School budget stems tax hike but cuts staff and services
BRIANA BRADY STAFF WRITER
After outcry over the rise in property taxes last year caused by the change in Vermont’s school funding formula, the Champlain Valley School Board adopted a budget last week that, if passed, will reduce the property tax rate across all its towns.
However, those reductions come with a decrease in services for students and cuts to personnel.
At $102.7 million, the entire budget is still rising by almost $1 million, but the school district estimates property tax rates in most of the towns will drop around 4 percent from last year, saving most taxpayers $80 per $100,000 of assessed value. The savings will be greater in Hinesburg and less in Charlotte with a reduction of $100 and $30 per $100,000 in assessed value respectively.
See SCHOOL BUDGET on page 13
Shelburne creates commission to boost local economy
BRIANA BRADY STAFF WRITER
Shelburne has established a new commission that wants to change the town’s approach to business.
The economic and community development commission, which will work in tandem with an attached nonprofit, Experience Shelburne, plans to encourage collaboration among Shelburne establishments and shape the town as a destination for new business and tourism.
Plans for the commission began
months ago when members of the selectboard picked back up the findings from an economic development study of the town that had been concluded in 2021 by Lecky Consulting.
According to selectboard member Andrew Everett, the report had been put aside in lieu of other priorities during the pandemic, but this past April, he and Chunka Mui started exploring some of its conclusions and recommendations in order
See COMMISSION on page 11
PHOTO BY AL FREY
Eva on ice
Secretary of State addresses Vermont civic health
BRIANA BRADY STAFF WRITER
Last Thursday, community members from across the region gathered in the auditorium at the South Burlington public library to hear about Vermont’s new civic health index with Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas.
The presentation in South Burlington was the second of five that Copeland Hanzas and her team are making around the state to get feedback from constituents about the index, which analyzes data about Vermonters’ civic engagement in areas such as voting, volunteering, community, cultural access, and trust in media and government.
Overall, the index shows that Vermonters are often more civically engaged than people in other states, especially when it comes to activities like connecting with neighbors or attending public meetings. However, in the
presentation, Copeland Hanzas pointed out that there are some serious gaps in the data.
“A lot of what we want to focus on going forward is gathering more data,” she said. “One of the glaring omissions, or area of core data, is around the experiences of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) Vermonters.”
The secretary of state’s office partnered with the National Conference on Citizenship for the initial dataset and formed an advisory board of individuals from a slate of Vermont agencies and organizations to help contextualize the numbers. According to a note at the end of the report, the reliance on existing datasets like the Census Current Population Survey meant that the sample size was often too small to reliably break down the data into smaller groups.
For example, while the number of Vermonters who reported talking or spending time with a neighbor was 8 percent
Shelburne office seekers a familiar slate of candidates
The deadline has come and gone for folks seeking elected office at Town Meeting Day, March 4. The Shelburne town clerk’s office received four completed petitions for the town meeting ballot.
All four candidates are incumbents and all four are unopposed on the ballot.
They are:
• Town moderator: Thomas A. Little
• Selectboard, three-year term:
Michael X. Ashooh
• Selectboard, two-year term: Luce
R. Hillman
• School board, three-year term:
Erika Lea
higher than the national percentage, it’s unknown whether that remains true across different demographics. Differences in experiences and accessibility amongst Vermonters could inform the steps the office takes to promote civic engagement.
Additionally, while Vermont might have ranked high amongst other states for several indicators, Copeland Hanzas said, that doesn’t mean that there’s no room for growth.
Although the percent of Vermonters who reported contacting a public official was twice that of the nation at large, she said, “we shouldn’t pat ourselves on the back if really only 18 percent of people have contacted a public official in Vermont.”
Presented alongside the information from the National Conference on Citizenship were the results from the Youth Civic Health Survey, which the secretary’s office coordinated with the nonprofit UP for Learning and the YMCA. While school systems might help keep certain forms of civic engagement — group participation or volunteering — high among young people, more than a third of young respondents said they did not plan to register to vote when they become eligible.
At the library, the overview of the index was followed by a panel discussion with representatives from Vermont Humanities, University of Vermont’s Master of Public Administration program, UP for Learning, and CCTV Center for Media and Democracy. Attendees then broke out into groups discussions
Both the panel and group discussions focused on what participants imagined the next steps to be, whether that be gathering more data or investing in arts and culture. The small group discussions spurred recommendations about making meetings more accessible, creating welcoming communities, to simplifying the language used to communicate about governing.
“This is really the starting point of conversation that I think is critical for Vermont to be engaged, because we don’t know whether the data is accurate, really, until we give people an opportunity to look at it, read it and react,” Copeland Hanzas said.
Before the end of February, Copeland Hanzas will also be stopping in St. Johnsbury, Barre, and Rutland.
State unveils five-district state education plan
ETHAN WEINSTEIN VTDIGGER
State officials unveiled the broad strokes of Gov. Phil Scott’s education proposal last week, a plan that includes sweeping changes like consolidating Vermont’s dozens of school districts to just five and adopting a foundation formula.
“We know that the work that we’re describing here is going to be really challenging,” Zoie Saunders, Vermont’s secretary of education, said in a briefing before the entire Legislature. “I ask you to join us so we can be bold together.”
serious task of transforming our education system so all Vermont kids have the opportunity to thrive,” House Speaker Jill Krowinski, D-Burlington, and Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Baruth, D/P-Chittenden Central, said in a joint statement. “The details matter and we need to get it right.”
The unified call for education finance reform arrives after education property taxes rose an average of 13.8 percent last year. This year, the tax department has predicted a 5.9 percent increase in property taxes.
Scott has said he will put forward a plan to prevent any property tax increases this year. Officials last week did not address how that will be achieved, but documents provided to legislators said it would involve “infusing other State funds on a one-time basis.”
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Scott, a Republican, first hinted at the proposal during his inaugural address earlier this month, including a shift to a foundation formula and a change in school governance structures. In a foundation formula, districts are provided a base amount of money per student.
While the administration’s presentation heralded the beginning of a push for their education omnibus package, some key details remained scarce.
The proposal eliminates the concept of “supervisory unions,” suggesting instead five regional districts. Those districts would be the Champlain Valley region, Winooski Valley region, Northeast region, Southwest region and Southeast region. Each district would have roughly 10,000-15,000 students, except for the Champlain Valley district, which would have closer to 34,000.
Vermont’s current system lacks “incentives” for districts to save money, and is “too complicated for people to understand,” said Craig Bolio, Vermont’s tax commissioner, who joined Saunders in making the presentation.
Democratic legislative leaders expressed positive initial reactions to the wide-ranging proposal.
“The Legislature and the Governor are aligned in the belief that we must take on the
Officials did not specify what the base payment per student would be under the proposed funding formula. But Saunders said it would be “very generous … compared to spending in other states,” calling the decision “the most critical part” of the funding change.
During a short press conference following the briefing, officials indicated the base would be greater than that outlined in an October 2024 report, which suggested the state could save $400 million on education by totally changing the footprint of its public school system.
The exact number would arrive in the “coming weeks,” according to Saunders. The funding plan would also account for students who are more expensive to educate, includ-
Five District Model:
School Boards: Shared responsibility of students across communities, one school board for each district, elected, part-time board members, one central office for each district
EDUCATION PLAN
continued from page 2
ing English language learners and economically disadvantaged students.
Districts, in the new system, could choose to raise limited additional funds through local property taxes.
Bolio, during the press conference, said there would be a “cap” on additional spending, though the exact cap would be a “policy choice.” Speaking to the mechanism for raising additional funds, he said there would be a “state guarantee to make sure the disparities between property wealth is accounted for in the system.”
To address consolidation, schools will “be assessed based on financial viability and educational quality,” according to the documents, and “schools that fall short of these standards will be offered a range of options, including resource sharing or merging, with support from the AOE.” The plan also draws a distinction between “small due to necessity” and “small by choice,” a distinction that Saunders said would be “practical and intentional.”
Following the briefing, Saunders indicated decisions related to school closures and consolidation would be a state decision.
“What we’ve been hearing is, historically, we’ve been pushing down a lot of these really hard decisions at the local level,” she said. “Districts are working to think intentionally around how they can consolidate to provide different resources for students, but
they often tell us that they lack cover from the state to be able to make those important decisions.”
The plan calls for “regional comprehensive high schools, central middle schools, local elementaries,” according to the documents. Currently, Vermont has 52 supervisory unions and supervisory districts — the overarching administrative units that often include multiple boards and school districts.
The five districts would have part-time elected school board members who would be paid. To make up for the reduction in local control, the plan proposes “school advisory councils.” The councils, composed of caregivers, educators and students, would have input on budget development and strategic planning.
A proposed and preliminary timeline included in the plan documents suggests adopting the foundation formula for the 202627 school year. The following year would “fully move to (the) new funding and governance system.” The 2028-29 school year and into the future would involve “(rescaling) the school portfolio.”
Not everyone thought positively of Scott’s ideas. The state’s teachers union, the Vermont NEA, panned the plan’s lack of specifics.
“Today’s risky proposal is big on rhetoric but short on the details. And the details matter — a lot,” Don Tinney, the union’s president, said in a statement.
Shelburne Police Blotter: Jan. 20-26
Total reported incidents: 67
Traffic stops: 12
Warnings: 10
Tickets: 2
Medical emergencies: 17
Mental health incidents: 1
Suspicious incidents: 6
Directed patrols: 41
Citizen assists: 4
Motor vehicle complaints: 2
Car crash: 6
Animal problem: 1
Theft: 1
Fraud: 0
Alarms: 12
Pending investigations: 2
Jan. 20 at 12: 39 a.m., an officer issued several tickets for cars violating the winter parking ban on Woodbine Road.
Jan. 23 at 10: 07 a.m., Shelburne Police assisted Burl-
ington Police with the funeral procession for Border Patrol Agent David Maland.
Jan. 24 at 6: 55 p.m., a caller reported a stray dog running loose on Ockert Lane, but officers couldn’t locate the pooch. Jan. 24 at 3: 19 p.m., a caller reported items being stolen from their motor vehicle on Pine Haven Shores Road. The case is pending further investigation.
Jan. 24 at 4: 27 p.m., officers assisted in mediating a domestic dispute at the T-Bird Motel.
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
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PHOTO BY LEE KROHN This porcupine put on quite the spiny show, puffing out for the camera, which was a safe distance away.
OPINION
The intersection of commerce and climate is on a cold road
Guest Perspective
Walt Amses
My first walk in several days finds me leaning into a frigid, blistering wind, reminding me to be more specific with my entreaties to the snow gods. Simply wishing for something as vague as “the kind of winter we used to have” leaves too much to chance, and picturing deep, powdery snow, bright blue skies and windless temperatures in the mid 20s as you shush along through the woods might instead wind up feeling like a second ice age.
The need to get out transcends any sense of self-preservation as I realize after about a mile that, a few years ago, this would have been one of those “appointed rounds” days, when the school bus and the postal service van, delivering their precious cargo and snippets from the outside world were all I could count on seeing. Even as the stiff breeze scours the road surface of whatever sand the town plow puts down, leaving long stretches of glare ice, the industrial heartbeat of business pulses on, weather defiant, tightly scheduled and GPS monitored.
I’m looking at a microcosm, a tiny but telling data point in the half century since the pitched battle to save the environment began in earnest on the first Earth Day in 1970, when I donned a suit and tie and pedaled a borrowed bicycle to a temporary gig selling newspaper advertising.
It was virtue signaling decades before the pejorative term was coined by a British journalist to describe moralists making the right impression while not actually doing much. A photo of the stunt still stings a bit, even though my high horse was someone else’s Schwinn.
No bikes this frigid afternoon, but I’ve seen both UPS and FedEx driving in a series of mystifying loops, passing me multiple times, traveling in different directions. I encounter Amazon’s ubiquitous logo, subliminally offering a smile of customer satisfaction — an arc bridging the company’s A-to-Z inventory and an arrow intimating your order is quite possibly already on the way.
Americans have evolved into a new kind of shopping culture that isn’t especially infatuated with
going to the physical store. But we still want things. We want those things delivered and we want them now.
When the first shopping malls arrived in the 1950s, the idea of clustering businesses in one place, under the same roof, featuring “anchor” shops to draw in customers and dozens of other businesses, was a winning retail concept. With food courts, movie theaters, arcades and even overnight accommodations as well as other amenities designed to improve the retail experience, malls became destinations for entire families, especially teenagers.
The notion was that it would be far more convenient, not to mention profitable, if you could do all these things in one place.
Malls and shopping centers were perfectly situated for a 20th century described as “extraordinarily social” by Derek Thompson in “The Anti-Social Century,” a wide ranging piece in the Atlantic Monthly that explores America’s “self-imposed solitude” and some of the factors responsible. We’re still able to do all of those things in one place, it’s just that the place has inadvertently become the living room couch.
Between 1900-1960, Thompson reports that both church membership and labor union participation surged while marriage rates reached record highs post-World War II, leading to the “baby boom.”
Book clubs and volunteer groups thrived, the branch-library system was the envy of the world, and developers built theaters, music venues, playgrounds and gathering places. But the togetherness wouldn’t last. Big changes were afoot, documented in 2000 by political scientist Robert D. Putnam in “Bowling Alone.”
As the country embraced what Thompson called “unbridled individualism” in 1970, our involvement in institutions, including marriage and community organizations, began to fall off. Every social activity and demographic group Putnam tracked experienced a similar fate and while numerous reasons were cited.
The automobile and television set were the gateway to a more private life. Cars meant distance and separation, leading to suburbs, backyard patios and pools. The glowing television quickly
supplanted the hearth as the focal point of family gatherings. Most Americans gained over six hours of leisure time between 19651995, with almost all of it dedicated to watching television.
A narrow gorge opening to a wider valley channels the bitter wind into every loose thread, faulty seam and access point, worming its way through multiple layers seeking exposed flesh. The sun, nothing more than a purple smudge just over the tree line offers little help, still recovering from winter solstice almost a month ago. Were I on the other side of the country right now, the wind would be a hurricane force blowtorch.
The irony of it all suddenly hits me as I pass through the only crossroad on my four-mile route. I imagine it’s the intersection of climate change and commerce — natural adversaries for the most part but each wildly unpredictable and relentlessly focused on devouring everything in their path.
Big business is everywhere now and, strangely enough, global warming has become a big business in its own right, generating billions of dollars annually to combat its impact.
The trajectory of monetizing everything finds millions of us exercising our individuality striving to be like everyone else, sofa bound but content, connected to hundreds of media outlets, television stations and movies. We can commune with other believers through a variety of social media, no matter what our beliefs might be.
A couple of simple keystrokes will have anything we want delivered to our door in a matter of days, sometimes hours. Groceries? Not a problem. Tonight’s dinner? Sure. A table to eat it on? It’s en route. You don’t need a mall when you have a smart phone.
There’s really not much traffic out here on a winter afternoon, not yet anyway, but I worry about our precious solitude, especially in light of what economists predict will be a government more interest in making the country safer for oligarchs than ordinary people. I wonder if it’s gotten even colder as I turn my back to the wind and head home.
Walt Amses lives in North Calais.
It’s déjà vu all over again in the new Gilded Age
Guest Perspective
Elayne Clift
It’s déjà vu all over again. The robber barons are back. The wealthy have their cottages by the sea in the Hamptons, in international mansions, and at Ma-a-Lago instead of Newport. Their yachts are shining and staffed while rivers of money flow from the coffers of billionaires who escape paying taxes and offer their obscene wealth in exchange for political favor and
power. Clearly, we are once again a nation of prospering oligarchs and exploited paupers.
The glittering Gilded Age that reached its apex between 1880 and 1920 was a golden era of opulent architecture, extravagant fashion, expensive art, and expansive parties. Built on the economic growth that occurred following the Civil War and Reconstruction, businessmen and bankers made out like bandits by investing in railroads, factories, and various industries that produced the raw materials needed for the devel-
Letters to the Editor
Political flags should not be on pole with U.S. flag
To the Editor:
As a one-time Champlain Valley Union director when my children were at CVU, and as a veteran who served my country, I was surprised about flags flying at CVU (“CVU gives students more say in what flags fly at schools,” Jan. 9, 2025).
I suggest that the directors and the administrators review the history of the use of flags and rewrite a clear process for what flags can fly at CVU and why.
Let me suggest, from my own history:
• A flag is just a piece of cloth. Anyone can produce a flag.
• The flags we have at government sites represent our sovereign nation and our state of Vermont.
• We ask our citizens to pledge allegiance to the flag of the U.S.A. and the republic for which it stands.
• Every country has a flag.
They are on poles along their borders and ocean ports so that when they let you in, you are expected to respect the laws of that nation.
• The ocean is not sovereign, but all boats carry a flag of the country of origin so it can be seen from afar.
• There is no change of flag on the White House when Biden leaves and Trump arrives. No donkey flag is replaced by an elephant flag. One American flag flies for all.
• Political parties and Black Lives Matter and pride groups are non-profits. They use buttons, tee shirts, advertisements, signs and hats. They may use flags, but they are not the American flag.
Our students should have many opportunities to fly flags for recognizing student groups, but not on the flagpole of the flag we pledge our allegiance to.
Chris Kapsalis Shelburne
opment of innovative inventions that enabled mass production.
That led to “conspicuous consumption,” a term coined by a social critic at the time. Mark Twain, who dubbed the era the “Gilden Age,” was among other critics troubled by the growing disparity between social classes.
While some in the monied class applied their wealth to building libraries, museums and public improvements in large cities (often prodded to do so by their wives), they overlooked the dark side of the needs of those who were on the other end of the social and economic spectrum. For example, they overlooked child labor, dangerous working conditions, and the exploitation of immigrant workers.
The Vanderbilts, Astors, and Carnegies looked the other way, ignoring life in the tenements of New York City and factories like the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory, where the 1911 fire killed 146 trapped young women workers.
Journalist and social reformer Jacob Riis brought the reality of these travesties to light in stark photographs of slums, schools, factories, public health, and more in his photographic collection, “How the Other Half Lives,” housed at the Library of Congress.
Among today’s most recognized magnates and robber barons are three of the wealthiest and most morally corrupt men in America. Their enormous wealth and lack of social conscience makes their predecessors seem tame.
Jeff Bezos, who founded Amazon and owns the Washington Post, is heavily invested in Uber, Airbnb, and has a net worth of $236 billion — while
Amazon employees earn about $15 an hour despite the physical demands of the job and expectations about productivity. Amazon also continues to ban unions and illegally fires workers for trying to organize them. Bezos also has had workplaces patrolled for signs of unionizing activity. It’s positively Dickensian.
Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors, is heavily invested in SpaceX, and owns X (formerly Twitter). He has Bezos beat in terms of net worth. According to Forbes, which tracks this kind of thing, Musk is worth over $420 billion.
Mark Zuckerberg is the third wealthiest man in America with a net worth of nearly $218 billion. He became a billionaire at the age of 23. Owner of Meta, which owns Facebook, his latest travesty is ending fact checking on his social media platforms, and that’s not the worst of it.
Billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk are faux philanthropists who donate minimally to various pet organizations. No libraries or museums for them. Just space capsules, artificial intelligence and a seat at high tables.
As Lasa Liberator points out, they “are often held up by the media as shining examples of philanthropists, but the reality is none of them has a foundation or philanthropic organization. By donating limited amounts of immense wealth, their public relations people argue they are changing the world for the better. That’s what they would like you to believe. While this philanthropy may seem generous from the outside, it is more often than not a ploy for the world’s wealthiest to dodge taxes, boost their public
image, and increase their net worth, all while rarely doing that much actual good along the way.” These newly anointed oligarchs, and others like them, are wedded to power, prestige, and political influence. They will do anything to curry favor. That makes them dangerous in ways that their forerunners were not, especially in a time of autocracy, patronage, and a good deal of pathology.
In this Gilden Age, we are led into a different kind of conspicuous consumption. It’s one that consumes lies and clings to false narratives while ignoring history, facts, and good governance. It overlooks social justice issues like child labor which has made a comeback, as well as exploitive unsafe working conditions, especially for immigrants who manage not to be deported.
It burns the budgets that could help provide adequate housing, better schools, accessible healthcare and vital safety nets. It allows food and water to be contaminated because the ruling class doesn’t have to eat or drink what the lower classes do. It returns women to the Victorian age of silence and servitude. Today’s robber barons and their elite political allies not only steal dignity and hope, but they put us at great risk and conspire against anything that is fair and forward thinking while serving their own selfish purposes.
As Eugene Debs put it during the last Gilded Age, “The time has come to regenerate society (while) we are on the eve of universal change.”
Elayne Clift is a Vermontbased writer. Read more at elayne-clift.com.
COMMUNITY
Community Notes
RoboCats compete against Vermont robotics teams
The Shelburne Community School RoboCats rocked the first Lego League Robotics competition for 4th-8th graders from across the state, hosted recently at GlobalFoundries.
The dedicated student coders, presenters and engineers collaboratively demonstrated proficiency in robot design, robot game, core values/gracious professionalism and innovation to protect the planet’s oceans.
While competing with 38 other teams, the SCS RoboCats took home the prestigious Innovation Award and Breakthrough Award and Motivate Award.
Shelburne Nursery School open house this weekend
The Shelburne Nursery School is holding an open house for prospective families on Friday Jan. 31. from 8-10 a.m. The school is a National Association for the Education of Young Children-accredited 5-star school-year preschool program serving children ages 3-5 in the greater community.
Shelburne native releases first novel, ‘The Spoils’ Onion River Press, an independent publisher based in Burlington is releasing “The Spoils,” the debut novel from filmmaker-turned-author Colin Thompson, a Shelburne
native. This hilarious and provocative work of literary fiction will hit shelves in February.
Set in the sunburnt aughts of Venice, California, “The Spoils” follows Ryan Wilson, a 31-yearold aspiring screenwriter-reluctantly-turned-lacrosse coach, as he ping-pongs between desperation and blind ambition. With his Hollywood dream slipping away, a chance connection with the wife of his idol — legendary filmmaker Buck Tourney — throws him into a maelstrom of desire, self-doubt, and ruthless introspection.
Is Ryan chasing Camilla or the world she represents? And is she escaping her life or simply indulging in a fleeting diversion?
Colin Thompson brings the storytelling prowess honed from three feature films to his first novel, delivering an unflinching portrait of modern masculinity and creative yearning.
Art
lovers,
hunters
take
the “Twists and Turns”
in
The Pierson Library kicked off its Art Exchange program on Jan. 12 with a Winter Art opening and children’s scavenger hunt. The current show,” Twists and Turns,” is a joint display of work by sculptor Mike Horner and painter Mike Kaz, from Keene, NY.
The show is interactive, with an accompanying Spotify playlist and a song for each painting, so bring your earbuds next time you visit the Pierson.
Friends and Family Dinners
Order by Tuesday for Wednesday
“Twists and Turns” will be on display until the end of March.
Shelburne school readathon kicks off next week
Shelburne Community School hosts its third annual schoolwide Readathon beginning Feb. 5. The month-long event runs through March 5 and includes a free book swap, virtual story time, a scavenger hunt around town, author events, and a community read.
The Readathon kicks off Wednesday, Feb. 5 with a free book swap at the school from 6-7:30 p.m. Donations of gently used books for ages preschool through adult are welcomed but not required.
There will be $2 pizza slices, crafts, and other fun surprises.
On Sunday, Feb. 16m at 11:30 a.m., SCS bus driver and author Lucy Cooney will read from her new book, “The Game,” at Phoenix Books on Church Street in Burlington. Shoppers can use the code “SCS” at Phoenix Books from Feb.16-22 and 20 percent of proceeds will be donated back to the school.
The SCS Readathon is the PTO’s largest fundraiser, and the school has a goal of reading 150,000 minutes together while raising $10,000. For more information, visit shelburnepto.org/ readathonevents
COURTESY PHOTO
The Shelburne Commmunity School’s Lego League robotics team is known as the RoboCats.
The Champlain Valley-Mount Mansfield high school girls’ hockey team earned a big win on Saturday, taking down Hartford in overtime.
Megan Rivard scored to win the game in overtime for the CougarHawks, who moved to 3-9. Mackenzie Rivard struck in the third
period to tie the game at 1-1 and force it extra time for CVU-MMU.
Ella Gilbert stopped 16 shots in goal to get the win.
Girls’ basketball
Champlain Valley 50, Rice 30: Up by just two points after the first half, Champlain Valley went on a 16-5 run in the third quarter to pull away for a win over Rice on Friday in high school girls’ basketball.
Zoey McNabb had 22 points to pace the Redhawks, who moved to 7-3. The win also snapped a two-game losing streak for CVU.
SPORTS
Kaitlyn Jovell had seven assists in the win and Deirdre Higgins nabbed five rebounds.
Boys’ ice hockey
Rutland 5, Champlain Valley 2: Two late goals from Rutland sealed the win against Champlain Valley on Saturday.
Island Memorial Pet Service
Brady Jones and Zavier Barnes each had a goal for the Redhawks in the loss, which moved CVU to 4-7 this season.
Boys’ basketball
Champlain Valley 50, BFA-St. Albans 46: The Champlain Valley boys’ basketball team rebounded
from an early week loss to beat BFA-St. Albans on Thursday. Luke Allen had 16 points and nine rebounds, coming just shy of a double-double, for the Redhawks (7-5).
Owen Scott and Brady Gangl each chipped in with 12 points for CVU.
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PHOTOS BY AL FREY
The Brien siblings, Miles, above, and Sophie, right, had Hartford seeing double on Saturday.
COMMUNITY NOTES
continued from page 7
Remember Baker plays tunes ahead of Mardi Gras
Join Remember Baker, a Charlotte-based band, for a fun family concert on Feb. 8 at noon, in the Fellowship Hall at the Shelburne United Methodist Church, 30 Church St.
Remember Baker plays a blend of folk, Americana, old time and bluegrass. Gearing up for Mardi Gras, you are likely to get a little
taste of New Orleans with this show, as well.
Admission is free, but donations are accepted to benefit the Shelburne Nursery School.
Shelburne church, Age Well host February luncheon
St. Catherine of Siena and Age
Well are teaming up to offer a luncheon on Feb. 11 for anyone 60 or older in the St Catherine of Siena
Parish Hall, 72 Church Street, Shelburne.
The check-in time is 11:30 a.m. and the meal will be served at noon. Suggested donation: $5.
Feb. 11 menu: wheat spaghetti with meatballs, marinara and parmesan cheese, spinach, wheat roll, mandarin oranges in orange Jello and milk.
See COMMUNITY NOTES on page 12
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COURTESY PHOTO
Remember Baker? You will after seeing the self-same band at the Shelburne Methodist Church Feb. 8
Filmmaker tackles noise pollution with new documentary
LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
From noisy neighbors and construction to cars and airplanes, the world around us, at times, can seem incessantly loud.
That sentiment is the basis for the 2023 documentary, “The Quietest Year,” which chronicles one woman’s personal quest to curb noise pollution in the village of Stowe that ultimately uncovers the dire consequences of lax noise regulation which she calls, “an urgent yet overlooked crisis for both public health and civil society.”
The documentary takes viewers on the personal journey of director Karen Akins, who shares her battle with noisy farm animals on the property that abutted her home and, as the film progresses, through a series of other noise-related issues experienced by Vermonters across the entire state.
The 74-minute film took roughly two years to make and is what Akins has dubbed her “pandemic project,” with most of it filmed, ironically, through what has been called one of the quietest periods of time the world has ever experienced.
This is Akins’ second film related to public health and social justice issues. Her first go at documentaries began in Mexico with “El Susto,” released in 2019, which explored the politics of sugary drinks and diabetes in the country.
But this film was something much more personal to her.
“I didn’t intend to make another film, but when I was stuck in Vermont during the pandemic, I had my own personal noise issues, which you’ll learn about when you watch the film, and I was like, ‘Here is something that’s a very overlooked health issue,’” Akins said. “I decided to record myself during the pandemic because I honestly thought I was going to be having to enter into a lawsuit with my neighbor.”
While no legal action ensued, the humorous short film she made during that time ultimately evolved into the award-winning documentary seen today. The dispute did, however, land itself on the front page of the Stowe Reporter more than once, partially since Akins took the hot topic to the local selectboard with the hopes of passing some sort of noise ordinance that would remedy the issue.
It just so happened that one of the leading experts in studying noise and its relation to health, Les Blomberg, was located just a few miles away from her home at the Noise Pollution Clearinghouse in Montpelier.
“It kind of snowballed and I kept reaching out to other experts and learning who the real thought leaders were in the field, and who was doing the most cutting-edge
Above: The production crew on set for “The Quietest Year,” a 2023 documentary about the
Below: Director and filmmaker Karen Akins at the Middlebury New
research on noise and health,” Akins said. “And it led me on this path, and slowly over the pandemic, I interviewed people that were both sufferers and experts.”
One of those people was Michael Shank, a former Brandon resident whose lifelong dream to operate an animal farm sanctuary was shattered by the lack of noise ordinances, which allowed his neighbors to continually fire off assault weapons, subjecting him to the sound of near-constant gunfire.
“I saw that, even with my own problems, if your elected officials are totally deaf to how harmful this would be to experience this, and I’m not just talking about me, it is a pattern,” Akins said. “I’m not just saying it was me and my personal problems.”
Another major highlight of the film focuses on the arrival of the F-35 fighter jets at the Air National Guard Base located at the Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport in 2019 — a battle South Burlington residents know well. The noise, four times louder than its predecessor, the F-16, rendered many neighborhoods unsuitable for residential use and even prompted officials at the airport to introduce residential soundproofing programs for homes located within a certain proximity to the base.
The issue, Akins said, at one point almost dominated most of the film, forcing her to scale some of the discussions back because she didn’t want a movie solely about the effects of the jets.
The battle, however, has been at the forefront of local issues since 2009 and has sparked years of vehement opposition from residents in its flight path due to “bone-jarring” noise and undue environmental impacts caused by the military aircraft.
“We kind of zoom out to a bigger picture where you’re looking at impacting the whole community,” Akins said.
Despite the personal accounts showcased in the film, it is strange to think that Vermont, known to most of the country as a sparsely populated rural place, could be subject to such noise pollution problems. And the root of that issue was one Akins
couldn’t quite put her finger on initially.
“It reminds me of a canary in the coal mine,” she said. “That’s the thing, if we’re having these problems even in Vermont, imagine what the rest of the country is dealing with. You can’t even get away from it by
ABOVE: COURTESY PHOTO, BELOW: PHOTO BY STEPHEN JAMES, ADDISON INDEPENDENT
impacts of noise pollution.
Filmmakers Festival last year.
continued from page 1
to put together a strategic plan.
“We sort of recognized that rather than sitting back and waiting to see what happens to Shelburne, we should be more proactive,” Everett said at the selectboard meeting last week.
Everett and Mui gathered a group of town staff and community members that included planning and zoning director Aaron DeNamur and finance committee members Don Porter and Jeff Carr. Over the course of months, the group met with several different business leaders in town and, in addition to the Shelburne study, examined how other municipalities such as St. Albans and Brandon had approached revitalizing their downtowns.
One strategy they landed on was an economic development commission tied to an independent nonprofit.
According Everett, attaching a 501(c)3 to the commission provides a structure and longevity beyond what a committee or selectboard members might be able to provide.
“It allows it to be a joint venture between the community and the town,” he said. “Then this organization can survive and focus only on economic development, no matter where the winds are blowing on the selectboard.”
Although Experience Shelburne will operate independently, four town officials — the town manager, planning and zoning director, a member of the finance committee, and a member of the selectboard — will sit on the board of directors as non-voting members, keeping it connected to town administration and plans.
Some of the other members of the board are the first business and nonprofit leaders the group looked to when they started planning.
Alec Webb, the president of Shelburne Farms, enthusiastically agreed to join
“It’s not just me being the sole representative of the farm, but really it’s an oppor-
DOCUMENTARY
continued from page 10
moving to Vermont.”
Subjects in the film liken Vermont’s lack of noise regulation to “the wild west of noise ordinances,” particularly in towns that resist any form of regulation from local government. Akins was met with staunch resistance and even personal attacks circulated online and in town when attempting to petition her local municipality for change.
For Shank, the backlash ultimately forced him to sell his home and move out of town.
While the issue, Akins said, mostly stems from the lack of regulations in many municipalities and on the state level, it could also be the drastic change of Vermont’s landscape from mostly rural and agricultural to now, a place that proved to be a haven for the mass flock of people who moved to the state during the pandemic.
“Maybe it’s what happens when you start out being a mostly rural place where everybody lives on big farms as far apart. You don’t have a culture of having to regulate noise because you don’t have that many densely populated places where people are
tunity for us as an organization to engage more people beyond me and thinking about the future Shelburne, so it’s exciting,” he said.
Other members of the board are Meagan Buckley, president and CEO of Wake Robin; Tom Denenberg, director of Shelburne Museum; Joan Goldstein, commissioner for the Vermont Department of Economic Development; Rep. Kate Lalley, D-Chittenden-6; Brian Precourt, Precourt Investment; and Bill Shouldice, former president/CEO of Vermont Teddy Bear.
Everett used Shelburne Museum’s annual Winter Lights event as an example of what coordination through the commission could look like. If other organizations or businesses are collaborating with the museum, they might be able to make their own complementary plans around the crowds that the lights draw — restaurants could offer a deal for ticket holders or be able to plan for a special pre-fixe menu, for instance.
He offered similar examples of how different organizations like Shelburne Farms and Shelburne Crafts School might be able to align some of their programming.
While the commission might be able to begin that kind of collaboration immediately, other economic development plans might move more slowly. Some of the suggestions in Lecky’s report involved changing the zoning regulations in the village center, which would have to go through other commissions and the selectboard. Additionally, while changes to Act 250 will eventually combine designated downtowns and village centers into a single state regulatory category, potentially opening opportunities for development for Shelburne’s village, the state is still in the midst of that planning.
For now, Everett is excited about the possibilities that might come just from getting people talking to each other.
“It’s a good crew, right?”
bothering each other,” she said.
Another part of the problem is that Vermonters hold tight to the tradition of simply working out the issue with neighbors directly. The truth is, Akins said, sometimes you just can’t.
Since filming, she said she has commissioned a full professional noise study of Maple Street in Stowe and hopes to bring the information to local leaders.
The film will air on Vermont Public’s “Made Here” on Feb. 6 and South Burlington residents can see a showing at the library on Thursday, Jan. 30.
The airing coincides with ongoing debates surrounding the F-35 program.
Three municipalities — South Burlington, Burlington and Winooski — recently passed resolutions calling for Vermont’s Congressional delegation to request that the Air Force change the mission of the Vermont Air National Guard to one that is compatible with surrounding communities.
Retired Air Force Col. Rosanne Greco, a key voice in the opposition, offers insights in the film.
PHOTO BY LEE KROHN
Our regular photographer Lee Krohn has once again gone to the birds.
Black and white and red all over
A loving wife, mother, grandmother, friend, colleague, and astute businesswomen in the areas of management, finance, accounting, human resources and information technology, Donna Marie Liebert (DeSiato), 69, of Charlotte, Vermont and Englewood, Florida died from cancer at the McClure Miller Respite House in Colchester on Jan. 9, 2025.
Donna was born in Philadelphia in 1955 to Perry and Mary DeSiato. She attended Springfield High School in Springfield Township, Pa., later earning a degree in fine arts from Montgomery
County Community College in Blue Bell, Pa.
She held several professional positions before and after raising her two sons, including accounts payables and receivables, assistant accountant, payroll manager, accounting manager, controller and chief financial officer. During the years she stayed home to raise her sons, she worked part-time as a township tax collector and treasurer. She also opened and operated a secondhand shop for children’s clothes, accessories and toys called My Kids Closet.
Her most recent positions were with KSV Agency in Burlington, a strategy, marketing and creative agency. When she first walked through the KSV doors in 2000 as a temporary accounting manager, she never envisioned a 24-year career where she managed accounting, human resources, facilities and information technology, eventually becoming the chief financial officer. She retired from KSV Agency in April of 2024.
Donna met her husband Greg in 1984 while they both worked at Netzsch Incorporated in Lionville, Pa., marrying in 1986. Their first date came about after Donna
slipped a note in Greg’s paycheck envelope inviting him to share a drink or dinner if he were interested. He was, and they spent the next forty years together.
Greg, Donna and their sons made their home in Pennsylvania until 2000, when Greg’s job relocated them to Vermont. One of her dreams was to have a home in Florida where she could bask in the sun, dig her feet in the sand, and dip her toes in the ocean. This dream came true when she and Greg purchased a home in Englewood, Fla., a few years ago.
A wonderful and loving mother to two sons, Ryan and Derek, she doted over them as children, teenagers, young men and eventually as husbands and fathers. Her sons and their wives blessed her with three grandchildren, twins Maxwell and Reya, and Riley. She so loved
COMMUNITY NOTES continued from page 9
The deadline to register is Feb. 5. This will be the only Age Well luncheon in February.
For more information, contact Molly BonGiorno, nutrition coordi-
Summer Camps
February 6 March 6 April 3
It’s Summer Camp Sign-Up Time!
Promote your program in our Summer Camps issues for focused reach to a local audience of kids and parents as they make plans for the upcoming summer season. This advertising section captures the attention of summer camp and recreation seekers, making it the ideal place to outline your offerings and secure more early enrollments.
To learn more or reserve your space, call us today! Shelburne News/The Citizen at 802-985-3091, The Other Paper at 802-734-2928 or Stowe Reporter/News & Citizen at 802-253-2101 for information or to advertise your camp (ask about multi-paper and color deals). Deadlines: Thursdays before each issue.
these three precious little human beings.
Donna had great love for furry friends, treating them like family members. She nurtured and cared for Rusty, a shih tzu that lived to 16 years of age, and then Milo, a miniature poodle now 14 years of age. Milo was at her side as usual when she passed away.
Although she received a degree in fine art and was always an artist at heart, she chose to work in finance and accounting, as she knew those business so well and always felt she would do better in those fields as opposed to starting over teaching art or running a studio.
Donna was preceded in death by her father Perry DeSiato and is survived by her mother Mary DeSiato of Horsham, Pa., brother Perry DeSiato (Maria) of Austin, Texas, sisters Nancy Jones (Steve) of Lower Gwynedd, Pa., and Jean Nowack (Edward) of Chalfont, Pa.; along with her sons Ryan Liebert (wife Bethany, son Maxwell and daughter Reya) of Hinesburg, Vt., and Derek Liebert (wife Leah and daughter Riley) of Oakdale, Pa.; and sisters in-law Sandy Liebert of Edgewood, N.M., Trish O’Grady of Rifle, Colo., Valerie Liebert of Perrysburg, Ohio, and Joyce Roberts (Edward) of Englewood, Fla. Donna chose to be cremated. Therefore, a celebration of her life will be held on Feb. 8, 2025, at 11 a.m. at Stephen Gregory and Son, located at 472 Meadowland Drive, Suite 7, South Burlington, followed by a luncheon at Ridgewood Estates Clubhouse located near 1 Concord Green, South Burlington.
nator, at 802-662-5283 or by email at mbongiorno@agewellvt.org
Tickets are also available at the Age Well office, at 875 Roosevelt Highway, Ste. 210; Colchester. Restaurant tickets will be available for distribution for a suggested $5 donation.
Middlebury College shows “Two Trains Running”
New York-based ensemble The Acting Company returns to Middlebury College on Thursday, Feb. 13 with its production of August Wilson’s “Two Trains Running.”
Part of Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning 10-play
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Century Cycle — which also includes “The Piano Lesson,” “Fences,” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” — “Two Trains Running” tells the story of Memphis Lee, a diner owner in Pittsburgh in 1969 who must decide if he should allow the government to take over his building or sell the property to a ruthless businessman.
The Acting Company’s production, helmed by award-winning director Lili-Anne Brown, is the first touring production authorized by the Wilson estate, and comes to Middlebury as part of a year-long exploration of the playwright and his work. The performance will be followed by a Q&A with the artists.
Donna Liebert
Donna Liebert
continued from page 1
“We’re trying to balance both the needs of our students with the ability of the community to afford this, and I think we have to be very careful in how we balance that,” board chair Meghan Metzler said.
The majority of the savings in the budget come from a reduction in personnel. The board expects to reduce the hours of or eliminate positions for more than 38 staff.
According to the district’s chief operating officer, Gary Marckres, some of those reductions follow naturally from the drop the school district has seen in its number of students.
reduce at each school, the administration tried to maintain equity for its students across the district. These have not been easy decisions.
“For the leadership of the buildings and the district, it’s a really difficult and painful process for the second year in a row to reduce positions, because that’s what a school district is. It’s people,” Marckres said.
“No one is happy about the conditions and the statewide situation that got us where we are.”
— Gary Marckres
As might be expected, there has been pushback from staff, parents, and community members.
“There were quite a few reductions in that FY26 budget that were based on declining enrollment and smaller class sizes, where we had room to have three teachers instead of four teachers in a grade level, so that that was kind of where the leadership started,” Marckres said.
Though average class size might be rising slightly because of these cuts, the school district has still maintained class sizes that fall within education quality standards for each grade level.
However, with declining enrollment and staffing reductions, there will also be a reduction in some services.
According to the numbers the school district presented, there will be cuts to music staffing at four of its five schools. The district is also losing several interventionists and para-specialists, and making one-off reductions in areas like world languages, computer science, or art depending on the school. Champlain Valley Union will be reducing its staff by at least one full-time equivalent in most of its core subject areas, leading to concerns about AP class offerings.
Marckres said that, in making decisions about which positions to
When the budget was initially discussed at the Dec. 10 board meeting, more than 35 educators attended and stood up, representing the positions that would be lost, while union representatives Emily McClean and Christopher Hood read a letter to the board.
In addition to their worries about recruitment, retention, and student services, they also addressed the partial reductions that some staff will experience.
“Partial reductions feel like a death by a thousand cuts. Reducing an employee from 1.0 to 0.8 carries its own set of negative repercussions. The economic impact on these employees is not humane and creates economic instability,” the statement read.
In statements at subsequent meetings, community members expressed support for specific teachers and especially the music program. However, Metzler said she has also heard from residents in support of lowering tax rates.
Ultimately, she said, the budget the board has adopted is responsible and still meets the needs of the students.
“No one is happy with the outcome, no matter what’s happening with tax rates,” Marckres said. “No one is happy about the conditions and the statewide situation that got us where we are.”
DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD
Notice of Public Hearings to be held February 19, 2025, 7:00 PM Town Hall Meeting Room #1 and Remote via Zoom
CU 25-01: Application by Dillion Machevern Trust, seeking Conditional Use approval for a shoreline slope re-stabilization project. Property at 3336 Shelburne Road is in the Residential Zoning District, Lakeshore Overlay District, Stormwater Overlay District, Special Flood Hazard, and Water Course Overlay Districts.
SUB 11-06 R3 and SP 25-01: Application by Shelburne Museum, Inc. for Site Plan and PUD Final Amendment approval for the proposed Perry Center for Native American Art project. Property at 6000 Shelburne Road is in the Museum Zoning District and Stormwater Overlay District.
The City of South Burlington seeks dedicated staff.
• Deputy Finance Director
The City of South Burlington seeks a strategic Deputy Finance Director to ensure the integrity of and assist in managing the City’s financial systems. Bachelor’s degree in business administration, finance, accounting or a related field, plus five years relevant work experience in public financial administration or related fields. Municipal government accounting experience preferred. $80,000-$90,000 annual salary.
• Police Officers
• Facilities Coordinator
• Finance Coordinator
• Assistant City Clerk
BENEFITS: Health, dental, and vision insurance, paid time off, and more!
LEARN MORE AND APPLY NOW ONLINE »
The City of South Burlington is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
COMFORT
Growing citrus trees in Vermont? No problem
AMY SIMONE UVM EXTENSION
Imagine having sunny orange, bright yellow and luscious green fruit growing in your home, especially during this gray, cold time of year. While we do not associate citrus plants with our northeast climate, there are several varieties that can be grown as indoor/ outdoor houseplants.
Native to Southeast Asia, citrus plants have been cultivated for over 4,000 years. Their fruit is actually a type of berry with a leathery rind called a hesperidium. They are found in tropical and subtropical regions that offer them warmth, lots of humidity and sandy, slightly acidic soil.
Consistently hot temperatures are needed for citrus fruits to produce sugar, something that our climate cannot offer them. Therefore, sour citrus fruits such as lemon, limes and small orange varieties like Satsuma and Calamondin are among those best suited to growing as houseplants.
In their natural environments, citrus trees can grow to a height of 20 feet, which is certainly not manageable as a houseplant. Thankfully, there are dwarf varieties like tangerine (Satsuma orange), lemon (Ponderosa or Meyer), kumquat (Fortunella species), citron and Calamondin orange. These will reach a more reasonable height of 3 to 5 feet.
Plant your citrus in a well-draining pot filled with cactus or citrus soil mix or use regular potting mix amended with perlite. Fertilize with a high-nitrogen fertilizer formulated for acid-loving plants, and only while the plants are actively growing and flowering, generally from April through October.
In the winter, place your citrus plant in a sunny south-facing window away from cold drafts and ensure that it receives at least six hours of direct sun per day. Supplement with artificial light if needed. Wipe the leaves
periodically to remove dust. Group several houseplants together to create more humidity or run a humidifier near your citrus plant.
As temperatures consistently reach above 50 degrees Fahrenheit in the spring, move your citrus plant outdoors gradually, protecting it from direct sun at first. After a few days, place it in full sun and pay attention to its watering needs, which will be more frequent than when it was indoors.
Depending on your citrus variety, you may get flowers only in the spring or from spring to fall. Dwarf citrus varieties are mostly all self-fertile, meaning that you do not need a second plant for pollination to occur.
You do, however, need insects to pollinate the flowers. If your citrus plant is indoors during flowering, you get to play pollinator. Use a clean, dry paintbrush or cotton swab to collect pollen from one flower and rub it on another.
In the fall, acclimate your citrus gradually to move back indoors before the outside temperatures go below 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
Don’t be alarmed if your citrus plant sheds some of its baby fruit. Potted plants cannot support that much fruit and will naturally shed the extra. However, fruit drop is also associated with temperature extremes, so take care to avoid those.
Dropped leaves are the plant’s response to overwatering. Flower drop will occur if the soil becomes too dry.
Most importantly, add a little patience to your citrus care routine, as young plants may take years to flower and produce fruit. Lemons and limes can take six to nine months to ripen, and oranges can take up to a year. Those colorful and delicious fruit cheering up your home will be worth it.
Amy Simone is a UVM Extension Master Gardener from South Burlington.
PHOTO BY AMY SIMONE
A Calamondin orange tree, a dwarf citrus variety, will bear small, golden-orange fruit so is a good choice to grow indoors as a houseplant.
