O’Brien property future center of community forum
LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
While most were out enjoying their Sunday afternoons, some members of the Shelburne community were busy packing into the town office meeting room to discuss a proposal that has spurred extensive debate over development and the future of the roughly 8,000-person town.
More than 130 residents
online, seated in chairs, lining the room and spilling out into the hallway showed up for a community forum with the Shelburne Selectboard about the O’Brien Brothers development company’s proposals for one of its properties in town.
O’Brien Brothers has for decades owned the property that
See O’BRIEN PROPERTY on page 7
CVSD contemplates “phone-free” future
LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
As students prepare to head back to school, the Champlain Valley School District is questioning whether their cell phones should come with them.
The school district is joining others in the state, and many nationwide, who are wondering what a school atmosphere would look like without the pocket devices. A new committee charged by interim Superintendent Adam Bunting has been tasked to find out.
The movement, which has been causing a buzz this summer, is an extension of restrictions that are already at play within the school district, Bunting said. In all the elementary and middle schools, the district has a staunch overarching “away for the day” policy, which states that if students choose to bring cell phones to school, they need to be powered off and in backpacks.
For the high school, he said, that policy is slightly trickier. As
See PHONE on page 12
PHOTO BY LEE KROHN
kids
kids, which means face painting and play during Shelburne Day. The
Parade Grounds. More photos, page 8.
Vermonters help state’s pollinators by growing native crops
KATE KAMPNER
COMMUNITY NEWS SERVICE
Julie Parker-Dickinson, a master gardener and a secondgrade teacher, was encouraging kids about their futures in 2017 when she realized something: She didn’t feel she was doing anything to ensure a bright future would still be there for them.
She decided to plant a garden at Quinlan’s Covered Bridge in Charlotte, where she lives, the first of many around town that she would fill with native species. The idea was to build a better food source for local pollinators, who play a vital role in helping plants reproduce. One day, she heard from Bethany Barry, who wanted to help pollinators in Addison County. She thought Parker-Dickinson could be a good partner.
Now both Parker-Dickinson and Barry are part of Pollinator Pathway, a network of volunteers across 18 states who plant, track and locate gardens of native, non-invasive plants and flowers. Their mission is to reduce the distance many pollinators like bees and butterflies must go to get nectar and pollen. The gardens, in effect, form a highway for them. Parker-Dickinson runs the Charlotte effort, Barry the one in Addison County — two of six in Vermont.
The four principles of the pathways, said Barry, are to remove invasives, plant natives, abstain from pesticides and rethink your lawn.
More extreme heat caused by increasing climate change makes it more tiring for pollinators to travel around. At the same time, they must travel longer distances than they’re used to because of how many lawns and homes have replaced natural landscapes.
Monarch butterflies might be able to fly 2,500 miles when migrating, but Parker-Dickinson said the average butterfly is probably going no more than a mile to find food.
“The pathway is meant to be a connector,” she said, comparing it to a grocery store where there would normally be a food desert.
Parker-Dickinson has planted gardens by Monkton Central School, on a corner on the way into Charlotte from the south and at the Charlotte Library. One project she’s currently working on is at the school, where she teaches and is maintaining a strip filled with native plants, sunflowers and zinnias in the parking lot.
Some plants she uses include Culver’s root, butterfly weed, mountain mint and bee balm — all native to Vermont.
Parker-Dickinson said there are 45 million acres of lawn in the
U.S. “If a portion was committed to pollinators, we could really do something about the climate crisis,” she said.
“Nobody gets paid for this. It’s just something we can do to help,” she said. “It’s been really rewarding in terms of the whole community to take pride in.”
Barry said bringing people in her community together has been an important part of the project. “It’s all about educating ourselves and others,” she said. She works with nine towns in Addison County.
Barry has given presentations and webinars across the state about pollinators and native plants. That’s on top of working on a pollinator garden next to Porter Medical Center in Middlebury and a garden in Weybridge near the Pulp Mill Covered Bridge.
“If I was inside, I would be missing out on what’s happening with nature,” Barry said.
One thing she’s noticed in the wider world through getting out in the garden is a decline in monarch butterflies, something Parker-Dickinson and other Pathway members also described.
“I’ve heard a lot of despair about our planet, about what’s happening, but then I bring it back to what can I do right here, right now, and this is making a difference,” she said.
“It may not show to anyone else, but I know that I’m creating a resting place and food and habitat and adding to the biodiversity.”
Debra Sprague, who helps maintain the Monkton Pathway, believes there are aesthetic benefits to growing native and wildflower-filled gardens instead of curating lawns or sewing gardens with invasive species.
“The thing with native plants is, you have to pay attention to what’s good for the pollinators, and that means not pulling everything out
in the fall and making it really neat and tidy,” she said. “It should be messy, and some people don’t like messy.”
Like Barry, she has found that paying closer attention to pollinators has strengthened her success in the garden.
“The wildflowers in May, looking for those, watching for insects, the different butterflies and bees and all the different creatures out there,” she said, “really just being outside in the garden makes you see more of those things and appreciate them.”
Up in Lamoille County
Denise Greene and Melissa Jordan of the Lamoille County Pollinator Pathway are approaching their second growing season. Greene is based in Hyde Park, Jordan in Morrisville, and both have backgrounds in gardening, maintaining land and even worm farming.
“As we continue along, we will continue to grow and have opportunities to transform public spaces as well as private spaces,” Jordan said. “There’s a new wave happening, a new wave of thinking.”
The Lamoille pathway has provided garden tours, advice on starting gardens and recommendations for plant and soil care. Greene said she’s even shown people how to solarize weeds — putting plastic over a garden bed, field, or lawn and leaving it for the summer, effectively cooking the weed seeds and providing a clean slate in the fall.
“We’re really available for any businesses or property owners or municipal properties to help work, to give volunteers or to give techni-
DIRECTCREMATIONSERVICES
PHOTO BY JULIE PARKER-DICKINSON
Volunteers work on a pollinator garden in Charlotte at the corner of Philo Road and Spear Street in May 2023.
Cemetery commission backs chair after alleged accosting accusations
LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
Shelburne’s cemetery commission is sticking by its chairman, who was accused of accosting a grieving family over burial payment during a ceremony at the town cemetery last month.
Even the town manager is backpedaling on his suggestion that the chairman may wish to resign “in the face of conduct unbecoming of an official of the Town of Shelburne.”
The incident, which prompted the Gervia family to issue a formal complaint to town manager Matt Lawless, happened in June. The family asserts that the chair of the cemetery commission, Stuart Morrow, verbally accosted the family during the burial service of their mother and inappropriately demanded immediate payment for the burial, which the family said they had paid earlier in the week.
commission was not made aware of the incident until a month after the complaint was sent to town manager Lawless.
“I must say, I was surprised that we weren’t informed first,”
Ron Gagnon said. “It was a month before we got the letter that Gervia had sent. It was a month before you sent it to us, that I thought was unusual.”
According to Lawless, after investigating the incident and conducting interviews with Morrow, the family and Father Dwight Baker of St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church — who oversaw the Gervia funeral — he sent an email to commissioners in July deeming the incident “legitimate and serious.”
“I was not comfortable sharing what I felt to be an insincere apology.”
— Matt Lawless
“I strongly recommend a formal apology from the cemetery commission to the family,” he wrote. “Mr. Morrow may also wish to resign in the face of conduct unbecoming of an official of the Town of Shelburne.”
But the commission stood in support of Morrow last week, with the groundskeeping supervisor, Stanley Turner, going further to say that the family’s complaint was “a bunch of lies.”
Commissioner Rene Gagnon said that the claims, including those made to The Shelburne News, were so inaccurate that Morrow could now have a libel case against the family who made the accusations.
“Everybody’s getting stories and it’s ‘Oh, let’s, let’s crucify this guy,’” Rene Gagnon said. “And for our seniors of the town, would we have done that to (senior Shelburne resident) Bud Ockert? Would we have done that to him or me, or everybody else that lives here?”
Turner, who told the commission he was also present at the cemetery that day, said he didn’t hear the whole conversation between Morrow and the Gervias and didn’t know anything had happened until later.
“I talked to Matt Gervia after and he was happy go lucky, everything was fine,” Turner said.
While the commission found issues with reports made to The Shelburne News from town staff and the grieving family, they had greater concerns with how the issue was handled from the start.
The first, commission secretary Ron Gagnon said, was that the
confuse Morrow when he went looking for payment receipts.
Ron Gagnon said in a phone call that he spoke with the town clerk to reiterate that the town clerk’s office is not supposed to receive payment. The payment along with a burial certificate is supposed to be presented to the commissioner at the time of burial, he said.
Even worse was Lawless sending a letter with Stuart’s name that had been edited, which Gagnon called a direct ethics violation.
“You edited my letter and sent it out, that I signed?” Morrow questioned Lawless at the cemetery’s commission meeting last week.
“I did,” responded Lawless.
“And you talk about ethics? Wow,” Morrow said.
Cemetery commission member Jenifer Brown, who was not present at the latest meeting, explained in a separate phone call that the letter was originally drafted by the entire commission during a series of email correspondences, which Morrow later approved and signed. It was then delivered to Lawless.
Ron Gagnon said, in a phone call after the Aug. 15 cemetery commission meeting, that he did tell Morrow that he should have told the commission about the meeting with Lawless, but said Lawless also should have informed the commission much sooner.
“That was on both of them,” Gagnon said.
Apology letter
Another major issue for the commission was an apology letter signed with Morrow’s signature and a refund for the burial payment, which the town mailed to the family last week.
Commissioners claim Lawless edited Morrow’s letter and sent it out, with Morrow’s signature, before the commission could approve Lawless’s changes.
“I am sorry that the lasting memory of your Mother was shadowed by our interaction,” reads the letter.
The letter continues to explain that the incident, while “out of pocket and unacceptable” happened due to a miscommunication that the $350 payment had been made at the town hall prior to the burial service.
Gervia explained, in his original complaint to the town, that he had made a payment by card to the town hall, instead of the commission’s typical system of accepting only cash or check payments, which Gervia said appeared to
She said Lawless made some edits but the committee did not get a chance to meet and review them.
Lawless at the meeting told commissioners that he added the statement of refund, which he is authorized to do, and softened “the apology language.”
“I was not comfortable sharing what I felt to be an insincere apology,” he said.
Ron Gagnon said, in a phone call, that while some contents of the original apology letter were edited out, the last sentence that reads, “That was the miscommunication and I should not have overreacted in a sensitive moment,” was not part of the letter that Morrow originally signed.
While Morrow voiced strong concern over the letter’s integrity, he also noted, “If this gets out, anybody unhappy can come and complain to you and want their money back.”
Lawless ended that portion of the meeting by apologizing to the commissioners for an “awkward situation” and “poor investigation.”
“I should have communicated better with all of you and my job is to support you, and I failed to do that,” he said, adding he thought “it would be appropriate” for the commission to vote on supporting Morrow.
The board ultimately voted unanimously, without Brown present, to commend and support Morrow.
Shelburne Police Blotter: Aug. 12-18
Total reported incidents: 77
Traffic stops: 5
Warnings: 5
Tickets: 0
Arrests: 2
Medical emergencies: 24
Mental health incidents: 0
Suspicious incidents: 15
Directed patrols: 5
Citizen assists: 5
Motor vehicle complaints: 3
Car crash: 5
Animal problem: 0
Noise disturbance: 0
Unlawful Mischief: 0
Theft: 2
Harassment: 3
Vandalism: 0
Property damage: 0
Fraud: 2
Alarms: 7
Pending investigations: 7
911 Hang-up calls: 0
Aug. 12 at 1 a.m., a caller reported suspicious individuals near Bittner Antiques. One male and female were located, identified, and released. A third male, Elijah Sigmon, 30, of Blowing Rock, N.C., was determined to have an outstanding warrant and was transported to jail.
Aug. 13 at 7:42 a.m., a caller reported a commercial burglary at Splash Car Wash. .
Aug. 13 at 10:37 a.m., a 911 caller reported a domestic dispute with her boyfriend near Shelburne Road and Bay Road. Both individuals were uncooperative.
Aug. 14 at 4:11 p.m., a caller
reported a domestic dispute at the Shelburne Museum.
Aug. 15 at 12:23 p.m., a 911 caller reported an unresponsive friend at Quality Inn. Police and EMS determined the person, Allen Ostroy, 54, of Burlington, had died. Police day the death was not suspicious.
Aug. 15 at 12:27 a.m., a caller reported a theft from their residence on Shelburne Road. Police are investigating.
Aug. 16 at 10:20 a.m., a 911 caller reported an unresponsive resident on Harbor Road who later died. The male was identified as Barry Weinberg, age 86, of Shelburne. Police say the death was not suspicious.
Aug. 17 at 3:21 a.m., a 911 caller reported male trying to break into her home on Henry Street. Police arrested Tyler Wood, 39, of Essex for aggravated disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. An officer was treated and released for minor injuries at the hospital.
Aug. 17 at 3:49 p.m., a caller reported a retail theft from Tractor Supply. Police issued a no-trespass notice.
Aug. 17 at 4:17 p.m., a 911 reported an individual was assaulted in the parking lot of the Dutch Mill diner. The injured male was transported to the hospital.
Aug. 17 at 5:10 p.m., police arrested Rene Dalley, 46, of Burlington, on an active New York arrest warrant, on Shelburne Road.
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A glassblower at Shelburne Farms last week gets up close and personal with a small torch, working on the details of a to-be piece of fragile art. All blown up
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PHOTOS BY LEE KROHN
OPINION
First
or last — What’s in a name?
In Musing
Carole Vasta
Folley
Lately, I’ve been thinking about women politicians and how they’re often called by their first names. Think Hillary, Nancy, Geraldine and Kamala.
Meanwhile, male politicians are more frequently referred to by their surnames, like Biden, Trump, Obama and Bush. Then I noticed the same elsewhere. Take tennis, there’s Nadal, Federer and McEnroe, while women superstars are Serena, Martina and Billie Jean. Or in car racing, it’s not Mario or Patrick. It’s Andretti and Danica.
I looked further and realized how often great actors are simply called De Niro, Pacino and Brando, (kind of sounds like a law firm, doesn’t it?). At the same time, often in the same conversation, it’s Meryl, Judi and Jodie.
Now and then acclaimed women are referred to by both their names, like Marie Curie, Emily Dickinson and Mary Cassatt. Still, it’s not their last names that define them like their male peers Darwin, Dickens and Degas, (jeez, another law firm).
In the arts, Picasso shares museum space with Frida. And in the sciences, Einstein, Hawking and Tesla share recognition with … well, the truth is that women scientists have rarely been given the notoriety they deserve, let alone becoming household names. A topic for another time.
This trend continues. The Mayo Clinic reports female doctors are twice as likely as male doctors to be called by their first name. And academia?
men, it contributes to the continuing gender pay gap where women today earn 84 cents for every dollar a man makes.
Spanning a 40-year career, that’s a loss of over $407,000 compared to her male counterpart, solely because she’s a woman. That’s income that could help her pay for education, health care and retirement.
The wage gap for women of color is much worse, 56 to 70 cents for every dollar a man makes. Sure, anyone can find exceptions to the above. Unfortunately, the overall result will be the same: the unconscious “lessening” of women.
There are an untold number of women who are not treated the same as their male counterparts. Just like President Biden earned his title, so did Vice President Harris. For her current campaign, Harris has embraced the use of her first name, Kamala. Countless candidates have done so. But we can’t forget that for many women, of all professions, it is not a choice. They are part of a system that reflects society’s biased norms regarding gender and power.
In today’s news, Harris’ male opponent, who’s almost always called by his last name, continually mocks and mangles the vice president’s first name, adding, “I couldn’t care less if I mispronounce it.”
A clearly derogatory tactic, it’s a way to “other” Harris, to suggest she is less of an American and unworthy of the respect of her position as vice president.
Whether on the world stage or in our everyday lives, misogyny and bigotry is hard to stomach. One thing we can do is stay aware. Be mindful of how we address women in professional positions, especially if that differs in how we address their male counterparts.
Sadly, I wonder how and if we can ever stop the incessant institutionalized sexism, discrimination and disrespect that plagues our country.
According to Cornell University researchers, students were far more likely to call a male professor by only his last name. Further, research in the Psychology of Women Quarterly stated, “the probability of being addressed by title was significantly greater for male professors than female professors.”
Studies bear this out, showing that people are more than twice as likely to describe a male professional by their last name versus a female professional. This was true in politics, science and literature.
Further and importantly, those professionals called by their surname were believed to be more eminent and deserving of an award. Simply put, this is another way our culture inequitably bestows a greater respect towards men.
Not only does this translate into more confidence, promotions and prizes for
In addition, during this campaign season, pay attention to the media. According to research across eight studies, pundits and commentators were more than twice as likely to use a last name when talking about a man than when speaking about a woman. This inequity is on top of the gendered derision and hostility women candidates usually face.
Take, for example, Hillary Clinton and the 2016 presidential election. She was scrutinized for her clothing, hair, ankles, voice and laugh. Needless to say, not one of these points were issues for her male opponent. Sadly, I wonder how and if we can ever stop the incessant institutionalized sexism, discrimination and disrespect that plagues our country.
Who knows, maybe it begins with a name.
Carole Vasta Folley is an award-winning columnist and playwright. Visit carolevf.com.
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Carole Vasta Folley
Olympics, American politics offer exuberance over past weeks
Guest Perspective Walt
Amses
Any outrage over the 2024 Summer Olympics opening ceremony’s Last Supper-themed gender reveal party was all but forgotten as Paris closed up shop with a spectacular incendiary display and a march of ten thousand athletes as a perfectly ageless Tom Cruise rapelled from heaven itself, seizing the Olympic flag and mounting a motorcycle, riding it onto a transport plane and eventually parachuting down near the hilltop Hollywood sign, where he transformed the Os into Olympic rings, theatrically claiming
the 2028 games for Los Angeles.
As the scene shifted to the Red Hot Chili Peppers gyrating in concert on a sun-bleached southern California beach, followed by Billie Eilish, Snoop Dog inexplicably showed up, mainly because he is Snoop Dog and Snoop Dog is everywhere.
After a stint with the Crips and a career as a gangster rapper, if there still is such a term, the hip hop icon has morphed into an omni-present teddy bear, famously collaborating with Martha Stewart over mashed potatoes, brownies (of course) and, these past two weeks, garnering accolades as a kind of roving Olympic super fan, delivering observa-
Letters to the Editor
Praise for local photographer
To the Editor:
Over the years, we readers of the Shelburne News have been treated to many fine photographs by Lee Krohn.
Most have been of nature, but methinks the best one yet was in a June issue. It was a hay rake. It absolutely stopped me in my tracks!
Not only does Lee have a great eye, but he also has the technical skill to photograph what he sees. Aren’t we lucky!
Ellen Gurwitz Shelburne
Senate candidate: primary journey brings it all back home
To the Editor:
Primary day in Vermont was a long one for many. Poll workers, town clerks, candidates and supporters put in many hours so that voters could engage and vote. I am grateful to all who worked and voted. I was able to visit all 11 towns and cities in the Chittenden Southeast Senate District including Charlotte, Hinesburg, South Burlington and Shelburne.
It was a long day; lots of miles and smiles, lots of conversations and concerns. There was the lifelong Bolton resident afraid she was going to have to sell her home and leave Vermont as taxes and utility prices continue to rise.
There was a young voter in Shelburne struggling to see a path to staying in Vermont and owning a home. There were
the many citizens who just wanted to thank me for running and offering a choice. I was humbled they took the time to share with me and my supporters their concerns and priorities.
To the point, I ran across the district all day, voting location to voting location on a beautiful Vermont summer day. I was hot and tired and ready to be home. We all know the feeling.
But, to my surprise, home came to me. I ended the day in a camp chair underneath a shade tree with a slight breeze, during the last few hours of primary voting at the Guard Armory in my hometown of Williston. I was sitting next to my beautiful and supportive wife of 20-plus years, joking with the town clerk as she started to shut down operations, and thanking one of the last voters who exclaimed, “I’m glad I made it in time, I came here to vote for you.”
The moment was perfect. The day wasn’t quite over, but I truly was home. I was balanced and content, cherishing small town Vermont life under a quiet shade tree. There was no place I would have rather been.
This is why I am running for the Vermont Senate. All Vermonters deserve this kind of moment. I am committed now more than ever to making sure “the 14th star continues to shine bright” for everyone.
Bruce Roy Williston
Wilson is a Republican candidate for the Chittenden Southeast Senate district. Vermont Senate
August 29-31
tions, commentary and a whole lot of fun.
Other than a few minor glitches, Paris pulled off a joyous midsummer celebration of athleticism, sportsmanship and international competition largely without the divisive politics that has marked previous Olympic games.
Even American politics has experienced a moment in the sun as Kamala Harris and Tim Walz barnstorm the country to raucous rallies and exuberant crowds, seemingly liberated from the anticipation of a last stand battle between two aging candidates, each of whom engenders fear for decidedly different reasons.
The upbeat, optimistic messaging from Harris and Walz seems to be resonating with enough voters to move the needle in important swing states according to a number of polls.
However, seething offstage, out of the spotlight he so covets for an extended period, confined to the ever-darkening shadows of his own morbidly vacant emotional life, the former president rages at any glimpse of sanity threatening his carefully fabricated, apocalyptic narrative.
conference where he waxed nostalgic over sharing a hard helicopter landing with former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, who dated Harris three decades ago and, according to the former president, told him “terrible things” about the vice president: “He was not a fan of hers very much at that point.”
The trouble is that Brown was never on a helicopter with Trump and unequivocally denied ever having said any “terrible things” about Harris: “Hell no, I wouldn’t say anything bad about any woman to him.”
American politics has experienced a moment in the sun as Kamala Harris and Tim Walz barnstorm the country to raucous rallies and exuberant crowds.
While campaign staffers praised the former president’s “discipline” after the presser, National Public Radio reported there were at least 162 lies and distortions which have become even more commonplace since the tide seems to be turning. Americans are getting used to any mention of the Trump name being preceded by “without evidence” or followed by “falsely claimed” to characterize any statement he makes about anything.
Depicting Walz as capable of releasing “hell on earth” or Harris as only recently “turning Black” specifically for political purposes, goes over about as well as Donald Trump’s list of grievances punctuated by increasingly longer episodes of incoherent gibberish — ancient, worn-out attack lines, elementary school name calling and a series of lies so outrageous that, rather than motivate supporters or inflame the opposition, they register simply as desperation.
The racist dog whistle of questioning Harris’s “Blackness” is a reprise of the former president’s years-long “birther” campaign, questioning Barack Obama’s citizenship and impugning his legitimacy as president while green-lighting white supremacists coming in from the cold, clearly indicating they’d have a friend in the Oval Office.
Attacking Walz as a radical is just dumb. By any measure the Minnesota governor is a staid Midwesterner who likes to hunt and fish, has coached high school football and spent a quarter century in the Army National Guard.
Things got even worse for Trump during an off-the-wall Mar-a-Lago press
In one of the weirder moments of a thoroughly weird two-hour interview with Elon Musk last week, Trump paused in mid-ramble to say of Vice President Harris: “I saw a picture of her on Time Magazine today. She looked like the most beautiful actress ever to live … She looked very much like our great first lady, Melania.”
Objectifying in order to diminish powerful women is nothing new. We should know by now there is no bottom for Donald Trump. With a “resume” like his, getting a job flipping burgers would be a challenge. He is not well and has not been well for a very long time. But he’s still out there, vicious, wounded and angry, unable to face being irrelevant. He’s already laying the groundwork for Election Denial 2.0 in the event he loses in November.
His grotesque groveling for attention is like watching an aging Borsht Belt comedian, never that funny to begin with, still in the Catskills milking laughs with a tired, old repertoire as plates and silverware clatter in the background, without realizing the crowd is there for the early bird special and it’s already getting late.
Walt Amses lives in North Calais.
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O’BRIEN PROPERTY
continued from page 1
sits immediately outside the town’s water and sewer service area. The development team came to the selectboard three months ago with a petition to include part of the property in the town’s designated utility service area to allow it to build more houses.
That could give the land, which is currently included in the town’s rural zoning district, a higher density as outlined in the recently passed Act 47, or HOME Act. Although the town’s planning commission is currently looking at massive regulatory reform, the current rural zoning district only allows for one unit per five acres.
But under the new state law meant to spur housing development across the state, areas serviced by water and sewer can be built at a much higher density than five dwellings per acre.
The parcel is separated by Thomas Road into two tracts — a 110-acre tract on the north side of the road and another 65.5 acres to the south. The northern parcel sits at the edge of the current area serviced by water and sewer infrastructure, located on the south side of Irish Hill Road, between Spear Street and Thomas Road.
The company argues that, although the northern portion of the property is not technically considered part of the town’s service area, its proximity to that infrastructure — including an 8-foot sewer line and manhole located on the property and a water main connection located less than 50 feet away on Irish Hill Road — should allow it to be.
But by allowing O’Brien to hook up to municipal water and sewer from outside the service area, the selectboard is worried about setting a precedent. More important, board members said, is whether the town is technically forced by state legislation to accept O’Brien’s request.
The town and its counsel spent
nearly two months in closed-door negotiations with the company and ultimately drafted a pre-development contract which the selectboard has not yet officially signed.
The agreement outlines nine stipulations for the company which include conservation and affordability requirements, a maximum of only 375 dwelling units and mandatory net-zero energy building standards.
The board said that before it would approve the document, it would first hold two public meetings about the issue in an effort to hear from residents who, for the most part, have remained split on their resistance and acceptance of the proposal.
While a slew of community members aired their opinions at the meeting Sunday afternoon, what was most notable were presentations from town manager Matt Lawless and the town’s attorney regarding the impacts of the development and rationale for crafting an agreement.
Although residents have voiced concern that a project like this could drain the town’s resources, in a fiscal impact analysis completed by the town’s planning and zoning director Aaron DeNamur, he stated that findings for the development actually show a substantial net-positive impact on town revenue. The total projected annual revenues for the development amount to roughly $1.25 million, according to his projections.
In conversations with local stakeholders — the police department, fire and rescue, the wastewater superintendent, the library director and the parks and recreation department — DeNamur found that roughly $66,753 per year of added maintenance costs for the highway’s budget would be the only most notable financial impact.
“Looking beyond the fiscal impact shows us that there are additional benefits to the Town,” DeNamur wrote. “The development will bring many new homes into the local market, helping to alleviate the market imbalance we are currently experiencing. It will bring more customers for local businesses, especially given its proximity to the Village. Any affordable housing built as part of the development will bring a potential pool of much-needed employees for local businesses and institutions.”
From a legal perspective, the potential benefit of the pre-development agreement is that it can provide the town with greater influence over the proposed development, beyond what would be required in the development review board process, in exchange for expanding the service areas, according to the town’s attorney Kristen Shamis, in a memo to selectboard members and reiterated at the meeting.
Another possible, and less favorable approach, she said, would be for the selectboard to decline the O’Brien request that the parcel is not genuinely served by municipal sewer and water infrastructure.
“If the Selectboard were to do this, we fully expect O’Brien would contest this decision through a court action,” she wrote. “There have been no legal challenges to Act 47 that would provide us with a Vermont court’s interpretation of the phrase ‘area served by municipal sewer and water infrastructure,’ so the Town would be in the position of working to establish new law on an uncharted issue in our court system.”
She explained that the Legislature was clear, in its passage of
See O’BRIEN PROPERTY on page 12
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PHOTO BY MATT LAWLESS
More than 100 Shelburnites gathered on Sunday to discuss the O’Brien Brothers property proposal.
The annual Shelburne Day was held Saturday at the town’s Parade Grounds. The event featured food, music and plenty of fun and games, with visits by the town’s fire department.
PHOTOS BY LEE KROHN
GARDENS
continued from page 2
cal advice,” she said.
Their group works with Peter Danforth, director of the Lamoille County Conservation District, on environmental advocacy.
They’ve done lots of planting around Oxbow Park in Morrisville and have converted Elsa French Park in Hyde Park from mostly lawn to freely growing wild species. Greene said with native meadows in place, prairie grasses that have robust root systems can better absorb rainwater.
Greene and Jordan emphasize that anyone can do it — even people in apartments without their own green spaces. That’s the reason their group lets apartment residents
register potted plants as part of the local pathway.
“We live in such a beautiful and diverse planet, and we just want to do everything we can to keep it that way and not just disappear. And that means holding people accountable,” Greene said.
She added: “Some people like politics, and some people like to just plant flowers.”
Kate Kampner is a reporter with the Community News Service, a program in which University of Vermont students work with professional editors to provide content for local news outlets at no cost.
News from Pierson Library
Rising Kindergartner book dedication ceremony
In a Pierson Library tradition, join library staff to celebrate the community’s rising kindergarteners at this book dedication event.
Staff will dedicate a new picture book in honor of each Shelburne kindergartener. Find your book, meet future classmates, and enjoy a performance by acclaimed children’s book author Steve Swinburne.
Hokum Brothers last act in Summer Concert Series
It’s been an electric summer of concerts at the library. From theatrical synth pop to a fiddle trio, from West African dance and drum to roots/bluegrass, to Franco-American folk tunes. And there’s still one act left to grace the town hall stage. Mixing and remixing the modalities of vaudeville, americana, clown, and blues, The Hokum Brothers are
certain to delight!. Saturday, Aug. 24, 7-8:15 p.m.
Artist talks time lapse, stop-motion videos
Join artist and UVM professor Michael Strauss and explore the meaning of Process Art in early childhood education, art therapy, and science education.
See specific artistic practice through time lapse and stop motion videos and delve into mediums like charcoal, ink, and acrylics. Understand art as both product and process.
Analyze William Kentridge’s stop motion film “Stereoscope,” addressing social issues. Study Kentridge’s concept of time in “The Refusal of Time.”
Experience “Unsupervised” at MoMA, an AI-generated exhibit transforming centuries of art in real-
REPAIRS
Lifelong learning group hosts fall lecture series
Education and Enrichment for Everyone (EEE) is excited to begin its fall lecture series on Sept. 6 with Rodney Smolla JD, President, Vermont Law and Graduate School, whose topic is “The Ever-Changing Face of American Constitutional Law.”
Education and Enrichment for Everyone is a non-profit, lifelong learning organization founded in 1990 and open to all. Weekly lectures are held on interesting and diverse topics each fall and spring on Fridays from 2-3, both live at Faith United Methodist Church, 899 Dorset St., South Burlington and on Zoom Webinar.
For more information, visit eeevermont.org, email info@eeevermont.org, or call 802-343-5177.
To enroll for the fall, mail a check for $55 per person, payable to EEE and send it c/o Cathy Chamberlain, 2504 Brand Farm Rd., South Burlington, VT 05403. Include your email and mailing addresses and phone number.
Memberships will also be accepted at the church. Non-members are welcome to attend at the church for a fee of $8, cash or check, payable at the door. Here are the fall speakers and topics.
• Friday, Sept. 6, Rodney Smolla, JD, President, Vermont Law and Graduate School, “Everything You Need to Know about the U. S. Supreme Court”
• Friday, Sept. 13, Thomas Denenberg, John Wilmerding Director and CEO, Shelburne Museum, “The Railroad in American Art”
• Friday, Sept. 20, Rebecca Holcombe, Vermont state representative and former Vermont secretary of education, “Freedom: What Happens to PK-12 Public Education When We Are Not Really in This Together?”
• Friday, Sept. 27, John Brooklyn, MD, associate clinical professor, Department of Family Medicine and Psychiatry at UVM Medical Cetner and medical director of the Howard Center Chittenden Clinic and BayMark St. Albans, “The Tip of the Iceberg: How Vermont Is
Addressing the Opioid Crisis”
• Friday, Oct. 11, Joan Goldstein, commissioner, Vermont Department of Economic Development, “Achieving Affordability: How Economic Development Could Make Vermont More Affordable”
Gallery puts on sport exhibit
Visions of Vermont Art Galleries in Jeffersonville presents “The Sport of the Spirit,” running through Sept. 15. The exhibit captures the viewpoints both painters and outdoor recreationists share as they explore our local Vermont landscape.
From gravel riding in Pleasant Valley to fly fishing in the Brewster River, these scenes capture the distant trait that unites plainair artists and outdoor adventurers alike: the act of finding our line in the outdoors.
The exhibit runs Aug. 17- Sept. 15 at the gallery, located at 100 main Street, Jeffersonville. More information, visionsofvermont.com.
Diamond Island Regatta smooth sailing despite Debby
The remnants of Hurricane Debby rampaged through the Champlain Valley on Friday, August 9, bringing heavy rain and high winds, with gusts as high as 65 knots. At Point Bay Marina in Charlotte, a sailboat was blown off its mooring into the marsh, and another was dismasted. Tens of thousands of Vermonters, and the marina, were without power as of Friday night, an outage that continued well into the weekend. Downed trees and flooding closed many roads.
But the weather had calmed down significantly, and the cleanup was well under way by Saturday morning, Aug. 10, and the 12th annual Diamond Island Regatta went ahead pretty much as scheduled. Boats that would have traveled south from the northern bays of Lake Champlain on Friday evening either moved up their trips to earlier in the day or decided to make the long trip down the lake on Saturday morning before the race.
Julie Trottier, captain of Meridian, left Malletts Bay Boat Club in
Colchester at 4 a.m.
“There was no way I was going to miss it,” Julie said. “It’s one of my favorite events of the season. Plus, my crew and I enjoyed a beautiful sunrise from the middle of Lake Champlain, and on our return to Mallets Bay Sunday evening sailed right into a rainbow.”
Despite the storm, and thanks to the resilience of those in the Champlain Valley and New York, 25 boats — all but a couple of those that had registered to sail — were on the starting line on Saturday morning.
up drifting slowly toward the line.
But ultimately, everyone made it to the finish, and many headed back north to their home ports.
Both races are part of the Lake Champlain Championship Series, a season-long competition that determines annual bragging rights in five classes: three Spinnaker classes and two Jib-and-Main classes.
The post-race events on Saturday included live music from The Morning Dudes, Tom Van Sant and Jake Geppert, who saved the day with their battery-powered amp and mics.
Diamond Island Regatta results Spinnaker A
1. Rogue, J/105, Marti/Fisher/ Cloutier, LCYC
2. Foxy Lady, J/105, Jeff Hill, LCYC
HOLIDAY ISSUE DATE: Thursday, Aug. 29
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ISSUE DATE: Thursday, Sept. 5
Real Estate and BANG/Combo Ads are due Thursday, Aug. 29, at 5 p.m.
Display Ads and Classified Ads are due Friday, Aug. 30, at Noon.
The regatta, Diamond Island Yacht Club’s signature sailboat race, took boats on a course of about 11 miles, from the start/finish line in Town Farm Bay, south to Diamond Island off Ferrisburgh, north to Sloop Island off Charlotte, and back to the start line.
The race started in a light breeze, ironic given the record winds of the previous day. The wind picked up, then waned again making for some challenging sailing but getting all the boats around the course.
The next day, 20 boats — just one short of last year’s record turnout — sailed in the fourth annual Split Rock Race, in mostly steady winds, covering the same course.
The start was in a brisk 15-knot southerly, providing a quick trip to Diamond Island, and the breeze held up until the last few boats made it to Thompson’s Point on the way to the finish line. At that point, the wind died and a few boats ended
The races are scored using the Performance Handicap Racing Fleet system, so boats with different speed potentials can compete against each other. Each boat’s elapsed time for the course is turned into a “corrected” time to determine the winners in each class.
The first boat to finish in the Diamond Island Regatta on Saturday, in 2 hours, 32 minutes and 18 seconds, was Chris Duley’s Polar Express, a Henderson 30 from the Valcour Sailing Club competing in the Spinnaker A division.
Everyone had fun watching the lone multihull boat, Shoshin, owned by Tim McKegney, zip around the course in record time on Sunday.
Full results can be found at diamondislandyc.org/dir-srr-results-for-2024/
As is the case every year, perhaps the biggest winner was the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. The money raised by the regular benefit events — the pre-race breakfast, the Lobster Fest dinner, T-shirt and hat sales, and a fundraising raffle — is still being tallied, but is on track to break records.
3. Souvenir, C&C 115, Craig Meyerson, Mooney Bay Spinnaker B
1. Muse, J/37C, Doug Friant, DIYC/LCYC
2. Lift Ticket, J/92S, Sam Pratt, MBBC
3. Enki, C&C 99, Cindy & Marc Turcotte, LCYC Spinnaker C
1. Lil’ Bot, Santana 2023R, Benedek Erdos, DIYC
2. Osprey, C&C 33 MK II, Thomas Porter, DIYC/LCYC
3. Pas de Deux, Pearson Flyer, John Beal, DIYC
Jib & Main A
1. Shockwave, J/29, Jim & Tom Moody, DIYC
2. Schuss, J/30, Cameron Giezendanner, MBBC
3. Neelima, M35, Michael Lestage Jib & Main B
1. Mackinac, Pearson 32, Tim & Betsy Etchells, DIYC
COURTESY PHOTOS
Above: Foxy Lady, a J/105 sailed by Jeff Hill of Lake Champlain Yacht Club, was the winner in the Spinnaker A class in the Split Rock Race and runner-up in the Diamond Island Regatta.
Opposite page: Polar Express, a Henderson 30 sailed by Chris Duley from the Valcour Sailing Club, was the first boat to finish in last week’s Diamond Island Regatta.
continued from page 10
2. Meridian, O’Day 28, Julie Trottier, MBBC
3. Salsa, Ericson 34, Sean Linskey, DIYC
Split Rock race results
Spinnaker A
1. Foxy Lady, J/105, Jeff Hill, LCYC
2. Lisa J, Mumm 30, LCYC/MBBC
3. Souvenir, C&C 115, Craig Meyerson, Mooney Bay Spinnaker B
1. Enki, C&C 99, Cindy & Marc Turcotte, LCYC
2. Lift Ticket, J/92S, Sam Pratt, MBBC
3. Muse, J/37C, Doug Friant, DIYC/LCYC
LIBRARY
continued from page 9
time, contemplating technology, creativity, and modern art. Tuesday, Aug. 27, 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Take a ride, get some credit Saturday with GMT
Discover the ease of eco-friendly travel with our library bus adventure program, Saturday, Aug. 24, 10:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Meet at the library.
Led by Green Mountain Transit experts, the program begins with an information presentation on bus riding basics, followed by a supervised bus trip to Battery Park in Burlington.
Bring a picnic lunch to enjoy by the waterfront or explore downtown without parking worries. Returning to Shelburne around 2:30pm, participants will receive $50 in free bus credits.
Spinnaker C
1. Osprey, C&C 33 MK II, Thomas Porter, DIYC/LCYC
2. Lil’ Bot, Santana 2023R, Benedek Erdos, DIYC
Jib & Main A
1. Hot Chocolate, J/9, Jim Lampman, DIYC
2. Pas de Deux, Pearson Flyer, John Beal, DIYC
3. Morning Star … Again, Catalina 320, Stephen Unsworth, LCYC Jib & Main B
1. Mackinac, Pearson 32, Tim & Betsy Etchells, DIYC
2. Meridian, O’Day 28, Julie Trottier, MBBC
3. Salsa, Ericson 34, Sean Linskey, DIYC
Note: Finishes based on corrected time.
Dog trainer offers canine communication presentation
A communication workshop with Gold Star Dog Training is a multi-media extravaganza of fun where the audience also gets to test their “dog reading” skills.
The folks at Gold Star will demystify dog communication, reveal some common dog-human misunderstandings, and explore how we can all live safely and happily together.
At the end of the presentation, participants will engage in several fun, interactive exercises to practice reading dog body language. Participants will also enjoy exclusive free access to a carefully curated online resource of supplementary learning materials.
Reduce your carbon footprint and explore our region while leaving the driving to someone else.
To register, call (802) 985-5124. Drop-ins are also welcome. Wednesday, Aug. 28, 6:30-7:30 p.m. REGATTA
PHONE
continued from page 1
the former Champlain Valley Union principal, Bunting has first-hand knowledge of developing policy that encourages students not to use their devices in academic spaces.
“What we noticed coming out of Covid, which was a time period that I hope people keep in mind, was that we were actually encouraging students to use phones during, for instance, lunch periods, because we didn’t want them talking and projecting and socializing while eating,” he said. “We noticed this greater dependence on phones, and we were focused on taking measures to help our students be present in academic spaces.”
“From
The school district’s approach is unique in that it plans to center this discussion around community input before implementing a policy.
Bunting envisions the committee being comprised of representatives from the district’s central office, administration, faculty, parents and, most important, students. Bunting said he was surprised to hear more input from students requesting that the district implement stricter mandates.
one end of the continuum, which is, we’re allin on phone-free schools, or are we coming up with a more moderated approach?”
He explained that studies clearly show cell phones and social media have negative impacts on mental health, particularly for students under 13. While the district recognizes that these phones are a part of society now, there is certainly room to learn how to better manage their use.
— Adam Bunting
“The research is scary,” Bunting said. “But that’s really what our study committee is looking at. What are the recommendations we’re going to make to our board? From one end of the continuum, which is, we’re all-in on phone-free schools, or are we coming up with a more moderated approach?”
“You also hear from students who’ve gone on ‘phone diets’ just how different and positive they feel when they’ve had some space from social media and some space from their phones,” he said.
The committee’s first charge, he said, is to review available research and observe the district’s own trends. He also said he anticipates site visits to other schools in the state and throughout New York that have gone phone-free.
“We’re trying to be pretty comprehensive in this work,” he said.
School board chair Meghan Metzler said schools and districts that have implemented phone-free policies this year, like Lamoille South Supervisory Union, Harwood Union
The Town of Hinesburg, Vermont seeks qualified applicants for the following positions:
Highway Foreperson
This is a supervisory position that is responsible for overseeing and participating in the maintenance of the town’s highway infrastructure. A valid VT issued CDL Class B license is required. Required skills include proficient operation of a road grader, excavator, front-end loader, backhoe, and tandem plow truck. Starting pay is $34.00 - $40.00 an hour depending upon qualifications.
Highway Maintainer
This is a semi-skilled position of moderate complexity in highway maintenance and equipment operation. A Highway Maintainer performs a wide variety of manual and automotive equipment operation tasks involved in municipal road maintenance. Work extends to responsibility for maintenance and servicing of assigned automotive equipment, requiring strong mechanical and trouble shooting skills. A valid Vermont issued Class B CDL is required. Starting pay is $25.00 - $28.00 an hour depending upon qualifications.
Both positions provide health, dental, vision and disability insurance; paid time off; pension plan; and 13 paid holidays. Detailed information and an application form can be found at www.hinesburg.org under the employment tab. Applications can be mailed or delivered to Todd Odit, Town Manager, 10632 Route 116 or emailed to todit@hinesburg.org.
The Town of Hinesburg offers a comprehensive benefits package and very competitive pay. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and women and minorities are encouraged to apply. Applications will be reviewed as received and accepted until the position is filled.
High School and Thetford Academy, have taken up these actions by administrative decisions rather than school board decisions.
“So that’s something that we’re also thinking about,” she said. “Board work is designed to think about an issue, put it out for discussion, come back and then vote for it as an overall perspective. So, we’re also looking to determine, do we need to take board action? Do we need a board policy that’s specific to this or not? And I think that that’s part of what we’re trying to understand.”
She said the board has not convened about the issue yet, since this was a discussion that happened at policy committee meetings over the summer. Since the proposal is still in its earliest phases, she anticipates that this will be brought before the board at a September or October meeting.
Statewide
On a statewide level, Angela Arsenault, a school board member and Williston’s representative to the statehouse, is a strong advocate for a policy like this. She even anticipates introducing a bill this year that focuses on exactly this issue. She pointed to a bill passed by the Senate education committee last year, S.284, that would set statewide phone-free school standards. Although the House Committee on Education has not yet taken it up, the bill Arsenault plans to introduce would call for every district in the state to develop and implement a phone-free, bell-to-bell policy.
“There’s an additional provision that would prohibit schools from communicating directly with students via social media, which is something that happens and shouldn’t,” she said.
Arsenault is also a member of the Vermont chapter of the national nonprofit Phone Free Schools Movement and works closely with national experts on research and data surrounding cell phone use by students.
“I think that the primary purpose for kids to be in school is to be educated, to gain
O’BRIEN PROPERTY continued from page 7
Act 47, that it has taken a strong and decisive action to alleviate the housing crisis. Opening the town to litigation, she said, would be like swimming against the current in a fast-moving river.
Resident petition
While several members of the public voiced opinions and questions at the meeting — including a lawyer, Jim Dumont, who was hired by some neighboring families to combat legal claims — a new petition circulating online demanding that the town doesn’t accept the O’Brien Brothers request and pre-development agreement has garnered roughly more than 300 votes of support online since last week.
social skills, to develop relationships and community and the personal devices are getting in the way of both of those objectives.”
She noted the book “Anxious Generation,” which the superintendent of Lamoille South Supervisory Union, Ryan Heraty, also urged parents to read in his letter to the community explaining the district’s new no-phones policy.
But Champlain Valley has first-hand experience with what the harm of social media can do. Arsenault noted, for example, how an app known as Fizz was introduced to the school last year and wreaked more havoc on the school community than Bunting had seen in nine years as the high school’s principal.
The private discussion and news app allowed students to post anonymously and quickly escalated from jokes and memes to public shaming of students and speculation about teachers’ sex lives, reported the Wall Street Journal about the high school in May in an article titled, “An Anonymous-Messaging App Upended This High School.”
“We have an example here in our own district with what happened with Fizz last year at CVSD,” Arsenault said. “Within 24 hours of that being introduced in the CVU community, that app had caused, by then-principal Bunting’s estimation, more harm than he had seen in recent memory. And part of that is that kids are able to access those online products even while they’re in school. There is no break.”
Another problem, she said, is that while policies limiting the use of personal devices during instructional time are a stride in the right direction, it also places an incredible burden on teachers to enforce that policy.
Essentially, she said, “You’re asking them to fight against addiction.”
Although the district is still in the earliest discussions about a policy, Bunting anticipates the district’s current phone policies to remain in place. He expects the committee to come back to the board by December with a thorough recommendation.
“The selectboard has not provided a satisfactory explanation about how this agreement would conform with town plan policies against extending the current sewer service area into the rural zone and discouraging growth in the rural zone,” they wrote in the petition.
Although the selectboard is set to have another meeting community meeting on Sept. 4 from 7-9 p.m., Lawless said in a phone call after Sunday night that he was happy to see the democracy in action.
“Nobody was nasty,” he said. “I’m so grateful for the tone of it.”
The petition, created by the Open Space and Habitat Task Force, says that the group believes the current agreement is inadequate in many ways, including that the agreement is vague and neglects to provide adequate guarantees.
State urges families to fill out school meals applications
School is starting back up for Vermont students and the Agency of Education is encouraging all families with school-aged children to “Fill the Form.”
By returning the Household Income Form, or School Meals
Application to their child’s school, families can help secure important funding that benefits Vermont students and schools.
The data collected by school districts and reported to the agency is used to draw down the maximum federal funding for the state’s Universal Meals program. This not only reduces the program’s cost to taxpayers, but also helps to secure and equitably distribute tens of millions of dollars in other federal funding to Vermont schools for a broad range of education programs.
“The information collected through these forms is a critical part of how we guarantee a 21st-century education system,” interim Secretary of Education Zoie Saunders said.
“Family income data is used by nearly every federal education program to provide the funding that Vermont school districts rely on. That is why we’re asking all families to do their part by
returning the form requested by their child’s school.”
Beyond supporting Universal Meals, the data helps schools qualify for other funding such as “Title” programs, afterschool and summer programs, broadband access, special education, and more. The information also supports the Agency in federal reporting requirements for student performance and helps determine how much funding schools receive from the state’s education funding formula.
The Agency is providing
SHELBURNE
The Shelburne Selectboard will hold two special meetings. These are town hall type meetings to discuss the O’Brien Brothers Development Proposal. We will meet in small groups to understand the proposal. No action will be taken at these meetings. All residents are welcome.
RABIES BAIT
continued from page 2
Sunday, August 18 from 2 – 4 PM in Meeting Rooms 1 & 2 at Town Offices
Wednesday, September 4 from 7 – 9 PM in Old Town Hall
Both meetings will be recorded by Media Factory.
training and support materials to school district staff. Schools have additional resources available to guide families in accessing and completing the form. Families are encouraged to reach out directly to their schools with any questions. The House-
hold Income Form is available in multiple languages and can be filled out online or by hand. The information families provide is confidential, and the data are securely collected and stored to protect student and family privacy.
Property/Community Director The Terraces
The Terraces, a 55+ plus independent living condominium community in Shelburne, seeks a Property/Community Director to oversee day-to-day operations of our facilities and programs. As the Director, you will be the heartbeat of our community. You will work with the Board of Directors to develop and execute strategies to enhance resident engagement and drive growth.
The Director should be college educated, with at least a Bachelor’s Degree in an appropriate field, an aptitude for financial and accounting procedures, and experience in apartment, hospital, hotel, resort, or retirement community management. In addition, the ideal candidate must have observable common sense, and a demonstrable, sincere interest in working with older (Retired) and elderly people.
The week-long bait drop is a cooperative effort between Vermont and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services to stop the spread of the potentially fatal disease.
If you are excited about the opportunity to make a difference and contribute to a thriving community, go to https:// theterracesshelburnevt.com/careers/ to read more and to apply. The deadline for applications is August 26, 2024.
Rabies is a deadly viral disease of the brain that infects mammals. It is most often seen in raccoons, skunks, foxes, and bats, but unvaccinated pets and livestock can also get rabies.The virus is spread through the bite of an infected animal or contact with its
saliva. If left untreated, rabies is almost always fatal in humans and animals. However, treatment with the rabies vaccine is nearly 100 percent effective when given soon after a person is bitten by a rabid animal.
So far this year, 23 animals in Vermont have tested positive for rabies, and 14 of those have been raccoons.
According to wildlife officials, rabid animals often show a change in their normal behavior, but you cannot tell whether an animal has rabies simply by looking at it. People should not touch or pick up wild animals or strays – even baby animals.
service directory
call 985-3091 for rates
SHELBURNE continued
display lead
Shelburne
a cemetery dors round from coffee creemees. from Shelburne
VETERANS
