Steel art
Back in action
Hinesburg man crafts heirloom-quality knives
Marten’s return to state intrigues researchers
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Volume 52 Number 45
After 14-year-old Madden Gouveia, a former Shelburne Community School student, was fatally shot last Monday night, Shelburne, surrounding communities, and his family have grappled with the sudden loss. “While Madden was not currently enrolled at Champlain Valley Union, he was a Champlain Valley School District student, a resident in our community, and was connected to classmates and educators within our community,” Bonnie Birdsall, communications coordinator for Champlain Valley School District, said. “He did maintain social connections with students and some staff, and they were all shocked and saddened by his death.” She added that the district is employing trained profession-
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Shelburne community mourns tragic death of Madden Gouveia COREY MCDONALD & LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITERS
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als, counseling staff and support from the Howard Center to assist students and staff. “We encourage parents and caregivers to check in with their students to see how they are feeling,” she added. “As we know, loss of any kind can create strong emotional responses and remind us of past events.” Gouveia’s sister, Nicole Worthen, started a GoFundMe page to help Gouveia’s father and stepmother to bury the teen and said the family is completely lost and heartbroken, especially since the family was still grieving the loss of its oldest brother, Russell Worthen, who died in an accident in 2020. “Madden was so full of life, so fearless, smart and had a heart of gold,” his sister wrote on the fundSee GOUVEIA on page 17
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November 9, 2023
Tops in the state
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The Champlain Valley Union High School boys’ soccer team won its 20th state title Sunday against South Burlington on penalty kicks. See our story, page 19.
High school production of ‘Newsies’ opens this weekend COREY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER
Addie Nevitt oversees many things as the head stage manager, but she’s also the co-head of set, the co-head of the run crew, and she lends a hand in costumes and props. In other words, Abbie does everything, another student says, so she has a lot going on today. “Hair and makeup is not happening today — that won’t happen until Wednesday,” she says to a passing group of students. It’s Monday at 4:30 p.m., and there are four days left before the premiere of the Champlain Valley Union High School’s production of “Newsies,” a historical musi-
cal and drama that was produced by Walt Disney Pictures in 1992. As is true of most theater productions, there’s a mix of excitement and dread building as the show’s opening nears. But for the 70 students making up the cast and crew, this year comes with a sense of stability. For seniors, it’s the first year COVID19 hasn’t had a hand in production delays or all out stoppages. Their freshman year fall production, “Mama Mia,” stopped dead in its tracks two weeks before opening thanks to a huge spike in Covid in Vermont. They ended up performing outside to comply with social distancing guidelines. Their sophomore production of “Some-
thing Rotten” was also mired by stoppages. And through its four years, CVU’s theater program has had four different directors — one of whom left outright in the middle of production. So, Elisa Van Duyne serves as a guiding presence for a group of students who have had quite a tumultuous experience throughout their performing arts careers. “They’ve had a lot of change over the last couple of years, with different musical directors that have come in and out,” she said. “I wanted to choose a show that really was an ensemble piece that really celebrated the ensemble and made what I hope — and so far,
it’s come to fruition — everybody is appreciated, everybody feels like they are an integral part of the show.” For the students, Duyne has given the students “a really good way of communicating with the actors that makes the learning process really smooth,” Veronica Miskavage, a senior, said. “It’s been a great learning environment.” Given the times, this year’s production is apropos. New union strikes pop up every week nowadays. From Hollywood and Detroit to Portland, Oreg., just last week, union activism and the battle for fair working conditions and more equitable pay has come to a head
this year. The “Newsies,” loosely based on the New York City Newsboys’ Strike of 1899, follows 17-yearold Jack “Cowboy” Kelly, who works as a newspaper hawker selling copies of the New York World on the streets on Manhattan. New York World publisher Joseph Pulitzer raises the prices required for newsies to buy newspapers from his distribution centers, galvanizing Kelly and his fellow newsies to go on strike. “It’s still relevant to this day,” said Cole Williams, a senior who is playing Jack Kelly. See MUSICAL on page 8