Williston Observer 01/04/2024

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Catamount plans hunter ed courses Director floats idea of dropping hunting ban at community forest

BY JASON STARR Observer staff

Vermont Hunter Education Coordinator Nicole Meier VERMONT FISH AND WILDLIFE PHOTO

Amanda Preston brings a hunter education background to the job of Catamount Outdoor Family Center operations manager. In recent weeks, she has been working with her former colleague, Vermont Hunter Education Coordinator Nicole Meier, to launch a hunter education program at the Catamount Community Forest.

Catamount Outdoor Family Center Executive Director John Atkinson believes the offering could lead to future hunting on the town-owned property.

“We’re not saying we want hunting at Catamount yet, but this is a way to start the conversation about how that might look,” Atkinson said at a December meeting of the Town of Williston’s Cat-

“We would shy away from guns maybe, but a bow season at Catamount might be an appropriate way to manage the deer.”

John Atkinson Executive director Catamount Outdoor Family Center

amount Community Forest Management Committee. “We have too many deer on the property. This might be the start of a conversation about how that might be managed.”

When the town acquired the nearly 400-acre property in 2019, the selectboard adopted a forest management plan developed by a committee of citizen volunteers that encourages the free use of the forest for hiking and bird-watching as

well as the continuation of the non-profit Outdoor Family Center’s biking, running and cross=country skiing programs. The plan prohibits dog walking, horseback riding and hunting.

At the December meeting, Atkinson advocated for allowing an archery hunting season, which would require the town to amend the forest management plan.

The committee will renew the discussion at its Jan. 11 meeting, with time for public comment. The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. at Town Hall and online via Zoom.

“We would shy away from guns maybe, but a bow season at Catamount might be an appropriate way to manage the deer,” Atkinson said.

The state’s archery deer season runs from Oct. 1 through Dec. 15.

Whether it leads to a lifting of the hunting ban or not, Meier said offering hunter education at Catamount would have its own benefits. see CATAMOUNT page 16

Flooding closes Allen Brook Trail bridge

Support poles for the footbridge that connects Williston’s Village Community Park with the Allen Brook Nature Trail were damaged in the Dec. 18 flooding, resulting in the closing of the bridge.

OBSERVER PHOTOS BY JASON STARR

The rainstorm and snowmelt that overwhelmed local rivers on Dec. 18 has left lasting damage to the footbridge that connects Williston’s Village Community Park with the Allen Brook Nature Trail.

According to Williston Conservation Planner Simon Myles, the torrent changed the path of the Allen Brook as it flows under the footbridge, destabilizing support poles that were designed for dry ground.

“In the day’s that followed (Dec. 18), a new channel became the dominant channel for the Allen Brook,” Myles said. “It’s flowing under a different area of the (bridge).”

Winooski Valley Park District trail-builders have installed temporary supports, but the bridge remains closed pending an engineering assessment.

“Now that the channel has changed, I don’t think we can just go back to how it was,” Myles said. “I think we need a more comprehensive solution now.”

The bridge was originally built around the turn of the millennium and extensively refurbished in 2020. Myles expects engineers from the company that designed

the 2020 rebuild — Engineering Ventures of Burlington — will be involved in a new rebuild.

The Allen Brook Nature Trail is still accessible from trailheads off neighborhoods to the north of Village Community Park.

— Jason Starr

Page 2 •

Williston Observer • January 4, 2024

Around Town Williston student wins Congressional App Challenge C h a m plain Valley Union High School student Clay Nicholson of Williston won the 2023 CongresClay Nicholson sional App Challenge, Rep. Becca Balint announced in December.

Nicholson created an app called Lexiscan that helps dyslexic people read books and signs. He was inspired to make the app after a conversation with a friend, who shared his

struggle with dyslexia and how it affects his reading. Lexiscan users can take a photo of text they want to read, and the app will identify the text, display it on the screen, then read it out loud in one of eight different languages.

This was the second win in a row for CVU; last year, Jaden Parker of St. George won the contest.

“I am so proud to see Vermont’s students finding innovative solutions to everyday challenges,” Rep. Balint said.

Lake Iroquois budget hearing upcoming The Lake Iroquois Recreation District will hold a public hearing at Williston Town Hall on its proposed

budget for the upcoming fiscal year at 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 15. Contact Public Works Director Bruce Hoar at (802) 878-1239 for information on the proposed budget.

The Lake Iroquois Recreation District is a multi-town municipal district with representatives from the four towns surrounding the lake (Williston, St. George, Richmond and Hinseburg) that manages the public beach and surrounding natural areas on the north side of the lake.

ABS student craft sale benefits food shelf

Carmen LaFlamme

As part of their economics education, Allen Brook School students in grades 1 and 2 set up

the “Horizon Crafting Company” and held a craft sale Dec. 19 with proceeds benefitting the Williston Community Food Shelf.

The group of 75 students created and sold crafts to the larger school community, including bookmarks, necklaces, keychains and wallets.

A total of $769 was taken in and used to buy items from the food shelf’s wish list.

Food shelf volunteer Carmen LaFlamme, a former kindergarten teacher at ABS, was on hand to collect the donations.

Scout Christmas tree pickup set for Jan. 6 Williston Scout Troop 692 will conduct its annual Christmas tree pickup on the morning of Saturday, Jan. 6.

Pickups will begin at 8:30 a.m. for trees placed curbside on the following roads: Eastview Circle, Stirrup Circle, Bittersweet Circle, River Cove Road (and side streets), Hillside Drive,

Sharon Drive, Meadowrun Road, Lamplite Acres, Finney Crossing, Indian Ridge, Brennan Woods, Ledgewood Drive, Southridge neighborhood (including Chloe and Kadence circles), Pleasant Acres, all roads off Old Stage between Williston Road. and Mountain View (including Wildflower Circle, Southfield Drive and Village Grove), Lefebvre Lane, Fairway Drive, Creek’s Edge Drive, Keystone Drive, Hillcrest Lane, Michael Lane, Sunrise Drive and the Commons.

A donation of at least $10 is appreciated and can be tied to the tree in an envelope for future Scout activities and community service projects. Make checks payable to Williston Troop 692 or donate online at www.williston692.mytroop.us.

If you would like a neighborhood added to the pickup list or have questions, contact Julia at (802) 878-8520 or email jnesbit938@gmail.com.

First lights The winners of the 2023 Holiday Decorating Contest, as judged

by Williston residents via the Williston Recreation and Parks Department, are 155 Coyote Lane (left, first place) and 88 Isham Circle (right, second place).

PHOTOS COURTESY OF WILLISTON RECREATION AND PARKS DEPARTMENT

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Green Mountain Transit delays charging bus fares until March

BY SHAUN ROBINSON VTDigger

Green Mountain Transit plans to start collecting fares on many of its busiest bus routes in March — two months later than planned.

The agency has operated all of its bus routes fare-free since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Starting March 6, though, riders can expect to pay for their trips on local and commuter routes in Chittenden County, and LINK Express routes to Montpelier and St. Albans. (Other routes in Washington, Lamoille, Franklin and Grand Isle counties will stay free).

Rides will cost $2 — a slight increase for local route users over pre-pandemic fares, according to the agency’s final 2024 urban fare plan, which it released in December. Riders who are over age 60, under age 18 or who have a disability will pay $1. But the agency also plans to introduce new caps on how much riders can spend to ride the bus per day or per month in an effort to benefit its most frequent users.

The return to fares was delayed from early January because new “smart” transit cards critical to implementing the caps are shipping later than expected from Green Mountain Transit’s supplier, according to Clayton Clark, the bus system’s general manager.

In order to implement the caps, Green Mountain Transit needs to track how often each rider is using the bus, Clark said. Many riders will be able to do this by paying fares with a smartphone app. But riders who don’t have a smartphone — and who want to take advantage of the caps — will need to use a physical transit card, according to Clark.

Resuming fare collection without the cards

on hand, he said, would disadvantage many of the system’s most economically vulnerable riders.

Fare caps are set to be $4 a day (or $2 for reduced-price riders), meaning riders would stop paying after their second trip in a day.

Riders would also be capped at paying $50 (or, for reduced fares, $25) in a month, which is the equivalent of 25 bus rides.

Whereas riders previously could only pay onboard the bus using cash, they’ll also be able to do so next year with a credit card or the agency’s smartphone app.

Green Mountain Transit was required under state law this year to draw up a plan for 2024 that would generate enough fare revenue to cover 10 percent of the cost of operating its routes in Chittenden County. Clark said projections show $2 regular fares, and $50 regular monthly caps, should bring the system up to that threshold.

Agency leaders have said that bringing back fares — and for some routes, increasing them — will also help the transit system make up for the imminent end of federal Covid-19 relief funding that has buoyed its coffers throughout the pandemic.

The transit agency’s roughly $25 million annual budget is funded largely with federal and state dollars, but also with local assessments on the cities and towns its buses serve.

Clark has said that fare revenue — estimated to total about $1 million in its first year back — will help reduce taxpayers’ share of the tab.

The decision appears to be less popular with riders, though. The agency’s 2024 fare plan includes about a dozen written public comments it received on the document, many of which express opposition to charging for rides again.

January 4, 2024 •

Williston Observer •

Six injured in morning car crash on Williston Road

Five teenagers from Huntington who were driving in for the school day at South Burlington High School were injured Wednesday morning when their car swerved into oncoming traffic on Williston Road near the Williston Fire station, according to Williston Police.

The car collided nearly head-on with a car travelling eastbound, driven by a 34-year-old woman from Williston, Police Chief Patrick Foley said.

All six people involved were taken to the hospital with injuries ranging from minor to serious, Foley said. Officers contin-

ued to investigate the accident throughout the afternoon, speaking with witnesses and those involved at the hospital.

“We know that the vehicle went into the opposite lane, but the question is why,” said Foley. “We are interviewing people trying to figure out what was the cause.”

The road was closed for about 90 minutes before reopening about 11 a.m. Both vehicles were totaled and towed away. Vermont State Police also responded to the scene.

— Observer staff report

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Williston Observer • January 4, 2024

Floods prompt calls for statewide river plan

BY EMMA COTTON VTDigger

People watch as the flooding Winooski River beats against the Taylor Street Bridge in Montpelier on July 11, 2023.

PHOTO BY GLENN RUSSELL/VT DIGGER

The torrent of water that ripped through Vermont in July left some towns in ruins and others unscathed. The disparity was due, in part, to differences in the amount of water that fell within the towns’ watersheds.

But some municipalities took on large quantities of water and still escaped significant damage.

Often that was because those with more resources, such as fulltime staff, have woven together the complex web of funding and logistics that’s required for most flood resilience projects.

For example, Brattleboro is wrapping up a 12-year land conservation project that could reduce local flooding by 4 to 5 feet. Brandon built a giant box culvert that allowed the town to avert the kind of dramatic damages it experienced during Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. Both towns have full-time staff that worked for long spans of

time on the projects.

Meanwhile, other towns with fewer resources haven’t been able to look closely at river corridor management, and that can have ripple effects downstream, said Sen. Chris Bray, D-Addison.

“The fact that they haven’t necessarily engaged in river cor-

Towns with fewer resources haven’t been able to look closely at river corridor management. ridor planning and management at a level that climate change is demanding of us is no surprise,” he said. “So it’s like, OK, how do we improve our game across the board?”

Bray, who chairs the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee, plans to introduce and prioritize a bill he’s dubbed the Climate Change Response Act in Vermont’s coming legislative session, which begins on Jan. 3.

The bill would include a “coordinated, comprehensive” statewide plan for river corridor man-

agement, Bray said, “rather than leaving it as, basically, an optional municipal activity.”

It would also address wetlands management and conservation, which he considers a piece of the river management puzzle, and it would look into measures that increase the safety and maintenance of the state’s dams, such as a dam safety revolving loan fund.

He also pointed to the challenges that arise when municipalities have different ideas about how to manage rivers. Some may choose to conserve land upstream from a developed area, widening the floodplain and giving the river space to slow down during times of high flow.

Others have gone in the opposite direction, hardening the streambed into channels to protect development, which can make flooding worse downstream.

“No one has their own river,” Bray said. “They have a segment of a river that flows through their town. And so just like the electric grid, you need a coordinated approach to manage the whole system of waterways.”

The current patchwork of river management doesn’t make sense, Bray said, but it’s been “more tolerable because we’ve had less flooding.” In the last few years, see FLOODS page 8

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Williston Observer •

Housing crisis constrains refugee resettlement plans

BY TIFFANY TAN VTDigger

Vermont officials have expressed willingness to accept 555 new refugees by this fall, but the number could decrease due to a lack of available housing.

By September, some 330 refugees are expected to be resettled around Colchester, Montpelier and Rutland, and another 225 in the Bennington and Brattleboro areas, Tracy Dolan, Vermont’s state refugee office director, told VTDigger.

If the effort is successful, the new arrivals will represent the biggest number of refugees resettled annually in Vermont in almost a decade. The plans align with the state government’s desire to integrate more refugees into the workforce and the fabric of Vermont life while responding to the global refugee crisis.

At the end of last year, according to the United Nations, there were 35.3 million refugees worldwide, more than half of whom originated from Syria, Ukraine and Afghanistan.

“I’m hoping that we’re able to continue to resettle, and resettle at the numbers that we need,” Dolan said in an interview. “Our workforce absolutely needs these folks, and

communities have found it to be a very positive experience.”

But she acknowledged that Vermont’s projected refugee resettlement number for this federal fiscal year was “aspirational,” given the state’s low housing stock coupled with high housing costs.

“I wrote that to the feds, that I support this, but recognizing that we do have a housing crisis and it may need to change,” Dolan said, referring to communication with the U.S. Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.

Last fiscal year, Dolan said, Vermont received a little over 400 refugees, a broadly used term that includes humanitarian parolees, asylum seekers and holders of special immigrant visas, such as Afghans who’d worked with the U.S. military. The previous year, the state accepted 387 refugees, according to a January 2023 report to the state Legislature.

Dolan said the two federally contracted resettlement agencies in Vermont — the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants and the Ethiopian Community Development Council — inform the federal government of the number of refugees they can relocate after consulting with the State Refugee Office and host communities.

Page 5

U.S. Air Force personnel load passengers aboard a plane in support of the Afghanistan evacuation in Afghanistan on Aug. 24, 2021.

PHOTO BY MASTER SGT. DONALD R. ALLEN, U.S. AIR FORCE

The development council’s Vermont branch, which is resettling refugees in the Bennington and Brattleboro areas, is already considering cutting its current projected number from 225 to 150 because of the statewide housing crisis.

“We have some concerns about our ability to resettle as many people as we

thought, given the current state of housing,” said Mark Clark, the agency’s Vermont resettlement program manager. “We can get people employed, but we just can’t get access to safe and affordable housing.”

Gov. Phil Scott, who has advocated for Vermont to accept more refugees, acknowlsee REFUGEES page 8

Page 6 •

Williston Observer • January 4, 2024

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Williston’s Community Newspaper Since 1985

www.willistonobserver.com P.O. Box 1401, Williston, VT 05495 | 802-489-5499 ADVERTISING Rick Cote, Associate Publisher rick@willistonobserver.com 802-373-2136 EDITOR Jason Starr editor@willistonobserver.com PRODUCTION & DESIGN Jan Kenney jan@willistonobserver.com

ADVERTISING SPACE DEADLINE Friday at 5 p.m. for the next Thursday issue rick@willistonobserver.com, 802-373-2136 CLASSIFIED ADS Deadline is Friday 5 p.m. There is a fee for business, real estate, help wanted and legal ads. Free classifieds must be 25 words or fewer and are printed on a space available basis.

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Preventing a new generation of ‘vape’ addicts

BY MARCUS ALOISI I don’t want to feel a crackle run up my chest when I breathe anymore. I hate it. I’m 21 years old, and I’m addicted to tobacco products.

Flavored tobacco has a grip on my generation. Big tobacco companies roped in kids, made millions and got a whole new generation addicted to nicotine and tobacco through the appeal of thousands of flavors. The same generation that clearly understood the harmful effects of cigarettes became addicted to its flavorful twin, vapes.

It isn’t enough to offer children nicotine gum, anti-vaping campaigns and advice on how to quit.

We need to destroy the source.

This January, the Vermont Legislature will vote on S.18, a bill seeking to end the sale of flavored tobacco. I am writing so that people tell their legislators that we must pass S.18.

I sometimes wonder how I ended up here. I grew up with a hatred for cigarettes. My whole life, I was told how disgusting they were, the terrible health effects they have and how addictive the substance tobacco can be. I wanted nothing to do with it.

Around my eighth grade year at Georgia Elementary and Mid-

dle School in northwest Vermont, some friends started throwing around the term “vape.” It was described to me as a harmless smoke alternative that might have some health benefits. Fast forward to what we know now, and it just seems silly. I never indulged while at middle school, but that’s where the seed was planted, in eighth grade.

I was in high school at South Burlington when I first used a vape.

It was fruit-flavored and made me

The one thing that kept me coming back more than anything is that it tastes like candy. vibrate from head to toe. The best way I can describe the feeling is that your whole body feels like TV static. I wouldn’t say I liked it at first. Yet, I have an addictive personality, and much like most things that give me any sort of sensation, I’d find my way to it again.

The one thing that kept me coming back more than anything is that it tastes like candy. This was not the disgusting, makesyou-smell-bad substance that I

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was warned about.

I was so naive to claim that I wasn’t an “addict.” I could stop at any time, so I was okay. But I was far from okay.

As part of my senior capstone, I was involved in a tobacco prevention campaign for Burlington High School students, partnering with Burlington Partnership for a Healthy Community. The campaign, “BHS Elevate,” hopes to prevent kids from using tobacco.

We conducted interviews with UVM students to create a sense of understanding between high school and college students.

What we found was astonishing. Students understood how bad these tobacco products are for you. Yet, when questioned further, almost everyone we interviewed had some level of experience with vapes. At the bare minimum, they had seen the use of one from their friends.

When asked how long they had been vaping, one UVM student had this to say: “I have vaped every day since I first started, going into freshman year of high school; I started with a mango juul pod before cross country practice.”

Another student put it into simple terms: “Every time I do it, I can feel it in my lungs, and I’m like ‘oh, I need to not do this.’ Now and then I’ll still hit a vape. But I can tell it’s not good for you.”

Other states have already ended the sale of flavored tobacco products: Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and California all have some sort of restriction on selling flavored tobacco products. The research is out, and we need to act now. In the wake of a global pandemic, young people seek new ways to cope with a forever-changing world. Let’s make sure those mechanisms to cope are healthy ones.

Join me and many others and tell the Vermont legislature to pass S.18 and prevent a generation of Vermont kids from becoming addicted to nicotine.

Marcus Aloisi grew up in Georgia, Vt., went to high school in South Burlington and now lives in Burlington.

January 4, 2024 •

Williston Observer •

Celebrating nature’s generalists and specialists

BY ETHAN TAPPER Special to the Observer At one time or another, I expect that many of us have wondered if it is better to be a specialist or a generalist — whether to try to be great at one thing or to be passable at many different things.

Across deep time, Earth’s millions of species have “asked” this same question, again and again: should they exploit a single, narrow ecological niche or be able to exist under a wide range of different conditions. Both specialization and generalization are evolutionary strategies that can be advantageous under different circumstances. Vermont’s forests are filled with both specialists and generalists.

Of our forest trees, sugar maple is an example of a specialist, growing almost exclusively on soils with a relatively high pH and an abundance of calcium and oth-

The generalists, the species that can adapt, are better positioned to survive. er minerals (what foresters call “enriched” sites). While this means that sugar maple is not well-suited to many places across our landscape, on an enriched site, it is extremely competitive, often accounting for more than 75 percent of the trees.

By contrast, the closely related red maple is a generalist, capable of growing in swamps, on mountain tops and almost everywhere in between. While you can find some red maple trees in almost any forest, it will rarely be more than a minor component. It is a typical generalist.

In forests and other ecosystems, we tend to celebrate specialists, such as the “spring beauty miner bee,” which visits only spring beauty flowers and the Dutchman’s breeches, pollinated only by queen bumblebees.

Specialists are often species with unique gifts and adaptations, brilliant at accessing a specific food source or utilizing a particular life strategy.

However, as Vermont’s native species face the myriad threats, stressors, changes and uncertainties of global change — climate change, non-native invasive plants, pests and pathogens, deforestation, forest fragmentation and more — the generalists, the species that can adapt, are better positioned to survive.

Among wildlife, we know our most

successful generalists well: the raccoons, skunks and opossums, the gulls and the crows. All these species are sometimes ridiculed for their “trashy” behavior. Gulls and raccoons have been nicknamed “dump ducks” and “trash pandas,” respectively.

But, looked at another way, these species’ ability to exploit the abundance of resources produced and discarded by humans is extremely innovative and adaptive. A crow feeding on roadkill or a black bear eating trash from a dumpster is an example of a generalist species that has adapted to exploit an easy and ubiquitous food source.

While I hope that the previous paragraph helps vindicate and celebrate some of the generalist species that live (and cause mischief) among us, creating a world in which generalists thrive is also problematic for a variety of reasons. For example, all of the generalist species mentioned above (except perhaps the gulls) are nest predators.

Their elevated populations around forest edges, houses and developed areas leads to decreased songbird nesting success. Whitetailed deer are another generalist species, one that has been so successful in our changing world that deer overpopulations damage habitat for tens of thousands of other species and impair the health, function and resilience of ecosystems across much of the North American continent.

We expect sugar maple to be one of the tree species most adversely impacted by climate change, whereas red maple is projected to be one of the most successful, largely due to its generalist nature. While it may be that our forests’ futures belong to red maple, we cannot abandon sugar maple entirely. It, and our other specialists, are vital and irreplaceable, supporting crucial natural processes and providing habitat for entire communities of native species.

In this changed and changing world, the specialists are often the species that are most under threat, which means that they are those most in need of our help.

Whether you consider yourself a generalist or a specialist, I’m sure that you admire people who have taken the other road.

In our human communities, both specialists and generalists contribute to diverse and functional societies. In forests, both specialists and generalists are vital to the health and the future of these incredible ecosystems.

Ethan Tapper is the Chittenden County Forester for the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. Read more from Tapper online at https:// linktr.ee/ChittendenCountyForester.

www.WillistonObserver.com

Page 7

White-tailed deer is an example of a generalist species in Vermont’s forests, one expected to be increasingly well-suited to the environment as the climate changes.

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Williston Observer • January 4, 2024

Floods

Refugees

as flooding has become more common, that’s changed.

Lawmakers will contend with a tight budget in the upcoming year, caused by hot-andcold consumer spending patterns that resulted in relatively meager tax collection, paired with a drop-off of federal Covid-19 funding and a need to distribute aid to municipalities that are still recovering from the summer floods.

“I would caution everyone: This is going to be a very, very lean year in terms of our own budget,” Gov. Phil Scott warned at a press conference earlier this month.

Bray’s plan would likely require more staff within the Agency of Natural Resources. Asked whether he was concerned about this year’s financial constraints, Bray said he’s accustomed to money being tight in the state budget. Recent federal funding may have given newer lawmakers the impression that money is easy to come by, he said, but he’s been in the Statehouse for 16 years.

“I’m just used to the idea that we’re always short of money, and we should have to make a good case for any kind of expenditure,” he said.

After the summer’s floods, Bray is ready to make that case for his bill.

“We’re going to have to be willing to prioritize investing in these things,” he said.

edged that the state’s lack of housing is a major problem for its resettlement efforts.

“We need people here in Vermont, and we have the jobs for people here in Vermont, but we don’t have the housing they need to be here,” he said in an interview Thursday. “It’s a very frustrating dynamic, and we’re going to do everything we can.”

Scott said his administration will be introducing a package of housing proposals in the upcoming legislative session.

Vermont has consistently had some of the lowest housing vacancy rates in the nation, according to the Vermont Housing Finance Agency, which relied on U.S. Census Bureau data for its analysis.

As of 2022, the statewide rental vacancy rate stood at 3.2 percent. To meet expected demand and normalize the extremely low vacancy rate, the housing finance agency said in January, the state needs 30,000 to 40,000 new homes by 2030.

Meanwhile, the median housing rental cost as of 2021 was $1,070, an amount that included utilities.

When refugees arrive in the U.S., each person in a household receives $1,325 from the federal government to be used for their critical needs during the first 90

continued from page 4

continued from page 5

days, such as housing rent, food, clothing and furnishings.

Clark said people who resettle on their own have the hardest time making ends meet. For housing, they need the usual outlay of first and last month’s rent and security deposit. Some people, he said,

“We can get people employed, but we just can’t get access to safe and affordable housing.”

Mark Clark Vermont resettlement program manager

have decided to seek housemates among fellow refugees to make their expenses more manageable.

To help defray the refugees’ initial living expenses, the development council collects donations for basics such as clothes, shoes, toiletry, household goods and furniture. Clark said development council staffers also help those who qualify to apply for government aid such as Medicaid, food benefits and cash assistance while they look for jobs.

The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants’ director in Vermont, Amila

Merdzanovic, didn’t respond to an interview request about her agency’s current relocation plans and challenges.

Under the current state government budget, the State Refugee Office is allotted $1 million for employment assistance grants. Dolan, the office director, said the money goes to organizations such as nonprofits that help refugees prepare to find local employment.

“Those employment rates are very high,” she said, estimating that around 80 percent of work-eligible refugees find jobs within their initial months in Vermont.

Dolan said the state contributes a small amount into a fund that resettlement agencies use to pay for hotels or motels if their clients can’t immediately find rental housing. The pot of money, she said, is primarily made up of federal funds, with private donations mixed in.

Clark said the development council also has been building relationships with landlords to help their clients find housing.

The work, he said, includes explaining to landlords that refugees, being new to the U.S., don’t have a credit history and that the background checks they’ve undergone through the Department of Homeland Security, FBI and CIA should suffice.

“We don’t want our clients to ever become homeless,” he said.

— Habib Sabet contributed reporting.

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January 4, 2024 •

Williston Observer •

Page 9

SAVVY SENIOR

How to close social media accounts of a deceased loved one

By Jim Miller Dear Savvy Senior, How do I go about canceling a person’s social media accounts when they die? My wife passed away a few months ago, and her social media accounts are still active.

Sad Spouse Dear Sad, I’m very sorry for your loss, but this is a smart move and one that often gets overlooked. Social media is part of many people’s daily lives, but when a person passes away, their dormant accounts can become vulnerable to scammers.

Here’s a run-down of how you can cancel or change many different social media accounts after a loved one dies.

Facebook: If your wife used Facebook, you can either “memorialize” or delete her account.

A memorialized account serves as a place where family

and friends can share memories to celebrate the deceased person’s life, with the word “Remembering” shown next to the deceased person’s name. Once an account is memorialized, content the person shared is still visible on Facebook to the audience it was originally shared with. However, the user’s profile will not show up in public spaces such as “people you may know,” ads or birthday reminders.

Steps to memorialize or delete a profile are on www.Facebook. com/help. Memorializing her account requires proof of death (via death certificate, obituary or memorial card). If you wish to delete the account, you’ll also need to verify that you’re an immediate family member, legal representative or executor, unless you’re the legacy contact on her account.

Instagram: The policy on a deceased users’ Instagram account is similar to Facebook’s — they are both owned by Meta. You can either memorialize or remove an Instagram account at www.

Help.Instagram.com. But just like with Facebook, you’ll need to provide proof of death and relationship to the deceased.

X (formally Twitter): To deactivate an X account, go to www.Help.Twitter.com and type in “How to contact X about a deceased family member’s account”

in the search bar and follow the prompts. After you submit your request, X will email you with instructions for providing more details, including information about the deceased, a copy of your ID and a copy of the deceased’s death certificate.

YouTube and/or Google: To close these accounts, go to www.

Support.Google.com/accounts/ troubleshooter/6357590, fill out the form and upload scans of a death certificate and your ID. Pinterest: To remove a Pinterest account, email Care@pinterest.com with the deceased user’s account username, proof of death and proof of relationship to the deceased.

LinkedIn: To remove a deceased person’s LinkedIn profile, submit a request at www.LinkedIn.com/help/linkedin/ask/ts-rdmlp. You’ll need to provide the name and URL to the profile, the relationship you have to the deceased, an email address, date of passing and link to an obituary.

Snapchat: To delete a Snapchat account, login to the account and click “Delete My Account” and follow the prompts.

Tumblr: Send an email to Support@tumblr.com requesting to remove the account of the deceased person with their Tumblr username, proof of their death and

proof of your relationship to the deceased.

If your wife had social media through a company not listed here, go to that company’s website for information.

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.

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Page 10 release • Williston Observer dates: Jan. 6-12, 2024•

January 4, 2024

01 (24)

Next Week: Primaries and caucuses

Founded by Betty Debnam

Leap Into 2024!

Mini Fact:

The new year will be a leap year!

That means February will have one extra day.

JANUARY

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1 — New Year’s Day 15 — Martin Luther King Jr. Day

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APRIL WE 3 10 17 24

8 — Total solar eclipse 22 — Earth Day

TH 4 11 18 25

FR SA 5 6 12 13 19 20 26 27

9 — Eid al-Fitr

FEBRUARY

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14 — Valentine’s Day 19 — Presidents Day

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29 — Leap Day

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7 — Teacher’s Day 12 — Mother’s Day 27 — Memorial Day

Summer Games

The 2024 Summer Olympic Games will take place in Paris, France. New sports will include surfing, skateboarding and sport climbing, along with break dancing.

The 2024 Paralympic Games will also take place in Paris, beginning on Aug. 28.

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image © Paris2024

Issue 01, 2024

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2 — Read Across America Day 17 — St. Patrick’s Day 31 — Easter

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14 — Flag Day 19 — Juneteenth 16 — Father’s Day

The Mini Page® © 2024 Andrews McMeel Syndication

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JULY WE 3 10 17 24 31

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4 — Independence Day 26 — Summer Olympics Begin

AUGUST

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9 — National Book Lovers Day 26 — National Dog Day

SEPTEMBER

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TH 5 12 19 26

FR SA 6 7 13 14 20 21 27 28

2 — Labor Day 17 — Constitution Day 19 — Talk Like a Pirate Day

8 — Total solar eclipse 22 — Earth Day

9 — Eid al-Fitr

7 — Teacher’s Day 12 — Mother’s Day 27 — Memorial Day

14 — Flag Day 19 — Juneteenth 16 — Father’s Day January 4, 2024 •

The Mini Page® © 2024 Andrews McMeel Syndication

WE 3 10 17 24 31

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AUGUST

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9 — National Book Lovers Day 26 — National Dog Day

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2 — Rosh Hashanah 31 — Halloween 14 — Indigenous Peoples Day

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5 — Election Day 11 — Veterans Day 28 — Thanksgiving Day

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.

BREA

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BEL

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©2024 Blue Ox Technologies Ltd. Download the app on Apple and Amazon devices.

7 Little Words for Kids

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TH 5 12 19 26

Page 11

FR SA 6 7 13 14 20 21 27 28

2 — Labor Day 17 — Constitution Day 19 — Talk Like a Pirate Day

What big events are happening in your family, school or city this year? Make a note of them here:

Answers: writing, believe, wonder, coin, match, breathe, hiking.

1. putting on paper (7) 2. have confidence in (7) 3. have questions (6) 4. metal piece of money (4) 5. it lights a fire (5) 6. take in air (7) 7. walking in the woods (6)

SEPTEMBER

DECEMBER

The Mini Page® © 2024 Andrews McMeel Syndication

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JULY

Williston Observer •

SU MO TU 1 2 3 8 9 10 15 16 17 22 23 24 29 30 31

WE 4 11 18 25

TH 5 12 19 26

FR SA 6 7 13 14 20 21 27 28

25 — Hanukkah begins 25 — Christmas 26 — Kwanzaa begins 31 — New Year’s Eve

Page 12

•

Williston Observer •

January 4, 2024

CROSSWORD • SOLUTION ON PAGE 15

TODAY’S HISTORY:

• In 1896, Utah was admitted as the 45th U.S. state.

• In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson presented the “Great Society” plan in his State of the Union address.

• In 1995, the 104th U.S. Congress convened with Republican majorities in both the House and Senate for the first time since the Eisenhower presidency.

• In 2004, NASA’s Spirit rover landed on the surface of Mars.

• In 2010, the 2,717-foot Burj Khalifa opened in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, as the world’s tallest building.

TODAY’S FACT:

• Medicare, one of the largest reforms passed as part of President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society initiatives, insured 18.7 percent of Americans in 2022.

SUDOKU • SOLUTION ON PAGE 15

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January 4, 2024 • EXPLORING LIFE’S THIRD ACT

Tuesdays, Jan. 16 and 30; Feb. 13 and 27. Explore your path’s direction with Willistonian Kathy Rude, RN, MSN, in this four-part series. “Winter’s Graces: The Surprising Gifts of Later Life” by Susan Stewart Avery will be supplied to start discussions. Preregister.

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 878-4918 or email daml@damlvt.org.

The library will be closed on Monday, Jan. 15 for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

TEENS D&D

Tuesday, Jan. 16, 5-6 p.m. Ages 12plus. Join our D&D campaign.

BABY TIME

Wednesday, Jan. 17, 10:30-11 a.m.

Enjoy activities with your baby.

AFTER SCHOOL MOVIE

Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2-4 p.m. Rated G. Prepare for f lying fowl.

MULTI-AGE PROGRAMS READ TO A DOG (ROCKO)

GIVING TREE

Throughout January, donate toward a library program or our collection by picking an ornament from the library’s giving tree, or give online at www. damlvt.org. Thank you for your support!

Thursday, Jan. 18, 3-4 p.m. Register for ten minutes with a therapy dog.

VERMONT READS: “LAST NIGHT AT THE TELEGRAPH CLUB”

Get a copy of the Vermont Reads book at the library. Vermont Reads is sponsored by Vermont Humanities.

YOUTH PROGRAMS

VERMONT READS EVENT: COMMUNITY COOKBOOK

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

Submit a family recipe with a short story to our community cookbook through January. Details at www.damlvt.org.

SATURDAY STORYTIME

Saturday, Jan. 6, 10:30-11 a.m. (new time). Stories and fun.

POKÉMON CLUB

Monday, Jan. 8, 4-5 p.m. Enjoy themed activities.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Monday, Jan. 8, 5-6 p.m. Ages 12plus. Join our teen advisory board. You bring thoughts, we bring food!

STORYTIME

Tuesdays, Jan. 9 and 16, 10:30-11 a.m.

AFTER SCHOOL STEAM FUN ACTIVITY

Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2-3 p.m. Experiment at the library.

TEEN MOVIE NIGHTS

Wednesdays, Jan. 10 and 17, 5-7:45 p.m. PG13. Rise from ashes and join the headmaster.

PRESCHOOL MUSIC AND PLAYTIME

Thursdays, Jan. 11 and 18, 10:3011:30 a.m. Sing with Linda Bassick, then play.

LEGO TIME

Thursday, Jan. 11, 3-4 p.m. Enjoy our LEGO collection.

KIDS IN THE KITCHEN (ONLINE)

Thursday, Jan. 11, 4-5 p.m. Make stuffed manicotti with dietician Joanne Heidkamp. Preregister.

FRENCH STORYTIME

Saturday, Jan. 13, 10:15-10:45 a.m.

COOK THE BOOK

Wednesday, Jan. 17, 12-1 p.m. It’s our annual Soup Swap — with bread! Cookbooks are at our front desk to browse for recipes to share. Takeout containers are provided.

Wednesday, Jan. 17, 1:30-3:30 p.m.

Sign up for a half hour help session with your technology.

SPANISH CONVERSATION (ONLINE)

Wednesday, Jan. 17, 5-6 p.m. Practice Spanish.

MAH JONGG

Fridays, Jan. 5 and 12, 1-3 p.m. No experience necessary.

FRENCH CONVERSATION

Saturday, Jan. 13, 10:45-11:45 a.m.

Practice French.

BOOK CLUB BUFFET (ONLINE)

Tuesday, Jan. 16, 12:30-1:30 p.m. “The Reading List” by Sara Nisha Adams.

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Fridays in January, 12-12:30 p.m. Join our online guided meditation.

Visit willistonobserver.com to see current and past photos.

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Wednesday, Jan. 10, 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. Discuss current topics of the day.

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For online programs, email daml@ damlvt.org for Zoom link.

CURRENT EVENTS

Page 13

TECH TUTOR

ADULT PROGRAMS

Jan. 2-Feb. 29. Fill out a reading bingo card, available at the library or online at www.damlvt.org, and return the card to the library to be entered for prize drawings.

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Page 14

•

Williston Observer •

January 4, 2024

OBITUARIES

moved around a couple of They would start their life (66 Elise and Brett. Kristy would give Bernice R. Brisson Lois) farm locations, mostly in Ver- years of marriage) together where them two great granddaughters, Dec. 21, 2023, Bernice R. Brisson passed away at the age of 88. She was a beloved, wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother and will be sorely missed.

Born in Hanover, NH to Harold and Gwendolen Rye, the family (including her older sister

mont, but finally called the farm in South Burlington home. There, her younger brother Art joined the family. It was from here that she finished high school, then started working at the Merchants Bank in Burlington.

Working at the bank is where she met her future husband, Don.

they built a house on a small piece of land at the family farm. They moved a couple of times, but stayed in the local area. Over the years they raised three boys, Tony, Tim and Mike. The boys along with their wives Sue, Dawna and Sheri would give them five grandchildren, Kristy, Mark, Scott,

Mckenna and Allie.

She was always passionate about supporting the local food shelf as well as the VT Food Bank.

In lieu of flowers please donate to your local food shelf or the VT Food Bank.

There are no formal funeral plans at this time.

CLASSIFIEDS FOR SALE

PM in the Beckett/McGuire Meeting Room of the Williston Town Hall located at 7900 Williston Road with remote participation offered using the online platform Zoom with access information listed at the bottom of this hearing notice.

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Bed with Tonal Cover. Magnetic Gray, original owner. Low mileage (16,000). Good condition.

Asking $34,000 call 802-503-6032 leave a message and we will return your call.

Public comment is welcomed and encouraged.

Comment letters can be emailed to Erik Wells (ewells@willistonvt.org) or mailed: Williston Selectboard, 7900 Williston Road, Williston VT 05495.

LEGAL

TOWN OF WILLISTON Selectboard Notice of Public Hearing Tuesday, January 16, 2024 7:30 PM

Questions or requests for accessibility accommodations can also be directed to Erik Wells, Town Manager at (802) 876-1168.

The Williston Selectboard will hold a public hearing to receive comment on proposed changes to the existing Williston 2016-2024 Comprehensive Plan (Town Plan), pursuant to 24 V.S.A §4384 and the Williston Unified Development Bylaw (WDB) pursuant to 24 V.S.A §4442. The public hearing will take place on Tuesday, January 16, 2024 at 7:30

The purpose of these amendments is to proceed with the Glaser Specific Plan (SP 23-01) in strict conformance with the criteria and procedures of WDB Chapter 9. The Glaser Specific Plan (SP 23-01) proposes a 109± unit residential subdivision with the provision of ±50-acres open space donated to the Town as the substantial benefit. Jack and Caitlin Glaser own ±97-acres at 1095 Old Stage Road, located at the southwest corner of Mountain View

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Copies of the entire text of the proposed 2016-2024 Comprehensive Plan and Unified Development Bylaw amendments are available for review during regular business hours at the Town Hall located at 7900 Williston Road, Williston, VT and can also be found on the Town’s website at http://town.williston. vt.us by navigating to public records & documents then legal notices. Contact Emily Heymann, Senior Planner & Deputy Zoning Administrator at (802) 878-6704, or at eheymann@willistonvt.org with any questions.

The Town Plan and WDB amendments are summarized here: Town Plan Chapter 13: Refer to the fields southwest of the intersection of Mountain View and Old Stage with views towards the Green Mountains as a protected viewshed, rather than unprotected. Also, acknowledge the other protected open spaces for working landscape and conservation.

WDB Chapter 11: At discretionary permit, the Development Review Board (DRB) must make findings that the subdivision upholds a 50-point score. Following approvals, no more than 18 dwelling units per fiscal year can receive administrative permits to being construction until project completion. This scoring and allocation schedule is separate from WDB 11.3 and 11.4-11.9.

WDB Chapter 26: Clarify that the exemption from street trees to preserve a scenic vista applies to this property’s frontage along Mountain View Road and Old Stage Road.

WDB Chapter 39: Recognize the existence of the Specific Plan and codify its required substantial benefit purpose and requirements at discretionary permit.

Appendix K: As required by WDB 9.3.5, The “detailed guideline for development” includes the site plan, Growth Management questionnaire, the viewshed rendering, and accompanying materials from the Planning Commission and advisory committee review process as reference documents during the permitting process.

If adopted, the amendments to the Bylaw will go into effect 21 days after adoption unless a petition is filed for a popular vote to repeal the amendments within 20 days of the adoption vote as provided for in 24 V.S.A. § 4442.

• Master’s degree or higher • Vermont clinical licensure in good standing and ability to supervise others toward licensure (Program Director positions only)

Road and Old Stage Road. The open space offered to the Town includes ±15-acres of viewshed along Mountain View Road with views to the Green Mountains, a view that is identified in the town plan, and ±35-acres of pasture, wetland, and forest, in alignment with broader town plan goals to support working landscapes and conservation.

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Pre-Hearing Public Informational Session – Thursday, January 11, 2024 from 12-1pm. An overview of Specific Plan process per WDB Chapter 9, with question & answer time, hosted by Planning Staff. Online only with Zoom: www.zoom/ us/j/87596425042 or call 1-646-558- 8656 and enter Meeting ID: 875 9642 5042.

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12/20/23 11:03 AM

Zoom Meeting ID 846 5863 3532 on zoom.us/join or call 1-646-558-8656 DP 21-19.1 GPA, LLC requests discretionary permit review to amend the building elevations, access, endof-trip facility location, and other minor changes for DP 21-19 at 4840 Williston Rd in the IZDW. DP 23-04 George & Patricia Shortsleeves request discretionary permit review of the proposed boundary line adjustment and 2-lot subdivision to create 1 new lot for the existing ADU at 607 N. Williston Rd and 55 Keystone Dr. in the 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.

LEGAL

TOWN OF WILLISTON DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD AGENDA Monday, January 8, 2024 – 7:00 PM Town Hall Meeting Room (Town Hall, 7900 Williston Road, use rear entrance) or Zoom Meeting ID 846 5863 3532 on zoom.us/join or call 1-646-558-8656 Public Forum Public Hearing DP 24-11 Pre-App Patrick O’Brien c/o Nick Smith requests pre-application review of the proposed ±81,000 SF commercial ministorage facility at 269 Shunpike Road in the Industrial Zoning District West (IZDW).

DP 24-12 Pre-App Duane Merrill & Company c/o Bryan Currier requests pre-application review of the proposed 3-Lot subdivision of a 4-acre parcel to create one (1) ±1.88-acre parcel with an existing structure, one (1) ±0.89-acre parcel with a proposed 9,600 SF warehouse, and one (1) ±0.76-acre parcel at 137 James Brown Drive in the Gateway Zoning District North (GZDN).

DP 24-13 Allen Brook Development, Inc. c/o Brian Bertsch request discretionary permit review of a site plan amendment to create a dumpster enclosure at 100-400 Cornerstone Drive in the Mixed-Use Residential Zoning District (MURZD) and Taft Corners Form Based Code area.

Zoom Participation: www.zoom/us/j/87596425042

Communication, Final Plans and Other Business

Phone: 1-646-558- 8656; Meeting ID: 875 9642 5042.

Minutes of December 12, 2023

7:30pm on Tuesday, January 16, 2024

TE

Monday, January 22, 2024 – 7:00 PM Town Hall Meeting Room (Town Hall, 7900 Williston Road, use rear entrance) or

12-1pm Thursday, January 11, 2024

Selectboard Public Hearing

t Care Part on

LEGAL

TOWN OF WILLISTON DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD AGENDA

APP 24-02 Waldo and Mary Siple c/o Alex Goodrich appeal the zoning violation dated October 24, 2023, Re: RV Use Exceeding Duration Limits and Unpermitted Establishment of a Dwelling Unit at 1250 South Road in the Agricultural/Rural Zoning District (ARZD).

Pre-Hearing Public Info Session

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Meeting ID: 893-2894-8554

Zoom Participation: https://us02web.zoom. us/j/89328948554 Phone: 1-646-558- 8656;

Adjourn 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

January 4, 2024 •

Williston Observer •

Page 15

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Page 16 •

Williston Observer •

January 4, 2024

Catamount

SPORTS

continued from page 1

Working overtime The Cougarhawks were able to pull off a 2-1 overtime win over the Missisquoi Thunderbirds Dec. 30 at Cairns Arena.

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“Williston and the Chittenden County area is a really important area to address as we are seeing more about really negative things that are happening with firearms,” she told the committee. “It think it’s really important to show students how to safely handle a firearm and to debunk and demystify some things.”

The Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife is mandated by state and federal law to offer hunter education. Passage of the class is a requirement of obtaining a license to hunt. The department’s hunter education program consists of four staffers and dozens of volunteers who lead classes throughout the state. Preston, the Outdoor Family Center’s operations and events manager, would lead classes at Catamount, which she hopes will begin this spring.

Preston previously taught hunter education to kids at the Vermont Fish and Wildlife’s conservation summer camps.

“A lot of these classes are taught in a very rural setting,” Preston said, “so to provide the Chittenden County area with this venue and certificate would be providing access to people who maybe don’t have it.”

The community forest is an ideal place to set up mock hunting scenarios, where students learn about hunting ethics, legality and firearms safety, Meier said. Hunter education students also learn about biology,

forestry, wildlife populations, conservation and outdoor survival skills, Preston said.

One limitation of holding the class at Catamount is a lack of a safe venue for live gun fire.

The hunter education program occasionally uses BB guns as a workaround or a video-gamestyle simulator, but Meier prefers teaching with real shotguns and rifles. A course taught primarily at Catamount could take students to the nearby North Country Sportsmen’s Club off Old Creamery Road for the live fire component, she said. Atkinson said a BB gun range could be set up at Catamount, with the temporary closure of surrounding hiking trails.

Gun-firing is prohibited in a portion of the Catamount Community Forest under the town’s Firearm Discharge Ordinance.

Committee member Terry Marron was part of the group that drafted the forest management plan and recalls the debate around banning hunting on the property. Former land owners Jim and Lucy McCullough had permitted hunting there. Marron said that, while she wanted to continue to allow hunting, “there were a fairly large group of people who were opposed to it.”

She thinks holding hunter education classes at Catamount will attract people who may not currently be coming to the forest.

“I think it’s a great idea to get a different group of people to Catamount,” Marron said. “I think it would be a great asset to have it available to folks in Williston.”