Williston Observer 05/23/2024

Town budget passes

By a 595-to-470-vote margin, the Town of Williston’s budget for the coming fiscal year passed during a special election Tuesday.

It was the town’s second attempt to get voter approval for a budget after the defeat of its original proposal at Town Meeting Day in March.

The approved $15 million budget will increase spending over the current fiscal year by roughly $1 million (7.6 percent) and result in an estimated property tax increase of about 6 percent. The 1,065-voter turnout was down from the nearly 3,000 Williston voters who cast ballots at Town Meeting Day. Turnout Tuesday was 12 percent of the 8,640 registered voters in town.

“I’m grateful that Williston voters approved a revised budget that balances affordability with service delivery needs for the community,” said Ted Kenney, chair of the Williston Selectboard. “This budget provides funding for public safety, maintaining critical town infrastructure and delivering outstanding library and recreational services, along with the many administrative functions across town departments that provide the backstop and framework to provide these municipal functions, and more.”

After the Town Meeting budget defeat, the selectboard held a series of meetings in March and April to revise the proposal, ultimately deciding to decrease it by $310,000 and add $125,000 in reserve funds. As a result, the estimate tax rate was reduced to $356 for every $100,000 of assessed property value — an increase of about $20 for every $100,000 of assessed property value over the current fiscal year.

In revising the budget, the town put on hold a new human resources director position and removed funds for police, fire and library vehicles. Reductions were also made to staff training, part-time and on-call staff wages, expanding library hours, path paving, sidewalk replacement, building maintenance, and technology, according to Town Manager Erik Wells.

“Thank you to the Williston community for approving the revised fiscal year 2025 budget,” Wells said in a news release Wednesday. “We face many service delivery pressures from both a fiscal and operating standpoint, and the town staff and I will continue to rise to the challenge to provide the high-quality level of service the community expects.”

— Jason Starr

weather cooperated

Celebrating

Inaugural Kids Fest attracts fun-loving crowd

BY INDIRA BUSH Special to the Observer

Every year on the third Saturday in May, local, state and national parks around the country host events to celebrate National Kids to Parks Day. This year, Williston joined in on the fun with Kids Fest, a Kids to Parks Day event hosted at Village Community Park on Saturday.

The event, hosted and run by the Williston Recreation and Parks Department, was free and drew a large crowd to the park for an afternoon of kid-focused games and activities. The fields and park were alive with friendly sports matches, running kids with flying kites, handcrafted creations and ice cream cones.

While Williston’s biggest

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recreation event of the year takes place on July Fourth, Alex Mihavics of Williston Recreation and Parks said Kids to Parks day seemed the “perfect time to offer something for the community.” It also was a way to promote the summer programming that Williston Recreation and Parks has to offer.

Lynn Brown, who will host the “Fun with Food Camp” from July 22-26 and the “Culinary Adventure Camp” from July 29-Aug. 2, brought a table brimming with fruits and vegetables that she helped kids transform into butterflies, caterpillars and various other creatures.

Sarah Mayer, a local art teacher, brought a wide array of activities for kids to try, from creating their own zine to crafting a foldable robot. This summer, Mayer will host a variety of art camps at Williston Central School in association with Williston Recreation and Parks.

Mayer said she started with the idea to lead an animation camp, but will instead offer camps with

The

for Williston’s Kids Fest on Saturday in Village Community Park. See more photos of the event on page 3. OBSERVER

An attendee of Kids Fest creates a bookmark in front of Dottie the Bookmobile on Saturday in Village Community Park.

Around

Town

Hydrant work to affect water pressure

The Town of Williston will be flushing hydrants for the rest of May and into June and July, according to the Public Works Department. The department advises that some residents may experience occasional low water pressure during this time.

Local author’s poetry wins national award

pendent Book Publishers Association

The book, featuring both art and verse by Stone that chronicle her experiences following her husband’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, was published in the fall of 2023 by Rootstock Publishing of Montpelier.

“The fact that my book was published amazed me. Learning that it was a finalist for the Benjamin Franklin Award stunned me. Receiving the Silver award is unimaginable!” wrote Stone in a statement.

“Indigo Hours” is available at the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library or for purchase from Phoenix Books and on Amazon.

Route 2A road work ongoing

Road-widening work and intersection improvements along Route 2A will cause periodic lane closures in the vicinity of Alpine Drive and O’Brien Court until

History museum opens with town birthday celebrations

The Harriet Farnsworth Powell Museum in Essex reopens for the season on Sunday, June 2 from 1-4 p.m. with a 261st birthday celebration for Chittenden County

Richmond Farmers’ Market opens May 31 for 30th year

The Richmond Farmers’ Market is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year with a lineup of new and returning vendors, live music and family events.

The market opens May 31 from 3-6:30 p.m. on the Volunteer’s Green in Richmond and runs every Friday through Oct. 11. Shoppers can find local produce, meat and fish, dairy, prepared food, baked goods, artisanal crafts and more.

This year’s opening day will feature live music from 4-6 p.m. from folk-rock band Ox Child playing original music. There will also be a portable mini golf course set up.

This year’s market will host more than 20 full season vendors, plus a rotating array of about 40 half-season and day vendors, giving shoppers plenty of options to stock up on local produce, meats

towns that were granted charters in June 1763, including Essex, Colchester and Williston.

Joining the Essex Community Historical Society for the event will be members of the Colchester Historical Society and the Williston Historical Society. Stop by and see their new exhibits for 2024.

The museum will be open every Sunday from 1-4 p.m. and the second Saturday of each month from 1-4 p.m. throughout the summer season, closing after Indigenous Peoples Day in October. The museum is located at 3 Browns River Road (the corner of Routes 128 and 15). Admission is free.

and other goods — or pick up supplies for a picnic on the green. Shoppers looking for a meal can find savory handheld pies from Pie Empire, meat or veggie gyros from Dougy Fresh Gyros, smoothies and fresh juice from Fresh Off the Press, acai and pitaya bowls from Wholesome Waves 802, charcuterie cups from Flavors with Flair, dips and snacks from MexCafe, and more.

Baked goods and treats will be on offer from the Crazy Cotton Candy Lady, The Coffee Bus,

Kingdom Creamery, Wildflower Baking Company, Small Oven Pastries, and many more.

The market will also host a rotating lineup of Vermont artisans and crafters, providing plenty of options to pick up gifts for yourself or others.

Local musicians will play every Friday from 4-6 p.m., and a variety of family friendly events are planned throughout the summer. A calendar detailing each week’s lineup can be found at https://.richmond-farmers-market.square. site

The cover of Nancy Stone’s awardwinning “Indigo Hours: Healing Haiku.”

The Richmond Farmers’ Market runs Friday evenings starting May 31.

Parks

continued from page 1

Long Trail Veterinary Center offered fun twists on these games with activities like, “pin the leash on your dog” and their own version of darts called “Vaccinate your dog” (with prizes offered, of course).

activities like sculpting, printmaking and story board design.

Those at the event could also visit with The Edge Sports and Fitness’ mini tennis courts and with Vermont Ultimate for ultimate frisbee games for all ages. Kids who want to hone their skills at these sports can participate in camps all summer long through Williston Recreation and Parks.

Besides these summer camp previews, many other activities were available as well. Dottie the Bookmobile, the traveling library that makes trips to neighborhoods and childcare centers around Williston, offered event-goers the opportunity to browse the book collection and make colorful bookmarks.

ONTA Martial Arts Studio taught everyone from toddlers to parents how to break a board. The studio doesn’t charge for the first class for those who want to continue their training. Other attendees participated in games like ladder toss, cornhole and giant connect four.

Kids who were part of the first 50 families to arrive at the park were given a free kite to fly around the field. For those who worked up their appetite playing games and flying kites, the Famous Frankies food truck offered a selection of lunch options and III B’s Ice Cream satisfied the sweet tooth.

Attendees were also afforded a chance to offer their two-cents for the upcoming Town Plan. The Planning Commission brought its “Williston 2050” postcard, which encourages residents to write their hopes for the town in 2050. In addition to hopes for affordable housing and pedestrian-friendly streets, there were hopes for “flowers for butterflies,” “more recycling” and “more fun things to do, like today.”

If it wasn’t apparent from the abounding smiles at the park on Saturday, these hopes for the future certainly prove that Williston did its part for National Kids to Parks Day. It’s events like these that showcase all Williston has to offer for its youngest residents.

ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT: Logan Van Hoesen shows off one of the kites given away at Williston’s Kids to Parks Day on Saturday, and then sends it up into the skies for its maiden voyage. Maddox Antonioli shows off his prowess on the tennis courts with a two-handed backhand return.

Postal woes linger long after pandemic

Across Vermont, disrupted deliveries and inconvenienced residents

OLIVER STAVRI Community News Service

Mary Spencer ordered an important medication through the mail in March. When neither her package, nor any other mail, arrived for more than a week, the 71-year-old Duxbury resident visited the post office in Waterbury while she was in town and picked

up her medication and other correspondence.

Once there, Spencer asked post office employees when she could expect mail delivery at home. The Waterbury post office needed to hire a rural carrier for her route, she learned. Until then, Spencer would have to travel to town to retrieve her letters and packages. A month later, Spencer said she was receiving mail maybe twice a week.

Spencer is among many Vermonters who have missed the timely delivery of medications, financial documents, bills and urgent legal notices sent via the U.S. Postal Service in recent months. Staffing shortages in Waterbury are among post office problems across Vermont that have disrupted deliveries and inconvenienced residents.

In Montpelier, federal officials recently chose a new post office location — nearly 10 months after damage from major statewide flooding left the downtown post office shuttered. And in Cabot, a temporary post office closure has forced residents in and around the rural area to drive even farther to

collect their mail.

In late February, one of Waterbury’s three carriers on rural routes left and the postal service has struggled to fill the position, according to Stephen Doherty, a postal service spokesman in Boston who emailed his response to questions. The Waterbury office recently hired for one of its open city routes and two rural carrier positions, he wrote.

“It’s no secret that unemployment is historically low right now, making it difficult for local companies to hire and retain good help,” Doherty wrote. “Unfortunately, the postal service is not exempt from that dilemma.”

On-and-off mud season conditions from January through March didn’t help either, as many local gravel roads were posted for local traffic only and, as Doherty put it, posed “delivery challenges that are unique to this area.”

Crossett Hill in Duxbury, where Spencer has lived for 25 years, is on one of the three Waterbury rural routes. Driving on dirt roads there is difficult, especially during mud season, but mail arrived regularly every day

until the Covid pandemic, she recalled. Since then, delivery has become more sporadic. Spencer said she and her neighbors loved their longtime carrier, who transferred to the East Montpelier post office to be closer to home.

“I didn’t realize it meant that then there was no one to cover our route, but apparently that was the case,” Spencer said, recalling the delays in recent weeks. “We really had two weeks where we didn’t get any mail.”

Spencer said she understands the reasons for delays but would like to know when mail isn’t coming so she can plan to get it herself when she goes to town. She has always appreciated the carriers who navigate her rural road to bring needed mail, she said.

“They have been very good,” Spencer said. “It’s no reflection on them.”

THE FEW BUT THE DEDICATED

Jon Whitley started carrying mail part time for Waterbury in 2012 after his U.S. Army deploy-

A mailman makes a delivery on Loomis Hill Road in Waterbury.

COURTESY PHOTO BY GORDON MILLER/THE WATERBURY ROUNDABOUT

from page 4

ment in Afghanistan. Now a fulltime postal employee, he delivers fewer letters and more packages, particularly from online retail giant Amazon, which accounts for 90 percent of his daily package volume, he said.

Whitley agreed to an interview to share his own views and clarified he was not speaking for the postal service. He said the uptick in Amazon shipments under the retailer’s contract with the federal service has put extra demands on carriers.

“They’re making part-timers work, per contract, on Sundays and holidays, minus Christmas and New Year’s,” he said, “so that burns a lot of people out.”

The work is arduous, he added, and starting pay is comparable to an entry-level position in a less-strenuous environment. The residents where he delivers, though, make the effort worthwhile, he said.

“The better relationship we have with the people on the route, it’s more motivation and makes you feel good about it,” he said.

Theresa George, 63, who lives on Blush Hill in Waterbury, said the direct connection to a local post office and local employees is valuable.

“You talk to Waterbury when you call,” she said.

The local problems, however, stem from national management of the postal service under Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, she said.

CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION RELAYS FRUSTRATIONS

Many Vermonters have written to their representatives in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, sharing their frustrations.

“The consistent failure of the U.S. Postal Service national management to communicate with and deliver for the people of Vermont is incredibly frustrating — from Waterbury to Burlington, Montpelier to White River Junction, and across our state,” Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said in a statement forwarded from his spokesperson, Aaron White. “It is a symptom of Postmaster General DeJoy’s refusal to engage

with the communities that have watched this essential service rapidly deteriorate during his tenure.”

On April 1, Vermont’s Congressional members issued a joint press release after the postal service announced its plan to replace the Montpelier post office. They praised the move but maintained their criticism of DeJoy’s leadership.

“It should not take the better part of a year, heroic grassroots efforts, and constant work by the delegation and state leaders for Postmaster General DeJoy to do his job — especially after a catastrophic natural disaster,” read the statement from Welch, along with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt.

In their statement, the lawmakers emphasized the essential role of the postal service for individuals, families and small businesses in Vermont: “They need a functional USPS, not only to mail letters and packages, but for the delivery of important documents, like their social security checks, the delivery of lifesaving prescription drugs, and to pay their bills on time. This is espe -

cially true in rural areas.”

Back on Crossett Hill in Duxbury, Spencer’s neighbor, Anne Hutchinson, posted some better news May 1 on social media that she had learned from the local post office: Regular delivery was set to resume on their route that Saturday.

Oliver Stavri reported this story on assignment from The Waterbury Roundabout. The Community News Service is a program in which University of Vermont students work with professional editors to provide material for local news outlets at no cost.

BY REPS. ANGELA ARSENAULT AND ERIN BRADY

This is the first of a two-part wrapup of the 2024 legislative session. Look for the second part in next week’s Observer.

Around 2:15 a.m. on Saturday, May 11, the Vermont House of Representatives adjourned for the 2024 session, which also concluded the biennium.

We are grateful to the Williston community for trusting us to represent you in Montpelier. We appreciate this opportunity to share some of the important work of this session. Of course, there is much more nuance than we can fit in this column, and we are always happy to answer questions and talk further.

THE BUDGET

The most essential and challenging work of government is how we invest our public dollars. Our budget was only 0.46 percent greater than the governor’s proposed budget, in part because we invested about $17 million in flood and disaster relief for hard hit communities across the state.

In H.883, we targeted our

Notes from the Legislature

available dollars at the priorities we heard about over and over: housing, climate resilience, health care and public safety. Our Appropriations Committees had to make tough choices to put our limited dollars where they can make the biggest difference.

The Legislature passed a balanced budget, despite double-digit health care increases. Just before we wrote this, we were notified that Vermont health insurance companies are again requesting double-digit increases in health insurance premiums.

Health care costs are driving out-of-control growth in every budget, from a family’s budget to school district budgets to the state budget. We’ll focus more on our efforts to address skyrocketing health care costs in our article next week, but this is work that will take many years (and much of it should be done federally).

PROTECTING VERMONTERS: PUBLIC SAFETY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM

Retail theft was a focus for much of the session. The House Judiciary Committee heard from numerous retail shop owners and employees that the brazenness with which a small group of of-

fenders repeatedly steal items from their stores was partly due to the fact that there is little to no accountability for these thefts. H.534 addresses this concern with harsher penalties for repeat offenses of retail theft.

We also know that the larger issue is the current court backlog.

Despite naming public safety as a top priority, the governor’s recommended budget did not sufficiently fund key elements of our criminal justice system. The House advocated fiercely for proper funding of the Vermont Judiciary, the Office of the Defender General, the Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs, as well as the Center for Crime Victim Services.

All of these vital entities contribute to the criminal justice process and must be fully funded in order to reduce the court backlog.

With the backlog and account-

ability in mind, the Legislature also passed H.645, a bill that creates a path to accountability through community justice centers (overseen by the Attorney General’s Office) before alleged offenders enter the criminal justice system. Called “pre-charge diversion,” this approach could lead to a reduction in the court backlog and, importantly, a higher sense of justice or closure for victims of crimes.

We also passed S.58, which accomplishes a number of public safety-related changes. First, it delays the implementation of Vermont‘s Raise the Age initiative. This was a request from the Governor’s administration, as the Department for Children and Families (DCF) testified that they lack the workforce, IT infrastructure and physical infrastructure (a secure juvenile facility) to properly implement the next phase of Raise

the Age (to include 19-year-olds in the category of juvenile offenders).

There is still a strong desire and commitment at DCF to implement this change, but they want to be sure they can do so responsibly, in a way that best serves the children in their care, as well as DCF employees.

S.58 requires DCF to submit bi-monthly reports on their progress through April 1, 2025.

Other provisions in the bill include the addition of xylazine to the list of regulated drugs and the creation of a felony charge for selling xylazine. In addition, the bill eliminates the so-called ostrich defense (or willful blindness), which has allowed drug dealers to escape accountability by arguing that they did not know that the drugs they were selling contained fentanyl.

VERMONT GHOST GUN ACT

At the intersection of drug

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laws and public safety, you will often find guns. The Legislature acknowledged that intersection by passing S.209, the Vermont Ghost Gun Act.

Vermont law enforcement officers have noted an increase in untraceable firearms — ghost guns — being used in the commission of various crimes, but mainly related to the drug trade. S.209 prohibits possession, sale or transfer of firearms without a serial number. These guns can be assembled from parts (often sold in a kit) or printed using a 3D printer.

Additionally troubling is the fact that folks can possess such a gun without undergoing a background check. Under S.209, a person can still make a firearm on their own but must bring it to a Federal Firearms Licensee to be serialized. They would then undergo a background check before the gun is returned to them.

This bill also includes an important provision that bans firearms at polling places during elections and early voting. The Constitutionality of this law is well-established, and the current political climate warrants increased protections of poll workers, candidates and voters to en-

sure free and fair elections.

TACKLING DOMESTIC AND SEXUAL VIOLENCE

Data from December 2023 showed that 40 percent of all calls to law enforcement for a violent crime involved domestic violence. The legislature passed H.27, which adds “coercive controlling behavior” to the definition of abuse in the civil statute, making it something for which survivors may request a relief from abuse order.

Before H.27 became law (it was signed by the Governor this month), Vermont statute required that seekers of relief from abuse orders be physically harmed or in fear of imminent physical harm. With H.27, there is now a clearer pathway out of an abusive situation before physical violence occurs.

We also passed H.173, which is an act relating to prohibiting manipulating a child for the purpose of sexual contact. While you may think that this behavior is already prohibited, the House Judiciary Committee learned that a few changes to existing laws could strengthen the prosecution’s case when dealing with instances of what some call “grooming.”

The changes to statute con-

tained within this bill arose from the diligent work of the Committee for Protecting Students from Sexual Exploitation. That group — created by Act 5 of 2018 — was charged with exploring how the behaviors we’ve described as “manipulating” could be made unlawful in schools. H.173 provides a useful tool for law enforcement and prosecutors to investigate and stop these abusive behaviors.

PROTECTING VERMONTERS ONLINE

The Legislature also focused on digital safety through the passage of H.121, one of the strongest data privacy laws in the country. Every day we disclose, intentionally or not, a tremendous amount of personal information. Social media platforms, search engines, cell phones, health trackers, stores (both online and brick-andmortar), and other data brokers are collecting not just our names, addresses and Social Security numbers, but also our shopping habits, blood pressure, gait and sleep quality, fingerprints, our travel routes, who our friends are and their interests, and so much more. This personal and biometric data belongs to us, yet it is harvested, packaged and sold by (and

sometimes stolen from) these data brokers without our knowledge or permission.

In the absence of federal action on this issue, 14 states have passed legislation to protect consumer privacy, our personal identification and our children’s data. Building on the work done in states across the country, our bill is right-sized for Vermont businesses, and aligns with other states in our region.

Of further importance is the fact H.121 contains explicit additional protections for our kids. Another bill, S.289 (also called Vermont Kids Code), was added to our data privacy bill and stipulates that any app or platform likely to be accessed by children owes a “minimum duty of care” to any child user of the product. This bill requires putting the health, safety and well-being of kids before the profits of the company or product, and the products must not be designed to encourage excessive or compulsive use.

These protections are vital, as we know that the dramatic decrease in youth mental health is tied directly to the rise of smartphones and use of social media. There is much work yet to be done on this front, but H.121 represents

a significant first step.

Many of these bills still await the Governor’s signature before their positive impacts can be felt by Vermonters. The Legislature is prepared to return for a veto session in mid-June, if needed, to complete this important work. Despite bigger challenges and high levels of political tension this session, it’s truly remarkable to be part of a process where so many people care so much about the future of their communities and the future of our state. The people we encounter in the legislative process — fellow legislators, state government employees, advocates, Statehouse staff, legislative counsel, and so many more — are incredibly thoughtful and hardworking.

Next week, in part two of this wrapup, we will focus on the interrelated issues of housing, Act 250 reform, healthcare and education (including education finance).

Angela Arsenault and Erin Brady represent Williston in the Vermont House of Representatives. Arsenault sits on the Judiciary Committee. Brady is vice chair of the Education Committee.

BY MARIA GINGRAS Williston Energy Committee

Springtime — a time of more daylight, new growth, moderate temperatures and … spring cleaning!

Driving around neighborhoods, the tell-tale signs of decluttering and cleaning are evident: full trash cans and items piling up roadside with “Free” signs.

While decluttering can feel great, it can also generate a lot of waste. Waste is inefficient and contributes to climate change as it takes energy to remove and process; it can lead to unwanted greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, for items that could be reused or used by someone else, waste also represents the energy that will be needed to create a new version of the item.

Fortunately, it has never been

easier to turn your clutter into something helpful, fun or wanted for someone else. Additionally, it’s never been easier to shop for new-to-you rather than brand new by connecting with your neighbors.

There are several avenues online to connect willing givers and takers. So, before bringing your unwanted items to the trash, dump or curbside, or before driving to the store to buy something that doesn’t need to be brand new, try these options instead.

FRONT PORCH FORUM

Most folks are probably already aware of Front Porch Forum. This all-purpose, neighborhood-connecting site is a great option for items in good shape that are of common use, such as furniture and play equipment.

It’s not uncommon for items to be free, but this is also an avenue to post things for sale and get a bit of cash for your wares. Front Porch Forum is generally limited to a small geographic area, reducing the

amount of travel and hence energy, involved in exchanges.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media is another powerful tool to reduce waste. There are several Facebook groups local to Vermont that are great for used goods exchanges. Some act as a local marketplace while others are for gifting and exchanging.

If you’re looking to sell, Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist are great places to start. There are more targeted options as well. Vermont Sell Trade Swap Anything is a general marketplace group that also focuses on swapping and bartering. If you’re a parent or grandparent, or otherwise have little ones in your life, Vermont Parents Kid Swap and Vermont Kid Swap are kid-item focused options.

SWAP, PAY IT FORWARD AND BUY-NOTHING

As an alternative to a marketplace, swapping, paying-it-forward,

and buy-nothing models are becoming popular.

In Vermont, the Buy Nothing Project has volunteer-led groups in most larger towns. Williston is part of both a Williston group (Buy Nothing Williston, VT) and a Williston/Shelburne/Charlotte/Hinesburg group (Buy Nothing Williston/ Shelburne/Charlotte/Hinesburg, VT).

The idea behind these groups is that anyone can submit a “give” or an “in search of” post. “Gifts” are generally posted for a specified period, and anyone interested can comment, asking to be considered. The person offering the “gift” will choose a recipient and contact them to arrange an exchange.

Those in search of items post what they need, and anyone who may have that item can comment. What people post ranges from used furniture, food, garden clippings, leftover materials from home improvement see RENEWAL page 9

projects, canning jars, stuffed animals, computers, and beyond. There are kid item specific sites with similar formats. Two great examples are VT Mama’s Pay It Forward and Vermont Holiday Swap. The latter started as a way to get Christmas gifts to kids in need but has evolved into a place to find or give gently used items for any occasion.

LOCAL SOURCES FOR DONATIONS

These are just a few examples of the groups online dedicated to swapping, selling and reusing what would likely otherwise go to the landfill — and the number continues to grow. Of course, if none of these options quite fit your items or needs, there is always Goodwill, ReSource, or ReStore, all located right here in Williston.

As the season of nature’s renewal, spring can also be a time to reduce waste, reuse things and renew the life of old things by finding them a new home or purpose.

To participate in Williston’s energy future, reach out to your Williston Energy Committee at energy@ willistonvt.org or attend a public meeting held on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month. The agenda for upcoming meetings is posted on the Town of Williston website (www.town.williston.vt.us). For more information, visit https://www. willistonvtenergycommittee.org.

OBSERVER COURTESY PHOTO

Eight invasive ‘plant pests’ targeted for regulation

Vermont Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts has named eight new plant species as “plant pests,” a proactive step to safeguard the state’s ecosystems from the threat of invasive plant species. The list includes Kudzu, Mile-a-Minute, Japanese Stiltgrass, Porcelain Berry, Wineberry, Waterwheel, Water Hyacinth and Water Soldier. These plant species are not native to Vermont and present a threat to the state’s ecology, according to the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets.

Non-native invasive plant species are introduced into Vermont either intentionally or unintentionally. The designation of these species as plant pests enables the state to regulate their movement within Vermont.

Individuals or entities wishing to sell, transport or move these plants will now be required to obtain a permit from the Secretary of Agriculture Food and Markets. The permit will ensure such activities are conducted in a manner that minimizes the risk of introduction or spread.

The selection of these eight species was made in consultation with the Vermont Departments of Forests, Parks and Recreation, the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Department of Fish and Wildlife at the Agency of Natural Resources.

Stormwater course offered for educators

The Lake Champlain Sea Grant Program and University of Vermont Extension are offering a free, two-day stormwater education course at UVM this summer to help teachers provide stormwater-focused lessons to local youth.

The Stormwater Education Methods course will focus on the key concepts of the “Soaking Up Stormwater through Stewardship in the Lake Champlain Basin” curriculum, including how to effectively incorporate the materials into classroom teachings and activities. All participants will

receive a printed copy of the curriculum.

Course participants will engage in hands-on learning to understand the definition, sources and impacts of stormwater on surface water bodies. They will learn about the uses for and mechanism of operation for a variety of green stormwater infrastructure practices. In addition, participants will receive information about opportunities and steps to implement and maintain various green stormwater infrastructure practices on school campuses through

the Green Schools program.

The course will be held in person June 20-21 from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Optional webinars will be offered online on June 25 from 4-5 p.m. and July 11 from 3-5 p.m. Participation in the webinars and additional coursework is required for anyone enrolled in the course for credit.

The registration deadline is May 31. Go to https://go.uvm. edu/2024stormwater to register.

Contact Ashley Eaton at (802) 391-4410 or akeaton@uvm.edu with questions.

Porcelain Berry is one of eight plants that will be regulated by the state as a non-native, invasive species.

The future of fertilizer? Pee, says this Brattleboro organization

BY KATE KAMPNER Community News Service

When Peter Stickney walks along his cow paddocks in the morning, he notes the scattered patches of greener grass across the pasture. He knows what this means: It’s where his cows have peed.

So when the Rich Earth Institute, a Brattleboro organization focused on turning human urine into fertilizer, approached him to be a farm partner, Stickney said it was a no-brainer.

Stickney manages the Elm Lea Farm at The Putney School, a boarding high school in the Windham County town of the same name. For the past few years, alongside six other farms in Vermont and the Northeast, Stickney has been receiving treated urine from Rich Earth Institute to spray across the farmland at Elm Lea.

The institute, its partners and others in the sustainability industry see the practice — dubbed “peecycling” in national headlines — as a cheap, easy and less-destructive method for fertilizing plants than

synthetic fertilizer and as a way for people to rethink their views on whether human waste should really go to waste.

“We’re doing something that is somewhat disruptive and asking for people to look at things differently, change behaviors a little bit, sometimes around where they pee and why,” said Jed Blume, the institute’s development director.

For Stickney, it looks like this: Rich Earth workers haul a tank of

treated urine to the farm on a big truck before filling a smaller tank that Stickney can tow across the farm with a tractor.

“I could very quickly see how much darker green the grass was,” he said. “Dark green grass is happy grass — it means it has lots of nutrients. It’s very simple from my end, and it’s very soon that the results are visible, tangible.”

Federal funders are on board.

The U.S. Department of Agricul-

ture’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program has given the group close to $325,000 since 2013 to explore urine’s role in fertilizer practices.

“This is innovative research, and it could lead to something that could really help farmers in a sustainable way,” said Candice Huber, who oversees the program’s grants for projects in the Northeast, pairing researchers and farmers.

The Rich Earth Institute is going on its 12th year now, and the process of collecting urine and getting it to farms has evolved over time, Blume said.

The institute says it collects urine from 230 donors, who use one of two methods provided by Rich Earth. Some donors pee into a funnel screwed to a jug, cap the container and bring it to a drop-off spot. Others own a specialized toilet with a trap installed in the bowl that connects to a separate plumbing line. Urine in the trap gets diverted to a tank that institute workers pump out once or twice a year.

Next, the raw urine is transported from the collection site to a treat-

ment center either on or off a farm. Through storage or pasteurization, at certain temperatures, the urine is treated to use as fertilizer.

“The Rich Earth Institute has developed a computer-controlled pasteurizer with a high-efficiency heat exchanger to sanitize urine quickly and energy-efficiently,” their website says.

Finally, the urine is put on a tractor and put on crop fields.

“There’s been an interest both economically and environmentally in finding more sustainable, equitable, environmentally friendly ways of producing fertilizer, and since our bodies are all little fertilizer factories, folks are starting to connect the dots,” Blume said. “There’s multiple incentives for practicing nutrient recycling both economically and environmentally … The plants like it.”

Synthetic fertilizer is typically made of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and often produced through two processes, the Haber Bosch method and traditional mining. Treated urine, which contains all three of those nutrients, is a low-

A farmer uses a tractor to pull a tank of urine fertilizer over a field.

PHOTO COURTESY OF RICH EARTH INSTITUTE

Fertilizer

cost and sustainable fertilizer source, according to Rich Earth.

One of the biggest concerns people have about urine fertilizer is pharmaceuticals, said Blume, but after doing a six-year research study with the University of Michigan and the University at Buffalo, the institute found “the pharmaceuticals don’t really accumulate in crop tissue at significant levels … Having that research energized us,” said Blume.

Blume said the practice is becoming more socially acceptable, too.

“The global fertilizer industry has seen a lot of volatility with regards to pricing and sourcing,” he said. “Once you explain what the nutrients are, they seem to be really interested in a sustainable form (and) being able to access those nutrients affordably.”

Along with its farm partner program, the institute wants to offer people help through programs like “Urine My Garden,” which teaches gardeners to safely turn their pee into nutrients for their plants at home. And the institute is putting together a manual for farmers to do the same at scale.

“We’ve developed a culture of practice around urine recycling,” said education director Julia Cavicchi.

Part of their pitch, to organizations such as the Lake Champlain Basin Program, involves almost philosophical benefits.

“We can actually start to think about, how can we as humans come to heal the Earth with what our bodies produce in a way that is generous to the land,” Cavicchi said. “It’s a hopeful space to be working with in terms of using our bodies to heal.”

Kimmerly Nace had a similar mindset when she and Abraham Noe-Hays created

Rich Earth in 2012. Nace remembers how her neighbors would show up to her home in those early days, containers of urine in hand.

“It’s a very hopeful project,” said Nace, who no longer works at the institute. “People begin to feel that something that comes out of their body that’s normally been used as a waste can actually have value in agriculture.”

“Farmers have been really receptive, partially because farmers don’t have any ick factor around urine — it’s not different than any other animal manure for farmers,” said Nace.

Nace is now the executive director of Brightwater Tools, a spinoff company that makes the technology Rich Earth uses to separate the urine from wastewater. Currently, she is working at a national level to shift the wastewater industry more toward nutrient recovery.

“We really did intend from the very beginning to be disruptive. To really shake it up and say ‘wait, what are we doing here?’” Nace said, comparing urine reuse to windmills and electric cars.

Most of the grants Rich Earth has received from the USDA program are called partnership grants. The awards are capped at $30,000 and go to projects where researchers team up with a farmer to test hypotheses. Researchers set up their projects “so that they understand the needs of the farmer and how their work can really work on a farm.”

Rich Earth has had seven partnership grants since 2013, several at close to the max funding amount.

“They had a lot of projects from us, and they’ve all been involving human fertilizer and testing it on crops and assessing the feasibility and bio-acidification,” Huber said. “Every year there’s discussion about the safety factors, the ability of using urine, as far as people who would be interested in eating

products that are grown with that.”

Huber said the federal program has full confidence in the institute’s work: “They are very good with their research in the way that they put it all together, and it’s really very thorough. All the regulations are being followed through the state. Safety-wise we trust that process.”

Thor Retzlaff is the co-founder and chief marketing officer of Wasted*, a Burlington company that rents and sells water-saving porta-potties and toilets with eco-friendly features like bamboo toilet paper.

Retzlaff believes in the mission behind Rich Earth, which his firm works with.

More than a third of the company’s toilets divert urine from other waste. The company collects the urine, processes it and sends it to a local farm as fertilizer.

“We’ve been working with the Rich Earth Institute and Brightwater tools since the conception of our company,” Retzlaff said. “They very much inspired us to go and start this thing.”

Retzlaff, Brophy Tyree, and Taylor Zehren began Wasted* after attending a virtual summit hosted by Rich Earth Urine in August 2020. Over the course of three days, Retzlaff said, “they essentially brought together the

world’s minds to talk about how valuable piss is.”

He and the other co-founders wanted to take what they learned about urine diversion and combine it with a catchy business model.

“From there what we did was identify Vermont as the state that allowed us to turn pee into fertilizer, so it was an obvious choice to move our business to Vermont,” he said.

Wasted* toilets are easy to identify by their bright orange color.

Retzlaff said urine-based fertilizer will catch on as evidence of its benefits grows.

“There’s been a lot of data aggregating in the past 15 years that essentially says, ‘Hey, this is not only more sustainable than synthetic fertilizer but it’s more productive, it’s producing greater results,” he said. “It’s a localized way of retaining the nutrients in any given ecosystem.’”

Or as Stickney, the farmer in Putney, put it: “It’s just the simplest thing in the world to do.”

The Community News Service is a program in which University of Vermont students work with professional editors to provide material for local news outlets at no cost.

Homeless in the heat

Advocates seek sheltering solutions for warming climate

BY CARLY BERLIN VTDigger

As Vermont sees temperatures spike close to 90 degrees for the first time this year, unhoused people who lack stable access to shelter face limited options as they try to stay cool.

Amid a rise in homelessness, the state’s shelters are typically full. During the coldest months of the year, the state has historically opened up access to its backstop to the shelter system — the motel housing program — to anyone experiencing homelessness. But no such parallel exists for heat waves, or other summertime hazards, such as poor air quality from wildfire smoke.

As Vermont braces for more extreme weather conditions in the future, some say the state’s response to homelessness needs to adapt, too.

“For me, the cold weather opening of the motels is really grounded in a Vermont climate that doesn’t really exist anymore,” said Sen. Tanya Vyhovsky, P/D-Chittenden Central. “Our thinking is pretty behind the realities of climate change at this point.”

Some daytime options do exist for unsheltered Vermonters to escape the heat. The state Department of Health maintains a list of cooling sites with access to air conditioning and water, such as libraries, community centers and state parks.

Some communities have existing day centers where unsheltered people can access services indoors — like Burlington’s COTS Daystation, which reportedly saw an

uptick in traffic during a heat wave last September — and have outreach teams that bring cold water to people living in encampments.

Yet service providers say they’re stretched thin as they attempt to meet the needs of a growing number of Vermonters living out in the elements, particularly after hundreds of people were evicted from the motel program last June. In Chittenden County alone, providers estimate that around 200 to 240 people are living outside.

“Ultimately, the bottom line is we have too many people out on the streets, and not enough capacity to

serve them,” said Paul Dragon, executive director of the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity.

State funding has supported a modest increase in the number of shelter beds available statewide over the last year: Capacity has been added for about 110 households, for a total capacity of 547 households, though that number shifts as seasonal shelters open and close and new projects come online, according to an email from Department for Children and Families spokesperson Nya Pike.

Lawmakers allocated about $7

million for permanent shelter bed expansion — and another $10 million intended for emergency winter shelter capacity — for the coming fiscal year, which begins July 1. The Department for Children and Families is now reviewing applications for some of that funding, according to an emailed statement from Lily Sojourner, director of the department’s Office of Economic Opportunity.

But the state’s year-round capacity for the motel program will be shrinking. Beginning Sept. 15, a 1,100-room cap will go into effect, a measure lawmakers wielded to rein in costs as the state scales back the program’s pandemic-era expansion. The room cap will be lifted during the winter, though eligibility during the colder months will be more limited than it has been in the past. (Gov. Phil Scott has not yet signed the new policy into law, but has signaled his support for it).

Because the motel program currently shelters around 1,500 households — all of whom are deemed vulnerable, based on criteria set in part by lawmakers — the room cap, along with a new 80-day limit on motel stays, will force people out of shelter.

“We’re extremely concerned that they put the caps in place in terms of who has access to shelter in the summer,” said Frank Knaack, executive director of the Housing and Homelessness Alliance of Vermont. “Our shelter system is already completely maxed out.”

5.40

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For unhoused Vermonters with acute health conditions, opening up motel stays during extreme heat could be a lifeline, Dragon said. “We know that many of the people that we see have cardiovascular issues, high blood pressure, diabetes — and it makes their condition much more vulnerable in extreme hot weather.”

Vyhovsky hopes adjusting the state’s motel program policy to address weather hazards outside of the winter months can be a part of the conversation during the 2025 legislative session.

“What can we do right now, to make sure that on any given day when there are alerts going out about not being outside — that we’re making sure no one has to be outside?” Vyhovsky said.

This story, by Report for America corps member Carly Berlin, was produced through a partnership between VTDigger and Vermont Public.

The Fletcher Free Library has served as a cooling site in Burlington available for people to seek relief from heat.

FILE PHOTO BY GLENN RUSSELL/VTDIGGER

Why a controversial wildlife bill died in the Vermont House

BY EMMA COTTON VTDigger

Over the last several years, a debate over how to manage wildlife has become a symbol of a broader cultural divide in Vermont. During the recently concluded legislative session, that debate culminated in S.258, a bill that would have changed the state’s wildlife management structure.

Many supporters of the measure saw it as a pathway to create common ground between those who want to protect wildlife from certain hunting practices and those who fear the implications of a cultural shift away from hunting in Vermont.

Some lawmakers who opposed the bill — or didn’t want to vote on it — feared it would prompt more division. That appears to be the reason the bill failed.

It became a “lightning rod for some of the intensity around” the wildlife debate, said Rep. Katherine Sims, D-Craftsbury, co-chair of the tripartisan Rural Caucus.

S.258 focused largely on the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Board, a citizen group in charge of creating rules to manage the state’s game species. At present, it is stacked with hunters, trappers and anglers. While the governor currently appoints its 14 members,

the bill would have added two new members appointed by the Legislature. All board members would have been required to meet a list of qualifications and participate in training.

Moreover, the bill would have made the Fish & Wildlife Board advisory and transferred power to the state’s Fish & Wildlife Department to make rules that govern hunting, trapping and fishing. It would have also banned the controversial practice of hunting coyotes with dogs.

Sims said the rural caucus did not take a formal position on the issue and that members from rural districts and more populous areas were hesitant to support the bill. The caucus heard from stakeholders who advocated for and against the bill, she said.

Representatives were “hearing loudly from a lot of constituents with lots of different diverse perspectives,” she said. “And I think that’s my sense of why the bill didn’t move forward: that many members felt like they would be taking a vote on a bill that might divide their community.”

Sims also pointed to a process that had played out before the session. In response to two laws passed in 2022, the Fish & Wildlife Board created rules to govern trapping and hunting coyotes with

Supporters of the measure saw it as a pathway to create common ground between those who want to protect wildlife from certain hunting practices and those who fear the implications of a cultural shift away from hunting in Vermont.

dogs. When the Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (LCAR) argued that the board’s rules didn’t go far enough, the board approved them anyway. Then came S.258.

“I think we do our best work when everyone comes together and finds consensus and moves forward together,” Sims said. This time, the bill felt like a “reaction to frustration about the LCAR process and the rules,” she said.

“I don’t think it was the right bill at the right time,” she said, adding that she’s “committed to continuing to be a part of these conversations.”

Patti Komline, a lobbyist with Downs Rachlin Martin, represented the group Animal Wellness Action, which supported the bill. She said she’s worked on controversial issues, including gun control, but that this one got people particular-

Gov. Scott appoints Andy Julow to replace Sen. Mazza

BY SHAUN ROBINSON VTDigger

Gov. Phil Scott on Tuesday appointed North Hero resident and former Democratic candidate for the Vermont House

Andy Julow to the state Senate seat previously held by former Sen. Dick Mazza.

Julow is the executive director of the Lake Champlain Islands Economic Development Corp. He’ll serve the Grand Isle Senate district, which includes the five towns on the Champlain Islands as well as parts of Colchester on the mainland.

Mazza resigned from the Senate in early April due to health challenges, and his seat has been vacant since. He represented the Grand Isle Senate district for close to four decades, making him the second-lon-

gest serving senator in Vermont history.

Julow previously chaired his local school board and North Hero’s development review board. In 2016, and again in 2020, he ran unsuccessfully for a House seat representing the Champlain Islands.

Scott selected Julow from a list of candidates submitted by Democratic Party leaders in Grand Isle County and the town of Colchester.

Tuesday’s appointment is temporary. Julow would have to run, and win, in this fall’s election if he wants a seat in the Senate during the next legislative biennium. He said he hasn’t made a decision on running yet, and is still “giving it some thought.”

The deadline for major party candidates to file for this year’s election is May 30.

Meanwhile, two people have already thrown their hats into the ring for the Grand Isle seat. One is veteran Rep. Patrick Brennan, R-Colchester. The other is Julie Hulburd, a member of the state Cannabis Control Board who has filed to run as a Democrat.

ly “fired up.”

“People told us they got a thousand emails, about equally split, both for it and against this bill,” Komline said. “And really, what legislators felt is, they didn’t want to go into an election cycle where they’re alienating half the people. There was no right vote to take on this.”

Sims is among the legislators who could face political implications. The Craftsbury Democrat recently entered a race for an open state Senate seat in rural Orleans County.

Lawmakers couldn’t simply split the bill and remove one part of it to make it more politically appealing, Komline said, because people were divided over both of its major parts: the changes to the board and the ban on coyote hounding.

Before it faced opposition in the

House, the bill saw a strong show of support in the Senate — but not at first. The original version called for an even split of hunters and non-hunters on the Fish & Wildlife board. When other senators expressed concern about that proposal, Sen. Chris Bray, D-Addison, the bill’s author, walked it back, adding the two legislative appointees to the board instead.

With that change, S.258 passed the Senate with enough votes to override a likely veto by Gov. Phil Scott. But after it moved to the House, it became stuck in its first committee, House Environment and Energy.

As the session approached its end, Rep. Amy Sheldon, D-Middlebury, who chairs the House committee, said the bill didn’t have the votes to override a veto in the House and that the committee had stopped taking testimony on it.

“We’re not going to move it if it doesn’t look like it has a future,” Sheldon said in an interview on May 1.

Bray told VTDigger he isn’t sure yet whether he’d take the issue up again in another session.

“I realized it was hard on my colleagues,” Bray said. “So, you know, I’m not going to jump back in without being really clear and intentional and have conversations with folks.”

Andy Julow

The scoop

CLOCKWISE (l to r): CVU’s Darragh Curley scores from point blank range during the Redhawks’ 17-8 win over the South Burlington Wolves on May 15 in Hinesburg. CVU goaltender Will Kearney stops a South Burlington shot. Anderson McEnaney checks South Burlington’s Will Goyette. Peter Gilliam tries to get around South Burlington’s Cam Gammon.

Giving their all for Ultimate

CLOCKWISE (l to r): CVU’s Zoey McNabb makes a leaping catch during the Redhawks’ 11-6 win over the South Burlington Wolves on May 13 in Hinesburg. Sandwiched between two defenders, Katie Lahiri snags the disc. Abigail Niquette makes a sure, two-handed catch. CVU’s Leona Sunderland stretches out to knock the disc away from South Burlington’s Evie Lorentz. Ella O’Neil gets a scoring reception as South Burlington’s Meredith Lambert grabs her arm.

Head to Ohio

Our 17th state, Ohio was home to Native Americans for thousands of years. Its name comes from the Seneca people and means “great river.”

It became a state in 1803. It was one of the main stops on the Underground Railroad, offering safety to fleeing slaves.

Ohio borders five other states along with Lake Erie. Its capital and largest city is Columbus, but Cleveland and Cincinnati are also large metro areas. Almost 12 million people live in the state. Ohioans are known as Buckeyes, named after the buckeye tree that grows there.

Working in Ohio

While manufacturing has declined in Ohio in the 21st century, the state has become a leader in “green” industries such as solar energy, technology and electric vehicles.

The state is also a center for health care, finance, shipping and distribution of retail goods. Farms cover roughly half the state, with corn and soybeans the main crops. Forests cover about a third of the state. Made in Ohio

• The Goodyear Blimps are made in Suffield, Ohio.

• Life Savers candy was invented in 1912 by a chocolate-maker in Cleveland.

• Ohio is the seventh-largest state by population.

Next Week: Fun on a bike

Mini Fact:

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, seen here, opened in Cleveland in 1995.

• Marblehead Lighthouse on the shore of Lake Erie was first lighted in 1822. It’s the oldest light continually in use on the U.S. side of the Great Lakes.

Famous Ohioans

• LeBron James plays for the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers. “King James” was born in Akron, Ohio, in 1984. Along with many other titles, he has won two gold medals playing for the U.S. men’s national Olympic basketball team.

The LeBron James Family Foundation is based in Akron.

Visiting the Buckeye State

Try ’n’ Find

• Eight presidents came from Ohio: William Henry Harrison, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William H. Taft and Warren G. Harding.

The Millennium Force steel roller coaster at Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio, is one of the tallest and fastest rides in the world, with a 300-foot drop and speeds of up to 93 mph.

Football fans enjoy the exhibits at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, including the Lamar Hunt Super Bowl Gallery and artifacts from the most recent football season.

Ohio is home to two Major League Baseball teams and two NFL teams, along with soccer, hockey and NBA teams.

In Kirtland, Ohio, plant lovers can visit the Holden Arboretum, one of the largest in the United States with more than 3,600 acres.

The Cincinnati Zoo is a leader in breeding eastern black rhinoceroses, a critically endangered species.

Words that remind us of Ohio are hidden in this puzzle. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally, and some letters are used twice. See if you can find:

JAMES, KELCE, LAKE, OHIO, PRESIDENTS, RHINOS, RIVER, SENECA, ZOO.

• Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and his older brother, former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. They both played football for the University of Cincinnati.

• Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon, was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio, in 1930. His family lived in 16 different Ohio towns before Armstrong turned 14 years old.

“Step

Mini Jokes

Ollie: What did Neil Armstrong find in his skillet?

Oma: An unidentified frying object!

change appear to be an important factor behind a number of large-scale dieEco Note

waters

to

Founded by Betty Debnam

photo by Christina Spicuzza

The Millennium Force climbs the big hill at Cedar Point.

Travis Kelce Jason Kelce Neil Armstrong

photo by Levdr1lp

photo by Coasterman1234

photo by Erik Drost

photo by Joe Glorioso

was invented in 1912 by a chocolate-maker in Cleveland.

• Ohio is the seventh-largest state by population.

United States with more than 3,600 acres. The Cincinnati Zoo is a leader in breeding eastern black rhinoceroses, a critically endangered species.

Try ’n’ Find

Words that remind us of Ohio are hidden in this puzzle. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally, and some letters are used twice. See if you can find:

ARMSTRONG, BLIMP, CANDY, CINCINNATI, CLEVELAND, COLUMBUS, ERIE, FARM, FOOTBALL, FORESTS, GREEN, JAMES, KELCE, LAKE, OHIO, PRESIDENTS, RHINOS, RIVER, SENECA, ZOO.

Cook’s Corner

Marvelous Meatloaf

You’ll need:

• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef

• 1 egg, beaten

• 1/4 cup tomato sauce

• 3/4 cup dry breadcrumbs

What to do:

• 1/2 onion, chopped

• 1/2 cup ketchup

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

Mini Jokes

Ollie: What did Neil Armstrong find in his skillet?

Oma: An unidentified frying object!

Eco Note

1. Combine all ingredients, except ketchup and brown sugar, in a large bowl. Mix well.

2. Press evenly in a loaf pan.

3. Combine ketchup and brown sugar in a small bowl. Mix well.

4. Spread ketchup mixture evenly over meat mixture.

5. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 1 hour. Serves 8 .

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. whole earth (5)

2. like an empty space (5)

3. not ordinary (7)

4. where sides meet (6)

5. place to buy food (6)

6. well-known (6)

7. break out of an egg (5)

famous, hatch.

* You’ll need an adult’s help with this recipe.

Warming ocean waters due to climate change appear to be an important factor behind a number of large-scale dieoffs of farmed salmon. But disease outbreaks have also been well documented as the cause of numerous deaths. With the die-offs becoming more frequent and larger in scale, salmon farms are now under renewed review. Farmed salmon “are plagued by sea lice and disease, suffer from stressful handling and treatments, and live a monotonous life in barren, crowded cages,” said OneKind spokeswoman Kirsty Jenkins.

For later:

Look in your newspaper for articles that mention Ohio.

Teachers: Follow and interact with The Mini Page on Facebook!

By Jim Miller

SAVVY SENIOR

How to find affordable internet services

Dear Savvy Senior, I was recently notified that the Affordable Connectivity Program, which subsidizes my monthly internet bill, is about to end. What are my options for finding affordable home internet services now? I’m 71 years old and live primarily on

Spacious 1- and 2-Bedroom Apartments Hair Salon • Massage Studio • Art Gallery

Expanded Outdoor Patio and Grilling Area • Exercise Room Community Rooms • Mature Landscaping • Resident Garden Vibrant Social Atmosphere with Weekly Events and Activities

my Social Security benefits. Barely Getting By

Dear Barely, It’s unfortunate, but without additional funding from Congress, the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is winding down and will end in mid-May.

For those who aren’t familiar with this program, the ACP is a government benefit that has provided millions of financially eligible households with a discount of up to $30 per month toward their home internet service, or up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands.

The ACP was initially born out of a pandemic-era program called the Emergency Broadband Benefit in 2021 and replaced six months later by the longer-term ACP when Congress devoted $14.2 billion to the program as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

funding the program — unless they change their mind in the 11th hour.

WHAT TO DO NOW?

A good first step in securing affordable home internet services is to contact your current provider to find out if they offer any other discounts or low-cost services that fit your budget.

If not, you should shop around. The nonprofit organization EveryoneOn has a National Offer Locator Tool that can help you find low-income, discounted internet services from providers in your area. Just go to www.EveryoneOn.org/find-offers, type in your ZIP code and answer a few questions regarding your household financial situation so the internet services you’re eligible for can be located.

program. Unlike the ACP, Lifeline is a permanently funded federal assistance program that provides a $9.25 monthly subsidy that can help pay your home internet, phone or bundled services (up to $34.25 if you live on Tribal lands). Only one benefit is available per household.

The practice of natural or “green” burials dates back thousands of

as well as the benefits of land preservation and affordability. To learn more, contact us today.

More than 23 million households are currently enrolled in the ACP, which has significantly helped close the digital divide, as affordability has been the primary barrier that has kept most ACP beneficiaries from getting home internet services. But funds are almost out, and a sharply divided Congress has chosen not to continue

Some cities and states across the country are also offering their own local versions of the ACP to help low-income households pay for their internet. The best way to look for these services is by going to search your location on Google for internet resources.

CHECK LIFELINE BENEFIT

If you haven’t already done so, you also need to find out if you’re eligible for the Lifeline

Emergencies seen promptly. We now contract with all major dental insurances.

To qualify, your annual household income must be at or below 135 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, which is $19,683 for one person or $26,622 for two. You can also qualify if you’re receiving certain types of government benefits such as Medicaid, SNAP, SSI, public housing assistance, veterans’ pension or survivors pension benefit, or live on federally recognized Tribal lands. You can apply for Lifeline online at www.LifelineSupport. org, via mail or through your internet or phone provider. Or, if you need assistance, call their support line at 800-234-9473.

OTHER OPTIONS

If you find that you aren’t eligible for any of the lower-income services, you may still be able to save on your internet by shopping and comparing. The best way to do this is at websites like www.InMyArea.com, which provides a list of internet providers in your area, along with pricing and download speeds. Most providers offer plans under $50 monthly, and you can often find additional discounts for things like bundling with a cellphone plan or signing an annual contract. Another way to save some money is to buy your own equipment. Most internet service providers charge around $15 per month to rent a modem and router from them. But you can buy your own for as little as $100, which will pay for itself within the first year.

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.

Burlington, VT

TODAY’S HISTORY:

• In 1788, South Carolina became the eighth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

• In 1934, outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were fatally shot by police officers near Sailes, Bienville Parish, Louisiana.

• In 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) was established.

• In 1960, a tsunami killed 61 people in Hilo, Hawaii.

TODAY’S FACT:

• The Hawaiian tsunami on this day in 1960 was triggered by a massive 9.5-magnitude earthquake off the Chilean coast that had killed thousands the day before.

1 when an assignment is due (8)

2 “catty” creature (6)

3 genealogy (9)

4 toll-free number, usually (7)

5 hooked like an eagle’s beak (8)

6 where laundry hangs out (11)

7 talk out of (10)

April 30 at 10:27 a.m. — Report of a female causing a disturbance at Sonesta. Female was issued a notice of trespass and left the property.

April 30 at 12:05 p.m. — Female showed back up at Sonesta and caused another disturbance. Officers removed her from the property.

April 30 at 6:01 p.m. — Stolen vehicle reported from Merchants Row. Vehicle has not been located.

April 30 at 9:47 p.m. — Report of a female at Zephyr Place who had previously been trespassed. Female was issued a citation to appear in court for unlawful trespass. She was removed from the property.

May 1 at 1:02 p.m. — Report of storage units being broken into on Essex Road. Clothes were stolen.

May 1 at 5:10 p.m. — Jewelry stolen out of car on Echo Place. Caller called back and stated he located the items.

May 1 at 7:56 p.m. — Traffic stop conducted. Male operator was issued a citation to appear in court for suspicion of DUI.

May 2 at 2:45 p.m. — Retail theft reported at Marshalls. Case is still under investigation.

May 2 at 5:47 p.m. — Possible stolen bikes at Walmart. Bikes were moved to another part of the store.

May 3 at 9:36 a.m. — Package reported sto -

len from Zephyr Place. Female suspect was issued a citation to appear in court for petit larceny.

May 3 at 11:37 p.m. — Traffic stop conducted. Female juvenile was referred to the Community Justice Center.

May 4 at 1:59 p.m. — Assisted Williston Rescue with an unconscious female in the bathroom of Panera Bread. Female was transported to the hospital for evaluation.

May 4 at 7:36 p.m. — Vandalism reported on the Williston Bike Path.

May 4 at p.m. — Male reported in Best Buy who should not be there. Male will be issued a citation to appear in court for unlawful trespass.

May 5 at 6:01 p.m. — Report of trees being cut in an unsafe manor on Lamplite Lane. It was determined that nothing illegal was happening.

May 6 at 2:47 p.m. — Disturbance reported at Maple Tree Place. Nothing found when officers arrived on scene.

May 6 at 3:50 p.m. — Suspicious vehicle reported on Industrial Avenue. Passengers were told to move along.

Officers also conducted 54 traffic stops and responded to seven alarm activations and 11 motor vehicle crashes during this time frame.

Screening garden soils for lead

BY DEBRA HELEBA Special to the Observer

Whether you are new to gardening, or have been growing your own vegetables for years, you probably understand the importance of getting your soil tested for nutrient levels and soil pH.

But have you ever thought about having your garden soil screened for lead?

Although this bluish-gray metal occurs naturally in soil in small amounts — typically less than 41 parts per million (ppm) — higher levels in garden soils may necessitate a range of actions to limit exposure, especially among children who are at increased risks to the health effects of lead.

You can have your garden soil screened for lead for free at an upcoming walk-in clinic, called SoilSHOP, thanks to a partnership among the University of Vermont (UVM) Extension Master Gardener program, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The clinic will be held Saturday, May 25 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the UVM Horticulture Research Center, 65 Green Mountain Drive, South Burlington.

You do not need to register in advance. There is a limit of three samples per family. Trained volunteer health educators will be on site at these walk-in clinics to provide detailed information based on screening results.

You only need to collect one sample from a large garden. If you have multiple, edible gardens in different locations, sample these separately. Note that for soil lead screening, ornamental flower gardens do not need to be tested unless they include

edible plants.

You can also submit a soil sample to the University of Vermont Extension Agricultural and Environmental Testing Lab (https://go.uvm.edu/soiltest). The lab will run a basic soil test for $17, which provides information on pH, available macronutrients and micronutrients, organic matter and other soil components, along with fertility and lime recommendations.

A heavy metals test (including lead) is available as an add-on or on its own for $15. Results include possible management options if needed.

So, how do you take a soil sample?

If sampling a large area, collect soil from five to 10 random spots throughout the area. For small beds, choose three spots at random.

Dig down to 6-8 inches in each location, and then combine the soil samples in a clean container. Be sure to remove any pebbles, roots or other debris.

You will need to let the sample air dry. Do not use a hair dryer, oven or flame. Once dry, scoop 1-2 cups of the mixed soil and transfer to a clean 1 quart zipper or slider storage bag. Wear gloves when collecting your soil sample. If taking more than one sample, rinse your shovel and container between samples. For multiple samples, label each bag so you know which test results apply to which area.

For questions about soils, soil testing and gardening topics, contact the Master Gardener Helpline at https://go.uvm.edu/gardeninghelp.

Helpline volunteers also are available to take phone calls on Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon through October 31. The number to call is (802) 656-5421.

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 to register for programs that require registration. Need help? Call 8784918 or email daml@damlvt.org.

The library will be closed on Monday, May 27 in observance of Memorial Day.

BOOK DONATIONS

In preparation for the Friends of the Library’s July Fourth book sale, we will be accepting books in good condition during the month of June. Donations will be accepted Monday and Wednesday, 12-2 p.m. and 5-7 p.m.; Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 12-2 p.m.; and Saturday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Limit three boxes per day.

Visit www.damlvt.org for more details.

YOUTH PROGRAMS

Children in fourth grade and younger must be supervised by someone over 16 years of age.

TEENS DUNGEONS & DRAGONS

Friday, May 24, 5-6 p.m. Ages 12-plus. Join our D&D campaign. Stop by early for help creating a character if needed.

SATURDAY MUSIC

Saturday, May 25, 10:30-11 a.m. Sing and dance with Linda Bassick.

STORYTIME

Tuesdays, May 28 and June 4, 10:30-11 a.m. Drop in for stories and fun on the Town Green.

SNACK ATTACK BOOK CLUB (NEW)

Tuesday, May 28, 3-4 p.m. Read any book off the new bookshelves in the Youth Room and come chat about them. Hear about other new books you may want to read, and enjoy some tasty snacks.

AFTER SCHOOL MEDITATIVE COLORING

Wednesday, May 29, 2-3 p.m. Relax with coloring, tracing and stencils.

MUSIC AND PLAYTIME

Thursdays, May 30 and June 6, 10:3011:30 a.m. Sing with Linda then stay to play. On the Town Green.

TEEN NIGHT: JACKBOX.TV GAMES

Friday, May 31, 5-6 p.m. Bring your phone or tablet and compete in Jackbox.tv games.

SATURDAY STORYTIME

Saturday, June 1, 10:30-11 a.m. Start your weekend off with Cindy’s storytime. On the Town Green.

BABY TIME

Wednesday, June 5, 10:30-11 a.m. Socialize and bond with gentle activities. On the Town Green.

AFTER SCHOOL GAMES

Wednesday, June 5, 2-3 p.m. Play fun games at the library.

MULTI-AGE PROGRAMS

READ TO A DOG (ROCKO)

Thursday, May 30, 3 -4 p.m. Call to register for a 10-minute time slot to read to Rocko the Therapy Dog.

ADULT PROGRAMS

For online programs or to join a book club, email daml@damlvt.org.

ADULT MEDITATION (ONLINE)

Fridays in May and June, 12-12:30 p.m. Get in touch with your peaceful breath.

Williston

SPICE CLUB: CARAWAY (NEW)

Throughout the month of June while supplies last, stop in for a sample of the month’s highlighted spice or herb along with an informational pamphlet about the spice’s profile, uses, companion spices, and a few recipes to try. Email us a picture of your creation or a review of your recipe!

BROWN BAG BOOK CLUB

Tuesday, May 28, 12:30-1:30 p.m. “The Barbizon” by Paulina Bren. Famous people come and go in this true account of a hotel that provided a women-only place to live in New York City. Available in print from the library.

SPANISH (ONLINE)

Wednesday, June 5, 5-6 p.m. All levels welcome.

ADULT CRAFTERNOON: DENIM AND BURLAP FLAG PIN

Thursday, June 6, 2-3 p.m. Show your patriotic colors with this easy fabric remnant pin. Manual dexterity needed. Bring fabric scissors if you have them. Pre-register.

LANDSCAPE AND GEOLOGY AT CATAMOUNT

Thursday, June 6, 4-6 p.m. Join geologist Laura Meyer as she shows us how to read the forested landscape at Catamount Family Outdoor Center from the perspective of its geology and glacial history. Meet at the Catamount Outdoor Family Center parking lot. Registration required.

ADULT RPG: WHITE BOX

Thursday, June 6, 5:30-8 p.m. Join our fantasy role playing game for adults. Register online for details.

LOCAL SHOP

Driver Wanted

SUDOKU SOLUTION Puzzle found on page 19

Hart & Mead Energy and All Star Fuels in Hinesburg/Bristol area is looking for an individual with a clean CDL-B / Hazmat endorsement. Able to pass federally mandated drug screening. DOT physical required. Competitive wage, paid holidays and sick time.

Contact hartmeadllc@gmail.com or 802-482-6666

CROSSWORD SOLUTION

Puzzle found on page 19

TUESDAY, MAY 28 @ 10AM

Large Selection of Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment from Cheese and Wine Traders!

• Refrigerators

• Freezers

• Deli Cases

• Video Surveillance Syst.

• Wire and Wine Racks

• 60 Qt. Mixer

PREVIEW THIS AUCTION

FRIDAY, MAY 24 FROM 11AM-1PM 1186 Williston Rd., S. Burlington, VT

CHEESE & WINE TRADERS FF&E THCAuction.com  800-634-SOLD

Advertising2@THCAuction.com

A burial with Military Honors will be held for Loyal Downing at Sanderson Corners Cemetery in Fairfax, VT on Sunday, June 2 at 1 p.m.

So

year, 23 animals in Vermont have tested positive for rabies, and 14 of those have been raccoons.

According to wildlife officials, rabid animals often show a change in their normal behavior, but you cannot tell whether an animal has rabies simply by looking at it. People should not touch or pick up wild animals or strays – even baby animals.

saliva. If left untreated, rabies is almost always fatal in humans and animals. However, treatment with the rabies vaccine is nearly 100 percent effective when given soon after a person is bitten by a rabid animal.

So far this year, 23 animals in Vermont have tested positive for rabies, and 14 of those have been raccoons.

According to wildlife officials, rabid animals often show a change in their normal behavior, but you cannot tell whether an animal has rabies simply by looking at it. People should not touch or pick up wild animals or strays – even baby animals.

Shelburne display lead dors from creemees. from SHELBURNE continued

Little Leaguers limber up

Williston

Adams Farm Market

Belle’s Café

Chef’s Corner

Dorothy Alling Memorial Library

Fairfield Inn

Gardener’s Supply

Green Mountain Bagel Hannaford

Healthy Living Williston Home2Suites

Island Homemade Ice Cream

Korner Kwik Stop

Marriott Courtyard

Men At Wok

M&T Bank

Ramunto’s Rehab Gym

Shell Gas Station (Essex Rd)

Simon’s Mobil Williston Simply Divine Café

Sonesta Sunoco Station

Town of Williston Offices

UPS Store

Vermont Meat & Seafood

Williston Coffee Shop

Essex Junction

Essex Automotive

Five Corner Variety Hannaford Inn at Essex

Mac’s Market

Martone’s Deli

Price Chopper

Quality Bake Shop

River Road Beverage

Richmond

Cumberland Farms

Richmond Free Library

Richmond Market

Richmond Mobil Mart

If

Williston Little Leaguers Dylan Morris and Connor Remillard warm up before their game against Essex Junction on Friday in Essex Junction. Williston fell to the Junction 11-3.

OBSERVER PHOTO BY JASON STARR