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RESTAURANT GUIDE PAGES 13-20
SEPTEMBER 10, 2026
WILLISTON’S NEWSPAPER SINCE 1985
WWW.WILLISTONOBSERVER.COM
New chief makes the rounds LaBarge talks protests, ICE, traffic and staffing up at the Williston P.D. BY JASON STARR Observer staff
OBSERVER PHOTO BY JASON STARR
There’s a bit of a checklist to go through for a new police chief coming into a community, and Brian LaBarge has been punching it off. Since his start in Williston at the beginning of August, LaBarge has been invited to speak at the Rotary Club and attend a mixer with the Williston for Equity and Democracy activist group. He’s digested “the Baker report,” a 2023 consultant assessment of the Williston Police Department’s hierarchy and staffing needs. He’s caught up on selectboard discussions around local law enforcement’s role in any federal immigration enforcement actions, and given forethought to ensuring public safety during the recurring citizen
pilot projects to model the group home arrangement, with individual apartments and shared kitchen and living spaces, supported by onsite staff. To date, two have been built — in Monkton and Burlington. Chris Snyder, a prominent home builder in Williston, is partnering with the Champlain Housing Trust on a proposal for a house with nine individual units at the corner of Southridge Road and Williston Road (Route 2). The Williston Development Review Board approved a preliminary plan for its construction at an Aug. 25 meeting. The home
site is on 6 vacant acres. “As a group, we are very supportive and excited about this proposed project becoming a reality for us. We are thankful to The Snyder Company, Inc. and Champlain Housing Trust for working together to meet the housing needs for these young adults,” Jenn Townley, the parent of a 28-year-old and member of the advocacy group, wrote in a letter to the board. “As aging parents,” she added, “we can sleep well knowing our young adults are being cared for long after we are gone.” Plans show eight one-bedroom
Brian LaBarge started as Williston police chief in August.
protests outside the federal immigration offices on Harvest Lane and Industrial Avenue. He’s also gone on some drives. Through the rural, southern sections of town, he’s gotten a feel for the friction between cyclists, pedestrians and drivers that a group of residents has been sounding the alarm about in recent months.
“I’m very excited and honored to have been selected to be the chief here.” Brian LaBarge Williston Police Chief
This is a first for LaBarge. A native of Georgia, Vt., he spent 21 years with the Burlington Police Department, rising to the rank of deputy chief, after a six-year stint in the Air Force stationed in Colorado.
As a police chief, he’s now outranked his father, who retired as a corporal after a career with the Burlington Police Department. “I grew up around the policing culture, so it was just embedded as part of growing up,” LaBarge said. “At some point I knew that’s what I wanted to do.” He didn’t set out to become a chief of police, but his career arc in Burlington made him a top candidate in Chittenden County. “I was very satisfied being a deputy chief,” said LaBarge, “but I’m very excited and honored to have been selected to be the chief here.” The department is budgeted for 19 officers, but is currently at 16. In addition to hiring three officers, LaBarge is also looking for a top lieutenant — a second-in-command. The Baker Report recommends the department eventually staff up to 28 officers. “We didn’t keep up with growth and development and now here we see LaBARGE page 5
Disability housing gets preliminary approval
BY JASON STARR Observer staff
A group of parents advocating for communal housing for their adult children with developmental disabilities have found a partner and a parcel in Williston. The Developmental Disabilities Housing Initiative has lobbied successfully for state support for a shared living model for adults with developmental disabilities, as an alternative to the foster care model that the state currently relies on. In 2022, the Legislature passed Act 186, providing funding for
A rendering of a proposed home for up to nine adults with support staff planned for the corner of Williston Road and Southridge Road. VIA WILLISTON PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT
units and one two-bedroom unit, alongside a shared kitchen, dining room and living room. There are also staff offices and meeting rooms, a wraparound porch,
parking lot and connection to rec paths. The proposal will come before the board for final approval at an as-yet-undetermined date.
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Williston Observer • September 10, 2026
Whitcomb for the win
Around Town COMMUNITY CALENDAR EMAIL EVENT LISTINGS TO
Williston farmer Mary Whitcomb took home first place last week at the Champlain Valley Fair in the category of ‘Heaviest Field Pumpkin’ with this specimen, which weighed in at 126 pounds.
EDITOR@WILLISTONOBSERVER.COM THURSDAY, SEPT. 10
OBSERVER PHOTO BY RICK COTE
ComeBrowse Browse ourUnique Unique Selection Come our Selection willow house ofMother’s Mother’sDay DayGifts Gifts of fall festival saturday sept. 19th 10-4
Williston’s Nancy Stone plays a part in the new documentary ‘Every Day: Big and Small,’ which will be shown at WCS on Sept. 26. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Community documentary coming to Williston Central
A new documentary about Vermont resilience, joy, community and connection, “Every Day: Big and Small,” celebrating the change in seasons will be shown at 7 p.m. Sept. 26 at Williston Central with new displays and School as part of its statewide tour. Directed by filmmaker Bess O’Brien, the documentafresh merchandise! ry features a series of short stories about people making free raffle and a positive impact by doing small things every day that treats too ! make a difference in people’s lives. The film highlights 11 Falls Road • Shelburne, VT Vermonters from as young as 8 to as old as 80 and in11 Falls Road • Shelburne, VT 802-489-5571 • willowhousevt.com cludes the story of Williston resident Nancy Stone. 802-489-5571 • willowhousevt.com Tickets are $15 and can be bought in advance at www. It Matters Shop Local It Matters Shop Local catamountarts.org. Tickets can also be purchased at the door. For more information, visit www.kingdomcounty. org.
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Wild Meadows Books and Café, in association with the Vermont Journalism Coalition and the Williston Observer, is launching a Journalism Club in October. Taking the form of a book club but for news Paul Heintz Boston Globe articles, the initiative will bring together readers and reporters each month to discuss notable news stories. The inaugural event is set for 6 p.m. Oct. 1 at the bookstore, (27 Market St., in Williston). It will be a discussion of local coverage of the March 11 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid in South Burlington that led to violent clashes between law enforcement and protesters. The conversation will center around reporting by Seven Days and Vermont Public. Seven Days reporter Lucy Tomkins and Vermont Public reporter Liam ElderConnors will be on hand to lead the discussion, along with moderator Paul Heintz, who covers Vermont and the northern border for the Boston Globe. RSVP at https://wildmeadowsbooks.com/ events/6249320261001.
Vet practice initiates cat food drive
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Affectionately Cats of Williston is holding a Canned Cat Food Drive to benefit the Williston Community Food Shelf throughout the month of September. Drop off unexpired cans of cat food at their hospital at 60 Commerce St., Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. until noon.
Williston-Richmond Rotary Club meeting. Speaker: Williston Police Chief Brian LaBarge. 7:15 a.m. Town Hall, BeckettMcGuire Meeting Room. RSVP to rotaryclubofwillistonvt@gmail. com. FRIDAY, SEPT. 11
9-11 remembrance ceremony. 8:45 a.m. Williston Fire Department, 645 Talcott Road. SATURDAY, SEPT. 12
Walk with a Doc. 9 a.m. Williston Village Community Park. Email VermontWalkWithADoc@ gmail.com. Virtual Tour of Williston’s Historic Village. 11:30 a.m. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library. MONDAY, SEPT. 14
Libraries in the 21st Century presentation. 7-8 p.m. Dorothy Alling Memorial Library. Roles of a library with Library Director Kevin Unrath. TUESDAY, SEPT.15
CVSD School Board Meeting. 6 p.m. CVU High School Library. Zoom link: https://cvsdvt-org.zoom. us/j/81309315692. SATURDAY, SEPT. 26
“Every Day: Big and Small” documentary screening. 7 p.m. Williston Central School. www. catamountarts.org.
September 10, 2026
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Williston Observer •
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PROPERTY TRANSFERS — AUGUST 2026 • Susan Jane St. Hilaire bought a condo on Commons Road from Pamela Griffin for $265,420.
• Martin Richards bought a condo on Hideaway Lane from Megan Speck for $425,000.
• Raymond Staskus bought a mobile home on Williston Woods Road from Barbara Leslie for $271,500.
• Trista Acebo bought a condo on Madison Drive from Scott Fleishman for $385,000.
• The Laroche-Tereshchenko Family Trust bought a home on 2 acres on Applewood Lane from Joanna and Joel Conant for $882,500. • Stuart Deliduka bought a home on Isham Circle from the Heppner & Schwartz Heppner Family Trust for $692,000.
• John Souvlis bought a home on Barrett Lane from Jonathan Ruggles for $826,500. • Roy Cichoski bought a condo on Commons Road from Agnes Barry for $500,000. • Tyler Greenslit bought a condo on Seth Circle from William Landis for $355,000.
• The Diana Revocable Trust bought a home on Chloe Circle from Michael Bressack for $900.000.
• Katya Lewis bought a mobile home on Porterwood Drive from Jason Weed for $276,500.
• William Landis bought a condo on Williston Road from Alexander Pintair for $670,000.
• Amy Leung bought a home on Barrett Lane from the Carrier Revocable Trust for $845,000.
• Aayush Kapar bought a home on Madison Drive from the Barbara Bordwell McGrew Revocable Trust for $425,000. • Paul Membrino bought a home on Mountain View Road from Faith Carpenter for $470,000. • The Pressey Joint Revocable Trust bought a home on 33 acres on Ledgewood Drive from Vincent Cannistraro for $1.54 million. • Jennifer Lockwood bought a home on Hanon Drive from Martin Bonneau for $835,000. • Michael Reabill bought a condo on Zephyr Road from Dianne Gile for $650,000.
• Colby Mesick bought a home on Morgan Parkway from Nathan Pion for $585,000.
• William Siemons bought a home on Middlewood Road from Joseph Siemons for $100,442.
• Leif Kruse bought a home on Brennan Woods Drive from Eric Koepp for $835,000.
• The Erin Helen Ritch Barbot Revocable Trust bought .2 acres of open land on Nob Hill Road from Malcolm Willard for $4,789.
• David Dotson bought a home on Madison Drive from Jerome Allen Jr. for $509,000.
• Braxton Robbason bought a home on 6 acres on Nob Hill Road from Malcolm Willard for $1.25 million.
• Jane Liu bought a home on 9 acres on Lyman Drive from Anthony Somaini for $1.34 million.
• Andrew Duprat bought a home on Old Creamery Road from Jameson Koptiuch for $463,000.
• CT Properties LLC bought a home on Shunpike Road from Dave & Rowdy Enterprises LLC for $525,000.
• Phillip Emerson bought a home on 2 acres on Old Creamery Road from Danial Ardesh for $560,000.
• Avetis Shahverdian bought a home on Brennan Woods Drive from Ryan Bushey for $840,000.
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Williston Observer • September 10, 2026
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National Guard members return home after extended deployment BY CHARLOTTE OLIVER VTDigger Vermont Air National Guard members returned home Sunday after a roughly eightmonth deployment. Guard members from Vermont’s 158th Fighter Wing were deployed this winter on back-to-back missions to the Caribbean and the Middle East, though details of their exact role in those missions have been scarce. “We are incredibly proud of what they represent, but today, more than anything, we are grateful to welcome them home,” said Adjutant Gen. Henry Harder Jr., in the guard’s announcement Tuesday. Just last month, Vermont guard members appeared to be overseas for one of their longest deployments in recent memory with no end in sight. And Gov. Phil Scott said during a press conference in late July that he had no updates on the deployment. “This is a federal issue and they don’t talk with us much about what they’re doing,” Scott said. “I’m very concerned about the families of guard members who thought that they were just going to be away for a short period of time,” Scott added. He said at the time that Vermont officials were advocating to bring guard members home as soon as possible. The Vermont Air National Guard has about 1,000 members and a fleet of 20 F-35 fighter jets, which operate out of the Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport in South Burlington. Joseph Brooks, a spokesperson for the Vermont National Guard, did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday about the details of the guard’s deployment and return. A June letter from Vermont’s congressional delegation called the 158th Fighter Wing’s deployment “unique,” explaining Vermont’s unit was the first of National Guard troops to transition directly to supporting in the war in Iran after aiding in the U.S. military operation to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. While the Guard’s deployment stretched
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on, 27 veterans and guard family members signed a letter to Scott and legislators urging them to support a state law that would ban overseas deployment of the guard without congressional approval, according to the Brattleboro Reformer. Top military officials announced in early March that Vermont guard members would assist U.S. forces in the war in Iran. Although the U.S. has launched ongoing air strikes against Iran since February, Congress hasn’t officially declared war against the country. More than 7,800 people had been killed in Iran and Lebanon in late June, according to the BBC. And the Pentagon reports that 18 U.S. soldiers have been killed in the conflict, according to the New York Times. Members of Vermont’s congressional delegation have previously condemned both the Guard’s deployment to the Caribbean and to the Middle East. And in late June, Vermont’s congressional delegation sent a letter to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asking him to resolve recordkeeping and payroll issues that they said guard members were experiencing. The Air Guard’s deployment came during an especially tumultuous time for the U.S. military. At least 20 generals, admirals and civilian leaders have been fired or left their jobs since Hegseth took over at the beginning of President Trump’s second administration, according to CBS news. Just last week, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, the army’s top civilian leader, resigned from his post after clashing with Hegseth.
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apple orchard & farm market
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE VERMONT AIR NATIONAL GUARD
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Old Stage Rd. Williston
A Vermont Air National Guard member returns home on Sunday in South Burlington.
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˜ˡ˙ˢʳ˩˧˚˥˔ˡ˜˧˘ˠ˨˦˘˨ˠʡˢ˥˚ ʫʣʥʠʧʪʩʠʧʩʣʨ
September 10, 2026
•
Williston Observer •
WELCOME HOME Vermont Air National Guard Brian LaBarge, center, talks with Pat Brown, left, and Terry Moran during a meeting Friday of the Williston for Equity and Democracy group. OBSERVER PHOTO BY JASON STARR
LaBarge
continued from page 1
are,” LaBarge said.
But if people are assaulting federal law enforcement officers, those people are going to be arrested and may face state and federal charges.”
CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE
ROAD WORK
LaBarge’s time in Burlington gave him experience managing all manner of citizen protests. He’s well aware of the ongoing activist energy around the federal immigration enforcement footprint in Williston, which has resulted in protester arrests on multiple occasions. Most recently, seven religious leaders were arrested last week after a demonstration at the White Cap Business Park on Industrial Avenue, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is known to have an office. LaBarge has already met with the property manager there in anticipation of future demonstrations. As a law enforcement leader, he aims to balance property owner rights with protester rights, while ensuring public safety. “That is the foundation of our rights, to peacefully express yourself,” he said. “We’ll do what we need to do to make sure (people can protest) safely.” But what if ICE agents come to town to take someone into custody? A federal enforcement action and protest in South Burlington in March is widely viewed as a debacle. In line with what police leaders said in the aftermath of the March incident, LaBarge said the Williston Police Department under his watch will neither aid nor impede federal agents and will follow Vermont’s “Fair and Impartial Policing” standards. Any Williston police response will be handled case-by-case. “If we respond to a federal operation, we’ll have to evaluate ‘what is our purpose? What is our role? Why are we responding?,’” LaBarge said. “Federal law enforcement officers have lawful authority to do their job. We don’t get to interfere with that.
Shortly after LaBarge’s first day on the job, a group of residents spoke at the Aug. 18 meeting of the Williston Selectboard, calling for stricter enforcement of speed limits and safe driving laws on Oak Hill and surrounding roads. “I see … constant speeding and aggressive driving on our rural roads,” Oak Hill Road resident Helen Weston said. “Almost every single day I witness things such as vehicles passing vehicles on the left while drivers are trying to take a left, drag racing side by side on our straightaway, angry, aggressive drivers confronting people simply trying to come to an event on our farm. I could go on … “These are frightening, unacceptable risks for our neighborhood and for all rural neighborhoods across Williston,” she said. LaBarge has heard those concerns and taken an initial look at speed, traffic stop and crash data on the south side of town, and directed a surge of traffic enforcement. “I went out and did traffic (enforcement) myself to see what’s going on out there and understand those residents’ needs,” he said. “It’s a collaborative conversation between myself, the town manager, the department of public works director and the concerned community members. I feel like we have a good dialogue going on right now.” LaBarge’s speaking engagement at the Rotary Club was scheduled for this Thursday morning. His mixer with the Williston for Equity and Democracy group took place last Friday. “My interactions with people have been very nice. People are very welcoming and I really appreciate that,” he said.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE! We love our airmen and families. Welcome home to our Vermont Air National Guard members.
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Williston Observer • September 10, 2026
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Vermont beat Meta — now let’s make that win permanent BY MONIQUE PRIESTLEY I support the recent $17 billion Meta settlement and congratulate Attorney General Charity Clark and her office for their work to see it through. I also know that office that just won this case is not staffed to keep winning. Companies are making money off addictive features and privacy abuses at a scale that dwarfs this settlement amount. It is a drop in the bucket of what Vermonters should be able to expect. Vermont should use a fraction of its $92.7
million settlement funds to build a privacy and digital protection division inside the Attorney General’s Office. This settlement blocks nighttime Instagram use for minors, caps daily use at two hours, adds a school mode, improves age verification for children under 13, and turns off like counts and beauty filters. With key support from legislators Michael Marcotte and Wendy Harrison, I led and wrote stronger provisions into last year’s Vermont Age-Appropriate Design Code (Act 63, nicknamed
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BILLING INQUIRIES Michael McCaffrey office@willistonobserver.com ADVERTISING SPACE DEADLINE Friday at 5 p.m. for the next Thursday issue adam@willistonobserver.com 802-338-1655 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. SUBMISSIONS & LETTERS Deadline is Monday noon for Thursday issue. News/story tips are welcomed. Letters to the Editor should be 300 words or fewer and include your name, address and a daytime phone number so that we can verify the letter’s author. The Williston Observer reserves the right to edit or refuse submissions or advertising. Opinions expressed in the paper are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the paper.
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The Vermont Kids Code), which goes into effect Jan. 1, 2027. The law applies to every covered business, not just one company. It does not expire and its protections are legal duties, not settings a company can adjust later. The settlement leaves recommendation algorithms running. Fairplay, the national children’s safety organization led by Vermonter Josh Golin, called that its biggest disappointment. Meanwhile, Act 63 bars companies from using a minor’s data to rank or push content unless that young person asked for it, and it requires privacy settings to start at their strongest. The settlement turns off push notifications during the school day. Ours turns them off by default and bans them between midnight and 6 a.m. The settlement requires better age checking. Our law says how: collect only what is strictly necessary, delete it immediately, never reuse it, allow appeals. Parents can switch some settlement protections off. Vermont’s duty of care cannot be
Meta is not the only offender, and these harms reach well past our kids. switched off. The settlement money flows into a fund controlled by the Legislature. Nearly everyone I have talked with, here and in other states, wants it directed to youth mental health. I support that. I also want us to look at the broader system at play. Meta is not the only offender, and these harms reach well past our kids. This settlement, and social media more broadly, is one piece of a much bigger set of issues. A 2025 study found some online grocery shoppers were shown prices up to 23 percent higher than others for the same basket, roughly $1,200 a year for a family of four. The FBI reports Americans 60 and older lost $7.7 see PRIESTLEY page 7
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billion to internet crime last year, up 60 percent. Online advertisers will lose more than $100 billion to ad fraud this year, much of it paid by small and independent businesses for clicks that were never human. Rents are set by pricing software. Medical bills run through automated systems. Every device we own, wear and drive records us, and brokers sell those records to the employer deciding whether to hire us and the bank deciding whether to lend to us. Vermonters are being taken advantage of and having their information sold, usually without any idea it is happening. Many of my bills have been aimed at exactly these harms: surveillance pricing, companion chatbots, wearable and neural technology, and a growing list covering AI transparency, disclosure and liability. With federal lawmaking in gridlock,
every bit of industry attention and lobbying pressure has turned to the states. We cannot sit back and hope it works out while tech lobbyists hand us their preferred version of regulation. Lobbyists are exerting pressure to remove private rights of action, meaning that Vermonters cannot directly sue a company that harms them. Every bill that passes without one relies solely on the Attorney General’s Office. We can work as hard as we want to pass strong consumer protection laws, but if the office enforcing them has inadequate staffing and expertise, all we have made are policies that nobody will follow. A section of this year’s privacy bill that did not survive would have built a privacy and digital protection division inside the Attorney General’s Office. Let’s build it. The cost would be a small share of what Meta just paid and would fund a team focused entirely on consumer protection in digital technology.
That division could carry out technology policy rulemaking, take the data broker registry out from under the Secretary of State, run the EdTech registry we passed this year, expand it to artificial intelligence, and keep joining multistate enforcement so Vermont brings money home instead of watching money get made off of each of us. The Attorney General took on one of the largest companies in the world and won. Now it is on the Legislature and the Governor to make sure she is not doing it shorthanded. Establish the division, fund the staff, and give that office the expertise to investigate what is happening to Vermonters — and the capacity to act. Let’s protect Vermonters for every moment they are online and off.
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Williston Observer •
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Williston Observer • September 10, 2026
Constitutional amendments on the ballot in November Voters to decide on enshrining labor protections
BY THEO WELLS-SPACKMAN VTDigger Vermont voters will accept or toss an amendment to the state constitution in November that would affirm workers’ right to organize and collectively bargain, and prevent lawmakers from easily reversing labor protections in the future. The item, Proposal 3, will appear alongside Proposal 4, which would guarantee equal protections under the law regardless of a number of characteristics like race and gender identity. Changes to Vermont’s constitution can be introduced by the Senate every four years, and need to be approved by both legislative chambers in two consecutive bienniums. Proposal 3 was approved by the Legislature in both the 2024 and 2025 sessions, on either side of the 2024 election cycle, and can now be
Members of the Teamsters local 597 union picket outside the Dairy Farmers of America plant in St. Albans in 2025. FILE PHOTO BY GLENN RUSSELL/VTDIGGER
ratified or rejected by voters in the general election on Nov. 3. Proposal 3, or PR.3, would prevent lawmakers from easily passing legislation in the future that “interferes with, negates, or diminishes the right of employees to collectively bargain” for conditions or terms of work. The language would also specifically protect labor agreements that make union membership a condition of employment at a particular company. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2018 that such “union shop” agreements are illegal nationwide for public employees. Twenty-six states have adopted measures — commonly called “right-to-work” policies — that ban such agreements in the private sector too. Constitutional protections like those in PR.3 are relatively unusual in the U.S. Vermont would be the seventh state to adopt an amendment enshrining the right to bargain. Among those six existing instances, see LABOR page 9
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Labor
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only Illinois explicitly forbids “right-to-work” legislation, according to the Center for Labor and a Just Economy at Harvard Law School. For Larry Moquin, who is president of Vermont’s AFL-CIO labor council and has been pushing for a version of PR.3 since 2022, Illinois has been a primary model. Recent fights surrounding public employees unions in Utah and “right-to-work”-style amendments to numerous state constitutions are part of a larger pattern of efforts to undermine organized labor across the country, he argued, illustrating the necessity of such robust long-term safeguards in Vermont. “I think that the workers in the state deserve it,” Moquin said of the constitutional protections potentially afforded by PR.3. “People’s children and grandchildren deserve the same rights that we have.” Rep. Conor Casey, a Montpelier Democrat who co-led the pro-labor Working Vermonters’ Caucus for the past several years, has mounted a campaign called “Yes on 3” to advocate for the amendment’s passage in November. The effort is a “one-man shop” at present, he said, and seeks to both convince the public of the measure’s necessity and fend off organized opposition to the change from national interests, should it arise. When Moquin approached him with the idea of a constitutional amendment years ago, Casey said, it struck him as the right step for Vermont. He too is worried about what he sees as a national push to restrict the power of U.S. labor movements in recent decades. Collective bargaining in the workplace “is a form of democracy,” Casey said. “It certainly belongs in our constitution.” Though PR.3 has seen cross-party support in both of Vermont’s legislative chambers — indeed, no senator voted against its passage last year — the proposal has met pushback from some think tanks and conservative lawmakers. Clara Morrison, who leads the free-market economic policy think tank Right for Vermont Foundation, said she thought the proposal’s advocates had sometimes misrepresented its true ramifications, particularly given
that federal policy already outlines many labor protections. “What this amendment actually does is prevent workers’ from gaining the freedom to choose whether to join or fund a private union without risking their job,” Morrison said in an email Tuesday. The proposal’s broad language also essentially “blocks lawmakers from ever limiting what unions can demand,” Morrison added, which she argued could cause legal confusion with both federal and state law, and cost taxpayers in the long term if public employees’ union agreements could no longer easily be shaped through statute. Rep. Lisa Hango, R-Berkshire, one of 15 House members who voted against the measure last year, expressed similar reservations to colleagues: “I simply do not support taking away a worker’s freedom to decide.” Peter Teachout, a constitutional law professor at Vermont Law and Graduate School, told lawmakers in 2024 that he supported the language of PR.3, while noting that the measure would be “bounded in its operation” by federal law. He added in an interview that the amendment would likely provide organizing protections to a broader set of Vermont employees than is currently covered by statute — including farmworkers. The federal National Labor Relations Act of 1935 guarantees organizing protections for many employees while exempting some groups, including agriculture workers. Such groups would not newly gain the ability to unionize in Vermont via the new amendment without judicial involvement or a statutory change, according to Rep. Emilie Krasnow, D-South Burlington, who has co-led the pro-labor caucus along with Casey. For Moquin, PR.3 would also be a statement of intent to push back against wealth inequality. “Unions build generational wealth,” he said. Vermont taking the lead on labor protections, he added, would be “some good news in a time where mostly there’s been bad news for working Americans.” Theo Wells-Spackman is a Report for America corps member who reports for VTDigger.
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September 10, 2026
Vermont’s 9-11 timeline — 25 years of aftermath BY KEVIN O’CONNOR VTDigger
Driving to work on the bluebird morning of Sept. 11, 2001, I turned on the car radio to hear that hijacked planes had struck the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York, set the Pentagon afire outside Washington, D.C., and slammed into a seemingly random field in rural Pennsylvania. My first response: What kind of shock jock is trying to re-create the 1938 Martian-invasion broadcast drama “The War of the Worlds”? A quarter-century later, I’m one of many Vermonters who can recall the rest of the story. Then again, about 100 million Americans — nearly one-third of today’s population, the U.S. census reports — weren’t born yet in 2001 or were too young to remember. “The current generation lives in a world that was created by 9/11,” Burlington historian Garrett Graff says in the new Netflix documentary “Turning Point: Generation 9/11.” “If you start to scratch at almost any aspect of our daily lives in the United States today, I can show you how 9/11 changed that part of our country.”
Smoke billows over the Manhattan skyline on Sept. 11, 2001. PHOTO BY DANIEL HULSHIZER/AP
Scholars point to the combined attacks’ death toll of nearly 3,000 people — at least 15 with ties to the Green Mountain State, according to online records — and the resulting birth of the “war on terror,” the U.S. Department of
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Homeland Security and increased surveillance, partisanship and polarization. Vermonters, for their part, talk of things more personal. ‘SOME SORT OF EXPLOSION’
Vermonters woke on Sept. 11, 2001, to headlines reporting the aftershocks of then-Gov. Howard Dean’s announcement that he wouldn’t seek a sixth term the next year. “Many were still reeling from the news,” noted one of three front-page Rutland Herald stories on the subject. On television, morning shows were minutes from signing off when American Airlines Flight 11, traveling from Boston to Los Angeles, flew into the World Trade Center’s north tower at 8:46 a.m. “We just got a report in that there’s been some sort of explosion,” said “Good Morning America” co-anchor Diane Sawyer amid footage of the 110-floor skyscraper belching smoke. A block and a half away from the crash, Michael Rosen — a 1974 Rutland High School graduate turned financial software developer — had seen the fluorescent lights flicker, heard a sharp scratch in his phone line and felt the floor shake. He was still speculating on the cause when United Airlines Flight 175, on its way from Boston to Los Angeles, smashed into the south tower at 9:03 a.m. “The people in our corner office shrieked and groaned,” Rosen went on to write in “What Else But Home,” a 2009 memoir I reported on for the 10th anniversary of 9/11 in 2011. Rosen had phoned his family and was preparing to flee when the south tower fell at 9:59 a.m., followed by the north tower at 10:28 a.m. “The sky was gray cloud rushing toward us,” Rosen wrote of the first
collapse. “Palms flat against the glass, I waited as the plume came but realized the windows might burst and I shouldn’t be there. I stepped halfway back. The room went dark.” Across the East River in Brooklyn, Norma Hardy — who retired this past March as Vermont’s first Black female police chief — was home preparing for her afternoon shift as an officer for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, owner of the World Trade Center. Hardy had yet to see or hear the news when her mother called. Did she know about the twin towers? The American Flight 77 from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles that had crashed into the Pentagon at 9:37 a.m.? The United Flight 93 from Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco that had plowed into a Pennsylvania field at 10:02 a.m.? Skip work and stay home, Hardy’s mother said. But the officer wasn’t deterred. She had received a medal of valor for helping commuters and children trapped after the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993. Driving through a dark highway tunnel to Manhattan on 9/11, she emerged to an instantly changed world. “It was just complete chaos — people running, people bleeding, people trying to wash their eyes out, people hurt and looking for help,” Hardy told me for a 20th anniversary story. “We didn’t know if other planes were coming, if someone was going to start shooting at us, if things would start to explode. It was like a scene from ‘The Twilight Zone,’ I usually tell people, because I can’t think of what else would describe it.” ECHOES OF PEARL HARBOR
As a Rutland Herald reporter on 9/11, I arrived at the newsroom to see colleagues watching it all live on television. “It is completely impossible to understand why this is happening,” “Today” show co-anchor Katie Couric told viewers before the steely twin towers, each a quarter-mile high, crumbled into clouds of ash. Professionally, we raced to print an early afternoon “extra” edition — the first for the morning publication since Vermont Gov. Richard Snelling died of cardiac arrest in August 1991 and the second since President John F. Kennedy’s assassination in November 1963. “This is the most devastating attack on the United States of America since Pearl Harbor,” Bernie Sanders, then Vermont’s congressman, told the paper. “We have to acknowledge that this is an unprecedented day.” Personally, everyone reeled with questions. Had our co-workers heard from their grown children living in New see 9/11 page 11
9/11
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York and the nation’s capital or leaving on morning flights? Or the family and friends unaccounted for coast-to-coast amid groundings of all aircraft and evacuations of everything from the Statue of Liberty to Seattle’s Space Needle? All struggled to make landline calls, as the iPhone wasn’t introduced until 2007. “Within minutes of the terrorist attacks, telephone lines, wireless relays and internet news sites were jammed by users trying to find out what was going on,” a colleague wrote in a story. “Communication company officials said their networks couldn’t handle the overload.” Our family and friends were accounted for by the time the “extra” edition rolled off the presses at 1:23 p.m. Not that anyone could exhale. The Herald’s regular deadline just hours away, we turned our attention to the ripple effects. The Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, then operating in Vernon, went to its highest state
of alert. “Yankee stands in super-high profile,” a Nuclear Regulatory Commission member told the paper. “There’s nothing else in Vermont that would do that damage.” Vermont Catholic Bishop Kenneth Angell led a special Mass in Burlington, not knowing that his younger brother, David, an Emmy Award-winning writer and producer of such television comedies as “Cheers” and “Frasier,” had been killed on the first plane to hit the World Trade Center. ABC News anchor Barbara Walters and CNN host Larry King doggedly sought an interview once news of the death was reported later that day. The bishop declined. But as Christmas approached, he agreed to speak with a state-based reporter. I arrived at the church’s Chittenden County office that December to find Angell surrounded by more than 1,000 cards and letters. “I’m sorry your brother went to heaven,” one child wrote in a crayoned condolence. That sparked a bittersweet smile in a man who believed in eternal salvation.
“Personally, it’s a day that will affect me very deeply,” said Angell, who died in 2016. “But we’ve got to go on. We have to forgive, as difficult as it might be.” ‘RESPECT THOSE WHO DIED — BUT KEEP LIVING’
Television networks aired round-the-clock 9/11 coverage for five days, surpassing the record of more than 70 consecutive hours after Kennedy’s assassination. The Herald printed special front pages and stories for a week, offering such headlines as “Officials watch, wait in Vermont” and “Local crews standing ready to help.” For the first anniversary in 2002, I wrote about dozens of state observances, including outgoing Gov. Dean sharing a moment of silence at Windsor High School and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel speaking at Middlebury College. “The question everyone is asking is how does one remember Sept. 11?” Wiesel told a crowd that filled all 1,000 seats in the campus chapel. “I wish I knew the answer. One thing is clear. If I’m here it’s because I
believe in your right to have a better future.” For the 10th anniversary in 2011, I wrote about Rosen’s view from his office window. “I watched so many people die, but I wasn’t dead,” Rosen told me. “When you look at how delicate things really are … If you’re lucky enough to live, respect those who died — but keep living.” For the 20th anniversary in 2021, I wrote about Hardy seeing clouds of smoke dissipate into a silver lining. “The biggest thing for me was how much America came together and showed resilience,” she told me. “That stays in my mind, especially now when everybody seemingly hates everybody. Then, there wasn’t the nonsense that’s in the news now. Everyone remembered they were all Americans, even if it was only for a little bit of time.” Today, much has changed. Take Rosen, whom I email annually this time of year. He’s now living and working in Vietnam as founder of that country’s first independent whisky distillery. “I feel mostly betrayed by Sept. 11,” Rosen most recently
messaged, speaking not only of that day’s losses but also its lingering health effects on survivors. “Aside from that, life is magic. Truly.” Hardy, now traveling in her retirement, will mark the anniversary with an annual video call with others who were present at what history calls ground zero. “My thoughts, as usual, are on those that were lost on that day and the many people affected by illness,” she most recently emailed. “It is important that we never forget.” But how does one remember if they weren’t alive or old enough to comprehend back then? Perhaps by learning now. A quarter-century ago, I thought my grandparents’ stories of Pearl Harbor were irrelevant tales of a time gone by. Today, recalling images of a fall day morphing into something that looked like a nuclear winter, I see things differently. Disclosure: Garrett Graff is a member of the board of trustees for the Vermont Journalism Trust, which owns VTDigger.
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September 10, 2026
Cannabis cultivators struggle toward profitability Growers seek directto-consumer pathway BY OTIS ROESSLER Community News Service
Sara Farnsworth started Full Circle Farms, a cannabis farm in Underhill, in 2021. She runs the business by herself, while holding down multiple other jobs to fill in the gaps. Farnsworth doesn’t hold a retail license, and without one, she can’t sell her cannabis directly to consumers. She says that without market access, she’s missing out on a key revenue stream. Now she’s losing hope in growing Vermont cannabis. “I’m getting crushed by this industry,” Farnsworth said of her cultivation business. “It is crushing my soul. It is financially not viable.” Farnsworth is one of many small growers who think that Vermont’s craft cannabis industry has a problem. After four years of legal sales, many of the craft cultivators for whom the market was built are feeling left behind in a retail market dominated by dispensaries that grow and sell their own product. Cultivators are hoping for market reforms that allow them to sell their product directly to consumers. “No one is thriving and surviving. In fact, people are dropping like flies,” Farnsworth said, adding that she’s heard from at least 10 growers who are
considering not renewing their cultivation licenses. According to Geoffrey Pizzutillo, founder and executive director of the Vermont Growers Association, a trade organization that lobbies legislators on behalf of the craft cannabis industry, Vermont’s growers are suffering from a flaw in the state’s distribution model. That flaw, according to Pizzutillo, is that the law mandates that only retailers, not growers, can sell directly to consumers. This incentivizes retailers to “integrate,” meaning they sell cannabis they cultivate themselves. Kyle Harris, a member of the Cannabis Control Board, estimates that almost half of the state’s 110 cannabis retailers grow and sell their own product. The state has also curtailed the size of its cannabis market. Towns must hold public votes before allowing retail sales, and less than a third have done so. This leaves growers who don’t sell their own product in a bind. With a small number of retailers for them to sell to, and shelves already full of retailer grown products, cultivators are limited in their potential profits. While retailers are able to adjust cannabis prices in-store, cultivators miss out on market fluctuations and retail profits. Meanwhile, Harris says wholesale prices have fallen, though he says that estimation is based on what he’s heard, as the control board doesn’t track sales
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state money could come in, he said. “The support networks were not there for these folks,” Harris said. According to Harris, the board has previously asked the Legislature for relief money and has suggested direct-to-consumer sales but has not been successful on either front. The control board does not have the authority to make those decisions on its own. FARMERS MARKETS AND QUICKSTOPS
A cannabis grower in Vermont. PHOTO COURTESY OF VERMONT PRODUCERS JOINT
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Even if small cultivators wanted to join the retail market, they wouldn’t be able to. Last year, the control board halted the issuance of new retail licenses to combat retail saturation, according to James Pepper, the board’s chair. Amid these restrictions, growers are also contending with an illegal market that siphons off potential profits. Chris Lillie, who runs the artisan cannabis company Green Mountain Sativa in Stockbridge, said the ability to sell directly to consumers would support local growers. “People are going hungry right now. They need a way to sell their product,” Lillie said. Farnsworth, the cultivator in Underhill, says that without reform, only the producers with the most cash and those with integrated businesses will remain. “All of the small producers who make up the rural integrity of the State of Vermont are going to leave this market,” Farnsworth said. Earlier this year, Lillie and Farnsworth founded Vermont Producers Joint, a cooperative of independent cultivators angling for a better share of the market.
They support a retail system in which cultivators could sell their products at farmers markets, or through delivery services. They also want the state to resume issuing retail licenses. Pizzutillo, meantime, wants retail licenses unpaused, with the stipulation that the control board not allow for any retail locations that contribute to saturation. The control board has floated the idea of cannabis sales at convenience stores to expand retail opportunities. “There should be tiers of retail where you could sell prerolls or edibles the same way you could sell tobacco products, behind the counter,” Pepper, the board chair, said. The control board has also recommended that the Vermont legislature set aside $1 million that would support independent cultivators. The funds would offset some operating costs and incentivize dispensaries to sell products produced by independent growers. Because cannabis is federally illegal, organizations that typically support small businesses have not been willing to prop up independent growers. Many of the organizations receive federal funding and fear that involvement in the cannabis industry could put that money at risk, Harris said. That’s where
Changes to the market also face opposition from some public health advocates. Smart Approaches to Marijuana, a Colorado-based advocacy group that aims to stop marijuana from becoming the next “Big Tobacco,” does not support selling cannabis at convenience stores or farmers markets. “Putting marijuana next to the candy and soda at the corner store is exactly the kind of normalization that made tobacco such a disaster,” said Kevin Sabet, the organization’s president and CEO. As far as farmers markets, “these intoxicating, toxic products do not belong where families and children congregate,” he said. Farnsworth, however, said it’s hypocritical to allow substances like alcohol to be purchased at events like farmers markets, while cannabis is more strictly regulated. “I could take my toddler there and acquire alcohol openly,” she said. Pepper agrees. “You just have to acknowledge that there are cannabis consumers in every community, and don’t they deserve a choice?” he said. Despite potential roadblocks, the Vermont Growers Association says it will continue to push for market reforms. Pizzutillo believes the state has a lot of work to do, and that effective change will require a varied approach. “It would be foolhardy to put all your eggs in one basket. We need to do multiple things at once,” he said. Community News Service is a University of Vermont journalism internship.
September 10, 2026
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Williston Observer •
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Nick and Voula Zontanos — Founded in 1990 by Nick and Voula Zontanos, Papa Nick’s Restaurant & Pizza has been serving homemade comfort food and Greek-inspired classics to the Hinesburg, Vermont community for more than 30 years. Nick’s culinary journey began in Greece’s Peloponnesus region, continued through Australia, and eventually led him to Vermont, where he cooked in Greek-owned restaurants before opening his own — first the Heritage Inn in Waterbury, and later Papa Nick’s in Hinesburg. Papa Nick’s has always been about family, quality, and community. Nick’s belief still guides us today: good food, made with care, brings people together. Whether you’re here for lunch, dinner, or a special celebration, you’re always family at Papa Nick’s.
Yum!
Meet Your Makers
Dave Penzo— Dave grew up in Quincy, Massachusetts, in a large Italian family where Sunday gravy and meatballs have been a century-old tradition. After learning the old-school Italian recipes and techniques passed down through his family, Dave took his passion for food into the professional kitchen, cooking at a fine-dining establishment in Harvard Square before eventually moving to Vermont with his sons, Max, Tyler, and Luke, who are all involved in the family business. Penzo’s Pizza began as a food truck and evolved into a 160-seat, sit-down restaurant in Montpelier before eventually transforming into a neighborhood pizza shop in the heart of Essex Junction. Today, Penzo’s serves authentic Neapolitan pizza with a modern twist, blending the timeless flavors and traditions of Italy with the craftsmanship and spirit of Vermont.
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Yum!
Take in views of the pond and flowering trees while enjoying lunch on our patio. Serving a variety of homemade soups daily, along with our fresh, panini-grilled sandwiches and wraps. 472 Marshall Ave., Williston 802-872-SOUP Locally owned and operated for 23 years
LOCATED INSIDE GARDENER’S SUPPLY
For daily soup updates See our Facebook page
Open Daily!! Mon - Sat 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. • Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Meet Your Makers
Perry & Neil Farr — Perry & Neil Farr met as students at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY then settled in Williston (Neil grew up in Colchester) to raise their family, where they each pursued careers in food service while exploring business ideas. When they discovered Poké on a trip to San Francisco they knew they needed to bring the concept to Vermont. The Scale was born. Perry & Neil take pride in sourcing only the freshest ingredients — mostly local – and offering hungry patrons fast, healthy and delicious food with a Hawaiian flare.
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Lunch & Dinner Tuesday - Saturday
32 Cottonwood Drive Williston (802) 876-7184 www.toscanobistro.com
Katie Bushey — Katie Bushey has been in the restaurant industry for over 25 years. She started as a waitress and eventually worked her way up to manager. When she heard that Simply Divine Café was for sale, she knew she had to jump on the opportunity. She has owned the café since 2024 and has continued to grow the already successful business. Nearly everything they offer—from quiche to baked goods—is made in-house by their talented bakers, Brandie & Deb. Katie is thrilled to be known as “the little hidden gem of Williston” and is also the proud recipient of the TOP 10 of 2025 Chittenden County Awards in the Café category. She resides with her husband, Jamie, and two dogs in North Hero. She has two adult sons and now is waiting for grandbabies.
Yum!
Meet Your Makers Jordyn Crabtree — After living in Phoenix, Max Fath — Max Fath grew up in Williston, Arizona for 13 years, Jordyn moved back to the son of Jon and Lucie Fath who owned Huntington, VT in January of 2026. Her and operated the original Toscano Café career in the coffee industry started in Bistro on Bridge Street in Richmond. With 2018, but her love for community has been twenty years of experience in restaurant there since her upbringing. She grew up service and management, Max was eager being taught native American traditions to launch a new rendition of Toscano from her grandmother, which has transcribed into her work when the opportunity became available in Williston. Max built with the cafe. She brings high passion for food and drink a team of some familiar faces from the original Toscano and quality, whether it is by connecting with local farms or going some new faces he met along the way and is grateful for the on tours at the bee farm to learn more about the honey used opportunity to serve our community once again, blending in store. She will host you in the cafe as if it’s her own living nostalgia from the original Toscano with contemporary room and treat you as family when you walk in the door. elegance in his newly renovated space.
Authentic Ecuadorian Restaurant Featuring Colombian & Peruvian Favorites
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Enjoy all the World Cup matches live while enjoying great food and drinks at the restaurant.
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Eric Kelley — Originally from Massachusetts, Eric went to college in Colorado where he began his career in the food service business. After moving to Vermont in 2009, Eric saw an opportunity to create a gathering place in Williston where locals could connect to enjoy excellent coffee, espresso drinks, and fresh baked goods. He opened Williston Coffee Shop to serve the breakfast and lunch crowd. Over a decade later, Eric can be found in the early hours baking bread, croissants, scones and pastries to the delight of his regular customers. He takes pride in his products, the friendly atmosphere of the Shop, and the many employees who have learned from him. Located on Cornerstone Drive, it’s no surprise that Williston Coffee Shop has become a Williston cornerstone.
Brian Lewis — Brian’s journey to Williston wends from his native Connecticut through Seattle, L.A., Rhode Island, and Waitsfield. After a season as Executive Chef at Sugarbush resort’s main slopeside restaurant, Lewis struck out on his own in Waitsfield, opening Toast and Eggs in 2018. After leading that restaurant through the pandemic, he purchased South Burlington’s Parkway Diner on Williston Road. He also bought the original Yellow Mustard deli while launching Filibuster Restaurant and Bar, both in Montpelier. Following the floods of 2023 he successfully reopened both restaurants. After opening his second Yellow Mustard Subs and Sandwiches shop in Burlington, Brian is thrilled to join the Williston community with his newest location in the Taft Corners Shopping Center!
Enjoy brunch, lunch or a light supper This month featuring Oktoberfest brews and soft pretzels! Open Thursday-Saturday until 9 pm Sunday.-Wednesday until 6 pm 27 Market St., Williston | 802-755-5986
Harvest time is also seed-saving time September 10, 2026
BY DEBORAH J. BENOIT Special to the Observer
It’s harvest time, and we’re enjoying the fruits of our labors, especially the tasty ones we’ll reminisce about this winter. While there’s still plenty to do, there’s one more task worth adding to your gardening to-do list: seed saving. Saving seeds helps preserve heirloom varieties for the future. If you save seeds from your favorite heirloom tomato, you can plant that same tomato next year — for free. “Heirloom” and “open pollinated” varieties will grow true, meaning they produce a plant that’s the same as its parent. On the other hand, seeds from hybrid varieties may be sterile. If they do germinate, the size, color, taste and disease resistance are unpredictable. Saving heirloom seeds is the most reliable way to grow the same crop year after year. Always select a healthy, mature specimen to harvest seeds from. Saving seeds from beans and peas is easy. Leave the pods on the plant after they’ve matured and allow them to dry. The seeds will rattle inside the pod when they’re ready to remove from the plant. Place the
Pumpkin seeds are spread in a single layer on paper to allow them to dry. PHOTO VIA PEXELS
beans or peas on a paper plate to finish drying completely. For pumpkin and other types of squash, allow the fruit to fully mature while still on the vine. When ready, cut in half and remove the seeds. Spread the seeds in a single layer on paper and allow them to dry
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completely. To produce seeds, greens (such as lettuces and spinach) and root vegetables (such as radishes, carrots and beets) “bolt” or flower. When the flower turns brown, use a cup to catch the flowerhead as you remove it from the stem. Allow it to dry completely. You can store either the entire seedhead or just the seeds. Saving tomato seeds is a bit different. Cut a ripe tomato in half, scoop the seeds and surrounding gel into a container, and cover them with water. Stir a few times each day to agitate. Cover the container with a cloth to deter fruit flies. The viable seeds will sink to the bottom. After several days, skim and discard anything that’s floating. Collect seeds from the bottom, rinse and spread them on paper to dry completely. Depending on the size of the seeds, drying time can take one to three weeks (or longer for larger seeds in humid conditions). To test dryness, press large seeds with a fingernail. It should leave no mark. Press small seeds against a hard surface with the back of a spoon. The seed should crack or shatter with a crunching sound. If they’re not thoroughly dried, wait longer. Your patience will be rewarded in the spring. Saving seeds isn’t difficult, but there are
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Williston Observer •
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some important things to keep in mind. If seeds aren’t completely dry before storing, they may mold, contaminating other seeds in the same container. Label each packet with the type, variety and date to avoid future mix-ups or confusion. Store packaged seeds in a cool, dark, dry location to help ensure seed viability. Storing paper packets in a large glass jar or metal container with a secure lid can help discourage mice or insects. Make a list of saved seeds and where they’re stored. Otherwise, when spring arrives, you may have forgotten what “safe place” those packets are in. A list in your garden journal can be handy when planning for spring planting and determining what seeds you may need to purchase. For gardening questions, contact the University of Vermont Extension Master Gardener Helpline online (go.uvm.edu/ gardenhelpline) or by phone at 802-6565421 between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. on Thursdays from April to October. Deborah Benoit is a UVM Extension Master Gardener who volunteers as a garden columnist and participates in Bennington County Extension Master Gardener Chapter activities.
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2026 WILLISTON COMMUNITY
The Observer will be producing a special pull-out guide in the newspaper that contains a list of nonprofit organizations located in or serving Williston who would welcome the support of the community through donations and volunteers.
To be included in the Guide as a … Non-profit Organization: email susan@willistonobserver.com An Advertiser: email adam@willistonobserver.com
GIVING GUIDE Publishing Oct. 29, 2026
Williston
Serving our community since 1985
Page 22
• Williston Observer • September 10, 2026
SPORTS
Overcome in overtime
Turf tied
CLOCKWISE from top left: CVU’s Waydon Cherington steps around his South Burlington defender as the two teams play to a 1-1 double overtime draw Sept. 4 in South Burlington. Evan Blanchard dribbles the ball up field. CVU’s net man Theo Skapof makes a leaping save to keep the tie intact.
CLOCKWISE from top left: CVU’s Charlotte Clark tangles with her Essex opponent during the Redhawks’ 2-1 extra time win over the Hornets on Wednesday Sept. 2 in Esssex. Elliana Antonucci looks up field for an open player to receive her pass. Clover Reihbein opens the scoring for a 1 - 0 ‘Hawk lead.
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SPORTS
September 10, 2026
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Williston Observer •
Page 23
Redhawks survive Hurricanes CLOCKWISE from top left: CVU’s Alex Jovell fights to gain some tough yards as the Redhawks defeat the Hartford Hurricanes 24-13 on Sept. 5 in Hinesburg. Carter Matthews breaks through the defensive line to continue his bid for more yards. With an opponent hot on his tail, Finn Wilson struggles to break the tackle. OBSERVER PHOTOS BY AL FREY
GMP customers to see 5.5% rate increase
Page 24 •
Williston Observer •
September 10, 2026
BY THEO WELLS-SPACKMAN VTDigger Regulators will allow Green Mountain Power to raise electricity rates by 5.5% for its more than 275,000 Vermont customers — a smaller hike than the 7.5% increase the company initially sought. The billing change, ordered late last month by Vermont’s Public Utility Commission, will take effect Oct. 1. The first proposal from the state’s largest electric utility drew criticism from dozens of consumers during the public comment process. The Vermont Department of Public Service, which represents the public interest in regulatory decisions, opposed parts of the spending plan, and the Public Utility Commission, a quasi-judicial body that issues decisions in such cases, opened an investigation into Green Mountain Power’s financial circumstances in March. In an order published Aug. 28, the three-member commission said that the majority of the rate increase request was “largely outside GMP’s control,” and noted that “nearly all” electric companies in the state had requested relatively
large hikes over the past several years. Electricity supply and transmission costs have risen across the region on top of general inflation, the filing noted. Public Service Commissioner Kerrick Johnson estimated last fall that Vermonters’ electric bills would climb 25% by 2030, with some cost pressures still difficult to quantify. One central point of disagreement between Green Mountain Power and state officials at the Department of Public Service was “resilience spending.” The company asked to earmark up to about $341 million over the course of a fouryear period for extra work shoring up its infrastructure against weather damage in the long term. “Storms are increasing in frequency and severity — Vermonters are feeling it,” said Kristin Carlson, a spokesperson for Green Mountain Power, in an interview Tuesday. “The goal is to deliver projects that keep customers with their lights on, keep them safer and then over time lower storm restoration costs.” So far, such improvement projects in Vermont have resulted in sharp decreases in power outages and growing
Entering Our Next Great Chapter!
financial savings, Carlson said. Green Mountain Power received permission in 2024 to spend about $150 million over the following two years to “harden” its electric networks through projects such as burying power lines. To incentivize infrastructure improvements, Vermont allows utility companies to keep a portion of the returns on such investments without making a direct profit from the sale of electricity. The Public Utility Commission elected this year to approve about $113 million in resilience spending — roughly a third of the $341 million the company requested. The decision needed to balance what the panel called a legitimate desire for a more robust power grid with officials’ concerns about costs passed on to customers, as well as the completeness of the company’s planning for those improvements. “There is no dispute that Vermont’s climate is changing,” last month’s decision read. But affordability concerns for residents, the document stressed several times, was “central to our analysis.” The agreed-upon amount should cover upgrades to Green Mountain Power’s
10 worst-performing circuits over the next four years, the regulators added, while reducing the immediate impact on customers as much as is practical. More than 50 public comments on the matter were overwhelmingly critical of Green Mountain Power’s initial proposal. “I cannot afford taxes, utilities, insurance and food anymore,” said Janice McCann in a written statement to the panel. “Something has to give. Please consider the less fortunate people in Vermont.” John Tatro agreed, adding: “We do not have a choice in power companies to our location so there is no competition.” Green Mountain Power’s request is far from isolated. Electric departments in Swanton, Hyde Park and Jacksonville have submitted rate hike requests of roughly 30%, 15% and 18% respectively for the coming months. The price surges come as Vermonters face energy cost increases on all fronts. The state remains among the nation’s most reliant on heating oil, prices for which remain high and volatile. Gasoline prices are also a worry for residents.
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September 10, 2026
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Williston Observer •
From hobbit holes to giant sculptures
Shelburne’s Joplin Wistar turns imagination into local landmarks BY EMILY RODIN Community News Service
Behind Joplin Wistar’s indigo-trimmed house is a fantastical backyard filled with unique architectural designs: a hobbit hole made with cedar poles, a lotus belle shaped tent, and a tree web that acts as a giant hammock, just to name a few. It is no secret in town that Wistar, 66, embraces whimsy through his imaginative creations. His hand-crafted structures, scattered throughout Shelburne as well as his own backyard, have become distinctive local landmarks that reflect both his artistic vision and the town’s creative spirit. “He’s incapable of doing anything the same way twice,” said children’s book author Alison James, Wistar’s wife. “He doesn’t even like to take the same road or the same trail when we’re hiking or something. Just needs to always be discovering something new.” Wistar grew up in Pennsylvania and studied human ecology at the College of the Atlantic in Maine. He and James moved to Shelburne 40 years ago. Wistar taught for 30 years at Shelburne Community School, taking yearlong leaves to teach in Japan, Norway and
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Taiwan. He now runs an alternative school and summer camps in Shelburne. When Wistar isn’t busy teaching kids, he is most likely creating artistic pieces like the ones found in his backyard. He first started making practical structures like treehouses at Treewild Forest Classroom, a one-day alternative school program that he runs with James. Then those structures became more elaborate. His first art installation was “The North Wind” at Shelburne Farms for Borderlands, an autumn outdoor sound and light theatrical production. Most recently, Wistar installed “Zephyr,” a 16-foot-tall wooden sculpture of the Greek God of the West Wind, outside Shelburne Pond Studios in June. Wistar originally built the creature as a set piece for Night Fires, an annual theatrical performance in Middlebury that celebrates the winter solstice. Shelburne Pond Studios co-owners Katharine Stockman and her husband, Rad Romeyn, agreed to trade Wistar studio space if he installed “Zephyr” in front of the barn. The installation is the only wooden sculpture on the property; the rest are polished aluminum, marble and other materials. “It brings a whole new genre to our sculptures at the farm,” Stockman said. Wistar recently pitched another set design piece for this year’s Night Fires performance,
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Joplin Wistar looks into the hobbit hole he made with cedar poles in his backyard. PHOTO BY EMILY RODIN
which is set in Greenland. Wistar imagines a 20-foot web-like structure that would surround the stage and project the Northern Lights on it. Wistar doesn’t charge for his artwork. He says he creates simply for the joy of making things and solving problems. Working with natural materials presents constant challenges, he said, but that’s what keeps the work interesting. Although Wistar thrives in experimentation, he routinely returns to one particular material: grapevine. The strong but flexible plant grows up into trees, leaving many property owners frustrated at its persistence. “I like to make use of things that other people might not appreciate,” Wistar said.
Wistar’s creativity extends beyond his physical pieces of art. Alongside James, he runs Enchantment Camps during the summer and Treewild Forest Classroom during the school year. Both nature-based programs encourage children to explore the outdoors while developing creativity and confidence. The last two weeks of July were spent preparing a musical set in ancient Greece. On July 22, Robin Fawcett, a retired Champlain Valley Union High School theater and public speaking teacher, led a workshop. As she greeted Wistar near the back entrance of the house, she immediately commented on his “purple aura.” In theory, Wistar likes to have one new project each year, even if that means replacing or refurbishing one of his earlier creations. This summer he has been focused on running Enchantment Camps, so his individual projects have taken a backseat. Still, he’s always imagining something new. Asked how he comes up with his pieces, Wistar responded with his trademark sense of wonder. “Who knows where ideas come from?” he said. Emily Rodin is an intern for UVM’s Community News Service through Report for America’s Local News Internship Program.
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Page 25
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Pagerelease 26 •dates: Williston Observer Sept. 12-18, 2026 •
September 10, 2026
37 (26)
Next Week:
Great American bison Issue 37, 2026
Founded by Betty Debnam
The Bill of Rights
Mini Fact:
The Bill of Rights is on display at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. photo by Mike Mozart
An amendment is a change or addition. The first 10 amendments to the Constitution are called the Bill of Rights. They were added in 1791 to limit the power of the national government over the people. This week, The Mini Page takes a look at the first 10 amendments.
First Amendment
Second Amendment
• Guarantees the right to bear (carry) arms (weapons). Congress cannot prevent people from owning guns for their own protection. However, states and local governments can make laws about who may own them and how they are carried.
Third Amendment
• The government cannot force citizens to keep soldiers in their homes. In Colonial times, citizens were forced to allow British soldiers into their homes.
• Freedom of religion means that Congress cannot pass a law setting up a religion that everyone must follow. You are free to worship as you please. • Freedom of speech means that you are free to speak out and give your side of things. Others are free to listen. However, there are some limits. You can’t shout “fire” in a crowded room when there is no fire. • Freedom of the press means members of the press do not have to get what they are planning to print or say approved by the government. They are free to print what they wish as long as it is not a deliberate lie. • Freedom of assembly means that you are free to meet peacefully. • Freedom of petition means that you are free to ask the government to correct things that you think are wrong.
Fourth Amendment
• This amendment says that before police officers can enter your home, they must have a warrant, or legal paper from a judge, giving permission for a search or arrest.
Fifth Amendment
Grants the following rights: • A person cannot be brought to trial for a serious crime until a grand jury has studied the charges. • If you have been tried for a crime, you cannot be tried again for the same crime. • A person accused of a crime cannot be forced to say anything against himself. • The government cannot take away your life or property, or put you in prison, without “due process of law.” • If the government has a good reason to take away your property for public use, it must pay you a fair price for that property.
The Mini Page® © 2026 Andrews McMeel Syndication
Williston Try ’n’ Find
Sixth Amendment
Lists the rights you have if you are charged with a crime. It guarantees: • a speedy trial as soon as possible after your arrest. • a fair jury of citizens who live in the same area where the crime was supposedly committed. • a report of exactly what crime you are accused of. • an opportunity to defend yourself against any witness who testifies against you, and a lawyer to represent you, paid for by the government if you are unable to pay yourself.
Seventh Amendment
• Extends your right to a trial by jury in civil cases (those dealing with disagreements between two people or people and their governments). These are not punishable by death.
Eighth Amendment
• The government cannot demand a person to pay bail or fines that are too high and unreasonable. Also, punishment for a crime cannot be cruel or unusual.
Ninth Amendment
• Entitles you to rights not listed in the Constitution.
Tenth Amendment
• Powers not given to the U.S. government are reserved to the states or to the people.
Resources On the Web:
• bit.ly/49SbTBZ
At the library:
• “The Bill of Rights: A Kid’s Guide to Freedom in America” by Syl Sobel
Observer rack locations:
Hannaford Shell Gas Station (Essex Rd) Adams Farm Market Healthy Living Williston Simon’s Mobil Williston Words that remindAromas us ofofthe Bill of Rights are hidden in this puzzle. Simply Divine Café India Home2Suites Some words are hidden backward or diagonally, and some letters Chef’s Corner Island Homemade Ice Cream Sonesta are used twice. See if you can find: Dorothy Alling Memorial Korner Kwik Stop Sunoco Station Library AMENDMENT, ARMS, R E I Marriott Y R Courtyard U J S N A Town D Lof Williston L I Offices B Call Rick Cote at Fairfield Inn Men at Wok UPS Store N I T G L R T I M I C A U L J BILL, CONGRESS, (802) 373-2136 or @ Folino’s Pizza BankA J E S O Vermont & Seafood ck Ri l ai em O S G M&T P X I E Meat M O H CONSTITUTION, er.com WillistonObserv copies Gardener’s Supply I P F Ramunto’s Wild Meadows Books H T J N K C R I M E R P & Café e would likFINES, if youCRIME, n tio ca lo Green Mountain Bagel r your foFREEDOM, G R V Rehab E TGym D P E T I Williston T I Coffee O NShop E HOME, JURY, I E S Z M S S S E R G N O C L PEOPLE, PETITION, L S Z E Y V F I N E S W Q A P PRESS, PROPERTY, E S N O I T U T I T S N O C O RELIGION, RIGHTS,
Essex/Essex Price Chopper MiniJct. Jokes Essex Automotive Quality Bake Shop Five Corner Variety River Road Beverage Carla: What did one flag Hannaford say to another flag? Richmond InnConstance: at Essex Cumberland Nothing! It just waved. Farms Mac’s Market Richmond Free Library Cayden: What dance was popular in 1776? Martone’s Deli Richmond Market Carmine: Indepen-dance! Williston
Serving our community since 1985 Eco Note A woman in southwestern England has discovered
• Freedom of petition means that you are free to ask the government to correct things that you think are wrong.
• bit.ly/49SbTBZ
“due process of law.” • If the government has a good reason to take away your property for public use, it must pay you a fair price for that property.
At the library:
• “The Bill of Rights: A Kid’s Guide to Septemberin 10,America” 2026 • Williston Observer Freedom by Syl Sobel• Page 27
The Mini Page® © 2026 Andrews McMeel Syndication
Try ’n’ Find
Mini Jokes
Words that remind us of the Bill of Rights are hidden in this puzzle. Some words are hidden backward or diagonally, and some letters are used twice. See if you can find: R N O I G I L E R T
AMENDMENT, ARMS, BILL, CONGRESS, CONSTITUTION, CRIME, FINES, FREEDOM, HOME, JURY, PEOPLE, PETITION, PRESS, PROPERTY, RELIGION, RIGHTS, STATES, TEN, TRIAL.
E I S P R E S S T E
I Y R U T G L R G P X A F H T J V E T D S Z M S Z E Y V N O I T C A P R N M O D
J T J N P S F U O E
Carla: What did one flag say to another flag? Constance: Nothing! It just waved.
S N A D L L I B I M I C A U L J E S O I E M O H K C R I M E R P E T I T I O N E S E R G N O C L I N E S W Q A P T I T S N O C O P E R T Y P W E E R F S M R A P
Cayden: What dance was popular in 1776? Carmine: Indepen-dance!
Eco Note
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
•1 cup corn, canned or fresh off the cob • 3 large tomatoes, finely chopped
• salt and pepper to taste • 1 bag tortilla chips
• 1/2 cup Vidalia onion, chopped • 1/2 cup red pepper, chopped What to do: 1. In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients except chips and mix well. 2. Refrigerate until ready to serve. 3. Serve with tortilla chips. Serves 4.
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. over (5) 2. go to see (5) 3. you take it to the beach (6) 4. very strong (8) 5. it lifts heavy things (5) 6. blocks that fit together (5) 7. cooked on charcoal (7)
ABO
BUC
VIS
VE
KET
IT
POW
CRA
ER
NE
LE
ED
GOS
LL
GRI
FUL
adapted with permission from Earthweek.com
For later:
Look in your local newspaper for stories about the government.
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A woman in southwestern England has discovered several rare pink grasshopper nymphs in her backyard, a year after spotting a single adult with the same unusual coloration. Wildlife experts say the insects’ bright pink color is caused by erythrism, a genetic mutation that alters pigmentation. Because the vivid insects cannot camouflage themselves like ordinary green grasshoppers, they are usually eaten by birds before reaching adulthood. The survival of several young grasshoppers suggests the mutation has been passed to a new generation. Long grass in Natasha Welch’s backyard, together with four pet cats that discourage bird visits, may have created a safe haven for the rare insects to thrive.
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Page 28 • Williston Observer • September 10, 2026
SAVVY SENIOR
Medicare and moving: what you need to know coverage. Whether your Medicare is impacted — and what you’ll need to do — depends on the type of plan you have. Here’s what to expect and steps to take before and after your move. ORIGINAL MEDICARE
By Jim Miller Dear Savvy Senior, I’m planning to move later this year to be closer to my youngest son and his family. I’ve lived in the same state for decades, so I’m a little nervous about how this might affect my Medicare coverage. Will I need to change plans or take any special steps to avoid gaps? — Relocating Rita Dear Rita, Great question. A move like this is exciting, but it’s smart to think ahead about how it could affect your
If you’re enrolled in original Medicare (Part A and Part B), you’re in the simplest situation. Your coverage will go with you anywhere in the United States, so you won’t need to change your plan when you move. That said, you do need to update your address so you don’t miss important notices like your Medicare Summary Notice or billing statements. The easiest way to do that is online through your “my Social Security” account at ssa.gov/ myaccount using the “My Profile” tab. If you don’t already have an account, you can set one up in just a few minutes. Or, you can call Social Security at 800-772-1213 and have
them update it for you. PART D DRUG COVERAGE
If you have original Medicare along with a stand-alone Part D drug plan, your move may require a change. Drug plans are based on where you live, so you’ll need to contact your current plan to see if it operates in your new state. If it doesn’t, you’ll need to choose a new plan that does. You’re given a special enrollment window to make this switch — starting the month before your move and lasting up to two full months afterward. If you miss that window, you may have to wait until the next open enrollment period (Oct. 15 to Dec. 7), and you could face a late enrollment penalty if you go without qualifying drug coverage. ADVANTAGE PLANS
Medicare Advantage plans are also location-based, so a move almost always means you’ll need to
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Contact Adam Geffkin at adam@willistonobserver.com 802-338-1656
MEDIGAP
If you have original Medicare and a Medigap policy, you generally won’t need to switch plans when you move. These policies are standardized nationwide, meaning a Plan G
in one state offers the same basic benefits in another. Still, you should notify your insurer of your new address. And keep in mind that while your coverage stays the same, your premium might change depending on your new ZIP code. One exception to be aware of is Medicare Select, a type of Medigap plan that uses provider networks. If you have one of these (they’re not very common), you may need to switch plans when you relocate. A move doesn’t have to disrupt your Medicare, but it pays to plan ahead. Update your address, and if you have a Part D or Medicare Advantage plan, review your coverage and make any needed changes on time. Send your questions or comments to questions@savvysenior.org, or to Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070.
OBITUARIES
Get more
for your BUCK!
take action. Check with your plan to see if it serves your new area. If it doesn’t, you’ll need to enroll in a new Advantage plan or switch to original Medicare. Like Part D, you’ll have a special enrollment period that begins the month before you move and continues for two months after. If you move outside your plan’s service area and don’t pick a new plan, your current plan will eventually disenroll you, and you’ll be placed back into original Medicare. To compare plans available in your new location, visit medicare. gov/plan-compare, which lets you review both Advantage and Part D options side by side.
Marion Alice Shatts Whitaker Marion Alice Shatts Whitaker, 94, was born June 26, 1932 and passed on Aug. 21, 2026. So gently she left. She was born the youngest of 5 children in Mamaroneck, NY and was the last remaining from her family of origin to leave this world; predeceased by her parents Phillip and Gladys Garvin Shatts; siblings Silvia, Garvin, Christine, and Oliver “Olly;” as well as her son David in 1985 and husband Pete in 2018. Her childhood was deeply marked by the Great Depression and WWII, as she and many others experienced instability, upheaval, and impermanence. Moves became necessary as her
parents sought work as teachers. Marion as a teenager found herself at Daycroft School in Connecticut, where in the summer of ‘48, both working as camp counselors, she would meet her future husband, Pete Whitaker. He was smitten. Marion, more reserved by nature, was slower to warm. They courted, and following graduation he went on to Bates College in Maine where she would later transfer from Oberlin College in Ohio to join him. Bates became their beloved alma mater. She was described in her senior yearbook as “petite and lively” and made life-long friends there. She was passionate about Modern Dance and Theater and always smart as a whip. She earned a BA in History in 1954 and later wrote: “I graduated in the afternoon, then I changed my cap and gown to my wedding dress. It was a wonderful day. I was ecstatic!.” Children soon followed and Marion became a mother of five. She somehow managed to stay true to her interest in politics and literature by holding active roles in the League of Women Voters and local public libraries. Her church, a loving anchor throughout her life, was a place where she
found community and felt much at-home. She held leadership roles, taught Sunday school, and volunteered in several capacities with such devotion at First Church of Christ, Scientist in Melrose, MA, then later at First Church of Christ, Scientist in Burlington, VT. Marion and Pete were married for 63 years. Together they raised their young family on the Northshore of Massachusetts before moving to Richmond, VT in 1975. As her children grew up and left the nest, she took a job with the State of Vermont first as a caseworker, then supervisor in the Department of Social Welfare (now DCF), expressing her compassion and kindness for those struggling and less fortunate. In her retirement she enjoyed working seasonally at Harringtons during Christmas time. She loved history and was involved in Historical Societies and volunteered as a tour guide at the Round Church. She was drawn to interesting old things and was an ardent collector of antiques. She loved working in her garden. She canned, blanched, froze, and pickled everything under the sun. Together with Pete, an enormous and spectacular vegetable bounty was enjoyed for many years. She
was clever and thoughtful and could knit a sweater, hook a wool rug, needlepoint a pillow, crochet a baby blanket for a new member of the family, or embroider a set of pillowcases for a gift. Her small hands could do miraculous things. Her caring and quiet wisdom touched many lives. She always said, “just take one step at a time” and that is what we’ll have to do without her. She leaves daughter Cherry Reiniger and husband Don of Southington, CT; daughter Sarah Cochran and husband Forrest of Underhill; daughter Rebecca Christensen of Winooski; son Scott Whitaker and wife Cindy of Cedarcrest, NM; along with grandchildren: Matt Reiniger and wife Molly, Amy Duquette and husband Jeff, Bethany White and husband Ryan, Brittany Bartholomew and husband Mark, Kevin Ginter and wife Caroline, Emily Pawlusiak, Madeleine Christensen, Shady Whitaker, and Rose Whitaker; also nineteen great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. A big garden indeed. Family will announce a memorial service at a future date. In lieu of flowers, please honor her by exercising your right to vote, be kind, and dance!
September 10, 2026
•
Williston Observer •
Page 29
CROSSWORD • SOLUTION ON PAGE 30
TODAY’S HISTORY: • In 1846, Elias Howe patented the first sewing machine. • In 1977, France used a guillotine in carrying out a death sentence for the last time. • In 2002, Switzerland became a member of the United Nations. • In 2008, the Large Hadron Collider was powered up for the first time in Geneva, Switzerland.
TODAY’S FACT: • The United Nations, which included 193 member states as of August 2026, began in 1945, when representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco to draw up the charter.
SOLUTION FOUND ON PAGE 30
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Page 30 •
Williston Observer • September 10, 2026
WILLISTON
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CROSSWORD SOLUTION Puzzle found on page 29
AUG. 28 • 2:04 p.m. — Fire/smoke alarm activation. Tyler Way. • 2:45 p.m. — Structure fire involving a room and its contents. Harbor Road, Shelburne. AUG. 29 • 11:59 a.m. — Accidental false alarm. Eagle Crest. • 12:23 p.m. — Malfunctioning alarm reported. Eagle Crest. • 4:22 p.m. — Malfunctioning alarm reported. Eagle Crest. AUG. 30 • 1:27 a.m. — Fire/smoke alarm activation. Whitney Hill Road. • 8:06 a.m. — Accidental false alarm. South Road. • 12:29 p.m. — Smoke investigation. Stirrup Circle. SEPT. 1 • 6:25 a.m. — Accidental false alarm. Falcon Manor.
GARAGE SALES OAK KNOLL ROAD — Garage Sale,
• 3:07 p.m. — Fire/smoke alarm activation. Hanon Drive. • 4:49 p.m. — Hazardous-material release involving a chemical from transportation. Walker Hill Road. • 8:36 p.m. — Fire/smoke alarm activation. Eagle Crest. SEPT. 2 • 5:31 a.m. — Citizen assist/lift assist. West Main Street, Richmond. • 5:59 a.m. — Fire/smoke alarm activation. Honeysuckle Lane. • 6:52 p.m. — Smoke investigation. James Brown Drive. • 8:44 p.m. — Citizen assist/service call. Day Lane. SEPT. 3 • 10:45 a.m. — Motor vehicle collision. Wright Avenue.
Sept. 18 & 19, 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. 459 Oak Knoll Road, Williston. Household items, camper stuff, collectibles, salt & pepper shakers, lots of other stuff. Something for everyone.
BIZAAR WILLISTON WOODS BAZAAR— Saturday, Oct. 3, 26 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Raffle, vendors, bake sale, white elephant items, soups & pizza too!
The Williston Fire Department also responded to 35 medical emergencies during this time frame.
SUDOKU SOLUTION Puzzle found on page 29
GARAGE SPACE Apartment dweller looking for indoor space to work on cars. Willing to rent or trade for yard/handy-man chores. Contact Ben at 802-777-0177.
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September 10, 2026
•
Williston Observer •
Page 31
SERVICE DIRECTORY ANTIQUES ANTIQUE SHOP
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Page 32
• Williston Observer • September 10, 2026
Rising healthcare costs are squeezing Vermonters. Here’s how everyone can make more affordable choices. Vermont has some of the highest healthcare costs in America. This hurts everyone in our community and the well-being of our state. So, it’s the perfect time to learn ways to make care more affordable. Consider these costs comparisons for common procedures: Sleep Study*
Breast Biopsy
Cataract Surgery
CT Chest Scan
Gallbladder Removal
Hip Replacement
Laparoscopic MRI Hernia Repair of Spine
Upper GI Endoscopy
Vaginal Delivery
$7,900
$16,054
$9,785
$3,495
$35,057
$51,432
$30,361
$4,438
$7,768
$28,912
Southwestern VT Medical Center
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital
Winsdor Hospital
Dartmouth Hitchcock
Northeastern VT Regional Hospital
Northeastern VT Regional Hospital
Dartmouth Hitchcock
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital
North Country Hospital
University of VT Medical Center
$5,331
$8,262
$4,806
$1,396
$16,262
$24,642
$17,569
$2,560
$3,626
$18,248
Rutland Regional Medical Center
University of VT Medical Center
University of VT Medical Center
Vermont Open Imaging
Springfield Hospital
Dartmouth Hitchcock
Rutland Regional Medical Center
Northeastern VT Regional Hospital
Central Vermont Medical Center
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital
$2,016
$4,853
$2,712
$1,222
$13,293
$23,558
$10,761
$1,410
$1,928
$10,135
Northwestern Medical Center
Rutland Regional Medical Center
VT Eye Surgery and Laser Center
Vermont Diagnostic Imaging
Central VT Medical Center
Central VT Medical Center
Central VT Medical Center
Vermont Open Imaging
Green Mountain Surgery Center
Northwestern Medical Center
(with Imaging)
Source: Blue Cross Blue Shield Association Axis Cost Transparency Data Averages, April 2026. Costs include facility and provider costs. *Sleep study includes with or without CPAP.
There are many reasons for this affordability crisis and no one entity or individual can fix it. That’s why our organizations continue working together to be part of the solution. We invite you to join us, take action, and explore these tips to save on your care.
Compare Where To Get Care & Save
Cut Prescription Drug Costs
• Costs for procedures can vary widely between hospitals, outpatient facilities, surgery and imaging centers. Knowing your options can help you save hundreds or thousands of dollars.
• Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about options, such as generic medications instead of more costly brand name drugs.
• Carefully consider when it’s best to visit your doctor, urgent care or the emergency room. Telehealth can be a convenient, low-cost option for common health issues, including mental health support.
Know Before You Go
• See if getting a 30-day, 60-day or 90-day supply of your medications can help you save. • Compare costs and look for discount coupons on websites like ArrayRx, GoodRx, RxSaver, WellRx, SingleCare, Cost Plus Drugs, and the new federal website TrumpRx.
Review Your Health Insurance Benefits
• For routine procedures, there is usually ample time to explore care options, understand costs, and look for savings. • Ask for a written estimate before your procedure, so you have a clear picture of the costs beforehand. Afterward, review your itemized bill to understand the charges and confirm they are accurate.
• This Open Enrollment season is a great time to revisit your health plan’s benefits, premiums, deductibles, and copays to determine what makes sense for your health needs and budget. • When planning your care, check for “in-network” providers, which are more affordable and can help avoid unexpected expenses.
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Visit our website to get more cost comparisons, helpful tips, and free resources.
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