The Citizen - 4-6-23

Hinesburg town hall

renovations

Town, fire buildings to get overhaul, upgrades

Page 2

Underwater Champlain Library program explores Revolutionary War era

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In Charlotte

Residents weigh town manager role

disappointing event for me to go through that.”

Is a town manager in Charlotte’s future?

A resident-led petition to change to a town manager form of government is gaining traction with over 200 signatures in favor of the switch.

The idea arose at a recent meeting at the Charlotte Senior Center that Jim Faulkner, chair of the selectboard, characterized as “a very difficult meeting” where residents were “very critical of the selectboard. It was a very

Although the petition garnered enough signatures to force a town vote, the group agreed to come before the selectboard April 17 to discuss what this could mean for the town, hear public feedback and offer details about how to implement such a change.

With town administrator Dean Bloch leaving in October, proponents of the change say it’s an ideal time to shift to a

See TOWN MANAGER on page 12

Charlotte Central School tests show levels of PCBs

Air quality deemed safe after filters installed

Airborne polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, were discovered recently in the Charlotte Central School and district officials are now awaiting further testing on remediation efforts, as the district continues to mull long-term plans to renovate its older buildings.

As part of a state-run initiative,

high levels of PCBs were discovered in the kitchen of the school, which forced the school’s kitchen staff out into the cafeteria area to serve meals. The district notified the community via a letter sent to families and caregivers.

After being first discovered in February, Champlain Valley School District officials ordered

on page 13

COREY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER

PHOTO BY LEE KROHN

Purple crocuses bloom on a spring day, soaking in the sunshine after a long winter.

Reach for the sky See PCBS

LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER

Braces

A structural rehabilitation to both the Hinesburg town hall and the town’s fire station would cost the town at least $12 million, according to conceptual designs presented to the town selectboard.

The designs, presented to the town selectboard by Steven Roy, with Wiemann Lamphere Architects, suggest making significant renovations to the town hall building — first and foremost to repair its failing roof, but also to expand and accommodate for more community gathering spaces.

The fire station, meanwhile, would either be torn down and rebuilt at its existing location on Route 116, or would be built on the area commonly known as lot 15 in the village, once considered for a Hannaford grocery store.

The designs, and the presentation, can be found at bit.ly/43aW6cz.

The town in August authorized $46,800 for Wiemann Lamphere Architects to make conceptual designs for improvements for both the 120-year-old town hall and the 50-year-old fire station. There has been no structural work on the town hall building for at least 30 years, and its roof is beginning to fail.

“A new fire station has been needed since I’ve lived here ... and I’m sure longer than that, so that’s kind of been brewing,”

Merrily Lovell, chair of the selectboard, said. “With the town hall it was just last year when that leak happened and now, we’re all really missing our great hall.”

However, each option would be a costly endeavor for the town. Minimal repairs to the town hall alone would be $3.4 million, and the preferred renovation would cost $6 million, while the fire station will likely cost at least $9 million, according to the conceptual designs.

“I can’t deny that I’m freaking out about the money,” selectboard member Paul Lamberson said.

If the town were to opt for just minimal repairs to the town hall — including structural rehabilitations to the roof, a new elevator, stair components and other improvements to bring the building into ADA compliance — it would cost $3.4 million.

Building an addition to the hall would cost the town $6 million.

“It’s certainly more expensive but it includes 12,850 square feet of new construction,” Roy said, noting that it would include a new community center in the building.

“This opportunity for significant municipal presence remains. You have this historic building on this corner; this is a way of extending its life for several more decades.”

The architectural firm

narrowed sites for the proposed fire station to its existing location, and lot 15 on Mechanicsville Road. That property is privately owned and would need to be purchased by the town.

That option could be beneficial to the fire department — the department would work out of the old building instead of having to temporarily relocate. Renovations to the existing building would mean they would have to work out of the town garage.

“Operationally, it would be hard,” Hinesburg Fire Chief Nick Baker said at the meeting. “I definitely appreciate not having to purchase property and I think we all want to spend less money but logistically it would be very hard for us to be up there long term.”

Demolishing the existing building and building a new one in its place would cost $9.42 million, Roy said, while building on the new lot would cost either $8.98 million with a wood frame, or $9.32 million with a steel frame.

The town intends to have multiple community input sessions over the next couple of months to get feedback. Both projects could potentially be on the ballot in November or March of next year.

Whether you’re considering clear aligners, retainers or today’s braces, an orthodontist is the smart choice. They have 2 to 3 years of education beyond dental school. So they’re experts at helping you get a great smile—that feels great, too.

COREY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER

Hinesburg building overhauls could cost town over $12M

“I can’t deny that I’m freaking out about the money.”

— Paul Lamberson

Bills would require Holocaust education

ABBY CARROLL COMMUNITY NEWS SERVICE

Mandating and strengthening Holocaust education in schools has been brought up by lawmakers for the past few years, but the proposed bills are typically left untouched. This year, many representatives and senators are hoping that will change.

Two bills, H.294 and S.87, would mandate six hours of Holocaust education per year for students in grades 6 through 12 starting in the 2024-25 school year. The bills leave curriculum specifics up to schools and teachers but have a broad goal of making sure students learn from the Holocaust through grade-appropriate material and take away lessons from it that apply in a variety of ways.

“Holocaust education can be applied in so many different subjects,” said Debora Steinerman, president and co-founder of the Vermont Holocaust Memorial. “It teaches about bullying. It teaches about hatred of all kinds. It’s about humanity.”

Advocates like Steinerman say that robust Holocaust education in schools preserves the memories of survivors, raises awareness about genocide and helps prevent it from happening again. It also helps students understand the history of discrimination and how the Holocaust revealed the need for the term genocide and international legislation laws to safeguard against it. Legislators also believe that by institutionalizing Holocaust education, Vermont students will be better equipped to understand and combat prejudice, misinformation and discrimination and examine the impacts people have as perpetrators, bystanders, collaborators and victims.

“Children don’t know that it happened, and the reason people need to know it’s happened is not just to remember and commemorate the victims but really looking forward to recognize when genocide or the threat of genocide rises up anywhere in the world against any group of people and to understand what humanity is capable of at its worst, and to try to do something about it,” said Rep. Avram Patt, D-Worcester, the sponsor of the bill in the House.

Many of the past bills to mandate Holocaust education haven’t been passed due to the prevalence of local control of education, Patt said. The Legislature often avoids creating mandates about curriculum

because of this. Patt noted that he and other lawmakers avoided writing exactly what needs to be taught or what kind of assignments to have to give their bills better prospects.

If either of the bills are passed, the mandate would begin in the 2024-2025 school year. The bills would also require the Agency of Education to help schools develop materials and their curricula.

Within the bill, legislators cite many reasons for why Holocaust education needs to be mandated. One finding cited comes from the Anti-Defamation League, which says it has found a surge in antisemitism and racist violence in the U. S. and Europe over the last decade.

Vermont is also the only state in New England without a bill mandating curriculum about the Holocaust, and 22 other states have bills like the two proposed bills.

“It’s about time Vermont joins in. This is not a difficult subject to add into the curriculum,” Steinerman said.

The first-ever Vermont Holocaust Education Week occurred in January, and Patt hopes its success has created some momentum for lawmakers around the topic.

“I think there’s been some progress made in that the Vermont Agency of Education this time around was involved directly in establishing that Holocaust education week,” Patt said.

The agency helped organize the week with the Vermont Holocaust Memorial and Echoes and Reflections, a group that works to develop classroom materials about the Holocaust. Teachers could follow a curriculum that focused on a different topic each day or sign their classes up to hear from speakers, such as Holocaust survivors.

“Let’s make sure the students understand what it means when you use certain words, when you draw symbols,” Steinerman said. “It started with words, it started with bullying. It started, you know, with people being put down and it gradually accelerated — to the point where 6 million Jews and 5 million others were murdered. These lessons are crucial.”

Abby Carroll is a reporter with the Community News Service, a program where University of Vermont students work with professional editors to provide content for local news outlets at no cost.

Music of Jewish resistance commemorates Holocaust

The Jewish Community of Greater Stowe, in conjunction with the Vermont Holocaust Memorial, are planning their annual Yom HaShoah Holocaust Remembrance Day with a tribute to the spirit of resistance and a solemn commemoration of the many millions of Jewish and other victims of the Holocaust.

The program will be held at Jewish Community of Greater Stowe, 1189 Cape Cod Road, 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 16.

Featured as part of the commemoration will be a concert entitled “Whispers from the Past,”

performed by Temple Trio, musicians from the Vermont Symphony Orchestra that includes Laura Markowitz, violin; Ana Ruesink, viola; and John Dunlop, cello. Musicologist and child of Holocaust survivor, Berta Frank, will host the event.

“For many of the ill-fated inmates of the Theresienstadt concentration camp in Czechoslovakia and other sites of murder and horror, composing and performing music helped to preserve their souls,” said Debora Steinerman, president and cofounder of the Vermont Holocaust Memorial,

and an organizer of the event. “These compositions are vital historical records of a painful time and afford us a glimpse of some of the feelings experienced by many of these prisoners.”

The commemoration will also include memorial prayers and a candle lighting ceremony.

The event is also co-sponsored by Beth Jacob Synagogue, Greater Stowe Interfaith Coalition and the Vermont Symphony Orchestra. It is free and open to the public. A livestream link will also be available via registration at jcogs.org.

COURTESY PHOTO

Temple Trio

Total Incidents: 28

Arrests: 2

Traffic Stops: 10

March 28 at 9:45 a.m., a traffic stop was conducted on Route 116. The operator, Kelly Husk, 40, of Starksboro, was arrested for driving under the influence.

March 28 at 12:45 p.m., a person was assisted with a VIN verification.

March 28 at 6:35 p.m., police took a report of a motor vehicle crash reported after the fact.

March 29 at 1:45 p.m., officers responded to a business on Ballard’s Corner Road where an individual was issued a trespass notice.

Hinesburg Police Blotter

March 29 at 5:35 p.m., a traffic stop was made on North Road. The operator, Pamela Fuller, 56, of Starksboro, was cited for driving with a criminally suspended license.

March 29 at 8:40 p.m., an officer investigated the report of harassment by electronic means.

March 30 at 10:30 a.m., suspicious circumstances on Hillview Terrace were reported.

March 30 at 3:40 p.m., a person was assisted with fingerprinting for employment purposes.

March 30 at 3:50 p.m., a person was assisted with fingerprinting for employment purposes.

March 30 at 5:45 p.m., officers

investigated a two-car motor vehicle crash on Pond Road.

March 31 at 8:30 a.m., an internet fraud was reported.

March 31 at 2:30 p.m., police performed a welfare check on Patricia’s Place.

March 31 at 3:50 p.m., officers responded to a residence on Route 116 to assist the Hinesburg Fire Department at a structure fire.

March 31 at 6:00 p.m., officers assisted another agency by serving paperwork to an individual on Commerce Street.

March 31 at 8:12 p.m., an officer investigated the report of harassment by electronic means.

Chittenden County sheriff warns of warrant scam

The Chittenden County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents of a scam where callers ask for money because of missed jury duty.

The sheriff’s office never asks for money or issues arrest warrants for missed jury duty. The callers are using the names of real deputies with the department.

Do not provide personal infor-

mation such as date of birth, Social Security numbers or credit card information, the sheriff’s office warns.

Report any of these incidents to the Vermont Attorney General’s office at 800-649-2424 or 802-656-3183. Contact the Chittenden County Sheriff’s office at 802-863-4341 with questions.

Governor appoints new fish and wildlife board member

Paul F. Noel of Irasburg has been appointed the new Vermont Fish and Wildlife board member from Orleans County.

Originally from the northern Adirondacks, Noel earned his bachelor’s degree in fisheries and wildlife management from SUNY Cobleskill.

Noel’s many outdoor pursuits include fishing, hiking, hunting, nature photography, skiing, snow shoeing and trapping. He currently volunteers as a chief instructor for the department’s hunter and trapper education programs and Let’s Go Fishing Program.

“I have devoted my life to the ethical, sustainable and biologically sound conservation of our natural resources,” Noel said. “I look forward to continuing this work on the fish and wildlife board.”

The board is a citizen panel that sets Vermont’s rules regulating fishing, hunting and trapping. The board is informed by expert input from Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department staff and guided by the department’s mission. Board members serve six-year terms, with one board member from each of Vermont’s 14 counties.

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Legislature debates new bottle bill, family leave, firearms

From the House Rep. Phil Pouech

The Statehouse has completed crossover. This is a time in the session where bills that started in either the Senate or the House need to be voted out of the House or Senate and sent to the other body.

These bills will now go through another round of review and testimony from the controlling committees and either voted forward as-is, with amendments or the bills die in committee. If amendments are offered, they will need to be worked out between the bodies before being voted on and moved forward to the governor.

As you know, I am on the House Committee on Transportation. The committee presented the transportation bill to all House members, where it passed, and it is now being taken up by the Senate. We have already started working on the Senate miscellaneous motor vehicle bill in the hope of moving it to a floor vote in the next month.

There are several impactful House bills that have been voted to move to the Senate:

• Paid family and medical leave insurance (H.56) — This would provide up to 12 weeks of universal paid family leave for all employees. It is funded by a payroll tax estimated at 0.55 percent, split between the employer and the employee. With the final passage of this bill, Vermont will join 12 other states who have enacted paid medical leave.

I voted for this bill because it treats 100 percent of employees with respect. Everyone deserves the opportunity to be supported through life’s changes and challenges, such as caring for a seriously ill child or parent or spending time with a newborn.

I also believe this bill supports our critical workforce and helps employers provide for their employees.

• Universal free school meals (H.165) — This makes the currently operating universal school meals permanent in Vermont schools. Universal

school meals address both hunger and the stigma experienced by some students in schools by ensuring that two healthy meals are available to all students.

Under the pre-pandemic model, as many as 40 percent of children living in food insecure households did not qualify for free school meals. Numerous studies have confirmed the academic and health benefits of a universal school meals program. Beyond academic performance, universal school meals improve students’ mental health, reduce instances of both anxiety and depression and reduce visits to the school nurse. This program will allow more federal dollars to support these meal programs.

• Community resilience and biodiversity protection (H.126)

— This bill builds upon the important conservation work and policies in Vermont — and in Hinesburg — to ensure we conserve the necessary elements of the natural landscape. Vermont biodiversity has been declining at an alarming rate in recent decades.

The state continues to lose forest cover, and the remaining forest land is increasingly fragmented. This bill establishes the conservation goals of 30 percent conserved land by 2030 and 50 percent conserved land by 2050. More than a hundred countries, including the United States, have signed onto these conservation initiatives.

Hinesburg now has over 3,400 acres of publicly owned conserved land with another 2,000 acres of privately conserved land — primarily farms — that brings us to approximately 26 percent conserved land. We should now plan strategically to continue our work toward the goals, with a priority of conserving river corridor forests, floodplains, ridgelines and connectivity of contiguous forests.

• Suicide prevention (H.230)

— The bill approaches Vermont’s high and growing rate of suicide as a public health crisis, and it implements several critical, data-driven measures to prevent suicide by reducing access to lethal means, specifically fire-

arms. Vermont’s suicide rate is 35 percent higher than the national average, and each year nearly 60 percent of suicides are completed with a firearm.

The bill requires secure storage of firearms to prevent a child or prohibited person from gaining unregulated access to firearms. The bill also includes a 72-hour waiting period for firearms transfers, which cannot take place until 72 hours after a licensed dealer is provided with a transfer identification number, or seven business days have passed since a background check was initiated. Additionally, this bill expands access to the process for obtaining extreme risk protection orders to those who are in the best position to know information about a person of concern — family or household members.

• The budget bill, also referred to as the big bill (H.494) — This is a very complicated bill that provides all the funding to run state government and authorizes the funding required for approved bills. Significant investments include child care and early childhood education of $91 million, numerous affordable housing development programs ($60.6 million), workforce and economic development ($43.8 million), emergency housing ($10 million), COVID-19 recovery for health care providers ($10.5 million) and climate and environ ment programs ($10.4 million). Included in the big bill is capital funding of $53.9 million. If you want to see some specifics, refer to the one-page overview of the bill provided by the Joint Fiscal Office found on the Statehouse website.

• Bottle bill (H.158) — Pass ing with overwhelming support, this bill updates Vermont’s 50-year-old bottle bill in sever al critical ways. It expands the redeemable list of deposit bottles to include plastic water bottles, sports drinks, wine and hard cider containers. While these bottles can be recycled in mixed waste blue bins, the actual percentage that gets recycled is significantly higher when it goes through a redemption center.

Those materials are worth far more and therefore actually

Rep. Phil Pouech

GOP objects to 12 percent hike in general fund spending

Guest Perspective

When the session opened three months ago, we knew there was no more important task in front of us than making sure the hundreds of millions of dollars in federal relief dollars and state surplus funds were spent in a sustainable, disciplined way that made sure Vermonters got the most out of these one-time funds, and that in doing so we did not create unfunded liabilities in the future.

In his budget address Gov. Phil Scott laid out a responsible, commonsense plan to use federal dollars and one-time surplus funds to address the needs of Vermonters. The governor’s budget funded critical issues like expanding child care, tax relief for low- and middle-income families, creating permanent housing for the homeless and building education and workforce expansion programs.

ed communities that need our help the most, to improve infrastructure,

fix roads and bridges, sewer and water infrastructure and brownfield cleanup.

Most importantly, it did all of this without raising new taxes and fees on hard working Vermonters.

Unfortunately, the budget that the majority will bring to the floor is a drastic departure from the responsible path laid out by the administration.

The proposal in front of us raises the general fund base budget by 12 percent over last year while eliminating much of the bipartisan initiatives included in the administration’s proposal.

Under this budget Vermonters would pay more, and in many cases, get less, with more to pay in the future.

This proposal raises Department of Motor Vehicle fees by $22 million, increasing everything from the cost to renew your license, register your car and trailer

What is worse, and is most concerning, is that the Department of Motor Vehicles never asked for this increase.

Fees are supposed to cover the cost to administer programs, not serve as a back-door revenue stream for legislators to use for projects.

This budget uses one-time dollars to pay for massive — and I mean massive — long-term financial obligations at a time when inflation is high, and legislative economists are telling us that revenue is likely to slow in the next few years.

This budget also underfunds the majority’s mandatory paid family leave plan by $74 million over the next two years. That is irresponsible, whether you support the policy or not. Hoping we will find the rest of the money next year and beyond is irresponsible governance.

That program, combined with

the Clean Heat Standard and the Legislature’s child care proposal, threatens to add $500 million dollars to the state’s financial burden every year.

Vermonters are already overburdened, and they simply cannot afford this budget.

If we sound concerned, it is because we are concerned. Concerned for those hard-working Vermonters who will bear the brunt of this budget proposal at a time when it is more expensive to just put food on the table.

If we sound alarmed, it is because we are alarmed. Alarmed by the unsustainable path this budget puts us on as we speed toward an unpredictable future.

If we sound disappointed it is because we are disappointed. Disappointed that at a time when we have record surpluses and one-time money, the majority is looking to raise new taxes.

We are calling on Vermonters who want a responsible state budget, who cannot afford to pay more with this budget to get less than what the administration proposed. Contact your legislator, tell them to vote against this irresponsible spending plan and get back to reality.

We can come together and pass something historic that accomplishes many of the things we all want to get done this session, that sets us up for success in the future and helps protect us when — not if — we find ourselves in tough economic times.

That is what the Republicans will continue to fight for, and we ask Vermonters to stand firm with us.

Rep. Casey Toof, R-St. Albans Town, is assistant minority leader in the Vermont House of Representatives.

Addressing state’s housing crisis must be priority No. 1

Guest Perspective

Pieciak

Many Vermonters are in survival mode and are living unsheltered, in cars or in unsafe or inadequate situations. Vermont has experienced the highest rate of growth in the homeless population of any state in the country, now counting over 3,000 people. Nearly a quarter are children.

Furthermore, before the pandemic, the average length of homelessness in Vermont was 54 days. Now it’s 270 days.

Every rung of the ladder toward housing stability is crowded. Those living on the streets or in cars are trying to get into motels. Those in

motels are desperately trying to find something to rent. Many renters are trying to save up enough for a down payment, which is now further out of reach with historically low housing inventory available, causing significant increases to the average home price.

Many older Vermonters are struggling to downsize, competing for an “ender” home with those seeking starter homes. We have been grappling with housing shortages for many years, but we have put off systemic solutions until now, when we are in a full-blown housing crisis.

While many would argue we have multiple crises to address simultaneously, addressing the housing crisis must come first. People need shelter before they

can enter the workforce or care about larger existential crises with democracy and the planet.

The difference between renting and owning is also the greatest single factor in the wealth gap in this country. Failing to create homeownership opportunities will only worsen long-standing inequities, especially for low-income people and people of color.

We have 24,000 open jobs and less than 1,000 housing listings, and those housing options are often very far from work and need significant upgrades, so people are commuting great distances and living in leaky historic buildings, all of which adds to Vermont’s

See HOUSING CRISIS on page 7

Rep. Casey Toof

A unique summer camp for boys, ages 10-14 located in Vermont’s Green Mountains

Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale Mike

Lawmaker looks for local input on bottle bill, flavored tobacco ban

From the House Rep. Chea Waters Evans

The past two weeks were what people in the General Assembly call crossover week, and what I call, what-the-hell-just-happened week.

In simple form, here’s how it works: the House works on bills for the first half of the session, and the Senate works on bills for the first half of the session. Since we all have to vote on the same things by the end of the session, around the halfway point — aka crossover week —everyone works nonstop

POUECH

continued from page 5

go directly back into the manufacturing process to make new bottles, while reducing the volume the ends up in the landfill. The bill provides more funding for redemption centers by increasing the handling fee and reducing the number of sorts. It also funds additional, and more conveniently located, redemption resources and centers across the state.

As Hinesburg’s Green-Up coordinator for many years, I am very happy to support this

HOUSING CRISIS

continued from page 6

carbon footprint. Many of these open jobs are in hospitals, schools, child care centers and climate workforce, so we are hard pressed to meet any of our other policy goals until we support the needs of working families.

S.100, the Housing Opportunities Made for Everyone (HOME) bill, addresses systemic issues in land use planning and allows us to develop denser, multi-family housing where we want to see it in downtowns and village centers. We have spent over half a billion dollars on housing development with our pandemic recovery dollars, but many projects are still stuck in appeals processes and litigation. We cannot spend more money without reducing unnecessary delays when supply chains

to pass out of their committees and out of the House and Senate all the bills that have been decided are the most important to advance to the next step in the lawmaking process.

The House passed some significant, and sometimes a little controversial, legislation after a lot of debate and discussion and amendments and votes. (I’ve written about these bills over the past couple months.)

We sat in our, I’m not going to lie, terribly uncomfortable seats for up to 10-hour sessions. I set a world record by eating two pieces of pizza in about 30 seconds during a quick break.

Because the Democratic party has a sizable majority, none of the bills coming out of the House failed. Now, they go over to the Senate, and the Senate bills come over to the House, and then people — not me, I’m new, I don’t get to participate in this part of the fun — who are part of the parties’ leadership and the governor’s administration get to hash out what the bills will look like in the end. Then we’ll vote on them again. This time, everyone will be voting on the same form of the same bills. I guess I should have known this, but before I got here, I didn’t quite realize how much a bill changes from when it’s introduced to when it becomes a law. Bills frequently change before they’re even voted out of committee.

I hear from constituents a lot (which I really appreciate and enjoy) expressing their opinions or thoughts on a particular bill, and this can help inform my discussions with my colleagues. I don’t want anyone to think, though, that when I write back to you and say, “I’m going to wait to reserve my vote decision until the final bill,” that I’m putting anyone off or trying to avoid making a commitment. I’m just trying to be thoughtful.

kids from getting their hands on them.

• The bottle bill: Proposed in previous sessions, this bill would add sports drinks, wine bottles and water bottles to the list of beverage containers that have a redemption deposit.

Pros: It would make the sorting process much easier for small redemption centers and eventually will raise deposit amounts.

long-awaited update. To be honest, I don’t believe it will reduce the number of bottles — specifically beer and alcoholic beverages — that some people toss to the roadside as they are already breaking the law by drinking and driving. I do, however, expect to see fewer water and sport drink bottles on our roadsides.

It’s been extremely busy these last two weeks with many fast-moving bill changes and some late nights.

Despite different views and priorities, my colleagues have all been respectful and focused through this process. I continue to hear from Hinesburg residents with questions or concerns. I also run across many of you when you come to the Statehouse to advocate for issues. Let me know if you will be in the Statehouse for any reason; I’d like to talk to you. I listen carefully to everyone’s concerns, and I learn a lot from these interactions.

It is best to reach me at ppouech@leg.state.vt.gov. I try to respond within two days, but if for some reason you have not heard back from me, please contact me again.

Phil Pouech, a Democrat, represents Hinesburg in the Chittenden-4 House district.

Some bills that covered these topics came out of the House in the past couple weeks. I’d love to hear feedback about:

• Flavored tobacco-product ban: The argument for it is that fruity, sweet and mint-flavored tobacco vapes and chews and other types of tobacco appeal to young people and encourage them to use, and become addicted to, these products.

The argument against it is that we already have laws prohibiting people under age 21 from purchasing these items, and that enforcing the laws would allow local stores, instead of online, out-of-state sellers, to continue to sell these products to legal users and prevent

Cons: there already exists a mechanism for plastic recycling through large recycling facilities, which would run short of materials to recycle and possibly, eventually increasing their costs, which could be passed on to customers.

If you’d like to come see me at the Statehouse, please do reach out and we can arrange a visit. I’m expecting some Charlotte Central School students next week, and I’m excited to see them.

As always, you can find me at cevans@leg.state.vt.us or 917-8878231.

Chea Waters Evans, a Democrat, represents Charlotte and Hinesburg in the Chittenden-5 House district.

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and labor markets are so fragile.

The HOME bill reduces regulatory barriers largely in the 41 square miles of designated growth areas so we can preserve the other 9,600 square miles of our state. This pro-housing legislation allows duplexing and quadriplexing by right, ending discrimination against other forms of housing besides single-family homes and expanding choice in the process.

So, why are these solutions still in danger of not making it through the Legislature?

We have a longstanding culture of moving slowly and deliberately, which generally makes us proud — as it should. We have no billboards, we have pastoral working lands and we have large stretches of open space, but now our policies

of significantly limiting growth are impacting the well-being of the next generation of Vermonters, an unintended consequence decades in the making.

Providing not just shelter, not just affordable housing, but a home to everyone, should be something we strive for together. It’s our most basic need and the basic building block of our economy. Join us in supporting the HOME bill.

Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale is a Chittenden County senator and chairs the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs. She also teaches environmental justice at the Vermont Law and Graduate School. Mike Pieciak is the Vermont state treasurer.

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Rep. Chea Waters Evans

“Everyone deserves the opportunity to be supported through life’s changes and challenges, such as caring for a seriously ill child or parent or spending time with a newborn.”

“Fruity, sweet and mint-flavored tobacco vapes and chews and other types of tobacco appeal to young people and encourage them to use, and become addicted to, these products.”

Enjoy Age Well meals at Charlotte Senior Center

The Age Well meal pickup for Thursday, April 6 features sweet-and-sour pork with vegetable sauce, brown rice with lentils and vegetables, green beans, wheat bread with butter, Easter cake with icing and milk.

You must pre-register by the prior Monday with Carol Pepin, 802-425-6345 or meals@charlotteseniorcentervt.org.

The meal on Thursday, April 13 features baked ham with raisin sauce, sweet potatoes, Capri blend vegetables, wheat roll with butter, congo bar and milk.

The meal on Thursday, April 20 beef with barbecue sauce, baked beans, broccoli florets, wheat roll with butter, pumpkin cookie and milk.

The suggested donation is $5. Check the website for last-minute cancellations at bit. ly/3FfyLMb.

Charlotte Congregational holds Holy Week services

Through Saturday, April 8, the Charlotte Congregational Church will reenact the story of the final week of Jesus Christ during what is often referred to as Holy Week.

On Easter Sunday, April 9, the congregation will remember the story of Jesus’s resurrection. Holy Week schedule is as follows:

• April 7: Good Friday, 4 p.m.: Stations of the Cross with a prayer station walk behind church.

• April 8: Holy Saturday, noon: Easter egg hunt for families in the community.

• April 9: Easter sunrise service at 5:45 a.m.: Meet in parking lot for walk up to clearing behind church. Worship at 9 a.m. with Rev. Kevin Goldenbogen. Worship service at 11 a.m. with Rev. Susan Cooke Kittredge will be preaching. Child care

Underwater archaeology

available for both services. More at charlotteucc.org.

All Souls holds community Easter egg hunt

Preparations are underway for the All Souls Interfaith Gathering annual Easter egg

hunt on Sunday, April 9, at noon.

During the festivities, candy-filled Easter eggs are hidden for children to find.

Easter activities will begin with a sunrise meditation at 6 a.m. on the sledding hill east of All Souls, followed by Sunday morning meditation at 9 a.m.

A community brunch will be held in the gathering hall at 10 a.m. with seasonal dishes. The Easter music and spirit service will take place at 11 a.m. in the sanctuary. Festivities culminate with the Easter egg hunt at noon on the west lawn.

Community members are welcome for

all or part of the day’s festivities. For more information, call 802-985-3819 or visit allsoulsinterfaith.org.

Hinesburg Food Shelf needs volunteers

The Hinesburg Food Shelf is seeking several new volunteers for Friday mornings and Tuesday evenings for one to two times per month.

COURTESY PHOTO

The Shelburne Historical Society and The Pierson Library present “Key to Liberty, the Underwater Archaeology of the Revolutionary War on Lake Champlain” by Christopher Sabick on Wednesday, April 12, at 6:30 p.m. in the large community room. Sabick, the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum director of archaeology, will present his research on the of the Revolutionary sites along the Champlain Valley including Arnold’s Bay in Panton, where Arnold burned the remainder of the fleet from the Battle of Valcour Bay, and the gunboat Spitfire, shown here, the last of Arnold’s gunboats, which sank from Valcour.

COMMUNITY NOTES

continued from page 8

Friday hours are from 9:30 a.m. to noon, and Tuesday from 5-7:30 p.m. Light lifting is required. Only non-food shelf recipients may participate as volunteers. Email njdvt@netzero.net for more information.

Red Cross hosts blood drive in Charlotte

The American Red Cross holds a blood drive on Thursday, April 13, 2-7 p.m., at the Charlotte Senior Center

Call 800-RED-CROSS or visit redcrossblood.org and enter Charlotte to schedule an appointment.

Hinesburg church holds Holy Week services

Community Alliance Church, 190 Pond Road, is holding Holy Week services as follows:

• April 7: Good Friday service, 6 p.m.

• April 9: Easter Sunday service, 10:30 a.m.

United Church of Hinesburg plant sale returns

A 50-plus-year tradition at the United Church of Hinesburg continues in 2023 with the its plant sale, which will be held in two phases again this year.

An online sale of locally grown perennials and homemade biscotti will be ready for pick up on Saturday, May 6, followed by an in-person sale of annuals, baked goods and other selections on Saturday, May 13.

The online store (ucofh.org) opens April 8 and closes on April 22. Shop early to ensure the best selection.

Contact the church with any questions at 802-482-3352 or unitedchurch@gmavt.net.

April features eclectic lineup at Charlotte Senior Center

For more details, go to charlotteseniorcentervt.org.

• Ongoing: Photographic exhibit by David Pearson. A collection of scenic and wildlife photography. Person’s artistic style conveys his belief that “sometimes all it takes is pausing to take a deeper and longer look at the simple and ordinary, to see it from a different perspective.”

• Saturday, April 8, 10-11:30 a.m.: My Little Red File Workshop. Presenter Peg Maffitt has been involved in hospice and end-of-life care education for 30 years. With her experience and awareness of the fragility of life, she has created “my little red file” that includes important documents that your family would need to access immediately, including a completed advance directive, will, birth certificate, Social Security card, passwords, etc. During this workshop, Maffitt will help you create an index for your own little red file. Cost is by donation to Vermont Ethics Network to cover book fees. Registration required.

• Tuesday, April 11, at 1 p.m.: Bill Fraser-Harris presents a talk on Antarctica. Interested in learning more about the Earth’s southernmost and least-populated continent? Fraser-Harris will detail his experiences of a recent trip to Antarctica and his experience hiking and touring in nearby Patagonia, Torres del Paine National Park and Fitzroy in Chile and Argentina. He will share photographs and discuss the preservation of these natural places. A Q&A follows. Free. Registration recommended.

• Wednesday, April 12, 10:30-11:30 a.m.: Intergenerational Crafting with the Charlotte Children’s Center. Come plant marigold seeds in containers with the 3- to 5-year-olds from the Charlotte Children’s Center. Then, return on Wednesday, May 10, at 10:30 a.m. when the preschoolers return to plant what has grown in the senior center’s raised beds.

• Wednesday, April 12, 9 a.m.: Take a birding expedition with Hank Kaestner There are a wide range of birding habitats in Chittenden County. Join Kaestner, an avid bird watcher, and learn to identify various bird species and habitats in Vermont. Group size is limited to 20 participants. It’s free, but registration required. To register, create an account on the Charlotte Senior Center website and follow the instructions.

• Friday, April 14, at 1 p.m.: At the “Grease” social, celebrate with one of the original cast members, 46 years ago, from the popular movie. There will be 1950s drive-in food favorites, movie viewing and a post Q&A with root beer floats. Feel free to dress in ’50s attire. Registration required.

See COMMUNITY NOTES on page 10

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Elias Leventhal, a junior at Champlain Valley Union High School, won a gold medal at the 30th Vermont STEM Fair, where students come from around the state to showcase their independent research and have their projects judged by scientists, secondary education faculty, dentists, physicians, nurses, military personnel and retirees, and other individuals from science and engineering professions from across Vermont. Leventhal was also selected to be the Vermont representative for the International Science and Engineering Fair in Dallas May 13-19. This annual science fair is attended by 1,700 students from 70 countries. His project is titled “Investigating the Role of Exitonic Quantum Coherence in the Light-Harvesting Process of Photosynthesis.”

COMMUNITY NOTES

continued from page 9

Limited to 32 people

• Monday, April 17, 1 p.m.: Bring your questions and concerns for Chat with Chea, a legislative meet and greet with Chea Waters Evans, Chittenden-5 representative for Hinesburg and Charlotte.

• Tuesday, April 18, at 1 p.m.: Enjoy an opera discussion of “Carmen” with Georges Bizet. Presented by Toni Hill of the Chittenden County Opera Lovers, the discussion will include video excerpts of the opera and will cover how the music and the drama were combined, reflecting changes in style based on pulp fiction in the 19th century. Co-sponsored with The Charlotte Library. Free, but registration recommended.

• Thursday, April 20, 7-8 p.m.: Charlie Nardozzi presents “Grow a Pollinator Garden.” Everyone is becoming more aware of the importance and plight of pollinators. Pollinating insects, birds and other creatures are essential not just for flower gardens, but also the food we eat. In this talk, Nardozzi will discuss the essential ingredients to a successful pollinator garden beyond the plants, including habitat, water, shelter and best gardening practices. He will also discuss the plants that are best for pollinators, with emphasis on

open-pollinated varieties. Free but registration recommended.

• Friday, April 21, at 1 p.m.: Want to help plan the plant sale? If you are interested in attending this planning meeting or helping with the plant sale, sign up at the center. Questions? Contact Sukey Condict at 802-877-2237.

• Sunday, April 30, 3-5 p.m.: Sustainable Charlotte presents “A Conversation with George Lakey.” Lakey speak about his latest book, a memoir, “Dancing with History: A Life for Peace and Justice,” and about a whole range of issues he has embraced. This event will be held at the Charlotte Library. Co-sponsored with Sustainable Charlotte and Charlotte Library. Registration required at the Charlotte Library.

All Souls hosts interfaith comedy show

All Souls hosts interfaith comedy show The Argosy Foundation and Erik Angel Entertainment present a live — and lively — interfaith comedy show with Usama Siddiquee, Ashley Austin Morris, Erik Angel and Tehran

Von Ghasri on Wednesday, April 12, at 7 p.m. at All Souls Interfaith Gathering, Bostwick Farm

Road, Shelburne. A question-and-answer session with the comedians will follow. Tickets are $10 and all proceeds will be donated to Vermont-area nonprofits. For tickets, go to bit. ly/3JQNH6k.

Local choruses perform music honoring Ukraine

Burlington Choral Society and Onion River Chorus are joining forces for a first-time-ever combined program, “Deep in Song,” on Saturday and Sunday, April 15 and 16, to honor Ukraine.

With 100-plus voices, the dual chorus will perform both sacred and folk pieces as well as two pieces composed in the last year.

The April 15 concert is in Colchester, and in Montpelier the next day. Reserve tickets at bit. ly/3nHXfrJ.

Active Amputee support group

The Vermont Active Amputees support group now meets on the first Wednesday of the month, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., in South Burlington. Email vtactiveamputees@ gmail.com or call 802-582-6750 for location and further info.

Charles G. Foutz Jr.

Charles “Chip” G. Foutz, Jr., 68, of Williston, died on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, from complications of a 10-year battle with alcoholism. He was a great man, with a terrible disease.

Chip was born on Dec. 27, 1954, to Charles Sr. and Jean (Robertson) Foutz in Attleboro, Mass. He graduated from Westfield State College in Massachusetts with a degree in music education — always a passion — and went on to a short career in restaurant management, and a very long career in construction management. He had moved his family to Vermont in 1986 and loved his adopted state. He was a steadfast supervisor with Homestead Design Inc., and later his own small construction business. Chip was always a very hard worker.

Chip raised his family in Hinesburg, where he thrived as a youth sports’ coach and a Boy Scout leader. He supported several nonprofit building organizations, and was particularly passionate about his work with Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity.

He loved the mountains, spending several years in Vail, Colo., in his 20s where he met Cathy. But his happiest days were with his sons, watching his beloved Boston sports teams, playing

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Obituary

seemingly every sport, going fishing, playing music and helping neighbors from his garage workshop. He loved using his knowledge for projects like set-building for the Hinesburg Community School plays and the press box for the Champlain Valley Union High School football field, and he was a special grill master at early games. Chip truly was a “do anything for anyone” person, took pride in helping others and being a great example for his sons.

He is survived by three sons whom he loved dearly and was extremely proud of: Zachary of South Burlington, Peter and his wife, Ashley, and their daughters, Hallie and Natalie of Williston, and Sam and his girlfriend, Cami Drouin-Allaire of Raleigh, N.C.

He also leaves his sister Robin

and her husband, Skip Lagerquist of Bethlehem, N.H.; his brother, Randy of Hanksville, Utah; and a number of cousins, nieces, nephews, great nephews, and former in-laws.

He was long married to and later divorced from Cathy (Chamberlin) Foutz of South Burlington, who continued to help support him in his later years of illness.

He was predeceased by his parents; a young sister, Jill; and his brother Keith “Kit” Foutz.

Visiting hours are set for Friday, April 14, 5:00-7:00 p.m., at Ready Funeral Home, 261 Shelburne Road, Burlington, VT. A memorial service will be held at

the United Church of Hinesburg on Saturday, April 15, 2023, at 11 a.m. All are welcome.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity 400 Cornerstone Dr. Suite 315, Williston VT 05495.

Arrangements are in the care of Ready Funeral & Cremation Service. To send online condolences, please visit readyfuneral. com.

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Selectboard officially adopts $2.7 budget

LIBERTY DARR

STAFF WRITER

The Charlotte Selectboard officially adopted its retooled $2.7 million budget at a special meeting last week.

After nearly four weeks of budget workshops, the selectboard has knocked more than 5 percent off the $2.9 million budget that was narrowly shot down by 35 votes on Town Meeting Day. The new budget of $2,780,713 represents a decrease of $150,196 in spending, mostly represented by employee benefits and salaries.

The new budget is offset by $1,176,329 raised in property taxes with the remaining $1,604,321 to be raised by non-tax revenues. With this, residents can expect a tax rate of $0.2139, although the official rate will be set in August. This means for every $100,000 of property value, residents can expect to pay somewhere around $213.90.

This will be the second time the selectboard has made adjustments to the budget since February. The first time, members managed to shave off nearly $160,000 from the initial $3 million budget.

Although budget workshops were mostly comprised of residents’ disapproval of the market analysis done by Gallagher, Flynn & Company, which the town hired to look at how salaries for Charlotte’s municipal salaries stacked up against other towns, some residents said that the hefty budget wasn’t a result of employee compensations, but instead represented a deep-rooted problem that the town has had for some time.

“We’re one of the richest, most successful towns in all of Chittenden County. We should have

TOWN MANAGER

continued from page 1

town manager.

“It’s a good opportunity to take a look at the whole question of the governance of the town before we enter into another contract with somebody else to do it for however many years. It’s an opportunity that seems to us isn’t one that should be missed,” said Jim Hyde, a proponent of the change.

A town manager acts as a chief administrative officer and has direct duties and authority laid out in statute. A town administrator does not have the same authority and is governed more directly by a selectboard.

“(The selectboard) can delegate as little or as much as they

an abundance of riches, but we stifle any attempt of growth in our town. And so, of course, this is the end result,” Eli Lesser-Goldsmith, CEO of Healthy Living Market and Café, said at one of the budget meetings.

“Imagine if we had a doctor’s office, a gas station, housing in the village, all those entities would be paying new taxes. But instead, let’s squeeze our hard-working town staff on salary. This is sad in my opinion,” he said. “Not one bit of talk about how we can change things in our town, add new taxpayers and new taxes.”

In addition to a slew of other cuts, including the senior center, planning and zoning, traffic calming measures, donations and more, members of the selectboard also voted to nix the 2- to 3-percent annual employee salary increase outlined in the town’s Salary Administration Policy.

The board proposed a $20,000 cut from the $233,000 budgeted for health insurance, but members explained that they don’t yet have a specific roadmap outlining where those cost cuts will come from.

The idea of forming a task force made up of town employees, selectboard members and other committee members found support at the meeting and will be discussed at the April 10 selectboard meeting.

“This has been a very instructive process,” selectboard member Lewis Mudge said. “I want to thank everyone who has come out on both sides of this and I think this is the best budget we can now put forward. I was behind the budget before, it failed. I think this is a good budget, I hope it passes.”

The vote is set for May 2.

Spring buds

want within the law, of course,” Rick McGuire, search consultant with Vermont League of Cities and Towns, said. “But the town manager’s position is spelled out very specifically under state law and that outlines all the powers and duties.”

Hyde said the intention of the petition is not to usurp the selectboard’s power, but to bring in somebody with a background and experience in management, HR, budgeting and finance and give them the responsibility and authority for doing the legwork in service to the selectboard.

Hyde also questioned whether this could expedite meeting times

that sometimes last close to four hours, and which often focus on the minutiae of routine issues rather than honing in on the big issues the town currently faces: the budget, development and updated land use regulations.

“If you look at the agenda for March 27, that agenda was full of things, that seem to me, a town manager could easily deal with,” he said. “It goes on and on for an hour and a half, and this is at a time when they had really serious things that they have to address and deal with. I think that changing the form of government might free up time for the selectboard to focus on some of the really big

policy questions that the town is interested in.”

Some members of the selectboard were unhappy about the way residents have gone about promoting the petition. Instead of relying on guidance from the selectboard, residents have rallied their cause on social media and by word of mouth.

Faulkner explained that he was notified about the gathering of petitioners at the senior center only two hours prior to the meeting.

“I think this is a good discussion about going to a town manager or not,” member Louise McCarren said. “But I am very unhappy

with the way it has been brought forth.”

Faulkner also stressed the need to assess costs associated with the switch, especially at a time when the town has pinched pennies to pass a budget.

“I don’t know all the ins and outs of that,” he said. “That’s something we have to research out but the important thing to me more anything else, a town manager may be the right thing, but we don’t know that, do we? I mean, this is a worse time to think about increasing costs on anything in town here. We’re really working like a dog to go the other way.”

PHOTO BY LEE KROHN

Undaunted by the forecast of snow showers and freezing rain, a few pussywillows emerge from the thawing landscape in the Champlain Valley.

and installed carbon filters in the Charlotte school kitchen. Air sampling tests conducted in late March then found no detection of PCBs, but questions about how much material in the building contain PCBs remain unanswered.

“We know the air test completely removed the PCBs, there were none detected after we ran the carbon filters — so the area is safe from an air quality standpoint,” Gary Marckres, the district’s chief operations officer, said. “But we don’t know if we have any continuing sources of PCBs and the materials, so they’ve tested a whole bunch of the material in the spaces to try to identify the source.”

The school is “pretty much back to normal functioning by now,” Courtney Krahn, the assistant principal at the school, said.

“There were some practices that were started in as a response to the original levels — we pulled our serving tables out of the kitchen area into the cafeteria, which had the kitchen staff sort of out with the kids, and they realized as a result of doing that, they’d like being out with the kids, and it’s more efficient,” Krahn said. “There are some things I think they’ve chosen to leave in place, because as a pivot, they ended up

discovering they like it better.”

The results of the of building material testing should come back to district officials sometime this week or next, Marckres said, which will “really guide what’s next.”

The Charlotte school was one of 22 schools tested for airborne PCBs as part of a staterun program which first began in June. The initiative began after the discovery of airborne chemicals in Burlington High School.

But that testing program is now in limbo, after the Vermont House approved legislation last week that would pause the state testing program while a task force assesses the needs of the state’s school buildings. If signed into law, the bill would halt the testing program nine months after it began.

The Williston Central School was scheduled for testing this fiscal year, and remaining schools in the district were scheduled for testing in fiscal year 2024, Marckres said, “but with the pause by the Legislature, we’re not 100 percent sure what the future testing is going to be at this point.”

Schools like Charlotte’s, which already had testing done, could finish the process, per the proposed legislation. The Champlain Valley School District paid

for the environmental consultant and the air and materials testing, but will be reimbursed from the state, Marckres said.

Part of the motive for pausing the state testing is the expected cost of renovations. With large demographic growth expected in the next decade, officials with the Champlain Valley School District are prepping for major renovations at many of their schools, which are already experiencing space constraints and overcrowding issues.

The district earlier this year earmarked more than $400,000 for two temporary classroom spaces at Williston’s Allen Brook School — a stopgap measure in lieu of the $47 million it would take for potential renovations.

Hinesburg, meanwhile, is set to see pressure to expand its schools as development expands in the town.

Marckres plans on putting together a committee to look at long-range plans for all five town’s school buildings. He expects a first meeting by the end of April.

Any study approved by the committee would take at least 12 months to complete, he said.

VTDigger contributed to this report.

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ARIES

March 21 - April 20

A message from a romantic partner or business associate could come this week, Aries. Keep a watchful eye on your email inbox or the regular mail.

TAURUS

April 21 - May 21

Taurus, this week you can expect to have an interesting conversation with someone about a topic you’re fond of discussing. It could spark a new friendship.

GEMINI

May 22 - June 21

You likely will have a lot of physical and mental energy this week, Gemini. Figure out a project you can stand behind and put that energy to good use.

CANCER

June 22 - July 22

Keep an eye on the front door, Cancer. A delivery may be coming your way in the next few days. It’s not something you ordered, but could be a gift.

LEO

July 23 - Aug. 23

Leo, you could use a diversion this week. When a friend seeks your company, this can be the perfect way to direct your mind somewhere else.

VIRGO

Aug. 24 - Sept. 22

Virgo, nancial paperwork could take up some of your time in the days to come. It’s a necessary evil to keep things on track. Seek help from someone else if you get frustrated.

LIBRA

Sept. 23 - Oct. 23

Speaking with someone else on a fascinating subject triggers your curious side, Libra. You may want to take a class or pursue this subject in another way.

SCORPIO

Oct. 24 - Nov. 22

Your emotions might get the better of you this week, Scorpio. Try to focus attention onto something that doesn’t trigger negative feelings. Distraction could be the key.

SUDOKU

Here’s How It Works: Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must ll each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can gure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The more numbers you name, the easier it gets to solve the puzzle!

SAGITTARIUS

Nov. 23 - Dec. 21

Stimulating social occasions are what you need right now, Sagittarius. Such get-togethers will introduce you to new people and new ideas that can inspire.

CAPRICORN

Dec. 22 - Jan. 20

Capricorn, this week you have an opportunity to impress others and get them talking, likely changing their opinions of you. Make every effort to win others over.

AQUARIUS

Jan. 21 - Feb. 18

It’s important to keep in touch with friends even if they have moved away, Aquarius. Phone calls, texts and video chats can bridge the gap created by physical distance.

PISCES

Feb. 19 - March 20

Pisces, tally up your investments because they could be worth more than you think, especially if you are invested in real estate.

CLUES ACROSS

1. Colas

7. Single-celled animals

13. The rear car of a train

14. Endangered

16. It cools your home

17. Helper

19. “The First State”

20. More aged

22. Partner to cheese

23. Type of wrap

25. From a distance

26. Satis es

28. “Dallas Buyers’ Club” actor Jared

29. God of battle (Scandinavian)

30. Cooking utensil

31. Soviet Socialist Republic

33. Able to perform 34. Big man on campus

36. Second epoch of the Tertiary period

38. Porticos

40. Alban and Peter are two

41. Gets up

43. Humble request for help

44. One-thousandth of an inch (abbr.)

45. Unhappy 47. Hint or indication

48. A way to plead

51. Digits

53. Broadway actress Daisy

55. Jewish calendar month

56. Author Gore __

58. Peacock network

59. White poplar

60. Promotional material

61. A period of calm

64. Take too much

65. Emit energy

67. Something you can take

69. Mended with yarn

70. Inconsistent

CLUES DOWN

1. Calm down

2. One quintillion bytes (abbr.)

3. One who pretends

4. Hang glide

5. Distinctive practice

6. Mariner

7. Peaks

8. Queens ballplayer

9. Geological times

10. Twofold

11. Atomic #13

12. Tranquillizing

13. Metric weight unit

15. Indicates

ANSWERS

18. Unwanted rodent

21. Partly cooked with hot water

24. One who can be recommended

26. Resembles a bag or pouch

27. Midway between south and southeast

30. Sets up for a photo

32. California white oak

35. More (Spanish)

37. After B

38. Decorated tea urn

39. Island

42. Car mechanics group

43. Wordplay joke

46. Cut a rug

47. Prickly plant

49. Speech in praise of a deceased person

50. European buzzard

52. In uential linguist 54. West African languages

55. Siskel’s partner

57. Skinny

59. Oblong pulpit

62. Consumed

63. Small, mischievous sprite

66. Powerful lawyer

68. Indicates position