Standing around
What the hill?
How trees get ready for winter’s cold
Ski museum exhibit chronicles lost ski areas
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December 21, 2023
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Snow caps the iconic peak of Camels Hump.
Hinesburg budget now includes 4 percent tax hike COREY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER
Hinesburg’s draft budget reins in earlier tax increase estimates thanks to higher-than-expected revenue projections in Hinesburg and Richmond’s police agreement, but also by limiting appropriations to local committees. The fiscal year 2025 budget, if adopted and approved in March, would result in a 5.1 percent increase in the amount raised by taxes, totaling $199,908, according to a town memo. The town’s tax rate would increase by 3.95 percent for a jump in taxes of $23.80 per $100,000 of assessed property value — assuming a 1 percent increase in the value of the town’s grand list. The fiscal year 2024 budget saw a 3.6 percent tax increase. A significant factor in the lower-than-ex-
pected amount to be raised by taxes is due to assumed revenue of $240,000 for the next fiscal year from the town’s police contract with Richmond, which was previously estimated at $200,000. The Hinesburg Police Department this year began providing patrol coverage and police chief services to Richmond. Hinesburg has since brought on a sixth police officer to help fulfill that work. “Without that revenue, the amount raised in taxes would need to increase by 11.8 percent to cover the draft budget expenses,” a budget memo reads, adding that “as in previous years,” the budget assumes a deficit. “In other words, the budget as it is, wouldn’t raise enough revenue to cover the town’s expense needs,” the memo reads. In October, town manager Todd Odit projected that town could see a nearly 7 percent increase in the amount raised in
taxes. At the time, he said the town was in a similar situation as the prior year, with declining non-tax revenues amid an effort to keep costs down. But that budget included “everything that everyone asked for,” Odit said. The updated draft does not include many of the requests included in the first budget. The conservation commission, for example, asked for a $30,000 increase but was level funded; the affordable housing committee asked for a $10,000 increase; a $5,000 increase requested by the trails committee was reduced to $500; and a $3,000 increase requested by the town’s diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging committee was reduced to $500. Planned capital purchases, including a fire engine replacement and two highway trucks, require spending $147,000 more than the current year. The draft budget also
assumes a 15 percent health insurance premium increase for all employees. Odit, during a selectboard meeting, later suggested the possibility of asking voters “to do a dedicated tax rate for affordable housing and land conservation.” Currently, roughly a quarter of a resident’s tax bill is from the town. Of that amount, 75 percent is made up of the town’s operations, while the rest is money the town raises to give to outside agencies like the Green Mountain Transit Agency. The library is the largest outside agency appropriation and is requesting $256,200 for fiscal year 2025. The town will revisit the budget during its meeting Wednesday, held after press deadline, and is then expected to present a final draft at a public hearing on Jan. 3. Changes are still possible, but the town is expected to adopt and warn the budget for Town Meeting Day by the end of January.
Page 2 • December 21, 2023 • The Citizen
COURTESY PHOTOS
Above: Feeding Chittenden is a food shelf located in the Old North End of Burlington. Right: Edi Abeneto is the grocery distribution coordinator for Feeding Chittenden, and has been working there for over a decade.
Food shelves see increased need for services SAM JEFFERSON COMMUNITY NEWS SERVICE
Inside Feeding Chittenden, a food shelf located in the Old North End of Burlington, colorful murals dot the walls. Baguettes and fresh veggies fill the shelves of the space, which looks like a small grocery store. Edi Abeneto, Feeding Chittenden’s supervisor, greets up to four families at a time and welcomes them into the food shelf. He started at Feeding Chittenden as an interpreter in 2004. He speaks five languages, which has made him very valuable to have at the front desk. And recently, these services have become even more essential. Abeneto says Feeding Chittenden is seeing an uptick in the number of visitors using their services. “We have a number that’s increased now,” he said. “We’re seeing a lot of people coming here.” One of their customers, Nicholas Peters, is grateful for the service. Peters says he’s been unhoused in Burlington for the past
two years. “I’d starve if it wasn’t for them, so I mean it’s a great resource to have in the community,” he said. But it isn’t just people experiencing homelessness who have been using the food shelf’s services. Marie Baptiste is a nursing student and works full-time. She said the price for certain foods has gotten so high, it’s driven her to come here for things like bread and fresh produce. “When you’re in need, you don’t want people to put you down, so this is one thing they don’t do here. Which is really nice,” Baptiste said. A new federal report released last month finds hunger in the U.S. rose sharply last year. Many of Vermont’s charitable food providers have said 2023 hasn’t been any better. The Upper Valley Haven, a food pantry located in Hartford, is one of the many Vermont pantries that’s seen a similar increase in demand.
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“We can’t say exactly what is happening prolonged uptick in need. behind the scenes of what is leading to this One of the hopes is that more food stamp increase, but it is dramatic, and it is pres- funding could be on the way via the 2023 ent,” said Michael Redmond, the Haven’s Farm Bill. Renewed approximately every executive director. five years, the farm bill determines policy Morgan Bertholdt, the Haven’s regis- and funding levels for agriculture, food tration coordinator, said many clients have assistance programs, natural resources, and cited the same reason for seeking extra help: other aspects of food and agriculture under a tighter budget. the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or “A lot of people have mentioned the USDA. cuts with food stamps. Some families are Sayles said much of the discussion only getting $25 to $30 per around food stamp fundmonth, and that’s barely ing has become political. “When you’re in a bag of groceries nowa“The fight over the days,” Bertholdt said. farm bill, where the food need, you don’t In March, a pandemstamp levels are set, really ic-era boost in extra is about the dollars,” want people to put government funding for Sayles said. “Depending food stamps, also known as on your political party, you down, so this is 3SquaresVermont, ended. there are points of view The financial impact on of discouraging work by one thing they Vermont families has been making food resources huge, according to John available.” don’t do here.” Sayles, the CEO of the Sayles said he believes Vermont Food Bank. the extra funds do the — Marie Baptiste opposite. “When that ended across the country, the “Other people in average loss for a Vermont family was $500 Congress also say that (food stamps) help a month, and this was at the same time that people’s ability to work, and that’s certainly food inflation was taking off,” Sayles said. something that I believe,” Sayles said. Cuts to food stamps isn’t the sole reason With a possible government shutdown for increased food insecurity. Meredith looming, Sayles doesn’t think it’s all too Niles, an associate professor and food secu- likely that the Farm Bill will pass through rity expert at the University of Vermont, this year, and he’s not sure when the need in said it’s a combination of things. Vermont will cool off. “You sort of have this perfect storm of a “Honestly, I wouldn’t venture a guess on lot of issues where a lot of additional relief whether this one’s going to take 10 years or programs are coming to an end, and food five years or 20 years,” Sayles said. inflation has increased significantly in 2022, and wages have not necessarily kept pace,” This story is a collaboration between Niles said. Vermont Public and the Community News That’s been the overall message: the Service. The Community News Service is a flooding this summer, the food stamp budget student-powered partnership between the cuts, a tight housing market, these have all University of Vermont’s Reporting & Documeant it’s hard to pinpoint the exact reason mentary Storytelling program and commuwhy charitable food providers are seeing a nity newspapers across Vermont.
The Citizen • December 21, 2023 • Page 3
Charlotte sets public hearing for town manager petition minutiae of routine issues rather than homing in on the big issues the town needs to remedy. Selectboard members have As Charlotte preps its budget for Town Meeting Day, the town been making massive changes to has another decision to make: the town’s salary administration Should it switch to a town manag- policy that governs compensation for employees, choosing language er form of government? that gives more The question has power to itself loomed since March “This draft charter in future deciwhen a group of sion-making will be turned in residents circulated processes. The a petition to make to the town clerk changes have the change from a caused a massive town administrator in a few days. This stir and left the form of governtown divided in ment. The reasonallows the public where it stands ing, they say, is as on the issues. the town faces more to read the details Some feel complex issues, the selectboard a manager could behind the brief is discriminathelp with manageing against town ment, human article that will employees, resources, budgetwhile others are ing and finance, be voted as an demanding that and perform the employees have necessary legwork Australian ballot “more skin in the in service to the game” regarding selectboard, who, item.” their own beneother than receiving a small stipend, are — Lane Morrison fits.“We’ve been volunteers. Lane Morrison, along with in a situation where any kind former planning commission of proposed change has been chair Peter Joslin and develop- not well received,” selectboard ment review board chair Charlie member Kelly Devine said. “We Russell, questioned whether this need to figure out a way to get change could expedite meeting beyond that. There’s been really times that sometimes last close to emotional accusations made. I’m four hours and often focus on the really tired of the rhetoric and LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
Howard Center has received a $4 million federal grant to help the agency expand services and ensure access to coordinated and comprehensive behavioral health care. The four-year grant will enable Howard Center to meet federal criteria to become a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic. The clinic model requires agencies to provide a comprehensive range of behavioral health services so people who need more than one type of support don’t have to look for help from multiple providers. Such agencies are also required to help people navigate behavioral health care, physical health care, social services and other systems. Grant-funded activities start this winter with an assessment of community needs, including partner engagement, targeted outreach
and focus groups. Once fully implemented, the grant will support up to eight staff positions, including two clinicians, a care coordinator and a cultural liaison.
Community college gets $1.2 million for workforce Rural Vermonters and people in marginalized communities will have greater access to higher education and career advancement in the coming years, thanks to a $1.2 million award from a federal partnership between the Northern Border Regional Commission and the U.S Department of Labor. The award will support workforce education at the Community College of Vermont. Funding will support Career Pathway Entry Program Plus, designed to prepare Vermonters for high-wage, high-growth careers. The program combines college
Celebrate Sober!
the level of intensity that this has reached.” The selectboard has committed to knocking upwards of $40,000 off employee benefits next year and instead of hiring a consultant to move the decision forward, some residents wonder if this is exactly the reason to switch to a town manager form of government. “I propose that we pretend for the next 10 days, he’s a town manager,” said resident Mike Russell, pointing to the town’s newly hired town administrator Nate Bareham. “You give him all the information you’ve collected and give him enough time to go out and get what more information he thinks he needs. Rather celebrate sober 2023.indd 27 than paying for a consultant, see what he can come up with.” Board member Frank Tenney questioned whether the compensation issues fall under the purview of a town manager’s authority. In essence, that is the role of a town manager laid out in statute. The two roles are different in that a town manager acts more as a chief administrative officer and liaison between staff and the board while an administrator works under direct supervision and direction from the selectboard. The selectboard has been clear See TOWN MANAGER on page 16
Business Notes Howard Center gets grant to enhance services
Wishing you a safe and joyous holiday season.
classes with industry-recognized credentials and paid job shadows and can lead to an apprenticeship or other earn-and-learn opportunity, with a particular focus on serving students with disabilities, students involved in the justice system, new Americans, veterans, high school students, and people in poverty. The college is one of just three grant recipients in Vermont. “We hear from every rural community we visit about how challenging the current workforce environment is in the Northern Border Regional Commission’s territory. We are incredibly excited about the award to CCV and its work to directly improve the economic well-being of Vermonters by helping them develop the knowledge and skills that are needed by local employers,” Northern Border Regional Commission federal co-chair Chris Saunders said.
11/27/23 3:42 PM
Page 4 • December 21, 2023 • The Citizen
CRIME & COURTS Hinesburg Police Blotter: Dec. 12- 18 Total incidents: 48 Traffic stops: 16 Dec. 12 at 10:25 a.m., a loose dog found on North Road was turned into the Hinesburg police. Dec. 12 at 4:03 p.m., officers helped a resident concerning a custody issue. Dec. 13 at 1:45 p.m., officers responded to Pond Road for the report of erratic operation and damage to property. Dec. 13 at 4:25 p.m., an officer responded to a single-car motor vehicle crash on Texas Hill Road. Dec. 13 at 6:25 p.m., an officer responded to a single-car motor vehicle crash on Tyler Bridge Road. Dec. 13 at 8:18 p.m., officers responded to a domestic dispute on Place Road West. Dec. 14 at 4:50 p.m., a late reported crash on North Road
was investigated. Dec. 15 at 10:33 a.m., officers responded to a two-car motor vehicle crash on Gilman Road. Dec. 15 at 1 p.m., an officer assisted Williston police with locating a stolen vehicle. Dec. 15 at 2:22 p.m., officers investigated a motor vehicle complaint involving erratic operation on CVU Road. Dec. 16 at 11:10 a.m., found property was turned into police. Dec. 16 at 12:03 p.m., an alarm activated on CVU Road. Dec. 18 at 1:14 p.m., Birchwood Drive was the location of a 911 hangup call. Dec. 18 at 3:35 p.m., a late reported crash on North Road was investigated. Note: Charges filed by police are subject to review by the Chittenden County State’s Attorney Office and can be amended or dropped.
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Rep. Martin Lalonde, D-South Burlington, left, and Rep. Mike McCarthy, D-St. Albans, right, chair and vice-chair repectively of the House Special Committee on Impeachment Inquiry, listen as Franklin County Sheriff John Grismore testifies before the committee at the Statehouse in Montpelier on Dec. 11, 2023.
Vermont sheriffs call on one of their own, Franklin County’s John Grismore, to resign TIFFANY TAN AND SHAUN ROBINSON VTDIGGER
The Vermont Sheriffs’ Association has called on Franklin County Sheriff John Grismore to resign immediately due to the revocation of his police certification over a violation of the state’s use-of-force policy. “Sheriff Grismore must put Franklin County’s needs first and the need of the state of Vermont’s first before his own and step down immediately,” the association’s president, Windham County Sheriff Mark Anderson, said at a press conference last week at the Statehouse. “It’s time to look for new leadership to rebuild public confidence and move Franklin County forward.” Several hours later, in another Statehouse room, Grismore testified for the first time before the House committee investigating whether he should be impeached — and was adamant that he has no plans to step down. “So, elected officials from other counties have a better read on the ways and means of Franklin County than the residents themselves? I don’t agree with that,” he told lawmakers. “I’m not concerned with what people outside of Franklin County are worried about, or what they have
for opinions, or what they think they’re entitled to.” The sheriffs’ call for their colleague’s resignation came days after the Vermont Criminal Justice Council voted to permanently revoke Grismore’s law enforcement certification. The council found that he violated the state’s use-of-force policy when he kicked a detained man in August 2022, while second-in-command of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. The decertification is expected to go into effect in the coming week. In addition to his decertification and the ongoing inquiry into whether he should be impeached by the Legislature, Grismore faces an assault charge stemming from the kicks and an investigation by Vermont State Police and the Vermont Attorney General’s Office into allegations he mishandled finances while working in the sheriff’s department. Anderson said that seven of Vermont’s 14 sheriffs met for their annual winter conference, where they voted to call for Grismore’s resignation. The sheriffs in attendance represented the counties of Bennington, Caledonia, Chittenden, Orleans, Washington, Windham and Windsor, according to Anderson. “The public perception of Grismore’s actions have negatively
impacted confidence in the department that resulted in a lack of confidence in law enforcement all across Vermont,” Anderson said at the press conference. He was flanked by five other sheriffs, with another participating in the event by video link. The revocation of Grismore’s police certification does not remove him from the office to which he was elected in November 2022, since Vermont sheriffs are not required to be certified law enforcement officers. But in addition to administering their departments, sheriffs usually take on policing responsibilities. So, there will be “impairing factors” resulting from the loss of Grismore’s certification, Anderson said. Robert Kaplan, an attorney representing Grismore, said last week that the revocation of the sheriff’s police certification would have a “chilling effect” on law enforcement in Vermont. When asked for a response to the remark, Anderson — a member of the state criminal justice council — said law enforcement officers who abide by their training and the policies should have nothing to fear. “When people make mistakes, See GRISMORE on page 5
The Citizen • December 21, 2023 • Page 5
Chittenden Sheriffs seek body camera replacements MIKE DONOGHUE CORRESPONDENT
The Chittenden County Sheriff’s Department in South Burlington may be looking for a new home. That was one of the messages provided to taxpayers during a preliminary Chittenden County budget hearing hosted last week by county officials. The preliminary estimated tax rate for the coming year is 0.004 cents per $1,000 of property value, according to assistant judges Connie Cain Ramsey and Suzanne Brown. There is not much change in the current rate of 0.00378, county clerk Anne Williams said. Brown noted that Chittenden’s tax rate, which is a fraction of a penny, is among the lowest. She said Orange County assesses its towns at 2.2 cents per $1,000. Final work on the budget will wrap up in January after the judges have time to review some additional equipment requests from the Chittenden County Sheriff’s Department, including state-mandated training and continued funding for body cameras. The judges have indicated they are inclined to no longer fund the $11,000 annual lease for the 14 cameras. The preliminary budget is $1,167,261, compared to the current amount of $1,099,006. Funding for the county budget is built into the annual budget for the 19 taxing municipalities for Chittenden County. The final budget hearing is 5 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 22, at the courthouse on Main Street in Burlington.
Brown asked sheriff Dan Gamelin during the hearing about moving the department, and he said he would like to have more space and better security for department property, including vehicles. Gamelin said the department has no interest in being in Burlington but would like to be in an adjoining community. Brown asked the question as the judges noted the current office needed repairs due to salt damage on the east end of the metal building, which the county owns on Ethan Allen Drive at the back of Burlington International Airport. Ramsey said the initial estimate was about $70,000, but it was later increased to $114,000. “I’d be interested in a new building,” the sheriff said. Gamelin, who was sworn in Feb. 1, said his department has 16 full-time and 11 part-time employees, along with 23 vehicles. The judges noted that the county incurred some unexpected expenses at the historic courthouse on Main Street, including the construction of a fence to protect employees and taxpayer-owned property. Courthouse staff members say they’ve been in fear when coming to and from work because of a combination of homeless people, drug users and panhandlers. Ramsey said in some cases people have been seen checking the door handles of parked cars at the courthouse to see if they are locked. One employee was afraid to get out of her car because of an altercation, she said. Deputy sheriffs are now paid to be on hand when court employees arrive and leave work. The city has been unable to help.
Ramsey also said the city refused to allow the county to build a 6-foot fence and instead limited it to 3 feet. The judges paid $30,450 for the fence but hope the city will reimburse the county. Cain said the city of Burlington has asked the county to keep its parking lot open at night for those coming downtown. She noted that federal and state court-
houses do not make their parking areas or garages available for parking after hours. Cain said the county also had to spend an unbudgeted $30,000 when the city did work on the sewer on Main Street. There was some discussion about body cameras, and Lt. Allen Fortin of the sheriff’s department, who oversees the program, noted that police agencies can
avoid bogus liability claims when cameras are used. He said they will provide the county extra protection. Gamelin said body cameras are now considered basic police equipment. He also reported that he paid for 14 Tasers costing $58,000 but should have had the county taxpayers pick up the equipment cost.
humiliated” and then would “probably resign,” the longtime Lamoille sheriff testified. Anderson said the Vermont Sheriffs’ Association had informed Grismore of the group’s decision to call for his resignation. Grismore was elected three months after the county sheriff’s office released body camera footage of the incident. He was the only candidate for sheriff on the ballot, though two other men ran competing write-in campaigns. Seated next to Kaplan at one end of a long table in a Statehouse committee room, Grismore derided the impeachment panel’s work over the course of nearly two hours of testimony, at one point calling it “a disgrace to all of those who are a party to it.” “I simply am the latest victim of the media outrage machine — coupled with the ambitions of opportunistic politicians and weak-willed leaders — to face the whipping block,” the sheriff testified. “The law enforcement leadership class has thrown me into a volcano hoping that the horror will be sustained by my sacrifice.”
Tim Doherty, an attorney who is advising the committee, repeatedly pressed Grismore for details related to Grismore’s compensation while working under former Franklin County Sheriff Roger Langevin. Doherty produced what he described as payroll records and copies of checks that Grismore and Langevin had signed off on or approved. Grismore maintained that all financial records were ultimately approved by Langevin. The committee took testimony from Langevin earlier in the day, though nearly all of it was held in an executive session. The former sheriff appeared remotely via video. The panel has conducted much of its work behind closed doors. Its chair, Rep. Martin LaLonde, D-South Burlington, said previously that the committee was planning to use another closed session Monday to discuss information related to Grismore’s alleged financial misconduct. But after Grismore protested, the committee agreed to hold all his testimony in the public eye.
GRISMORE
continued from page 4 they will usually acknowledge them,” he said. “When I’ve made a mistake, we reflect on it. We look for change. We apologize. We mend fences. We’ve seen none of that.” Anderson, along with Lamoille County Sheriff Roger Marcoux, also testified before the House committee investigating whether Grismore should be impeached. Both sheriffs told lawmakers that once Grismore loses his police officer certification, he could have limited access — or none at all — to the most updated training on best practices in policing. That concerns them, they said: Not only could it make Grismore’s job more difficult on a daily basis, but it could also be a liability for his entire department. In response to questions from the committee, Marcoux said he would have handled the situation in which Grismore kicked a shackled man differently — probably by not getting involved at all, he said, since there were two other deputies already in the room. Had Marcoux acted as Grismore did, “I’d have been horribly
Page 6 • December 21, 2023 • The Citizen
OPINION
Vermont needs Act 46 for town government By most measures, Vermont’s state and local taxes are among the highest in the nation. For that Matt Wormser we do realize significant beneWe’re well into budget season fits — good schools, relatively for selectboards around the state, generous public services and a commitment to quality of life including in Shelburne, where that drew many of us who were I serve as a board member. And not born here to the state. With so begins the annual balancing act of trying to disappoint as few that said, those of us who recognize the value constituents as of a healthy possible by not Selectboards and public sector funding some need to be essential needs, voters across the acutely focused while keeping state would welcome on the efficient taxes as close as delivery of possible to the a broader discussion those services rate of inflation — making the and thus not around how we best possible further burdening use of our finite tight household can deliver higher tax revenues. budgets. My day job While quality and lower involves advispandemic-relating large health ed funding has cost services to meet care organizahelped in recent tions as to how years, each Vermonters’ needs. to reduce the year the budget administrative process gets a bit trickier — health insurance costs burden in delivering patient care. For the most part this means continue to outpace inflation, better leveraging technology, workforce shortages mean we implementing more efficient need to significantly increase workflows and creating econosalaries to attract and retain mies of scale to ensure that they staff and inflation has otherwise can deliver both higher quality driven up the cost of other capiand lower cost in their operatal and operating expenditures. tions. Statewide, we have some of Currently there are too many the oldest infrastructure in the examples of where our very country, with a large portion of small state — our 650,000 resithe municipal workforce neardents is roughly the same as a ing retirement, and not enough mid-sized U.S. city — is simply workers in the pipeline to not able to realize those goals of replace them.
Guest Perspective
providing lower cost and higher quality services. Our 250 or so municipalities are effectively a series of very small organizations delivering more or less identical services to their constituents, and yet there is precious little coordination to enable us to achieve scale, efficiency and purchasing power. In 2015, Vermont passed Act 46, designed to address escalating school costs and close service gaps primarily at small, rural schools. This led to consolidation of 206 school districts prior to the act’s passage to the 50 or so we have today. It more importantly drove substantial savings in administrative costs statewide, while broadening educational opportunities for most students. We need an Act 46 for municipal government in Vermont. In Shelburne, as is the case with peer communities, there is a
need for core human resources, finance, information technology, legal and administrative support for individual departments, but we often find we’re not large enough to justify dedicated staff, nor could we necessarily find resources in the current hiring environment. The same service gaps and efficiency needs that drove passage of Act 46 for schools exist with increasing urgency at the municipal level. What might a new model look like? The simplest way might be to encourage municipal service consolidation aligned with the school district realignment from Act 46. In Shelburne that would mean the towns of Charlotte, Hinesburg, Shelburne, St. George and Williston would look for opportunities to share services across the five communities, building upon the coordination and consolidation that the school-related initiative drove.
County-based services, a rare form of government in New England but common elsewhere, might be preferable in more rural parts of the state and drive further gains in quality and cost. In some instances, having common services being provided at the state level — for example implementing a statewide IT platform to streamline municipal government operations and services — may well make the most sense. As we prepare for the opening of the next legislative session, selectboards and voters across the state would welcome a broader discussion around how we can deliver higher quality and lower cost services to meet Vermonters’ needs. Financially strapped Vermont households deserve nothing less. Matt Wormser is a member of the Shelburne Selectboard.
Let scientists, not activists, manage Vermont’s wildlife Guest Perspective Mike Covey A recent commentary by an anti-hunting activist took their standard track in denying the value of the sporting community to wildlife stewardship in Vermont. It is intriguing that this handful of activists has the hubris to claim that they speak for the public. They don’t. They speak for themselves. If they spoke for the public, it wouldn’t be the same dozen people writing all the commentaries we have been subjected to for the last eight years. As of 2020, Vermont ranked 14th in the nation for hunting participation. About 10 percent of Vermonters purchase a hunting license annually. They all have friends, neighbors and family who support them in their lifestyle. Those license purchases provide millions in direct revenue from that small portion of the population, which helps secure our federal funding for wildlife. This funding is generated by excise taxes on the equipment hunters buy, and these funds can only be drawn down when license
revenues are used for legitimate fish and wildlife stewardship work. Without these license sales, Vermont stands to lose millions of dollars in funding that secures the health and stewardship of its wildlife. I expect the numbers above dramatically undercount the Vermonters who participate in hunting. That is because we have a large share of the population which has either lifetime licenses or permanent licenses and I don’t believe either are counted in the above statistic. Vermont’s ranking is likely considerably higher when you consider how much of the population is hunting but not required to buy regular licenses. Of course, they still contribute to the federal monies. Why do those opposed to hunting and trapping ignore this reality? The answer is simple really. They don’t actually care about wildlife; they just care about removing human influence from wildlife. They dislike the fact that we hunt and utilize wild game and they are perfectly willing to throw the baby out with the bathwater. How do they propose to pay for wildlife management in the absence of this small community
that does so much for our state? We all know too well the tax burden that comes with living in Vermont. Would we like to see higher taxes, or should we simply do away with the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department that these activists constantly malign as incompetent and biased? They claim Vermont is undergoing a cultural shift that leaves hunting and trapping in the past and when we point out that these activities are a crucial part of the fabric of our state from both a cultural and biological perspective, we are gaslighted and told that “Vermont’s culture is evolving,” and the hunting community is somehow a relic of a bygone era and has no place in the modern world, even though license sales recently reached a 30-year high as reported by VT Digger. Animal rights activists misuse phrases like “species of greatest conservation need” as a rallying cry, but they don’t explain that many these species are abundant. Whitetail deer and snowshoe hare, for instance, are both classified as such. Their lack of understanding See COVEY on page 9
The Citizen • December 21, 2023 • Page 7
Gov. Scott needs to get serious on affordability Guest Perspective
Rep. Erin Brady Rep. Rebecca Holcombe Rep. Monique Priestley Gov. Phil Scott recently described an average projected increase in education property taxes of almost 18 percent as “unacceptable” and asked school boards to control costs. We agree that people across the state are worried about affordability, from higher tax rates to out of control housing costs. School boards cannot control state level drivers of higher cost any more than they can solve the evils of poverty on their own. The projected education property tax increases are driven by a projected 12 percent increase in school budgets statewide. We hope to work with the governor to tackle state level drivers of that education spending. As one superintendent told the Valley News, many of the factors behind growing school budgets are out of the control of boards, including skyrocketing health insurance costs, our housing crisis, and cost shifting from state to local budgets for a host of human services. We would add use of public-school budgets for what amounts to private benefits. Here are a few ways Scott could meaningfully reduce property tax burdens: • Lead on health care reform. Health care spending consistently grows faster than education spending. One in five dollars Vermonters spend is spent on health care. School districts face a 16 percent increase in health care premiums this year — an increase twice the rate of inflation. These increases occur year after year and Vermont increases outstrip national increases, burdening employers and individuals across the state — not just school districts. Sadly, 40 percent of insured Vermonters under age 65 (much of the workforce) are underinsured, meaning their health care costs exceed what their incomes can bear. Schools cannot fix the health care crisis. The governor can join the Legislature in working on the sustainability of health care spending, a process the Legislature began with Act 167. • Focus resources on development of workforce housing. Housing shortages drive up housing costs, locking seniors in homes they struggle to afford and locking young families out of the housing market. That means fewer kids in schools, higher costs per pupil and skyrocketing tax rates. In a vicious cycle, higher tax rates make it even less likely families will move in. Scott should lead on developing municipal infrastructure that supports smart development including municipal wastewater systems in the least affordable communities, conditional on development of climate-friendly affordable housing. This would lower the cost of housing development and make higher density possible — where it makes sense. In turn, this development refills schools, builds the tax base,
lowers per pupil tax rates and addresses the workforce crisis. • Fund state agencies so school districts don’t have to pay for state cuts. The mental health crisis doesn’t go away when the governor cuts state budgets, as he effectively proposes this year by capping the state mental health department’s budget at 3 percent growth — a number half the rate of inflation. Cutting state resources for mental health services displaces these costs onto already strained schools — the payers of last resort. Adequately funding state mental health services both keeps people healthy and reduces education property taxes. • Address unfunded school infrastructure liabilities. The administration is aggressively testing school classrooms for PCBs, without realistic state investment in mitigation and without a coherent plan for what to do when PCBs are found. This is closing classrooms across the state and forcing school districts to fix these classrooms on their own, driving higher education spending. They have spent millions of dollars on loud filters that fill hallways, and yet recorded PCB levels are sometimes higher after so-called “mitigation” spending. Districts already face hundreds of millions of dollars of deferred investments in failing infrastructure. This problem screams for state leadership. The House took a first step by passing H.486. The governor must get behind this bill and comprehensive approach. • Confront uncontrolled, poorly regulated private school vouchers. Private school vouchers drive up tax rates for everyone to pay for private benefits for the few. Prior to 1991, the academies were public schools in statute, and they were held to the same rules as public schools. Now, out of all taxpayer-funded private schools in Vermont, only Thetford Academy and The Sharon Academy commit to open enrollment and the higher quality standards the Vermont State Board of Education applies to public schools. While public schools are asked to hold the line, Vermont sends public school dollars to elite prep schools in other states and other countries, driving up the per pupil cost in Vermont schools. Public money is for public education, not private benefit. Any voucher to a school that doesn’t serve a public purpose makes everyone pay more so a handful of people can have taxpayer-funded benefits that most children cannot access. Enough is enough. We are all worried about affordability. If the governor is serious about affordability, he’ll step up on health care reform. He’ll respond strategically to the housing crisis. He’ll adequately fund state agencies, so that public schools don’t pick up the bill for state cuts. And he’ll ensure the public education fund is used to provide excellent, equitable and accessible public education for all children. Rep. Erin Brady of Williston is a public school teacher. Rep. Rebecca Holcombe, Windsor-Orange 2, is a former Vermont secretary of education; and Rep. Monique Priestley, Orange-2, is clerk of the tri-partisan Rural Caucus.
Page 8 • December 21, 2023 • The Citizen
COMMUNITY Community Notes Charlotte Congregational Christmas observances Here is the Advent and Christmas schedule for Charlotte Congregational Church, an open and affirming congregation of the United Church of Christ, 403 Church Hill Road. • Lighting the Advent wreath: Sunday, Dec. 24, 10 a.m. • (Please note that the correct time for the indoor service is 5 p.m.) Christmas Eve, Sunday, Dec. 24,
Menorah lighting
10 a.m.: Simple morning service with carols and a few surprises; 4 p.m., outdoor family carol sing in the courtyard around the Christmas tree; 5 p.m., indoor service of lessons and carols with children’s choir; and 7 p.m., indoor service of lessons and carols. • First Sunday after Christmas, Dec. 31, 10 a.m. All events will be livestreamed except the outdoor family carol sing and the 7 p.m. indoor service on Dec. 24. More at charlotteucc.org.
PHOTOS BY LEE KROHN
Shelburne turns out for Chabad Vermont’s menorah lighting on the Shelburne town green Dec. 11.
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The Citizen • December 21, 2023 • Page 9
COVEY
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continued from page 6 shines through when they make statements such as list doesn’t even include threatened and endangered species. It unequivocally does. These activists criticize our citizen fish and wildlife board that is informed by biologists from the department for not being credentialed biologists themselves, which several of them are at any given time, and then in the same breath complain that wildlife management isn’t a democratic process. I submit that wildlife management must not be a democratic process, but rather must be guided by science and best practices, of which hunting and trapping have long played a critical role. These hunting opponents casually describe the department as disregarding science because they are not catered to, and like any petulant child they lash out incessantly in hopes of getting their way. If you tell a lie often enough, people will start to believe it, right? This seems to be the driving theory behind their approach. To violently lash out at everybody who doesn’t simply acquiesce to their ideology. We see a never-ending stream of letters to the editor from people who carry a strong hatred of hunters, trappers and, in some cases, Vermont’s rural culture in general.
If you look back through them, you will find it is a handful of activists who write constantly and have nothing new to say. It is time for those of us who understand how intimately these activities are woven into the fabric of this place we call home to start writing as well. Their activism takes a prejudiced tone we don’t tolerate anywhere else in society, and I question why we have tolerated it this long when directed at the hunting and wildlife management communities. Vermont’s fish and wildlife professionals should be freed to focus on the biological needs of our wildlife and determine how to create the best outcomes. Instead, they are constantly subjected to bombardment from these activists that runs the gamut from derision to threats, and their time is wasted responding instead of doing the important biological work that the hunting community funds, work that benefits all species. While our biologists deal with this, leadership at the department has taken a conciliatory posture that has only exacerbated the problem, and if it continues Vermonters and our wildlife will be the ultimate losers. Mike Covey is executive director of the Vermont Traditions Coalition.
Obituary of the Vermont Lung Association and the Arthritis Foundation of New England and Bruce Cunningham, 83, died Monday, as a member of the school boards of the Dec. 11, 2023, at the McClure Miller Champlain Valley Unified School District Respite House in Colchester. He wanted and Essex Junction High School. to live the rest of his life in the house he He held a bachelor’s degree in physdesigned in Hinesburg, but his tall, strong ics from Florida State University and body gave out due to a combined infection a master’s degree in and aortic embolism, electrical engineering complicated by Alzheifrom the University of mer’s. Vermont. He is survived by A fitness enthusiast, his wife, Donna; daughBruce completed more ter, Laura Cunningham than 20 marathons, two Firkey and her husband, ultra-marathons and Peter and granddaughcountless other races. ters, Emily (Charlie) and He was an accomplished Eva, all of Essex Juncbicyclist and held two tion; stepchildren, Cathpatents for his invenerine Kelly of Philadeltion of the CycleCraft, phia, Pa., Michael Kelly a watercraft that was of Bangkok, Thailand, adjustable to fit any size and John Kelly (Jennifer bicycle and allowed Bruce D. Cunningham and children, James and bicyclists to ride, literalCharlotte) of Fort Worth, ly, on water. Texas; brothers, John He loved classic cars and was often Cunningham (Dana) of Durango, Mexico, seen in the 1952 Jaguar roadster he lovingand Scot (Sheri) Cunningham of Osgood, Ind.; as well as many nephews, nieces and ly maintained, relying on a lifetime of mechanical expertise. Bruce loved the cousins. He was predeceased by his parents, Vermont woods. He designed his and Douglas and Elizabeth Cunningham; Donna’s home, with sustainable matebrothers, Fred and William Cunningham; rials, woodstoves and large windows to take advantage of passive solar energy. He and sister, Ann Maree Beaman. Bruce served in the U.S. Air Force. managed their 20-acre woodlot, judiciousHe worked as an engineer at IBM for 26 ly cutting down trees and chopping wood years. Following retirement, he operated for fuel. He sang in several choruses and played a road-grading business and spent many years as a citizen advocate, traveling often the tuba in the Hinesburg Community to Montpelier to lobby legislators on issues Band. He played the bagpipes at home, at including drug abuse, tobacco use and car shows and festivals and sometimes on lake ferries. property tax fines. A private, family memorial is planned. He served several terms as president
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Page 10 • December 21, 2023 • The Citizen
SPORTS CVU Nordic skiers, girls’ hockey build off last year LAUREN READ CORRESPONDENT
sphere that allows individuals to perform at their best,” coach Strack said.
Nordic skiing
Girls’ hockey
Coach: Sarah Strack Last season for the girls: third in the D-I state championship; Boys: third in championship. Key returnees for the girls: Stella Laird, junior; Lilyanna Mittelstadt, sophomore, Kate Silverman, sophomore; Annelise Wood, junior; Betty Buehler, senior; Charlotte Crum, sophomore; Senja Erickson, sophomore; Annika Johnson, sophomore; Ella O’Neil, sophomore; Kate Sayre, sophomore; and Julia Shrier, senior. Boys: Luke Buehler, sophomore; Owen Deale, senior; Anders Johnson, senior; and William Wallace, sophomore. Key newcomers for the girls: too early to tell. Boys: Eli Quickel, junior. Outlook: The Champlain Valley Nordic teams will rely on a roster filled with returning players to compete for the D-I state title. The top finisher in the D-I freestyle and classic races for CVU — Stella Laird — will be one of the team’s anchors. The Redhawks are ready to get on snow and build momentum in the early season races. “Our priorities for the season are building a strong, positive team atmo-
Coach: Matthew Bunting Last season: 12-7-1, lost in the Division I semifinals This season: 0-1 Key returnees: Kerribeth Aldrich, junior, forward; Sophie Brien, junior, forward; Miles Brien, junior, defense; Clark Clark, junior, defense; Ella Gilbert, sophomore, goalie; Mackenzie Rivard, junior, forward; and Megan Rivard, junior, forward. Key newcomer: Eva Mazur, first year, forward; and Cadence Tessier, first year, defense. Outlook: The Champlain Valley-Mount Mansfield co-op team enters a new season with a new coach and will look to find its footing as the season gets underway. Bunting has a solid returning roster to lean on as the group works in new players. The CougarHawks will be especially strong on offense, with four returning juniors helping to create the lines. “Our priorities for the season are building a strong, positive team atmosphere that allows individuals to perform at their best,” Bunting said. Up next: Wednesday, Dec. 20, against Essex, 7:30 p.m.
Basketballers win, hockey teams fall in CVU openers LAUREN READ CORRESPONDENT
Boys’ basketball Champlain Valley 55, Rutland 46: Champlain Valley outscored Rutland 17-10 in the fourth quarter to win Saturday, Dec. 16, in the second game of the North-South Classic. Tucker Tharpe had 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Redhawks, who moved to 2-0. Jack St. Peter chipped in with 14 points, while Kyle Eaton added 13 points. CVU went 19-for-22 from the free throw line to help clinch the win.
team’s 18 points in fourth quarter. Merrill Jacobs chipped in with 12 points. Zoey McNabb added eight points and three steals for CVU (2-0).
Girls’ hockey Kingdom Blades 3, Champlain Valley-Mount Mansfield 1: The Champlain Valley-Mount Mansfield girls co-op hockey team fell in its opening game of the season, losing to the Kingdom Blades on Saturday. Sophie Brien had a goal for the CougarHawks (0-1), while Mackenzie Rivard added the assist. Ella Gilbert stopped 29 shots in the loss.
Girls’ basketball
Gymnastics
Champlain Valley 47, Rutland 43: The girls opened the season with their second win at the annual North-South Classic, beating Rutland on Saturday. Elise Berger had 15 points to pace the Redhawks offense, scoring 12 of the
The Champlain Valley gymnastics team beat Middlebury in a head-to-head matchup on Wednesday. Warner Babic was first in the vault and the bars, while Ruby Opton came in first in the beam and Cadence Haggerty was top in
PHOTO BY GORDON MILLER
A snowmobiler skirts the edge of the forest on a VAST trail.
U.S. Forest Service offers tips for snowmobile safety With additional snow expected in coming weeks, the U.S. Forest Service is encouraging riders to put safety first. According to Green Mountain National Forest officials, snowmobilers should heed all gates and signs and stay off roads and trails that are closed. Along with snowmobile clubs in Vermont, forest service employees have been clearing trees and other debris from trails, but snowmobilers should exercise caution early in the season as some trees may be weak due to snow accumulation and downed tree hazards are likely. Weather permitting, snowmobile use is allowed on designated trails within the Green Mountain National Forest for four months beginning Dec. 16 and ending on Monday, April 15. “Patrols are aimed at enforcing rules and regulations, monitoring trail conditions and providing visitor information,” John Sinclair, forest supervisor for the Green Mountain and Finger Lakes national forests, said. Forest officials work closely with state and local law enforcement agencies, as well as the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers to make sure that users of the trail system are respectful, responsible, law abiding and safe. The Green Mountain National
the floor exercise. Opton, who was also second in the bars and floor, came in first in the all-around.
Boys’ hockey Colchester 4, Champlain Valley 3: The boys’ team fell in the consolation game in the Beech Classic on Thursday, Dec. 14 Nic Menard tallied twice for the
Forest and VAST maintain more than 470 miles of National Forest System trails that are part of the larger statewide snowmobile network. VAST is one of several snowmobile associations in the United States that has a cooperative partnership agreement with the U.S. Forest Service. “All of these trails allow mixed uses, so people are snowshoeing, hiking and cross-country skiing, as well as using snowmobiles. Snowmobilers should travel responsibly and yield to other users,” Sinclair said. The maximum speed is 35 mph on state and federal land. Forest service employees is also warning the public about the dangers of riding, hiking and skiing on frozen water bodies; being mindful of fallen trees and other hazards; maintaining control of their snowmobile at all times; keeping to the right; wearing helmets; and staying on designated trails. Snowmobiles must be legally registered, and riders must be insured and purchase a VAST trails maintenance assessment decal. Officials also encourage winter trail users to pack a flashlight, cellphone, food and extra warm clothing in case of an emergency. For trail conditions and closures go to vtvast.org.
Redhawks, while Brady Jones added a goal. Jameson Yandow, Trevin Keefe, Henry Bruneau and Ted Connery each had an assist for CVU. The Redhawks also fell to Rice, 9-3, in the opening game of the tournament on Wednesday, Dec. 13. Travis Stroh had two goals and Brady Jones added a goal. Tommy Barnes made 54 saves in a losing effort.
The Citizen • December 21, 2023 • Page 11
Brrr: How trees get ready for winter’s cold The Outside Story Rebecca Perkins Hanissian Of all life’s synergies, I appreciate most the one between my propensity for domestic procrastination and my love of moving through the outdoors — countless adventures are born of it. During a late November weekend, when faced with a day spent winterizing our home, my husband and I instead packed up our children and headed for Mount Moosilauke. Ascending the Gorge Brook Trail, we moved quickly, our son pouncing on every puddle, delighting in the power of his 60 pounds to break through the creme brulee-layer of ice. With this thin ice and a dusting of snow, the lower elevations had been warned of winter’s approach. The higher elevations, we soon discovered, were being blasted by its arrival. Every surface, be it branch, rock or summit sign was coated in a substance equal parts snow and ice. The wind, roaring and sustained, stung our noses and cheeks, the only bits of skin exposed. Despite this harbinger of winter storms to come, it appeared the trees were simply standing around. But looks can be deceiving. While I may have been procrastinating on winter preparations, the trees were busily, if subtly, bracing themselves for the snow, ice, wind and frigid temperatures. They’ve been doing so for months, for millennia. In handling heavy snow and ice loads — infamous for breaking branches and bending trunks — our northern tree species vary in strategy. The high-surface-area leaves that increase a deciduous tree’s photosynthetic capacity in the warmer months become load liabilities in the winter, offering ample parking for heavy snow and ice and surfaces for catching the wind. For this and other reasons, these species drop their leaves in autumn. These hardwoods rely on branch architecture and strength to support the snow and ice that settle on them. Species such as maples, birches and ash, all long-term residents of the northern forests, drop their leaves quickly in the fall. On the other hand, oaks and beeches — relative newcomers with tropical origins — often, and at their own expense, sport crinkly brown leaves well into winter. Employing a different tactic, coniferous species, including spruce and fir, hold on to their low-surface-area needles year-round. Their flexible branches bend with the weight of snow, just like Christmas tree boughs adorned with a too-heavy ornaments. But as the branches droop, the snow slides off, and the branches spring defiantly back to shape. Ice proves harder to shrug off and can cause branches to break, bark to tear and trunks to bend. That flexibility serves coniferous trees well with regard to winter winds, too. Flexing with the wind dissipates the wind’s kinetic energy, thereby reducing force on individual branches and the tree as a whole. This streamlining proves more difficult for deciduous trees with stiff branches, even after they have dropped their large leaves. Frosted and asymmetrical, the crowns of the exclusively coniferous trees near the summit called to mind white sails whipped taut, betraying the wind’s direction. But unlike sails adjusted to capture the wind’s
energy, these crowns are aerodynamic, shaped by the prevailing wind to evade as much of its energy as possible. To cope with freezing temperatures, coniferous and deciduous trees alike are triggered by longer nights and cooler temperatures to progress to a state of dormancy and maximum cold tolerance by mid-winter. Insulation by dead cells, which constitute 99 percent of a mature tree’s woody volume, and a number of seasonal cellular changes help to prevent live cells from freezing. According researchers at Purdue University’s Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, these cellular changes include a transition to more pliable cell membranes that can withstand the sharp edges of ice crystals that form when the water between cells freezes. Within each cell, starch is converted to sugars, which will serve as antifreeze, lowering the cell’s freezing point. Lastly, as water leaves the cell through its more pliable membrane and as the content of the cell thickens and cools, viscosity increases, preventing crystallization, which can shred cell membranes. Eight miles and four hours after beginning our hike, my family returned to our car and then our home, which was exactly as we’d left it: unprepared for winter. Eventually, we did weather strip the windows where the wind whistled through, shoring up our house’s membrane. But our late attention to winter’s arrival put us in the company of the procrastinating oak, shamed by the proactive ash. Rebecca Perkins Hanissian is the editorial and outreach coordinator at the Center for Northern Woodlands Education. 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.
ILLUSTRATION BY ADELAIDE MURPHY TYROL
Page 12 • December 21, 2023 • The Citizen
Museum exhibit on the hunt for lost ski areas TOMMY GARDNER STAFF WRITER
Most ski resorts are highly visible from miles away, their trails transforming mountain faces from undulating expanses of forest into crisscrossing streaks of white. But for the roughly 150 bygone small ski areas that once dotted Vermont’s hills in all corners of the Green Mountain State, you have to look really hard for evidence that they once existed. There’s a series of rope tow pullies being engulfed by the trees they’re nailed to at what was once known as West Mountain Farm ski area in Arlington. There’s a rusty old bullwheel and some shacks overrun by underbrush at Hogback Mountain in Marlboro. A chairlift line and a tower are all that remain of Snow Valley in Winhall. “There’s still all these artifacts, just hiding in the woods now,” Poppy Gall said. Gall and other intrepid snow country sleuths at the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum have been looking for the state’s once vibrant but long-gone ski areas for about 20 years, and the museum’s newest exhibit represents the fruits of their labor. It’s still a work in progress. For the next year, the museum will showcase the southern half of the state, featuring roughly 70 ski areas located, at one time or another, between the Massachusetts border and Route 4. Next fall, the museum will feature another 100 hills closer to home. In the meantime, Gall said she and her colleagues are hoping to crowdsource memories. “We really, really want the human input and the memories, and the memorabilia,” she said. “There’s not a lot of people around who are going to remember those lost areas from the ‘30s, ‘40s, even ‘50s.” Gall said to be considered for the lost ski areas list, a place had to, well, be lost. As in no longer in operation. The second criterion: each ski area had to feature some sort of conveyance up the hill. “It could just be a rope tow in some farmer’s back forty,” she said. “It could just be anywhere that, at one point, the community gathered to ski with a mechanized tow.” Some of the hills were spartan affairs, but some were borderline luxe for their scale. Gall’s hometown hill, Snow Valley in Winhall, started life in 1941 with a T-bar, two rope tows and six trails, along with a single-story wood and stone base lodge dubbed Snow Man’s Rest. At one point in its 42-year existence, Snow Valley featured a tow on a coin-operated timer — 25 cents bought you a single trip up the hill. Elsewhere, some of the roughly 70 lost ski areas featured in the exhibit have scant information aside from a sentence or two about their existence. For instance, little is known about Buckturd Basin, perhaps the most colorful sounding area of the bunch, other than it was open in the 1980s in West Townsend and had a rope tow serving five trails and some glades, used by the property owners and their friends. These mysterious entries are supplemented by some ski areas with bigger exhibit presences, partly because the museum was able to procure enough artifacts to fill the walls. One of the more information rich areas showcases Dutch Hill in Heartwellville, one of the few
PHOTOS BY GORDON MILLER
At bottom right, Poppy Gall, one of the curators behind the Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum’s new exhibit exploring Vermont’s “Lost Ski Areas,” talks with a museum-goer in front of a map showing more than 170 different ski areas past and present.
“lost and found” areas that were resurrected decades after their apparent disappearance. According to the exhibit, Dutch Hill operated continuously between 1944-1980 — although its heyday was over by the late 1960s. Then, in 2016, a group breathed new life into it as a backcountry touring area.
Headed north There are a couple of reasons why the first part of the two-year exhibit starts in the southern part of the state. For one, Gall, et al, are hoping the exhibit will spark enough interest so that people can help fill in the blanks about more than a dozen lost ski areas in the greater Stowe area. That includes four hills not named Stowe Mountain Resort in what has long been known as the “Ski Capital of the East.” It’s obvious when you look at some of them that they offered plenty of minor-league downhill action — for instance, Marshall Hill, which rises behind Stowe Elementary School smack in Stowe village, is still a popular recess-time sledding destination. Other lost Stowe ski areas are Town and Country and Edson Hill Manor, the provenance of which are clear to Gall, even if it’s not clear to her what kind of experiences they offered. There’s also a lost Stowe ski area called See EXHIBIT on page 13
The Citizen • December 21, 2023 • Page 13
Prekindergarten Lottery is now open for 2024-2025!
Subs Needed PrekindergartenDaily Lottery is now open for 2024-2025! Hourly rate of $18.00 per hour.
The CVSD Early Education Program is now accepting applications for
a randomProgram prekindergarten lottery drawing applications for the 2024-25 for school The CVSD Early Education is now accepting a random year.drawing This lottery is for opportunity to enroll in oneThis of our school-is for an opportunity prekindergarten lottery for thean2024-25 school year. lottery basedValley classrooms which run 10 hours week. Our school-based Champlain School District is per seeking andweek. reliable to enroll in one of ourprekindergarten school-based classrooms which run 10flexible hours per Our schoolclassrooms are 5 STARs, licensed early education substitute teachers. Choose assignments based on your schedule, based prekindergarten classrooms are 5play-based, STARs, developmentally licensed earlyappropriate education programs that programs that provide preferred location for within theindistrict and when itcurriculum works for you! provide play-based, developmentally appropriate environments all children in an inclusive environments all children an inclusive setting. Ourfor Prekindergarten Lottery forLearning 2024-2025! is based onnow the Vermont Early Standards (VELS). setting. OurExperience curriculum isinis based onopen the Vermont Early Learning Standards (VELS). educational settings preferred but not required. Our follow the CVSD school Children will 3 or older by The CVSD Early Education Program is now accepting applications forChildren acalendar. random Our programs follow theprograms CVSD school calendar. who will who be age Call 802-383-1234 or by stop by our office toare submit your be age 3 school or older September 1, 2024, who not eligible for interest. prekindergarten lottery drawing for the 2024-25 year. This lottery is for an opportunity September 1, 2024, kindergarten, who are notand eligible forcommunities kindergarten, and live in the communities of live in the of Charlotte, Hinesburg, Applications are available at the CVSD Central Office 5420 to enroll in one of our school-based classrooms which run 10 hours per week. Our schoolCharlotte, Hinesburg, Shelburne, St. George, andareWilliston to at enter the lottery. Shelburne, St. George, and Williston eligible to are entereligible the lottery. based prekindergarten classrooms are 5 STARs, licensed early education programs that Shelburne Rd Suite 300 Shelburne VT 05482. Families who are selected choose to enroll child Families for whothe are lottery selected and for the lottery and choose their to enroll theirin a CVSD program provide play-based, access developmentally appropriate environments for all children anthe inclusive child in a CVSD program access their Act 166infor publicly funded their Act 166 publicly funded prekindergarten funds school-based program. setting. Our curriculum is based on the Vermont Earlyfunds Learning prekindergarten for the Standards school-based (VELS). program.
CVSD is an equal opportunity employer. Black, Indigenous,
The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum’s new executive director, Chris Sabick.
All applications must be received by(BIPOC), Februaryimmigrants, 5, 2024, andwomen, are located on the CVSD Early and People of Color and All applications must be received February 5, 2024, are LGBTQ+ Our programs followEducation the CVSDwebsite school calendar. Children who will bebyage 3 oror older byand at: https://tinyurl.com/CVSDEarlyEd using this QR code. located on the CVSD Early Education website at: https://tinyurl. candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. September 1, 2024, who are not eligible for kindergarten, and live in the communities of Paper applications are available upon request. com/CVSDEarlyEd or using QR code. Charlotte, Hinesburg, Shelburne, St. George, and Williston arethis eligible to enter the lottery. COURTESY PHOTO Families who are selected for the lottery Paper and choose to enroll their child in a CVSD program areabout available upon request. or any concerns For additional information,applications questions our program, access their Act 166 publicly funded prekindergarten funds for the school-based program. about your child’s development, please visit our website or contact For additional information, questions about our program, Director or any concerns aboutatyour child’s development, please visit ourEducation website Early Education, Erin Gagne egagne@cvsdvt.org. Our Early All applications mustofbe received by February 5, 2024, and are located on the CVSD Early or contact Director of Early Education, Erin Gagne at egagne@ team is also available for developmental screenings in the areas of Education website at: https://tinyurl.com/CVSDEarlyEd or using this isQR cvsdvt. Our Early Education team alsocode. communication, social-emotional development, motor skills, adaptive development, Paper applications are available upon request. available for developmental screenings science organizations. and cognition. More ininformation an Early Multi-Tiered System of Supports is also the areas about of communication, social“I’veFor always beeninformation, fascinated emotional development, motor skills, additional questions about our program, or any Services concerns available on the website under the Support tab. adaptive and cognition. More with history,” Sabick said. “The about your child’s development, please visit our development, website or contact Director information about an Early Multi-Tiered Champlain Valley has a unique of Early Education, Erin Gagne at egagne@cvsdvt.org. Early Education System of SupportsOur is also available on the maritimeteam history, dating back is also available for developmentalwebsite screenings in Support the areas of tab. under the Services nearly 12,000 years when the first communication, social-emotional development, motor skills, adaptive development, people and moved into More the region. cognition. information about an Early Multi-Tiered System of Supports is also When I available came toonthethemuseum in website under the Support Services tab.
Lake dedication: museum names new director Chris Sabick is the new director of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. Sabick has been the museum’s director of research and archaeology since 2013 and brings decades of experience and a career-long dedication to Lake Champlain, research, history and public access into this leadership role. A nautical archaeologist by trade, Sabick has spent his entire professional career working on the lake and surrounding waterways with Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. His experience, exploration and expertise of the lake, the region’s history and the museum make him uniquely qualified to take the helm. He started at the museum in
1998 as an intern and officially joined the team as an archaeological diver in 1999, working on the Valcour Bay Research Project and implementing artifact conservation plans for our lab. Sabick’s cuttingedge work in conservation and shipwreck investigation, as well as his dedication to public interpretation and team building, precipitated his steady rise as he was promoted to the director of conservation in 2000 and director of research and archaeology in 2013. Sabick is a Vergennes resident, well known for his appearances on local news and at events. In addition to his work at the museum, he regularly serves as an expert and collaborative partner with other regional history and lake
SHELBURNE
1998, I fell in love with this history and Lake Champlain. “I am honored to take on this new role and demonstrate the power of the museum as a place to change lives, as it did with mine. As a diver, I get to experience history firsthand. As executive director, I look forward to creating more ways for all people to experience history, archaeology and ecology in meaningful and impactful ways.”
EXHIBIT
continued from page 12 Strom’s, which Gall assumes is named after legendary Norwegian alpinist Erling Strom, who is perhaps best known around here as the man who challenged Austrian Sepp Ruschp, the founder of Stowe’s first ski school, to the now-famous bet that would become the Stowe Derby: a race from the top of Mt. Mansfield to Stowe village on a single pair of skis. In addition, museum researchers are seeking information on 13 other lost ski areas near Stowe. • There are five in Waterbury, including Ski Slide, Pinnacle Park Skiland, Sunset Hill, Waterbury Village Area and Waterbury Ski Tow. • Two in Morrisville: Wyck House Tow and Samoset Country Club. • Two in Jeffersonville (not counting Smugglers’ Notch Ski
Resort): Glenn Skiff Farm and Jeffersonville Tow. • Johnson State College in Johnson, which Gall said produced high caliber alpine skiers. • North Country Ski Park in Hyde Park. • Hardwick Ski Tow in Hardwick. • Sterling Tow in Craftsbury. There’s another logical reason for chronicling Vermont’s lost ski areas from south to north — because that’s how lift-assisted skiing in the state evolved. The museum exhibit dedicates sizable wall space to half a dozen lost ski areas in Woodstock, where to this day Saskadena (formerly Suicide) Six still operates. This is the birthplace of lift-served skiing in the United States, according to the exhibit. “Until 1934, any downhill
skiing had to be ‘earned’ by climbing uphill before sliding down, which limited both participation and how much skiing you could get in a day,” an exhibit display notes. “That all changed in 1934 with the installation of the country’s first mechanized lift, a rope tow powered by a Ford Model T engine, on Gilbert’s Hill. Soon after, other rope tows popped up on nearby Woodstock hills. And in a relatively few years, tows were spread throughout Vermont and the Northeast.” Indeed, as the exhibit shows — as Gall and company keep gathering artifacts and anecdotes — anywhere you might find a hill, you might find a way to get up and down it on a pair of planks underfoot. As long as you had a pocket full of quarters.
Human Resources Coordinator $24 - $28 hourly DOQ Full-time with a great Town Office team and excellent local government benefits, including colleagues who want you to thrive. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and aim to hire, motivate, and retain a diverse workforce across all departments. The Town of Shelburne team has grown to require an energetic, people-focused HR professional. Help all our staff achieve their best, and cultivate the spirit of public service in our town. This specialist will support all of our departments in the full suite of HR functions and special projects. The ideal candidate has related education and experience in human resources work, including recruiting, benefits administration, training, and problem solving. We are excited to shape this position to the skills and interests of the right candidate. Visit www.shelburnevt.org/jobs to see the full job description and application. To apply, email scannizzaro@shelburnevt.org. Review of applications begins immediately.
This new position is a priority for the Shelburne Selectboard, to enhance all of the Town’s services.
Page 14 • December 21, 2023 • The Citizen
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The Citizen • December 21, 2023 • Page 15
Horoscope December 21, 2023
ANSWERS FROM THIS ISSUE
Weekly Puzzles
Page 16 • December 21, 2023 • The Citizen
TOWN MANAGER
Winter greens
continued from page 3
in its disapproval of a town manager form of government and even took a vote at a meeting in August to solidify its stance. But the vote carries no weight, and petitioners still moved for a vote on Town Meeting Day. The final petition, with a charter change to clarify that the road commissioner will remain an elected position, moved to the town clerk’s office with a total of 185 signers. The selectboard has officially warned two public hearings for the issue on Monday, Jan. 22 and Tuesday, Jan. 30, but emphasized that there can be no form of campaigning by petitioners for their position at the meetings. “You’re not supposed to be advocating or campaigning in any way, shape or form,” Devine said. “Absolutely not.” Morrison said in an email that he isn’t sure where the town manager issue stands among the community since most people involved in town affairs have been focused on employee compensation. “We are going to have a town manager promotional campaign over the next eight weeks,” he said. “Now that the hearings are scheduled in January, our group is finalizing a draft charter that supports the town manager article. This draft charter will be turned in to the town clerk in a few days. This allows the public to read the details behind the brief article that will be voted as an Australian ballot item.”
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