Fair play
Ash patrol
Lawmakers tackle racial disparities in drug offenses
Tree committee outlines options for keeping town shady
Page 5
Page 16
Volume 51 Number 12
shelburnenews.com
Police report paints damning portrait of leadership failure COREY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER
Current and former officers in the Shelburne Police Department say the process to select Aaron Noble as chief was “suspect,” that there was no “strategic direction” for the department, and that Noble was uncommunicative and “described as checked out and not approachable,” according to a consultant’s report released by the town Friday. The report, compiled by former Vermont State Police Director Jim
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Baker — who the town engaged to investigate the reasons for a mass exodus of police officers and emergency dispatchers, among other issues — painted a damning portrait of Noble’s “failure of leadership.” The four-page document, released and given to town officials in late February, revealed assertions by current and former officers and staff of “medical problems or assaults of staff that required transport to the hospital See REPORT on page 11
Noble, Shelburne head to mediation State police will provide some coverage MIKE DONOGHUE CORRESPONDENT
The town of Shelburne and embattled police chief Aaron Noble are in mediation to determine under what certain conditions the chief will return to his job or whether he will move on. The mediation began last week and was scheduled to continue Thursday this week. Attorney Mary Kehoe, who was picked by both sides as the neutral mediator, served on the Shelburne Selectboard for much of Noble’s time as police chief. She just finished a short stint on the board on Town Meeting Day, March 1, filling an empty seat after a resignation. Kehoe presided last month over a work grievance filed by
Noble against town manager Lee Krohn. South Burlington lawyer Norm Blais, who represents Noble, said the two sides got about 75 minutes of work done March 17, and reconvened with Kehoe over Zoom the next day. Each side was in a breakout room and Kehoe bounced back and forth to hear from each side in trying to reach a settlement. It was unclear whether Noble is seeking a payout for a resignation letter, or whether he is seeking to return to work and under what conditions the town might want. Krohn, selectboard vice chair Kate Lalley and town attorney Brian Monaghan are representing the town in mediation, board See POLICE on page 13
PHOTO BY LEE KROHN
Megan Nick, who won a bronze medal at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, was honored in Shelburne March 16. More photos on pages 8-9.