The Citizen - 5-11-23

Hinesburg pauses renovations to town hall, fire station building

how to pay for.

Smoldering conflict roils Charlotte cannabis operation

A licensed cannabis-growing operation on a rural dirt road in Charlotte is raising the ire of surrounding neighbors — a chaotic situation the cultivator has likened to a new wave of “reefer madness.”

John Stern has been growing marijuana in Charlotte under a Tier 1 outdoor operation, Red Clover Canopies, since August. The budding business has been the recipient of a slew of resident-led backlash that started just months after cultivation got underway and at one point prompted residents to make Stern a buyout offer.

Issues arose last November when residents and town officials reached out to the state Cannabis Control Board regarding the issuance of Stern’s Tier 1 license — which, per Act 158, is exempt from local permitting since it is an outdoor grow operation of 1,000 square feet or less.

they began growing at an inopportune time of year, in part because “the town and (neighbors) had stood in the way and created problems for us on our licensing when we got started.”

“We wound up having a grow at a time of year we never wanted to be growing, and so it was like, ‘Look, I’m just trying to finish this thing and that requires lights. I will turn the lights off by 6 p.m.,’’’ said Stern. “We talked and everybody agreed: OK, turn them off at 6 p.m.”

Keith Oborne, the town’s former zoning administrator, emailed Stern on Nov. 2, solidifying this agreement.

Hinesburg is pausing planned renovations to the town hall and to its fire station — expensive projects in their own right — after getting bids back for its wastewater treatment facility project, state mandated work that the town is uncertain

Initial designs for the two projects — one to rehabilitate the historic town hall, and another to either renovate or relocate the fire station — were presented to the selectboard last month. Both projects would cost at least $12 million or as much as $16 million, according to a presentation of

the proposals.

But at last week’s selectboard meeting, town manager Todd Odit cited the wastewater treatment facility project, bids for which came in at well over $15 million, as “the most immediate need”

See RENOVATIONS on page 16

The operation, which is set on a 3-acre plot of land is “bounded by trees on both sides of the road,” Stern said. “In the summertime, once the leaves are on, nobody can see us.”

The original concerns came because of lights emanating from a covered hoop house where the bud grows, which Stern told The Citizen was needed mostly because

“I have informed the concerned parties that the lighting associated with the operation will be extinguished at 7:30 p.m. every night moving forward and will not be turned on until 7:30 a.m. the following morning,” he wrote. “Let’s keep the lines of communication open as I suspect this will not land gently with the concerned individuals.” He ended the email wishing Stern “success with (his) operation.”

Trouble came just two days later, when Stern admits he mistakenly left the grow lights on past the mutually agreed upon time, spark-

See CANNABIS on page 12

PHOTO BY AL FREY

The CVU softball team walloped MMU, defeating them 19-2 to break a two-game losing streak.

The wind up

LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER

COREY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER

Good news Community newspapers win New England press awards

TOMMY GARDNER STAFF WRITER

The Vermont Community Newspaper Group took home several top journalism and advertising design awards — including the top prize for the Stowe Guide & Magazine — at an annual New England newspaper contest.

The Better Newspaper Competition, hosted by the New England Newspaper and Press Association, was held in Waltham, Mass., on Saturday, as part of the weeklong New England Newspaper Convention.

Newspaper group publisher and editor Greg Popa won first place for the Stowe Guide & Magazine in the competition’s Best Niche Publication category. The Guide had previously placed first in the same category from 2010-2022, with one third place showing.

“We are fortunate to have such a talented group of writers and photographers who provide content for our magazine — many of whom also write and shoot pictures for our newspapers,” Popa said. “These continued first-place awards are really a testament to their skill and talent. I’m proud of them all and feel fortunate to work alongside them.”

Journalism awards

Among the competition’s first place journalism awards, the judges recognized two different reports of a devastating fire that destroyed the Percy family’s iconic Stowe dairy barn in early 2022. Aaron Calvin won first place in the General News Story category for his Stowe Reporter story “130 cows, historic barn lost in Percy farm fire.”

Rob Kiener placed first in the Human Interest Feature Story category for “A town responds,” which covered the aftermath of the Percy farm fire for the magazine.

Also winning a top spot was Tommy Gardner – first place in Crime and Courts Reporting for his News & Citizen series about an Elmore man who killed his wife and himself.

The newspapers also won numerous second- and third-place reporting awards:

• Gardner tied — with himself — for second place in the Business/Economic Reporting category. The stories were “Dairy dazed: Farmers look past Horizon,” a series about dairy farmers left in the lurch by a national organic dairy conglomerate; and “Liquor merchants educate customers on Russian vodka ban,” a story about how

Vermont stores pulled the product from their shelves in the early days of the war with Ukraine.

• Gardner placed second in the Sports Story category with “Raiders repeat as tennis champs,” about the Stowe High School girls’ tennis team beating South Burlington two years in a row.”

• A Stowe Reporter series about the traffic jams last winter along Mountain Road garnered Gardner a silver in the Transportation Reporting category.

• Gardner finished second to Kiener in the same Human Interest Feature Story category with “A Buffalo Man,” a Guide story about a New York guy who dressed in a dirndl and traveled to Trapp Family Lodge for Oktoberfest.

• Avalon Styles-Ashley, a former reporter for The Other Paper, won second place in the category Racial, Ethnic or Gender Issue Coverage for her reporting in the OP on a former South Burlington High School teacher under investigation for racial harassment.

• Kiener placed second in Arts & Entertaining Reporting for his Guide piece, “Man of Steel,” about sculptor David Stromeyer.

• Styles-Ashley and Calvin shared a third-place award in the Health Reporting category for “Staffing shortage creates disparity in nursing pay,” an in-depth look at hospitals’ reliance on traveling nurses that ran in all Vermont Community Newspaper Group publications.

• Calvin won third place in the Obituaries category for his Stowe Reporter piece “Marvin Moriarty remembered: Olympic skier, bar brawler, fashion influencer,” the title of which really tells it all.

• Calvin placed third in Government Reporting for his News & Citizen coverage of the drama behind the scenes at Cambridge’s Varnum Memorial Library.

• Calvin’s series of News & Citizen stories about the village of Johnson refusing to divulge information about upheaval in the water and light department resulted in a third-place finish in the Right-to-Know category. The newspaper also won a victory by prevailing in a public records lawsuit against the village.

The Stowe Reporter, News & Citizen and Stowe Guide & Magazine also collected a passel of second- and third-place photography awards.

Photographer Gordon Miller collected the most awards, earning awards for Spot News (the Percy barn fire); General News

(kids on a slip-and-slide); Feature Photo (an angler fly fishing in the mist); and two different Portrait Photo entries (a primitive biathlete competitor and a self-portrait of artist Jamie Rauchman).

• Paul Rogers got second place in the Photo Story category for “Man of Steel.”

• Nathanael Asaro took third in the Pictorial Photo category for a photo of “Mystical Mansfield.”

• Publisher Popa was in the right spot at the right time to snap a third-place Spot News photo of a truck stuck in Smugglers Notch.

Advertising design

The Stowe Reporter and News & Citizen production design team also took home several awards, matching the newsroom in the number of first-place awards, with four.

The team won first place in the Themed Multiple Advertiser Page(s) category for the popular Stowe Reporter section “What’s on the menu?” And the team also won Best Holiday Ad for Wolcott Garage’s ad in News & Citizen.

Production manager Katerina Hrdlicka got first in Best Real Estate Ad for her work with Academy Mortgage Company. Designer Kristen Braley won for Automotive Display Ad for her work with Lamoille Valley Chevrolet, located between the roundabouts in Hyde Park and Morrisville.

The designers won second and third place awards in the following categories.

• The design staff with Advertiser Campaign (Body Lounge) in the Stowe Reporter, as well as color Local Display ad for FiveStar.

• In the News & Citizen, the staff got nods for black and white Local Display Ad (Caledonia Fair) and Special Section for RIDE, the annual mountain bike supplement.

• Braley took home four design awards: Best Holiday Ad (Empower MedSpa for Valentine’s Day); black and white Local Display ad (Body Lounge); Real Estate Display Ad (Pall Spera); and Best Health Ad (Empower MedSpa).

• Hrdlicka also nabbed an award in the Advertising Sales Media Kit category for the rate card sent to would-be advertisers.

“It’s great to be recognized by your peers, particularly after the last three years of COVID-19. Hopefully our communities know how hard this team works to serve them,” Popa said.

PHOTO BY LISA LYNN

Tommy Gardner, Kristen Braley and Liberty Darr at last weekend’s New England press association awards.

In Charlotte

Work completed on damaged bridge

LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER

The massive pothole on the Dorset Street bridge in Charlotte — which the selectboard approved using emergency funds to fix last week — has been repaired as of Monday afternoon.

Town administrator Dean Bloch said the town expects to apply for a grant to replace the entire deck next year, Bloch said.

“This goes down in the records as one of the fastest repairs we’ve ever done,” said selectboard chair Jim Faulkner.

Parent Construction of Hinesburg completed the project which cost Charlotte $21,300 from the town’s operating budget, and Faulkner noted that “(Hugh Lewis Jr.) also negotiated that we use a used one-inch piece of steel and saved us $1,700.”

The bridge, which has been

closed to traffic since April 25, is now open, but with a 15-ton weight limit that was approved at Monday night’s meeting.

While also supporting an application for a more permanent repair, town road commissioner Hugh Lewis Jr. spearheaded the efforts for the temporary fix and encouraged the weight limit that would allow school buses to cross. VT Digger contributed to this article.

Hinesburg gets grant sidewalk project

Hinesburg has been awarded a $143,852 grant for its Village South sidewalk project.

The money comes through the Department of Housing and Community Development’s Downtown Transportation Fund.

Efficiency Vermont wins Partner of

Year Award

Efficiency Vermont has received the 2023 Energy Star Partner of the Year Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Efficiency Vermont was honored for saving Vermont residents and business owners 49,471 megawatt hours in electricity use and 11,183 MMBTU in thermal and process fuel use from January to October last year.

Since 2000, Efficiency Vermont has saved residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers more than $3.2

The new sidewalk will extend from the Hinesburg Community School south for approximately 1,250 feet along Route 116.

Seven projects in designated downtowns and eligible designated village centers will share $1

Around the Region

billion in energy costs, keeping the equivalent of 14.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.

Vermont wildlife course returns to Buck Lake

Vermont’s fish and wildlife summer course for teachers and other educators will be held July 16-21.

The interactive field course that gets educators out into Vermont’s streams, forests and wetlands with some of the state’s leading natural resource experts takes place at the Buck Lake Conservation Camp in Woodbury.

Now in its 38th year, “Wildlife

million in funding. The program has helped update streetscaping, parking, rail and bus facilities, bicycle and pedestrian safety, park enhancements, utilities, street lighting and wayfinding signs.

Management and Outdoor Education Techniques for Educators,” is a one-week, three-credit graduate course through Castleton University.

“Wildlife resources are important to all Vermonters in one way or another,” said fish and wildlife’s outreach director, Alison Thomas. “If educators can get connected with the outdoors and in turn expose their students, then many of these students will be able to make informed decisions about Vermont wildlife and their habitat needs.”

Registration information is available by email from alison. thomas@vermont.gov.

COURTESY PHOTO

The Dorset Street bridge in Charlotte has been closed to traffic since a hole was spotted there on April 25.

Man jailed for murder will face escape charge

Brunell will be arraigned June 5

ALAN J. KEAYS VTDIGGER

A man held without bail for murder has been formally charged with attempting to escape from the St. Johnsbury prison, according to Vermont State Police.

Law enforcement and Department of Corrections staff had previously said that Seth Brunell had attempted to break out of the Northeast Correctional Complex with a makeshift grappling hook and using bedsheets as rope in a failed attempt to scale a 12-foot-

high fence topped by razor wire. The razor wire ripped the bedsheets, leading Brunell to abandon the escape attempt, according to corrections officials.

On Monday, state police announced in a press release that Brunell had been charged with felony attempt to escape. He is set to be arraigned on the charge June 5.

Brunell, 44, has been held without bail since April 2022 on a charge of second-degree murder in the killing of Fern Feather, a transgender woman from Hinesburg.

Vermont State Police Blotter

May 3 at 9:10 a.m., Abdisalan Sheikh-Bile, 24, of Winooski, was arrested for driving under the influence, first offense, driving with a criminally suspended license and reckless endangerment after police

were called to an accident at 26 Spear St., in Charlotte. Police said Sheikh-Bile had a 20-yearold passenger in the vehicle and was required to have an ignition-interlock device on his vehicle, which he did not.

Hinesburg Police Blotter

April 24 - May 7

Total incidents: 51

Arrests: 1

Traffic stops: 10

April 24 at 11:32 a.m., an officer assisted Hinesburg Fire Department with a medical emergency on Route 116.

April 24 at 6:55 p.m., court paperwork was served to a citizen on Silver Street.

April 24 at 7:22 p.m., officers responded to the report of a domestic dispute on Route 116.

April 24 at 8:25 p.m., officers assisted Colchester P.D. with a stolen car investigation on Hollow Road.

April 25 at 8:15 a.m., an officer responded to a wildlife hazard on Nicks Run.

April 25 at 11:57 a.m., officers responded to a juvenile issue on Hollow Road.

April 25 at 2:18 p.m., the report of stolen property on Route 116 was investigated.

April 26 at 10:30 a.m., residents were assisted with a civil issue on Pine Shore Drive.

April 26 at 2:15 p.m., an individual was trespassed from a business on Route 116.

April 27 at 6:56 a.m., an alarm

activation at CVU was investigated.

April 28 at 8:10 a.m., a motor vehicle stop was initiated on Texas Hill Road. The operator, Richard Catella, 55 of South Burlington, was arrested for driving with a suspended license, negligent operation, and eluding a police officer.

April 28 at 7:20 p.m., an officer responded to Williston to assist with a stolen vehicle investigation.

April 29 at 6:25 a.m., officers responded to a residence on North Road for the report of an individual having a mental health crisis.

April 30 at 11:10 p.m., suspicious activity at Hillview Terrace was investigated.

May 1 at 9:50 a.m., a traffic hazard on Route 116 was investigated.

May 1 at 10:30 a.m., officers responded to CVU to assist staff with a student issue.

May 1 at 4:43 p.m., harassment by electronic means was reported and investigated.

May 1 at 5:00 p.m., damage to a motor vehicle on Route 116 was investigated.

May 1 at 9:30 p.m., officers assisted with a medical emergency on Kelley’s Field.

May 2 at 8:15 a.m., a single-car motor vehicle crash on Baldwin Road was investigated.

May 2 at 1:50 p.m., suspicious activity on Route 116 was investigated.

May 3 at 8:11 a.m., suspicious activity on Hollow Road was investigated.

May 3 at 9:48 a.m., an officer responded to Charlotte to assist with a crash investigation.

May 3 at 12:25 p.m., a welfare check on Buck Hill Road East was conducted.

May 4 at 10:25 a.m., harassment by electronic means was reported and investigated.

May 5 at 9:05 p.m., an officer investigated suspicious activity on Haystack Road.

May 5 at 9:15 p.m., suspicious activity on Hollow Road was investigated.

May 6 at 10:30 a.m., suspicious activity on Hollow Road was investigated.

May 7 at 12:05 p.m., an alarm activation at CVU was investigated.

May 7 at 1:10 p.m., officers responded to a medical emergency on Mechanicsville Road. A death investigation is being conducted.

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News Editor Tommy Gardner

Staff Writers

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Billing inquiries Leslie Lafountain leslie@stowereporter.com (802) 253-2101

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Contact: 1340 Williston Road South Burlington, VT 05403 (802) 985-3091

Lawmaker votes on gun safety from doc’s office

the Senate

On April 13, my husband and I were overjoyed to welcome a baby girl into the world. She is our first child, and this is the first time a legislator has been pregnant or given birth during the legislative session in nearly 20 years. With every piece of legislation I vote on as the session nears adjournment, I am looking at it through a new lens as a new mother. (See related sidebar)

Perhaps no issue causes me greater concern for the future of our children, and now my child, than that of gun safety. Gun violence has now become the primary killer of children and teens in the U.S., as gun deaths among children have risen 50 percent from 2019 to 2021. Homicide was the largest single category of gun deaths among children in 2021, accounting for 60 percent of the total, followed by suicide at 32 percent and accidents at 5 percent.

So, it was with a deep sense of both gravity and privilege that I cast my vote remotely on H.230, our major gun safety and suicide prevention bill this session, from my daughter’s second pediatrician appointment. Hanging on the wall in the office as I voted was a Dr. Seuss quote from Horton Hears a Who: “A person’s a person, no matter how small.” While it may seem obvious and simple, children — and the parents of young children — are highly underrepresented in the policymaking process, and it’s important we put our children’s personhood and safety at the forefront in this contentious debate.

H.230 includes three common sense provisions that will reduce gun violence and gun-related suicide if enacted into law: implementation of safe storage liability, enactment of firearm purchase waiting periods and strengthening extreme risk protection orders.

The one I have heard the most about is safe storage, as people wonder if someone will

be inspecting their homes or preemptively enforcing this language. The answer is no, this will create liability if a weapon is negligently or improperly stored and subsequently used in a crime, death or serious injury.

We are a gun-owning household, as my husband is an avid hunter and firearm enthusiast.

His first project to prepare for the birth of our daughter was to move his guns from a key-locked display cabinet to a hidden, heavily protected safe. A majority of responsible gun owners understand the danger of leaving weapons in places that are visible and accessible, especially those who are parents or are likely to have young visitors present in their home.

Though Vermont’s greatest statistical danger is suicide by gun, especially among teens, we are not immune from the gun homicides sweeping the nation. Recent tragedies, from a boy who went to the wrong house to pick up a sibling to a young woman who turned around in the wrong driveway to a family that asked the wrong person to

See HINSDALE on page 6

Starting in the Vermont Assembly in my early twenties, I have always sought to put families first in my policy agenda, but it has been a challenge to start a family of my own. A citizens’ legislature can make it challenging for a young, elected official to ensure the time and resources to have a child.

On April 13, my husband and I welcomed our baby, Mira, into the world. She decided to make an early entrance, for which we

received world-class care from the staff and providers at University of Vermont Medical Center and we are all doing fine.

As I reengage with the Legislature while also thinking about our financial and professional realities as new parents, I feel fortunate to be able to help steward meaningful steps forward on affordable early childhood education and access to paid family leave. These are issues I have worked on for over a decade, but

they take on new meaning as I think about Mira’s generation and our children’s collective future.

As the first pregnant legislator in two decades, I lament that the perspective of young parents is underrepresented in the Legislature, though that is changing. I hope to be able to continue bringing in the voices of families struggling to make it all work and to help advance our most precious resource of all, our children.

From

Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale

Importance of putting family first becomes even clearer

COURTESY PHOTO

Senator Kesha Ram Hinsdale recently became the first legislator to give birth during the session in nearly 20 years.

Tucker, Fox News and fresh visions of Orwell’s ‘1984’

Guest Perspective

Walt Amses

The abrupt dismissal of Tucker Carlson by Fox News shouldn’t be at all shocking, considering how very few employees get away with calling their bosses vile names including the C-word, which was evidently as common in the original fake newsroom as were decades of carefully concocted fabrication.

What is shocking though, not to mention disgraceful, is what Carlson wasn’t fired for — what he’d gotten away with for years and how it so neatly fell into the cable giant’s objective: making America safe for armed, white, heterosexual evangelicals.

through the Dominion voting systems’ lawsuit, in the battle between ratings and honesty, lies were the currency that financed what most believe was the network’s hold on viewers, but, in reality, it was the other way around.

Despite the FOX network stars swearing they’d not only lied but that they did so knowingly, 63 percent of Republicans still believe the election was stolen.

The corporation —- aptly dubbed “Bullshit Mountain” by John Stewart — was built on propaganda that viewers bought hook, line and sinker. With the emergence of POTUS emeritus’s disdain for truth, a new political reality took hold, where veracity was suddenly a thing of the past and careful examination of issues, party platforms, candidates or ethics gave way to vulgar punch lines and rhetorical thuggery.

texted: “It needs to stop immediately, like tonight. It’s measurably hurting the company. The stock price is down.”

CEO Suzanne Scott wrote to Fox executive Lachlan Murdoch of “letting the viewers know we hear them and respect them” via providing more stolen election content. Suggesting in another text that this “respect” was not contingent upon agreement with what said viewers believed.

Senior writer at Salon, Amanda Marcotte, stresses the abundantly obvious: most people believe “it’s nonsensical that you respect someone by lying to them,” going on to point out that’s not precisely what Fox is doing. “It makes sense if you realize they’re not trying to deceive, not really. It’s more like they’re collaborating with their viewers to prop up a narrative the viewers prefer, since they don’t care about the truth, only about winning at any cost, this is a matter of Fox News respecting their wishes.”

extreme paranoia and the toxic ignorance playing out in increasingly dangerous ways.

Fox News, with ample complicity with a power-mad Republican Party is reminiscent of George Orwell’s convoluted Ministry of Truth from “1984,” which manufactures lies in the service of power, considered the most valuable commodity in Oceania by erasing the truth and replacing it with whatever the party or Big Brother deems correct with those of the ministry defining the truth.

Newspeak, the language developed by the ministry, erodes English to the point it is essentially meaningless, rendering the population incapable of independent thought.

“The GOP has been exploiting and encouraging grievances, resentments and fears in its conservative base,” according to David Corn in Mother Jones.

propagandists pushing the false narrative day after day after day.

Despite the network stars swearing they’d not only lied but that they did so knowingly, 63 percent of Republicans still believe the election was stolen.

One less dirtbag spewing reality defying rhetoric on Fox will hardly make a difference. Whoever replaces Carlson will likely be worse, but the damage is already done. The monster is not only threatening its creator but holding the rest of America hostage too as the nation inches ever closer to combustion. With Republicans and red state governors laser focused on the culture wars and the “woke mind virus … a form of cultural Marxism that divides us,” a phrase void of meaning, we’ve gotten to the point where a knock on the door is catalyst enough to casually shoot someone.

Strident racism was Carlson’s calling card as he famously cultivated a puzzled look, beginning an abundance of queries with “is it possible?” Of course, nearly everything is, providing bogus perceptions of credibility, especially for the already indoctrinated who made up the bulk of his audience. As has been exposed these past few months, largely

The loyal audience became so steeped in self-serving lies that any deviation toward honesty — usually accidental on Fox’s part — engendered rage over perceived betrayal. Lies became what the viewers expected, the fact of which all the talking heads were well aware.

Learning a Fox reporter shared an actual fact about the 2020 election’s Big Lie on Twitter, Carlson

Coupled with the admission under oath that he, along with colleagues Sean Hannity and Laura Ingram, never believed the misinformation they were pushing about Joe Biden’s win being illegitimate, these revelations confirm what Fox critics have maintained for decades: the network’s more than 20 years of falsehoods are the driving force behind what is now a national epidemic of irrational fears,

“Fox has been doing the same thing for 26 years, presenting a steady stream of paranoia and conspiracy theories,” demonizing Democrats and those on the left as being out to destroy America with everything from death panels to a war on Christmas, critical race theory, antifa, open borders, replacement of white people, LGBTQ rights, a socialist-Muslim president and anything else to inspire rage and fear.

So, it isn’t surprising that fact-deprived Fox viewers who already believed the USA-despising, God-hating libs and their pedophile-commie president represented a threat to the republic were primed and ready to accept the defeated former president’s declarations that the election had been rigged against him, especially with their favorite

HINSDALE

continued from page 5

stop shooting guns while their baby was sleeping, weigh heavily on our psyches where the only crime committed by the victims was being in the wrong place at the wrong time in the vicinity of someone with unimpeded access to guns and the belief that they could use them with impunity.

For my newborn child’s safety and for all our children, let’s build a world where gun violence is a thing of the past. It may seem too hard or too low of an impact to do this, especially in our small state. But again, I would turn to the wisdom of my pediatrician’s office and the full quote from Dr. Seuss that there is no action or person too small to matter when

Thanks to Fox and the GOP, millions embrace misinformation as though a birthright. Putin is heroic, Fauci is a criminal; rainbow flags are indoctrination while the Ten Commandments in classrooms are not. What they don’t like, from the LGBTQ+ community, children’s books, Black history to drag shows, women’s rights, immigration and mail-in voting are all more dangerous than 400 million guns.

Orwell’s dystopian novel remains one of the most frequently banned books of all time and it’s no wonder. Written as a political satire depicting an authoritarian government’s impact on society, it served as a warning in 1949 — given the threat of far-right ideology — that we should take very seriously today.

Walt Amses is a Vermontbased writer.

it comes to saving lives.

Should I put this speck down? Horton thought with alarm. If I do, these small persons may come to great harm. I can’t put it down. And I won’t! After all a person’s a person. No matter how small.

Kesha Ram Hinsdale, a Democrat from Shelburne, serves the towns of South Burlington, Shelburne, Charlotte, Hinesburg, Milton, Burlington, St. George, Westford, Underhill, Jericho, Richmond, Winooski, Williston, Essex and Bolton in the Legislature.

Dorothy Anne Gray

Dorothy “Dotsy” Anne Gray, died peacefully on Tuesday, March 30, 2023, in the Brentwood Nursing Home of Yarmouth, Maine. She came in like a lion on April 15, 1928, (tax day) and went out like a lamb two weeks shy of her 95th birthday.

The only daughter of Anne Marie McLaughlin (Annie) and William (Willie) Caraccio, Dotsy was born and raised on the Upper West Side of New York City. An only child with a full-time working mother, she was schooled by the nuns and spent her youth accompanying them after school in an era when nuns were not allowed out in public without an escort. The school uniform was skirts and knee socks — freezing in winter but good preparation for the life that lay ahead.

Always a lover of uniforms, Dotsy forsook the nun’s habit for a nurse’s cap and apron that set off her dark Italian hair and big blue Irish eyes. After graduating from the Roosevelt Nursing School, she worked at the Roosevelt Hospital as the head nurse on a private ward. She said you could recog-

nize the Roosevelt nurses; they were the ones walking down the hall putting on lipstick without a mirror. Dotsy’s was pink until the day she died.

She looked so good in her uniform that she became the poster child for the hospital and kept a newspaper clipping with an iconic photo sitting on a ladder in her white, pressed uniform holding the Hope diamond.

Her favorite patient wrote the lyrics for many of the Broadway musicals she loved, but her favorite story was about the patient who pulled a gun from a policeman’s holster and used it to attempt an escape. Dotsy’s pink lipstick was later credited as one of the tactics used to reclaim the gun without injury.

Dotsy met her husband, Dr. David Henry Gray of New Canaan, Conn., at the Roosevelt Hospital, where he was interning. Life was about to change.

The couple left New York to eventually settle in Burlington on Lake Champlain. Four ravishing daughters soon followed, much to David’s dismay but to Dotsy’s delight. There they fell in love with Morgan horses and built Ledgemere, a breeding farm on 350 acres in Shelburne. At its peak, Ledgemere had 25 horses, 100 head of angus, four pigs, 12 German shepherds (raised for seeing-eye dogs), two golden retrievers, nine chickens and a revolving-door of barn cats. Dotsy retained a life-long love for animals — her dogs above all.

Dotsy and Dave eventually bought a summer home in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, moved their sailboat from Lake Champlain, and spent many happy summers in the Boothbay community and out

Obituaries

on the ocean. When the farmhands (four daughters) left home, the couple sold the farm and moved to their favorite town in Vermont — Stowe — where they spent their twilight years skiing and winning free donuts at their favorite coffee shop through Dotsy’s talent for trivial pursuits. They loved their Stowe and Boothbay friends and neighbors.

Dotsy was loving, cheerful, steady, stylish, smart, beautiful and the heart of the family. She was a product of a generation that is no more and one of the last to go. She will be missed and forever loved.

She is survived by four daughters and seven grandchildren, with a great grandchild on the way. Dotsy will be cremated and interred with David in the Riverbank Cemetery in Stowe to continue enjoying a magnificent view of their beloved Mount Mansfield. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the North County Animal League in Morristown.

Karen Lamothe

Karen Lamothe, 70, of Swanton, died on Saturday, April 29, 2023.

A treasured member of her community, she will be deeply missed by all who knew her. She touched countless lives with her kindness, humor and unwavering love.

Karen was a hard worker all her life and had a successful career as a paralegal. She made many lifelong friends and was well known in her area of expertise. She brought joy and positivity to the office and was able to help create a fun environment in

which to work.

Karen grew up in Shelburne. Her favorite place to spend the warm months was on Butler Island. She created many delicious meals there and loved everything that had to do with Lake Champlain — kayaking, sailing, swimming, water skiing, swimming, boating, you name it.

Karen’s talent as a musician was truly remarkable. She had a gift for playing the piano, accordion and dabbled in the guitar. Her performances always captured the hearts of her audience. Her love of music was contagious.

In addition to her musical talents, Karen was also known for her green thumb. She had a natural ability to grow beautiful flowers and delicious fruits and vegetables, and she loved nothing more than sharing her bounty with friends and family.

Karen’s dedication to physical fitness was just as impressive as her other talents. She ran several marathons and was known for her endurance in even the toughest conditions. Her commitment to healthy living was an inspiration to all who knew her.

Of all her accomplishments, however, her role as a loving mother and grandmother was perhaps the most important. She adored her children and grandchildren, and nothing made her happier than spending time with them. Her legacy of love and devotion to family will live on through her loved ones for generations to come.

Karen was a shining example of what it means to live life to the fullest. Her positive energy and unbridled enthusiasm for life will be deeply missed, but her memory will live on in the hearts of those

who knew her.

She is survived by her husband; her children, a son and his family, Christin A. Ripley and partner, Josh Jackson and Bodhi of Crested Butte, Colo., and Jessica C. Ruschp and husband, Andrew and granddaughter Maizie of Stowe; Bryan C. Ripley of Elmore, the father of her three children; her mother, Joan Wooster of Shelburne; and her brother Craig Wooster and family of Shelburne.

She is also survived by her godmother, Mary Lou Colman of Miami, Fla.; uncle, Neil Gervais and family of Monkton; AUNT Noreen Miro and family Florida; and by Jamie Wooster and family of Fairfax, Tim Wooster and family of Jericho, and Sara Wooster and partner of Milton.

She was predeceased by her father, Harry Wooster; brother, Kevin Wooster; grandparents, Mary and Harry Wooster Sr. and Harry and Thelma Gervais; as well as several aunts and uncles. In lieu of flowers please send donations to McClure Miller Respite House. A private service will be held to celebrate Karen’s life.

Karen Lamothe

Dorothy Anne Gray

News from Charlotte Library

Mystery book group

Monday, May 15, 10-11 a.m.

“Fortune Favors the Dead” by Stephen Spotswood.

Opera discussion: ‘Cav & Pag’

Tuesday, May 16, 1-2 p.m.

The discussion of “Cavalleria Rusticana” by Pietro Mascagni and “Pagliacci” by Ruggero Leoncavallo will include video excerpts of both operas showing how the music and drama combined to draw upon the literature of Italian verismo.

Presented by Toni Hill of the Chittenden County Opera Lovers. Registration recommended. Sign up at bit.ly/40VFins.

Men’s book discussion

Wednesday, May 17, 7:30-9 p.m.

Creating an edible landscape

Thursday, May 18, 7-8 p.m.

Learn about creating edible hedges, edible beds, foundation

Story slam

planting or forest gardens. Join online or in person with Dani Baker.

Book group: ‘Speckled Beauty’

Thursday, May 25, 7:30-9 p.m.

Speck is a terrible boy, a defiant, self-destructive, often malodorous, a grave robber and screen-door moocher who spends his days playing chicken with the FedEx man, picking fights with 1,000-pound livestock and rolling in donkey manure. Then Speck arrives in Rick’s life as he faces a cancer diagnosis and uncertain future.

Kids

Preschool storytime

Tuesdays in May, 10-11 a.m. Preschool stories, crafts and activities. Ages 2 and up.

Preschool free play

Wednesdays in May, 10-11 a.m.

Kids explore the sensory table, sorting, playing with blocks, play dough and more. Ages 3 and 4.

Community Bankers – Chittenden County

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On Thursday, March 30, students and families from The Schoolhouse in South Burlington filled The Black Box Theater at Main Street Landing for an evening of storytelling and live music, the school’s first in-person theater production since 2020. Simó Wenschhof, 10, of Hinesburg, told a story about a series of unfortunate events at the Schoolhouse Story Slam. Every student wrote and edited a story as part of their writing curriculum, but not every student told their story on stage. Instead, some helped with running the show — lights, slideshows, and sound.

Step right up for plants, pies

The United Church of Hinesburg’s plant sale tradition continues with its in-person sale on Saturday, May 13, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Brighten up your gardens with annuals. Old and new favorites in 4-inch pots and six-packs in a variety of colors will be for sale at competitive prices. The annuals are sourced from Paquette Full of Posies Nursery in Williston.

If you missed the online sale of locally grown perennials last month — or if you want more — a selection of perennial plants will also be available.

New this year and just in time for Mother’s Day are homemade pies.

Contact the United Church at 802-482-3352 or unitedchurch@ gmavt.net with questions.

Emergency animal sheltering training

Have you ever been interested in becoming an emergency responder for animals when natu-

Community Notes

ral or man-made disasters strike?

The Chittenden County Disaster Animal Response Team will be holding a free training on Sunday, May 21, for interested volunteers on emergency animal sheltering at the South Burlington Police Department. Email info@ vermontdart.org to register or for more information or go to bit. ly/44jJiBa to register.

Step right up: Rescue, fire services need you

Charlotte Volunteer Fire and Rescue Services is holding a recruitment open house on Saturday, May 13, 9 p.m.-1 p.m. at its headquarters at 170 Ferry Road in Charlotte.

Come learn about opportunities to serve the town’s rescue and fire squads.

Hinesburg Firefighters hold spring craft fair

Join the Hinesburg Firefighters Association for its spring craft fair, on Saturday, May 20, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Hinesburg Fire

Station.

The event includes local crafters as well as outside business consultants and many home-craft businesses. If you are interested in a space, contact dbarber7541@ gmail.com. Proceeds benefit The Hinesburg Firefighters Association.

Enjoy Age Well meals at Charlotte Senior Center

The Age Well meal pickup for Thursday, May 11, is from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Charlotte Senior Center and features lasagna roll-up with tomato marinara meat sauce, vegetable blend, wheat bread, strawberry cake and milk.

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

The meal on Thursday, May 18, features chicken breast with vegetable sweet-n-sour sauce, brown rice pilaf with veggies and cannellini beans, Brussels sprouts, wheat roll with butter, ricotta cookie and

COURTESY PHOTO

continued from page 8

milk.

The meal on Thursday, May 25, features roast beef with sauce, home fried potatoes with paprika, green beans with lentils, wheat bread with butter, pumpkin bar with raisins and milk.

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

Hinesburg is growing, be part of the conversation

Over the next few years, there are approved plans for Hinesburg to add more than 400 new housing units and 40,000 square feet of commercial and light industrial space.

As a member of the Hinesburg business community, this will impact you — more jobs, traffic, customers, potential employees living in the community and more opportunities for growth.

Learn how to get involved at the Hinesburg business community forum on Wednesday, May 17, 6 p.m. in the cafeteria at Champlain Valley Union High School.

RSVP and answer a few short questions at bit.ly/3AVnMVH.

Food and refreshments will be provided.

The forum is sponsored by the

Student Olympians compete in brainy, brawny challenges

Long an annual tradition, The Schoolhouse in South Burlington held its schoolwide Olympics March 24 and March 31. The two-day challenge was organized and led by the school’s middle schoolers, who had spent weeks brainstorming and designing all of the courses.

Students in kindergarten through fifth grade competed across 10 challenges to both brain and body, ranging from a traditional outdoor team relay race to a quirky newspaper costume building competition. Other activities included a brainy trivia challenge, a “puntastic” riddle extravaganza, building the tallest block tower, and a balloon bop where students

tried to keep a balloon in the air for as long as possible.

For Olympic medals, middle schoolers pruned branches from the school’s fruit orchard and cut them into medallions, which they engraved with a wood burning tool. Winners included teams from kindergarten through fifth grade, with sixth to eighth graders leading the events and serving as judges.

“One of my favorites was outside on the playground when we ran around and did a relay race,” said Hunter Mangan, 7, of Winooski. “One of my other favorites was when we built the Legos. I learned when we did Legos to be good partners with people.”

Hinesburg Economic Development Committee and the town of Hinesburg.

Go birding at Geprags Park

Come spend a morning with the Hinesburg Conservation Commission and Mark LaBarr of Audubon

Vermont and learn how to spot and identify shrubland birds, including golden-winged and blue-winged warblers, on Saturday, May 20, 9-11 a.m. Also, learn about the work

Local businesses and restaurants need your support more than ever. Whether you visit stores, get delivery or shop online, keep your spending local and keep your community healthy.

Newspapers are LOCAL. We are dedicated to keeping you informed, safe and connected and care about the issues that are important to our neighbors, our schools and our businesses.

Local businesses and restaurants need your support more than ever. Whether you visit stores, get delivery or shop online, keep your spending local and keep your community healthy.

When you support your local newspaper, you support your community.

Newspapers are LOCAL. We are dedicated to keeping you informed, safe and connected and care about the issues that are important to our neighbors, our schools and our businesses.

When you support your local newspaper, you support your community. SUPPORT

COURTESY PHOTO

Left: Elliott Doran, 9, of Hinesburg (right), and teammate model their outfits made from newspaper.

CVU girls’ teams secure victory across four sports

Girls’ lacrosse

Champlain Valley 18, Middlebury 3: Stella Dooley’s six-goal effort paced Champlain Valley in a win over Middlebury in girls lacrosse on Monday, May 8.

Dooley had six goals and two assists for the Redhawks, while Amelie Scharf added a hat trick. Emerson Rice (two assists) and Bibi Frechette each tallied twice, while Tess Everett, Carly Strobeck, Claire Marcoe, Maddy McDade and Rose Bunting all scored for CVU.

Rose Stackpole and Ava Medici combined to make six saves in goal for the Redhawks, who remain unbeaten at 7-0.

Softball

Champlain Valley 19, Mount Mansfield 2: The Champlain Valley softball team snapped a two-game losing streak with a win over Mount Mansfield on Monday.

The Redhawks scored nine runs in the fourth inning to pull away from the Cougars in the five-inning game.

Shelby Companion went 3-for-4 at the plate with a home run, two doubles and three RBIs. Amber Reagan added a home run, two RBIs and scored four runs, while Baylee Yandow and Lily Mincar each drove in two runs. Juliette Chant got the win in the circle after giving up on run on four hits. It was a rebound win for CVU, who fell to Essex 15-3 on May 5.

Baseball

Champlain Valley 6, Burr and Burton 5: Champlain Valley held off a rally from host Burr and Burton to grab a win on May 6 in high school baseball.

Stephen Rickert got the win for CVU after pitching five innings and giving up two runs on three hits, as well driving in a run at the plate.

Kyle Tivnan was 1-for-2 with a triple and an RBI, while Robbie Fragola drove in the two runs for the Redhawks (7-0).

CVU also got a win over Essex on May 5, scoring seven runs in the first inning to put the game away early.

Chris Robinson got the win, pitching five innings and giving no earned runs on three hits. Tivnan had three RBIs and scored two runs to pace the offense.

Boys’ Ultimate

Champlain Valley 15, Mount Mansfield 6: The Champlain Valley boys’ Ultimate team remained undefeated with a win over Mount Mansfield on May 5.

Victor Colon had four goals and Thomas Garavelli added four assists to pace the Redhawks (4-0) in the win.

Boys’ tennis

Stowe 6, Champlain Valley 1: Oscar Anderson got the lone win in singles for the Champlain Valley boys’ tennis team in a loss to Stowe on May 8. Anderson used a third set tiebreak to get the 6-4, 6-7, 10-6 win in No. 2 singles.

CVU also earned a win on May 5, beating Mount Mansfield 4-3.

Anderson, Nolan Sandahe and Fernando

Tejera each got a straight set win in singles. Ben Fina and Dash Tori combined to win in No. 2 doubles.

Girls’ Ultimate

Champlain Valley 11, South Burlington 9: The girls earned their third victory in a row, beating South Burlington on May 8. Grace Thompson led the way with six scores and two assists, while Ella Polli had two goals and two assists. Kaitlyn Jovell, Megan Rexford and Samara Ashood each added a goal and Stella Ewald dished out five assists.

With the win, CVU moved to 3-2.

Girls’ tennis

Champlain Valley 5, Mount Mansfield 2: Two doubles wins helped Champlain Valley beat Mount Mansfield in girls tennis

on May 5.

Stella McKay and Ella Lisle teamed up for one doubles win, while Maya Vander Els and Sage Kehr captured the other.

Tabitha Bastress, Sage Peterson and Addie Maurer each got a win in singles for CVU, who move to 5-1.

Boys’ lacrosse

Champlain Valley 7, Mount Mansfield 0: Six different players scored for the Champlain Valley boys lacrosse team as they got the win over Mount Mansfield on May 5.

Max Brumsted had two goals for CVU, who moved to 7-0. Peter Gilliam, Max Destito, Brian Rutherford, Ray Hagios and Charlie Buchwald each added a goal.

Harper Anderson and Tristyn Beliveau combined to make five saves and earn the shutout.

PHOTO BY AL FREY

Amelie Scharf scores

goal during the Redhawks’

win over the Middlebury Tigers on May 8 in Hinesburg.

Vermont’s annual trophy trout stocking is now underway

Vermont’s trophy trout stocking program this year includes nine river sections and 37 lakes and ponds receiving the 2-year-old trout, some over 18 inches long.

“The program provides exciting fishing opportunities for anglers of all ages and skill levels,” Vermont’s director of fisheries Eric Palmer said. “Trophy rainbow and brown trout will be stocked in the Black, Winooski, Lamoille, Missisquoi, Walloomsac and Passumpsic Rivers as well as East and Otter creeks. Trophy brook trout will be stocked into the Deerfield River. Large 2-year-old brookies and rainbows will also be stocked in many lakes and ponds.”

Trout harvest season opened this year on April 8 and will continue through Oct. 31. There is no length limit, and the daily creel limit is two trout for the trophy trout stream sections listed below.

Lake and pond stocking began in April as ice cleared while river stocking began at the start of May and will continue through the month. Anglers can check Vermont Fish and Wildlife’s website (vtfis-

COMMUNITY NOTES

continued from page 9

done in Geprags Park to restore habitat for these birds and what you can do on your own property to create better habitat for these important species. This event is free but donations to Audubon Vermont are welcome.

Knights of Columbus host pancake breakfast

Join the Knights of Columbus DeGosbriand Council #279 on Sunday, May 14, for a Mother’s Day breakfast, 9-11:30 a.m., in the parish center of St. Joseph’s Cathedral, 29 Allen St., Burlington.

The cost is $10. More at stjosephcathedralvt.org.

Hinesburg Fire holds recruitment open house

The Hinesburg Fire Department is recruiting new members for paid on-call positions, and is inviting those interested to an open house on Saturday, May 13, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

Hinesburg operates as an all-hazards department, responding to fires, medical emergencies, hazmat incidents, technical rescues, car accidents, water rescues and more. Stop by the open house and chat with staff to learn about the department and pick up an application.

handwildlife.com) to see the stocking that has occurred and see the lakes and ponds that are being stocked with trophy trout.

• Black River along Route 131 in Weathersfield and Cavendish, from Downers covered bridge upstream, approximately 4 miles, to the next bridge across the river, the Howard Hill Bridge.

• Deerfield River in Searsburg from the downstream edge of the East Branch Trailhead Bridge upstream 4 miles to the downstream edge of the bridge on Somerset Road near junction with Forest Road 71.

• East Creek in Rutland City from the confluence with Otter Creek upstream, approximately 2.7 miles, to the top of the Patch Dam in Rutland City.

• Lamoille River from the downstream edge of the bridge on Route 104 in the village of Fairfax upstream, approximately 1.6 miles, to the top of the Fairfax Falls Dam in Fairfax.

• Otter Creek in Danby and Mt. Tabor from the Vermont Railway Bridge north of the fishing access

VTrans provides more than $4 million in grants

The Vermont Agency of Transportation has handed out $4 million in federal funds for municipal grant projects through its Transportation Alternatives Program.

“These projects will enhance and expand the state’s transportation infrastructure,” transportation secretary Joe Flynn said. “Improvements to sidewalks, bike paths and shared-use paths provide Vermonters more transportation options and improve their quality of life.”

Selected projects this year include Hinesburg’s relocation of a sidewalk on the intersection of Route 116 and Charlotte Road in Hinesburg.

Aurora Chamber Singers offer spring concert

Aurora Chamber Singers presents their spring concert, “All Generations Will Call Me Blessed,” music composed in honor of Mary, mother of Jesus, on Saturday, May 13, at 7:30 p.m., at the College Street Congregational Church in Burlington.

The program includes ancient, mediaeval and modern chant, works by Brahms, Bruckner,

upstream, approximately 2 miles, to the Danby-Mt. Tabor Forest Road Bridge (Forest Road #10).

• Missisquoi River in Enosburg and Sheldon from the downstream edge of Kane Road (TH-3) bridge upstream, approximately 5.7 miles, to the top of the Enosburg Falls Dam in Enosburg Falls.

• Passumpsic River in St. Johnsbury, from the top of the Gage Dam upstream to the top of the Arnold Falls Dam. This section includes the Moose River from its confluence with the Passumpsic River upstream to the Concord Avenue bridge.

• Walloomsac River from the Vermont-New York border in Bennington upstream to the top of the former Vermont Tissue Plant Dam (downstream of Murphy Road) in Bennington.

• Winooski River in Duxbury and Waterbury from the top of Bolton Dam upstream to the Route 2 Bridge east of Waterbury Village. This section includes the Little River from its confluence with the Winooski River upstream to the Route 2 bridge.

Vaughn Williams, Górecki and Rachmaninoff, and a new cantata by music director David Neiweem. Tickets at aurorachambersingers.org.

May features programs at Charlotte Senior Center

• Month-long photographic exhibit by David Pearson, a collection of scenic and wildlife photography. Pearson’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.”

• Friday, May 12, 11 a.m. — women’s kayak trips planning meeting. RSVP Susan Hyde at susanfosterhyde@gmail.com if you are interested in leading or finding out more about becoming a leader. There’s also a new paddling group forming open to all skill levels. Interested in finding out more? Contact Dean Tuininga at dean.tuininga@gmail.com.

• Tuesday, May 16, 1 p.m. — opera discussion of “Cavalleria Rusticana” by Pietro Mascagni and “Pagliacci” by Ruggero Leoncavallo presented by Toni Hill of the Chittenden County Opera Lovers.

The discussion will include video excerpts of both operas

showing how the music and drama combined to draw upon the literature of Italian verismo, an offshoot of the Balzac school of realism.

Co-sponsored with The Charlotte Library. Registration recommended.

• Wednesday, May 24, 3-5 p.m.

— Senior Resource Fair. Learn about all the great resources available to seniors in the community.

So far, over 20 local organizations have registered to attend.

• Saturday, May 27, 9 a.m.noon. — annual plant sale. Stock up on a great selection of annuals and perennials at great prices.

• Wednesday, May 31, 9 a.m. — birding expedition with Hank Kaestner. Group size is limited to 20 participants. Free, registration required.

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PHOTO BY JOHN HALL

Trophy trout like these are being stocked this spring in eight Vermont river sections and 25 lakes and ponds.

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CANNABIS continued from page 1

ing residents’ anger and the future need for arbitration between the two parties.

A nearby neighbor, Andrew Hale, told the Cannabis Control Board on Nov. 4, “There are grow lights on all night.”

“They are growing cannabis in an approximately 2,700 square foot greenhouse without any local permitting, claiming the cannabis operation is (less than) 1,000 square feet and so not subject to local regulation,” he wrote in an email obtained through a public records request. “Through the door and window of the greenhouse, easily visible from the nearby public road and adjacent properties, it is easy to see green plants throughout the (approximately) 2,700 square foot greenhouse. There is cause to believe the size of the operation is greater than the 1,000 square feet licensed, and that the operator does, in fact, need local permitting, which they don’t have.”

This email was followed up by more email complaints on Nov. 11 and Nov. 17 citing the same issues, “(The lights) were on deep into the night (and sometimes all night) up until about one week ago, now they go off in the evening between about 6:45 p.m. and 7:30 p.m,” Hale wrote, including a photo of Stern’s grow operation with lights on at 5:40 p.m. — before the time when Stern had previously agreed to have the lights off each night.

“I can tell you everybody else’s lights were still on (at 6 p.m.),” Stern said. “Nobody was asleep.”

Another neighbor, Jen Banbury, said that although she is “in favor of cannabis legalization, Vermont is blessed with an abundance of open spaces. There is no reason to have cannabis cultivation in the midst of a residential neighborhood. It would be to the benefit of residents and growers to operate in places where there will be no conflict.”

Communications and Outr each Coor dinator

City of South Burlington, Vermont

OUR MUNICIPALITY

South Burlington is home to over 20,000 residents and lies at the heart of Chittenden County, Vermont. The second largest city in the state, South Burlington is comprised of five districts rich with residential, economic, and recreation vitality. More than 170 employees of the municipality serve the community to make it one of the best places to live, work, and visit. Governed by a City Council of five citizens and operated under the direction of a City Manager, the FY23 operating budget is $52.5 M. South Burlington is a growing community with a commitment to building a vibrant downtown – City Center –and providing exceptional municipal services.

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Review of applications will begin April 24, 2023.

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Apply Today – To apply today, please send a City employment application form, confidential cover letter, resume, and three references to:

US MAIL: Daisy Brayton, HR Director, 180 Market St., South Burlington, VT 05403

EMAIL: sbcityjobs@southburlingtonvt.gov with “Communications and Outreach Coordinator” in the subject line

State rulings

Following the influx of complaints from neighbors and town officials, the state conducted a full investigation and site visit of Stern’s grow operation and determined the operation was complying with all necessary regulations, including lighting.

According to the state-ruled definitions, “indoor cultivation” is determined as growing cannabis using artificial lighting whereas “outdoor cultivation” describes growing cannabis in an expanse of open or cleared ground or in a structure that does not use artificial lighting and is not a greenhouse.

“Taking each of the town’s specific complaints in turn, the state found that the licensee’s light use complied with the rules because the light use did not substitute natural light to grow the plants for market use. The state found the licensee’s operation within the 1,000-squarefoot limitation, and within the 125-plant cap because the operation was beneath both standards. The state found the licensee’s hoop house complied with the rules because the hoop house does not control the complete environment for cultivation,” said the notification sent to town officials and residents, Andrew Hale, Jen Banbury and Jeff Beerworth on Nov. 16.

The state also found the use of a hoop house structure compliant because the structure did not substitute for the plants’ natural environment and the heater inside the structure was an insufficient substitute for sunlight and only used to prevent plant death during overnight frost.

“The State found the licensee’s lighting use compliant with its rules because the lighting was insufficient to ‘flower’ their plants. Plants require a critical amount of energy before they can produce further organ structures beyond their leaves,” reads the document. “Here, the licensee has a lighting system installed that is supplemental and not a substitute for natural sunlight because there are too few lighting devices installed in their hoop house. There are too few lighting devices because a grower would need one lighting device for every two plants’ energy needs to flower.”

In response to the state’s findings, Bloch told the Cannabis Control Board that, “we do not agree with your assessment of the lighting at the site.” Bloch visited the grow site a few days later and took “two photos on Monday, Nov. 14 at about 5:30 p.m.” that show grow lights on, he wrote in the email. “It would be helpful to know if such lighting is allowed under Tier 1 licensure. It’s hard to

CANNABIS

continued from page 12

imagine that such lighting is for anything other than to bolster the crop.”

Arbitration

The state ultimately recommended formal mediation between the two parties by an outside source, Vermont Agriculture Mediation Program. Although exact details of the mediation efforts are protected under a non-disclosure agreement, Stern said no solution was ever reached.

“Before we went and entered into arbitration when this whole thing started, I offered to move, (Hale) wanted me to move, and I said, ‘Look, I’m happy to move but you’re going to have to help me do that,’ ” said Stern. “And (Hale) said, ‘I’ll help you. But you’re going to have to guarantee that no other cannabis gets on that land.’ How can I do that? I don’t own the land. I can guarantee I can leave, but I can’t guarantee that no other cannabis gets on the land.”

Stern said he didn’t receive any official offer, but a resident dislosed that residents were willing to pay a large sum of money for the operation to move, but only under the agreement that future cannabis operations would not be allowed on the property.

Hale and other neighbors declined to comment regarding the mediation or his neighbor’s cannabis operation.

Existential threat

Stern said that the problems that neighbors and town officials presented to the state were nothing more than a way to mask an under-

lying “existential” and moral issue with cannabis cultivation.

“The issue is that we exist — just to be very clear — the issue is we exist. So, anything that is somewhat problematic has become a, ‘We’ll attack that, or we’ll attack this,’” said Stern. “It’s been everything, not just lights, but everything that we do has come under question. The state has come out and inspected us multiple times, and every time we pass because we’re following the regs.”

In addition to the lighting and nuisance issues, residents express some fear surrounding safety with pot growing on their street.

“I cannot imagine playing with my daughter in our front yard, a literal stone’s throw from a commercial-scale marijuana grow site, with her exposed to the smells. Never mind the potential for crime in the area,” said Hale in an email to former state senator, Thomas Chittenden.

Hale, in the same email, said, “I appreciate a local (cannabis control) board cannot ban cannabis entirely within a municipality, but would these interventions be able to shut down a specific operation within the municipality if it was outside of compliance with a future such group or regulations?”

Banbury echoed some of the same concerns, “The lighting was a big issue specifically for closer

neighbors. The safety element feels like an issue. It kind of does feel a bit like having a high-end liquor store with canvas sides in your neighborhood.”

“For me, it’s become an issue that is bigger than just addressing the (Red Clover Canopies) operation, but rather, can the town protect residents in general from this situation happening again in the future since the Cannabis Control Board is not in the business of being helpful to residents in any way,” Banbury said.

At a public hearing regarding

act as home schools? I believe that a 500-foot buffer should apply to residences.”

Hale agreed. “I certainly support the decriminalization of cannabis in the state, and I think there’s a way to do this that won’t be hugely impactful on other people.”

Stern responded, “Dude, this is legal now. It’s not just about decriminalization, you need to get on board with the fact that it’s legal.”

Stern has since decided to pull his application for a Tier 2 permit and is instead sticking solely to his permitted Tier 1 license because, with Act 158, there is a level of protection from municipal oversight.

— Andrew Hale

the town’s adoption of cannabis-related land use regulations, both Banbury and Hale encouraged the town to implement stricter regulations, including increasing the proposed 200-foot buffer from cultivators’ property lines to a 500-foot buffer.

“I believe in the adage, ‘Good fences make good neighbors,’ and, with cannabis, a fence means distance,” Banbury said. “That’s the main way to protect neighbors from odors and other negative fallout. The state, itself, requires a 500-foot buffer for schools. What about homes with school-aged children? What about residents that

When Stern informed the planning and zoning office of his decision to rescind his application for a Tier 2 operation, town planner Larry Lewack said, “As I think you know, the town did not agree with or accept the Cannabis Control Board’s written findings last year regarding your business’s compliance with the terms of your Tier 1 license. And we continue to have concerns about your compliance with the Charlotte (land use regulation) performance standards for odor emissions and light spills outside the property boundary, if your planned 2023 operations will continue unchanged from last year.”

In response, a state Cannabis Control Board licensing agent, Raynald Carre, told Stern in an email, “As a reminder, the Town’s feelings about our rules interpretation are irrelevant.”

Although no official land use regulations have yet been approved in Charlotte, because the town formed a local cannabis control commission last year, Lewack emphasized, “(Stern) will need an affirmative local license decision from the Local Cannabis Control Commission in order to obtain final approval for (his) Tier 1 state license renewal for 2023. It’s my understanding that the selectboard, acting as the local control commission, will not act upon (his) application without feedback from this office on (his) compliance with the underlying land use regulations standards.”

Stern said he never got into cannabis cultivation to make anybody angry.

“Running into some of these (issues), it’s helped me see the truth that if you take a look at the perspective that’s been spun around cannabis, like ‘reefer madness’ and all that stuff that started in the ’30s — a very racially motivated, non-scientific view of what cannabis does to people — and then you hear from the mouths of the of the citizens who are supposedly educated, just trolling off a bunch of fabricated nonsense, quite frankly, first you want to go, ‘Well, let me explain.’ But then there’s no intelligent conversation it’s just this constant (refrain): ‘We don’t want you here, we don’t want you here.’”

“I cannot imagine playing with my daughter in our front yard, a literal stone’s throw from a commercial scale marijuana grow site, with her exposed to the smells. Never mind the potential for crime in the area.”

RABIES BAIT

continued from page 2

The week-long bait drop is a cooperative effort between Vermont and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services to stop the spread of the potentially fatal disease.

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

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

Rabies is a deadly viral disease of the brain that infects mammals. It is most often seen in raccoons, skunks, foxes, and bats, but unvaccinated pets and livestock can also get rabies.The virus is spread through the bite of an infected animal or contact with its

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

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ARIES

March 21 - April 20

Aries, pay attention to the smaller details, as those are the ones most often ignored. You’ll be highly regarded if you pinpoint any errors in a timely manner.

TAURUS

April 21 - May 21

Work to the best of your ability, Taurus. Focus on your own work and serve as a source of encouragement to those around you who may be experiencing some dif culties.

GEMINI

May 22 - June 21

A loved one may be hinting at a few things he or she wants to do with you, Gemini. Find the time to make these things happen. Let loose and have fun.

CANCER

June 22 - July 22

It could be tempting to hole up in a bookstore or a coffee shop for hours in the days ahead, Cancer. However, avoiding certain issues is not the way to go. Confront them head on.

LEO

July 23 - Aug. 23

Leo, if you are going to leap, do so with both eyes open; otherwise, you may miss some of the dangers along the way. Always take the bigger picture into consideration.

VIRGO

Aug. 24 - Sept. 22

Virgo, accept that you may be different from most of the people with whom you associate, and that is perfectly ne. What makes you unique is what others like about you.

LIBRA

Sept. 23 - Oct. 23

Libra, explore all possibilities at work rather than pigeonholing yourself into one role. How will you know what things are like if you don’t try stuff out?

SCORPIO

Oct. 24 - Nov. 22

You may need to roll with the punches this week, Scorpio. Things are coming at you at a record pace and it could take a lot of effort to keep up. Learn and adapt as you go.

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

Sagittarius, even though you have been faced with a number of challenges lately, you have managed to come through with your head held high. Keep up the progress.

CAPRICORN

Dec. 22 - Jan. 20

There’s not much that will bother you this week, Capricorn. It seems you have all of your ducks in a row. Enjoy this good fortune while it lasts.

AQUARIUS

Jan. 21 - Feb. 18

Remarkable opportunities are coming your way, Aquarius. All you need to do is sit back and wait for them to start. There is no need to do much legwork in this situation.

PISCES

Feb. 19 - March 20

Big changes can sometimes be scary, Pisces. But change is just what you need to do right now to spice things up.

CLUES ACROSS

1. Midway between south and southeast

4. Fathers

9. Wine grape

14. Al Bundy’s wife

15. Organic compound

16. Venezuelan state

17. Interest term

18. Experts

20. Central cores of stems

22. Smooth and glossy

23. One-time S. Korean city

24. One from Damascus

28. Short message at the end of an email

29. It cools your home

30. Oh, God!

31. Intestinal pouches

33. Men

37. Popular English soccer team (abbr.)

38. Former CIA

39. Arrange in steps

41. A baglike structure in a plant or animal

42. The Great Lake State

43. Dog-__: to mark a page

44. Stop moving

46. Ancient Dead Sea region

49. Of I

50. Clerical vestment

51. Songs sung to a lover

55. Charges

58. Popular design program manufacturer

59. Where to park a boat

60. One who values reason

64. Slang for cigarette

65. Sailboats

66. Actress Zellweger

67. Screen material

68. Country music legend Haggard

69. Puts together in time

70. When you hope to arrive

CLUES DOWN

1. An involuntary and abnormal muscular contraction

2. Philly’s rail service

3. Leaves a place

4. No longer be a part in

5. Guitar players use them

6. Cease to exist

7. General’s assistant (abbr.)

8. Shaking of the earth

9. Strong winds

10. For each one

11. A bog

12. The creation of beautiful or signi cant things

ANSWERS

13. Af rmative

19. Pie _ __ mode

21. Nonclerical

24. Inspirational football player Hamlin

25. Learning environment

26. Khoikhoi peoples

27. Bring out or develop

31. Shows up

32. Theatrical device

34. Loads

35. Popular Hollywood alien

36. Distinguishes

40. College dorm worker

41. Secondary or explanatory title

45. Resembling wings

47. One who delivers a speech

48. In the middle

52. Loop with a running knot

53. Airborne (abbr.)

Beloveds

Ordain

Breed of small cattle

Very small period of time (abbr.)

__ 62. Longtime ESPN anchor Bob

Towns should establish ash borer strategies, says extension system

GINGER NICKERSON UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT EXTENSION

The week of May 22-28 has been designated National Emerald Ash Borer Awareness Week to help increase public awareness of this tree-killing beetle and the damage it can cause to all species of native ash trees within the Fraxinus genus.

The emerald ash borer, a native of southeast Asia, was first detected in Michigan in 2002. It was initially confirmed in Vermont in 2018 in Orange County and has now been confirmed in all counties except Essex County.

We have learned from municipalities in the Midwest that have been dealing with the emerald ash borer for two decades, that the more time a town or city has to plan for the removal or treatment of ash trees on municipally managed lands, the better they are able to manage the impact of the borer.

Towns may choose to treat some public ash trees with pesticides, which is costly, but may be the only viable option to save a tree. However, this must be done before the beetle is well-established in the tree. If not treated, ash trees will die and potentially create a hazard along roads and other public areas.

Once an adult beetle starts laying eggs in an ash tree, it can take 3-5 years for enough larvae to build up under the bark for the tree

to start showing symptoms. Because of this, the emerald ash borer can be hidden in plain sight and ash trees in an area with confirmed infestations may still look fine.

It can take up to 10 years from when the borer first arrives in an area before ash trees begin dying off at a large or landscape scale. That is why communities throughout Vermont should start planning now for how they will deal with ash trees on municipal lands.

The first step for any municipality to establish an ash management strategy is to inventory the ash trees on municipal lands. This includes shade trees on streets, parking lots and green spaces, town forests and municipal rights-of-way. Inventories can range from simple paper-based tally sheets to using GIS software to create digitized maps.

The Vermont Urban and Community Forestry Program provides resources and direct technical assistance to design and conduct ash inventories. Its website, bit. ly/44m5o6b, has many resources including templates for writing ash management plans, tools to calculate the costs of different management scenarios, case studies from other municipalities and examples of documents, such as letters to residents and contracts with tree removal companies.

Recommendations can be found at bit. ly/446CBST.

Champlain Valley School District is offering publicly funded prekindergarten (PreK) for children between the ages of 3* and 5 who reside in the towns of: Charlotte, Hinesburg, Shelburne, St. George and Williston Now Enrolling for the 2023-2024 School Year

*Children must be at least 3 years old on or before Sept. 1 2023 to qualify for PreK funding.

What is publicly funded prekindergarten education?

Publicly funded prekindergarten is defined as:

• Ten hours per week (for 35 weeks) of developmentally appropriate early learning experiences that is based on Vermont’s Early Learning Standards.

• Children who reside in Charlotte, Hinesburg, Shelburne, St. George and Williston and will be 3, 4 or 5 years old on or before September 1, 2023, and who are not attending kindergarten, are eligible for universal PreK funding from CVSD. Funding is limited to 35 weeks during the academic school year (September 2023 - June 2024).

• Publicly-funded PreK services can be found in schools and qualified communitybased programs (homes and centers).

• The state tuition rate paid to community-based private PreK providers on behalf of CVSD children attending prekindergarten during the 2023-2024 school year is $3,764.

How do I apply?

• The full registration packet is available on CVSD’s website at: https://tinyurl.com/c33rbswe

• You will need to enroll your child with the private pre-qualified prekindergarten program and register directly with the school district for Act 166 funding.

For additional information about publicly funded prekindergarten or if you have any concerns about your child’s development, please visit the CVSD website or contact Erin Gagne at egagne@cvsdvt.org. Our Early Education team provides developmental screenings in the areas of communication, social-emotional development, motor skills, adaptive development, and cognition.

If you have questions about the CVSD Act 166 registration process contact Suzanne Curtis at scurtis@cvsdvt.org or 802-985-1903.

RENOVATIONS

continued from page 1

in town.

“What I would suggest is that we pause for a little bit on the fire station and the town hall until we have a much clearer picture of what the town’s financial obligations will be for the treatment facility, because I think that could significantly impact the towns borrowing capacity and possibly chew it all up, so that these two projects are moot for a little bit,” he said.

The three bids received last month to build a new wastewater treatment facility on Lagoon Road each topped $15 million, leaving town officials unsure how to proceed. Voters in 2020 approved borrowing funds for the facility but only approved up to $11.7 million.

“I got to be honest, that wastewater thing threw me into such sticker shock that I can barely focus on this,” selectboard member Paul Lamberson said.

The selectboard will discuss financing for the wastewater project at its next meeting.

In April last year, the town authorized nearly $50,000 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.

The company came back with several options for each: renovating the existing fire station or buying a new lot and building on that. Town hall, meanwhile, could be restored to address immediate issues, or completely renovated to include more than 12,000 feet of new construction.

Minimal repairs to the town hall would cost $3.4 million, while an addition would cost $6 million; the fire station, meanwhile, would cost at least $9 million.

The roof of the town hall, built in 1901, began to fail in late 2021, effectively shutting down use of the building’s main hall. There has been no structural work on the building for at least 30 years.

Preliminary work has since stabilized the roof, Odit said at the meeting, and he suggested circling back with the engineers to see what the cost of additional stand-in work would be “so that we could at least possibly regain use of that room.”

“The facility still has shortcomings, the fire station obviously has shortcomings as well, but I’m very nervous about the cost of the wastewater treatment facility project, and as much as I’d like to see these projects done ... I just think the change in the wastewater treatment facility project has really changed everything,” Odit said. “Our borrowing capacity is not unlimited and the ability of our taxpayers to pay on these projects isn’t unlimited.”

Selectboard members seemed unanimous in their agreement but noted that the projects were still necessary for the town.

“I think we’d be met with mud balls, and I don’t know what else, if we were to try and present these,” selectboard member Maggie Gordon said.

“Someday we’re going to need this,” selectboard member Dennis Place said. “It is frustrating, but we cannot afford it right now.”

The list of expensive capital improvement costs comes as the town is seeing less than expected non-tax revenues compared to last year. The town’s fiscal year 2024 budget was passed in March with little spending increases as the town tries to keep expenses stable.

More than 80 percent of the town’s revenue is generated from property taxes. Town officials hope to inject some new revenue into the budget via a local option tax, which will soon be reviewed via a town charter committee.

Still, major improvements are needed to town buildings. The fire station’s tin roof is 20 years old, and is leaking in several spots, Hinesburg Fire Chief Nick Baker said.

“I’m a taxpayer in town. I don’t want my taxes to go up, and I agree with what Todd’s saying, but at the same time it’s very frustrating,” Baker said. “We’ve been talking about a fire station for 12 years, and I understand it’s the financially responsible thing to do to pause this project, but to lose sight of these projects for another 12 years, that would be very inappropriate for us to do for the community. There are significant improvements we have to make to the fire station coming up.”

PHOTO BY STEPHEN AUSMUS

The emerald ash borer, which has been confirmed in 13 Vermont counties, is an invasive pest that infests and kills trees of several native ash tree species.