Holding the line
Librarians grapple with uncertainty over federal fiats
LIBERTY DARR & BRIANA BRADY STAFF WRITERS
On a particularly balmy spring day last week, a woman was meandering around the Charlotte library when Margaret Woodruff, the library director and friendly face around the building most days, approached her to ask if she needed any help. The woman explained that she had just gotten into town to scout a property she’s looking to buy.
It seemed fitting that Woodruff was one of the first people to greet her in her new town, and that one of the first places she visited was the local library.
News for librarians across the country has been far less bright in recent weeks. Woodruff and several other library directors across Chittenden County have been grappling with President Donald Trump’s recent executive order seeking to eliminate “to the maximum extent” the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the primary source of federal support for the nation’s museums and libraries.
Last week, the institute placed its entire 70-person staff on administrative leave.
“We have never had to think
about having to defend ourselves as an institution before,” Woodruff said. “We’ve never considered libraries to be the ‘bad guy.’ It’s really so unprecedented.”
In Vermont, the institute provides roughly one-third of the state’s Department of Libraries’ funding, which in 2024, amounted to roughly $1.2 million, said Commissioner and State Librarian Catherine Delneo.
Those federal funds support a slew of shared services within the state, from the interlibrary loan program — the service that moves books and other materials across the state’s libraries and libraries across the nation — to the ABLE library service for the blind and visually impaired, online databases, as well as other resources and professional development for library workers.
Delneo said the state department has been using the Institute of Museum and Library Services funds to provide grants of about $680 annually to help offset local courier costs for the interlibrary loan service for 116 public libraries across the state. Without the federal
See LIBRARIANS on page 12
Hinesburg sole water source might be unwell
BRIANA BRADY STAFF WRITER
The filter at Hinesburg’s only operating water source has been capturing too much iron, according to concerned town officials.
The selectboard and town manager Todd Odit have been consulting with different experts about the well — referred to as No. 4 and located near the intersection of Route 116 and Shelburne Falls Road — to try and find the
source of the iron and consider solutions. However, the issues at well No. 4 have compounded with a measured drop in the water table and the desire to get an additional well connected – well No. 6, which was drilled as part of the contract with the Haystack Crossing housing development and intended to expand the system. These issues have left the selectboard to weigh the costs and urgency of the projects.
Sille Larsen, the Engineering
and Water Resources Program manager with the Agency of Natural Resources, tested the water this past Friday. She said that, to assess where the iron was coming from — from the aquifer or the equipment — state workers turned the pump off for a while then tested the water at intervals after it had been turned back on. They found much higher levels of iron immediately
See WELL on page 16
COURTESY PHOTO
Charlotte residents with an array of messages for Donald Trump attend Shelburne’s “Hands Off” protest on Saturday.
Signs of the times
Students become directors for CVU one-act plays
BRIANA BRADY STAFF WRITER
“Well, I can hardly eat muffins in an agitated manner, can I?” Clark Clark, as Algernon Montcrief in the “Importance of Being Earnest,” declared on stage during a dress rehearsal of the play at Champlain Valley Union High School last week. Clark then continued happily munching on a muffin to laughter from those in the scattered audience.
“The Importance of Being Earnest” cast members were taking their turns to rehearse on the school’s stage — it was one of three one-act plays the students put on this past weekend, as well as “Game Night” and “Hurry Up and Wait.” All the plays were entirely student directed, each led by a pair of directors in their senior year at the school: Jay Kring and Vivian Volzer, Autumn
Miller and Ace Caldwell, and Mira Novak and Hannah Stein, respectively.
“It’s very hands off. The students are the ones who choose the plays. They decide a vision of the piece, the costumes, the sets, but I’m here to supervise and guide them,” Elisa Van Duyne, CVU theater director, said.
In taking on directing, the students became familiar with parts of the theater process that they haven’t had control over as performers. They not only blocked every scene and worked with their peers on delivery, but they also coordinated with lighting and sound and picked out costumes and props.
In their blocking, the students leaned into moments of physical comedy, such as in the final moments of “Hurry Up and Wait” as cast member after cast member piled into a makeshift taxicab,
Above, identity confusion abounds in “The Importance of Being Earnest.” Below,
bringing together different characters from the series of vignettes that make up the play.
“It’s been very interesting seeing how things come together. If you’re actually in a show, there’s plenty of scenes you don’t really know a lot about because you’re not on stage. I feel like I’m getting the big picture, which is a lot different,” Volzer said.
For many of the student directors, taking on casting and giving feedback to their peers proved to be some of the most difficult moments. However, Miller said
that for her and co-director Caldwell, of “Game Night,” it also gave them an opportunity to shine a light on some of their peers. Miller mentioned their choice to cast Nathanael Akselrod as one of the main roles.
“I’ve loved seeing him come out of his shell. He’s a freshman, and he only had one line during ‘Footloose.’ And I remember watching him from the sidelines and being like, ‘OK, I know that he’s going to be a good actor,’” Miller said.
Novak and Stein, in their roles
as directors, decided to start each rehearsal with an icebreaker. They wanted to build camaraderie amongst the cast, and the friends said it ended up being one of their favorite parts of the whole experience.
“It’s always something kind of small, but that’s kind of our first thing, we start just like sharing about each other and just really listening to each other. And I feel like those kind of experiences are so unique, especially now when we’re all on our phones,” Novak said.
ETHAN WEINSTEIN VTDIGGER
Following a federal directive that schools ban “illegal” diversity, equity and inclusion-related programs, the Vermont Agency of Education last Friday asked school districts to submit compliance certifications.
But just three days later, after initially defending and clarifying the decision in the face of public backlash, Education Secretary Zoie Saunders backtracked late Monday afternoon, informing superintendents the state would instead send a single statewide certification.
“To be clear, the Agency of Education and the Attorney General’s Office continue to support diversity, equity, and inclusion practices in our schools. Our communication on Friday was intended to make you aware of the directive from the U.S. Department of Education regarding Title VI,” Saunders wrote Monday afternoon, “and to reinforce that diversity, equity, and inclusion practices are lawful and supported in Vermont. In no way, did AOE direct schools to ban DEI.”
So why all the confusion?
On Friday, Saunders told school district leaders they had 10 days to submit their certification, but also said the agency believed certification required only that districts “reaffirm … compliance with existing law.”
That communication came in response to President Donald Trump and his administration, who have threatened to withhold funding to public schools that fail to comply with the expansive directive.
A letter dated April 3 from the U.S. Department of Education said noncompliance with the diversity programming ban could result in schools losing a crucial stream of money meant to support economically disadvantaged students, known as Title I, among other sources of federal dollars.
The letter cited Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination in schools based on “race, color or national origin,” and cited a 2023 U.S. Supreme Court Case against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina that restricted affirmative action. Saunders, in the letter to district leaders, wrote that the federal restriction includes “poli-
cies or programs under any name that treat students differently based on race, engage in racial stereotyping, or create hostile environments for students of particular races.”
Programs highlighting specific cultures or heritages “would not in and of themselves” violate federal regulations, the letter said. “We do not view this Certification to be announcing any new interpretation of Title VI,” Saunders wrote, adding that the agency’s “initial legal review” determined the federal letter only required the state to “reaffirm our compliance with existing law.”
But guidance from the federal education department cited by Saunders seems to restrict a variety of practices, arguing that school districts have “veil(ed) discriminatory policies” under initiatives like diversity programming, “social-emotional learning” and “culturally responsive” teaching.
Following news of the agency’s letter to districts, Saunders released an initial public statement around 3 p.m. on Monday saying the federal demands would not require Vermont’s schools to change practices. And in that communication, Vermont’s top education official gave no indication the agency would alter its request for districts to confirm their compliance with Trump’s directive.
“The political rhetoric around this federal directive is designed to create outrage in our communities, confusion in our schools, and self-censorship in our policy making. But we are not going to allow the chaos to control how we feel, or how we respond,” Saunders said in the statement. “Our priority is to protect Vermont’s values, preserve essential federal funding, and support schools in creating positive school environments free from the type of bullying and manipulation we see in our national politics today.”
In the same press release, Vermont Attorney General Charity Clark said Vermont was in compliance with federal law.
“We will continue to protect Vermonters against any unlawful actions by the federal government,” Clark said.
One neighboring state, meanwhile, took a different tack. Soon
EASTER BRUNCH WITH FAMILY, FLAVOR & MUSIC
Enjoy a heartwarming Easter brunch with live music, great food, and cherished moments with family and friends in our beautiful atrium.
SUNDAY, APRIL 20
TWO SEATINGS ( 10:30-11:00 AM & 1:30-2:00 PM )
ADULTS $65 | AGES 5-12 $28 | UNDER 5 FREE
Prices do not include taxes and gratuity.
A TASTE OF VERMONT’S FINEST
• Made-To-Order Omelets with Fresh Ingredients
• Carving Stations Featuring Leg of Lamb and Prime Rib
• Build-Your-Own Waffle Bar Served with Pure Vermont Maple Syrup
• Freshly Baked Pastries and Seasonal Desserts
RESERVE YOUR TABLE: 802-865- 6600 | 870 WILLISTON ROAD, S. BURLINGTON, VT DOUBLETREEHOTELBURLINGTON.COM
Hinesburg Police Blotter: April 1-7
Total incidents: 26
Traffic stops: 7
April 1 at 9:02 a.m., an officer assisted first responders with a medical emergency on Hollow Road.
April 1at 3:54 p.m., police investigated a reported fraud.
April 1at 3:56 p.m., an officer investigated a juvenile problem on Mechanicsville Road.
April 1at 7:05 p.m., a noise complaint on Richmond Road was investigated.
April 2 at 7:40 a.m., police investigated a reported traffic hazard on Route 116.
April 2 at 8:21 a.m., an officer investigated a report of suspicious activity on Stella Road.
April 2 at 11:25 a.m., police investigated a report of property damaged by a motor vehicle on Silver Street.
April 2 at 3:06 p.m., police inves-
tigated suspicious activity on North Road.
April 3 at 10:54 a.m., someone reported theft of items from a vehicle on Lyman Meadows. The theft is believed to have taken place on March 31, along with several other thefts reported in the same area.
April 4 at 4:54 p.m., an officer investigated a reported animal problem on Silver Street.
April 7 at 4:35 p.m., officers conducted a welfare check on Wile Street.
April 7 at 4:52 p.m., police assisted someone with a lockout on Route 116.
April 7 at 6:23 p.m., an officer assisted first responders with a medical emergency on Route 116.
April 7 at 8:16 p.m., officers assisted First Call staff with a medical evaluation on Wile Street.
The Citizen
Serving the community of Charlotte & Hinesburg A publication of Vermont Community Newspaper Group LLC thecitizenvt.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@thecitizenvt.com classifieds@thecitizenvt.com
Editorial submission deadline: Friday at 12 p.m. news@thecitizenvt.com
Calendar submission deadline: Friday at 12 p.m. news@thecitizenvt.com
Contact: PO Box 489 Stowe, VT 05672 (802) 253-2101 The Citizen is published weekly and mailed free to residents and businesses in Charlotte and Hinesburg
ANTI-DEI RULES
continued from page 3
after the Trump administration sent states last week’s letter, New York announced it would not comply.
Vermont and other states’ responses to the federal government are due April 14, and the state agency said last week that its response was supposed to include school districts’ “compliance issues” and “the Agency’s proposed enforcement plans” for those districts.
Before Saunders, in consultation with Clark, decided to rescind the state’s request for districts’ certifications, the Agency of Education’s actions drew criticism from the public education community.
Representatives from the Vermont School Boards Association, Vermont Principals’ Association, Vermont Superintendents Association and Vermont-NEA, the state teachers’ union, met with state leaders Monday. They later penned a letter to Saunders and Clark calling Vermont’s approach to the federal directive “not workable.”
“Expecting individual superintendents to certify compliance based on a cover letter (that they have not yet seen) that clarifies the legal boundaries of their certification will lead to a patchwork of responses that could
put Vermont and local school districts at risk,” the organizations wrote.
The coalition urged Vermont to follow New York’s lead and reject the certification process. That strong approach, they wrote, “would also send a powerful message to students and families across the state.”
Hours later, the Agency of Education appeared to heed their advice. In her late afternoon message to superintendents, Saunders wrote that “AOE has received feedback throughout the day regarding the need for clarity on the intent of the certification and the state’s specific response.”
“I also requested that the state grow some courage and stop complying so quickly.”
“I notified the Secretary that I will not be signing anything,” Wilmer Chavarria, the district’s superintendent, wrote in an email to staff shared with VTDigger. “I also requested that the state grow some courage and stop complying so quickly and without hesitation to the politically driven threats of the executive.”
— Wilmer Chavaria
Winooski’s school board will address the compliance certification at a regularly scheduled board meeting Wednesday, according to Chavarria’s message.
“We understand that many in the community are concerned because of the political rhetoric surrounding DEI,” she added.
News of Saunders’ initial Friday letter spread quickly on social media over the weekend. Already, plans for a Wednesday protest had circulated online.
At least one district, Winooski, said it wouldn’t comply with the certification.
In Vermont, ethnic studies have been a larger part of the education landscape since the passage of Act 1 in 2019. The law, which the Legislature approved unanimously and Gov. Phil Scott signed, required public schools to incorporate ethnic studies into their curricula. The legislation charged a panel with making suggestions for better including the history and contributions of underrepresented groups in Vermont’s classrooms.
NOW OPEN
lifestyle in downtown Vergennes, with enriching activities, stunning Adirondack views from our Grand Dining Room, and a warm, welcoming community.
OPINION
ences. Let people call out injustice — because staying silent will not protect us.
Chittenden Southeast Sen Kesha Ram Hinsdale was one of the featured speakers at Saturday’s “Hands Off” rally in Montpelier. Here is her full speech.
I am Senate Majority Leader Kesha Ram Hinsdale and I’m so proud to be standing here with all of you — neighbors, organizers, advocates, everyday Vermonters — who are showing up with courage, conviction, and heart. I’m especially proud to be here with my daughter Mira, who is able to look out and see those who will watch over her, will pave the way for her, and will protect her rights more than I hope she will ever know.
She’s also going to be two next week, and she’s working on doing something that she could teach to Donald Trump and his cronies: Keeping your hands to yourself.
So, we are here today, across Vermont and across the nation, with one message, loud and clear: Hands off.
Hands off our mouths. We will not be silenced. We will not be scared into the darkness. We will protest injustice, we will speak truth to power, we will tell our stories, and we will continue to demand our country back.
Because let’s be clear: it has never been more consequential to exercise our freedom of speech than it is right now. Across this country, voices are being silenced, books are being banned, and neighbors are being pitted against each other in unfounded suspicion and fear.
This is a moment to really feel the weight of the Zora Neale Hurston quote, “If you are silent about your pain, they will kill you and say you enjoyed it.”
So, when we say “hands off our mouths,” we are saying: Let people name their oppression. Let people share their lived experi-
And for those of us with privilege — those who can speak without risking our safety, our jobs, or our lives — it is our responsibility to do it loudly, boldly and without apology. We must use our voices not just as shields, but as megaphones for those who are being silenced.
Hands off our rights. We will not accept attacks on immigrants, on students, on young women like Rumeysa Ozturk, who was abducted in broad daylight in Boston and is now due her day in court and her constitutional rights here in Vermont.
We will not accept attacks on our trans neighbors, and you should know that, despite our differences, we voted 30-0 to stand with trans and nonbinary Vermonters in the state Senate. We will not accept the rollback of abortion rights, voting rights, or any rights that let us live freely and fully.
Hands off our state. Vermont knows how to lead. We’ve led the way on civil rights. On environmental justice. On reproductive freedom. On free speech. We will not let federal overreach drag us backward. Not now. Not ever.
And hands off our democracy. We see what’s happening. And we won’t stand by while the rule
of law is twisted, institutions are undermined, and our communities are divided. This isn’t about partisanship — it’s about principles.
We live by a motto in this state: Freedom and Unity. And that means we fight for each other’s freedom. We come together in unity when one of us is attacked. And we do not let anyone tell us who we are or what we stand for.
But while we are here together in this beautiful sea of humanity, I want to add something else. While we demand hands off our rights and our dignity, we must also be hands on with our communities.
Hands on our neighbors. Hands on the hard work of care. Hands on the shoulders of people who need support.
Check in on each other. Ask who’s struggling. Bring someone food. Speak up in rooms where others are silenced.
And to the protesters holding signs every day, rain or shine, in front of the Tesla dealership on Shelburne Road: thank you. You lift my spirits up and bring my blood pressure down every day when I drive home from the Statehouse. You are not screaming into the void or preaching to the choir — you are reminding us that
Kesha Ram Hinsdale
Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale
Funding available for mobile home, park owners
Hinesburg Affordable Housing Committee David Nagel
Are you either a mobile home owner or an owner of a mobile home park? And is the park listed in the Registry of Vermont Mobile Home Parks? If so, you might be eligible for financial awards from the state to help with improvements.
Home owners can apply for applications for home repair and foundation awards. Park owners can apply for infill projects awards. Depending on funding availability, applications for each of these awards are open through May 15.
Home repair awards are available to assist mobile home owners — who rent lot space in a mobile home park — cover the costs of repairing existing homes to prevent displacement and extend the life of the home. To be eligible for this program, the manufactured home must be owned by the applicant and be the applicant’s primary Vermont residence.
• Tier 2 awards greater than $5,000 are limited and will require additional review and will be awarded based on the evaluation criteria included in the application.
Park Improvements for SmallScale Capital Infill awards are available to assist park owners infill vacant lots and with the demolition and removal of abandoned homes. Awards up to $20,000 per lot are available to cover expenses. Infill Projects that demolish and remove abandoned homes from vacant lots in parks will be prioritized for the 2025 round of funding.
Awards are available to assist owners infill vacant lots and with the demolition and removal of abandoned homes.
Work may not start until the application is approved. Given the varying levels of need, this program offers two tiers of assistance with varying requirements.
• Tier 1 awards up to $5,000 will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis to households that meet all eligibility criteria.
Manufactured Home Foundation Awards are available to prospective and current homeowners of manufactured homes in a park. Eligible applicants can receive up to $15,000 to cover costs related to installing a new permanent foundation or HUD-approved slab on a vacant lot. Additional program requirements are A) the home must be the primary residence of the homeowner, B) slabs must be HUD-approved for new manufactured homes, and C) homeowners are responsible for meeting local regulations and home loan requirements. There is another option. If you are facing immediate housing loss due to repair needs and/or health
See NAGEL on page 7
Governor is doing exactly what he said he’d do
To the Editor:
Governor Scott’s recent veto of the Budget Adjustment Act signals the end of one-sided, policy-driven bills forced through the Vermont Legislature. With Vermont voters deciding last November to eliminate the Democrat/Progressive supermajority in the General Assembly, we restored the mechanism of checks and balances that ensures bills are honestly and openly discussed and evaluated for the best interest of Vermont. Gone are the days when the supermajority-led Legislature could simply override and ignore a governor who received more
HINSDALE
continued from page 5
we have the power when we stand together and do not back down.
And that reminds me of an image I’ll leave you with. Sequoia trees, the tallest trees in the world, don’t survive because they stand alone. They survive wildfires, storms and centuries of change because their roots reach out and intertwine beneath the surface — holding each other up, locking
NAGEL continued from page 6
and safety risks, you might be eligible for an Emergency Home Repair application. Emergency Home Repair applications will remain open past the May 15 closing date until funds are no longer available. These applications will be subject to additional review to determine eligibility.
This award helps with urgent repairs needed immediately to keep residents safely housed. Emergency applications will be prioritized over standard applications during the open application period. The manufactured home must be owned by the applicant and be the applicant’s primary residence located in Vermont.
than 71 percent of the popular vote — more than 266,000 votes.
Gov. Scott is now doing exactly what he said he would do during the 2024 campaign: make Vermont affordable. The majority party legislators had forgotten how to cooperate and negotiate with the state executive branch and across the aisle to find common ground and the best solutions for Vermont. Overriding executive vetoes used to be easy, and no discussion or compromise was necessary.
When the Legislature had a supermajority, it didn’t have to acknowledge the governor’s or the minority party’s ideas and thoughts — or, for that matter, those of the voters — in the lawmaking process. That is not
the case today.
The balance in Montpelier has decidedly shifted to a position where compromise and cooperation are now necessary to affect solid legislation — an unfamiliar position for the General Assembly majority, which no longer has veto override assurance.
I commend Gov. Scott and his efforts to make Vermont affordable through financial common sense and accountability to taxpayers — an approach that continues to be foreign to many Vermont legislators. Thank you, Gov. Scott, for your continued commitment to Vermonters.
Bruce Roy Williston
arms underground, refusing to fall.
That’s what we do here in Vermont. We reach out. We hold one another up. And we stand tall, together, because, as vice president Kamala Harris reminds us, “Courage is contagious.”
So, let’s keep showing up — for each other, for our communities, and for our future. Hands off
our rights. Hands on our communities. Freedom and Unity — now and always.
Kesha Ram Hinsdale, a Democrat from Shelburne, serves the towns of South Burlington, Shelburne, Charlotte, Hinesburg, Burlington, St. George, Underhill, Jericho, Richmond, Williston and Bolton in the Legislature.
• For more information, go to accd.vermont.gov/housing/funding/MHIR
• To learn more about the Manufactured Home Improvement and Repair Program, contact the Vermont State Housing Authority by email at mhirprogram@vsha.org or call 802-8282040.
• For assistance or questions about a home repair or emergency home repair application, call the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity at 802-660-3455 ext. 204 or email mhp@cvoeo.org
• For help with your foundation application or park improve-
ments/infill application, call VSHA at 802-828-2040 or email mhirprogram@vsha.org.
• You can also contact Scott Sharland at the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development at 802-249-2078
• For other questions or concerns, email the Department of Housing and Community Development at MHIR@vermont.gov
Note that, under Vermont law, the terms mobile home and manufactured home are used interchangeably.
David Nagel is a member of the Hinesburg Affordable Housing Committee.
Community Notes
Shelburne May 13
Age Well luncheon
St. Catherine of Siena and Age Well are teaming up to offer a luncheon on May 13 for anyone 60 or older in the St. Catherine of Siena Parish Hall, 72 Church St. in Shelburne. Check-in time is 11:30 a.m., and the meal will be served at noon. There is a $5 suggested donation.
May 13 menu: scalloped potatoes with ham and cheddar, carrots, wheat bread, strawberry and blueberry crisp with cream.
The deadline to register is May 6. Contact: Molly BonGiorno, nutrition coordinator, at 802-662-5283 or email mbongiorno@agewellvt.org. Tickets are also available at the Age Well office: 875 Roosevelt Highway, Ste. 210, Colchester, Vt. 05446.
Take a walk with fellow Charlotters
Charlotte Walks’ next group walk is April 18, 8:30-10 a.m., at the Williams Woods Natural Area, 5964 Greenbush Rd.
The trail is a one-mile loop through what the Nature Conservancy says “may be the best remaining mature valley clayplain forest in the Champlain Valley.” It also is home to many natural spring-time wonders — vernal pools with amphibian eggs, ephemeral wildflowers and beaver activity.
On the third Friday of each month, Charlotte Walks meets at 8:30 a.m. at a different Charlotte trailhead for a morning walk. It’s a great way to get more familiar with Charlotte’s public trails, and to meet and chat with other Charlotters. Walks usually last about an hour and are led at a comfortable adult walking pace.
Contact Karen at kknh.nh@gmail.com if you have any questions or to get on the
Charlotte Walks email list to be informed if there are changes due to weather.
CVU student earns spot in international STEM competition
Champlain Valley Union High School 11th grader Clay Nicholson has received top honors at the 2025 Vermont Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Fair, earning a May trip to an international gathering of the brightest young scientific minds.
With his project that utilizes computer learning to aid in the medical diagnosis of pancreatic tumors, Clay is the second CVU student in three years to earn such accolades. He developed his project as part of the school’s self-directed Nexus learning journey.
“This represents an incredible amount of work and an example of students using personalized learning programs to pursue deep dives in proficiency and direction,” Nexus program director Troy Paradee said. Clay’s project, “The Development of a U-Net Model for Pancreatic Tumor Segmentation in Computed Tomography Scans,” stemmed from his summertime work with Hack Club, a Shelburne-based nonprofit organization for teens interested in coding.
“Hack Club has given me a whole lot of opportunities,” Clay says. “Every student there is super, super into computer science. It’s crazy that it just happens to be in Vermont.”
While developing a tutorial for machine learning with Hack Club last summer, Clay became interested in creating a model that could identify and classify tumors. After cold-calling numerous doctors to learn about the biomedical angle, he eventually connected with Dimitriy Akselrod, a radiol-
ogy physician with University of Vermont Medical Center, who provided insights into professionally diagnosing and segmenting tumors.
“The computer science was the easy part for me,” Clay said, describing his project as a neural network, or machine-learning model, that segments CT scans for pancreatic tumors.
With his project in hand at March’s Vermont STEM Fair, Clay received the Yale Science and Engineering Association certificate for most outstanding individual 11th-grade project and a silver medal
award in biomedical research. He was also one of nine gold medalists and earned the sole nomination to the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair. At May’s ISEF gathering, Clay will join more than 1,800 students from 75 countries in Columbus, Ohio, for a week of competition, networking and learning.
Before the international science fair in May, Clay plans to improve his presentation and refine his machine-learning model. He’ll also fit in another international competition — this one in robotics, as co-captain of CVU’s RoboHawks.
for you 24/7 Tiger & Buster
•
•
COURTESY PHOTO
CVU junior Clay Nicholson with his STEM fair project showing how computers could diagnose tumors.
A walk through the Charlotte library in recent weeks may have had you stepping back in time.
The new exhibit, “Charlotte Maps, From Early times to Present Day” brings Charlotters on a small but impactful journey through some of the town’s earliest history. The work was compiled by Jenny Cole, a library employee, and Charlie Russell, chair of the development review board — both long-time residents of the town with unique affinities for maps and history. Cole, whose husband Dan Cole is president of the Charlotte Historical Society, has lived in Charlotte nearly all her life.
This isn’t the first time that Cole and Russell have worked closely together, having served on the selectboard together for almost a decade.
“I’ve been sort of thinking of this for a while and collecting things like these aerial photos, which are really great on the state website,” she said, pointing to the wall dressed in individual aerial photos glued together to show a large picture of what the town
looked like from above. “But it was piecing to get them together. And, of course, they don’t match up completely, so you’ll see where there’s a shift in how the photography was done. But it does put it together pretty well.”
The montaged maps depicting aerial views from 1942 and 1969 were placed next to each other on the wall. The biggest difference was the construction of Route 7, which at one point had been part of Churchill Road.
“It shows how cleared it was at the time and how much farming was going on,” Russell said,
pointing to the swaths of open land seen in the photos.
But the maps don’t just offer a glimpse into what Charlotte once looked like, they also point to how Charlotte could look in the future. Russell gestured to an undated map completed by Addison County Regional Planning showcasing where new housing
or developments could go in town.
“It shows what exists for dwelling units and what the potential is,” he said, pointing to an array of green and red dots — showing, respectively, existing and potential housing — across the entire map. “And of course, it’s very scary because there’re red dots everywhere, and it’s not
accurate.”
Russell is working to complete his own map that reflects more accurately where conserved land and areas of high public value would restrict any new housing or developments. He said a new
PHOTO BY LIBERTY DARR
Jenny Cole, left, and Charlie Russell talk Charlotte’s history at a new map exhibit in the town library.
MAPS
continued from page 9
committee formed by the town’s development review board and planning commission that will be working to build out a more accurate future map.
Increased housing and new development have been a big conversation in town in recent years, as the town works with the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission to overhaul the land use regulations that guide the east and west villages. They hope to minimize sprawl
while encouraging more compact, walkable village areas in town.
The exhibit will be on display until the end of April, but the hope is that the compiled maps will remain as a service to all Charlotte residents.
“I think some of this information is really helpful for people as they’re researching their own properties and the history of their properties, or what’s been there in the past,” Cole said.
Carol Elizabeth Young
Carol Elizabeth (Winkler) Young died at home on April 4, 2025. Carol was born in Newport, Rhode Island on December 18th, 1948, to parents Elsie (Booth) and John Winkler, nine minutes before her twin brother James Winkler. Her brother Richard Winkler was born almost 8 years later.
The family resided in Stony Brook, N.Y., where Carol made several lifelong friends. Carol completed high school at Earl L. Vandermeulen in Port Jefferson, class of 1967, and attended St. Luke’s Hospital School of Nursing in New York City, class of 1970.
She met Dennis in early 1970, and they married later that year, on Aug. 1, 1970. They lived in the city until moving out to Long Island. Carol was the beloved mother to two children — Josh, born in 1974, and Katy, born in 1979. Carol began in the visiting nurse service in NYC but spent most of her career in the infirmary of Little Flower Children’s Services. She retired from nursing as a school nurse with Just Kids Early Childhood Learning Center.
Carol loved being a mother, time with her four grandchildren, a good cup of coffee, walks outside, digging in her garden, kayaking on quiet water with Dennis, visiting the library and reading a good book, sending greeting cards, taking pictures, traveling, baking and being with the people she loved.
est role as Grandma to Christopher, Erik, Caleb and Madeleine. If you knew Carol, you have heard stories and seen pictures of her wonderful grandchildren. Carol lived with a chronic disease for the last several years of her life. She and Dennis continued to visit their home in Shelburne until just last year, deepening their bond with their Vermont grandchildren and building friendships with people at the Charlotte Senior Center and Bone Builders. They moved to their Port Jefferson (“a walkable town”) apartment from their home of 50 years in Miller Place (“the corner of Pipe Stave & Evans”) in the middle of 2024.
Carol is survived and loved deeply by her husband of 54 years, Dennis Young; children Joshua Young and wife Lisa Pedota Young; and Katy Young Howe and husband Edward Howe; grandchildren Christopher Pedota; Erik Young; and Caleb Howe and Madeleine Howe; brothers James (Nancy) Winkler and Richard Winkler (Debbie Quigley); many cousins, nieces, nephews, in-laws and very dear friends. A memorial gathering will be held at home with close family, followed by a larger celebration of life on Long Island this summer.
She was proud to have such a connected extended family and attended every Booth family reunion to date. A committed friend, Carol maintained strong friendships with people from every stage of her life. She gave of her love and time abundantly and demonstrated this profoundly in her proud-
The family wishes to extend a heartfelt thank you to the dedicated staff of Good Shepherd Hospice for the compassionate care they provided over the past several months, and to all our family and friends for their kindness, love and support. In lieu of flowers, donations in Carol’s honor can be made to Good Shepherd Hospice Foundation (catholichealthli.org/good-shepherd-hospice/ways-give) or Shelburne Farms (shelburnefarms.org/support/makegift-today).
DIRECT CREMATION SERVICES
Outside Chittenden, Lamoille, Franklin, Washington, Grand Isle,and Addison Counties, add $500
Carol Elizabeth Young
PHOTO BY LIBERTY DARR
Charlie Russell points to historic places on an old town map in the Charlotte library.
As the frost line retreats northward in the early spring, its withdrawal is often closely followed, and occasionally preceded, by the arrival of our most common flycatcher: the eastern phoebe. In fact, depending on where you live, you may already have one nesting above your front door.
Have you ever wondered why these small, onomatopoeic birds arrive weeks before the other flycatchers, such as eastern wood-pewees, eastern kingbirds and least flycatchers? Why do phoebes pursue the cold so closely instead of giving the warmer weather a few weeks to get comfortably settled in? By riding winter’s coattails, they risk the inevitable backslides into freezing temperatures, which, for a phoebe, can range from minor annoyance to deadly depending on the severity and duration of the cold.
One possible reason for the phoebes’ early arrival is that it allows them to track the oncoming spring and start breeding as soon as conditions turn favorable. Eastern phoebes are short-distance migrants, with most individuals wintering between the Gulf Coast and mid-Atlantic states, so they can quickly return to their breeding grounds. Soon after their arrival they locate suitable nest spots and begin the nest-building or renovating process. But they generally take a leisurely approach to this work, drawing it out over the course of a few weeks. Moreover, females typically delay the
laying of their first egg for 7 to 14 days after finishing the nest.
This extensive, and consistent, lag between their arrival and the laying of the first egg suggests that the birds almost always arrive weeks before they need to catch optimal nesting conditions. Therefore, while being able to respond quickly to favorable conditions could play a role in their breeding ecology, another variable may be more important in shaping the timing of their arrival: the phoebe’s unusual nest-site requirements.
Eastern phoebes are rather particular about a prospective nest location’s attributes. They like a flat surface on which to build the mud foundation of their nest, but it can’t be too damp, or the mud base won’t adhere properly. They prefer a roof sitting just a few inches above the top of the nest opening and, ideally, walls on three sides of the nest for protection. It’s best if the nest is atop a sheer wall with no nearby vegetation, and close to an open area for foraging. In short, they want the perfect “nook.”
Before people built bridges, barns, houses, and other structures that phoebes have adopted for nesting in the past few hundred years, potential nest sites were very limited. Most natural nest sites are protected rocky outcrops, especially along streams and rivers. This rarity made nest sites a hot commodity in the phoebe real estate market, and the resulting competition for suitable locations may have been the driver of their early migration habits. The timing of their spring arrival would thus be a compromise between compe-
tition for nest sites (the early bird gets the nook), and their physiological and energetic limits for tolerating the cold weather and lack of high-quality food (the too-early bird gets the hook).
As is often the case in science, one question can lead to another.
We might ask: why are phoebes so restrictive in where they nest? Why limit themselves to something that is relatively rare across the landscape?
One likely reason is the risk of nest-predation. Eggs and nestlings are prized delicacies for a
host of other animals. Raccoons, crows, jays and rat snakes are prime nest-predators, and even mice, squirrels and deer will go out of their way for a nest meal. In
Our half-day summer Math Quest groups engage your child in learning activities and games to show them the fun of numbers in our everyday lives. Designed for rising 5th and 6th graders for one to three weeks.
continued from page 1
funds for the program, Delneo said the system could still exist, but the burden to fund the system would shift more to local libraries and taxpayers.
“In South Burlington and in Shelburne there is a lot of support for libraries in the local budget,” Delneo said. “But these resources are important locally because they make up a piece of the total offerings and then in some communities, they’re the full offering, so it could be even more impactful to them there if we had to pare down or eliminate anything.”
Delneo said the Department of Libraries, as of Friday, had not heard anything about its grant being cancelled, but the uncertainty is a battle in and of itself.
Local impact
The Carpenter-Carse Library in Hinesburg is one of those smaller, more rural libraries that relies on that state support for the interlibrary loan courier service and the ABLE library. According to library director Jill Anderson, Carpenter-Carse, like many Vermont libraries, serves an aging population.
“We have people who come in and all they take out are large print books,” Anderson said.
While these resources are essential, Anderson said, a lot of the support from the state library can’t necessarily be qualified in dollar amounts. She pointed to the
CHARLOTTE DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD
Will hold a public hearing at Town Hall, 159 Ferry Rd., Charlotte, VT on the following application during its regular meeting of Wednesday, April 23, 2025.
8:05 PM DRB-25-043-SDA Waters Evans-Donovan and O’Donnell – Subdivision amendment to transfer 28 acres from 181 Windswept Lane to 501 Lake Road
For more information, contact the Planning & Zoning Office at 802.425.3533 ext. 208, or by email at: pza@townofcharlotte.com.
$350 the library usually receives from the state for its summer reading program as an example.
“People see that number and think that it’s not that big of a deal, but there’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes in order to help plan summer reading that the state consultants assist with,” Anderson said.
If the state is forced to scale back because of funding cuts at the federal level, Anderson said there’s a chance the Hinesburg library might lose access to those consultants, making it more difficult to
put on different programs.
Should federal funding fall through, even if some libraries can fill in the gaps, the network will still be at stake.
“Even if an individual library is fortunate enough to go back to the town and say, ‘Oh, we need 700 more dollars because that’s our share of the courier service,’ well, that doesn’t solve the problem because there are all the other libraries in Vermont. We’re connected,” Woodruff said.
The Department of Libraries, with the help of federal dollars, also
funds online databases that provide access to thousands of video courses on just about every topic, career and SAT test prep materials and research databases with verified information.
“I certainly didn’t put extra money in the budget for databases that the state has been providing for all the years that I’ve been working here,” Jennifer Murray, the director of the South Burlington library said, sitting in her office on the second floor of the building which was bustling even during the mid-day hours last week. “And maybe I’m going to have to.”
The funding cut from the Institute of Museum and Library Services is not the only potential cut to hit local libraries. Last week, overnight, Vermont Humanities received an email that its funding through the National Endowment for the Humanities had been cancelled. This amounts to 42 percent of its funding.
Along with a slew of other grants, Vermont Humanities also partners with local libraries and organizations to put on smaller events — programs like a recent talk at Carpenter-Carse given by anthropologist Michael Lange about the history and culture of maple syrup.
Executive director Christopher Kaufman Ilstrop said it may not always stick out to people that those programs are federal-
PHOTO BY LIBERTY DARR
Margaret Woodruff, director of the Charlotte library.
continued from page 12
ly funded. However, in the last two-plus years alone, Vermont Humanities has supported over 60 days of programming and events in Charlotte, Hinesburg, Shelburne and South Burlington, many of which are at the libraries.
While the organization plans to try to fill in the gap with cash reserves and appeals to donors, the future is still uncertain.
Community hubs
Murray said that, more than anything, Trump’s executive orders have created an air of uncertainty in these spaces, one of the only places in a community that is free and accessible to anyone and everyone.
She described libraries as “community hubs” with a unique mission, from hosting reading hours to providing internet access to submit a job application or complete a visa application.
“We have people on the computers every day who are doing something that has to do with betterment or improvement,” Murray said. “We have people who appear to be unhoused, and they regularly are using the recording studio. Are they putting out a vlog? Is it just that they’re making music and it’s for their own joy? I don’t
know, but I’m glad that we’re here for them.”
For Anderson at the Carpenter-Carse Library, the space is more than just where she works. It has also been her local library since she moved to Vermont with her daughter 13 years ago. She was a patron years before she was an employee.
“I grew up with libraries being a really important part of my life, coming from a family that didn’t have a lot of resources,” Anderson said. “This particular library was just so welcoming, and the community that my daughter and I found here was something that I needed so much at that point in my life.”
For the many that keep these libraries running, the work exceeds just a job title. It is a labor of love.
Fighting back
Vermont’s Attorney General Charity Clark last week joined a coalition of 20 other state attorneys general in suing the Trump administration to stop the dismantling of Institute of Museum and Library Services and two other agencies targeted in the administration’s executive order.
communities, and this executive order would threaten their continued health. For some, gutting these grants could jeopardize their very survival,” Clark said. “As chair of the board of my local library, I know how important Vermont’s town libraries are to children, job seekers, elders and all of us.”
For Michael Hibben, director of the Pierson Library in Shelburne, even more than the funding, the existential threat to libraries is weighing on him. Like Woodruff in Charlotte, he never thought he would have to defend their value.
RABIES BAIT
continued from page 2
“I am concerned, if we’re slipping into authoritarianism, and it seems that way, what that could mean for libraries, even here in Vermont,” he said. “And if bad things start happening where the federal government tries somehow to censor certain things, what would Vermonters do? Would we stand up to that? How would we stand up to that?”
“Vermonters know that libraries are the heart of our towns and rural
Hibben said he is planning some relevant programming for Shelburne patrons. In May, the library will host a community read of Timonthy Snyder’s “On Tyranny,” a book that looks to lessons from the past to teach people how to fight authoritarianism.
The week-long bait drop is a coopera tive effort between Vermont and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services to stop the spread of the potentially fatal disease.
saliva. If left untreated, rabies is almost always fatal in humans and animals. However, treatment with the rabies vaccine is nearly 100 percent effective when given soon after a person is bitten by a rabid animal.
So far this year, 23 animals in Vermont have tested positive for rabies, and 14 of those have been raccoons.
Rabies is a deadly viral disease of the brain that infects mammals. It is most often seen in raccoons, skunks, foxes, and bats, but unvaccinated pets and livestock can also get rabies.The virus is spread through the bite of an infected animal or contact with its
bittnerantiques.com
According to wildlife officials, rabid animals often show a change in their normal behavior, but you cannot tell whether an animal has rabies simply by looking at it. People should not touch or pick up wild animals or strays – even baby animals.
continued
Shelburne display lead a cemetery dors round from
creemees.
coffee
from Shelburne
SHELBURNE
PHOTO BY BRIANA BRADY
A wood frog gets ferried safely across Pond Road at Shelburne’s Big Night event, which took place Saturday night.
Frogger
WELL
continued from page 1 after the pump was turned on.
“Which indicates to us that something is happening once the well pump is turned on and it is not necessarily part of the aquifer, because the level drops after having collected a bunch of samples over time,” Larsen said.
Larsen said that the running hypothesis right now is there is some sort of corrosion happening with the drop pipe, where the pump is attached, which is made of galvanized steel.
While the selectboard has been considering for some time what approach to take in fixing well No. 4, at last week’s meeting, Vermont Well and Pump owner Rob Frost, who has worked with the town before, said he thought the drop in the water table posed a much greater problem.
“One thing that I haven’t heard anything about is the fact that the town is violating their permit with the state by over pumping the well,” Frost said.
He continued to say that the well is not producing the way it used to, causing the town to run the pump longer. When the town first brought it online, Frost said, it initially installed a larger pump to meet testing standards, but it was never intended to pump as much as it has been.
In addition to the over-pumping, Odit said the mobile home park, Sunset Lake, which reported a leak last month, has still not been able find where the water is leaking, leading to continued overuse. The park manager believes there may be leaks inside the trailers, such as toilets that run continuously.
and Larsen agree that central to the issues the town is facing is also a lack of redundancy in the system.
“At any moment, well 4 could go down, and there’s no backup plan,” Frost said at the selectboard meeting. “I work on systems throughout the state. Normally, there’s another well. You hit a switch, and you have another source of water. You have nothing here.”
Larsen said having only one source of water leaves a municipality vulnerable if it loses access or must make repairs on another source.
“Let’s say the corrosion has actually progressed to the point where the material is so thin that it could break off any time, and then they would lose that pump to the bottom of the well and wouldn’t be able to extract it, and now they have no way to actually withdraw water for the public,” she said.
At the meeting last week, the selectboard discussed multiple funding avenues and schedules for making repairs to well No. 4 and bringing No. 6 online. As the latter well was drilled as part of the Haystack Crossing development, there was general agreement for working on the well as the development proceeds with site work.
However, the options for funding change the timeline. If the town decides to bond for the projects, it might be able to bring well No. 6 online much faster.
“That’s another prong of this whole issue. What sort of authority do we have over that if they’re using excess water?” Odit said.
The park, while on town water, owns its pipe system and is responsible for repairs. Odit said the town will assess water use across the system and continue to assist the park with resolving its usage issue.
“If you go through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, you’re going to save $5,000 to $6,000 a year in loan payments. The issue there is, once you jump through all those hoops, you’re probably looking at not getting well number six connected until sometime next summer,” Mike Mainer, an engineer with DuBois and King, said at the selectboard meeting.
“We’re going to look through after this month’s billing at the larger users, what their actual use is, versus what they were allocated, and see if we can scale them back,” he said.
According to Odit, after the selectboard meeting, the water department did slow down the pump at well No. 4 and has seen a slight rise in the water table.
While the town may be taking steps to bring water use under control, both Frost
Whether that would line up with Haystack Crossing’s timeline is unclear. Odit added it’s unlikely to get grant funding for a system expansion — that cost is usually borne by towns. While the selectboard has yet to decide, he said that it’s likely the town will choose to prioritize repairs to well No. 4.
That project’s cost is estimated to be around $70,000 or $80,000, compared to the $1 million associated with bringing well No. 6 online.
“The more important thing right now is just making sure that we have access to water,” Odit said.
OUTSIDE STORY continued from page 11
a world of would-be egg thieves, a safe nest spot is of paramount importance.
The features that make a given nest site attractive to a phoebe are exactly those that make it safe from predators. A roof a few inches above the top of the nest, and the presence of walls, make detection and access very difficult for aerial predators such as crows, jays, and hawks. Being situated in or above a sheer wall without nearby vegetation makes access by terrestrial and arboreal animals challenging. Many of these anti-predator traits also help protect the nest from inclement weather, and buffer it from extreme temperatures.
As spring comes north, keep an eye out
for phoebes doing the same. Though they may be a common sight in our yards and parks in the spring and summer, when we begin asking questions about their migration and nesting behavior, it becomes clear that our tail-bobbing neighbors are far from commonplace.
Loren Merrill is a writer and photographer with a PhD in animal behavior, wildlife ecology and physiology. 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.