Under construction: Spear Street repair makes headway
LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
The Charlotte Selectboard has chosen two contractors to fix the portion of Spear Street devastated by historic flooding this summer.
Charlotte saw nearly 5.3 inches of rain overnight on July 10 and a 10-foot by 60-foot culvert was washed away on Spear Street, leaving the major connector unpassable. Additionally, roughly 10 feet of Spear Street just south of the culvert that crosses Muddy Hollow Brook eroded when the ground became oversaturated by the torrential rains.
The selectboard decided to fix the road with a dual culvert solution in August but had been waiting for approval from the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources to move forward.
Since the town received
the go-ahead from the agency this month, the selectboard has engaged two separate contractors to complete repairs for the street. Poulin Companies LLC, a civil construction firm in Burlington, will complete the culvert replacement for just over $555,000 and Dirt Tech LLC, a construction company from Colchester, will complete the slope stabilization for $272,000.
Poulin Companies estimates that the work on the culvert replacement could begin as soon as Dec. 1. The second phase of the project will include paving, line striping, final seeding and erosion repair, which is dependent on the weather.
“Based on what we’re hearing from both contractors, it looks like Dirt Tech is estimating a comple-
See SPEAR STREET on page 3
CVSD sets preliminary budget target of $103 million
A first pass at the budget last week showed exactly what that path could entail.
without impact,” Gary Marckres, chief operations officer, said at a board meeting last week.
As preliminary budget conversations begin, the Champlain Valley School District has set a budget target of $103 million for fiscal year 2026.
“At this point we know that, through a lot of really uncomfortable, difficult collaborative work, we have a path to $103 million on the expense side, but that is not
CVSD experienced significant repercussions during last year’s budget cycle when the state introduced unprecedented changes in the education funding system.
That shift, meant to equalize education across the state, led to significant tax hikes — upwards of 14 percent — in the five towns that make up the school district.
The number, while not final, would represent a 1.2 percent increase in spending over the
Handmade Pasta
$101.8 million budget that passed after one failed attempt on Town Meeting Day this year.
Officials with the district have been working earlier than usual on
See BUDGET on page 12
PHOTO BY LEE KROHN
A stand of tamarack boldly makes itself know on Mt. Philo.
Hanging
Shelburne native, Harvard student wins Rhodes Scholarship
PATRICK BILOW STAFF WRITER
Lena Ashooh, a Harvard student from Shelburne, is the first Vermonter to win a Rhodes Scholarship in nearly two decades.
Widely considered the most prestigious academic award in the world, Rhodes scholarships pay for students to pursue postgraduate studies for up to three years at Oxford University in England.
Ashooh, now a senior at Harvard, was named a 2025 Rhodes Scholar last week. She graduated from Champlain Valley Union High School in 2021.
“It’s been a wonderful year,” Ashooh said. “I feel nostalgic about Harvard already, but this whole process of applying to Rhodes has shown me that my projects and passions are the projects and passions of this community of people I have around me.”
Ashooh is pursuing Harvard’s first major in animal studies, a program she created that deals with humans’ treatment of animals. The coursework draws on a variety of disciplines, including animal behavior and cognition, psychology, philosophy and social justice theory from around the globe.
was eight until 18.
Ashooh spent many long summer days with a herd of dairy cows at Shelburne Farms, where mentors showed her how to be disciplined and devoted to the “needs and joy and autonomy of others,” including animals.
“Some of my warmest memories are of sitting with the dairy cows, kind of curled up into them with my head on their shoulder and their head in my lap, and just finding immense peace with them and their comfort,”
“I’m looking for more clarity on the role of moral and legal philosophy in uplifting and pushing forward advocacy efforts.”
— Lena Ashooh
She traces her deep appreciation of animals to Shelburne, where she exhibited dairy cows at Shelburne Farms through her local 4-H club from the time she
Ashooh said.
“So, for those 10 years of my life, I considered them close friends. It was very generous of them to invite me into their lives.”
At Harvard, Ashooh lobbied legislators on environmental justice, interned for Vermont
Live Nativity
Community Alliance Church, 190 Pond Road, in Hinesburg, brings back its live nativity on Saturday, Dec. 14, from 5-8 p.m. Experience the story of Jesus in person and take a guided tour of the first Christmas, and then enjoy cocoa, treats and carols indoors. There will be activities for the kids as well. Sign up for a designated 10-minute time slot at bit.ly/3OrdgMB. Remember to come a little before your allotted time. Above: The Mansfield family, from left, top row, Amy and Abby. In front, Adam, Pastor Scott Mansfield and Brandon.
Rep. Becca Balint and traveled to Puerto Rico to study macaque monkeys. She is also the co-president of Harvard College Animal Advocates.
Her efforts to improve animal welfare will continue at Oxford, but she plans to investigate the bigger picture by studying legal philosophy and one day maybe attending law school in the U.S.
At Oxford, Ashooh wants to study philosophical concepts behind legal decisions. Studying these concepts, she says, helps illuminate different ways that broader systems are eroding or uplifting individual value of humans and animals.
“I’m looking for more clarity on the role of moral and legal
“Together we will create a painting that lasts a
philosophy in uplifting and pushing forward advocacy efforts,” she said.
She draws inspiration from lawyers like Luke Cole, co-founder of the Center on Race, Poverty and The Environment who died in 2009. Ashooh had the opportunity to work with the organization last summer.
“He devoted his life to bringing suit against large, harmful and exploitative industries that were harming workers, communities and environments,” said Ashooh.
“I find that type of advocacy very appealing.”
Although she is devoted to animals, Ashooh said her upbringing in Shelburne first instilled in her an appreciation of humanity
and the role that humans play on the planet.
Adults in her childhood did not shy away from suffering in the world, but she said they empowered her with the tools to do something about it. Her teachers also exposed her to art and music, another important outlet in her life, and her beloved neighbor taught her the importance of friendships.
“I was fortunate to have people in my life who treated me as an adult, as a peer,” Ashooh said, whose father is chair of the Shelburne Selectboard. “They showed so much generosity with their minds and attention. I think that was an extraordinary gift, and it’s influenced me from a young age.”
COURTESY PHOTO
Lena Ashooh
Hinesburg residents face services cuts or tax increase, officials say
PATRICK BILOW STAFF WRITER
The Hinesburg Selectboard is preparing a draft budget for 2026 that could see reductions in service or an increase in taxes.
Over the last month, various municipal departments have prepared their own draft budgets and presented them to the selectboard or town manager Todd Odit.
After the final round of presentations during a selectboard meeting on Nov. 20, Odit gave an overview, alluding to difficult decisions that need to be made in the coming months.
Based on the preliminary budget, the selectboard would have to cut half a million dollars to not raise taxes, according to Odit. Cuts would likely come from law enforcement, emergency services and other costly departments, he said.
Odit said the town already runs a lean operation. “There’s nothing we’re doing that isn’t needed right now,” he added.
To keep services where they are, Odit said the town is looking at an 8 percent increase in spending, which would increase the amount to be raised by taxes by 13 percent.
Now that the selectboard has heard proposals from all departments, it will start to draft a budget that will be put to the public for review later this year. The board plans to have a budget work session on Friday, Dec. 6.
Individual department requests line up with last year, with a handful of requests to increase spending.
SPEAR STREET
continued from page 1
tion date of mid to late January, and Poulin Companies is estimating a completion day of sometime in March,” town administrator Nate Bareham said. “Obviously, that’s going to be very weather-dependent. If there is any severe weather, they’ll to have to stop construction work.”
Right after the flooding, the town’s road commissioner Junior Lewis preemptively purchased both culverts planned to be used in the repair, which will be reimbursable with federal money. While Lewis has been involved in opening the construction bids and giving advice on picking each contractor, the work done on Spear Street will be separate from his work for the town.
The roughly $800,000 project — not including the costs for engineering or attorney’s fees —
Earlier this month, fire chief Prescott Nadeau gave an overview of his department, which he began leading in September as the first fulltime paid chief.
Nadeau is proposing roughly a 24 percent increase in spending, which he said stems from staffing issues that lead to frequently missed calls for service, significant insurance increases and other expenses.
The Hinesburg Fire Department currently has 33 members, three of which, including Nadeau, are fulltime employees. About half of those members do not live in town and 36 percent have less than 12 months on the job, highlighting a lack of experience within the department.
Nadeau emphasized that the department responds to a wide variety of emergency calls within the community, which means it needs emergency medical service providers on staff.
Currently, there are only six EMS providers on staff and three are expected to leave within the next six months.
But as staffing dwindles, call volumes are increasing by about 10 percent each year, according to Nadeau. On weekends, the department is failing 12 percent of those calls and is missing six calls a month on average.
To improve responses, Nadeau is requesting to hire another part time employee to work weekends. Doing so, he said, will improve weekend call responses while keeping up with call volumes during the busier weekdays.
The Hinesburg Highway
Department is also proposing about a 9 percent increase in spending as it continues to grapple with the costs of two flooding events earlier this year, the damage from which will take years to finish, according to a capital improvement plan that Odit shared last month.
Odit recommended that the selectboard not make cuts to the highway department because much of their expenditures are for necessary public infrastructure improvements.
Two environmental departments are requesting increases in spending for next year.
The Conservation Commission is requesting an additional $5,000 for a natural resources inventory, which accounts for a 38 percent increase in its budget proposal. The Lake Iroquois Association is requesting an additional $2,500.
The Hinesburg Police Department did not give a formal presentation to the selectboard, but Odit said the current draft budget plans for five police officers next year instead of six.
Odit is expecting a significant decrease in revenue for the police department as Richmond works to rebuild its own department and hire more officers by 2026.
For more than a year now, Richmond has paid Hinesburg for police services in Richmond, but if Richmond pulls out of the partnership, Hinesburg will lose that revenue, which Odit said is needed.
The details of that contract for next year have not been fully worked out.
will be funded through the Federal Highway Emergency Relief Program, which should provide the town with up to 100 percent reimbursement for the project. But under the guidelines, the work must be completed 270 days from the emergency event, putting the town on a strict completion timeline of April 6.
And having construction start just as winter begins poses some issues for the contractors.
“There are a couple of factors that go into it, not just snow, but then also frost and freezing of the ground will be a major issue,” Bareham said. “Dealing with a project like this in the wintertime is going to be a challenge. There’s no getting around that, and I know that they baked in some variability into their project completion estimates.”
Check Locally First
Hinesburg Police Blotter: Oct. 29 - Nov. 11
Total reported incidents: 45
Top incidents:
Nov. 12 at 12:51 p.m., someone robbed Jiffy Mart on Ballard’s Corner Road.
Nov. 12 at 3:30 p.m., officers assisted Vermont State police with a stolen vehicle investigation in Monkton.
Nov. 12 at 5:25 p.m., a stolen vehicle from Richmond was discovered at a residence on North Road.
Nov. 13 at 7:00 a.m., someone tried to rob an ATM machine at Kinney Drugs.
Nov. 13 at 4:10 p.m., a car crashed on Silver Street.
Nov. 14 at 3:38 p.m., officers investigated a report of suspicious activity on Richmond Road.
Nov. 15 at 7:59 a.m., a car hit a deer on Richmond Road.
Nov. 15 at 5:09 p.m., officers investigated a motor vehicle complaint on Route 116. Jacob Linehan, 42 of Burlington, was arrested on an active warrant.
Nov. 17 at 10:06 a.m., an animal problem occurred on CVU Road.
Nov. 17 at 10:24 a.m., two cars crashed on Route 116.
Nov. 17 at 10:49 a.m., an officer responded to an animal problem on North Road.
Nov. 17 at 1:21 p.m., officers investigated an illegal burn on North Road.
Nov. 17 at 4:43 p.m., officers
investigated a report of someone breaking into cars on Birchwood Drive.
Nov. 18 at 8:46 a.m., dogs were loose in the road on North Road.
Nov. 18 at 2:09 p.m., dogs were loose in the road on Waltz Way.
Nov. 18 at 4:15 p.m., someone robbed Kinney Drugs.
Nov. 18 at 8:26 p.m., someone hit a deer on Charlotte Road.
Nov. 18 at 10:17 p.m., Lucas Wedin, 24, of Hinesburg, was arrested for unlawful trespass on Texas Hill Road.
Nov. 19 at 8:55 a.m., a car crashed on Silver Street.
Nov. 19 at 11:51 a.m., Lucas Wedin was arrested again for trying to steal a motor vehicle. He was charged with grand larceny, driving while intoxicated, aggravated operation without the owner’s consent and violations of the conditions of release.
Nov. 20 at 7:18 a.m., someone stole property on Route 116.
Nov. 21 at 7:40 a.m., officers responded to an active burglary on Route 116.
Nov. 22 at 3:06 p.m., an officer investigated a motor vehicle complaint on Billing’s Farm Road.
Nov. 22 at 8:23 p.m., a vehicle drove off Richmond Road.
Nov. 24 at 7:00 a.m., a citizen
See BLOTTER on page 12
The Citizen
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OPINION
With Trump, will we see the sunset of renewable energy?
Guest Perspective Mike Yantachka
There is no doubt that the trajectory of our country has changed in the past month. Based on the recent election and signals from the incoming Trump administration, the reversal of the nation’s approach to climate change will have significant implications not only nationally, but locally and globally.
In mid-October I attended the annual conference organized by Renewable Energy Vermont (REV2024) and sponsored by numerous businesses involved with renewable energy development. Renewable energy, including wind, solar, hydro and geothermal power generation, is key to reducing our dependence on greenhouse gas-producing fossil fuels for electricity, heating and transportation needs.
While the Biden administration encouraged renewable energy development through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, the incoming administration has openly promised not only to end those efforts but to move in the opposite direction, promoting fossil fuel consumption.
Trump’s selection of Chris Wright, a CEO of a fracking company and a climate change denier, for energy secretary portends serious backtracking on efforts to fight global warming. In the meantime, we will see more droughts leading to wildfires, more extreme weather events leading to floods and mudslides, and longer periods of extreme heat leading to heat-related fatalities, all of which will increase the costs in lives and recovery efforts. With the loss of federal support, it will fall to the states which recognize the seriousness of the situation to take up the cause of fighting climate change.
While the outcome of the election was still uncertain at the time of the REV2024 conference, presenters spoke about the current state of renewable energy development and the challenges that must be overcome. Allison Clements, a commissioner on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, emphasized the need to move to an electric energy economy, calling it “the backbone
of our modern society.”
She noted that our inherited legacy generation systems remain an obstacle to developing clean generation systems, and fossil fuel companies will continue to have a larger influence on public policy than the renewable sector. Furthermore, continued growth of renewables will require making the existing grid more efficient and building new infrastructure for transmission.
During the last session of the Vermont Legislature a significant change was made to the renewable energy standard. Sen. Chris Bray, D-Bristol, chair of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Energy, and Rep. Laura Sibilia, I-Dover, vice-chair of the House Committee on Environment and Energy, spoke about the changes in Vermont’s energy policy.
The standard set a requirement in 2015 that every Vermont electricity distribution utility would have to produce 75 percent of its electric demand from renewable generation by 2032. As of 2022, three utilities, Burlington Electric, Swanton Electric and Washington Electric Co-op, claimed to be 100 percent renewable using solar, wind, hydro and biomass.
In 2024, the standard was upgraded to require every utility to source 100 percent of its electricity demand from renewable generation by 2035. This achievement would be the foundation for the state’s transition from fossil fuels to clean electricity for transportation and heating, the major sectors contributing to greenhouse gas emissions.
In addition to the renewable energy standard upgrade, the Legislature also passed over Gov. Phil Scott’s veto, the Affordable Heat Act, originally known as the Clean Heat Standard. This controversial legislation would require importers of fossil fuels to finance methods of reducing the fossil fuel consumption of their customers by weatherization, heat pumps and advanced wood heating.
The big unknown in this plan is whether the consequential increase in the cost of fuel would be offset by the savings in the reduction of fuel use and whether the increase could be equitably distributed across households based on their energy burden. Energy burden is the percentage
of household income devoted to heating and cooling.
While Vermont households with lower incomes typically use less energy than those with higher incomes, lower-income households spend considerably higher percentages of their income on energy.
The Clean Heat Standard is not yet fully implemented because the Affordable Heat Act requires the Public Utility Commission to design the system, estimate the effect on heating costs to the consumer and report back to the Legislature, which will then either approve the plan or go back to the drawing board. Considering the change in the political makeup of the legislature on Nov. 5, its ability to override another veto is unlikely.
There are other opportunities currently available to help Vermonters reduce their dependence on fossil fuels. One REV2024 breakout session featured community geothermal heating systems, which use the constant temperature of the ground to generate heat for multiple buildings.
Charlotte’s new town garage uses geothermal heating powered by the solar panels on its roof. The panels produce more than 90 percent of the electricity used by all five of the buildings owned by the town: the garage, library, town hall, senior center and fire station. Since the library is heated and cooled with air-source heat pumps, it, like the garage, is fossil fuel-free. With additional solar generation, it would be conceivable to build a geothermal system that would heat and cool the other three town-owned buildings in the west village. This is something Charlotte might look to in the future, assuming that the incentives of the Biden administration remain available.
So, from the federal perspective, the outlook for renewable energy generation and greenhouse gas reduction looks bleak. But there is a silver lining in that the states can continue to transition to renewable sources. Even many red states have come to appreciate the benefits.
Iowa produces 59 percent of its electricity by wind. Texas
See YANTACHKA on page 5
Want to fix high property taxes? Make them fairer
Guest Perspective
Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman
Taxes have a bad rap. In part, this is because we never discuss who pays which taxes. Taxes have gone up for working people while wealthier people have gotten tax cuts. But taxes exist for important reasons, and we must make our tax system fairer and decrease the burden on everyday people.
Do we want roads, bridges, police? How about the licensing of doctors, lawyers and teachers? Licensing of drivers? Do you want a health department to test water for lead or radon? We might all have different opinions about some of the things our tax money funds, but it is important to acknowledge that many things we need can only be accomplished as a community. Often this requires funds that taxes provide.
The key question is who is going to pay? And how much? Right now, the tax system is greatly skewed to help wealthy people pay a lower overall rate than working people. Federal and state taxes are filled with loopholes and exceptions that only wealthy people can take advantage of. I believe that taxes should be paid based on ability to pay, without exceptions and loopholes that only lawyers and accountants can figure out to help high- wealth individuals.
Vermonters have seen double digit increases in property taxes this year. We are now seeing double digit health insurance increases on the horizon. These increases are making it impossible for everyday working people to live in Vermont.
Everyone sees this problem. No one has offered a fair solution: not the governor, not legislative leadership, not my opponent, John Rodgers, who got the most votes in the race for lieutenant governor. Why? Because it is complicated. If it was simple to solve, everyone would have solved it by now. But, as soon as one offers a solution, others can always find something to criticize about it. Something has to give, whether it is multiple small community schools closing, class sizes getting much bigger, decreasing the individualized attention that many kids need or cutting teachers’ pay or benefits, would decrease our competitiveness for good teachers.
YANTACHKA
continued from page 4
produces 28 percent from wind, 8 percent from solar and leads the nation in total megawatt-hours of renewable energy production followed by California. According to Yale Climate Connections, South Dakota has the most renewable energy generation by percentage (83 percent), followed by Vermont (76 percent), Washington (74 percent) and Idaho (69 percent). Progress has been made and will continue
Or some will have to pay more taxes.
The question, then, is who? If one solely articulates the problem, you gain support. If you offer solutions, someone suffers, and you lose support.
The governor has had eight years to come up with a real plan. He has always blamed the problem on the Legislature, including the many years when they did not have a super-majority. The governor’s office has the tools and the staff to come up with a plan and put it out there. It is time for the governor to move from stating the problem to presenting a comprehensive solution that addresses the economic struggle without cutting the critical services that the most vulnerable need.
I would argue that we must fix the education funding system so that everyone pays based on their income, not just those with household incomes under $115,000 (for 2024).
When our students graduate high school, we are ranked one of the top 10 education systems in the country. Do we want to keep high quality schools? I think so. They are a key to attracting young people to move here to raise a family while building our workforce.
So, we can close a ton of schools. Or we can cut a lot of funding for vulnerable kids. Or we can have the political courage to tell the wealthy to pay their fair share and lower the burden on working people. We can also save taxpayer money by getting serious about bureaucratic reforms to stop duplicating efforts. We can require second-home owners — of expensive vacation homes, not hunting camps — to pay more.
Or we can continue to do nothing and watch the governor and the Legislature point fingers at each other while Vermonters become more bitter, more divided, angrier and less able to afford to live here. The course we choose will be determined by people continuing to make their voices heard, not just at the ballot box, but by calling the governor and their legislators and insisting on real reform that preserves small community schools, reduces bureaucratic costs and allocates the tax burden in a fairer way so working Vermonters, can afford to stay in Vermont.
David Zuckerman is lieutenant governor of Vermont.
TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY SANTA PARADE WINDOW CONTESTHOT CHOCOLATE KIDS TRAIN MENORAH PERFORMANCES SLED DOGS SANTA VISITS NORTH POLE EXPRESS MAILBOXES FESTIVE FRIDAYS
Join your Burlington community in celebrating the holiday season on the Church Street Marketplace, where free events bring magic to our streets, and shopping in person helps your local businesses and downtown thrive!
PARKING DOWNTOWN
Enjoy 99¢/hr meter parking in the downtown core (Zone 5803), every day from Thanksgiving to New Year's Day! Plus, park for 2 hours FREE at the Downtown Garage when you start a ParkMobile session. Parking is always FREE on Sundays throughout the year.
despite changes being planned by the Trump administration because renewable energy makes good economic sense. We just have to keep doing our part.
Mike Yantachka is a member of the Charlotte Energy Committee and a former state representative who served 12 years on House committees responsible for energy policy.
COMMUNITY
Hinesburg Artist Series brings holiday cheer Community Notes
The Hinesburg Artist Series will present its annual holiday concert, with performances at 2 and 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 8, at St. Jude Catholic Church in Hinesburg. The concert will feature the South County Chorus and the Hinesburg Artist Series Orchestra directed by Rufus C. Patrick. “This concert is a great way to get in the holiday spirit,” Patrick said. “We will have holiday favorites and other inspiring selections. We love performing these pieces, and we know it is a highlight of the season for many in our community.” The featured choral works this year are “Gloria” by Randol Alan Bass, “Nutcracker Jingles” by James Pierpont, “Angels We Have Heard on High” arranged by Joan Pinkston, “O Little Town of Bethlehem” arranged by Dan Forrest, “O Hear the Angel Voices” arranged by Larry Shackley, “Gloria” by John Leavitt and “A Wreath of Carols” arranged by Greg Gilpin. The orchestra will perform “A Most Wonderful Christmas” by Robert Sheldon and “Nutcracker” ballet arranged by Merle Issac. This free concert features a sing-along tradition. Donations are welcome and the audience is also encouraged to bring something for the food shelf. Learn more at hinesburgartistseries.org. Above: The South County Chorus rehearses for its annual holiday concert.
Take the stage for Players’ next show
Looking for a little humor and something fun to do over the dark winter months? Audition for “The Servant of Two Masters” with The Shelburne Players.
Auditions will be held Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 9 and 10, from 6:30-8:30 p.m., in the Pierson Library community room, 5376 Shelburne Road. If needed, callbacks will take place on Thursday, Dec. 12, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
The play by Carlo Goldoni, will be directed by Su Reid-St. John and produced by Cathy Diamond.
Rehearsals begin Jan.13, and the play will run March 14-22.
The show has been called “a cross between traditional Italian commedia and postmodern vaudeville, this new version of Goldoni’s classic pits the madcap servant Truffaldino against masters, mistresses, lovers, lawyers, and twenty-seven plates of meatballs.”
Learn more at shelburneplayers.com.
Shelburne Age Well offers Grab and Go meal
This will be the last Grab and Go meal offered by Age Well in Shelburne.
In January, community meals will be offered in person on the second and third Tuesday of the month.
Age Well and St. Catherine’s of Siena Parish in Shelburne will team up to provide a meal to go for anyone age 60 and older on Tuesday, Dec. 10.
Meals will be available for pick up in the parking lot at 72 Church St. from 11 a.m. until noon. A $5 donation is suggested.
The menu is beef stew with vegetables and potatoes, winter mixed vegetables, wheat biscuit, tapioca pudding with peaches and cream and milk
To order a meal, contact Kathleen by Wednesday, Dec. 4 at agewellstcath@gmail. com or 802-503-1107.
Group rolls out Lake
quality impacts; aquatic invasive species spread prevention; and equitable public access and recreation.
The meeting will also feature a remote option.
Light refreshments will be provided. Registration is requested for in-person participation and required to receive the remote log-in information. Register at bit. ly/3OrrBsp.
Bella Voce performs Glorious holiday concert
Bella Voce celebrates its 20th anniversary season with a program that includes a performance of Vivaldi’s venerated classic, “Gloria,” a timeless piece for women’s voices with trumpet, oboe, strings and continuo.
Joining Bella Voce is the University of Vermont’s String Ensemble, under the direction of Dr. Yutaka Kono. In addition, the concert will feature a variety of jubilant songs of the season by Robert De Cormier, Dan Forrest, Randol Bass and more, at the McCarthy Arts Center, St. Michael’s College, 18 Campus Road, in Colchester, on Sunday, Dec. 8 at 3:30 p.m. For information, go to https://bit.ly/4fMVqQ6.
Hinesburg Church offers holiday bazaar
The United Church of Hinesburg, 10580 Route 116, will hold its annual holiday bazaar on Saturday, Nov. 23, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Shop for reasonably priced items in Grandmother’s Attic, the jewelry corner and the arts and crafts center. Find gifts for others and a treasure or two for yourself
The baked goods table will have an array of homemade treats, including pies, homemade breads, cookies, the sale’s traditional “Brown Bobbies” and more. Lunch will be available between 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and will feature homemade soups, sandwiches and a free dessert.
A local wreath maker will have wreaths for sale in the parking lot (cash or check only). Learn more at ucofh.org
Agency of Education holds listening tour
The Vermont Agency of Education is holding a session of its Listen and Learn Tour on Wednesday, Dec. 4, at Champlain Valley High School, in Hinesburg, 6-8 p.m.
The tour offers an opportunity for the public to share its thoughts and help the agency craft a strategic plan that reflects the priorities and needs of Vermont communities.
The session will begin with an introduction, followed by breakout sessions on topics related to student achievement and support, career and college readiness, school budgets, among other priorities.
Pre-registration is encouraged using the online registration form at bit.ly/3UEGQ51.
COURTESY PHOTO
The lighting designers at Shelburne Museum outdid themselves for this year’s “Winter Lights,” a festive celebration of the season that draws thousands of visitors during the holiday season.
PHOTOS BY LEE KROHN
Champlain Valley Union High School thespians brought the popular musical, “Footloose,” based on the Hollywood film, to life Nov. 15-17 at the CVU Theater.
Based on the true story of Elmore City, Okla., the musical follows Ren, Ariel and the senior class at Bomont High School as they fight for the chance to host a school dance in a town where dancing has been made illegal. It’s the story of parents trying to protect their teens from potential tragedy, and students advocating for their opportunity to let loose.
Exhibit on lost ski areas opens Dec. 6
Vermont’s lift-service skiing history began in 1934 with the installation of the first ski lift in the country: a rope tow powered by a Ford Model T engine on Gilbert’s Hill in Woodstock. A year later, the second rope tow in Vermont was built by Wesley Pope on Glenn Skiff’s farm in Jeffersonville. After that, small ski areas began popping up all around the state.
The Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum has been documenting Vermont’s “lost” and “lost and found” ski areas for
25 years. To date, 184 have been identified, including four that were in the planning stages but never opened. Its upcoming exhibit, “Searching for Vermont’s Lost Ski Areas Part 2,” is a schuss down memory lane for those who learned to ski or ride at one of these slopes. In Part 2 of the exhibit, an additional 113 documented areas, not featured in the first installment, are introduced through photographs, interviews, newspaper clippings and memorabilia from the museum’s collection. For
those who missed the first part of the exhibit last year, it is incorporated within the new one. All areas are identified on an 8-foot map, including 20 ski areas currently operating.
A few of the lost areas highlighted in the exhibit include four in Waterbury, five in Stowe, and one right off Interstate 89’s eastbound Route 2 exit in South Burlington. Towns like Newport, Middlebury and Lyndonville had a strong ski-jumping tradition, which evolved into adding lifts for alpine skiing.
JOB FAIR
With our grand opening set for early 2025, we’re seeking driven, compassionate team members to bring Vergennes Grand to life. At the fair, we’ll accept applications and conduct interviews for positions across all departments.
Lifts and ski programs appeared at Norwich University, Johnson State College, Vermont Junior College in Montpelier, Sterling School and Goddard College. Farmers in central Vermont and the Champlain Valley, seeking extra income during the winter, installed rope tows and strung lights for night skiing.
Town recreation programs added lifts and offered lessons right in the middle of towns and villages. Inns and hotels rigged up lifts for their guests to enjoy.
Many were community-based and locally run, while others were built with a vision of what ski areas look like today. Some areas lasted a season or two, while others lasted decades. Many closed due to rising insurance costs and stringent state lift safety protocols. The Vermont Ski and Snowboard Museum, 1 South Main Street, in Stowe, is holding an opening for the exhibit on Friday, Dec. 6, 5-8 p.m. Admission to the exhibit opening is free and all are welcome.
COURTESY PHOTOS
Above: The High Pond Ski area in Hubbarton Ski Area.
Right: The Barre Ski Club.
Below: Norwich University is one of the “lost ski areas” in the upcoming exhibit at Vermont’s ski and snowboard museum.
Take a sniff first: Skunks prepare for long winter
The Outside Story
Elise Tillinghast
Several weeks and many baths ago, my dog discovered a blackand-white stranger crossing our lawn. Wagging vigorously, and ignoring my frantic shouts, she ran up and offered her canine greeting: a nose-to-tail sniff. The encounter ended predictably, with the skunk waddling off into the dark, the dog staggering in circles, and me searching desperately through the cupboard for stink-dispelling supplies.
Skunks become conspicuous in autumn, including in yards and — sadly — roads. This is largely due to dispersal, as young skunks that left their mothers at the end of summer are foraging in new home ranges. And skunks of all ages may be attracted to residential areas, as they consume as much food as they can and explore winter denning sites.
“They are trying to fatten up,” Brehan Furfey, wildlife biologist and furbearer project leader for Vermont Fish & Wildlife, said. “Primarily, they’re eating insects, but they’ll eat other prey, and some plant matter. Let’s face it, we have all kinds of goodies in our yards.”
Those goodies include unsecured garbage and birdseed, as well as fallen apples and mice that move into sheds and woodpiles as weather cools.
Lawns also appeal to skunks, because this time of year they contain a smorgasbord of easily accessible beetle larvae and other grubs. In turf, as well as other surfaces that hold impressions well, such as moss and carpets of pine needles, you may find skunk snoot holes, each about half the diameter and depth of a soda can. These are places where a skunk inserted its sensitive nose in search of prey.
Other common signs of foraging are shredded rotten stumps and logs (like bears, skunks will pull apart wood to find wood boring insects) and torn up patches of leaf litter and soil.
Building up fat reserves is essential for skunks, because they aren’t well adapted to forage in frigid temperatures or heavy snow. They will go out during thaws, but during harsh winter weather, they remain in their dens and rely solely on stored calories.
Females, especially, need to stock up as much fat as possible, because they have limited opportunities to gain weight before giving birth in early spring. When a mother skunk is caring for newborns, she’s likely to endure a new stretch of foodless days. “She
probably has them in the burrow around April, and she’s not leaving them, because they’re completely blind and helpless,” said Furfey.
Despite their presence around homes, Furfey stressed that skunks are not aggressive, will retreat from danger and often tolerate people walking nearby without incident. The trouble comes when they get startled.
“They have poor eyesight,” Furfey said. “They don’t really see you coming.”
In addition to encouraging homeowners to minimize outside food sources, Furfey recommends blocking off potential denning sites when the skunks are not likely to be there.
Sheds and porches attract skunks, she said, because they often offer more warmth and protection from predators than do natural shelters such as underground burrows — skunks dig their own burrows and use those of other animals such as woodchucks — tree cavities and hollow logs.
Except when the females are raising young, skunks establish multiple dens across their home ranges, Furfey said, so if you block them from entering one space, you aren’t dooming them to wander outside in the cold. By preventing access to problematic denning spaces now, you can also discourage females from raising young near your home.
Furfey gets numerous requests to trap and relocate the animals,
especially in spring, when young emerge from the den and a previously tolerant homeowner discovers that “one skunk became five skunks.” She always declines these requests, as trapping and relocating any wildlife is illegal. Instead, in addition to preventative measures, when homeowners encounter skunk families, she recommends patience. “They’re going to move on,” she said. “Give it a week.”
At our house, I’m pleased to report that we haven’t had additional skunk sightings, although now, before we let the dog out at night, we take a precautionary sniff and make a flashlight sweep of the yard.
If all else fails, there’s a crate with baking soda, a bottle of lemon juice and dish soap stowed close to the bathtub.
Elise Tillinghast is the past
executive director and editor of the Center for Northern Woodlands Education and is currently editor-at-large for Nature and the Environment at Brandeis University Press. Illustration by Adelaide Murphy Tyrol. The Outside Story is assigned and edited by Northern Woodlands magazine and sponsored by the Wellborn Ecology Fund of New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, nhcf.org.
Fire destroys couple’s home, community rallies
PATRICK BILOW STAFF WRITER
Rick Poirier and Sheila Hendee have begun rebuilding their life after a fire last week took their home of nearly 30 years on Palmer Court in Shelburne.
The fire started around 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 19 with three loud explosions, and a burst of flames from the Poirier’s side porch.
Poirier and Hendee were in the backyard at the time. They rushed past the flames, which Poirier said were immediately hot, to safety in front of the house, which was destroyed.
Poirier and Hendee were uninjured and are currently staying with friends on Palmer Court, a short road off Route 7 with tightknit relationships among neighbors.
The couple’s cat likely died in the fire.
“We’re starting over,” Poirier said. “Thank God for the people around us.”
The Shelburne Fire Department
upgraded the response en route to the rapidly growing fire, calling in first responders from eight towns, including South Burlington, Burlington, Williston, Hinesburg, Charlotte, Ferrisburgh, Vergennes and Shelburne.
“That just speaks to the staffing problems we all face right now,” Shelburne fire chief Andrew Dickerson said. “I was very pleased with the response from our department, but the reality is structures fire require a lot of resources.”
Despite a quick response, the house was already “significantly involved” in flames when the fire department arrived, according to Dickerson, who was also concerned about damage to surrounding homes.
At first, fire crews struggled to pull enough water from a Palmer Court hydrant to keep up with the flames. Some of the water lines to the west of Route 7 in that area are shorter and don’t have strong water pressure, Dickerson said.
To get better pressure, respond-
ers had to shut down Route 7 to access another hydrant on the east side of the highway. Shelburne police handled the traffic shutdown, which lasted for less than an hour.
“Unfortunately, this is the second fire in my 15 years here that we’ve had to shut down Route 7 in order to hit a hydrant to get adequate water flow,” Dickerson said. “This was the worst-case scenario in terms of shutting down the highway.”
Dickerson plans to investigate the latest issue with the water department and said the hydrant’s low pressure is a really an example of Shelburne’s aging infrastructure.
Although the cause of the fire has not been determined, it started near the side porch. Poirier said he operates a small propane heater on the porch sometimes during the colder months but that it had been running fine before the fire.
The explosions were caused by six small propane tanks on the
porch, according to Dickerson. Poirier had just purchased them to keep the heater going intermittently throughout the winter.
In addition to mementos of fond family memories, Poirier also lost access to his garage, where he operates an upholstery business, his craft for more than 40 years. He believes most of his equipment is salvageable, but the garage door is sealed shut from the heat.
In the fire’s aftermath, Poirer and Hendee said they are grateful for the support shown by friends and neighbors. One of their friends even started a GoFundMe, which has raised $13,195 toward a $20,000 goal.
“We want everyone to know just how much we appreciate the kindness that has been shown to us,” Hendee said. “I want to pay it forward one day, and I will, but for now, we’re just so grateful for the support from everyone.”
Social business group names Hinsdale Legislator of the Year
Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR) has recognized Vermont State Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale of Shelburne has been recognized as the Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility’s 2024 Legislator of the Year.
Hinsdale will be honored as the group’s legislative breakfast on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 8-11 a.m. at the Main Street Landing Film House, 60 Lake St., Burlington.
Hinsdale represents the Chittenden-Southeast Senate district, which includes Shelburne, Hinesburg, Charlotte and South Burlington.
Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility is a statewide, nonprofit association with a mission to leverage the power of business for positive social and environmental impact.
“VBSR has led the way in finding the light at the crossroads between the econ-
omy and the environment,” Hinsdale said. “Now, more than ever, we need their innovative approaches and collaborative spirit to solve our most intractable problems.”
Hinsdale is the first woman of color to serve in the state Senate. She was just elected Senate Majority Leader for the upcoming biennium.
She received a bachelor’s degree in natural resource planning and political science from the University of Vermont, and a Master of Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in 2018.
She served in the Vermont House of Representatives from 2008 to 2016.
“She not only champions climate justice but works to ensure all Vermonters can thrive in the Green Mountain State,”
Johanna de Graffenreid, public policy manager for Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility, said. “Her ability to
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dispute on North Road was mediated.
Nov. 23 at 8:46 a.m., an officer assisted state police with an investigation in Starksboro.
Nov. 25 at 9:14 a.m., an officer investigated a motor vehicle complaint on Route
pull together a wide range of under-heard voices, center these conversations in our policy decisions, and raise up the needs of those most impacted by environmental and economic injustice is why we are pleased to present her with the 2024 VBSR Legislator of the Year Award.”
When not in the Legislature, Hinsdale has taught structural inequality and environmental justice at Vermont Law & Graduate School. She has also served as co-chair of the Vermont Attorney General’s Immigration Task Force and as a member of the boards of Emerge Vermont, Main Street Alliance of Vermont, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, Regenerative Food Network, and Vermont Natural Resources Council.
She lives with her husband, Jacob Hinsdale, and their two children, Mira and Wesley, in Shelburne.
Learn more at vbsr.org.
BUDGET continued from page 1
116. The vehicle was located at a residence on Richmond Road, where its driver fled from the police. The vehicle, which was stolen in New York, was again found on Hollow Road without the driver.
budget preparations, saying that more work has been done to date than in previous years. The team has garnered a slew of community feedback over the past few months, including a community budget forum and a community survey with over 215 responses.
arts, wellness and world languages; reduced academic and behavior supports; reductions to food service program; and administrative reduction and restructuring.
The responses showed strong advocacy for preserving roles that directly impact students, like teachers, support staff and programs like arts, music, math and science.
Simultaneously, there is significant concern about rising property taxes and overall financial burden on taxpayers. Many feel that continual budget increases, especially after significant hikes in recent years, are simply unsustainable.
“Our goal is to navigate this year’s process in a balanced, empathetic, proactive, transparent, collaborative manner,” superintendent Adam Bunting said at a board meeting in October, adding that after analysis, setting the budget goal at $103 million balanced both the district’s vital resources and the tax burden.
Still, to keep a level service budget that reflected nearly all of the same programming seen in fiscal year 2025, the district would have needed to raise the budget by roughly $6 million.
“This represents a roughly $4 million reduction from what we would have needed to support the programming that we have in fiscal year 2025,” Marckres said.
In the district’s elementary schools, this budget includes increased class sizes; reduced opportunities for the
Similarly, at Champlain Valley Union High School, the approximate average class size is set to increase from 20 to 22 with reduced offerings in math, science, humanities and wellness; reduced opportunities for personalized learning and behavior support, along with similar reductions to administration.
More than 30 full-time equivalent positions throughout the district’s five schools are estimated to be affected by the budget projection. Earlier this year, the district was forced to cut roughly 42 positions to pass the 2025 budget.
The earliest projections forecast that the tax rate, without considering changes to the education funding formula, would increase roughly 6 percent. Although that number is highly dependent on the common level of appraisal and the education yield, two important factors within the state’s education funding formula set by the state.
Through Act 183, the Legislature formed the Commission on the Future of Public Education, which is tasked with studying and making recommendations on long-term fixes to the state’s educating funding system, but an initial report isn’t anticipated until December 2025. But legislators have all voiced that addressing property taxes and education funding remains at the top of the list as the biennium begins.
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Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale
CVU girls race to second at Northeast regionals
LAUREN READ CORRESPONDENT
As the Champlain Valley girls’ cross-country team raced in the Nike Cross Northeast Regional race on Saturday in Wappingers Falls, N.Y., they remembered the feeling of finishing just outside the qualifying spots for the national competition.
That feeling fueled the Redhawks, who put on a big finish in the final half of the race to clinch second place in the NXR Regional race and earn a spot in the upcoming NXR Nationals.
“I could definitely tell how close it was going to be the whole time,” CVU junior Audrey Neilson said. “We scouted out our biggest competitions’ jerseys beforehand so we knew who to look for during the race, so I just kept trying to look for them and pass as many people as I could.
“I knew that we really had to leave it out there, and I think we
really showed up as a team in the second half.”
As the team waited at the finish line for the results, they had to just hope the second half push was enough. And as the final results rolled in, they realized they had accomplished the goal they had set at the beginning of the season.
“We had all run as hard as we could and done everything exactly how we wanted to,” Neilson said.
“There was lots of hugging and crying when we found out. Knowing that we have accomplished the thing we have worked so hard for so long really is an amazing feeling.’
That second half mattered as the Redhawks battled Cumberland for the second spot. Union Catholic in Scotch Plains, N.J., grabbed the top spot in the race with a team score of 69, while Champlain Valley finished with a team score of 166, just ahead of Cumberland, R.I., (176) to earn second place.
“We realized that had our top
five runners not made the specific moves to push in the final 1K we would not have earned second,” CVU coach David Baird said. “The margin for scoring was so close that if they had all been just 3-4 seconds slower, we’d have placed third. It came down to four seconds, and their efforts to race for every second made the difference.”
CVU was led by a group of four runners who all came across the finish within seconds of each other. Neilson led the way with a 20th place finish, Lydia Donahue came in just behind in 22nd, Alice Kredell followed in 23rd and Charlotte Crum was 25th. Annalise Wood finished in 128th, Livi Neilson was 136th and Justyna Amblo came in 171st.
as a pack, and it was comforting to know that whatever the finish result would be, we were all out there working in tandem and racing well.”
It is the fourth time that the Redhawks have qualified for the NXN National race and the first time since 2018.
The Redhawks will head to Portland, Ore., to compete in the NXR National race on Dec. 7, 2024.
“I’m super excited to compete at a national level and show everyone who we are,” Neilson said. “Because we race at such a local level normally, it’s hard to show everyone what we are capable of, so being able to compete at this level will be very exciting. We always talk about how our team competes well under pressure, so I’m very excited to see how we do out in Oregon.”
CHARLOTTE DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD
Will hold a public hearing at Town Hall, 159 Ferry Rd., Charlotte, VT on the following application during its regular meeting of Wednesday, December 18, 2024.
To advertise in the service directory email: Advertising@thecitizenvt.com or call 985-3091
7:05 PM DRB 24-160-PRD Gregorek – Final Plan review for 2-Lot Subdivision (PRD) at 351 Swamp St.
For more information, contact the Planning & Zoning Office at 802.425.3533 ext. 208, or by email at: pza@townofcharlotte.com.
Brian Bittner • 802-489-5210 • info@bittnerantiques.com
PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVID BAIRD
The Champlain Valley girls’ cross-country team after finishing second in the Nike Cross Northeast Regional race on Saturday in Wappingers Falls, N.Y.
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