budget of the State of Vermont, not to mention more than most countries’ GDPs.
At the same time of that announcement, tens of thousands of federal employees went to work and didn’t get paid because of the government shutdown, millions of poor and working-class Americans struggled to feed their families, and healthcare costs for working people are sky rocketing with
no end in sight.
Meanwhile, the U.S. House of Representatives, the leaders we elected to run the government, didn’t meet for over a month. The president, with no sense of irony, threw a Great Gatsby-themed party, a celebration of excess named after a story that was supposed to warn us about it.
The rich got richer. People went to work and didn’t get paid. Millions went hungry. And somehow, this has become normal.
What is happening in our country?
We used to value work. We believed that if you worked hard, you’d earn enough to live with dignity. One job could support you and your family. Now, too many companies and politicians treat workers as
Too many companies and politicians treat workers as disposable and view the economy not as a shared project, but as a game to be won by a handful of shareholders.
disposable and view the economy not as a shared project, but as a game to be won by a handful of shareholders.
The results are everywhere:
record corporate profits, record CEO pay and record levels of despair among working people. The rich continue to spend, propping up our economy while millions of people look for food. When the system rewards hoarding instead of helping, and speculation instead of service, it’s no wonder faith in the American Dream is fading.
It doesn’t have to be this way. We can value labor over luxury, community over greed, and people over profits. But that means demanding more from our government, from corporations and from ourselves.
At the Vermont AFL-CIO, we work every day to support workers throughout the state and raise up their voices. Through the power of collective bargaining and union organizing, working families in
the Green Mountain State can restore hope for tomorrow.
Our strength lies in our unity. Whether on the picket line, at the bargaining table, or in the halls of government, we are one movement fighting for justice for all. We are building a future where every Vermonter earns a fair wage, has a safe workplace and can live with dignity and security. Because if we keep rewarding the richest for taking, and punishing the rest for working, we won’t just lose our paychecks, we’ll lose our soul as a country.
Larry Moquin is a member of the Laborers’ International Union of North America. He also is president of the Vermont AFL-CIO, which advocates for workers’ rights in Vermont.
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
A hearing for non-consumptive voices
I’m writing in response to the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department’s proposal to charge a public access license in recognition of declining hunting, fishing and trapping licenses. I would support this proposal if Fish & Wildlife were also willing to reexamine and reform the outdated and unrepresentative Fish & Wildlife Board.
Senate bill S.258, that was introduced in 2024, would have modernized the board’s composition and decision-making — a critical step toward fairness and accountability. The bill passed a veto-proof majority, but the House did not pick it up.
There is no reason the Fish & Wildlife Board should continue operating like a private game club where a small minority controls the process. Many Vermonters, myself included, used to attend board meetings and offer public comment, but stopped participating after realizing that those in charge
had little interest in listening to non-consumptive voices. Some of the board members referred to us as “bunny huggers” and “antis” in what appeared to be an attempt to further marginalize us.
If the department truly wants to update its model in recognition of the fact that fewer people are hunting, fishing and trapping, then it must make a good-faith effort to work collaboratively with non-consumptive Vermonters. By all means, charge us a reasonable fee — but give us a seat at the table where decisions are made. Only then can we work together on the future of conservation in Vermont.
Transformation isn’t just about collecting new fees from the public; it’s about showing Vermonters that their values matter. The department must address the widespread lack of trust in its leadership and demonstrate that it represents all who care about Vermont’s wildlife and natural lands.
Sophie Bowater Middlesex
LETTER POLICY: We ask that letters run no longer than 300 words. We edit for length, clarity, style, spelling and grammar. Please include your name, town or city where you live and a daytime phone number (which we won’t print) so we can verify you wrote the letter. The deadline is Monday at noon for letters to be printed in Thursday’s paper. Email: editor@willistonobserver.com or mail to Williston Observer, P.O Box 1401, Williston, Vt. 05495
WHAT VERMONT TASTES LIKE
We can’t wait to see you there! FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 28
Celebrate the start of Holidays on the Marketplace with Burlington’s cherished Santa Parade and Tree Lighting Ceremony. Church Street will come alive with music, lights, and the warmth of community.
Vermont’s Chester Arthur an unlikely star of Netflix series
BY MARK BUSHNELL VTDigger
President Chester Arthur is back in the spotlight. It’s been a minute.
Netflix’s hit new historical series “Death by Lightning” tells the story of the assassination in 1881 of President James Garfield, so it’s only natural that Garfield and his assassin, Charles Guiteau, take center stage. But Arthur is the one who gets the redemption arc. Plus (spoiler alert) he’s the only one of the three still breathing at the end.
Arthur was an extremely unlikely president. He didn’t seek the office and only attained it through a bizarre sequence of events. In the years since his single term, the native of Fairfield, Vermont, has been largely forgotten, so it feels strange to see him get serious screen time in a major production. But the story can’t be told without him.
It seems a minor miracle the story is being told at all. What was the pitch to Netflix like? How did anyone convince the streaming service that viewers today would love a story focusing on a group of 19th-century politicians who
mentioned today outside of trivia nights, viewers are introduced to such former political heavyweights as Roscoe Conkling and James Blaine.
Yet somehow the show works. It has its share of ahistorical aspects, such as characters speaking like modern Americans and cursing liberally. But other details that could seem invented to make the show more relatable — black men serving in positions of power in 1880s Washington, D.C., and Garfield’s intense focus on rooting out political corruption — are drawn from real life.
“Death by Lightning” has a surprising amount of humor, given the topic, which might have helped get the project green lighted. The barrel-chested, heavily sideburned Arthur is played by Nick Offerman and in his early scenes, he provides comic relief as a man of unquenchable appetites, particularly for liquor and sausages.
His outsized cravings could be a stand-in for the greed that was at the heart of the era’s rampant graft, in which Arthur actively participated. Famously, Chester Arthur served as customs collector for
and it was Arthur’s job to collect import duties on those goods. In an era before the federal income tax, those duties provided nearly half of U.S. government revenues.
Arthur and other top Customs officers were entitled to a “moiety,” or share, of any fines on importers or any seizures his department made. As a result, Arthur’s total annual income was the equivalent of about $1.25 million today, making him the nation’s highest-paid politician, including the president.
seeking a third term; presidents weren’t yet term-limited by the Constitution. James Blaine was the other main contender. (Among the lesser candidates, U.S. Sen. George Edmunds of Vermont received a smattering of votes.)
Conkling resigned his senate seat in a symbolic protest, as did New York’s other senator. The incident highlighted the schism within the Republican Party. When Arthur opted to remain loyal to Conkling, he showed that there was a divide within the White House as well.
Less than four months into his term in office, Garfield was shot by Charles Guiteau. Clearly suffering from some form of mental illness, Guiteau had expected to be the beneficiary of the spoils system by being handed a plum job for his supposedly invaluable support of Garfield during the campaign. In fact, Guiteau believed he deserved to be appointed U.S. consul to Paris, a job for which he was wholly unqualified.
As he was being arrested, Guiteau said excitedly, “Arthur is president now!” When Guiteau’s comment was widely reported, many Americans suspected Arthur of being involved in the plot. Arthur received death threats and was deeply troubled by the accusation.
can vie with Arthur for the title of “most obscure.” In addition to Garfield, whose name is rarely
Overseeing a workforce of about 1,300 gave Arthur substantial political power too. He used the patronage or spoils system (as in, “to the victor go the spoils”) to dole out well-paid positions to applicants based on their loyalty to the Republican Party, not their qualifications for the actual job. Jobholders were expected to kickback a share of their paychecks to help fund the party. Showing up for work was often optional.
Arthur wasn’t at the top of New York’s political pyramid, however. He owed his job to U.S. Sen. Roscoe Conkling, who enlisted Arthur as his loyal protégé.
“Death by Lightning” begins with James Garfield, an Ohio representative, attending the Republican Convention in Chicago to nominate another Ohio politician, Sen. John Sherman, for president. This was in the days before political primaries; convention delegates chose who was on a party’s national ticket, not voters.
The delegates divided into factions. Many supported former President Ulysses Grant, who was
But no one was able to get the required majority. With the convention deadlocked after 33 ballots, 16 Wisconsin delegates voted for a new candidate, James Garfield. Garfield protested, saying the votes for him shouldn’t be counted, because he wasn’t a candidate. The convention chairman disagreed. Two ballots later, a majority of delegates swung their voters to this compromise candidate and Garfield was named the Republican nominee.
New York acted as a kingmaker in those days. As the most populous state, it possessed the most electoral votes. So Republican Party leaders curried favor with New York Republicans, and other supporters of the patronage system nationally, by having one of their own, Chester Arthur, selected as the vice presidential nominee. It was a fraught marriage of convenience, pairing a politician who vowed to fight the spoils system with one who embodied it.
After the Garfield-Arthur ticket won the presidency, things went about as well as you might expect. Once in office, Garfield took aim at the patronage system by appointing a new collector for the Port of New York without first consulting New York’s two U.S. senators.
Seeing this as a direct challenge to his political machine,
But Garfield wasn’t dead yet. He survived for weeks with the bullet lodged in his abdomen. Doctors tried repeatedly to remove it. Secretary of War Robert Todd Lincoln, son of the late president, summoned Dr. Doctor Willard Bliss (yes, Doctor was his first name) to tend to the president.
Dr. Charles Purvis, a black physician who was among the doctors treating the president, urged Bliss to employ the relatively new practice of surgeons’ washing their hands and using sterilizing instruments, but Bliss brushed him off. Garfield suffered through multiple attempts to locate the bullet, all without anesthesia.
When he died 79 days after being shot, an autopsy determined that the bullet hadn’t damaged any major organs and could safely have been left in place. The president had died of a massive infection, sepsis, caused by the unsanitary conditions under which he was treated.
Arthur had taken no executive actions while Garfield lingered, not daring to feed the rumors of a power grab.
In fact, the assassination seems to have reawakened Arthur’s long-dormant political integrity. Once in office, Arthur set his mind to reform, both of the political
the Port of New York. Seventyfive percent of American imports flowed through New York’s harbor
Chester Arthur became president through a sequence of unlikely events.
PORTRAIT VIA THE NATIONAL ARCHIVE
system and of himself. He worked to fulfill Garfield’s mission of dismantling the patronage system, by successfully championing the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, which introduced competitive exams for many federal positions and made it illegal to fire federal employees for political reasons.
People who had only known Arthur as a linchpin in the political machine might have thought these impulses came out of the blue. But as a younger man, Arthur had shown he could be highly principled. Like his Baptist preacher father, Arthur was an abolitionist. Early in his legal career, he represented a black woman who had been accosted and thrown off a “whites only” New York City streetcar, winning a sizable judgement in her favor.
As president, Arthur ultimately defied public expectations, running an administration free of major scandal.
“No man ever entered the presidency so profoundly and widely distrusted,” Pennsylvania newspaper editor Alexander K. McClure noted at the time. “And no one ever retired more generally respected.”
Or, as Mark Twain quipped: “I am but one of 55 million; still, in the opinion of this 1/55 millionth of the country’s population, it would be hard to better President Arthur’s administration. But don’t decide till you hear from the rest.”
While Arthur is the most significant Vermonter appearing in “Death by Lightning,” alert viewers might note a couple other Vermont cameos. U.S. Rep. Levi Morton, born in Shoreham, appears in all four episodes, though as a minor character. In one scene, he tells Garfield he can’t accept the position of Secretary of the Navy (Conkling had pressured him to reject the position).
In real life, it was hardly the end of Morton’s career. Garfield soon appointed him U.S. minister to France. He was later elected governor of New York and, in 1888, vice president of the United States — along with Arthur and Calvin Coolidge, one of only three Vermonters ever to hold that position.
Another Vermonter, John Humphrey Noyes, also appears briefly. Born and raised in Brattleboro, Noyes started a utopian commune in nearby Putney. His neighbors were outraged to learn of the commune’s belief in free
love and he soon moved the community to Oneida, New York. Noyes appears in flashbacks with the future assassin Guiteau, who spent six years as a member of what people in the series call a “sex cult.” Guiteau is depicted as getting on people’s nerves because he believes he is too good for the
manual labor expected of all community members.
Despite the commune’s freelove edict, the women of Oneida want nothing to do with Guiteau, who they nickname “Charles Git Out.” That unlikely detail — like so many other startling aspects of “Death by Lightning”— is true.
U.S. Sen. Roscoe Conkling ran the New York political machine and took on Chester Arthur as his protege.
PHOTO VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Walgreens to pay $500,000 for overcharging in Vermont
BY ALAN J. KEAYS VTDigger
Walgreens has agreed to pay $500,000 to settle claims of overcharging at its stores in Vermont.
The Walgreens stores involved in the settlement included the now-closed location in Williston, as well as locations in Barre, Brattleboro, Bristol, Burlington, Colchester, Enosburg Falls, Essex Junction, Fair Haven, Hardwick, Manchester Center, Middlebury, Milton, Montpelier, Morrisville, Newport, Rutland, Shelburne, South Burlington, St. Albans, West Rutland, Wilmington and Winooski.
In one instance, an item rang at the register $23 higher than its shelf price, the state Attorney General’s Office said.
“Deceptive advertising harms consumers and the marketplace, and it will not be tolerated,” Attorney General Charity Clark said in a statement announcing the agreement.
Walgreens, which operates nearly 8,000 stores in the U.S., did not “contest the facts” in the settlement and cooperated with the investigation, according to the agreement. The company did not return calls for comment.
The pricing discrepancies were
discovered in a routine inspection by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets’ weights and measures program, according to the agreement, released last week. The inspections involved visits to the stores to make sure that shelf prices of items matched the prices at the registers, according to the attorney general’s statement.
Amelia Vath, a spokesperson for the attorney general, said the “pattern of pricing inaccuracies” uncovered during the routine checks at the stores in Vermont prompted the opening of a larger investigation to determine what was going on.
Between 2018 and 2024, the statement added, state inspectors found 416 overcharge errors, with the overcharges ranging from 4 cents to $23 per item, with a median overage of $1.92.
The inspectors randomly selected products at the stores, from personal care and health items to groceries, according to Vath. In the case of the largest price discrepancy, the skin care product No7 Booster Serum was listed on the shelf for $10.99 but rang up at the register for $34.39, Vath stated in an email.
Vath said the parties reached a settlement before a lawsuit was filed.
Investigations leading to settlements
with retailers related to overcharging claims are not “terribly uncommon” in Vermont, according to Vath. In one of Vermont’s largest such cases involving price discrepancies, the state settled with Dollar General in 2017 for $1.7 million.
Under the terms of the Walgreens settlement, in addition to the $500,000 payment, the retailer is required to submit third-party pricing audits from stores to the Attorney General’s Office for the next three years and correct any inaccuracies.
Walgreens “has explained that the acquisition of Vermont Rite Aid stores and the challenges in store operations and staffing
associated with the Covid-19 pandemic were the primary catalysts for Walgreens’ heightened failure rate in the year 2022,” the document stated.
“Walgreens’ overcharge rates improved significantly in 2023 and 2024, decreasing each year,” the document added.
Of the $500,000 that Walgreens has agreed to pay the state, the settlement calls for $25,000 to go to the Community Health Center of Burlington, which works to provide affordable health services to Vermonters.
The remainder of the settlement money will go to the state’s general fund.
The Walgreens on Susie Wilson Road in Essex Junction.
VTDIGGER FILE PHOTO BY GLENN RUSSELL
All-season cyclists ride on through snow, slush and sleet
BY FIONA MEDEIROS Community News Service
Winter rushed in last week with parts of Chittenden County seeing nearly a half a foot of snow.
But that’s no obstacle for the year-round cyclists who see winter as merely an invitation to swap their nice, expensive rides for “beater bikes,” and to remember to charge their bike lights.
Whether it’s to and from work, picking up the kids or running errands, year-round cyclists prove that it can be done without using a car.
While snow shovels have already been put to use in Vermont, winter’s official start date is Dec. 21. Average temperatures typically drop in December, and Vermont sees its earliest sunset and fewest daylight hours.
Still, traveling via bike — even in such unwelcoming conditions — can be a practical way to get outside while reducing emissions in the process, fans of year-round biking say.
More and more people seem
interested in staying on their bikes through the winter these days, including people who are dedicated to lowering their reliance on fossil fuels, said Deb Kraft, mechanic and communications coordinator at Old Spokes Home, a non-profit bikeshop and Burlington staple.
Despite Vermont’s harsh winter climate, cycling remains an ecologically friendly way to move from place to place.
Adaptations are necessary, though. Personal preparedness and bike maintenance are important to successfully transition to winter riding, a time when there is less visibility and more grit to get between your gears, according to Kraft. Some folks even don ski and snowboard attire out on the
road.
A sign at the store outlines a list of specific tips and warns that bike travel can take 30 percent longer in winter conditions.
Some of the advice: Consider adding extra lighting, a fender and studded tires. Running bike tires at lower pressure might also be a good move, depending on travel routes and bike type. Fat tire bikes are also a popular choice for the winter. Dressing in layers that can be added or removed is another strategy.
“Wear less clothes than you think you need if you have an uphill portion in your commute,” said Val Cyr, communications specialist at Local Motion, a Burlington-based nonprofit.
It’s important to prepare thoroughly for both cold and wet conditions, with rain pants and waterproof shoe covers good options for protective measures.
Riding an e-bike to get places with a bit less sweating involved is another option, though winter temps can present charging
Biker Peter Burns in his winter cycling getup.
PHOTO COURTESY OF PETER BURNS see BIKES page 12
Bike
continued from page 11
challenges for e-bike batteries.
Both Cyr and Burlington-area bike legend Peter Burns contribute to Local Motion’s blog. At 69, Burns jokes that he was one of the “original three” winter cyclists in Burlington. He recalls winter biking back to the 1980s, when “winters were snowier and colder.”
Having biked through the past fifteen winters, “technology is such that I can ride every day, except in a blizzard,” Burns said.
He has seen gear come a long way, with modern luxuries like electric mittens coming in handy when the mercury drops. Other warmth accessories include heated saddles and handlebar mitts.
“Dress for the weather that’s actually out there,” he counseled, “not the weather you hope for.”
Burns advises a gradual approach to folks curious about transitioning to all-seasons cycling. One option is to ride as late into the winter and start as early in the spring as they feel comfortable.
“Don’t approach it as all-or-nothing,” Burns said.
Local Motion and Old Spokes Home are strong networks with resources for all-seasons cycling, including winter biking seminars, tips and encouragement. Local Motion hosts a year-round group bike
ride, typically on the last Tuesday of every month, without stopping for winter.
Local Motion also works statewide to improve accessibility for cyclists and walkers with safer road design, more trails and community advocacy.
Local Motion recently partnered with volunteers in a pilot project to put up tall cones along Burlington’s North Avenue bike lane to improve safety and bike/pedestrian access with over 6,000 feet of protected lane.
In general, conditions on winter roads vary. The outside portions of roads may not be salted. It is imperative to go slowly and give plenty of space for wider turns and slower stops than riders may be accustomed to in warmer seasons, cycling advocates say.
Biking safely in the winter, in addition to possibly extending trip time when the conditions are icy and snowy, also may require more planning ahead.
Despite Vermont’s harsh winter climate, cycling remains an ecologically friendly way to move from place to place. Over the years, Burns has pedaled through his share of dismal weather and managed to navigate both biting cold and spitting snow.
“I made the trips,” said Burns. “It wasn’t all that fun, but I made them.”
Community News Service is a University of Vermont journalism internship.
A cyclist rides through snowy conditions near Perkins Pier in Burlington.
PHOTO BY FIONA MEDEIROS
‘Forever wild’ preserve created near Long Trail’s northern end
BY AUDITI GUHA VTDigger
About 20 years ago, Susan Shea and Ted Vogt went for a hike on a remote and wild piece of land off Journey’s End Road in Jay.
Over the years, the two Brookfield residents have hiked, camped, spotted bears and bought up parcels of it in hopes of preserving it for posterity.
The Journey’s End Wilderness Preserve now permanently protects more than 340 acres adjacent to the Long Trail corridor and Jay State Forest, the Northeast Wilderness Trust announced in a press release Monday.
The 272-mile Long Trail follows the main ridge of the Green Mountains from the Massachusetts-Vermont line to the Canadian border. The 8,242-acre state forest includes conserved land in the towns of Jay, Montgomery, Richford and Westfield.
The Shea-Vogt land was ripe for protection and connectivity, said Shea, a retired conservationist who was formerly director of land conservation for the Green Mountain Club.
The duo enjoyed many joys on that undeveloped land, from spotting bears and moose tracks to discovering the “very pretty Mountain Brook” with cascades of clear, cold, pure water, according to Vogt, a retired lawyer.
“You just see all kinds of beauty — and in every season. I got up there in the springtime when the snow is melting, and water is running everywhere, and the flowers are emerging, and it’s just glorious. So we are lucky to have that and we need to appreciate it,” he said.
Which is why they were eager to conserve it beyond their lifetimes and make it “forever wild.”
A few years ago, they reached out to the regional land trust based in Montpelier that specializes in re-wilding conservation land. And they sold all 342 acres to the trust for $100,000, according to Jon Leibowitz, president and CEO of the Northeast Wilderness Trust.
Forever wild areas — which may also be called wilderness areas, natural areas or ecological reserves — are legally protected tracks of land left to nature to evolve over time. Logging, extraction, development and other
forms of active management are prohibited. They boost Vermont’s wilderness acreage with well-established benefits to wildlife, humans and the climate, Leibowitz said.
They also meet Vermont’s goal to conserve at least 30 percent of the state’s land by 2030 and 50 percent by 2050.
Although about 25 percent of the state’s land base is conserved, according to the Vermont Agency of Natural Resource’s database, only about 3.5 percent of it is protected as forever wild, Leibowitz said.
That means a majority of the state’s preserved land allows logging and active management. While forever wild areas may still be open to recreational use by the public, “every time that a place is protected as forever wild today, it means that it’s an old forest of the future,” he said.
Northeast Wilderness Trust is a 23-year-old private land trust that also owns the 350-acre Bram Hall Wilderness Preserve south of the Long Trail in Bridgewater. The trust has protected more than 19,000 acres across Vermont as “forever wild” land and more than 103,000 acres across the Northeast, according to the trust’s Monday press release.
For Vogt and Shea, the permanent protection is a dream come true.
“Because what happens is, over time, the land heals itself,” said Vogt, who has hiked the entire Long Trail and was a volunteer for the Green Mountain Club.
“All of the trees grow back, things return to a kind of more natural state. And 100 years from now, if that forest is left alone, that will almost be like an old growth forest in certain respects.”
Shea said conserving the land was particularly important for wildlife as the climate changed.
“Besides being great for a backcountry hiking trail, it’s very important for wildlife to be able to move to travel, especially with climate change, as some of them need to move north. This land is adjacent to already conserved land so that made it particularly important to conserve,” Shea said.
Journey’s End is also a great example of how the land trust model works, Leibowitz said.
“In this case, the landowners who have owned this property for many years and have a personal connection to the Long Trail itself, called us,” he said.
Views of Jay Peak from the Journey’s End Wilderness Preserve.
CLOCKWISE (l to r): The Witch (Marin Walsh) casts an evil spell. Jack’s Mother (Isabella Schwendler) (l), Jack (Alex Carr) (m) and Milky White (Nathanael Axelrod) (r) discuss the Giant. Little Red Riding Hood (Tessa Gordon) (l) and the Wolf (Aidan Wisell) (r) skip through the woods. Cinderella, above, (Stephanie Miskavage) ponders her future. The Baker’s wife (Molly Silvia) (l) and the Baker (Bill Fidler) (r) discuss the Witch’s spell. Rapunzel (Raea Coakley) lets down her long hair.
The CVU cast of ‘Into the Woods’ takes well deserved bows to a standing ovation at CVU’s production on Saturday in HInesburg.
OBSERVER PHOTOS BY AL FREY
Shelburn Museum’s Winter Lights festival begins
Winter Lights returns for its fifth holiday season at Shelburne Museum starting Nov. 21.
The display of thousands of colorful lights adorning well-known museum landmarks runs through Jan. 4.
Visitors are invited to stroll the museum’s grounds to take in the festive atmosphere. Tickets are available at www. shelburnemuseum.org as well as at the door. Saturday evenings will feature special performances by puppeteers and animators strolling the grounds.
Shelburne Museum’s 45-acre campus is adorned for the annual Winter Lights extravaganza, which runs from Nov. 21 through Jan. 4.
UVM Children’s Hospital receives $25 million gift
Golisano donation is largest in UVM Health’s history
University of Vermont Children’s Hospital has received a transformative $25 million gift from philanthropist and civic leader B. Thomas (Tom) Golisano that will help improve care for patients and families across the region.
The gift will be used to expand critical services for children with complex medical needs, bring specialty care closer to home to reduce families’ travel time and stress, and support the organization’s commitment to delivering safe, high-quality care.
Receiving this gift also includes an invitation to join nine other hospitals nationally in forming the Golisano Children’s Alliance, whose mission is to ensure that children and families have access to the highest quality care close to home.
“This generous donation and partnership with other hospitals in the Golisano
Children’s Alliance sets us up to better serve our communities for generations to come,” said Lewis First, Chief of Pediatrics at UVM Children’s Hospital. “I want to thank Tom Golisano from the bottom of my heart for recognizing the excellent care the pediatric clinicians and staff at our children’s hospital provide, and for investing in the futures of the children and families we serve in Vermont and northern New York in such a meaningful way.”
To recognize the gift, which will be distributed as $5 million annually over five years, the children’s hospital will be renamed Golisano Children’s Hospital at University of Vermont Health.
“As we put this donation to work, we’re going to be listening to the voices of the people we serve and making sure the dollars are directed to programs and service improvements that will meet the needs of our region,” said Steve Leffler, Interim CEO of University of Vermont Health and President of UVM Medical Center.
COURTESY PHOTOS BY ADAM SILVERMAN
Have you ever heard of a couple of boys named Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn? These two characters were brought to life in the late 1800s by author Mark Twain.
In his famous books “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” Twain gave readers of all ages a look at what life was like for kids living near the Mississippi River in the 19th century.
Mark Twain was born on Nov. 30, 1835. His 190th birthday is coming up this month. The Mini Page celebrates by learning more about Mark Twain and some of his best-loved writings.
Childhood and family
Mark Twain’s real name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens. He was born in the town of Florida, Missouri, two months early, and he was sick for much of his early childhood.
Sam was the sixth of seven children born to John and Jane Clemens. However, only Sam, his older brother, Orion, and his older sister, Pamela, lived into adulthood.
The family moved to Hannibal, Missouri, on the banks of the Mississippi River, when Sam was 4.
For a little boy, the river was nothing but fun: Unusual people, chugging boats and
Meet Mark Twain
Mini Fact:
Mark Twain was born the same year Halley’s Comet appeared in the sky. The year he died, it appeared again.
tempting cargo to explore kept Sam and his friends busy. Many of the experiences he had as a child became stories in his books, including some of his real friends and family members.
Life as an adult
When he was 22, Sam became an apprentice, or beginner, river pilot. Two years later, he was a licensed pilot.
Sam guided boats up and down the Mississippi River until 1861, when the Civil War began. Both the North and the South wanted control of the river, so there was much fighting along the way. Riverboat traffic almost stopped.
In 1862, he moved to Virginia City, Nevada, to write for The Territorial Enterprise.
At this newspaper, Sam Clemens first used the name Mark Twain. He got the name from his riverboat days, when a marked rope helped pilots judge how deep the water was. “Twain” meant “two,” so “mark twain” meant two fathoms, or 12 feet.
Sam later wrote for The San Francisco Call and The Sacramento Union in California.
His writing influenced, or affected, people all over the world. He was known as a humorist, but most of his writing had serious themes, too.
Words that remind us of Mark Twain are hidden in this puzzle. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally, and some letters are used twice. See if you can find:
Next Week: Our states: West Virginia
Twain Fact-a-Roonies
• “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” is filled with memorable characters — most based on Sam and his family and friends. For instance:
√ Tom Sawyer was mostly Sam, with three other friends thrown in.
√ Becky Thatcher was based on Laura Hawkins, who lived across the street from Sam. They were lifelong friends.
√ Injun Joe was based on Joe Douglass, a half-Osage, half-African American man in Hannibal.
• Mark Twain did a lot of his writing in an octagonal (eightsided) study at Quarry Farm in Elmira, New York. The farm was the home of his sister-in-law and her family.
• Even though Sam Clemens grew up in a slave-holding state, he grew to be strongly against racism. His book “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” published in 1885, is about a young white boy who helps a Black slave, Jim, escape by floating away on the river on a raft.
• pbs.org/kenburns/mark-twain/ about-twain/
At the library:
• “River Boy: The Story of Mark Twain” by William Anderson
Eco Note
small they can slip into the lungs and enter the bloodstream. A study published in the journal
Founded by Betty Debnam
courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division
Samuel Clemens visits his boyhood home in Hannibal,
Mark Twain at age 31.
Tom Sawyer as shown in the first edition of the book.
river was nothing but fun: Unusual people, chugging boats and
people all over the world. He was known as a humorist, but most of his writing had serious themes, too.
Try ’n’ Find
Words that remind us of Mark Twain are hidden in this puzzle. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally, and some letters are used twice. See if you can find:
1. Combine bulgur with boiling water and broth. Let bulgur stand for 40 minutes until liquid is absorbed. Stir in the raisins.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice and spices. Add to bulgur mixture and chill for 1 hour.
3. Remove from refrigerator, stir in pistachios and serve at room temperature. Makes 4 to 6 side servings.
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.
1. house made of ice (5)
2. small stream (5)
3. famous sunken ship (7)
4. expensive, sparkly rock (7)
5. gas we need to breathe (6)
6. person attending school (7)
7. 12 o’clock a.m. (8)
student, midnight.
* You’ll need an adult’s help with this recipe.
Every breath people take may carry the hidden danger of microplastics so small they can slip into the lungs and enter the bloodstream. A study published in the journal PLOS One estimates humans inhale up to 68,000 of these particles daily, mostly from the air inside homes and cars filled with plastics that break down into dust. Researchers warn that the health toll could be serious, with links to chronic lung inflammation, organ damage and even cancer. Because people spend most of their lives indoors, exposure is nearly constant, and car interiors can have by far the highest levels.
For later:
Look in your newspaper for articles about new or favorite books.
Teachers:
Follow and interact with The Mini Page on Facebook!
SAVVY SENIOR
Understanding Social Security spousal benefits
Dear Savvy Senior,
How do Social Security spousal benefits work? My wife, who’s approaching age 62, has had a few small-paying jobs over the years, but spent most of her time as a homemaker. What is she entitled to?
Primary Breadwinner
Dear Breadwinner,
Spousal benefit questions are among the most frequently asked and confusing parts of Social Security. The rules that govern
qualifying and claiming are knotty, and there are many exceptions. But understanding how these benefits work is crucial for maximizing your family’s retirement income. Here’s what you should know.
WHAT ARE SPOUSAL BENEFITS?
Social Security spousal benefits are designed to provide retirement income to spouses who either didn’t work or worked sporadically/part-time and earned significantly less than their spouses over their working lifetime. A stay-athome parent is a good example of
By Jim Miller
a spousal benefit recipient.
WHO’S QUALIFIES?
To qualify for spousal benefits, you and your wife must meet three conditions: Your wife must be at least age 62; you must be married for a year or more; and you must already be collecting your retirement benefits.
Different rules apply for ex-spouses. Ex-spouses (if you were married for at least 10 years and are not remarried) can receive a spousal benefit based on an exspouse’s record even if your ex has not yet filed for their own benefits, but your ex must be age 62 or older.
HOW MUCH ARE SPOUSAL BENEFITS?
The amount your wife would get for spousal benefits will depend on your earning’s history
SURVIVOR BENEFITS
and her claiming age.
The maximum spousal benefit is 50 percent of your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is that amount you’re entitled to at full retirement age benefit (FRA). But your wife will only get that much if she waits until her full retirement age to file, which is 67 if she was born in 1960 or later.
Unfortunately, spousal benefits cannot be increased by her waiting beyond FRA, but they are reduced by taking them early. So, for example, if your wife were to start collecting her spousal benefits at age 62 (the earliest possible age), she would collect only 32.5 percent of your PIA.
To calculate by exactly how much your wife’s spousal benefits would be reduced by taking them before her FRA, see SSA.gov/ OACT/quickcalc/spouse.html.
You also need to know that because spousal benefits are based on your PIA, even if you (the primary earner) retire early, before you reach your FRA, your wife’s spousal benefit will not be reduced. Just as they will not increase if you delay claiming your benefits beyond your FRA.
You should also note that if your wife worked and is entitled to benefits on her own work record, but it’s less than what she’s entitled to as a spouse, Social Security will pay her the higher of the two amounts, but not both.
In addition to spousal benefits, Social Security also pays survivor benefits to spouses and ex-spouses starting at age 60 (50 if disabled).
So, if your wife outlives you, she’ll be able to switch from her spousal benefits to survivor benefits and receive a higher payment. Survivor benefits range between 71.5 and 100 percent of the deceased’s benefit, based on your wife’s age when she claims.
There is, however, one exception. Surviving spouses and ex-spouses who are caring for a child (or children) of the deceased worker, if they are under age 16 or disabled, are eligible to receive 75 percent of the worker’s benefit amount at any age.
ONLINE CALCULATORS
There are several online calculators that can help you and your wife figure out the best time to claim your benefits to ensure you get the highest possible lifetime payout. One that’s completely free to use is OpenSocialSecurity.com. Or, for a more thorough analysis, use MaximizeMySocialSecurity. com. This tool, which costs $49 for a year, will run what-if scenarios based on your circumstances to find your best strategy.
Send your questions or comments to questions@savvysenior.org, or to Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070.
TODAY’S HISTORY:
• In 1789, New Jersey became the first state to ratify the Bill of Rights.
• In 1945, the Nuremberg Trials against World War II Nazi war criminals began.
• In 1962, President John F. Kennedy lifted the blockade against Cuba in response to the Soviet Union’s announcement that it was removing its missiles from the Caribbean nation.
• In 1969, a group of Native American activists took control of Alcatraz Island in an unarmed occupation that would last until June 1971.
TODAY’S FACT:
• Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia was the longestserving senator in U.S. history, with more than 50 years of service from 1959 to 2010.
Burlington City Council moves to address UVM students’ concerns on dorm conditions
BY ALICE FINNO VTDigger
The Burlington City Council decided Monday to seek more accountability from the University of Vermont and Champlain College on housing conditions in student dorms in response to UVM student complaints of poor living conditions.
In the past few weeks, students at the University of Vermont have brought their concerns to City Council meetings. Students read multiple testimonies describing water leaks, mold, insect and rodent sightings, defective heating systems, inoperative elevators, inadequate living space with rooms for two people converted into “forced triples,” and more, while highlighting the lack of a timely and effective response when they submitted complaints to the university.
Ben Robke and Alva Yanowitz, UVM students and representatives of the Student Tenant Union, which was created in September 2024, said the union had six meetings with the university administration to discuss these issues but didn’t see any progress.
They said some of their requests included a cap on enrollment to ensure less crowded dorms and avoid overburdening Burlington’s housing market; compliance with safety and habitability standards; an end to the tiered housing system — where room cost varies by dorm, making it hard for some students to access dorms with better housing conditions — improvements in housing accessibility; and increased transparency.
“We found that the university was not interested in meeting our demands,” Robke said, so the students decided to bring the issues in front of the City Council.
Councilor Marek Broderick, P-Ward 8, who is also a UVM student, sponsored a resolution that the council passed unanimously Monday.
During the meeting, Broderick said that UVM has failed to provide the Department of Permitting and Inspections (DPI) with records of certifications showing the university has conducted regular inspections in student dorms and certified compliance with the city’s minimum housing standards.
“The city gives the university a courtesy and a privilege to allow it to conduct its own inspections.”
Councilor Evan Litwin
D-Ward 7)
The resolution requests that UVM and Champlain College share details on their inspection and complaints systems and data on housing code violations from the beginning of the 2023-24 academic year to the passage of the resolution, which should be submitted within the next three months.
Additionally, the resolution tasked DPI with creating a template for universities to use to certify comprehensive inspection and complaint procedures, and called on the council’s Ordinance Committee to determine whether the existing regulations go far enough to ensure university dormitories are safe and healthy
for residents. The Ordinance Committee will also consider whether universities and colleges should provide students with information to submit external complaints to DPI.
In a letter to DPI, Amanda Clayton, executive director of facilities management at UVM, listed the services the university provides to ensure safe living conditions and align with minimum housing standards but said there are limitations on what the city can regulate.
“The minimum housing standards are outside of the scope for what can be regulated by the municipality and certification of every aspect of these standards would interfere with the intended functional use of the institution and place an exceptional and undue burden on the University,” she wrote.
Hence, the resolution also asks the City Attorney’s Office to weigh in on the city’s authority to require universities and colleges to comply with housing habitability codes and inspection requirements and provide certifications of their compliance.
“The city gives the university
a courtesy and a privilege to allow it to conduct its own inspections,” Councilor Evan Litwin (D-Ward 7) said. “We need to be in lockstep with the university for that to work.”
Adam White, director of communications at UVM, wrote in a statement to VTDigger that the university is working with students “to evaluate and improve processes and outcomes related to residence halls.”
Robke said the students were pleased with the outcome of the City Council meetings, but there was still a lot of work to be done.
“We plan on showing up to these ordinance meetings and making our voice continue to be heard,” he said, adding that the students plan to continue having conversations with UVM to end the tiered housing system, ensure gender inclusive and accessible housing, and institute an enrollment cap.
“We are really hoping that people are able to see that this is not just an isolated problem, and that things that are affecting UVM students are also affecting Burlington and Vermont residents,” Yanowitz said.
Williston
Dorothy Alling Memorial Library hours:
• Monday and Wednesday: 10 a.m.-8 p.m.
• Tuesday, Thursday, Friday: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
• Saturday: 10 a.m.- 3 p.m. Visit www.damlvt.org to apply for a library card and register for programs. Need help? Call 878-4918 or email daml@ damlvt.org.
PLEASE NOTE, the library will close early on Wednesday, Nov. 26 and remain closed through Friday, Nov. 28 in observance of Thanksgiving.
YOUTH PROGRAMS
Children in fourth grade and younger must be supervised by someone over 16 years of age.
TEEN NIGHT: JACKBOX.
TV GAMES
Monday, Nov. 24, 5-6 p.m. Ages 12-18. Bring a device to connect and play different Jackbox.tv games.
STORYTIME
Tuesdays, Nov. 25 and Dec. 2. Drop in for stories, songs and fun.
SATURDAY MUSIC
Saturday, Nov. 29, 10:30-11 a.m. Start your weekend off with Linda Bassick’s preschool music.
ROBOTICS TEAM DEMO
Tuesday, Dec. 2, 3:30-4:30 p.m. Stop by to learn about the Homeschool Robotics Team’s competitions this year and see a demo of their work.
BABY TIME
Wednesday, Dec. 3, 10:30-11 a.m. Ages 0-18 months. Drop in for gentle bonding and socializing activities.
AFTER SCHOOL BOARD
GAMES & PUZZLES
Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2-3 p.m. Have fun with games and puzzles after school.
MUSIC AND PLAYTIME
Thursday, Dec. 4, 10:30-11:30 a.m. Enjoy preschool music and stay to play.
ADULT PROGRAMS
For online programs or to join a book club, email daml@damlvt.org.
ADULT MEDITATION (ONLINE)
Friday, Nov. 21, 12-12:30 p.m. Join our guided meditation to relax and recenter.
READER’S ROUNDTABLE
Tuesday, Nov. 25, 12:301:30 p.m. “Wandering Stars” by Tommy Orange.
NEW TEA CLUB FOR DECEMBER
Japanese Ceremonial Matcha will be available starting Dec. 1.
Available while supplies last.
TECH TUTOR
Tuesday, Dec. 2, 1-3 p.m. Sign up for an hour slot to get help with all your tech needs.
SPANISH CONVERSATION (ONLINE)
Wednesday, Dec. 3, 5-6 p.m. Join us to brush up on your language skills.
ADULT RPG: WHITE BOX **NEW DAY**
Wednesday, Dec. 3, 6-8:30 p.m. Join us for a campaign. Visit www.damlvt.org to apply for a library card and register for programs. Need help? Call 878-4918 or email daml@damlvt.org.
LEGAL
TOWN OF WILLISTON DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD AGENDA
Tuesday, December 9, 2025 – 7:00 PM
Town Hall Beckett/Maguire Meeting Room (7900 Williston Road, use rear entrance) or Zoom Webinar ID 813 6162 7981 on www.zoom.us/join
DP 19-11.1 Adams Real Properties
LLC request pre-application review to amend Lot 1 from a daycare facility to a 9 dwelling unit development at 35 Caroline Court in the Residential Zoning District (RZD).
Project details and site plans are available on the website, town.williston. vt.us, under “Public Records and Documents”, then “Agendas & Minutes”, and “Development Review Board”. Contact Planning & Zoning Office for more information: 802-878-6704 or email planning@willistonvt.org.
CLASSIFIEDS
LEGAL
TOWN OF WILLISTON DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD AGENDA
Tuesday, November 25, 2025 – 7:00 PM
Town Hall Beckett/Maguire Meeting Room (7900 Williston Road, use rear entrance) or Zoom Webinar ID 813 6162 7981 on www.zoom.us/join
DP 23-15.1 Lakeside Electric LLC requests a discretionary permit amendment to reduce building size, serve one tenant, and add outdoor storage area at 358 Shunpike Road in the Industrial Zoning District West (IZDW).
DP 26-07 Christopher Melnyk requests a discretionary permit to establish a tasting area as an accessory use to an on-site distillery located at 400 Avenue D, Suite 60 in the Industrial Zoning District West.
APP 26-01 Karen Pellon appeals the Zoning Administrator’s issuance of a
Zoning Violation Warning Letter issued September 29, 2025 and Follow-Up Letter issued October 15, 2025 at 345 Mountain View Road in the Residential Zoning District (RZD).
Project details and site plans are available on the website, town.williston. vt.us, under “Public Records and Documents”, then “Agendas & Minutes”, and “Development Review Board”. Contact Planning & Zoning Office for more information: 802-878-6704 or email planning@willistonvt.org
FOR SALE
DINING ROOM TABLE— with 4 matching chairs. Upholstered seats. $150.00. Very good condition. Easy access. 802-863-3668
The Williston Observer, an independent community newspaper, is looking for an advertising sales professional to join our team.
The Account Manager will support a thriving local economy by helping area businesses grow through advertising in the Williston Observer and our six partner BANG (Burlington Area Newspaper Group) newspapers. The successful candidate will be someone who enjoys engaging with the community and is genuinely interested in helping others promote and market their businesses effectively.
The position requires at least one year of relevant experience in sales or customer service. Our ideal team member lives in or near Williston. Preference for candidates with knowledge of the local towns, businesses and communities served by the Williston Observer.
If you are someone who enjoys building relationships, is creative, and thrives in a collaborative, mission-driven setting, join us at The Williston Observer and make a difference in our community while advancing your career. What we offer:
• Training and mentorship for success
• The opportunity to play a big role on a small team
• A generous base salary plus commission
• Health benefits
FULL-TIME POSITION –HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT
The Town of Fletcher, VT, is accepting applications for a full-time highway employee with knowledge of highway equipment, general maintenance, and repairs. The qualified candidate must have a valid VT driver’s license with Class B CDL (or ability to obtain one), a clean driving record, and understand that the position includes random drug and alcohol testing. Duties include summer and winter maintenance of roads and bridges. Overtime required during adverse weather conditions. Pay range is $26 to $30 per hour, based on experience and qualifications. An excellent benefit package is provided.
A full job description and application are available on our website at: tinyurl.com/4kmw9525 or picked up at the Fletcher Town Offices during regular business hours (Monday-Thursday, 8:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Monday evening, 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.).
Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.
Please contact the Town Office at (802) 849-6616 or town@fletchervt.net.
The Town of Fletcher is an EOE.
• Paid time off
• Flexible hours - Both part-time and full-time candidates will be considered
