The Citizen - 8-10-23

Opponents seek stricter rules from officials

Morril takes the stage

Light show Comedian hopes to break bad luck streak

Sam Morril, admittedly, hasn’t had the best luck in Vermont.

Last time he tried to get here he missed his flight and had to cancel his gig at the Vermont Comedy Club in Burlington, and in 2019, he had wrapped up his show at the club and he and some other local comics were out at Vermont Pub & Brewery when he had a pint glass broken over his head.

It’s a story he’s recounted on podcasts and from clips in his stand-up routine: Standing at the bar, a clearly drunk man approached him and asked cryptically whether he was with the University of Vermont, before saying he was going to “beat the sh*t” out of him.

Morril ignored him and turned around when the man proceeded to smash his glass into his head. He was fine, and the guy was later arrested by Burlington police.

It was a horrible incident that no sane person would want any part of. But for a stand-up comic, it was material — the type of stuff from which you make your living. He ended up riffing on the incident during his shows the following evening.

“That’s kind of the goal — is

See MORRIL on page 11

Hinesburg hires new highway foreman

COREY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER

Hinesburg has hired a new highway foreman five months after its longtime foreman abruptly resigned.

Rick Bushey previously worked for the town of Shelburne as a full-time mechanic who provided maintenance services for town-owned vehicles.

The town is still looking to fill its highway department roster and to fill a newly created public works director position.

Town manager Todd Odit said they have a candidate for the last general highway department opening, so it may be filled shortly.

“That’s good news heading into winter,” Odit said.

Michael Anthony, the town’s highway foreman since 1992, abruptly resigned just days before a winter storm left roads in Hinesburg and throughout the Champlain Valley covered in snow last winter. He had been with the highway department for 40 years, and the town garage was named after him when it opened in 2018.

In March, Anthony forwarded a 1,700-word email to town selectboard members saying he “could no longer work under the current management team” and had “had enough of the badgering and harassment, changes (to) how and when the highway department works, and now, on-call pay cut.”

Anthony appeared to object to several things, including a violation of a labor agreement between

PHOTO BY LEE KROHN

The sun, sometimes a rare visitor this summer, breaks through massive rain clouds over Lake Champlain.

COREY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER

Wake boat opponents urge officials to toughen proposed rules

AUDITI GUHA VTDIGGER

Capsized crafts, broken docks, destroyed habitat, increased shore erosion and disturbed sediments: These are some of the problems wake boats have allegedly caused in Vermont’s public waters, according to residents who are pushing the state to adopt stronger rules governing their use.

More than 70 people from across the state packed a room in the Richmond Free Library on Aug. 1, wearing name tags noting the lake they live by or enjoy. The meeting had been moved from Montpelier to Richmond due to the recent floods.

Wake boats are motor-powered vessels with ballast tanks to weigh them down and create a large wake for surfing and skiing. Though they have become increasingly popular on Vermont’s lakes in recent years, those who oppose their use argue the state should keep them at least 1,000 feet away from the shoreline to protect the lake and the public.

“The final goal is to get a strong rule to keep as many wake boats away from as many lakes as we can,” said Jim Lengel, a leader of Responsible Wakes for Vermont Lakes, a citizen group formed in 2021.

The group filed a 54-page petition in March 2022 signed by more than 1,200 people calling on the state Department of Environmental Conservation to tighten rules governing the fast-growing watersport, especially for Vermont’s smaller lakes and ponds.

After several meetings and studies, the department rolled out a draft rule in January that calls for wake boats to operate 500 feet from shore while being used for wake sports; operate only in

COME SEE SARAH!

lakes with at least 50 acres of surface area and those that are 20 feet deep; and stay year-round at one lake unless decontaminated by a department-approved entity. These restrictions would, in practice, limit wake boat use to 31 of Vermont’s more than 800 inland lakes.

Only a handful of the attendees at the hearing spoke in favor of wake boats, advocating for the proposed 500-foot rule or looser regulations.

Eric Splatt, who identified himself as a wake boat owner on Lake Bomoseen, said he thinks there are already too many boating regulations and called for more education and enforcement

instead. “I think that Vermont has always been about education and not about rulemaking,” he said.

But the vast majority of the 45 residents who spoke at the hearing said the proposal doesn’t do enough, and many called for a 1,000-foot shoreline buffer.

Kim Mackey, who owns a wake boat on an 8,000-acre lake in Wisconsin, described the vessels as disruptive. He does not bring his boat to his camp at Averill Lake in the Northeast Kingdom, he said, because “it’s not fun for others, it’s not safe and it’s not practical.”

With technology evolving, wake boats are likely to become bigger and to create even bigger wakes, according to Mackey, a

member of Responsible Lakes. Therefore, in his view, stricter rules are needed to protect the future of Vermont’s smaller water bodies.

According to Meg Handler from Hinesburg, another Responsible Wakes member, the 500-foot rule is a compromise that “caters to the desires of individuals rather than the public good.” Wake sports are a niche interest that’s impacting many, she said, and that dynamic can be hard to address in a state that values private rights.

“Unfortunately, what is missing is the recognition that people with their private rights end up restricting the rights of everyone else — the right to clean air, clean

water, peace and quiet personal safety,” she said. “A desire to create ocean waves for people to surf on, far away from the ocean, means everyone else needs to just step aside. Boaters, swimmers, paddlers, sailors, plants, animals, shorelines and the quality of the very water itself.”

Katherine Babbott, a board member of the Lake Fairlee Association, said an advertisement from Wakeboarding magazine described a new wake boat as a wave-making monster.

“Wave-making monsters do not belong on Vermont’s small, vulnerable lakes with up to 600-horsepower engines creating 3- to 5-foot ocean-like waves. These boats have no right to dominate lakes and threaten the safety of all who enjoy traditional watersports,” she said.

With 2,000 to 4,000 pounds of added water weight, Babbott said, these boats “harm small lakes’ fragile ecosystems.”

She held up a cigar and said, “A wake boat on a small Vermont lake is like someone smoking a cigar in a crowded room. It stinks.”

Some at the hearing said they’d prefer a prohibition on wake boats on all lakes.

The three-hour hearing was the fourth of five organized by the state. Energies ran high and applause punctuated the two-minute public comments given by 45 speakers.

Some carried signs that read “1,000.” A large, inflated loon float gazed over their heads from one corner.

Oliver Pierson, the department’s lakes and ponds program manager, gave a rundown of the

PHOTO BY GLENN RUSSELL/VTDIGGER

Framed by a giant inflatable loon, Daniel Sharpe speaks in favor of further regulation of wake boats by the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation in Richmond on Aug. 1.

See BOAT on page 16

Please visit our advertisers and tell them: “I saw your ad in The Citizen!”

Rabies vaccine bait drop begins

Amid an increase in reports of rabies in racoons, the annual rabies vaccine bait drop has begun across eight counties.

Approximately 265,000 quarter-sized blister packs containing rabies vaccine will be distributed in nearly 100 Vermont communities in Addison, Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex, Franklin, Lamoille, Orange, Orleans and Washington counties.

Rabies vaccine — in the form of a sweet-smelling oral bait that is attractive to raccoons and skunks — were placed by hand in residential centers beginning Aug. 1, and dropped in rural areas from low-fly-

HINESBURG

continued from page 1

the town and highway employees, and that highway employees were not informed of the drinking water contamination at the town garage.

Odit at the time said his resignation email “contains many allegations, accusations, inaccuracies, and incomplete stories that I dispute.”

The town has since added two people to the department — Dominic Musumeci and Nicholas Race. John Alexander, an assistant foreman on the wastewater department, is also available to help with plowing efforts when needed.

The new foreman and highway employees, under the direction set forth in the town’s fiscal year 2024 budget, will eventually report to a newly created position of public works director.

Formerly the director of buildings and facilities, the new role would also oversee the highway and road operations.

That position is still being advertised, Odit said.

ing aircraft between Aug. 5-10. Pilots can control the release of bait to avoid residential areas. When an animal bites into the bait, it takes in the oral vaccine and will develop immunity to rabies.

For nearly 30 years, the bait drop has been part of a nationally coordinated effort between the Vermont Department of Health, the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services to prevent the spread of rabies, a fatal disease.

A special bait drop focused on rabies among wildlife in Chittenden County took place earlier this year.

Rabies is a deadly viral disease of the brain that infects mammals. Rabies is most often seen in raccoons, skunks, foxes and bats,

but unvaccinated pets and livestock can also get the disease. The virus is spread primarily through the bite of an infected animal. If left untreated, the disease is almost always fatal in humans and animals. However, post-exposure treatment is 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, 12 of which have been raccoons.

“You can’t get rabies from the bait,” said state public health veterinarian Natalie Kwit, “but if you find a bait pack, don’t touch it unless necessary. Leave the bait undisturbed so it can be eaten by wild animals.”

Learn more about rabies at healthvermont.gov/rabies.

CHEERS TO 50 YEARS

Celebrating a half-century of keeping you happy over lunch, dinner, and cocktails. Come join us.

COURTESY PHOTO

The rabies bait pilots will begin dropping over Vermont this month.

Driver causes fourcar pileup, drugged driving suspected

Vermont State Police arrested Nicholas Bushell, 32, of Ferrisburgh, for driving under the influence of drugs and grossly negligent operation after they say he failed to stop, rear-ending another vehicle and causing a four-vehicle accident that resulted in serious injuries.

Police say Bushell hit a car that was stopped behind another vehicle on Route 7 near the intersection of Higbee Road in Charlotte. The impact pushed the first vehicle into the other lane of traffic, where it crashed into the fourth vehicle.

Bushell was transported to University of Vermont Medical Center for serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

Dennis Cassidy, 75, and Linda Cassidy, 70, both of Middlebury, were also taken to the medical center, also with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

Danielle Hermey, 53, and her

New full-timer

passenger, Allen Fetter, 61, both of Takoma Park, Md., suffered minor injuries and were treated at the scene.

The fourth driver, Samuel Desrochers, 28, of Burlington, had minor injuries and later went to the medical center.

All four vehicles were totaled.

Troopers suspected Bushell was impaired at the time of the crash and brought in a drug recognition expert from the Department of Liquor Control.

State police was also assisted by South Burlington police, Charlotte, Ferrisburgh and Shelburne fire departments, and University of Vermont and Shelburne EMS.

This incident remains under investigation. Anyone who may have information should contact Trooper Nathan Handy at nathan. handy@vermont.gov, 802-8787111, or leave an anonymous tip online at vsp.vermont.gov/tipsubmit.

Advertising Wendy Ewing wendy@shelburnenews.com (802) 985-3091 x12

Advertising Director Judy Kearns judy@otherpapersbvt.com (802) 864-6670 x21

News Editor Tommy Gardner

Staff Writers

Aaron Calvin Corey McDonald Liberty Darr

Production Manager Stephanie Manning stephanie@shelburnenews.com

Editor/Publisher Gregory Popa gpopa@stowereporter.com

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

Advertising submission deadline: Friday at 5 p.m. advertising@thecitizenvt.com classifieds@thecitizenvt.com

Editorial submission deadline: Friday at 5 p.m. news@thecitizenvt.com

Calendar submission deadline: Friday at 12 p.m. news@thecitizenvt.com

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

Vermont Community Newspaper

COURTESY PHOTO

Hinesburg Fire Department recently welcomed its newest full-time firefighter and EMT, Connor Contois. He has been with department since December 2017, starting as a cadet while attending Champlain Valley Union High School. In July, the department responded to two fires, 36 emergency medical calls, three motor vehicle calls, six hazardous conditions, five service calls and five false alarms. Calls through July totaled 320.

Use work on child care to focus on our priorities

From the House Rep. Chea Waters Evans

I’ve been thinking a lot about the major challenges Vermont is facing these days: incessant rain and flooding, an unhoused population set adrift, mental health issues for kids who just came out of a pandemic, a housing shortage, a workforce shortage, taxes and inflation and holy moly I want to get back in bed.

One conversation I have with people a lot these days is where do we start if we want to make things better without spending everyone’s hard-earned money?

When I was a kid and playgrounds were danger traps of splinters, lead paint and burning hot metal, a popular feature — death hazard — was a round wooden platform with handles, and you would basically sit on it and hang on for dear life while another kid tried to murder you by holding one of the handles and then running around as fast as they could, trying their best to get everyone to lose their grip and go flying off the spinning platform into the dust and rocks.

Ah, childhood memories.

If you had so much fun getting all the skin removed from your knees that you wanted to get back on, often your best chance was to leap while it was still spinning.

That’s how I see the cycle and circle of our challenges here in Vermont. I think we just need to find a spot, focus and then jump, hoping that once we get in there, we’ll have momentum and motion to keep us going.

I think the child care bill from this last session was a good start. Supporting families in this way means more people can work because they have a safe and secure place for their kids during the day, which hopefully leads to solving other problems just by nature of that one significant change.

I think health care should be our next flying leap. It’s complicated, it’s confusing, there are a lot of systems in place that make money for many people but don’t actually provide adequate care.

For instance, did you know that Medicare doesn’t cover an annual physical? There’s a wellness exam, but that’s a hi-how-are-you-are-you-still-aliveOK-great kind of thing, as opposed to a checkup. Seniors deserve more than that.

I moved back to Vermont 13 years ago, and in that time, the monthly health

insurance premiums for my family have more than doubled. Because my employment hasn’t been traditional, I haven’t worked anywhere that’s provided benefits, which means that I’m currently paying, for myself and three kids, more than $1,700 a month for health insurance.

And, that doesn’t include deductible and copays.

I’m lucky I can afford this, even though I don’t want to, and it’s mind-boggling that there are so many people who can’t but who also don’t qualify for help from the state.

I just read that BlueCross BlueShield of Vermont plans to raise monthly rates as much as 18 percent next year.

We also need more health care professionals, we need to have housing available so the hospitals can spend their money on permanent solutions rather than wildly expensive travel nurses, and we need to provide avenues for care that might not involve a physician since we don’t have enough of them to go around.

If you’re in pain, and you need a series of appointments to figure out what the problem is, and it takes a month to even get into a doctor’s office, you can suffer for a year before you even begin to solve the problem.

If you have a kid who needs therapy, good luck finding someone. There’s a serious lack of mental health care for everyone in Vermont, but especially for kids — and these kids have really been through it these last few years. (Imagine spending two years of high school at home with your mother 24 hours a day? Torture.)

If they get the support they need now, then when they’re older they’re going to be less likely to misuse substances and depression and domestic violence and everything else that goes along with it. Plus, the stress of the recent flooding where some people have lost everything, and the ripples of that will be affecting mental health for a long time to come.

Here we go around again with the spinning. I think we have to just take a deep breath, jump on the speeding circle of doom, and just pick a place to start.

I’m not so naive as to think I can solve the problem myself, but I do think there are a lot of creative, knowledgeable, smart and motivated people both in the Statehouse and in our community who can work together to make it happen.

If you have any ideas, as always, be in touch at cevans@leg.state.vt.us or (917) 887-8231.

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

Rep. Chea Waters Evans

Nature will be solution to Vermont’s flood crisis

Guest Perspective

Tom Rogers

Vermont’s increasingly destructive flooding disasters are happening because our rivers are doing exactly what we have spent more than 200 years intentionally designing them to do — rush water off the land as quickly as possible. As the devastation to lives, communities and economy makes it increasingly clear, it is time to reimagine what rivers can do.

If a present-day Vermonter were whisked away in a time machine to 1492, they would not recognize the Green Mountain State. The landscape was largely forested wetlands, shaped by beavers that were 10 times as abundant across the continent as they are today. A drop of rain that fell on the mountains back then would have many stops along its journey, collecting in beaver ponds — sometimes as dense as 200 dams per square mile in Vermont — winding in braided paths through floodplain forests, pausing in wetlands to deposit sediments, before finally reaching Lake Champlain or the Connecticut River. When Europeans colonized what is

now Vermont, high demand for pelts combined with unregulated trapping led to the removal of beavers from the state by the 1800s. When the fur trade was replaced by an agricultural economy, remaining wetlands were drained to make room for grazing livestock.

Rivers were channelized and straightened to access the fertile soil along their banks for growing crops. The practice of ditching and grading to remove water from the landscape continues to this day because standing water remains incompatible with roads, lawns and buildings.

It’s easy to understand the difference between a manicured city park and a forest. While a city park may have a few sparse trees among the freshly mowed grass, no one would confuse it with a forest. Similarly, we should not confuse much of what we have in Vermont today with real rivers. Vermont’s straight and narrow depressions, cut off from their floodplains, reinforced at times by artificial stone or concrete along their steep banks and free of natural obstacles like logs or boulders might in many places be more appropriately referred to as drainage ditches than rivers, no more able to

accommodate the needs of a fish than a parking lot can accommodate the needs of wildlife.

If our treatment of Vermont’s rivers was the fuel, climate change has been the match. While Vermont was experiencing historic flooding this July, Florida was experiencing historic ocean temperatures with the first 100-degree measurement ever recorded. Hotter air and warmer oceans around the world lead to more evaporation and increase the volatility of weather patterns. As a result, Vermont is not only seeing more precipitation, but we are also seeing more of it all at once during these extreme weather events.

Climate change has turned depleted rivers from garden hoses into fire hoses, and they are pointed straight at our communities.

What do we do now? First and foremost, we must address the climate crisis, eliminating the use of fossil fuels and protecting forests and other natural places that sequester and store atmospheric carbon.

But just as important, we need to let our rivers be rivers again. We must return rivers to their floodplains rather than channelizing them and restore the floodplain forests along their banks to provide space for floodwaters to go. We need to protect and restore existing wetlands — the sponges of the landscape — and prioritize the protection of beaver habitat to allow them to create new wetlands that soak up excess water. We need to leave trees, root

balls, boulders and natural debris in rivers to slow down floodwaters and improve fish habitat.

Most immediately, we must allow rivers to move and meander more naturally by prohibiting new development in river corridors statewide.

We already know this approach works in Vermont. During Tropical Storm Irene, downtown Rutland was devastated by flooding when Otter Creek jumped its banks. But Middlebury, located 30 miles downstream from Rutland along Otter Creek, was spared the worst effects of the storm. An extensive wetland complex, protected and restored by Vermont’s conservation community through many years of hard work and effective partnerships, soaked up the excess floodwaters and very slowly released them.

These noble wetlands saved Middlebury more than $1.8 million in potential damages according to a University of Vermont study.

Rather than continuing to manipulate rivers to rush water off the land, we need to work with nature to reengineer them to slow water down and store it. As we adapt to a new climate reality, we can turn Vermont’s rivers from our greatest adversary into our strongest ally.

Tom Rogers is the associate director of philanthropy and a certified wildlife biologist for The Nature Conservancy in Vermont.

‘Good people on both sides’: GOP spins slavery

Guest Perspective

Walt Amses

Kids being educated in Florida, or anywhere in the old Confederacy, might grow up believing that the kidnapping, torture, rape and lynching of human beings had an equitable upside, that the “vital job training” millions of Black people received while enslaved provided apprenticeships and bright hopes for a productive future.

While southern Republicans have long pushed for their own reconstruction — of history, memory and reality — the standards introduced by Ron DeSantis’ Florida education department would nauseate even a sewer rat.

While the standards themselves represent a steaming pile of far-right, racist claptrap specifically designed to enthrall the base and jump start the governor’s cratering presidential aspirations, the department’s justification for the new rules is almost as idiotic as it is appalling, an epic fail by any measure, likely to sink DeSantis’ floundering campaign even further.

To illustrate how slavery was sort of like a vocational internship, Florida’s education geniuses compiled a list of successful Black individuals who ostensibly enjoyed the benefits of servitude’s on-the-job-training.

But as you might imagine, intellectual lightweights embarking on a complex mission, particularly with the knowledge they have the backing of the powers that be, tend toward sloppiness and problems inevitably arise. Claiming the acquisition of skills by slaves was “well documented” and the later application of those skills as well as “taking advantage of whatever circumstances they were in” benefitted those individuals, weirdly castigating any disagreement as “attempts to reduce slaves to victims of oppression, failing to recognize their strength, courage and resiliency,” ran into widespread derision and no small amount of scrutiny, beginning with supposed graduates of the program.

Simply put, most of the Black people listed as having acquired skills while enslaved were never enslaved at all, either having been born free men or learning their skills well after emancipation. One individual, the seventh name listed according to a post on the website Daily Kos, was Betty Washington Lewis. She was not a slave, not Black and was purported to be the white sister of George Washington, former president and proud owner of over 100 human beings.

However outrageous this initiative

Most immediately, we must allow rivers to move and meander more naturally by prohibiting new development in river corridors statewide.

AMSES

continued from page 6

may feel, it lands comfortably within the long-term conservative framework of gaslighting children, manipulating what they learn regarding the history of race in America and soft pedaling the racial issues inherent since the country’s inception.

Whether depicting benevolent slave owners as having introduced Christianity to their wards with whom they had “mutually respectful” relationships, referring to captured, shanghaied Africans as “guest workers” or denying the existence of institutionalized racism while simultaneously attempting to disenfranchise Black voters, the far right’s quest — if successful — will fundamentally alter perceptions of what America represents, which is their prime objective.

While the right’s trivialization of inconvenient history has been going on since racist birther attacks on Barack Obama fueled the other former president’s leap to center stage, strident bigotry has come out of the closet and gone into overdrive. Tens of millions of white Republicans are now convinced it is they who are the oppressed minority, victimized by a ready list of scapegoats, including Black people, immigrants, gays and lesbians, trans teenagers and, of course, the nebulous Woke Folk, which is fast becoming the favorite excuse for everything by a coalition of the ignorant who have no idea what it means.

Florida’s proposed curriculum revisions are the latest incursion

Le af Pe ep ers

GUIDE TO FOLIAGE & FUN

The roads are overflowing with peepers looking for great shopping, things to see and do, and places to dine in or take out. Let us help you reach the tens of thousands of visitors who come to play in the mountains surrounding Stowe, Cambridge and Morrisville and to explore the gorgeous Lake Champlain Valley and beyond.

ADVERTISE ALL 4 WEEKS, GET FREE COLOR!

into the state’s educational standards by the peevishly histrionic DeSantis, whose reach frequently exceeds his grasp as demonstrated by pitched battles with Disney and now Bud Lite over their perceived embrace of ideas beyond the governor’s limited perspective.

But the department of education’s spinning slavery into a learning opportunity, coupled with their preposterous doubling down in defense of the new standards may be a bridge too far for most people, gifting progressives a powerful, wedge issue leading up to the 2024 general election, an opportunity to hammer far right racism laid bare, perhaps bolstering Joe Biden’s reelection prospects in the process.

In Jacksonville last week

Vice President Kamala Harris offered a full throated denunciation of the new standards as extremist, demanding the state’s “so-called leaders model what we know to be the correct and right approach if we are invested in the well-being of our children,” not mentioning the governor by name but drawing his ire nonetheless as he waffled majestically, calling her remarks outrageous while attempting to distance himself from the whole affair: “Well, you should talk to them about it. I mean, I didn’t do it. I wasn’t involved in it. These were scholars that put that together. It was not anything done politically.”

Harris went on, voicing her own outrage that “they dare push propaganda to our children. This

is the United States of America, we’re not supposed to do that,” taking advantage of a rare shot at the bully pulpit, she elevated her own visibility as a prelude to what promises to be a grueling campaign, perhaps reducing the anxiety of some Democratic voters concerned with her ability to take the giant step up should it become necessary.

Slamming what she called the alleged “benefits of this level of dehumanization” the Veep explained that when parents send children to school it’s a reasonable expectation that they’ve being taught the truth rather than being misled by a political agenda, calling it “an insult to Black Americans” and worried it would spawn efforts to change Black history agendas in other parts of the country.

ABC news reports that the Florida Education Association, the state’s largest teacher’s union, called the guidelines “a step backward,” and accused DeSantis of “pursuing a political agenda guaranteed to set good people against one another,” asking how students can ever be equipped for the future without an honest look at the past.

The union’s president, Andrew Spar, said, “Florida’s students deserve a world class education that equips them to be successful adults who can help heal our nations divisions rather than deepen them.”

PHOTO BY LEE KROHN

An eastern newt enjoys a rain-soaked rock on Mt. Philo in Charlotte.

Writer Walt Amses lives in North Calais.

Community Notes

Civil Air Patrol hold car wash for cadet trip

The Civil Air Patrol is holding a car wash on Saturday, Aug. 12, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., 50 Mansfield Ave., Burlington.

The air patrol is the official volunteer auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. Vermont Wing headquarters is in South Burlington, and squadrons are in South Burlington, Barre and Montpelier, Rutland, Bennington and Springfield.

Funds raised will be used to fuel the cadets’ trip to the Intrepid Air and Space Museum in New York City.

The CAP Cadet Program is a year-round program where cadets fly, learn to lead, hike, camp, get in shape and push themselves to new limits. Vermont cadets have opportunities to attend leadership encampments, career academies, and other activities during the summer.

For information, visit vtwg.cap. gov.

Register now for Howard Center’s annual Zoe’s Race

Zoe’s Race is set for Sunday, Aug. 27 at Oakledge Park in Burlington.

The annual event raises funds

Award winner

to make homes accessible for families served by Howard Center and includes a 1K fun run, a 5K run and walk and a 10K run.

Since 2009, Zoe’s Race has raised more than $270,000 from local businesses and individuals, enabling the completion of 34 home accessibility projects. Whether the modifications involve adding an entrance ramp, installing a stair lift or modifying a bathroom, the improvements have a lasting impact in the daily lives of families.

The idea for the race was sparked in 2009 when Erika Nestor began a remodeling project to make her home accessible for her daughter Zoe, who uses a wheelchair. During the process, the Nestors were surprised to learn that there were very limited funds available to assist families with remodeling costs related to accessibility. Erika teamed up with Howard Center and Zoe’s Race was born.

Pre-event registration is $45 until Aug. 24. Visit howardcenter. org for information.

Churches, dancers, band fundraise for flood relief

Two Burlington-area church congregations, College Street Church and First Church Burlington, the swing dance community

and the Green Mountain Swing Band combine forces to raise money for Vermont flood recovery with a special event on Saturday, Aug.12, with a free picnic supper and parking lot dance.

The event starts at 5:30 p.m., 265 College St. (next to the Fletcher Free Library) and continues when the Vermont Swing Dancers lead the way into a parking lot dance as the Green Mountain Swing Band entertains with a set of jazzy swing tunes that will last from 7 p.m. until the sun sets. Donations will be invited for flood relief.

Rokeby Museum holds pie, ice cream social

Having a great day will be as easy as pie at Rokeby Museum’s annual pie and ice cream social, Sunday, Aug. 13, from 1 to 4 p.m.

Yards and yards of homemade pies, Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, live music from Bob Recupero and Young Tradition Vermont, raffle baskets, croquet and badminton on the lawn will be part of the day, and historic house and museum exhibitions will be open to the public.

Admission is free. Pie and ice cream is $8 per serving, $2 for ice cream and $1 for beverages. At the end of the event, if any pies are still available, they will be sold for $20.

More at rokeby.org.

Shelburne Trinity Church presents a puppet show

On Saturday, Aug. 12, at 2 p.m., Hinesburg puppeteer Peg Jarvis will present a show about Anansi the Spider who, although a beloved folk hero, is a mischievous rascal who plays pranks on his animal friends.

The show is free for all and will be performed in the McClure Room, Shelburne Trinity Church, 5171 Shelburne Road. Children under six should be accompanied by an adult.

Not only does Jarvis direct and perform in the shows but she makes the puppets, prepares and paints the set, designs the costumes and, together with help from her husband Jim, builds her stages. She was 6 years old when she and her mother together learned the ancient art of puppeteering at a School for the Deaf in Bangkok, Thailand.

She also has given many workshops in schools, libraries and churches.

Chamber musicians offer ‘New Sounds from Paris’

All Souls Interfaith Gathering in Shelburne hosts the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival Thursday, Aug. 24, at noon, with a pre-concert talk at 10:30 a.m.

Musicians will perform a program of “New Sounds from Paris” featuring the works of Ravel, Prokofiev, Stravinsky and Debussy, and featuring Soovin Kim, Paul Watkins, the Parker Quartet, and more.

All Souls is located at 419 Bostwick Road. More at lccmf.org

In the Pocket headlines summer park concert

The Hinesburg Recreation Department presents Summer Concerts in the Park, Wednesday, Aug 16, 6:30 p.m.with In the Pocket at the gazebo behind the Hinesburg Community School in the Village.

August programs at Charlotte Senior Center

The Charlotte Senior Center hosts a variety of special events in August. More information at charlotteseniorcentervt.org.

Are you caring for someone with Alzheimer’s? Do you know someone who is? This monthly support group is held on the second Thursday of each month. Questions? Contact Susan Cartwright

COURTESY PHOTO

Age Well’s therapeutic meals and diabetes intervention program and its nutrition director, Chris Moldovan, second from left, receives a 2023 Aging Innovations Award from USAging. Age Well is among

16 aging programs nationally

to receive

innovations honors during USAging’s recent annual conference in Salt Lake City. Age Well offers eight different home-delivered meal options to support older Vermonters in managing their chronic health in their homes, including the regular heart-healthy diet, as well as diabetic-friendly, renal-friendly, lactose-free, gluten-free, vegetarian and texture-modified meals.

Tiny art auction raises $2K for food shelf

JEAN KIEDAISCH

CONTRIBUTOR

In each of its six years, the Responsible Growth Hinesburg tiny art auction has grown. From 2018, when there were just six artists contributing 4-inch by 4-inch paintings, to this summer, with 32 artists and 45 paintings.

This year’s auction raised over $2,000. After accounting for a small number of expenses, the group will donate the proceeds to

COMMUNITY NOTES

continued from page 8

at scartwrightasg@gmail.com. Registration recommended.

• Women’s kayak trip at Waterbury Reservoir, Fridays, Aug. 11 and Aug. 25

Trips for active women who share a love for exploring local lakes, ponds and rivers. Details sent out the week prior. contact Susan Hyde at susanfosterhyde@gmail. com. Online registration required.

• Drawing for those who think they can’t draw, Friday, Aug. 11, 12:30-2 p.m.

Fill a fun couple of hours learning that you can draw if you simply look at things differently. Local

the Hinesburg Food Shelf.

The following artists participated this year: Cynthia GuildKling, Mary Azarian, Bethanne Cellars, Andy Newman, Gregory Maguire, Brenna Lyman, Peter Sis, Kara Borowczyk, Jesse Azarian, Barb Forauer, Marguerite Jarvis, Mary Hill, John Penoyar, Ellen Kinsella, Maggie Smith, Marcy Kass, Jasmine Cellars, Kim Provost, Kelly Kendall, Renee Rodney, Katie O’Brien, Seema Shiv, Amanda Kolifrath, Steph-

anie Riggs, Mariana Dominguez Kellogg, Iris Mills, Rosetta Mills, Beth Royer, Marian Willmott, Thacher Hurd, Mike Kanfer and Heidi Chamberlain.

Natacha Liuzzi contacted artists, mailed out and collected canvases, did publicity and organized a display for the Fourth of July.

Next year, Responsible Growth Hinesburg is considering a kids’ category to encourage budding artists.

Thurs.

Fri.

artist Mickey Davis enjoys bringing out the innate hidden artist in others. She has offered drawing classes for (she thinks) over 20 years, but at 85 says she has trouble recalling what she ate for breakfast. By donation. Registration required.

• Birding expeditions, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 9 a.m.

There are a wide range of birding habitats in Chittenden County.

Join avid bird watcher Hank Kaestner and learn to identify the various bird species and habitats in Vermont. Group size is limited to 20 participants. Registration required.

• Recreational paddling trip, Wednesday, Aug. 16, 9:30 p.m.

On Indian Brook Reservoir in Essex, join Dean and Karen Tuininga for some recreational paddling trips. Space is limited so sign up early. Questions? Email dean.tuininga@gmail.com. Registration required.

• Walking and gentle hiking group, Thursday, Aug. 17

Enjoy Button Bay State Park. Meet at 9 a.m. in the parking lot at Charlotte Senior Center. Bring sunscreen, bug spray and water. Questions? Contact Penny Burman at 916-753-7279.

Sat.

Sun.

Huntfor goldenticketgift cards toMarketplacestores.

Getyourgroove onwith DJsets from3pm-6pm.

Enjoy 2freehours, then halfoff parking attheDowntownGarage!

FreeParkingforall! Scorelastminutedealsinstoresoronline.

“Pear,” a still life by Marian Willmott.

Shelburne Day brings community together

DARR STAFF WRITER

Shelburne Day, the beloved annual tradition held in conjunction with the weekly farmers market, is back Saturday, Aug. 19 from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m.

The celebration allows for members of the Shelburne Business and Professional Association and other committees to come out of their offices, step out from behind the counters of their shops, and showcase their products to the community.

It’s difficult for some residents of Shelburne to imagine a time before there was an annual Shelburne Day, but Colleen Haag, Shelburne’s former town clerk for more than 34 years, said she was on the board of the business association over 20 years ago when the celebration first began.

“I’ve been around too long,” she joked. “At the time, we had been talking for a while about a farmers market, and so Shelburne Day just kind of came up as a way to showcase the different businesses in town. It’s really been a metamorphosis from there.”

“It’s been wonderful to see through the years as it grows,” she said. “It’s become a real community event.”

Although the essence of the day is meant to commemorate the town’s closeknit community and businesses, according to Dorothea Penar, member of the Historic Preservation and Design Review Committee, the very day itself is of equal importance.

“The town of Shelburne was established by charter on Aug. 18, 1763,” she said. “The Shelburne Day celebration always takes place on the Saturday nearest to charter day.”

Chair of the selectboard Mike Ashooh recounted his first few years in town being marked with memories of the Shelburne Day celebration.

“I think it was in 2010 and everybody took a picture out on the green and the whole town lined up,” he said. “I will

always think of that.”

For the farmers market manager, Sarah Stillman, although this is one of her busiest

days of the year, it is also the most fulfilling.

“It’s really an opportunity to connect with all the organizations that are trying to really improve quality of life here,” she said. “Like the Lewis Creek Association caring for the waterways or the dog park folks trying to improve their situation and the school district often comes. There are so many different cool things.”

Apart from just offering vendors more exposure, it also brings residents a fun afternoon filled with music, connection and a special opportunity to appreciate all the things that make Shelburne unique.

“We have one vendor, Carol Hunter of Fun Factor, and she does face painting and kids’ activities and she will be doing fun games that day, and we have really good musicians scheduled this year,” Stillman said.

Bart Feller will play from 9-10 a.m.

“He played at Teddy Bear this past Sunday, with great compliments from the crowd,” Stillman said.

The Avery Cooper Duo will follow from 10 a.m.-noon., with the Connor Brien Trio from noon-1 p.m.

“They are hyper-talented young fellows who are recent Champlain Valley Union students, who play beautiful jazz,” Stillman said.

Also on Shelburne Day, Michael Clough will bring his birds of prey to Pierson Library at 11 a.m. He’ll have hawks, owls and falcons on hand to meet.

PHOTO BY LEE KROHN

Shelburne Day returns, as it does every August, on the 19th from

a.m.-2 p.m. on the Parade Ground in the village.

when bad things happen you have the ability to turn them into a funny story,” he said. “The pressure is on to make it funny otherwise you just had a bad thing happen to you. At the very least you try to take your irritability and turn it into a positive, because I’m no doubt a complainer and I’m very irritable.”

Morril is heading back to Vermont this month, where he will perform at Higher Ground in South Burlington on Aug. 19 as part of his Class Act Tour. He’ll be in Providence, R.I., on Aug. 17 and Northampton, Mass., the following day before heading into South Burlington for a 7:30 p.m. show.

“I’m excited to break the curse,” he said.

Morril has been a featured comic at some of the top comedy clubs in the country. Based in New York, he regularly plays at landmark comedy clubs like the Comedy Cellar and Gotham Comedy Club.

Collectively, his last three standup specials have racked up more than 15 million YouTube views. His special “Up on the Roof,” premiering during the COVID-19 pandemic, was included in The New York Times’ list of “Best Comedy of 2020,” while CNN praised it as “one of the very best and most creative standup shows to come out of the coronavirus pandemic.”

But that was a weird time for him — as it was for most of us. Locked in quarantine, Morril endeavored to keep in “stand-up shape” playing shows in Brooklyn “on random rooftops,” or sometimes, literally, on street corners of Manhattan.

That time was a reset for him. “It was a weird combination of — I was kind of breaking out a little bit, because I just released a YouTube special, and the plan was to tour off that — it’s why you put a special on YouTube, it’s not for the incredible YouTube money.”

The special gave him a boost, but it didn’t provide much momentum.

“There’s this weird, terrifying feeling as a comedian that if you’re not constantly doing something, people will forget about you,” he said. “It’s very hard to develop material if I’m not constantly on the road.”

As things started up again, he began performing shows, but noticed an adjustment period in the crowds: “I was really kind of appalled at just how much they would be talking, and you’d be like ‘Yeah, no I’m not your TV.’”

But he’s back in the swing again. He’ll be in the Northeast before heading to the West Coast. He enjoys performing just about anywhere. Well, Connecticut, “is a toss-up.”

“That’s kind of like the Florida of the Northeast, where you’re like, ‘What are we going to get?’”

Morril has also voiced several characters in the current season of the MAX animated series “Ten Year Old Tom,” and has appeared in Showtime’s series “Billions” as well as appearing in the Oscar-nominated “Joker” alongside Joaquin Phoenix.

But stand-up remains a love he can’t stay away from for too long.

“When you stop for too long, trying to start up again — it’s just so damned painful,” he said. “Being out of comedy shape, it really sucks, and I don’t want to feel that ever again.”

25% OFF REPAIRS

COURTESY PHOTO

Comedian Sam Morril performs in South Burlington on Aug. 19.

Performed by Our Master Jewelers | Same-Day Repair When Possible Ring Sizing

Performed by Our Graduate Gemologists

“There’s this weird, terrifying feeling as a comedian that if you’re not constantly doing something, people will forget about you.”

— Sam Morril

If it’s important to you or your community look for it in

Solomon’s seal

Add some elegance to a shady garden

If you want to add a touch of architectural interest to your shade garden, look no further than the graceful silhouette of Solomon’s seal.

Solomon’s seal is a hardy herbaceous perennial for shade that spreads through rhizomes to form clumps of tall arching stems covered with attractive green foliage. Its name refers to the circular scars left by its stems on the rhizomes after die-back. According to folklore, the biblical King Solomon placed his seal upon this plant when he recognized its great medicinal value.

In spring, it bears discrete tubular white flowers that dangle elegantly below the leaves, accentuating the curve of its tall stems. From spring to summer, Solomon’s seal imparts an attractive backdrop to the shade garden with its foliage fading to a gentle yellow in autumn.

Solomon’s seal is the common name for approximately 60 identified species of the genus Polygonatum, a member of the lily family (Liliaceae), including Polygonatum biflorum, a species native to eastern and central North America. In Latin, Polygonatum means “many knees,” referring to the plant’s fleshy, jointed rhizomes.

A New England native, Polygonatum biflorum, grows to three to five feet in height and spreads one to two feet wide. It’s also known as Smooth Solomon’s seal, King Solomon’s seal and Great Solomon’s seal.

The woodland is its natural habitat. For this reason, it thrives in shade or partshade, favoring dappled morning light over afternoon sun. Although it prefers a moist well-drained soil rich in organic matter, it is not fussy. It also does well in challenging, dry-shade spots near tree roots.

In addition, its sturdy stems do not require staking. Fallen leaves provide an ideal mulch and compost material for the plant.

This rhizomatous perennial is a low-maintenance, slow-growing plant that can live for decades without requiring much care. Planted in the right location, Solomon’s seal will form colonies to grace your landscape with its distinctive profile.

This perennial prefers to grow in consistent, but not overly wet, moisture. Yet, once established, it tolerates drought. It also is disease-resistant and unappealing to deer, both attractive characteristics.

After flowering in summer, the plant develops small bluish-black berries. These berries are very much appreciated by birds though slightly toxic to humans. Young

shoots and rhizomes are edible when cooked and served like asparagus and potato, respectively. Historically, the Native Americans and colonists ate its starchy roots.

Solomon’s seal is easily propagated by division when the plant is dormant in spring or fall. Starting with a well-established clump, use a clean, sharp knife to cut a rhizome into several sections, making sure that each section has a bud.

Place the sections horizontally in the soil, buds up, 18 inches apart and one inch deep. Water generously, taking care to keep the area cool while the new plants grow.

This graceful plant is a great choice for a woodland garden and pairs well with many other perennials throughout the growing season. Companion plants include hosta, hellebore, narcissus, tiarella, epimedium, brunnera, aquilegia and ferns, among

others. They are also stunning at the base of trees and shrubs.

With such attractive features, Solomon’s seal is a must-have for your shade or woodland garden. What’s more, you can jazz up your cut-flower bouquets with its beautiful arching stems.

NADIE VANZANDT UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT EXTENSION

Nadie VanZandt is a UVM Extension master gardener from Panton.

PHOTOS BY NADIE VANZANDT / COURTESY

Above: A New England native, Solomon’s seal is an ideal choice for a woodland garden as it pairs well with many other perennials, including hostas, throughout the growing season.

Below: In spring, Solomon’s seal has tubular white flowers that dangle from the undersides of its attractive green foliage, adding a touch of elegance to the plant.

Hiding in plain sight: total eclipse of the duck

The Outside Story

William von Herff

For most of the year, it’s hard to find a pond without at least a few mallards swimming around.

These ducks, with their green-headed drakes and streaky brown hens, are among the most common water birds throughout the Northeast. In spring and fall, mallard flocks are ubiquitous, gobbling up grasses and aquatic plants. In winter, as ice spreads across most ponds, many of these flocks fly south, while the few that remain retreat to open water wherever they can find it. And in summer, if you’re lucky, you might see a female swimming with a trail of downy ducklings behind her.

As late summer rolls around, however, one thing you’re not apt to see is a male mallard. Scan a flock of ducks in July or August and, more often than not, every single one will have the drab plumage of a female. Not a green head in sight. What happened? Where did all the males go?

As it turns out, they never left. The males are simply hiding, sometimes within those same flocks, disguised as females.

Nearly all birds molt at least once a year, shedding their old feathers as new ones grow in to replace them. Molting usually takes several weeks, during which birds can appear ratty or even injured. If you’ve ever seen a vulture or hawk missing a bunch of its wing feathers, molting is often the explanation. As those soaring raptors make clear, however, birds can usually still fly when they are molting.

Female mallards molt in this same fashion, replacing their feathers gradually during the spring. For male mallards — and some other species of waterfowl — molt is a bit more intense. Shortly after the breeding season ends and the males have sired offspring, they shed their feathers fast, so fast that new flight feathers can’t grow in quickly enough to keep up. For a brief period of time, this leaves the ducks unable to fly.

Naturally, this period of flightlessness makes these birds vulnerable to predators. So, male ducks go into hiding and retreat toward the centers of big marshy lakes to molt. If they simply replaced their old feathers with more of their typical flashy plumage, these males would still be an easy target for any passing red fox or red-tailed hawk.

Instead, they grow an intermediary set of feathers called eclipse plumage, which appears nearly identical to the streaky brown patterning of females. Since males’ wing feathers grow in later than the rest of their feathers, this

plain plumage helps to keep the male ducks hidden from predators during this especially vulnerable period.

You may begin to notice male mallards looking ratty in late June, just as their big molt starts to kick in. July and August are peak eclipse plumage season, but eventually ducks will molt these feathers as well. By the beginning of September, male mallards begin to look more like we expect them to. Green plumage spreads across their faces, their breasts turn rich brown, and their sides regain their

typical silvery plumage. By October, they have returned to their bright, green-headed glory. Distinguishing female mallards from males during summer can be tricky. Male mallards do retain a few key plumage features during the summer, though: their breasts are warmer brown than females, their plumage looks messier and they retain just a touch of green on their heads — in stripes on the crown and behind the eye. Mallards are not the only ducks in our region that undergo this stark summer transforma-

SHELBURNE

Join Shelburne’s Highway Department

Shelburne’s Highway Department has an immediate opening for a full-time Mechanic/Truck Driver. This position is responsible for the maintenance of all Town vehicles and other machinery and equipment. The successful candidate will also operate trucks and other equipment, in addition to plowing snow.

A high school diploma or equivalent and five years of experience; CDL or the ability to obtain a CDL; Vermont State Vehicle Inspection License; and background check are required. A full job description is available at http://www.shelburnevt.org/237/Human-Resources. Salary range $28-$30/hr., generous benefit package, vacation and sick time, and paid holidays.

Submit resume or application to: Susan Cannizzaro at scannizzaro@shelburnevt.org. Equal Opportunity Employer

tion. Wood duck males, too, adopt a drab plumage, shedding their bright headdresses and shiny body feathers in exchange for subdued grays and browns. Male hooded mergansers lose their hoods, and male common mergansers swap their green heads and stark white bodies for a simpler brown and gray plumage.

In general, your best clue to identify male ducks in eclipse plumage is to look at the parts of the bird’s body that have no feather covering at all, namely the bill and eyes. If you see a “female” mallard

with a yellow bill, chances are it’s really a male. In a similar sense, if you see a wood duck with a red bill and red eye, or a hooded merganser with a yellow eye and all-black bill, those are males in disguise as well.

William von Herff is a scientist-turned-science writer who writes about conservation, the environment, and natural history. Illustration by Adelaide Murphy Tyrol. The Outside Story is assigned and edited by Northern Woodlands magazine. More at nhcf.org.

SALES EXECUTIVE

Award-winning group of community weeklies with offices in Stowe, Morrisville and South Burlington seeks a sales person. Ideal candidate should have a basic knowledge of the local towns, business and communities we serve. A proven track record in sales and an ability to offer topnotch customer service is a required. In addition to servicing established accounts, candidate must be able to generate sales from qualified leads as well as establish new ones. Our company offers health benefits, vacation time, and provides on the job training in newspapers sales. Generous base salary during training and ideal hours (few nights or weekends). If you possess these qualifications and would like to be considered, please send your resume and cover letter to: Bryan Meszkat at bryan@newsandcitizen.com.

zen center yard sale

RABIES BAIT

continued from page 2

The week-long bait drop is a coopera tive 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 al ways fatal in humans and animals. However, treatment with the rabies vaccine is nearly 100 percent effective when given soon after

We can help you discover, learn about and sell:

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

• JEWELRY • COINS • SILVER • ARTWORK

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

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.

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

Porches

Outdoor Structures

802-343-4820

www.pleasantvalleyvt.com

PLEASANT VALLEY, INC.

Brian Bittner • 802-489-5210 • info@bittnerantiques.com

Showroom at 2997 Shelburne Rd • Shelburne Open Wed-Sat, with walk-ins to sell every Thursday. www.bittnerantiques.com

According to wildlife officials, rabid animals often show a change in their nor mal behavior, but you cannot tell whether an animal has rabies simply by looking at it. People should not touch or pick up wild

saliva. If left untreated, rabies is almost al ways 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.

Buying Sports and Collectible

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

Bob & Jessica Trautwine

Cell/Txt: 802-233-1451 • O ce: 802-497-1681 Hyperreliccards@gmail.com • hyperrelic.com

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

SHELBURNE DAY

bulk

& bottle

10 Flavors of Milkshakes Snack Bar • Creamee Window • Hard Ice Cream Propane

9am-6pm • Closed Sun.

802-425-2180

continued from page 4 face burne-Hinesburg head the Golf depending land. Rotary’s

Shelburne Historical Society will have a display and president Dorothea Penar will lead a cemetery tour at 1 p.m. Food vendors round out the event with everything from coffee and lemonade to burgers and creemees. Kids will enjoy meeting animals from Shelburne Farms, craft projects, and

Jackon Hill Road • Charlotte (at Spear and Hinesburg-Charlotte Rd)

continued from page 4 face burne-Hinesburg head the Golf depending land. Rotary’s

SHELBURNE DAY

Shelburne Historical Society will have a display and president Dorothea Penar will lead a cemetery tour at 1 p.m. Food ven dors round out the event with everything from coffee and lemonade to burgers and creemees. Kids will enjoy meeting animals from Shelburne Farms, craft projects, and

SERVICEDIRECTORY

for rates: call 985-3091 or email advertising@shelburnenews.com

Spring Cleanup & Mulch

Roofing

Lawn Maintenance

Siding

Renovations

Landscape Design

Stonework & Planting

Mini Excavation

Painting Decks

802-343-4820

802-343-4820

www.pleasantvalleyvt.com

ARIES

March 21 - April 20

Things that have seemingly been holding you back should be reevaluated this week, Aries. You are looking elsewhere for solutions, when all you need to do is make a few tweaks.

TAURUS

April 21 - May 21

Taurus, spend time re ecting on things this week, as you may have some dif cult decisions to make in the near future. A close con dante can serve as a sounding board.

GEMINI

May 22 - June 21

Gemini, now is the time to identify your priorities as they pertain to the job. Do you want a career and a company that you stick with? Or, are you satis ed with being a contract worker?

CANCER

June 22 - July 22

Prepare for some stressful times ahead, Cancer. It is nothing you cannot survive, but it could throw a wrench in your plans for the time being. Reward yourself with some extra pampering.

LEO

July 23 - Aug. 23

Leo, you may have planned on staying to yourself, in order to knock things off of your to-do list. That simply will not pan out right now. Expect to be surrounded by people.

VIRGO

Aug. 24 - Sept. 22

Virgo, others do not seem receptive to your way of doing things this week. You cannot please everyone, so gure out who you can work with and appeal to those people to get things done.

LIBRA

Sept. 23 - Oct. 23

Libra, you may have to take off the rose-colored glasses for a little while. Although it’s good to have a cheery outlook, a no-nonsense approach will serve you well in the days ahead.

SCORPIO

Oct. 24 - Nov. 22

Scorpio, you could be having doubts about your role in your workplace. Maybe the work isn’t stimulating or the responsibilities too great. If change is happening, do it soon.

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, something from your past will come back to the surface in the days to come. Maybe it is an error you made or it could be an opportunity that you thought was lost.

CAPRICORN

Dec. 22 - Jan. 20

Think about adding more hobbies or recreational activities to your slate, Capricorn. All work and no play is not healthy for you right now. It’s time to nd a greater balance in life.

AQUARIUS

Jan. 21 - Feb. 18

Aquarius, the latest developments on the job have not been encouraging. You are tempted to cut back on your efforts, but you are worried about the implications of that.

PISCES

Feb. 19 - March 20

People who followed you in the past may now confront you with a difference of opinion, Pisces. No need to worry as a healthy dialogue could help the relationship grow.

CLUES ACROSS

1. A way to pick up

5. Presents

10. Type of guitar

14. Actor Idris

15. A citizen of Iran

16. Creative

17. Harness

18. Weight unit

19. You better call him

20. Utterly devoted

22. Male cat

23. Spiritual leader of a Jewish congregation

24. Risk-taker

27. A team’s best pitcher

30. Cool!

31. Women’s __ movement

32. Georgia rockers

35. Step-shaped recess

37. The princess could detect its presence

38. Type of truck

39. Butterhead lettuces

40. Angry people see it

41. Lines where two fabrics are sewn together

42. Soviet city

43. Carpet

44. Traveled all over

45. Thin, straight bar

46. Body art (slang)

47. Congressman (abbr.) 48. No seats available

49. Breaks apart

52. Arabic name

55. Ballplayer’s tool

56. Type of sword

60. Baseball team

61. Upper bract of grass oret

63. Italian Seaport

64. Ancient Syrian city

65. Shoelace tube

66. The Miami mascot is one

67. South American nation

68. Popular video game “Max __”

69. Body part

CLUES DOWN

1. German courtesy title

2. Ancient Greek City

3. Ancient Hebrew calendar month

4. Long-legged frog family

5. Photo

6. Delivered a speech

7. Lute in classical Indian music

8. Decorated

9. Take a seat

10. Belonging to a bottom layer

11. Member of a Semitic people

12. Part of a ticket

13. Defunct Guinean

ANSWERS

money

21. Challenges

23. Popular BBQ food

25. Subway dweller

26. By way of

27. Shady garden alcove

28. Egyptian city

29. Partner to “ owed”

32. Widens

33. Old Eurasian wheat

34. Act incorrectly

36. European pipeline

37. Al Bundy’s wife

38. Ocean

40. Root eaten as a vegetable 41. Sound units 43. Style of music 44. A way to drench 46. Hot beverage

A cotton fabric with a satiny nish

Rumanian city

Urge to action

Vaccine developer

Canadian law enforcers

Wings

“Perry Mason” actor Raymond

Emmy winner portrays Frost

Middlebury Acting Company presents “Robert Frost: This Verse Business” by A.M. Dolan, starring Gordon Clapp, an Emmy Award-winning and Tony-nominated actor best known for his 12 seasons as Det. Greg Medavoy on “NYPD Blue.”

Clapp, a resident of Norwich, and the play’s author have long wanted to bring their show to Middlebury, where Frost has a rich history. No one is more closely identified with Bread Loaf than Frost, who first came to the School of English in 1921, encouraged the founding of the Writers’ Conference in 1926, and returned to the Bread Loaf campus nearly every year for 42 years.

Legend has it that Frost used to attend movies at the Town Hall Theater, so it is especially poignant for Clapp to perform the show in that space. Performances will

BOAT

continued from page 2

rulemaking process to date and said that wake boats currently represent less than 5 percent of motorized vessels using Vermont water bodies. The state is also exploring education, outreach and enforcement, as suggested by residents, and plans to continue to collect evidence and comment, Pierson said.

The last hearing was held online Aug. 3. The department will also accept written comments with the subject line “wake boats”

take place Friday, Sept. 8, at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 9-10, at 2 p.m.

Dolan created the script from actual transcripts of Robert Frost’s famous talks, gleaned from the nearly 50 years Frost “barded” around the country charming audiences with his celebrated verse and rascally sense of humor. Frost’s great wit and poetry are heard afresh in his award-winning one-man play. In the show, the poet shares his pointed and funny opinions on politics, science, religion and art, interspersed with performances of his poems from memory.

After the Saturday matinee, local Frost biographer Jay Parini will join Dolan and Clapp for a post-show discussion.

There will be a special reception after the show on opening night. More at townhalltheater.org.

by email to anr.wsmdlakes@vermont.gov until 4:30 p.m. on Aug.10, when the public comment period will end.

Wake-sport eligible lakes and ponds total 31 in Vermont. Those include Lake Iroquois in Hinesburg, total acreage of 247, size of the wake-boat eligible area under the proposed rules, 53 acres; Caspian Lake in Greensboro, 790 acres, 461 allowed; and Waterbury Reservoir, 869 acres, 59 acres allowed. For the full list, go to bit.ly/3KoX2Ce.

PHOTO BY ALEX WOODWARD

Gordon Clapp as Robert Frost in a 2017 Northern Stage production of “Robert Forst: This Verse Business.”