As their name suggests, Bohemian birds wander from place to place Page 7
Local, regional planners meet to talk Act 250 reform
BRIANA BRADY STAFF WRITER
Last Thursday, the Shelburne Planning Commission met with its regional counterpart, the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, to talk through the Act 181 reforms to Vermont’s development review process, Act 250, and how those changes will impact planning in the county.
The overarching goal of Act 181
CVU
is to promote development in city and village centers while maintaining rural and conservation areas. The focus of Thursday’s conversation was the new future land-use maps that the regional commission is currently drawing up. This meeting was the first of several meant to get input from town officials on how the Chittenden County
See ACT 250 on page 13
Despite the snow, the hallways of Champlain Valley Union High School were packed with parents and students last Thursday night for Celebrate the Arts, the school district-wide student art show.
Teachers from every school had set up student work throughout the halls and classrooms, from pencil drawings to sculpture to work with paper cutouts and crayons. There were also musical and theatrical performances throughout the night
and live student skill demonstrations.
It was the first time in six years the schools put on Celebrate the Arts.
“What makes me so excited about tonight is that I feel like it pulls together the strength of so many of our different groups of folks who work for CVSD into one big event,” Sarah Crum, the district’s director of learning and innovation, said as she took a
See ART on page 12
COURTESY PHOTO
Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale with her family at the Statehouse last week. With her are her mother, Michelle Jacobson, a new South Burlington resident, and kids, Mira (21 months) and Wesley (4 months). See story on page 2.
Full House
BRIANA BRADY STAFF WRITER
Legislators share their first days of 2025 session
STAFF WRITER
Legislators serving Shelburne settled into their seats in the Vermont Statehouse last week to start the new legislative session.
The vibe was generally convivial, as is typical in the early days, before the hard work really begins.
The election of House Speaker Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington, by secret ballot, promised some drama, but even that 111-35 win over Rep. Laura Sibilia, I-Dover, proved less dramatic in the end.
Here’s a snapshot — and some snapshots — of the Shelburne delegation’s opening days, including
how they voted in the Speaker election, if they shared.
Senators, Chittenden
Southeast district
Kesha Ram Hinsdale
D-Shelburne
Senate Majority Leader Committee: Member, Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs. Member, Senate Education.
Seat number: 8, between Sens. Lyons and Chittenden.
Contact: By email at kramhins
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this challenging time.
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Our staff is here for you 24/7 Tiger & Buster
COURTESY PHOTOS
Above: Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale is flanked by Sens. Martine Gulick and Alison Clarkson. Right: Newly elected Rep. Shawn Sweeney with his wife, Randy, and his father, Jack. Sweeney said Jack has lived in Montpelier for 54 years, but last week marked his first visit to the Statehouse.
TOMMY GARDNER
LEGISLATIVE SESSION
continued from page 2
dale@leg.state.vt.us.
Quotable: “I will be focused on economic growth, cost of living, and solving the education finance challenges we face.”
Thomas Chittenden
D-South Burlington
Committees: Vice chair, Finance. Member, Committee on Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs.
Seat number: 9, in between Sen. Ram Hinsdale and Sen. Tanya Vyhosky, D-Essex.
Contact: by email at tchitten den@leg.state.vt.us.
Quotable: “I look forward to continuing the hard work of improving our education finance formula and I welcome the change for my morning committee to dive deeper into opportunities to grow Vermont’s economy, housing stock and opportunities to attract more people to want to live here, work here, stay here and thrive here in the Green Mountain State.”
Virginia “Ginny” Lyons
D-Williston
Committees: Chair, Finance. Member, Senate Appropriations. Third member of the Committee on Committees, which, along with the Lieutenant Governor and President Pro Tem, appoints each senator to standing, joint legislative, and or statewide committees. “I am the first woman to be elected to this position for a full biennium,” Lyons notes.
Seat number: 7, an aisle seat, with Sens. Ram Hinsdale and Chittenden right next to her.
Contact: By email at vlyons@leg.state. vt.us.
Quotable: “Providing adequate resourc-
es for programs supporting Vermonters is critical. At the same time, property taxes, housing, health care and other costs challenge each of us. It is critical that experienced legislators are there to work on these and other issues.”
Shelburne
House
members
Shawn Sweeney
D-Chittenden 7
Committee: Member, Corrections and Institutions. “I am excited to work with Alice Emmons, the Chair of the committee who started her political career being elected to the house in 1982,” Sweeney said. “She is the Dean of the House, being its longest serving member. Her institutional knowledge of politics is vast, and she is a dynamic chair.”
Caucus: Rural caucus, which he said “will help me develop a balanced understanding of how the legislative process affects the entire state.”
Seat number: 51
Speaker vote: Did not answer.
Contact: By email at ssweeney@leg. state.vt.us.
Rep. Kate Lalley
Chittenden-6
Committee: Member, Transportation, for the second biennium.
Caucus: Public Health caucus — she said she is a founding member and on the steering committee.
Seat number: 38, with Rep. Dara Torre, D-Moretown, on her left and Rep. John O’Brien, D-Tunbridge, on her right.
Speaker vote: Krowinski
Contact: By email at klalley@leg.state. vt.us.
PHOTO BY GINNY LYONS
Chittenden Southeast Sen. Ginny Lyons snapped this photo of the Statehouse last week, during the opening days of the 2025 legislative session.
Shelburne Police Blotter: Jan. 6-12
Total reported incidents: 58
Medical emergencies: 27
Mental health incidents: 2
Suspicious incidents: 5
Directed patrols: 41
Citizen assists: 7
Motor vehicle complaints: 1
Car crash: 1
Animal problem: 1
Theft: 2
Harassment: 1
Vandalism: 0
Alarms: 8
Pending investigations: 3
911 Hang-up calls: 2
Jan. 1 at 8:13 a.m., a caller reported a stray dog running loose on Timber Lane. Shelburne Police was dispatched, the officer checked the area but was unable to locate the animal.
Jan. 6 at 8:54 p.m., a caller reported a theft of items from their residence on Martindale Road. The case is pending further investigation.
Jan. 7 at 8:07 a.m., officers assisted in mediating a domestic dispute on Ockert Lane.
Jan. 7 at 8:28 a.m., a caller report-
ed a domestic dispute with her mother and being locked out of the house on Martindale Road. Officers assisted in mediating the dispute.
Jan. 8 at 6:10 p.m., officers assisted in mediating another domestic dispute on Ockert Lane.
Jan. 9 at 8:27 a.m., a caller reported a theft of items from their residence on Gardenside Lane. The case is pending further investigation.
Jan. 9 at 12:08 p.m., a caller requested that a trespass order be issued against an unwanted customer at Kenney Drugs. The officer checked the area but was unable to locate the individual.
Jan. 10 at 6:50 p.m., the caller reported receiving threatening messages on Tracy Lane. The case is pending further investigation.
Note: Charges filed by police are subject to review by the Chittenden County State’s Attorney Office and can be amended or dropped.
Shelburne News
Serving the community of Shelburne A publication of Vermont Community Newspaper Group LLC shelburnenews.com
Advertising Wendy Ewing wendy@shelburnenews.com (802) 238-4980
Advertising Director Judy Kearns judy@otherpapersbvt.com (802) 734-2928
Editor Tommy Gardner tommy@stowereporter.com (802) 253-2101 x25
Staff Writers
Aaron Calvin Liberty Darr
Patrick Bilow Briana Brady
Production/Design
Stephanie Manning stephanie@shelburnenews.com
Kristen Braley kristen@stowereporter.com
General Manager Katerina Werth katerina@stowereporter.com
Billing inquiries Leslie Lafountain leslie@stowereporter.com (802) 253-2101
Advertising submission deadline: Friday at 5 p.m. advertising@shelburnenews.com classifieds@shelburnenews.com
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Calendar submission deadline: Friday at 12 p.m. news@shelburnenews.com
Contact: 1340 Williston Road South Burlington, VT 05403 (802) 985-3091
Vermont U.S. Attorney Kolo Kerest steps down, with Trump to name his succesor
MIKE DONOGHUE
CORRESPONDENT
Nikolas “Kolo” Kerest, the U.S. Attorney for Vermont for the past three years, submitted his resignation, effective Jan. 20.
Kerest told his office last week that he had sent his resignation to both outgoing President Joe Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Kerest, a Shelburne resident, has been a federal prosecutor for more than 14 years and was selected by Biden, a Democrat, for the political appointment three years ago.
Kerest has no immediate future professional plans.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael P. Drescher of Hinesburg will serve as the acting U.S. Attorney starting Jan. 20. Drescher has spent more than 22 years in the office handling both civil and criminal cases, including several high-profile prosecutions.
Drescher was a finalist to become a federal judge in Vermont last year, but the job went to public defender Mary Kay Lanthier of Orwell.
The post of U.S. Attorney is a presidential appointment, and the office is filled as the political party changes at the White House.
President-elect Donald J. Trump, a Republican, will be
responsible for finding a permanent replacement.
Kerest was the replacement for U.S. Attorney Christina Nolan, who was named by Trump in his first term as president.
Since the November election, Nolan’s name has been among a handful that have been floated to be the new federal prosecutor, but it is unknown if she would be interested in returning to the office.
When Kerest took over the office, it had 53 employees, including 26 lawyers.
Kerest was one of at least five Vermont lawyers interviewed by a local screening committee for the federal post in 2021. The others were assistant U.S. Attorneys Eugenia A.P. Cowles and Owen Foster, former assistant U.S. Attorney Tim Doherty, and prominent defense lawyer and former state prosecutor Brooks McArthur of Burlington.
The U.S. Attorney is the top-ranking federal law enforcement official in Vermont. The office is responsible for prosecuting federal crimes in the state, including those related to firearms, narcotics, illegal immigration, exploitation of children and older adults, terrorism, public corruption and civil rights.
In civil cases, the office represents the United States and
its agencies in affirmative fraud cases, defends the United States in civil cases, and collects debts owed to the government.
Kerest began as an assistant U.S Attorney in Vermont in 2010, initially in the civil division, representing federal agencies in defensive and affirmative litigation. He served as the civil division chief from 2014-2019.
In 2019, he moved over to the criminal division, prosecuting a variety of cases, including drug trafficking and gun offenses, violent crime and immigration fraud.
He clerked for former Judge Fred I. Parker of Burlington when he sat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 2000 to 2001.
Kerest majored in math as an undergraduate at Williams College and graduated from Cornell Law School in 2000.
Kerest’s wife of 24 years, Susannah, has been the development director and communications director at the King Street Youth Center. Both have been active in the Shelburne community.
Kerest, a runner, has been involved in coaching youth sports, while his wife has done stints on the Pierson Library Board and town Planning Commission. They have two children.
State opens ice to all anglers
COURTESY PHOTO
Vermont’s state-wide Free Ice Fishing Day is Saturday, Jan. 25. The day is geared toward giving new ice anglers an opportunity to try ice fishing before purchasing equipment or a fishing license, but any angler may ice fish on any body of water open to ice fishing statewide without a license on that day. “Ice fishing is one of the most accessible forms of fishing and can be a great way to introduce people to how much fun fishing can be,” interim Fish and Wildlife commissioner Andrea Shortsleeve said. “It’s also a great way to spend some time outdoors with friends and family. You can skate, sled, make a snow fort, and have a cookout — all while waiting for the flags on your tip-ups to signal when you’ve caught a fish.” For more information, visit vtfishandwildlife.com.
Man sentenced for selling drugs out of Shelburne Road motel
MIKE DONOGHUE CORRESPONDENT
A Shelburne man, who has court records showing four prior federal and state drug convictions, has been sentenced in his most recent case to two years in federal prison for having more than two pounds of cocaine delivered to his motel room last year.
Raul Velez, 33, pleaded guilty in federal court in August to a felony charge of attempted possession with intent to distribute controlled substances at the T-Bird Motor Inn on Shelburne Road last March.
The state of Vermont was paying for his motel stay when he had the drugs shipped internationally to him last year, federal officials said.
Velez, who also is known as “Tony Laboy,” will be on federally supervised release for three years once he is discharged from prison. The federal sentencing guidelines, which are advisory, had proposed a penalty between 30 and 37 months, but a signed plea agreement said both sides set the maximum at 24 months.
Velez has at least three previous drug trafficking convictions over the past two decades, records show, including a federal court case in Vermont for possession of heroin with intent to distribute the drug 20 years ago.
The defendant, who went by Laboy in 2003, was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison for the heroin trafficking case in Vermont.
Court records reflect he had stayed out of trouble for many years until last year’s arrest.
In the most recent case, federal authorities arrested Velez when he retrieved a mail package shortly after it was delivered to the office of the T-Bird Motor Inn at 4405 Shelburne Road last spring. A U.S. Postal Service inspector said the package had a return address for a woman listed in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico.
A border Patrol K-9 unit alerted on the package after officials became suspicious of it, and a preliminary check showed it
contained just over a kilogram of white powder that tested positive for cocaine, records show.
A plan was set up for the delivery of the re-sealed package to the motor inn without any drugs, investigators said.
Velez was taken into custody in the rear parking lot, officials said.
“None of the actions underlying the defendant’s crimes are the result of accident or mistake. Rather, the defendant’s actions appear to have been motivated by his own greed,” the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a sentencing memo. “A sentence that reflects the seriousness of this crime is important not only for specific deterrence but also for general deterrence.”
Velez, who returned to Vermont in November 2023, had been living in Massachusetts in recent years. He had been unable to renew his Massachusetts identification without a birth certificate, so he returned to Vermont in search of new identity records.
He arrived with almost nothing and applied for economic services, records show. He was placed at the Thunderbird Motel while waiting for identification documents to be created so he could seek employment, according to court papers.
While waiting, Velez struggled and ate at the food pantry each day and, at the motel, was surrounded by others in difficult situations and drug activity was common, records show. He hoped to work at a bagel shop but within three weeks of getting his state-issued identification, Velez was arrested on the drug trafficking charge, records show.
According to court records, it appeared Velez also was convicted for a second drug trafficking offense in 2010 for possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and received a one-year prison term. Velez/Laboy also had another state conviction for selling heroin in 2013 and was sentenced to 1-to-4 years in prison with all but 90 days suspended and was placed on probation.
Velez had his state probation revoked in 2016 and was sent back to prison for another 8-to-9-month sentence.
OPINION
You hit the trifecta, MAGA, and it’s your country now
Guest Perspective Walt Amses
First and foremost, I want to congratulate my MAGA adversaries on their sweeping victory in November. No landslide but you still managed to run the table, taking control of the presidency
and both houses of Congress. Your team fought long, hard and dirty to make America great again mainly by “owning the libs,” presumably a worthy goal. Whether it’ll be enough to pay the rent or buy a house, manage monthly bills, put food on the table or provide a better life for your kids is still debatable.
Letters to the Editor
Thanks to Shelburne’s magnificent mentors
To the Editor:
January is National Mentoring Month, so now is a perfect time to reflect on the myriad of worthwhile outcomes that come from young people having engaged, positive role models in their lives. As the Connected Youth mentoring coordinator at Shelburne Community School, I am thrilled to recognize National Mentoring Month and the amazing contributions of our mentors.
We officially recognize mentors by publicly saying thank you, but I know the impact of mentoring efforts requires more than a month to show the proper level of appreciation. The adults
who are part of Shelburne’s Connected Youth mentoring program are responsible for making deep and lasting impacts that are felt every day in our school and community. Shelburne as a whole is better off because of these mentors.
Shelburne is fortunate to have 55 fabulous and dedicated adult mentors who spend about an hour each week with a Shelburne Community School middle-grade student. Our mentors embrace the power of relationships. They know one person can change a young person’s life. They are empowered to make a difference. Our mentors have seen growth, boosted the trajectories of young lives, and made the community
Slogans, no matter how catchy, don’t necessarily translate to viable policy initiatives. And the giddy joy of owning us may fade dramatically when you realize we’re not especially marketable and begin depreciating the moment we leave the showroom.
But, just for the sake of argument, let’s explore some of the
implications of your big win after the heady exuberance fades away like an inch of snow on a sunny March afternoon.
The first priority of the “promises made, promises kept” public relations scenario, facilitated by the reemergence from the shadows of Stephen Miller to set the ship right, will be deporting the 12 million or so “illegals” running rampant throughout the country eating dogs and cats while stealing jobs rightfully yours.
stronger. I am proud of them. They should rightly be proud of themselves.
There’s reciprocity in healthy mentoring relationships where both mentor and mentee develop a shared sense of purpose and respect. Those healthy connections spill out to the world at large, where positive, confident youngsters become amazing adults. On behalf of the entire SCS community, it’s my pleasure to extend a massive dose of thanks to those who’ve made the Connected Youth mentoring program truly remarkable.
Alice Brown Connecting Youth mentoring coordinator at Shelburne Community School
I’ll bet you can’t wait to begin picking fruits and vegetables under a blazing sun, emptying bedpans and changing Depends in nursing homes and working the slaughterhouse disassembly line for $7.25 an hour.
You’re likely thrilled Joe Biden has gone the way of the passenger pigeon and will no longer be redirecting disaster funding from hurricane victims in North Carolina to the Haitian immigrants and get that money headed in your direction where it belongs — after expenses, of course, which might be a little more than you expected.
Estimates on the price of such a relocation range from $300 billion up front to nearly $1 trillion over a decade, stemming from expenditures on detention facilities and staffing to ensure security and safety as well as the complex logistics of an endeavor of this magnitude.
Not to worry though, MAGA, I’m sure a chunk of that cash will be headed your way, as long as you have substantial investments in privately owned prisons or detention centers where migrants will be warehoused as they await their ultimate fate.
No detention centers? No problem. We’ll just build ‘em and make some favored contractors fabulously wealthy in the process. Capitalism at its best.
After Jan. 20, we’ll finally have a government based on biblical teachings as the founders intended — except for the traitorous Thomas Jefferson, who in his 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptist Association declared, “When the American people accepted the establishment clause (of the Constitution) they built a wall of separation between church and state.”
Unfortunately, though, when Christian nationalism determines the law of the land, we’re gonna have to dump Jesus too.
Feed the hungry? Heal the sick? Damn the rich? The son of God would certainly monkey
wrench the Project 25 agenda, being the wokest dude in history, even woker than Oprah.
Nope. There’s no place for either Thomas Jefferson or Jesus Christ in the MAGAverse going forward. They’ll be methodically excised from history books like the Civil War, or revised like January 6th, which as we’ve learned in the last four years was nothing more than a “a day of love.”
I’m sure you’re ecstatic about the J6 Prison Choir being pardoned “on day one,” free to spread the love, perhaps near a federal facility, post office or government building in your neighborhood.
We’re also going to be a nation in physically fine fettle beginning in just a few short weeks: MAGA, meet MAHA — the Make America Healthy Again initiative that promotes raw, unpasteurized milk and denounces those poisonous vaccine mandates.
The MAHA movement is about the freedom to “do your own research” and ignore the deep state medical establishment’s so called “science.” If red staters want to die at twice the rate of the rest of the country in the next pandemic, that’s their right.
In the future, you’ll be able to ignore the lie that raw milk drinkers are 840 times more likely to contract a food borne illness; you’ll be free to believe whatever anti-vaccine rhetoric and Covid conspiracy theories you like; and without government intrusion, telling you can’t benefit from medicines designed for barnyard animals or injecting cleaning fluids, you can live your life in freedom, however short it may be.
I’ve got to admit I’m a little envious, MAGA. While I’m still struggling to put this new normal into some kind of palatable perspective, you can anticipate a future where all unpleasant history is wiped clean and new narratives of American Exceptionalism will emerge. You’ll only hear the news you want to hear, no more far-left lunatics “fact checking” every statement looking for misinformation, propaganda or outright lies. Freedom is in the air; you can almost smell it.
Even Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads, is falling into line, announcing earlier this week that it would effectively end its fact-checking, originally designed to filter out
ILLUSTRATION BY ADELAIDE MURPHY TYROL
Bohemian waxwings: Intrepid winter wanderers
The Outside Story
Meghan McCarthy McPhaul
Walking along a dirt road last winter, I heard a collection of pleasant, sputtering trills coming from a stand of conifers and hardwoods nearby. I’m used to the winter conversation of chickadees around feeder and woods, the cawing of crows and blue jays in the yard, and the high-pitched calls of golden-crowned kinglets sounding from the trees in winter, but I didn’t recognize this sound.
Although I typically keep my phone tucked away on walks, I was glad to have it with me now. My Merlin Bird ID app told me the twittering I heard was Bohemian waxwings. A few days later, just around the corner from the spot where I’d heard them before, a huge flock — more than 100 — rose from a giant white pine tree as I passed along the road, then alit in another tree and nearby snag.
I’d seen these birds before, during two different winters, when a much smaller group descended on the highbush cranberry in our yard and gobbled up all the fruit. Then, I’d mistaken the birds for their cousins, cedar waxwings. While cedar waxwings are yearround residents in most of the Northeast, Bohemians, as their name suggests, are wanderers. Typically, if they show up in winter — or any time of year — it’s because they’re on the hunt for fruit and berries that linger into the coldest season.
“As their name implies, Bohemian waxwings are among the most intrepid of the winter wanderers,” Pamela Hunt, senior biologist for avian conservation at New Hampshire Audubon, said. “They show up in the Northeast
irregularly, roughly every two years, but usually at least a few birds most years — and the nearest place they breed is the western edge of Hudson Bay. They’re more likely to show up here in years when fruit, especially mountain ash, is scarce in their breeding grounds.”
While many of our summer songbirds fly south for the winter, for Bohemian waxwings, the Northeast is, in fact, south. This species breeds in the open evergreen and mixed forests of areas far to our north, in central Alaska, western Canada, Scandinavia, and northern Russia.
Cedar and Bohemian waxwings both eat fruit in winter, and both species tend to gather in flocks, sometimes with each other, along with robins and other frugivorous winter birds.
Bohemians are slightly larger than cedars, but the two waxwing species exhibit similar behavior, and males and females within each species look alike. Both species have crested heads, yellow tips on their tails, and distinct black eye masks.
So, how can you tell one waxwing from another? There are a few ways, but you’ll have to look closely.
While cedar waxwings have yellow-hued bellies and brownish breasts, Bohemians have gray breasts and bellies, with rufous coloring on the undersides of their tails. Bohemian waxwings also have distinct yellow markings on their otherwise black wings, a feature their cedar cousins do not have.
Because they don’t generally return to a specific breeding area or defend breeding territories, Bohemian waxwings don’t have a true song, only the twittering calls
I heard from high in the trees last winter. Breeding pairs may form as early as January and remain monogamous through the breeding season.
Without the benefit of singing, male Bohemian waxwings have other ways to make a good impression. A male will fluff up his feathers and raise and lower his crest to attract a female’s attention. Once she takes notice, he’ll pass her a bit of food. If she’s interested, she’ll pass it back, and they’ll carry on this way for a while.
“The gift isn’t always even edible,” Hunt noted, “So this is a more ritualistic than practical behavior.”
Come springtime, Bohemian waxwings will expand their diets to include sap dripping from maple or birch trees, and they’ll eat insects during the warmer months. But in winter, it’s an all-fruit diet, and they’ll eat apples, crabapples, juniper berries, mountain ash berries, and — lucky for me — highbush cranberries.
Bohemian waxwings will stay in one winter area only as long as it takes to consume the fruit there. The year they appeared in our high-bush cranberry, they stayed only a couple of days, stripping the branches of what had been a bountiful crop of berries. This winter, that broad shrub is again adorned with numerous red fruits. And I’m keeping a lookout for waxwings, both cedar and Bohemian.
Meghan McCarthy McPhaul is editor of Northern Woodlands magazine. 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.
COMMUNITY
Leagues ahead
The Junior League of Champlain Valley welcomed Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark to speak with new members of the 2024-2025 class. A Junior League member and former president, Clark’s inspiring journey and dedication to service, advocacy, and policy reflect the core values of the Junior League—voluntarism and strengthening communities. The fireside chat took place at the Shelburne home of Heidi Upton, JLCV’s Vice President of Membership. Clark made time to meet with the group just days before being sworn in for her second term as Attorney General. Learn more about the Junior League of Champlain Valley at champlainvalley.jl.org. (L-R back row: Brandie Benoit, Tina Zuk, Charity Clark, Jessica McGuire, Nicole Farley, Agnes Kuo; L-R front row: Kaitlyn Shannon, Giovanna Sassi, Caroline Henne, Heidi Upton, Mary Riley)
Community input sought on bike rack locations
The Shelburne Forward Bike and Pedestrian Task Force obtained several new bicycle racks to install at strategic locations around town. Community members can help determine where bike racks are needed and where existing bike racks can be improved by participating in a bike racks survey, at go.uvm.edu/ bikeracks.
Community Notes
Jan. 24at 6:45 p.m.
Turning Stile (Joanne Garton and Aaron Marcus) will play and Luke Donforth will be the caller. All are welcome; all dances are taught; no partner or experience necessary. Cost: $12 adults over 18, $5 kids 12-18/low-income, under 12 free.
aged performers, is based on the 1970 Disney film. The 4th and 5th grade cast includes over 50 students led by Sharon Waxman and Jodi Sanders.
Headlines and
While people may not be biking regularly during winter, participants are asked to think about their biking habits at other times of the year as they answer the questions on the survey. Responses are requested by Jan. 24.
Town hall turns into contra dance hall
Queen City Contras presents a contra dance at Contra Shelburne Town Hall, 5374 Shelburne Rd.,
Bring a pair of clean, softsoled shoes to dance in and a water bottle to stay hydrated. Masks welcome but optional. Please stay home if you have symptoms.
Elementary school kids to stage Disney’s “Aristocats”
Shelburne Community School hosts its winter musical, “Disney’s The Aristocats Kids,” at Champlain Valley Union High School, this weekend.
Showtimes: Friday, Jan. 17, at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday, Jan. 18 at 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.
The jazzy 30-minute musical, designed for elementary school-
This charming, smooth, and adventurous stage adaptation is a celebration of Disney’s exploration into mid-century jazz in Paris. Adapted especially for young performers, this musical includes favorite songs such as “Thomas O’Malley Cat,” “The Aristocats,” and “Ev’rybody Wants to Be a Cat.”
More information and tickets, shelburnepto.org/upcoming-events
Shelburne Age Well February Luncheons
St. Catherine of Siena and Age Well are teaming up to offer two luncheons, Feb. 11 and Feb. 18, for anyone 60 or older, at the St.
Sprouts: The superfood you can grow at home
ANDREA KNEPPER
UVM EXTENSION
Sprouts are a versatile, dramatic addition to foods that go far beyond the basic bean sprout. Sometimes seen as an addition to sandwiches, toppings on salads and garnishes on entrees, sprouts add crunch, flavor and vibrant color to a variety of dishes.
Adding sprouts to meals also enhances the nutritional value. Sprouts typically contain much higher nutrient levels than their full-sized counterparts. While typical nutrient level varies by plant, sprouts continuously deliver a generous nutritional boost.
and cover it with a towel or securely cover a jar with a piece of cheesecloth. Once you understand the process, you will be able to confidently experiment with sprouting setups.
Sprouts need to be kept in a dark spot, so keep them in a cabinet. Or you can cover the sprouting container with a towel to block the light.
You can easily grow fresh sprouts at home in a few days with minimal supplies.
You can easily grow fresh sprouts at home in a few days with minimal supplies. Start by gathering materials you may already have around your house, or stop by your local garden supply or hardware store for a few inexpensive items.
A wide-mouth mason jar with a specially designed sprouting lid is a popular choice for growing sprouts. This type of lid allows for proper drainage between waterings, which is essential for healthy sprout growth.
If you don’t have a sprouting lid, there are plenty of alternatives. For example, you can use a colander set on top of a bowl
COMMUNITY NOTES
continued from page 8
Catherine of Siena Parish Hall, 72 Church Street, Shelburne.
Check-in time is 11:30 a.m. and the meal will be served at noon. There is a $5 suggested donation.
Feb. 11 menu: wheat spaghetti with meatballs, marinara and parmesan cheese, spinach, wheat roll, mandarin oranges in orange Jell-o and milk.
Feb. 18 menu: Swedish meatballs with sauce, rotini noodles, sliced carrots, green beans, wheat dinner roll, pineapple tidbits and milk.
Deadline to register is six days before each meal.
For more information, contact Molly BonGiorno, nutrition coordinator, at 802-662-5283 or mbongiorno@agewellvt. org.
Tickets are also available at the Age Well Office: 875 Roosevelt Highway, Ste. 210; Colchester. Restaurant tickets will be available for distribution for a suggested $5 donation.
Connect yourself with your skeleton through moving
The Pierson Library presents “Awareness Through Movement: Feldenkrais with Gillian Franks,” Thursday, Jan. 16 from
Sprouts are grown from the same seeds used to grow full-sized versions of the same plant. Popular seeds for sprouting are mung beans, alfalfa, broccoli, radish, peas, mustard and sunflower. Legume and grain seeds like lentil, soybean, wheat, rye, buckwheat and millet are gaining in popularity.
Seed companies are starting to market seeds specifically for sprouting. These packages often include sprouting instructions and contain a larger quantity of seeds.
To get started, make sure your sprouting containers are very clean. Wash with hot, soapy water to prevent contamination.
Soak one tablespoon of your seeds according to the package directions. If you’re using regular garden seeds, and this information is not available, estimate soaking time according to seed size. Soak small seeds like alfalfa and broccoli for six to eight hours. Large seeds like mung bean and peas should soak overnight.
Fresh sprouts typically contain much higher nutrient levels than their full-sized
be grown from the same seeds.
Put your soaked seeds in the container and rinse. Drain thoroughly. The mason jar with sprouting jar lid can be left upside down in a bowl to continue to drain. The goal is to have the seeds damp but not sitting in water.
The sprouts need to be kept in the dark, in a cabinet or under a towel. This rinsing and draining process should be repeated twice per day for three to six days. The sprouts are ready to eat when they have leaves and the seed hulls start to fall off.
Not all batches of sprouts will be successful. Discard sprouts if you notice black spots, brown discoloration, sliminess or anything else that seems off with your
sprouts. The most common issues are poor airflow or insufficient drainage and can be resolved with small adjustments to your setup.
After you’ve checked that your sprouts are in good health, give them a final rinse. Pat dry, removing as much moisture as possible, and store in the refrigerator. Most varieties of sprouts will last about five days when refrigerated.
Experiment with different seeds to explore the possibilities of this easy-togrow superfood.
Andrea Knepper is a UVM Extension Master Gardener from Bolton.
6:30-7:30 p.m.
Gillian Franks, a guild certified Feldenkrais practitioner, leads a journey inward, through verbal queuing, to connect you with your skeleton.
The result is an intrigued nervous system and a very relaxed body, just the thing for folks resolved to a deeper bodily connection and greater comfort in their skin. Bring a yoga mat and small towel.
Sign-ups open for state chess championships
The 38th annual Vermont State Scholastic Chess Championships will be held Saturday, March 29 at Lamoille Union High School in Hyde Park.
This is the selection tournament for Vermont’s nominees to the national Denker, Haring, Barber and Rockefeller Invitationals and is open to Vermont students in grades K-12. Participants must be Vermont residents or be enrolled in a Vermont public or private school — resident home school students are eligible.
Chessboards, pieces and clocks will be provided. No prior tournament experience necessary. High school and 8th grade sections will be U.S. Chess Federation-rated. Sections for grades K-7 will be unrated.
Individual and team prizes will be awarded. All players must pre-register for the event. No walk-ins allowed. Registration closes March 23 but may close prior to
then due to space limitations. Online registration only. Complete rules and registration information at vermontchess.org.
CREMATION SERVICES
COURTESY PHOTO
counterparts although both can
SPORTS
Redhawk teams keep making big strides this winter term
Alpine skiing
Coach: Steve Francisco
Last year: Girls: Division I state champions. Boys: Division I state champions.
Returnees: Girls: Rachel Bialowoz, junior; Addie Bartley, junior; Carly Strobeck, senior, Elizabeth Nostrand, senior; Whitney Butnor, sophomore. Boys: George Francisco, senior; Ray Hagios, senior; Jacob Sternberg, senior; Sebastian Bronk, junior; Kai Schultz, junior; Sawyer Lake, sophomore.
Newcomers: Girls: Too early to tell. Boys: Theo Skapof, first year.
Outlook: After coming home with three trophies at last year’s Vermont state championship competition — the Division I boys, Division I girls and combined state titles — the Champlain Valley alpine skiers have set a high bar. Lucky for them, they are returning some key pieces from those winning teams on both the boys’ and girls’ sides.
For the girls, five new skiers join the talented roster, although they will take some time to figure out who will step forward. On the boys’ side, first-year student Theo Skapof joins a deep bench that regularly places five skiers in the top seven.
“It’s kind of a luxury having the strength in numbers of our team and the talent pool on my team is so deep,” coach Steve Francisco said. “I’m super opti-
See PREVIEW on page 11
WHY GO LOCAL?
Redhawks hoopsters keep on winning
LAUREN READ CORRESPONDENT
Girls’ basketball
Champlain Valley 54, Burr and Burton 31: The Champlain Valley girls’ basketball team rebounded from its first loss of the season with a win over Burr and Burton on Saturday.
Zoey McNabb had 31 points to pace the Redhawks, who moved to 6-1 with the win. Rose Bunting added 10 points and
eight rebounds for CVU, Kaitlyn Jovell chipped in with eight points.
Boys’ ice hockey
South Burlington 8, Champlain Valley 0: Champlain Valley moved to 1-6 this season with a loss to South Burlington on Saturday.
Tommy Barnes made 35 saves and Frankie Menard stopped four shots for the Redhawks.
Boys’ basketball
Rice 62, Champlain Valley 42: The Champlain Valley boys’ basketball team fell to Rice on Saturday, losing by 20 points to the Green Knights.
Champlain Valley grabbed its first win of the season on Wednesday, beating Essex 3-2. Jack Bryan scored with 20 seconds remaining in the game to lift CVU to the win. Brady Jones had a goal and an assist for the Redhawks, while Teigen Holmes also scored. Jesse McCray made 21 saves to earn the win in goal.
Owen Scott had 17 points for the Redhawks, who fell to 4-4 with the loss. Jacob Armstrong grabbed 10 rebounds and Brady Gangl added eight points.
Girls’ ice hockey
Essex 4, Champlain ValleyMount Mansfield 0: Champlain Valley-Mount Mansfield fell to Essex on Wednesday.
Ella Gilbert stopped 26 shots in goal for the CougarHawks. CVU-MMU dropped to 2-5 with the loss.
The business next door donates nearly twice as much as big-box stores and online retailers to local non-profits, events and teams.
PHOTO BY AL FREY
The Champlain Valley girls’ ice hockey team fell 8-0 to nearby rivals South Burlington over the weekend.
Area school data breached in cybersecurity attack
LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
Superintendents at South Burlington School and Champlain Valley School districts notified parents and staff last week that data at both districts was compromised due to a cybersecurity breach of PowerSchool, a national information software used by nearly half of Vermont school districts.
PREVIEW
continued from page 10
mistic in terms of the outlook for the season because of the strength in numbers we have.”
Nordic skiing
Coach: Sarah Strack
Last year: Girls: Division I state champions. Boys: Third in the Division I state championships.
Returnees: Girls: Charlotte Crum, Annalise Wood, Lilyanna Mittlestadt, Annika Johnson, Senja Erickson, Maeve Parker Clark. Boys: William Wallace, Luke Buehler, Brian Simkins, Dylan Elders.
Newcomers: Girls: Alexa Davis, Kate Sayre, Martha Odachowski, Fia Cook. Boys: Charlie Schramm, Axel Macik, Jack Biunno, Story Holmes.
Outlook: The Champlain Valley Nordic ski team will be looking to rebuild this season with a smaller roster, but the girls’ team returns many of the skiers who won the Division I state championship last season. Skiers
AMSES
continued from page 6
the propaganda that permeates cyberspace, and instead rely on its users to police false or misleading information.
The company, according to global policy chief Joel Kaplan wants to “undo the mission creep that made the rules too restrictive and prone to over-enforcement.” As we’ve learned — or soon will — over-enforcement of information accuracy is a vile
According to a PowerSchool media relations spokesperson Chelsea Le, the company became aware on Dec. 28 of a potential cybersecurity incident involving unauthorized access to certain PowerSchool SIS information through one of the community-focused customer portals, PowerSource.
“PowerSchool is not experiencing, nor expects to experience, any operational disruption and contin-
ues to provide services as normal to our customers,” Le wrote in an email.
As soon as the company learned of the incident, Le said, the team engaged cybersecurity response protocols and mobilized a cross-functional response team, including senior leadership and third-party cybersecurity experts.
While not all school districts that use PowerSchool may not have
been subject to the data breach, superintendent of CVSD Adam Bunting told families on Jan. 8 that the district’s own information technology and data departments confirmed that student, faculty and staff data was, in fact, part of the information that was compromised.
“Most Vermont schools also had their data compromised,” he wrote.
like Crum, Wood and Mittlestadt will lead the Redhawks as they look to claim yet another state title.
On the boys’ side, CVU will be looking to improve on last year’s third place in the D-I state championship and will use some of the first part of the season to develop the younger skiers.
“We are in a rebuilding year and have a smaller team this year,” coach Sarah Strack said. “Our goals are to remain competitive for the season.”
Up next: Tuesday, Jan. 14, at South Burlington, after press deadline
Indoor track and field
Coach: Dave Kogut
Last year: Girls: Division I state champions. Boys: Fifth in the Division I state meet.
Returnees: Girls: Alice Kredell, senior; Claire Kim, senior; Audrey Neilson, junior; Lydia Donahue, junior; Izzy Gravina-Budis, junior; McKen-
na Rettew, junior. Boys: Treson McEnaney, sophomore; Ben Holoch, sophomore; Charlie Garavelli, senior; Quintin Fortier, junior; AJ Sicard, junior.
Newcomers: Girls: Bea Taylor, first year; Alenna Makris, sophomore; Olivia Neilson, first year; Maddie Deyo, first year. Boys: Charlie Meisenzahl, first year.
Outlook: After capturing the program’s first Division I indoor track and field last year, the Champlain Valley girls’ track and field team will look to make it two in a row.
The Redhawks will be led by a strong returning group of distance runners, with Kredell, Neilson and Donahue coming off a great cross-country running season, and they will look to carry that success into the indoor track season.
On the boys’ side, CVU will look to its relay teams and individual performances to improve on last year’s performance in the D-I state championships.
South Burlington superintendent Violet Nichols sent a similar message to the community last Wednesday.
Bunting told families that the Vermont Agency of Education is actively working with PowerSchool to determine the next steps and assess the damage the breach may have caused.
“We do not know the extent of this breach at this time but rest assured that our data team is working to provide a clearer picture of this incident.”
— Violet Nichols
“We have been in constant contact with PowerSchool today to ascertain how our district was affected,” she wrote. “We do not know the extent of this breach at this time but rest assured that our data team is working to provide a clearer picture of this incident.”
“We understand that the situation is concerning and will keep you informed as we learn more,” he wrote.
In the meantime, both school district’s information technology and data teams have been working to determine the extent of the incident.
“PowerSchool is committed to protecting the security and integrity of our applications,” Le wrote. “We take our responsibility to protect student data privacy and act responsibly as data processors extremely seriously.”
restriction of free speech. In these next few, heady years, our American exceptionalism may very well blossom into a new era of American territorial expansionism — call it MAGAfest Destiny — as we consider absorbing Canada as our 51st state “through economic force;” purchasing Greenland for “national security reasons” despite it not being for sale;
and refusing to rule out military force in retaking the Panama Canal.
You hit the trifecta, MAGA and it’s your country now: total control; no one to interfere; no one to rock the boat; and no one else to blame if it goes off the rails. I wish you luck.
Walt Amses lives in North Calais.
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Above
A
Below left: A CVU RoboHawk adjusts the team’s robot during a demonstration at Celebrate the Arts.
Right from top: a display of student welding work; the CVU band plays
student Clark Clark talks about their AP Art work with an attendee
ART continued from page 1
break from handing out free pizza in the cafeteria.
In August, a group of art teachers approached Crum about bringing back the event after it had fallen by the wayside due to COVID-19 lockdowns and social distancing. Together, over the last few months, they coordinated with other teachers across the district to collate pieces, performances, and exhibitions.
In addition to some more traditional artistic media, the student work on display was inclusive of skills that some may not always think of as art, although they
involve creativity or a knack for design.
The RoboHawks, who design and build robots for competition, put on a demonstration of their remote-controlled robots in the cafeteria. There was student welding, video editing and engineering work.
In the engineering shop, teacher Olaf Verdonk drew a small crowd as he presented 3D printed and laser cut objects the students made.
“Has anybody ever thrown a
PHOTOS BY TYLER COHEN
Left:
Champlain Valley Union ceramics student demonstrates their skill on the throwing wheel.
in the theater;
ART continued from page 12
boomerang that didn’t come back?” He said, holding up a tri-pointed boomerang students had laser cut from a recycled Cheerios box, “What do you call a boomerang that doesn’t come back?” A child watching provided the answer: a stick. Verdonk then successfully sent the boomerang floating in a circle around the group, catching it in his hand to a smattering of applause — it was decidedly not a stick.
Down the hall, student ceramicists sat at their wheels throwing clay and the CVU band played in the theater. Later, the high school drama department performed scenes from their fall musical, “Footloose,” and the jazz band played in a hallway while people stopped to listen.
school’s gallery space to talk about their process and the inspiration behind their work.
For Clark Clark, a senior from Shelburne, that inspiration ranged from conversations with their mother about one’s sense of self to a critique of American self-glorification.
“I was inspired by a lot of the classic illustrations from the ‘50s and the ‘60s,” Clark said, pointing to an interactive piece they made that allows an observer to pull on part of the work to move the figures in the image. “It’s like the Coca Cola ads and the grilling and all the nuclear families are so happy that, like, there’s something off about it.’
“I am hopeful that this is the beginning of an annual event that just keeps growing and growing and growing.”
— Sarah Crum
Crum said the district took the opportunity to try to connect people with services they might need.
“We have solicited all of these different community organizations that might be helpful. So, we worked really closely with (the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity), but there are folks coming who can provide housing assistance, fuel assistance, scholarships for childcare,” she said.
The district also chartered buses from each of the community schools to make transportation easier and provided free meals and childcare.
However, the focus remained on the young artists. Throughout the evening, AP Art students stood next to some of their pieces in the
Clark, like other AP Art students, plans to study art in college, and some of the work they displayed was part of the portfolio they sent with their applications.
Another senior, Kate Silverman, who stood next to her black and white photographs, is considering a future in photojournalism and submitted school artwork as part of an application portfolio.
Presenting artwork from all the schools exhibited how students can grow as artists throughout their school years — from learning how to combine colors to make new ones to making detailed pieces of social and personal commentary.
“I am hopeful that this is the beginning of an annual event that just keeps growing and growing and growing,” Crum said.
ACT 250 continued from page 1
Regional Planning Commission is mapping its area.
One of the biggest changes discussed was how certain areas will be designated at the state level.
“So right now, we’ve got downtowns, village centers, growth centers, new town centers, et cetera. Those are all going to be consolidated,” Kate McCarthy, senior planner with the regional planning commission, said. “Everything’s going to either be a center or a neighborhood”
Eventually, after the maps are drawn, town selectboards will be able to opt in to a local development review process for those centers and neighborhoods, rather than having to go through a state review. This change aims to increase the speed at which new housing can be built, and the regional commission will establish housing targets for the next 25 years for each municipality.
According to McCarthy, the level at which a selectboard participates in the state review process will depend on which “tier” the board decides to pursue. If a selectboard opts to fully take on Act 250 locally, it will be considered tier 1A. However, municipalities can also choose to either continue with the state process as is, tier 2, or pursue partial local exemptions for Act 250, tier 1B.
Although it is ultimately up to the selectboard, Aaron DeNamur, Shelburne’s planning director, doesn’t foresee the town taking on the entire development review process quite yet.
“We do not have the staff capacity to enforce Act 250 in Shelburne. I would like to see us pursue the partial exemptions of tier 1B in certain service parts of town,” DeNamur said.
Kate McCarthy and her colleague, Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission planning program director Taylor Newton, also laid out their draft future Shelburne land-use map
still going to be broken down into smaller categories that prioritize where and how development will happen.
The feedback process on the draft map lasted the better part of an hour, with commissioners suggesting changes to how the regional planners had designated parts of town and asking for clarity on designations. Much of the conversation revolved around how both the town and the regional planning commission imagine development to proceed around the village center and along Route 7 – whether there needs to be more planning done before the area could be designated as “planned growth.”
Because Shelburne’s current town plan expires in 2027, the commissioners have been working on their own map of the town, and most of the feedback came out of that work.
According to Aaron DeNamur, the regional plan and the municipal one might influence each other, but they are separate processes.
“They have to rhyme with each other,” DeNamur said. “When they review our town plan, (the) Regional Planning Commission, that’s basically what they’re look-
ing at: does your town plan rhyme with the regional plan and the state’s planning goals?”
The regional commission plans to have the future land-use map and housing targets prepared for formal approval by this summer. The new tier system which the selectboard may opt into will then come into effect at the end of the year. Until then, however, there continue to be some exemptions for certain kinds of housing development that the state has already put in place.
For the last five years, Shelburne has been trying to move on more housing development.
“Shelburne especially did not develop that much housing, and we’re seeing the effects of that right now, and we have for the last few years, as we’ve seen the housing crisis kind of explode in our face, we have been making efforts to try to try to address that,” DeNamur said.
The new state center designations on the regional map will open the door to more state funding opportunities for economic development and infrastructure development, according to DeNamur, making it easier for the town to move forward with its plans.
TOWN OF SHELBURNE DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD
Notice of Public Hearings to be held February 5, 2025, 7:00 PM Town Hall Meeting Room #1 and Remote via Zoom
SUB17-03R1: Application by MJL Holdings, LLC for Sketch Plan approval of a 2-lot subdivision. Property at 6 Luke Lane is in the Residential Zoning District and Stormwater Overlay District.
SUB12-07R5, SP93-01R4, CU99-24R6: Application by Dubrul Family, LLC for Conditional Use, Site Plan, and PUD Final Amendment approval for an addition to the existing Honda Dealership. Property at 3328 Shelburne Road is in the Mixed-Use Zoning District and Stormwater Overlay District.
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88429045638?pw d=4NTdVkP902t3wrm2J4IEc0FIBUJdHb.1
Meeting ID: 884 2904 5638
Passcode: 8jbc8h
January 16, 2025
2025 Rebates for Your Home
If you’re planning on improving the efficiency of your home or apartment this year, take a look at Efficiency Vermont’s residential offers, including:
Air Sealing and Insulation
• Up to $9,500 off weatherization projects with an Efficiency Excellence Network contractor (depending on household income)
• Up to $15,000 for home repairs (for income-eligible households) that are necessary before weatherization
• DIY weatherization: $100 back on select do-it-yourself projects
Heating, Cooling, and Water Heating
• Air-source heat pumps: discounts starting at $350 + income bonus
• Ground source heat pump: up to $2,100/ton + $500 income bonus
• Smart thermostats: $100 rebate for select ENERGY STAR models
• Water heaters: up to $5000 for select heat pump water heaters
• Window air conditioners: $100 rebate for select ENERGY STAR models
• Wood pellet furnaces & boilers: $6,000 rebate
• Wood and pellet stoves: $400 discount at select retailers
Electric Vehicles
• Up to a $7,500 federal tax credit
ENERGY STAR® Appliances
• $25-$40 for dehumidifiers
• $200-$400 rebate on heat pump clothes dryers
• $400 for heat pump dryer/washer combination units
Lighting and Electrical
• Up to $10,000 for electric panel upgrades (for income-eligible households)
• $100 rebate for qualifying LED fixtures for indoor growing.
Income-based Assistance
• Free lighting, appliances, energy consultations, weatherization, and more — visit efficiencyvermont.com/free-products to see if you are eligible.
Financing options available starting at 0% interest
Not sure where to start?
Sign up for a FREE Virtual Home Energy Visit! Call 888-921-5990 to learn more
(Translation services are available)
Additional rebates may also be available from your electric or gas utility. All rebates are subject to availability and eligibility. For the most up-to-date information, visit: www.efficiencyvermont.com/rebates