The Citizen - 3-28-24

Superintendent Sanchez announces resignation

Will stay on until end of school year

COREY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER

Champlain Valley School District Superintendent Rene Sanchez will resign at the end of the school year after three years as head of the district.

The announcement came at the end of the school board’s March 19 meeting, where board members unanimously accepted his resignation. Sanchez, in a letter to staff and faculty, called his resignation “a bittersweet announcement.”

He thanked district employees and said the last three years

with the district’s five towns “will always hold a special place in my heart.”

“These are challenging times across the state for public education and I’m very proud for the work that we continue to do for our students and our teachers,” he said.

The resignation will not be effective until the end of the school year, Sanchez said, “so my plan is to be laser focused on the remainder of the school year to make sure that we finish strong.”

See SANCHEZ on page 12

Winter’s return

Hinesburg will test more homes close to landfill Goes beyond

state’s

recommended testing

COREY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER

Hinesburg is moving ahead with an expanded testing program for homes surrounding its closed landfill, going beyond what the state and three environmental groups have recommended.

Residents have pressed the selectboard to implement a more widespread testing program following a recommendation by Stone Environmental to end test-

ing for six nearby properties where they said levels were low. That report was based on a semi-annual groundwater monitoring program conducted in fall 2023.

The state later agreed with that recommendation, saying in a January letter that the town should stop sampling six water supply wells for nearby residents on Forest Edge, Beecher Hill and

See LANDFILL on page 12

PHOTO BY LEE KROHN

A cardinal perches on a branch as last weekend’s snow swirls around her.

Help Tree Stewardship Team plant trees in Charlotte April 13

VINCE CROCKENBERG CONTRIBUTOR

The Tree Stewardship Team, a group of volunteers working with Charlotte’s tree warden, Mark Dillenbeck, are seeking additional volunteers to help plant 28 bare-root trees alongside the town trail on State Park Road, as well as 20 trees on the

grounds of the new town garage on Route 7.

The plantings will take place on Saturday, April 13, starting at 10 a.m. and, with many hands at work, should take about two hours.

Lack of direct experience planting trees is no obstacle to volunteering. A video will be provided to all volunteers via email to

Illuminate Vermont returns next weekend to S. Burl

Vermont’s newest artistic festival returns April 5 and 6 to Market Street in South Burlington.

Illuminate Vermont features cocktails, food trucks, live music and an indoor-outdoor market. And it’s all free. The event is being held around City Center from 5-9 p.m. both days.

Bring an ID if you plan to have a drink or sample Vermont-made liquors, wines or beer.

For more information, check in at illuminatevermont.com.

Here’s the schedule of events:

Friday, April 5, gates open, 5 p.m.

Main Stage

• 5-6:45 p.m. — Better Angels trio

• 7:15–9 p.m. — Better Angels

Market Street

• 6-8 p.m. — Ryan Sweezey

Library

• 5-6:30 p.m. — A Pair of Pauls Playing Piano offer original compositions, jazz standards, selections from the Great American Songbook and ragtime, jazz and novelty tunes.

• 7-8:30 p.m. — Ukulele Clare is a duo that charms audiences with originals and songs drawn from the American Songbook, bringing the best of jazz, country, folk and blues.

Auditorium

• 6 p.m. — Vermont’s Own 40th Army Band

• 7:30 p.m. — Blue Note 6

Saturday, April 6, gates open, 5 p.m.

Main Stage

• 5-6:45 p.m. – Judi Emanuel Family Band

• 7:15-9 p.m. — Jenni Johnson and the Jazz Junketeers perform a variety of music that includes jazz, soul and swing.

Market Street

• 6:30-7 p.m. – Cirque de Fuego, a Vermont-based fire performance troupe, performs fire breathing, fire juggling, partner acrobat fire routines, choreographed pieces and fire dancing.

• 6:30-8 p.m. — EmaLou and The Beat is a Burlington-based trio offering a mix of contemporary and classic folk, rock ‘n roll and funk.

Library

• 5-6 p.m. — Dr. Jolivette Anderson-Douoning performs Poetry Theater, a lively spoken word literary artform.

• 7-8:30 p.m. — Music Brings Joy

Auditorium

• 6 p.m. — Andriana Chobot Duo

• 7:30 p.m. — Green Mountain Brass Band

show you how to plant a bare-root tree, and the holes at the planting sites will be pre-dug. In addition, tree stewards will be available to help supervise the work, which will be to install and stake the trees and to spread mulch.

All volunteers need to bring, in addition to a love of trees, are gloves, shovel and, if you have it, a large bucket for carrying wood chips. A wheelbarrow would also be helpful.

The event at the garage will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the installation of the new solar panels on the roof of the garage. Snacks and drinks will be available at both sites.

If you’d like to volunteer, send an email to Robin Coleburn (robinis@gmavt.net) or to deputy tree warden Alexa Lewis (alex-

ajlewis@gmail.com) to be added to the list. Please indicate a preference for planting at either the garage or State Park Road site. A signup sheet for volunteers is also available at the library.

A coalition of Charlotte organizations, including the Charlotte Library, Lewis Creek Association, Charlotte Energy Committee, Sustainable Charlotte and the Tree Stewardship Team are working together to coordinate a variety of Earth Month activities, from tree-planting to storytelling, during April to celebrate and take action to protect the Earth. Details of these events can be found on the library’s website and the town’s Facebook page.

Vince Crockenberg is a member of the Tree Stewardship Team in Charlotte.

COURTESY PHOTO

Cirque de Fuego entertains on Saturday, April 6 at City Center.

Murder case against teen now heading to juvenile court

ALAN J. KEAYS VTDIGGER

The Addison County state’s attorney told a judge on Monday that she does not object to defense attorneys’ request to move a 14-year-old murder suspect’s case to juvenile court, where it would be closed to the public.

Eva Vekos, who originally brought a second-degree murder charge against the teen in adult court after police said he shot and killed another 14-year-old boy in Bristol, made the comment during a brief hearing Monday afternoon in Addison County Superior criminal court.

The defendant took part in Monday’s hearing by video, seated alongside his attorney, Marshall Pahl, Vermont’s deputy defender general. VTDigger generally does not identify juvenile defendants.

The suspect is accused of killing 14-year-old Shelburne resident Madden Gouveia last October. Police said he was waving a gun around in a car when it discharged, killing Gouveia, who was among the teenage passengers.

At the last hearing in the case, in late January, Pahl said he was awaiting results from a psychological evaluation of his client and that he would file a motion to transfer the matter to juvenile court.

“We did file that motion to transfer and had some discussion with the state,” Pahl said during Monday’s hearing. “My understanding is the state is in agreement.”

Vekos then spoke, telling Judge David Fenster, “We are in agreement with the motion and that’s based on a review of an evaluation that the defense has allowed us to review.”

The defense’s one-page request does not include any details of the teen’s evaluation. The attorneys did not reveal those during Monday’s hearing.

Fenster did not grant any motions on Monday. Instead, he asked Vekos to submit a filing indicating that she would not object to transferring the case to family court.

In that event, the proceedings — and the outcome — would be shielded from public view.

A conviction of second-degree murder in adult court carries a penalty of 20 years to life in prison. In family court, judgments are based on the specifics of each case but do not include adult prison sentences.

following a hearing last November, Vekos called the adult murder charge a “starting point.”

Several of Gouveia’s relatives attended Monday’s hearing. Outside the court after it concluded, they decried the attempt to move the case to juvenile court.

Addison County State’s Attorney Eva Vekos originally charged the teen, accused of fatally shooting a peer in Bristol, in adult court. This week, the prosecutor said she would not object to the defense’s attempt to move the case.

Vekos’ decision to charge the 14-year-old, who is Black, as an adult drew opposition from civil rights and social justice advocates, including the Rutland-area branch of the NAACP.

Speaking outside of court

Speaking through tears, his mother, Kelly Gouveia, said she didn’t believe the shooting was an accident. She cited reports in authorities’ charging documents describing attempts to hide the firearm after the shooting and that no one came to her son’s aid.

“I’m just so upset by this,” Kelly Gouveia said.

She said she would prefer the case not take place in the secrecy of family court.

“I’d like it to be held in adult court so the whole world can see,” Kelly Gouveia said.

She said that she and other family members would be meeting soon with Vekos to talk more about the case.

The defendant has been released on conditions and into his parents’ custody since November.

PHOTO BY GLENN RUSSELL Addison County State’s Attorney Eva Vekos is arraigned on a DUI charge in Addison County Superior criminal court in Middlebury on Feb. 12

ALAN J. KEAYS AND DIANE DERBY VTDIGGER

Twenty years after 17-yearold Brianna Maitland went missing after finishing her shift at a Montgomery restaurant, the FBI and Vermont State Police have announced a reward of up to $40,000 for information to find her.

“Someone out there may have information that can help solve this case,” Tremaroli said. “It’s been too long and it’s time to come forward.”

Authorities hope

At a press briefing at the state police barracks in Williston to mark the anniversary of Maitland’s disappearance, investigators said they are hopeful the reward will produce new tips in the case.

Col. Matthew Birmingham of the Vermont State Police said investigators are committed to bring resolution to the case for the sake of Maitland’s family, adding, “This is not a cold case, it’s an unsolved case.”

of the Vermont teen who disappeared in March 2004.

“This reward money today is for information leading to her recovery,” said Craig Tremaroli, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Albany Field Office, which covers Vermont.

The FBI, which is putting up the funding, is assisting in the investigation into Maitland’s disappearance, which is headed by the Vermont State Police.

Maj. Dan Trudeau, head of the state police criminal division, said he had been in regular contact with Maitland’s father, Bruce Maitland, who authorities had updated ahead of the reward announcement.

“He apologizes he couldn’t be here,” Trudeau said of Maitland’s father.

“I think our relationship is pretty good,” the major added when asked about law enforcement’s dynamic with the family. “But, again, we haven’t given him the answer to his daughter’s

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disappearance — that’s on us, we’re still working on it.”

The teenager was last seen around 11:20 p.m. on March 19, 2004, when she left her job at the Black Lantern Inn. The car she drove, a green 1985 Oldsmobile 88 that belonged to her mother, was discovered by state police the following day, backed in near an abandoned farmhouse about a mile from the restaurant where

she was last seen. Because Maitland had yet to be reported missing by family and friends, the car’s discovery was not treated as suspicious at the time, and police had the car towed from the scene.

Maitland, who grew up in Franklin County, was living with a childhood friend in Sheldon when she went missing. On the day of her disappearance, she

had taken her GED exam and had lunch with her mother, according to press reports. Police did not initially suspect foul play in the case.

In the two decades that followed, her disappearance was the subject of numerous national crime shows and a book published by the private investigator hired by her family. Her father, who has since moved out of state, recently started a nonprofit to help families of missing persons hire private investigators. Two former Vermont State Police colonels serve on the board of the nonprofit, according to its website. The family also maintains a Facebook page related to Maitland’s disappearance.

Investigators said there have been no recent reported sightings of Maitland. Early on, there were reports that she had been seen at a New Jersey casino, but those reports were not verified, according to police.

In 2012, investigators looked into whether Maitland may have been the victim of serial killer Israel Keyes, but subsequently ruled it out.

Two years ago, state police reported that they had identified “the source of DNA found as part of the investigation.” The DNA was discovered on an item at the scene where the car was found. However, the results of the DNA testing did not lead police to identify a suspect in the case.

PHOTO BY GLENN RUSSELL/VTDIGGER

Col. Matthew Birmingham, director of the Vermont State Police, speaks during a press conference in Williston on March 19, on the 20th anniversary of Brianna Maitland’s disappearance. Maitland was last seen during the late evening hours of March 19, 2004, as she was completing her shift at a restaurant in Montgomery. The FBI has offered a $40,000 reward for information leading to her recovery.

Newspapers collect awards in regional journalism contest

TOMMY GARDNER STAFF WRITER

The Vermont Community Newspaper Group took home 13 first-place awards — and more than twice as many second- and third-place nods — for journalism and design at the New England Newspaper Convention, held over the weekend in Waltham, Mass.

The annual Better Newspaper Competition, held each year by the New England Newspaper and Press Association, awards the top newspapers from all six New England states in 85 editorial categories and 35 advertising categories. In recent years, the best college newspapers have also been honored.

The Vermont Community Newspaper Group publishes five community weeklies in Lamoille and Chittenden counties — the Stowe Reporter, News & Citizen, South Burlington’s The Other Paper, Shelburne News and The Citizen of Charlotte and Hinesburg — and two glossy magazines, the Stowe Guide and Magazine and Stowe/ Green Mountain Weddings. All seven publications took home awards at this year’s competition.

“We’re small but mighty,” said publisher and editor Greg Popa. “I’m continually amazed by the talent of this crew and the serious news coverage and solid reporting they provide for our readers. I hope the sixteen communities we serve appreciate the work they provide to report the news week after week.”

Newsroom awards

The newspapers took home 20 awards for reporting, photography and overall presentation. That included five first-place prizes:

• Human interest feature story, by Aaron Calvin, for his piece about the death of a homeless veteran.

• Pandemic coverage, by Corey McDonald, for his piece about a well-known businessman grappling with the death of his son.

• Arts and entertainment reporting, by

Avalon Styles-Ashley, for a profile of local artist Sue Gilkey.

• Serious Columnist, by David Rocchio, for a piece about snow and another about his memories of his father.

• Sports Action photo, by Al Frey, who also won second and third place in the same category, for three different photos of high school basketball games.

The newsroom also won seven secondplace newsroom awards:

• Best Niche Publication, for the Stowe magazine, by publisher and editor Greg Popa.

• Arts and entertainment, by Rob Kiener, for a profile of painter Luigi Lucioni.

• Business and economic reporting, by Calvin, for a magazine story about how Idletyme restaurant and brewery weathered the pandemic.

• Climate change or weather, by Calvin and news editor Tommy Gardner, for their coverage of last July’s flooding in Lamoille County.

• Humor column, by Carole Vasta Folley, for her wit about tech trauma and kitchen freezers.

• Portrait photo, by Glenn Callahan, for a picture of Bambi Freeman.

• Reporting on religious issues, by McDonald, for a report on South Burlington schools renting out space to a church.

• Right-to-know, by Calvin, for a series about the dismissal of a Stowe police officer.

• Serious columnist, by Folley, for a piece about gender pronouns.

• Sports action photo, by Gordon Miller, for a Peoples Academy softball pitcher.

The newsroom won half a dozen thirdplace journalism awards:

• Crime and courts, by McDonald, about an investigation into a Shelburne cop.

• Human interest feature story, by Kiener, for a story about a man confronting the end of his dog’s life.

Tommy Gardner, Corey McDonald, Kristen Braley and Liberty Darr hold their awards from the New England Newspaper and Press Association Better Newspaper Competition.

More affordable child care on horizon as Act 76 rolls out

From the Senate

Sen. Ginny Lyons

March 15 was the last day for the Senate and House to pass bills out of policy committees for consideration in the other chamber. Senate legislative committees now work on bills from their counterparts in the House. In addition, committees may also review the administration’s work implementing legislation passed during previous sessions.

Act 76 of 2023 is significant child care legislation and is unique in the country. The law provides affordable access to child care for working families. On Jan. 1, 2024, child care programs received benefits to expand and improve their programs. Increased benefits and compensation for child care staff were also implemented on Jan. 1.

That staff includes some of the lowest paid professionals with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Vermont. The increase in salary is an important recog-

nition of the value legislators place on early childhood care. On April 1 and in October more families will be eligible for child care support. This will add child care slots in many programs.

By December, over 7,000 additional children and families will be eligible for reduced tuition. These changes make Vermont a more affordable place for young families in our workforce. Child care is one of the many difficult problems facing Vermonters. As Act 76 is implemented, more families will be able to afford child care and programs will support and maintain staff. Everyone benefits. Vermonters can take pride in this ongoing support of our children and families.

Another exciting proposal is Wisdom House, a new senior living multigenerational community envisioned for Jericho and Underhill. By providing community services (not assisted living) close to affordable condos or homes would allow older Vermonters to age in place.

Going ahead, housing issues will continue to dominate legislative conversations. Providing adequate housing stock for middle- and lower-income workers

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.

for

continues to be debated in legislative committees. Efforts to ensure that emergency housing is available, whether for flood recovery, weather events or other things will continue. My committee, Senate health and welfare, will focus its attention on general assistance housing recommendations from the House Committee on Human Services. Improvements to the General Assistance Housing program should help relieve access problems caused by economic pressures or climate induced flood events. Underlying housing discussions about permits, zoning, Act 250 and funding sources are the desperate needs facing underrepresented groups in society.

Before the pandemic I suggested that some Vermont Housing and Conservation Board funds might appropriately be allocated toward long-term or nursing home care, senior living, crisis step down beds, recovery residences, residential support for those with mental illness and for people with disabilities capable of

living independently.

These critical needs for housing have not changed; they have increased. Each area is important. There are many folks with disabilities living with aging parents. Having a residential facility that allows those with disabilities to live independently in small congregate settings can alleviate stress on families and potentially increase single family home access.

Another exciting proposal is Wisdom House, a new senior living multigenerational community envisioned for Jericho and Underhill. By providing community services (not assisted living) close to affordable condos or homes would allow older Vermonters to age in place. This could be a model for more rural parts of the state where community support, including transportation, makes it difficult for seniors.

During the next weeks of the biennium, we will work on legislation that could reduce administrative burdens on health care providers, increase access to insurance for lower-income Vermonters, improve primary care access and reduce prescription drug costs. I look forward to sharing more about these issues in the future. Thank you for your thoughts and feedback.

Ginny Lyons, a Democrat from Williston, represents South Burlington, Charlotte, Hinesburg, Shelburne and several other towns in the Chittenden-Southeast Senate district.

Vermont needs to get ed spending back on track

To the Editor:

Kudos to superintendent Rene Sanchez, his team and the Champlain Valley School District School Board for posting options for a revised budget that could reduce our tax increase from 26 percent to between 13 and 14 percent. Getting there involves deep cuts, which are steps in the right direction, but that cannot be the end of it.

While the efforts of Champlain Valley district and other Vermont school districts to mitigate their constituents’ tax pain are appreciated, it is critical that legislators don’t misinterpret the applause. The education funding system and policies enacted by Montpelier caused this train wreck. H.850, which went into effect 12 days before Town Meeting Day, was a recognition of the many flaws in Act 127, but the attempt was too little too late. Statistics that speak to how misguided Vermont education funding and policies are include:

• K-12 spending as percentage of taxpayer income is 5.33 percent compared to 3.51 percent in New Hampshire and 3.6 percent in Massachusetts.

• Public spending per K-12 student in Vermont is $21,219 versus $19,193 in Massachusetts and $17,456 in New Hampshire.

• As Vermont’s student population has declined by 19,000 in 24 years, about 70 of our 290 or so schools have entire grades averaging 15 students or fewer. As smaller schools are much more expensive to operate, Act 46, which was passed in 2017, provided incentives for communities to consolidate their schools into larger districts. But in 2022, Act 127 reversed that direction with incentives to avoid consolidation.

Our elected representatives in the House and Senate need to explain their vision for a funding and policy reset that will get the delivery of education in Vermont back on a sustainable track.

Robert Finn Shelburne

Sen. Ginny Lyons

Into the Woods

Ethan Tapper

We can put the ways that forests benefit our lives and our quality of life into three general categories: ecological, economic and cultural. The ecological benefits of forests include how they clean air and water, regulate climate and provide the means for humans and so many other species to exist.

Forests also provide economic benefits: They add billions of dollars to Vermont’s economy, and grow local, renewable resources like wood that enrich our lives and lower reliance on more harmful resources produced elsewhere.

Finally, forests provide cultural benefits: They are inarguably essential to our identities as Vermonters, to so many of the things that we do and value and love. As we envision a future for ourselves and our forests, balancing all these benefits is key: How can we care for forests in a way that creates and sustains an ecologically, economically and culturally functional landscape?

Almost anywhere that there are forests, they can be placed into one of three broad categories — production forests, working forests and reserves — a triad of forest management approaches with different objectives that employ different strategies and have different strengths and weaknesses.

The first leg of the triad is production forests, where trees are managed essentially as crops, often grown and harvested on relatively short rotations and using intensive management techniques. Production forests may be more diverse forests of naturally regenerating trees, but (globally) often take the form of monoculture plantations.

Production forests provide some of the ecological benefits of a natural forest, but their main strengths are economic; they provide huge amounts of renewable resources, jobs and local economic benefits. It should also be said that the fact that production forests produce so many renewable resources is itself a powerful global ecological and cultural benefit and lowers reliance on resources that cause significant harm to ecosystems and people.

Working forests include nearly all forests in Vermont. These are forests that are periodically managed for wood and other resources, but also for a wide range of other values such as biodiversity protection, carbon, wildlife habitat and recreation. The economic benefits of working forests are not as concentrated as production forests — you need a

much greater acreage to produce the same quantity of resources — but they provide periodic economic benefits, as well as more ecological and cultural benefits than production forests.

The third leg of the triad is reserves. Reserves are forests that are essentially unmanaged, although we use the term passive management, that are allowed to develop largely without human intervention. Reserves may provide some economic benefits from tourism and forest-based recreation, but their primary benefits are ecological and cultural.

While you may be biased toward one leg of the triad or another, production forests, working forests and reserves are likely all necessary to meet our ecological, economic and cultural needs. The three legs of the triad exist in a dynamic relationship with one another: If we want more reserves, we will also need more production forests to produce the resources that we need to sustain us; if we want fewer production forests, we will need far more working forests and fewer reserves; and if we say “not in my backyard” to working forests in Vermont, we are likely

saying “yes” to production forests somewhere else. Of these three forest types, working forests are by far the most radical and beneficial. They are the only forests that we have a real relationship with; the only ones that truly balance all the things that we ask, and require, from our forests. In working forests, we can recognize our responsibility to protect forests for their own sake (like a reserve), and to produce renewable resources (like a production forest), while also acknowledging that we can play a positive and even regenerative

role in these ecosystems — not as a farmer of a crop and not as a bystander, but as the steward of a complex and precious living system.

While we need some production forests and reserves, I believe that working forests are the place where we can maximize the ecological, economic and cultural values of forests.

Ethan Tapper is the Chittenden County forester for the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation. Learn more at linktr. ee/chittendencountyforester.

COURTESY PHOTO

A freshly managed area of Ethan Tapper’s own forest in Bolton. Working forests are managed for biodiversity, climate resilience and more, while also

“Material Matters,” a collection of hand-colored and black-and-white photographic images and mixed media collage by Weybridge artist Victoria Blewer is on display at the Vermont Supreme Court Gallery in Montpelier from Thursday, April 4 to June 28. There will be an opening reception and art walk on Friday, April 5, 4-7 p.m. As a photographer and visual artist, Blewer explores a variety of photographic mediums that derive from silver-print black-and-white and hand-colored images of agricultural structures. “I’m not the sort to live my life based on a bumper sticker, but one stuck with me as I realized that technology was forcing me to re-imagine everything I have done or may do next as an artist,” says Blewer, who has exhibited her photography broadly and has won many national and regional awards.

Enjoy Age Well meals at Charlotte Senior Center

The Age Well meal pickup for Thursday, March 28, is from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Charlotte Senior Center features turkey burger with vegetable gravy, mashed potatoes, Brussels sprouts, wheat roll with butter, peach and Craisin crisp and milk.

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

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

The meal for Thursday, April 4, features sweet and sour pork with vegetable sauce, brown rice with lentils and vegetables, green beans, wheat bread with butter, fruit crisp with cream and milk.

The meal for Thursday, April 11, features chicken in gravy with mashed cauliflower, diced carrots, southern biscuit with butter, carrot cake with icing and milk.

The meal for Thursday, April 18, features beef with barbecue sauce, baked beans, broccoli florets, wheat bun with butter, pumpkin craisin cookie and milk.

Solaris Vocal Ensemble presents ‘Radiant Light’

Join the Solaris Vocal Ensemble, led by Dr. Dawn Willis, for two evenings filled with the uplifting power of choral music. As part of its 10th-anniversary celebration, Solaris offers “Radiant Light,” a concert featuring Mozart’s “Vesperae Solennes de Confessore,” with its soaring melodies and intricate harmonies and accompanied by a chamber orchestra.

Be moved by powerful motets and spiritual arrangements with selections by Bruckner, Hogan and Thompson. Witness the world premiere of Solaris’

own composer-in-residence, James Stewart, and his new work, “It Had to Be Your Fascinating Rhythm,” a reimagining of two iconic 1924 jazz tunes.

Concert dates are Saturday, April 6 at 7:30 p.m., at the College Street Congregational Church, Burlington, and Sunday, April 7 at 4 p.m., Bethany United Church of Christ, Montpelier.

Advance tickets are recommended at solarisensemble.org.

Horse Quiz Bowl

Everyone was a winner at the 2024 Chittenden County Invitational 4-H Horse Quiz Bowl, held March 15 in Essex Junction. 4-H’ers competing at the event were, front row from left, Saige Prisco, Ian Kascha-Hare and Fiona Adams, all from Milton; Grace Peterson, Essex; Nora Kidder, Cambridge, who was first in the Juniors 10-11 class; Avery Minor, Fairfax; Kinzi Grindle, St. Albans; Graham Robinson, Underhill; and Josie Kascha-Hare, Milton. In back, Mikayla Tobey, Fairfax; Addison Tomasi, Milton; Emma Babyak, Fairfax; Jane Curry, Burlington; Aubri Richards, Milton; Claire Romano, Fairfax; and Lily Key, Hinesburg, fifth in the Juniors 12-13 class.

‘Reading Together’: Free storytime for families at Pierson

Come to Shelburne’s Pierson Library on Saturday, April 13, at 10:30 a.m. for a storytime celebrating the release of Robert Broder’s newest children’s book, “Reading Together: A Heartwarming Story About Bonding with Your Child Through the Love of Reading.”

Broder is a children’s book author and librarian at Carpenter Carse Library in Hinesburg. The storytime is free and books will be available to purchase.

Broder’s book helps families to discover the magic of reading together. It is a story of a family’s love for picture books and the moments of laughter, imagination and connection they share. Filled with playful illustrations and fond memories from classic children’s tales, the book takes readers on a nostalgic journey through childhood, when the joys of discovering new stories together create bonds that last a lifetime.

Shelburne

church, Age Well host April luncheon

Age Well is offering a luncheon on Tuesday, April 16, in the St Catherine of Siena Parish Hall, 72 Church St. in Shelburne.

The menu is Salisbury beef with barbecue sauce, baked beans, broccoli florets, wheat bun with butter, frosted pound cake with raspberry filling and milk.

Check-in time is 11:30 a.m. and the meal will be served at noon. There is a $5 suggested donation.

Diners must register by April 10 to Kerry Batres, nutrition coordinator, 802-662-5283 or email kbatres@agewellvt.org. Tickets are also available at the Age Well Office, 875 Roosevelt Highway, Suite 210, Colchester.

COURTESY PHOTO

News from Carpenter-Carse Library

69 Ballards Corner Road, Hinesburg.

802-482-2878, carpentercarse. org

To register, reserve books or for more information, reach out to library@carpentercarse.org.

Weekly storytime

Tuesdays in April, 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Stories, songs, rhymes, and crafts.

Pokemon club

Wednesday, April 3, 2:15-3:30 p.m.

Students in kindergarten to grade four play the Pokemon Trading Game and participate in handson arts and craft challenges, group guessing and memory games, making snacks, and trading cards. Registration required; contact jen@carpentercarse.org.

Monthly fiber arts club

Friday, April 5, 3:15-4:30 p.m.

Club for students in grades three to seven. Ever wanted to learn how to knit, crochet, needle felt, embroider and sew? Want to come and share skills you already have others? Sign up at the circulation desk or contact jen@carpentercarse.org.

Family Solar Eclipse

Prep Party

Saturday, April 6, 1-2:30 p.m.

Learn what a solar eclipse is

through stories, activities, crafts and games. Families can find out how and where to safely view the eclipse on April 8 and pick up solar eclipse viewing glasses or make their own indirect solar viewing devices. Call the library or contact jen@carpentercarse.org to register.

Saturday storytime

Saturday, April 13, 10-10:30 a.m.

Stories, crafts and singing for young children and their caregivers. Coffee, snacks.

Afterschool story and craft time

Friday, April 19, 3:15-4:30 p.m.

Children in grades K-2 read stories and enjoy snacks. Contact jen@carpentercarse.org to register.

Spring break concert and sing-along

Monday, April 22, 1-2 p.m.

Interactive event with longtime performer and musician, Ed Morgan, also known simply as “The Music Man.” For children and their parents or guardians.

ADULTS

Hands and needles

Mondays in April, 10 a.m.-noon

Bring whatever project you

News from Charlotte Library

115 Ferry Road, Charlotte. 802-425-3864. Register at charlottepubliclibrary.org or info@ charlottepubliclibrary.org.

More information and links can be found on the library website.

ONGOING

Preschool free play

Wednesdays in April, 10-11 a.m.

Kids explore the sensory table, sorting, playing with blocks, play dough and more. Ages 2 and over.

Babytime

Thursdays in April, 9:30-10:30 a.m.

Unstructured hour for parents, caregivers and babies to play and chat. Birth to 18 months.

Kindergarten/first grade storytime

Tuesdays, April 2, 9 and 16, 3-4 p.m.

are working on — quilting, knitting, embroidery, etc. No registration required.

Poems in performance: a cure for poemphobia

Wednesday, April 3, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

In this free informal talk, slam poet Geof Hewitt offers poems that defy stereotype, and discusses strategies for finding more. Contact Rob at rob@carpentercarse.org for more information.

Folk Jam with SongFarmers of Hinesburg

Thursday, April 4, 6-8 p.m.

Do you play an acoustic instrument or do you just love to sing along to old time, blues, country and folk music? Join SongFarmers during its monthly gathering and participate in a live music offering. Free and open to the public in the library’s community room.

Seniors Meetup

Friday, April 5, 10-11:30 a.m.

Do you remember rotary phones? Cigarette smoke in diners? Bike riding without helmets? Then this meetup is for you. Come gather and talk, schmooze, and kvetch, share and laugh with other seniors. First Friday of every month. Coffee, tea and games provided.

Preschool storytime

Tuesdays and Fridays in April, 10-11 a.m.

Preschool stories, crafts and activities. No registration required. Age 2 and over.

ADULTS

Book chat

Wednesdays in April, 3-4 p.m.

Join Margaret Friday on Zoom to discuss new books, old books and books missed.

Crochet and knit night

Wednesdays in April, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Sustainable book group: ‘Saving Us’

Wednesdays, April 3, 7-8 p.m.

In “Saving Us,” Katharine Hayhoe argues that when it comes to changing hearts and minds, facts are only one part of the equation,

and that we need to find shared values to connect our unique identities to collective action. Co-sponsored with Sustainable Charlotte. Zoom link on the library’s website.

Total eclipse

Monday, April 8, 2:15-4:15 p.m.

Celebrate the total eclipse on the town green. A limited number of viewing glasses will be available.

Stillwater meditation

Saturdays in April, 9-10 a.m.

Poetry and meditation. All invited for quiet reflection, contemplation and gentle meditation instruction. For beginning and experienced meditators.

Writer’s studio

Tuesday, April 9, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Looking for a welcoming spot

Shelburne native lands spot in Vermont Hall of Fame

LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER

Native Shelburnite Kevin Lepage’s need for speed landed him a spot this year in the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame.

One of 12 inductees for 2024, he’s the only Vermont-born stock car driver to compete at the highest levels of NASCAR.

But for the self-proclaimed “car nut,” his love for cars is something that seemingly runs in his blood. His dad, a mechanic and local gas station owner, started drag racing in Milton in the 1960s around the time Lepage was 3 years old.

“I just fell in love with his drag car and my mom used to say that I used to cry and throw a fit when he used to leave with the car because we weren’t able to go with him,” he said.

For Lepage, the need to be close to the action started in adolescence. He recounts being 8 years old, sneaking into the pit area with his dad and then watching the races from the highest grandstand.

But winning his first heat in

his home state of Vermont all those years ago is ultimately what sparked an illustrious career that would ultimately move him up to the prestigious Winston Cup series.

“I would just watch the cars and I just loved racing. When I got my first race at Catamount, I won my heat race and I think I finished 10th in the feature and that’s where it all started. I wanted to be one of those guys, that when I’m sitting 60, 70, 80 years old with my grandkids, I wanted to be the guy that would say, ‘We took a gamble, and we made it.’”

In the mid-70s, his dad bought a car for Lepage’s older brother, who started racing at Catamount and Barre’s Thunder Road until

Redhawks’ all-stars compete in hockey, basketball games

LAUREN READ CORRESPONDENT

Boys’ hockey

Three Champlain Valley players helped the Austin team win the 38th annual Rotary All Star Classic on Saturday as the state’s top senior hockey players faced off.

Nic Menard, Travis Stroh and Alex Zuchowski were named to the team while coach J.P. Benoit was named as a coach.

Stroh scored twice and Menard added a goal and an assist for the Austin team, which won 7-4 over the Harris team. Zuchowski chipped in with an assist.

The two teams are dubbed Team Harris and Team Austin, named, respectively, after the founder of Rotary International

WHY GO LOCAL?

and the president of Vermont’s first Rotary chapter.

Menard was named to the third team for the Metro Division all-league team. Zuchowski was named an honorable mention.

Girls’ hockey

Evia Mae Buford was the lone CougarHawk representative at the Rotary All Star Classic.

Buford represented Champlain Valley-Mount Mansfield on the Austin team, which beat Harris 5-3 on Saturday.

Boys’ basketball

The Champlain Valley boys’ basketball team was well represented when the Vermont Basketball Coaches Association announced its all-star rosters.

Kyle Eaton, Colby Morehouse and Tucker Tharpe were named to the North team for the all-star

game that took place Saturday at Windsor High School.

CVU’s top players helped North win 97-75 over South. Eaton hit four three-pointers for a 12-point effort, while Morehouse added 10 points.

Girls’ basketball

Coming off their second straight Division I state title, three Champlain Valley players got to represent the Redhawks one more time after being named to the roster for the Vermont Basketball Coaches Association all-star games.

Samara Ashooh, Elise Berger and Merrill Jacobs were all named to the South team, which fell to North 68-49.

In addition, CVU’s Zoey McNabb was named to the Dream Dozen, the top underclassmen players from across the state.

Lepage took over in 1980, when he was Rookie of the Year that year. “I missed the overall Rookie of the Year for the tour and finished second to Leland Kangas out of Maine,” he said.

Lepage had a successful run on short track in Vermont, including Thunder Road, where he won three Milk Bowls, one of the country’s toughest short-track races.

“To win the Milk Bowl three times in that era, that’s a such a tough race to win one but to win it three times. It was really good,” Lepage reflected. “It was just one of them days that I couldn’t do anything wrong with the car and the car was just flawless and to beat Mark Martin and Terry Labonte, that was a very special day for me.”

He left Vermont in 1994 for the NASCAR Xfinity circuit, competing in 350 races with 19 top five finishes, 51 top 10s and he posted two wins at Homestead and Bristol on NASCAR’s second-level tour.

“I was really good friends with John Sortino who started Vermont Teddy Bear Company and he came into my shop one day and I said, ‘Hey, John, I said, I’ve got a proposition for you.’ I told him that I wanted to go NASCAR racing and I needed Vermont Teddy Bear sponsorship. After some meetings, we put a deal together and we came down to

Shape the community’s character

North Carolina and started a race team and it’s where my career started down here,” he said.

Although he could have stayed up North, the goal was to be a Winston Cup driver, he said.

“At the time when I moved, I was in my early 30s and that was a young driver to make it into the Winston Cup,” he said.

He raced 13 years in the Winston Cup Series starting in 1997 and compiled two top five finishes and nine top 10s. In his first full season in 1998, he qualified for 27 of the 33 races he entered. Between the Winston Cup series and the Busch series, Lepage has run over 560 races in his career.

“Looking back at my Winston Cup career, over 201 races,” he said. “We easily could have won five or six of those races. I can go back and replay them in my mind that maybe we had a bad pitstop, or just something happened. It was a great career and I’m not disappointed at all that I didn’t win a Winston Cup race.”

He paid homage to his home state when he retired by completing his final race at the Milk Bowl in 2017, the place where his career began.

“Never forget where you came from,” he said. “Anytime there’s any publications or any media stuff that I had to do throughout my career, you know, I was always, ‘Kevin Lepage, from Shelburne, Vermont.’”

The business next door donates nearly twice as much as big-box stores and online retailers to local non-profits, events and teams.

Kevin Lepage

COURTESY PHOTOS

Kevin Lepage racing in NASCAR. Inset, a snapshot from 2008.

Farmers Night concert honors Pete Sutherland

On Wednesday, April 3, at 7:30 p.m., Farmers Night at the Statehouse will honor Pete Sutherland, a leader of traditional and Americana music who touched and inspired many in Vermont and internationally through his compositions, playing, mentoring and teaching. Friends, fans, students, collaborators, admirers and others will join to celebrate and pay tribute to him. Guest musicians will include Lee Blackwell, Jim Burns, Patti Casey, Grey Larsen and Cindy Kallet, Tom MacKenzie, Oliver Scanlon, Fiona and Emmett Stowell and David Zuckerman. The Farmers Night Concert Series is a longstanding Statehouse tradition that goes back over 100 years to a time when lawmakers entertained themselves in the House chamber mid-week while away from home.

CHARLOTTE

continued from page 9

to share your writing? Join this three-town writer’s studio to share feedback about writing projects big and small. Geoff Gevalt is facilitator. Check with your local library to sign up.

Repair cafe

Saturday, April 13, 1- a.m.-2 p.m.

Get your broken stuff ready. Registration required on the library website.

Mystery book group: ‘Blackout’

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

As the Luftwaffe makes its last, desperate assaults on the battered city in 1944, Londoners take to the underground shelters amid the blackout. Det. Troy starts with the clue of a neatly dismembered corpse leading him into a world of stateless refugees, military intelligence and corruption all the way to the top of Allied High Command. Copies at the circulation desk.

Better together discussion: ‘Lessons in Chemistry’

Wednesday, April 17, 7-8:30 p.m.

In the 1960s, Elizabeth Zott, a brilliant scientist, challenges

societal norms through chemistry, cooking and motherhood. “Lesson in Chemistry” looks at contemporary parenting. Books are available at the circulation desk.

‘Beaverland’

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

“Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America” tells the tumultuous, eye-opening story of how beavers and the beaver fur trade shaped America’s history, culture, and environment. At Shelburne Town Hall. Copies are available at the circulation desk.

Preservation of the Lost Mural

Tuesday, April 23, 1-2 p.m.

Ilustrated presentation on the preservation, relocation, conservation and restoration of the Lost Mural, now at Ohavi Zedek Synagogue in Burlington. Presented by Richard Kerschner, coordinating conservator for the Lost Mural Project. At the Charlotte Senior Center, 115 Ferry Road, Charlotte.

Men’s book discussion

Wednesday, April 24, 7:30-9 p.m.

Get the Zoom link at the library’s website.

Airport unveils plans for new north terminal

HABIB SABET VTDIGGER

Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger and Direction of Aviation Nic Longo unveiled plans for a new north terminal building at the Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport on March 20.

Dubbed “Project NexT,” the infrastructure upgrade would completely replace the current northern concourse with a larger, net-zero energy terminal, adding improved aircraft gates, a third floor with dedicated office space and an outdoor patio area for public use, among other improvements.

“This ambitious project is not just about accommodating larger aircraft and boosting passenger capacity,” Weinberger said at a press conference at the airport. “It is about securing a vibrant, sustainable future for Vermont’s largest and greatest airport.”

CARPENTER-CARSE

continued from page 9

‘Beaverland’ book talk

Wednesday, April 10, 7-8 p.m.

Allaire Diamond, Vermont Land Trust ecologist, and Liz Doran, UVM professor of environmental engineering, lead a discussion of “Beaverland: How One Weird Rodent Made America.”

Copies are available at the circulation desk. One in a series of book talks in advance of author Leila Philip’s presentation next month at Shelburne Town Hall.

Personal technology help group

Fridays, April 12 and 26, 10:30-noon.

Kenneth Russell leads a group exploration of facing the common frustration points in using personal technology: smartphones, computers, tablets, smart TVs, etc.

Bring your devices.

Contact rachel@carpenter carse.org to RSVP.

Mystery book group

Wednesday, April 10, 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Informal group meets the second Wednesday of each month to chat about a book together.

new project by late summer. It would then take about 18 months to complete construction, he said.

Project NexT would be the second major infrastructure improvement at the airport in just five years, following a recent expansion of its south terminal, which was completed in 2022.

Despite the increase in space, it remains unclear whether a new terminal would necessarily bring more airlines or flights to the airport. Early this year, JetBlue, which previously provided flights from Burlington to New York, pulled out of the airport. Leahy BTV has since partnered with Breeze Airways, adding flights to cities in Florida and North Carolina.

Although officials did not specify if any new partnerships were expected because of the project, they trumpeted the expansion and upgrades as a foundation for growth.

The project would mostly be funded by a $34 million federal earmark secured by former U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy near the end of his tenure. The city council is expected to formally accept the funding at a meeting next Monday. The remaining cost would be covered by a passenger facility charge, a small fee included in ticket sales to fund infrastructure projects.

Leahy, who also spoke at the event, said the expansion project was about more than just the city of Burlington, calling his namesake airport “a key to a vibrant Vermont.”

Longo said that, with council approval of the funding, the airport could break ground on the

“As we gather here, we stand at the threshold of an extraordinary program — an extraordinary journey — one that promises to redefine the very essence of this airport experience,” Longo said. “Today marks the commencement of phase two, if you will, of our ambitious endeavor to transform Leahy BTV into a transcendent beacon of innovation and excellence in air travel.”

Burlington City Council president Karen Paul also joined the mayor and airport officials at Wednesday’s event.

“The difference between what we see today and what we see in the future is going to be like night and day, and that is a very big deal for the traveling public,” Paul said.

SANCHEZ

continued from page 1

“I’ve got a lot of work to do to make sure we pass the budget and get the district in a place where we can hand it off to an interim,” he said.

Board chair Meghan Metzler, on behalf of the board, thanked Sanchez for his service to the district: “We greatly appreciate that he’ll be staying through the end of the school year to continue the work that he’s led and ensure a smooth transition.”

“I’m sad to see him go and excited to find out where he lands,” board member Angela Arsenault said.

In a follow-up interview, Sanchez was mum on why he was resigning or what his future plans are, only saying that it was “the right time for me to move on.”

“What I can say is there are things in the works, but they’re still in the works right now,” he said.

The board had several agenda items at previous board meetings regarding the superintendent’s evaluation, but those meetings were held behind closed doors.

LANDFILL

continued from page 1

North roads “after four events of non-detect is warranted” — although the state did say that three nearby homes “should be sampled” and that the solid waste program would sample those properties in the spring.

But town manager Todd Odit last week moved to continue sampling at those six residences, as well as two additional properties to the west of the landfill.

“As results come in, things might change,” Odit said. “The recommendation at this point is to include the properties recommended here tonight into the semi-annual testing and we’ll see where the results go.”

Sanchez first joined the district in July 2021, succeeding Elaine Pinckney after her 15 years with the Champlain Valley school system. He relocated to Vermont with his wife and three kids from South Bend, Ind., where he was the assistant superintendent for operations in charge of the human resources and transportation departments.

Prior to that, he spent six years as a principal of the César E. Chávez High School in Houston.

In the first months in his new role, Sanchez oversaw the return of students to schools after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the district into remote learning. He guided the five-member school district by juggling multiple strategies of deterrence, including mandatory masking and vaccinations, and keeping up with contact tracing.

During this time, the district began making improvements to heating, ventilation and air conditioning in the Charlotte Central School, Hinesburg Community School’s 7th and 8th grade wing and the Shelburne Community School. Masking continued until the district reached an 80 percent vaccination rate.

Sanchez’s initial tenure with the administration was mired by repeated turnover in the district’’s search for a director of diversity, equity and inclusion.

By September of 2021, three months into the job, the district had lost its second director of diversity in 14 months. The first, Rhiannon

Kim, quit six days after being hired in July 2020, while the second, Liliana Rodriguez, resigned months later.

Then, in October, five diversity, equity and inclusion coaches at several schools resigned at the same time. During this time, the district was faced with questions over equity practices in the district, including the Champlain Valley Union High School’s process of selecting soccer players for the varsity team that community members alleged was discriminatory.

outcomes compared to their peers.

Around the same time, the district hired Dr. Asma Abunaib as the district’s third director of diversity, equity and inclusion. She remains in the job.

“I’m sad to see him go and excited to find out where he lands.”

— Board member Angela Arsenault

Sanchez, in an editorial, promised to “improve our knowledge and implementation of practices that support students, staff and others in diversity, equity and inclusion work.”

The district in November 2021 announced it would be contacting with Mass Insight to undertake a formal equity audit to review district practices.

Sanchez’s tenure was also marked by continued improvements in the consolidated district, including the creation of a director of data systems position, and the implementation of the first district data warehouse, which integrates all students’ data in one location for use of teachers and administrative faculty.

The district also created its first strategic plan, the first since it fully consolidated seven years ago.

“You’ve done a lot for us here,” Hinesburg board member Keith Roberts said. “You’ve started us on a journey, and I very much appreciate that — we have a long way to go but you laid the groundwork for us to go there.”

requires verification and that’s what the testing does.”

“We also want to trust that the science is accurate and that requires verification and that’s what the testing does.”

— Janet Francis

For three years now, Hinesburg has been paying an increasing amount of money to test and remediate drinking water near the landfill, which was capped and sealed off with a permanent chemical-resistant plastic sheet in 1992. The landfill operated from 1972 until 1988 and received solid waste from Hinesburg and Richmond before it was closed.

has since installed four pointof-entry treatment systems to treat the contaminated water.

The town later received a $60,000 grant from the state’s revolving loan program to determine whether the town could extend its water system up to the properties.

“That process will take a while, that is not going to be a fast process, but we’re underway and we’re meeting monthly,” said Joy Dubin Grossman, Hinesburg’s assistant town manager.

Residents pushed the selectboard to expand testing to properties that were originally included in a 1990 closure plan. Seven wells providing drinking water for residences in the area were tested annually.

That audit, completed and presented to the board in September 2022, showed marginalized groups in the district have not been achieving comparably high

AWARDS

continued from page 5

• General news story, by McDonald, for a piece about the Charlotte fire and rescue squads’ funding.

• Pictorial photo, by Gordon Miller, for a shot of the Spear Barn.

• Serious columnist, Tamara Burke, for pieces about marginalized people and school choice.

• Sports feature, by Gardner, about the Stowe soccer team with five sets of siblings.

Advertising and design

Metzler said the school board plans to appoint an interim for the 2024-2025 school year and share more information in coming months.

Janet Francis, one of the residents in the area, thanked the selectboard “for taking this seriously at this point.”

“We’ve had many conversations over the time, a lot of discussion and opinion and a little emotion here and there, and we agree with you about following the science,” she said. “We also want to trust that the science is accurate and that

Properties in the area were tested annually from 1992 until 2009, but in 2021, when a local company sought to build a solar array on the property that required a state permit, officials discovered two nearby wells serving the town garage and a private residence on Forests Edge Road had high levels of methylene chloride and PFAs — both highly carcinogenic chemical compounds.

Two more homes on Forests

Edge and Beecher Hill roads tested for high levels of PFAs a year and a half later. The town

Town officials previously said they would rely on the recommendations of their environmental consultants. Following Stone’s report, the town reached out to KAS Consulting and, later, Waite and Heindel, who were in general agreement with Stone’s recommendation.

But Odit, at the March 20 meeting, said the town would be “deviating from what the state and the reviews had said” by testing more properties.

“That protects our residents more which is really what we want,” selectboard Chair Merrily Lovell said.

The Vermont Community Newspaper Group performed particularly well in the advertising categories, with eight first-place awards:

• Overall design and presentation of a niche product, by Popa, for Stowe magazine.

• Advertising in a niche publication, for the wedding magazine, by production manager Katerina Werth.

• Audience building, by designer Kristen Braley, for Get Connected.

• Automotive display ad, by Braley for Lamoille Valley Chevy.

• Creative use of small space, by Braley, for Manufacturing Solutions, Inc.

• Integrated ad campaign, by Werth and Braley, for Ferro Jewel-

ers.

• Local display ad, color, by Werth, for Country Store on Main.

• Special section, by Werth, for the annual RIDE mountain biking supplement.

Second-place awards by the group were:

• Events ad, by the staff, for its advertising of newspaper-hosted political debates.

• Special section, by the Stowe Reporter staff, also for the RIDE supplement.

• Local display ad, black and white, by Werth, for Stowe Family Dentistry.

• Local display ad, color, by Braley, for Lamoille Valley Dance Academy.

The design crew took home five third-place awards:

• Advertising general excellence, by the Stowe Reporter staff.

• Health ad, by Werth, for Stowe Family Dentistry.

• Local display ad, black and white, staff, for Rimrocks Mountain Tavern.

• Advertising sales media kit, by Werth, for the company.

• Audience building promotion, by the Stowe Reporter staff, for The Stowe Kids Report, a collaboration with Stowe Elementary School.

Rene Sanchez

Community Bankers

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Consider joining our team as a Community Banker at our Taft Corners or Richmond location!

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Relevant Skills: Customer Service, Cash Handling (we’ll train you!) Even better… if you have prior banking experience, we encourage you to apply!

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Please send an NSB Application & your resume in confidence to: Careers@nsbvt.com

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Equal Opportunity Employer / Member FDIC

Hinesburg (the “Town”) proposes to convey to James Donegan and Sara Armstrong Donegan, in consideration of ten and more dollars, by Quit Claim Deed, all right and title which the Town, or its successors and assigns, have in, and to a certain piece of land in Hinesburg, County of Chittenden and State of Vermont, described as follows:

Interest 1: Being all and the same land and premises conveyed to the Town of Hinesburg in a warranty deed of Howard H. Russell, Phyllis E. Russell, and Gertrude J. Russell dated April 29, 1995 and recorded in Volume 29 at Page 532 of the Town of Hinesburg Land Records.

Interest 2: Being all and the same land and premises conveyed to the Town of Hinesburg in a quitclaim deed of Howard H. Russell, Phyllis E. Russell, and Gertrude J. Russell dated February 19, 1963 and recorded in Volume 30 at Page 90 of the Town of Hinesburg Land Records.

Interest 3: Being all and the same rights conveyed to the town of Hinesburg by easement deed of Phyllis E. Russell dated June 6, 1996 and recorded in Volume 103 at Page 25 of the Town of Hinesburg Land Records.

Interest 4: Being all and the same rights conveyed to Town of Hinesburg by easement deed of Phyllis E. Russell dated June 16, 1997 and recorded in Volume 107 at Page 425 of the Town of Hinesburg Land Records.

Pursuant to 24 V.S.A. § 1061, this notice is posted at three regular posting places in the Town of Hinesburg and published in The Citizen, a newspaper of general circulation within the Town of Hinesburg on March 28, 2024.

If a petition signed by 5% of the legal voters of the Town of Hinesburg objecting to this conveyance is presented to the Town Clerk within 30 days of the date of the posting and publication of this notice, then the Town will cause the question of whether to sell the property as set forth above at a special or annual meeting called for that purpose.

The Selectboard has authorized the Town Manager to effectuate the conveyances, unless a petition in accordance with 24 V.S.A. § 1061 (a) is presented to the Town Clerk by 4:00 PM on April 30, 2024.

THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION

FOR BIDS, NOR AN OFFER TO SELL THIS REAL ESTATE TO ANY PERSON ON ANY PARTICULAR TERMS OR CONDITIONS.

Dated at Hinesburg, Vermont, this 20th day of March, 2024.

Equal Opportunity Employer / Member FDIC

Equal Opportunity Employer / Member FDIC

Equal Opportunity Employer / Member FDIC

By: _______________/s/____________________

Merrily Lovell Selectboard Chairperson