The Citizen - 8-24-23

Hinesburg sets tax rate

Increase is negligible

Hinesburg has set its tax rate for the 2024 fiscal year at a slightly higher number than originally anticipated — a 0.1 percent increase to be exact.

The town’s $4.7 million budget, approved by voters in March, came with a 3.6 percent tax increase. But towns don’t codify their grand lists until the end of the fiscal year — and with the grand list increasing “slightly less” than estimated, the town is bumping up the tax rate to 3.7 percent. That means homes with an assessed value of $100,000 will see a $21.50 increase to their tax bill, rather than a $21 increase under the original tax rate.

Altogether, when adding the residential school rate plus the town rate, the combined increase is 4.67 percent, resulting in a tax bill increase of $101.20 per $100,000 of assessed value, according to Hinesburg town manager Todd Odit.

A home assessed at $400,000, for example, would see its total bill increase by $404.80 for a total of $9,068.

The town’s fiscal year 2024 budget, totaling $4,798,710, includes little in the way of spending increases — only 0.25 percent. The town’s goal is to try and keep expenses stable amid declining non-tax revenues.

“There was a fairly sizable reduction in non-tax revenue, so that meant that the amount raised taxes was going to go up by that amount, even if spending didn’t go up,” Odit said previously.

The budget and tax rate’s initial vote by the selectboard was not unanimous. Selectboard member Dennis Place said he wanted to see some services cut to limit tax increases.

“It just keeps adding up year after year after year,” he said.

Odit said that the town would have to cut the budget by about $180,000 to not raise taxes at all and indicated that the town is “really at its taxing capacity” until new development comes online.

War correspondent, author talks life overseas

LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER

Dozens of Charlotte residents met in the Charlotte library Saturday to hear daring stories of overseas adventures from war correspondent and author Anjan Sundaram as he discussed his newest book, “Break up: A Marriage in Wartime,” a tell-all about the personal costs many journalists make to deliver the news.

But how exactly did Sundaram make his way from Mexico City to Charlotte? Turns out, the book is also a first-hand account of selectboard member Lewis Mudge’s work with Human Rights Watch, an international non-governmental organization that investigates and reports on war crimes in dozens of countries across the globe, centered around the Central African Republic.

Sundaram came to journalism out of curiosity and happenstance, which has turned into a life’s work of fighting some of

the world’s greatest injustices and re-telling stories about parts of the world most people will never see.

A Yale graduate with a mathematics degree, Sundaram was working as a mathematician for Goldman Sachs when he opened up the New York Times one day in the dining hall.

“I saw, middle of the newspaper, bottom of the page a story that four million people had died in this war in Congo, and it blew my mind,” he said. “I didn’t understand why this was in the middle of the newspaper and not the front page.”

One thing led to the next and as he was paying his final school loan bill for school, he started talking with the cashier who happened to be from Africa.

“I asked her where she was from and she said she was from Congo, and I told her that I wanted to go there. She said, ‘Oh, you stupid Yale kids,’” he laughed as he let out a grinning smile. “I became friends

with her and finally she accepted for me to stay with her in-laws in the Congo. I bought a one-way ticket after I graduated and showed up with no journalism experience. I had never even written a story.”

At this time, he booked his first gig and became a freelance reporter for the Associated Press and began writing his first book, “Stringer: A Reporter’s Journey in the Congo,” the first of three books recounting his life from age 20 until 33.

From there, he moved to Rwanda where he coincidentally met Mudge and wrote his second book, “Bad News: Last Journalists in a Dictatorship.”

“I went there to teach a class of about 12 journalists,” he said. “Rwanda to a lot of people is known as a beacon of progress, but Lewis and I happened to see a very different side of the country.”

COREY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER

PHOTO BY LIBERTY DARR

War correspondent Anjan Sundaram gives a book talk at the Charlotte library, with his friend and colleague Lewis Mudge, a Charlotte resident and selectboard member.

‘Mujeres Fuertes’ premieres at Jewish center

LILLY KELLER STAFF WRITER

Empowerment self-defense instructor Toby Israel has a strong penchant for uplifting others through teaching.

Vermont residents can now experience her expertise and dedication to the unique combination of physical combat and holistic principles at the debut of Israel’s documentary “Mujeres Fuertes” Thursday, Aug. 31, at the Jewish Community of Greater Stowe Center.

Israel’s introduction to self-defense happened in 2018 while studying abroad in Costa Rica for her master’s degree at Middlebury College. During this time, she became familiar with empowerment self-defense, a martial arts approach that covers combat techniques, verbal confrontation, awareness skills and mindfulness practices.

“I just felt like this really important knowledge had been given to me, and I felt like I had this real responsibility to share it with everyone,” Israel said.

Israel seamlessly transitioned from learning empowerment self-defense to teaching it. Before her time in Costa Rica, she conducted global yoga retreats, spanning locations like Vermont, Finland and Africa. While initially holding a few self-defense workshops in Costa Rica, she saw the demand multiply, leading her to establish a brand focused on empowering women.

“Before I started teaching ESD, I was writing a lot about solo female travel and so I was really interested in empowering women from that side, through writing about my experiences as a solo female traveler and encouraging people to face their fears and do whatever they felt called to do and not be limited by what society tells us we can do,” Israel said.

Established in 2018 in Costa

Rica, Israel’s empowerment initiative, Mujeres Fuertes, which translates to “strong women,” began by providing retreats and workshops to locals. These sessions focused on various topics, from physical self-defense techniques to effective communication strategies, including establishing boundaries, situation de-escalation and asking for help.

“There’s also all this theory and sort of cultural and social component which we focus on, like how does violence show up in our lives, especially for women, but also for everyone? Who are the aggressors? Most of the time, they’re actually not strangers, they’re usually people we know,” Israel said.

In the U.S., one in three women has experienced some form of physical violence by an intimate partner, according to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Similarly, in Costa Rica, eight out of 10 victims of domestic violence are female.

Even as the pandemic of 2020 disrupted countless aspects of daily life, it failed to diminish the demand for Israel’s workshops. This sustained interest prompted her to explore avenues for sharing the empowering lessons of Mujeres Fuertes with an even broader audience.

Israel’s documentary “Mujeres Fuertes,” directed by Karina Elizondo, serves as a visual portrayal of self-defense, personal empowerment and freedom. It showcases the project’s goal of violence prevention education through workshop clips, participant stories and the way empowerment self-defense nurtures resilience and courage.

During two weeks in April 2021, Elizondo documented Mujeres Fuertes’ two-week tour across 11 locations in Costa Rica.

PHOTOS BY KARINA ELIZONDO

Toby Israel in a still from “Mujeres Fuertes,” her film that showcases the workshops she created meant empower women. Israel with self-defense class in Cota Rica.

See ISRAEL on page 3

Charlotte sets tax rate

LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER

At a special meeting Tuesday night, the Charlotte Selectboard set the official tax rate this year at a slightly lower rate than what residents were expecting on Town Meeting Day.

With a $2.7 million voter-approved municipal budget, the municipal tax rate is 18 cents, down from 24 cents last year. The education tax rate for Charlotte came in at $1.09 for homesteads and $1.17 for non-homesteads.

Combined, a Charlotte resident with a $500,000 home will pay $6,350 in property taxes.

The grandlist — the total sum of taxable property — this year also went over the $1 billion threshold.

“The tax rate went down, but the grand list went up,” selectboard chair Jim Faulkner said. “The reality of it is it’s not like all of a sudden you’re saving money.”

Resident concern came last week after town clerk Mary Mead presented a year-to-date update for fiscal year 2023 showing the town overspent by $106,741 and dissolved its reserve fund balance.

“When we’re setting the tax rate, we typically like to have reserved in our fund balance 5 to 8 percent of the coming year’s budgeted expenses,” she said at last week’s meeting. She said the town should have between $275,000 to $325,000 in its fund balance.

“But the bottom line is when we go to set the tax rate, we’re going to have to add money to bring that fund balance up,” she said.

After such a contentious budget season — the first budget failed on Town Meeting Day — residents

ISRAEL

continued from page 2

Throughout the tour, Israel led a dozen educational classes and taught self-defense to over 100 women and girls.

“At the core, all this work is really about changing cultures,” Israel said. “It’s fantastic if I feel like I have boundary setting tools so I can stay safe, but what do we really want? We want a world where no one has to set so many boundaries, because we respect each other and because there is less violence, and that only happens when you get a critical mass of people standing up for themselves and standing up for one another.”

To sign up to watch “Mujeres Fuertes,” and join Israel’s self-defense workshop right after the screening, visit jcogs.org/event/ toby-israel.html.

raised alarm over where exactly the spending went wrong.

“There’s a lot of concern here,” Rosemary Zezulinski said. “That’s why the budget failed the first time. People thought they were saving and then to find out this reserve fund was brought way down, it’s interesting.”

But Mead said Tuesday that the town had received a long-awaited $88,000 paving grant that the town can use for fiscal year 2023 as long as it comes in before Aug. 31.

“We are in a good place now. We are not in a deficit,” she said. “When we set the tax rate, we’re just using the budget that was voted on to set that tax rate, there is no addition.”

“The grant is booked as a deferred liability,” she said.

If it comes in before the August deadline, it can be considered revenue.

“We aren’t always able to budget grants as revenue for the year that they actually come in,” she said.

Faulkner said he received a slew of concerned resident feedback last week, but the board had no authority to change the budget at this point.

“Mary saved the day today at about 4 p.m,” Faulker said, adding that a previously passed budget cannot be amended.

“Clearly, the taxpayer has spoken. We have to use what was voted on, no more, no less,” he said.

A summer graze

Hinesburg water line inventory gets underway

COREY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER

Hinesburg, like other towns in Vermont and throughout the country, is beginning to take stock of its water lines as part of a federally mandated program to find and remove lead pipes.

The new requirement mandates all towns with public drinking water systems to complete a lead service line inventory by October 2024 to comply with new federal lead and copper rules.

“It’s a requirement of the state that we do a survey of the service line — which is basically the line

between the curb stop and the house — to see whether they are lead or not,” town manager Todd Odit said.

Roughly $140 million was allocated for Vermont by the federal government, but Vermont’s public water systems are eligible for low-interest loans that will be eligible for partial forgiveness.

The town has hired MSK Engineers to conduct the inventory.

The town, along with MSK Engineers, completed a Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Fund Application for $100,000 to complete the work, according to Joy Dubin Grossman, Hinesburg’s assistant

town manager.

Most of that money will be eligible for loan forgiveness.

While work is still underway, there are still some undetermined areas. MSK completed a survey of Lyman Meadows water service line earlier this year.

Lead, when consumed, poses dangerous health impacts on heart health, kidney function, and can interfere with red blood cells’ ability to carry oxygen to the body. New regulations and stricter limits on the federal level aim at reducing this exposure — roughly six years after the Flint, Mich., water crisis.

PHOTO BY LEE KROHN

Sheep graze on a hillside at Meach Cove Farm.

Hinesburg Police Blotter

Total Incidents: 57

Traffic Stops: 26

Arrests: 1

Aug. 15 at 7:30 a.m., officers investigated suspicious activity on Hollow Road.

Aug. 16 at 7:22 a.m., an animal complaint on Route 116 was investigated.

12:30 p.m. Officers responded to a single-car motor vehicle crash involving a deer on North Road.

Aug. 17 at 8:54 a.m., found property was turned in and later returned to the owner.

Aug. 17 at 8:56 a.m., an officer responded to Cedar Knoll Country Club for someone who was verbally threatening staff and customers for not giving him gasoline.

Aug 17 at 1:30 p.m., a loose dog was turned over to police. The owner was later located.

Aug. 17 at 9:28 p.m., officers investigated suspicious activity on Leavensworth Road.

Aug. 18 at 10:06 a.m., a welfare check was conducted on Mountain Spring Court.

Aug. 18 at 5:53 p.m., officers responded to a two-car motor vehicle crash on Commerce Street.

Aug. 19 at 12:15 p.m., officers investigated suspicious activity on Route 116.

Aug. 20 at 9:06 a.m., police stopped a car for speeding on Silver Street. The operator, Alicha Lussier, 38 of Bristol, was arrested on an active warrant for failure to appear in court.

Aug. 21 at 1:56 p.m., police investigated property damage at a business on Ballard’s Corner Road.

Aug. 21 at 3:35 p.m., an officer responded to Charlotte Road for a disabled vehicle.

New hemlock guide details management for keystone tree

The eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) is a keystone tree species in northern forests with ecological, economic and cultural significance.

Hemlock stands provide important wildlife habitat, including shade to cool trout streams, as well as a place for camping, hiking, hunting and other recreational activities. In addition, this softwood species, while lower in sawtimber value than many other species, is harvested commercially for pulpwood, bark mulch and construction and landscape timber.

However, hemlock is vulnerable to several threats to its survival, among them the impact of climate change and the spread of invasive species, including the hemlock woolly adelgid and elongate hemlock scale.

Hemlocks are considered a foundational species, helping to create favorable conditions for other plants and animals, so any decline or loss in hemlock will have a ripple effect.

This recently released guide offers comprehensive and sustainable strategies for maintaining hemlock stands in Vermont’s forests.

The guide covers the biology and importance of hemlock; identification of threats, including native and non-native insect and fungal stressors; and the longrange impact of hemlock decline and mortality.

It also describes the state’s efforts to monitor public lands for infestations and how the public can scout for these invasive pests on private land.

Other sections deal with management and controls, which range from taking an integrated pest management to the use of biological or chemical controls, and cultural methods and active and passive silvicultural techniques.

The guide also includes information on recent work to preserve hemlock genetic material and U.S. Department of Agriculture programs and funding opportunities for the management and treatment of hemlock on private lands.

To view the guide, go to go.uvm.edu/hemlock.

Vermont State Police Blotter

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The Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation, University of Vermont Extension, Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Atowi project collaborated to develop the “Management Guide for Eastern Hemlock Conservation in Vermont.”

Aug. 18 at 1:50 a.m. Neil Freeman, 50, transient, was arrested for driving with a criminally suspended license and driving under the influence, fourth offense, and refusing a breathalyzer after police say they found him asleep in a vehicle with the engine running in a parking lot off Stella Road in Hinesburg.

Aug. 18 at 11:19 p.m., police arrested Patrick Christian, 39, of Charlotte, for driving under the influence, refusal, after stop-

ping him for a motor vehicle violation on Old Hollow Road near the intersection with Four Winds Road in Ferrisburgh. Police said it was Christian’s third alleged DUI offense. Aug. 19 at 12:15 a.m., Christopher Coleman, 45, of Charlotte, was arrested for driving under the influence, second offense, after he was stopped by police for a motor vehicle violation on Spear Street near the intersection with Guinea Road in Charlotte.

The Citizen is published weekly and mailed free to residents and businesses in Charlotte and Hinesburg and rack distributed at select high traffic locations. The Vermont Community Newspaper Group LLC assumes no responsibility for typographical errors in advertisements and reserves the right to refuse advertising and editorial copy.

The loneliness of grief

In Musing

Carole Vasta Folley

Loss is such an inherent part of life, it’s a wonder we’re not better able to absorb it. Instead, it can stop us mid-air with no parachute to be found; gravity tumbling us to hard ground where we’re forced to reckon with the empty chair, the random voicemail and the infinite remnants of an entire life.

It’s no wonder grieving how-tos are a booming business. Books upon books about coping, dealing and healing. It makes total sense why we need these resources since we live in a culture that tends to package death as an event that happens and ends.

For many, and maybe most of us, that is far from true. We struggle to grieve among the living. For some, the grief is unnavigable. It’s as incomprehensible that one still has to brush their teeth let alone show up for work.

And it’s awkward. Oh, so awkward when people act like death is over. The funeral could be a month or a year ago, either way, no one is going to talk about it or mention the person who died. Well intentioned, it’s as if we’re afraid to remind the bereaved of their loss. Even though, inside, we know they’re breathing their loss every day.

Perhaps this not talking thing only adds to the insufferableness of grief. That once the initial condolences and memorials have passed, the bereaved often must soldier on alone.

What if talking about those who have died is the path to help soften and ease suffering? Maybe grief itself isn’t a thing to fix, heal or expect to ever end, and is not meant to be borne in isolation. Seems to me that grief could have a seat at the table. Invited in and welcomed. After all, when we don’t talk about those who have died with the people who loved them, it’s as if their loved one never existed.

Of course, no one can say what happens to us when we die, but I’ve always felt that something of the person who died remains in our day-to-day realm. This belief took root in my seventh-grade science class when I was taught that matter is neither created nor destroyed. It cycles through

the universe.

“The cosmos is within us,” Carl Sagan said. “We are made of star-stuff.”

So how could a person who died be gone?

It’s not difficult for me to get my head and heart around this concept. For when I think of a beloved who has died, it is not their anatomy or mortal being that thrum in their absence. It’s their ineffable spirit. Their energy, the magnificent difference they made in the world, and, for lack of a better word, their soul. All the things that made me love them when they were here, I still love. More importantly, I still feel.

It’s not just the so-called good things about our loved ones that remain, it’s the annoying stuff too. For years I’ve told my husband that when I’m gone what he will miss the most about me are the quirks that make me — me. From overthinking every situation to crying while watching the news. From bypassing the open carton of milk for the new one to putting toothpaste directly in my mouth rather than on the brush. (I know, how could I?)

Yet, those will be the things he’ll miss.

I think we’ve all noticed this in one way or another. How former complaints about a departed loved one somehow transmute into behaviors that we now appreciate, forgive and even laud. It’s another way we experience the existence of our person. Their essence cannot be destroyed. It lives. Differently. But here, right here. Whenever we pay attention.

So, talk about people who have died with their loved ones, with respect and full understanding if that’s not wanted. But I believe, overall, it is wanted. That grieving in communion is a catalyst for intimacy and empathy.

For some, it will be a way to hear, “You’re not alone. I hold this with you.” For others, it’ll be stories and memories of their loved ones that can bring some light to the dark.

Kahil Gibran wrote, “When you are sorrowful, look again in your heart and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.”

Carole Vasta Folley is an award-winning columnist and playwright. Read more at carolevf.com.

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We understand the love you have for your pets and the importance they hold in your life. Our compassionate staff is devoted to easing the difficulties at this challenging time. Our

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Carole Vasta Folley

For more than 20 years

Street outreach team meets people where they are

Guest Perspective

Kelly Deforge

With the state’s expanded motel program for people experiencing homelessness on temporary extension, overdose rates reaching new record highs and so many recent news stories about violence and behavioral issues in public spaces, concerns about impacts on affected individuals’ well-being and the community are understandably running high.

Amid these concerns, it’s been gratifying to see movement in the state toward funding innovative approaches like mental health urgent care centers and systemwide mobile crisis outreach programs. Howard Center has partnered with other designated agencies, the Community Health Centers of Burlington and the University of Vermont Medical Center and submitted proposals to the state to implement both models. With funding secured, we look forward to bringing them on-line soon.

At Howard Center, we know the value of on-the-ground support because our street outreach team has been providing it in Burlington for 24 years. When properly resourced, the program has been transformative because it establishes relationships with people upstream from hospital emergency departments and police interventions.

Often, the team has been able to address issues faced by individuals before those issues become critical. Street outreach, founded to help people in the city center and adjacent areas access social services and health care and to intervene instead of police with trusted clinically skilled individuals integrated within a treatment-focused and mission-driven organization, today has five members who start most days at 8 a.m., checking on people who are out and about early or have slept outdoors.

Police dispatch and officers on the street know the outreach team and contact them when situations require a social services intervention rather than a police response, or when a co-response is more likely to best meet an individual’s needs. More often, the relationships team members build over time with people in the community create a high level of trust and familiarity, so people approach team members proactively when they need support, and business owners and office workers call when they have questions.

As one team member succinctly put it, “people tend to open up pretty quickly once they understand who we are.”

The team helps people with all kinds of needs. Members help people make appointments for mental health counseling and medical services, and they accompany those who are anxious about using facility-based

services to their appointments. Another crucial part of the team’s work is providing basic needs like cellphone minutes, help with transportation and survival gear like sleeping bags and boots. Team members carry overdose reversal medication, administering it several times in recent months.

Often, the people street outreach help have multiple problems.

“Maybe someone has a relationship conflict,” said a team member, “and that leads to homelessness first, then substance use, then to mental health issues. Things just compound for them.”

The team works to interrupt this escalation by addressing underlying issues and avoiding worsening problems that can end in a medical emergency, arrest or incarceration. And the approach works.

The team helps about 1,000 people every year, and the vast majority remain stable and avoid the most tragic outcomes. Most importantly and almost universally, the individuals we help report being listened to and treated with respect and care. It is no surprise then that our street outreach team has been asked to consult with groups across the country and in Canada, resulting in replication of the outreach team concept in several other cities.

That success inspired Howard Center’s community outreach team to partner with

several local municipalities. The team’s work is similar as it often prevents a police response for social service needs and provides needed resources and a bridge to services and treatment. The team began working in six communities initially and is now offering support in nine communities throughout Chittenden County — Colchester, Essex, Hinesburg, Milton, Richmond, Shelburne, South Burlington, Williston and Winooski.

What a great example of shared investment in the well-being of our communities serving some of our most vulnerable neighbors.

In the last few years clinicians have also partnered with Vermont State Police to provide mental health crisis assessment, de-escalation, consultation and support. Through this partnership, people who otherwise may have entered the criminal justice system are instead connected to the mental health and social services supports they need.

As Howard Center board and community members, we are proud to say that when we say “Help is here” at Howard Center here is often where our friends and neighbors need help — in the community.

Kelly Deforge is vice president of Howard Center’s board of trustees. She lives in Essex.

North meets south: flying squirrel hybrids

The Outside Story

Gretchen Uhrinek

It’s evening, and you’re in the forest. You close your eyes and inhale the sharp, sweet, turpentine scent of pine. The air is still, yet the branches overhead seem to nod at your presence.

You shine a flashlight and catch a glimpse: a fleeting, tiny ball of fur, arms and legs outstretched, tail like a rudder, gliding through the night. It lands on a tree trunk, pauses, then launches itself again.

A flying squirrel, in its glory.

If you’re where winter nights are coldest and pine forests abound, you’re likely in the presence of Glaucomys sabrinus, the northern flying squirrel. In warmer regions or hardwood forests, you might find yourself in the company of their southern brethren, Glaucomys volans.

Until recently, the two never crossed paths. Now, they share more than habitat; they’re swapping DNA.

Northern flying squirrels are the larger of the two species. Measuring around 11 inches and weighing about 5 ounces — slightly less than a baseball — these big-eyed rodents can glide up to 295 feet.

They prefer mature coniferous forest and construct nests of lichen and leaves on branches, in tree hollows and underground. They also build separate latrines, unlike southern flying squirrels, which apparently have no qualm about sleeping in excrement.

Southern flying squirrels average a diminutive 9 inches long (tail included), weigh no more than 3 ounces, and only glide as far as 200 feet.

Unlike their northern cousins, these squirrels only nest in tree cavities. Some southern flying squirrel dens will house more than 50 roosting squirrels at a time.

Both species are nocturnal and have unique patagia (their “wings”) that help them glide long distances and turn mid-air with great precision.

As northern regions become warmer, southern flying squirrels are appearing in territories that previously only supported their northern cousins.

This, paired with deforestation and habitat fragmentation, sometimes forces the two species to share one den. There are two main consequences to this cohabitation: death and life.

Southern flying squirrels often carry Strongyloides robustus nematodes. While this intestinal parasite doesn’t affect southern flying squirrels, it can be fatal to the northern species.

Since southern flying squirrels don’t separate their latrines from their nests, and since the nematode spreads through waste, cohabitation is often fatal for northern flying squirrels.

In fact, northern flying squirrels are endangered in Pennsylvania, a hotspot of interspecies squirrel mingling.

Now let us consider life. Officially, North America only claims

three species of flying squirrels. Scientists discovered a third species in the Pacific Northwest in 2017.

But now that southern and northern flying squirrels are forced to live in unprecedented closeness — known as sympatry — there’s a new squirrel in town. Hybrid flying squirrels, which were first documented in a 2009 study led by researcher Colin Garroway, are not officially a species — yet.

“What we have here is a ‘leaky’ species barrier,” Garroway said. “In a sense, speciation between northern and southern flying squirrels has not quite finished.”

Garroway and his team first discovered the possibility of hybridization when they started catching “funny-looking squirrels.” Their fur colors and body size weren’t quite right for either northern or southern flying squirrels.

Genetic testing confirmed the researchers’ hunch: the two species were interbreeding. Interestingly, their hybrid offspring were also viable breeders — not just with each other, but also with their parental species.

This ability to continue reproducing with their parental species is a key reason why speciation has not officially occurred here.

“What’s neat is that (each) species can be maintained, but different genes can cross the

ILLUSTRATION BY ADELAIDE MURPHY TYROL

Community Notes

August programs at Charlotte Senior Center

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

• Play reading, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2-4:30 p.m.

With Sue Foley and Wally Gates. No tryouts, no rehearsals, no critical reviews. The group meets monthly and is for people who enjoy reading plays aloud or listening to others perform. Each month a play is selected, parts are assigned, and scripts are distributed. Contact Sue at ssnfoley@ icloud.com with questions.

Shelburne Age Well hosts

Grab and Go meal

Age Well and St. Catherine’s of Siena Parish in Shelburne are teaming up to provide a meal to go for anyone age 60 and older on Tuesday, Sept. 12.

The meal will be available for pick up in the parking lot at 72 Church St. from 11 a.m. until noon and are available for anyone 60 or older. Suggested donation is $5.

The menu is Swedish steak with mushroom sauce, seasoned penne pasta, broccoli, wheat bread, vanilla fluff with blueberries and strawberries and milk.

To order a meal contact Kathleen at agewellstcath@gmail.com or 802-5031107. Deadline to order is Wednesday, Sept. 6. If this is a first-time order, provide your name, address, phone number and date of birth.

Enjoy Age Well meals at Charlotte Senior Center

The Age Well meal pickup for Thursday, Aug. 24, is from 10-11 a.m., Charlotte Senior Center, 212 Ferry Road, and features turkey vegetable burger with sauce, rice with lentils, Brussel sprouts, wheat bread, birthday pound cake and milk.

You must have pre-registered by the prior Monday at 802-425-6345 or meals@ charlotteseniorcentervt.org

The meal on Thursday, Aug. 31, features pork loin with sauce, mashed potatoes, spinach, wheat biscuit, apple cake, and milk.

The meal on Thursday, Sept. 7, features chicken marsala with mushroom sauce, diced potatoes, peas and onions, potato roll with butter, pumpkin Craisin cookie and milk.

The suggested donation is $5. Check the website for last-minute cancellations at charlotteseniorcentervt.org.

Shelburne church hosts Red Cross blood drive

Give the lifesaving gift of blood at the Shelburne community blood drive sponsored by

St. Catherine of Siena Parish is holding a blood drive Tuesday, Sept. 19, noon-5

Dancing with Burlington Stars features local talent

Dancing with the Burlington Stars returns to the Flynn stage on Sunday, Sept. 17.

A community celebration of local talent, team spirit and generous people supporting a good cause, Dancing with the Burlington Stars is the annual fundraising event for the Vermont Association for the Blind & Visually Impaired.

All proceeds support the association’s statewide services for Vermont -

p.m., 72 Church St., Shelburne.

To sign up, call 800-733-2767 or visit redcrossblood.org and enter Shelburne to schedule an appointment. Appointments are strongly recommended as walk-ins cannot always be accommodated.

If you are an eligible type O, B - or A - donor, consider making a power red donation. Red blood cells are the most transfused blood component.

Contact Laureen with any questions at lmathon104@gmail.com.

Vergennes Day gets underway this weekend

Vergennes Day kicks off its 41st year Friday and Saturday, Aug. 25-26.

The weekend’s activities are hosted by the Addison County Chamber of Commerce and celebrate the city and community.

The weekend kicks off Friday with the annual street dance on the city green featuring music by The Hitmen, 7-10 p.m.

Activities continue Saturday begins with a pancake breakfast at the Vergennes Fire

ers with impaired vision to help them be more independent, cultivate adaptive skills and improve their quality of life.

Showtime is 6:30-8:30 p.m., and doors open at 6. Tickets are available at the Flynn box office.

Teams this year include Darren Springer and Caitlin Morgan, Heather Leibenguth and Rose Bedard, Doug DiSabito and Liza Matton Mercy, Sarah

Station from 7-10:30 a.m.

The Little City Races 5K Run/Walk, 10K, 15K and Kids 1K Fun Run kickoff at 8:15 a.m. at Vergennes Union Elementary School. Register at vergennesday.com.

Other activities include free horse and wagon rides and events hosted by the Bixby Library and Vergennes Rotary. The bandstand will feature music throughout the day.

From 10 a.m.-3 p.m. the green will feature more than 60 crafters and vendor booths offering handcrafts, locally made products, food and more.

Learn about communication, resources for dementia

Join community members, Vermonters with dementia, caregivers and Alzheimer’s Association staff to explore how to expand support for members of the community living with Alzheimer’s and dementia, Sunday, Aug. 27, 11 a.m.-noon, at Faith United Methodist Church, 899 Dorset St., South Burlington.

Information will also be provided on the

DeGray and Steve Wish Shannon, Cat Viglienzoni (South Burlington) and Eric Recchia, and Ali Dieng and Megan Stearns (Hinesburg).

Three guest teams will also perform: South Burlington High School Dance Team, BFA High School Dance Team and the Up North Dance Studio Team. Dancers come from South Burlington, Hinesburg, Burlington, Williston, Grand Isle, Milton and Essex.

latest treatments and the upcoming Walk to End Alzheimer’s. All are welcome, snacks provided.

More at alz.org/Vermont.

Photographer launches book on street murals

Burlington photographer Carolyn Bates will launch her newest book, “Street Murals of Burlington, Saturday, Sept. 9, at 4 p.m., at the First Congregational Church, 38 S. Winooski Avenue in Burlington.

The book is a photographic romp through the streets of Burlington, capturing images of the many examples of public artistry in the form of paintings and murals on buildings, fences and walls all over the city.

The event will include an exhibit of photographs that are included in the book. Bates will give a talk on the creation of the book and discuss the various artists included.

The public is welcome, and refreshments will be served.

COURTESY PHOTO

Participants from 2022’s Dancing with the Burlington Stars.

EEE kicks off fall lecture series with Dr. Mark Levine

Education & Enrichment for Everyone, a lifelong learning organization established in 1990, has announced its fall schedule of lectures.

Lectures are held on Fridays from 2-3 p.m. at Faith United Methodist Church, 899 Dorset St., South Burlington and on Zoom.

To enroll in the series, mail a check for $55 per person payable to EEE, c/o Cathy Chamberlain, 2504 Brand Farm Road, South Burlington VT 05403. Include your mailing address, phone number and email. Memberships will also be accepted at the lectures.

Walk-ins for individual live

lectures are also welcome. The fee is $8, check or cash, and payable at the door from non-members.

For more information, visit eeevermont.org, email info@ eeevermont.org or call 802-3435177.

Fall lectures

Friday, Sept. 8

“Public Health in Vermont” with Mark Levine, MD, Vermont commissioner of health

Friday, Sept. 15

“What’s So Great About Beethoven’s Fifth?” with Larry Hamberlin, recently retired professor of music, Middlebury

College

Friday, Sept. 22

“A Deep Dive into the History of the Burlington Ravine” with architectural historian Britta Tonn

Friday, Sept. 29

“Labor in the Food System” with Teresa Mares, associate professor of anthropology, and director for the graduate program in food systems, University of Vermont

Friday, Oct. 6

“Let Me Ask You This” with Jane Lindholm, host and producer of “But Why” and special projects, Vermont Public

Friday, Oct. 13

“State of the Economy:

Former Shelburne Farms leader pens ‘Attic of Dreams: A Memoir’

Marilyn Webb Neagley, one of the formative leaders of Shelburne Farms, has written a memoir, “Attic of Dreams: A Memoir.”

Her memoir traces a life of healing from family dysfunction and jumping headlong into a life of natural curiosity, art and activism. She explores the themes of home and community, addiction and secrecy, recovery and restoration, arts and the natural world, growth and wholeness, and how the changing times and culture are perceived through older eyes.

“Marilyn Neagley’s memoir addresses issues so critical now: how to take care of our natural world, of each other, of ourselves — we need magic attics of imagination and stories that inspire our activism,” Julia Alvarez, Domin-

OUTSIDE STORY

continued from page 7

species barrier via hybrids,” Garroway said.

As to what this means for the parent species, things could go a few ways.

We may see the formation of stable hybrid zones, where the two species consistently interact. We may see improved fitness of the parent species through successful back-crossing of DNA.

Or we may witness the extinction of one or both parent species. Hybridization-induced extinction, while rare, is not unprec-

ican-American poet, novelist, essayist and author of “Afterlife,” said. “In addition, her book touches on a beloved place in Vermonters’ hearts, and by extension all the beloved places on our planet home we have neglected for far too long.”

The book will be released by Rootstock Publishing Sept. 5. A public book launch with the author will be held Thursday, Sept. 7, at 6:30 p.m. at the Pierson Library in Shelburne.

Neagley served as president of Shelburne Farms in 1976 and was active in the foundation through the 1980s. She is the author of two previous books and co-editor of another. Her 2007 book, “Walking through the Seasons,” received a gold medal from the Independent Publisher Book Awards for best

northeastern nonfiction. She has been a Vermont Public Radio commentator and has written essays for her local newspaper. Neagley, raised in Ascutney, currently lives with her husband in Shelburne.

Vermont and Beyond” with Mike Pieciak, Vermont state treasurer

Friday, Oct. 20

“Electrifying Flight and Building the Work Force of the Future” with Tyler Seeholzer, team member, BETA Technologies

Friday, Oct. 27

“Rebel Memory: Indigenous Movements and Oral History in Bolivia” with journalist and UVM professor Benjamin Dangl

Friday, Nov. 3

“The 1960’s Fluxus Art Movement: Blurring Art and

Live” with John Killacky, former Vermont representative and rxecutive director, Flynn Center

Friday, Nov. 10

“Enabling Renewable Energy

Integration with Grid Flexibility” with Mads R. Almassalkhi, professor of electrical engineering, UVM

Friday, Nov. 17

“City Place: Burlington’s Long-awaited Project is On the Move!” with David C. Farrington Jr., president, Farrington Construction, and general manager of Cityplace Partners

edented. Garroway, however, doesn’t see the latter happening anytime soon.

As climate change shifts habitat boundaries and brings related species into contact with greater frequency, sympatric hybridization is becoming more common. We’re living in a real-time environmental experiment of unprecedented proportions, and nobody is quite sure what will happen next.

The world is in a flux of creation and destruction, and flying squirrels are just one part

of that. One small, furry, precious part.

Gretchen Uhrinek is a writer, editor and biologist living in Pittsburgh. Her work has been published in The Longridge Review, Defenestration Magazine, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and elsewhere. Illustration by Adelaide Murphy Tyrol. The Outside Story is assigned and edited by Northern Woodlands magazine and sponsored by the Wellborn Ecology Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, nhcf.org.

Marilyn Webb Neagley

Schools aim for more student sports, activities

TOMMY GARDNER STAFF WRITER

The state-level governing body for high school sports and other extracurricular activities is helping schools do more with less.

During the Vermont Principals’ Association annual media day Friday, executive director Jay Nichols said in his last full year as a high school principal about 25 years ago, there were 127,000 school-aged children in Vermont. Now, there are about 83,000 and he said projections indicate it could “go as low as the mid-to-high 60s” in the next decade.

“If that doesn’t scare the hell out of you, nothing should,” Nichols said.

Devin Wendel, president of the Vermont State Athletic Directors Association, said there has been something of a brain drain in the athletic directors’ offices across the state, too — going into the last school year, there were a dozen new athletic directors filling vacancies. This year, there is about half that level of turnover, “which I think is a step in the right direction,” Wendel said.

With a smaller pool of athletes for coaches to pull from, athletic directors will be tasked making sure coaches don’t coach too much. The current policy is that they can coach in that season and cannot have contact with the kids the rest of the year.

Lauren Thomas, the principals’ association assistant executive director, said there are plenty of gray areas — a varsity basketball coach could skipper a spring AAU team

with their own kid on it, but not other kids from the winter varsity team, for instance; or coaches could text their athletes in the off-season recommending workouts, as long as they are not mandatory.

Wendel said he’s heard from kids who feel pressure that if they don’t sign up for a coach’s summer club team at $1,000 a pop, they aren’t sure they’ll have a spot on the varsity team during the school year.

“We want to make sure that kids are feeling free and open to be three-sport athletes, two-sport athletes and not feel the pressure from their first sport, whatever that is,” Thomas said.

Another concern is the attempt by some athletic programs to try and lure athletes away from their primary schools. Again, Thomas said there are gray areas, where, for instance, a mom in the stands at a game touting her kid’s school is fine; it would not be OK if the mom was affiliated with the school, even with an indirect connection, like “a booster mom.”

Thomas said when she was working in Los Angeles, this type of school-level athlete poaching was so rampant she would call homes at night “to make sure our kids were sleeping in the addresses that they had on the registration papers.”

Nichols said the large number of towns with school choice complicates things. He said it would be fine for a school to try and woo a would-be student and use a strong athletic program as a recruitment factor but can’t make any promises the kid will make the team.

Last year, the principals’ association placed significant emphasis on fan behavior, requiring someone from host schools to read a version of the association’s pregame statement before every contest to all in attendance, encouraging good sportsmanship and discouraging bad behavior. The consequences are stern, with fans facing immediate ejection from games or being locked out of future events, or the forfeiture of the event or future events.

Bad fan behavior may play a part in a shortage of people donning black and white stripes and officiating contests. That and a dearth of younger refs.

“We have an official shortage,” Thomas said. “We have an aging-out population that didn’t solve itself last year, unfortunately.”

More than sports

The principals’ association’s Activity Standards Committee has emphasized students’ mental health, following the death by suicide of some college athletes last year.

“Thankfully, that trend hasn’t seemed to continue,” Thomas said.

The association aims to partner with schools to make sure student athletes are “maintaining healthy boundaries” and ensuring they are eating right and managing their workloads and stress “so that they’re able to obtain all the great things that come from extracurricular activities without feeling overwhelmed by them and the pressures that sometimes comes along with it,”

Thomas said.

The committee also wants to expand opportunities for students who do not join athletic teams. That includes support for debate events, Scholars’ Bowl, the Scripps Spelling Bee and visual and performing arts events.

The association has partnered with a new vendor, PlayVS, for its esports offerings. Esports, as your kids will tell you, are an array of competitive video game matchups, such as League of Legends, Rocket League and World of Warcraft digital card trading game Hearthstone.

Thomas said the previous vendor “did not live up to their expectations,” and PlayVS is already working on organizing a state championship in December that could involve spectators. Thomas added the new vendor has a nationwide presence, which greatly expands the competition.

“Should a school have a cancellation in their roster, PlayVS can connect them with a school that has an opening in their schedule nationwide, which is pretty cool,” Thomas said.

VPA executive director Jay Nichols said there is also an effort to get more support for debate teams, including scholarships to go to Washington, D.C. He said Vermont doesn’t support debate at the level of other states.

“We’re very interested in trying to do more non-athletic things for kids. Sometimes in Vermont, we don’t have that, because we’re so small,” Nichols said.

“We want to make sure that kids are feeling free and open to be three-sport athletes, two-sport athletes and nor feel the pressure from their first sport, whatever that is.”

— Lauren Thomas

PHOTO BY AL FREY

CVU’s Zorah Ngu battles for possession during a game against St. Johnsbury last fall.

Champlain Valley Little League wins all three divisions in 2023

Vermont holds all-star tournaments for three different Little League divisions, and this year Champlain Valley Little League won all three, a feat that has never been done before.

The three divisions include teams comprised of 8-to-10year olds, 9-to-11-year olds and 10-to-12-year olds. The first two divisions can advance to the district, state and regional level.

The third, the Little League Division (10-12), can also advance to the World Series tournament, this year played in Williamsport, Pa.

Champlain Valley lost its World Series bid July 30 in an 8-5 loss over against St. Johnsbury. (See our story, bit.ly/3QIkbmY.)

“The success of our three all-star teams and their historic sweep of the District 1 Championship in our inaugural season is a direct reflection of the hard work put in by the players and volunteer coaches, both in the regular and postseason,” Al Giangregorio, president of Champlain Valley Little League, said. “The league will continue to foster a development-based approach to continually build the skills of all 300-plus players in the league. We truly believe this is just the start of a long run of district and eventually state and regional championships in the future.”

The Champlain Valley Little League, part of District 1, includes Burlington American, Center City (Burlington), Colchester, Middlebury, Mount Abraham, North Burlington, Richmond, Addison County, South Burlington, Vergennes Area, Williston, Winooski and Champlain Valley (Charlotte, Shelburne and Hines-

burg).

Mike Niebur, manager of Champlain 11-12 all-stars, said the team had a magical ride this summer.

“This group of 12 fantastic athletes from Charlotte, Hinesburg and Shelburne brought home the championship — the first since 2010 — and finished its tournament run as the secondbest team in the state. As a coach I’ll best remember this team as being one without ego, with 12 kids who worked hard, loved each other, and played for one another in every single practice and game.”

“It was always ‘we’ or ‘the team.’ Everything we did, we did it together, as a team, as a family,” he said. “I’ll forever love each and every single one of these kids and be appreciative of our fantastic coaches, Ken McAvey and Andy Strauss, as well as all of the phenomenal families and community who supported these kids and this team from day one.”

9-11 district champions

The Champlain Valley Little League 9-11 all-stars also won the Vermont District 1 championship and went on to force a deciding win-or-go-home game at states. Overall, the team went 8-2-1 during the season with each loss coming by only one run.

The 9-11 all-stars ultimately lost 7-6 in 8 innings to finish second at the state championship.

“They played with passion, integrity and respect for the game and their community all the while playing an amazing brand of baseball over what was just an incredible summer of baseball,” said team manager Jonathan Wolf.

Below:

Oliver Miller, Oliver Siedlecki, Franco Caligiuri, Henry Flanagan, Charlie Bronner and Rufus D’Amore. In front, from left, Camden Fox, Charlie Wolff, Grant Giangregorio. The team was coached by Al Giangregorio, Mike Flanagan and Sam Fox.

8-10 all stars

“These kids epitomized the word team,” Giangregorio said.

Eight of the of 12 players on the team were first-year all-stars, “but they quickly rallied around one another and their level of play

increased practice by practice and game by game,” he said. They came into the four-team double elimination as the fourth seed and defeated the top-seeded two teams three times over the course of four days to claim the 8-10 district championship for the first time in

several years.

“This was a total team effort and all our players contributed to this well-earned accomplishment,” Giangregorio said.

The 8-10 all-stars were coached by Mike Flanagan, Sam Fox and Giangregorio.

COURTESY PHOTOS

Top left: The 9-11 team, front row, from left, Jacob Casarico, Henry Wolff, Cole Knudsen. Not pictured, coach Adam Knudsen. Middle row, from left, coach Eric Boyce, coach Jodie Casarico, Willem Flanagan, Felix Boyce, Griffin Daley, Emmett Trombley and manager Jonathan Wolff. Back row, from left, Levi Upton, Theo Lyons Judge, Finn Wolff, Gage Golston and Lane Edelbaum.

Above: The 11-12 team, front row, from left, Max Strauss, Carl Giangregorio, Braden Cook, Ty Niebur, Isaac Russell, Evan Dore, Holden Rodliff and Pete Stephen. Back row, from left, manager Mike Niebur, assistant coach Ken McAvey, Reid McAvey, Jaime Nassar, Izyk McGuire, Chase Rodliff and assistant coach Andy Strauss.

The 8-10 team, standing, from left, Will Powers, Cooper Tanis, Grayson DiGuglielmo,

Diamond Island Regatta supports Maritime Museum

The 11th Diamond Island Regatta, sponsored by the Diamond Island Yacht Club and Point Bay Marina to benefit the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, attracted 30 boats to Town Farm Bay Aug. 12 for a race in a light but consistent breeze.

The regatta, the club’s signature sailboat race, took boats on a course of about 11 miles, from the start and finish line in Town Farm Bay, south to Diamond Island, north to Essex on the New York shore and back to the finish line.

The next day, 21 boats — a record turnout — sailed in the third annual Split Rock Race, in winds that varied from one minute to the next, and from one patch of water to the next. The Lake Champlain checkerboard — windy on the black squares, flat calm on the white squares — scrambled the fleet. When the course was shortened to about five and a half miles, finishing just off Basin Harbor Club in Ferrisburgh, all the boats, from the fastest to slowest, wound up crossing the finish line within just a few minutes of each other.

Boats came from all over the lake for the weekend of racing, with sailors from, among other places, the Diamond Island Yacht Club in Charlotte, the Lake Champlain Yacht Club in Shelburne, the Malletts Bay Boat Club in Colchester, and even from as far as Mooney Bay, north of Plattsburgh, N.Y. Both races are part of the Lake Champlain Championship Series, a season-long competition that deter-

mines annual bragging rights in five classes: three spinnaker classes and two jib-and-main classes.

The races are scored using the performance handicap racing fleet system, so boats with different speed potentials can compete against each other. Each boat’s elapsed time for the course is turned into a “corrected” time to determine the winners in each class.

The first boat to finish in the Diamond Island Regatta on Saturday was Kjell Dahlen’s Odinn, a J/111 from Lake Champlain Yacht Club, in 1:39:43.

Odinn also won the Spinnaker A division on corrected time. First place in the Spinnaker B class went to Lift Ticket, a J/92S sailed by Sam Pratt of the Mallett’s Bay club. Spinnaker C class was won again this year by Benedek Erdos of the host club, sailing his Santana 2320R, Lil’ Bot.

In the jib-and-main classes, Schuss, a J/30 sailed by Cameron Giezendanner of Lake Champlain captured the JaM A Class.

In the JaM B Class, Morning Star — again, a Catalina 320 sailed by Stephen Unsworth, also of Lake Champlain — came out on top for the second straight year.

In Sunday’s Split Rock Race, the win in the Spinnaker A class went to Foxy Lady, a J/105 sailed by Jeff Hill of Lake Champlain. Lift Ticket and Pratt repeated their winning performance from Saturday, taking the Spinnaker B class.

Benedek Erdos and Lil’ Bot also doubled up by winning again

on Sunday in the Spinnaker C class. In the Jib and Main classes, Fritz Martin, commodore of the host Diamond Island Yacht Club, won JaM A with Slingshot, a J/30. And Meridian, an O’Day 28 sailed by Julie Trottier of Malletts Bay Boat Club, prevailed in the JaM B class.

As is the case every year, perhaps the biggest winner was the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. The money raised by the regular benefit events — a pre-race breakfast, lobster fest dinner, T-shirt sales and a raffle — are still being tallied, but all were on track for records.

During this waterlogged summer, it was a triumph of sorts that both races and the Saturday

evening lobster fest and awards dinner — a sell-out attended by about 100 people — saw only a few brief showers. The post-race events on Saturday included live music by local artist Tom Van Sant, a talk about the history of vessels plying the waters of Lake Champlain by Chris Sabick of the museum a raffle to benefit the museum, awards, and the dinner, all under the Diamond Island Yacht Club at Point Bay Marina.

The Saturday and Sunday races were both overseen by race director Wendy Friant from the committee boat, Rosie, a Lord Nelson Tug owned and captained by Will Patten. Dozens of other club volunteers worked tirelessly on and off the water, to make all

the weekend events possible. The Diamond Island Regatta was once again certified as a clean regatta by Sailors for the Sea. Initiatives taken included no single use plastics, providing a drinking water refill station for competitors and spectators, composting and recycling.

Find full regatta results at diamondislandyc.org.

Diamond Island Regatta, Aug. 12, 2023

Top finishers / finishes based on corrected time

Spinnaker A

1. Odinn, J/111,

PHOTOS BY TIM ETCHELLS

Some blue sky, some dramatic clouds and very fluky winds greeted the racers in the Split Rock Race, on Aug. 13.

The spinnaker fleet is off and running under a moody sky, just after the start of the Diamond Island Regatta on Aug. 12.

AUTHOR continued from page 1

He described unimaginable horror stories of journalists being killed, imprisoned or suddenly disappearing for talking critically about their government.

“The book really is about the demise of the free press, what a country feels and sounds like when the free press is shut down,” he said. “It can actually seem very peaceful, but the peace is not harmony, it is from people too afraid to speak up.”

The pages pay homage to nearly 17 journalists whose names cannot even be spoken in Rwanda to this day.

As fate would have it, Rwanda was only just the beginning of the adventure for Mudge and Sundaram. Mudge had been working in the Central African Republic since 2008 and, in 2013, Human Rights Watch flew him in just as the city was being overtaken by a rebel coup.

“I was shocked at the amount of death and destruction I was witnessing,” Mudge said. “I was really trying to get people to

REGATTA

continued from page 12

Kjell Dahlen, LCYC

2. Souvenir, C&C 115, Craig Meyerson, Mooney Bay

3. Stratos, J/105, Tom Moody & Tris Coffin, LCYC

Spinnaker B

1. Lift Ticket, J/92S, Sam Pratt, MBBC

2. Rum Butter, C&C Redline 41, Ted Castle, DIYC

3. Enki, C&C 99, Cindy Turcotte, LCYC

Jib & Main A

1. Schuss, J/30, Cameron Giezendanner, MBBC

2. Hot Chocolate, J/9, Jim Lampman, DIYC

3. Slingshot, J/30, Fritz Martin, DIYC

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

come embed with me and Anjan was the one I trusted the most to get the story out.”

“Lewis just kept saying to me, ‘You should come!’” Sundaram added.

The pair traveled through some of the most dangerous parts of the country for nearly three weeks, oftentimes the first people to show up after a massacre just happened.

“There was a moment where Doctors Without Borders called us and asked, ‘Where should we go?’” Sundaram remembered. “They are usually the ones who know where to go. We were just so far beyond the frontline.”

The book retells story after story of heroic people he met along the way, but also turns the camera inward and dissects the personal cost of such high-stakes work, which in the end, ultimately dissolved his marriage.

“People don’t talk about the personal cost, it’s not seen as something relevant,” he said.

“We are supposed to talk to the

people and the places we are reporting on, but we never turn the camera on ourselves. It’s only now in journalism circles we are beginning to talk about these things.”

Aside from his personal experiences while embarking in the Central African Republic, the trip shaped his friendship with Mudge in ways that most people will never be able to understand, and the two have remained close friends for nearly 15 years.

“There are very few people in the world in whose hands I put my life and I did that on this trip with Lewis,” Sundaram said.

Although most Charlotters know Mudge as a selectboard member tending to municipal issues like budgets and zoning matters, Sundaram’s latest book tells a whole different side to Mudge’s story.

“I have my work life and then I come back to my Charlotte life,” Mudge said. “But I am still (in Africa) almost every month. It’s really hard work to abandon.”

MULTIPLE POSITIONS

Jib & Main B

1. Morning Star … Again, Catalina 320, Stephen Unsworth, LCYC

2. Meridian, O’Day 28, Julie Trottier, MBBC

3. Bandolero, Nonsuch 26C, Pat Furr, DIYC

Split Rock Race, Aug. 13, 2023

Top finishers / finishes based on corrected time

Spinnaker A

1. Foxy Lady, J/105, Jeff Hill, LCYC

2. Souvenir, C&C 115, Craig Meyerson, Mooney Bay

3. Stratos, J/105, Tom Moody & Tris Coffin, LCYC

Spinnaker B

1. Lift Ticket, J/92S,

Driver Wanted

Sam Pratt, MBBC

2. Rum Butter, C&C Redline 41, Ted Castle, DIYC

3. Chicken Dinner, J/70, John Beal, DIYC

Jib & Main A

1. Slingshot, J/30, Fritz Martin, DIYC

2. Schuss, J/30, Cameron Giezendanner, MBBC

3. Honeymoon, Sabre 362, Jerry Henrichon, DIYC

Jib & Main B

1. Meridian, O’Day 28, Julie Trottier, MBBC

2. Morning Star … Again, Catalina 320, Stephen Unsworth, LCYC

3. Wingdam, Tartan 34C, David Hill, DIYC

2023-2024 SCHOOL YEAR

Are you interested in work that will make a difference in the community for future generations?

Special Education Teachers: Plan and adapt instructional programs to motivate and support eligible students in learning and personal growth. Bachelor’s degree, current or eligible for a Vermont Teaching License as a Consulting Teacher and/or Special Educator.

Interventionist: Provides educational and personal support to PK-12 students. Associate’s degree or 60 college credits preferred. Training provided.

Lunchroom/Recess Monitors: Supervise and assist students during lunch and/or recess. HS graduate or equivalent.

Crossing Guard: Supervise and assist students to cross streets and navigate traffic in designated locations. HS graduate or equivalent.

Bus Drivers: Transports students over established routes and special trips. Commercial Drivers license (CDL) class B, Senior Vermont Operator’s license with Vermont School Bus Endorsement needed, however, training may be provided to qualifying candidates.

Substitute Positions: Daily substitute positions in all departments and locations. HS Graduate, previous experience with school-age children preferred.

Nutritional Services: Prepares and serves meals to students and staff. Experience with large-scale cooking, food preparation, and serving is preferred.

School’s Out: Provides educational and recreational support and supervision to K-8 students in the after-school program. HS graduate minimum, some college preferred. Previous experience with the school-aged population is helpful. Please apply through SchoolSpring.com

Hart & Mead Energy and All Star Fuels in Hinesburg/Bristol area is looking for an individual with a clean CDL-B / Hazmat endorsement. Able to pass federally mandated drug screeening. DOT physical required. Competitive wage, paid holidays and sick time.

Contact hartmeadllc@gmail.com or 802-482-6666

(Keyword: South Burlington School District) or contact Elissa Galvez, HR Employment Specialist, at 802-652-7247 or egalvez@sbschools.net.

South Burlington School District

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

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

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

RABIES BAIT

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

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

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.

Porches

Outdoor Structures

802-343-4820

www.pleasantvalleyvt.com

PLEASANT VALLEY, INC.

Bob & Jessica Trautwine

Cell/Txt: 802-233-1451 • O ce: 802-497-1681

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

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

SHELBURNE DAY

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 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

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Mini Excavation

Painting Decks

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802-343-4820

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ARIES

March 21 - April 20

It is time to recharge your batteries this week, Aries. It may be challenging to slow down, but that is just what you need to do or you are going to run out of steam on your next project.

TAURUS

April 21 - May 21

Early on this week you may start out in a bit of a funk, Taurus. That all will change with some words from a friend that will help your mood bounce in the other direction.

GEMINI

May 22 - June 21

Gemini, the side of your brain responsible for pragmatism has been working overtime. You are ready to solve any problems and nd answers to most questions.

CANCER

June 22 - July 22

Cooperation from others has been hard to come by lately, Cancer. That could lead to some con icts along the way. Collectively you will have to nd some middle ground.

LEO

July 23 - Aug. 23

You could be focused on things in the past this week, Leo. This could start you on a trek to track down mementos in a home or to visit an antiques shop to make some purchases.

VIRGO

Aug. 24 - Sept. 22

Virgo, there is still a lot to learn, but you have the time right now to pay attention to everyone around you to glean what you can. Never stop gathering information.

LIBRA

Sept. 23 - Oct. 23

Even if others make suggestions, use your own judgement regarding how to spend time this week, Libra. You may want to eschew all responsibilities for something fun.

SCORPIO

Oct. 24 - Nov. 22

Seek new places for any sort of inspiration, Scorpio. You never know what you may uncover unless you visit new places instead of your old haunts. Start exploring this week.

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

Some outside energy has muted your normally boisterous personality, Sagittarius. You may want to skip out on social scenes and spend some time at home in the coming days.

CAPRICORN

Dec. 22 - Jan. 20

Strong opinions rule the day, so convincing others could be especially dif cult in the days ahead. Wait some time and they try again, Capricorn.

AQUARIUS

Jan. 21 - Feb. 18

Aquarius, there will be some measure of public speaking or performance in your near future, and it is likely giving you a bit nervous. No one will judge you, so try to lighten up.

PISCES

Feb. 19 - March 20

Pisces, you could encounter more oddballs than normal in your daily routines. From customers making scenes to quirky coworkers, you might need to be patient and openminded.

CLUES ACROSS

1. Russian painter

6. Very fast jet

9. Phillipine municipality

13. Intestinal

14. Small freshwater sh

15. Algerian coastal city

16. Vomit

17. Famed astronomer

18. Ghanaian currency

19. Improved the condition of

21. Int’l association of interpreters

22. Infections

23. Dish made with lentils

24. Thou

25. Former CIA

28. Unit used to compare power levels

29. Members of Pueblo people

31. Myanmar monetary units

33. Polished

36. Signed a contract

38. Nothing

39. Once-ubiquitous department store

41. Neural structures

44. Thick piece of something

45. Slang for trucks with trailers

46. Longing

48. Senior of cer

49. Levels of frequency

51. Bird’s beak

52. Move rapidly downwards

54. Koran chapters

56. Streteches out

60. Top of the human body

61. A Chinese temple and Indian town are two

62. Fertility god

63. Sea eagle

64. Dry

65. Zodiac sign

66. “Horizon Call of the Mountain” character

67. Have the ability to

68. Take somewhere

CLUES DOWN

1. “Iron Man” actress Leslie

2. Wings

3. Adjust the spacing

4. They’re usually locked

5. Atomic #43

6. Wise individuals

7. Horse mackerel

8. Pearl Jam’s debut album

9. Con nes

10. Colorless crystalline compound

11. Unsatisfactorily

12. Plant of the parsley family

14. Determines time

17. Causes the birth of

ANSWERS

20. Small ornament on a watch chain

21. Richly decorated cloth tapestry

23. Vito Corleone was one

25. Igbo musical instrument

26. Put in harmony

27. Japanese alcoholic drinks

29. Tinseltown

30. Closes tightly

32. Songs sung to one’s lover

34. One thousandth of an inch

35. Small drink of whiskey

37. Political divisions in ancient Greece

40. Helps little rms

42. Baby’s eating accessory

43. Very long periods of time 47. Small block of wood 49. Town in Surrey, England

Enquiry 52. Murdered 53. Bura-__: Chadic language 55. Crater on Mars 56. Mammal genus 57. Sock 58. Make 59. Stony waste matter 61. Partner to cheese 65. Pound