Hidden history
Know the ropes
Meet three Vermonters whose histories are lesser known
Weekend winds favor annual Diamond Island Regatta on the lake
Page 2
Page 10
August 27, 2026
Champlain Valley to study merger with Mount Mansfield
Weekly news coverage for Charlotte and Hinesburg
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BRIANA BRADY STAFF WRITER
The Champlain Valley School District is beginning to tackle tasks set out by last year’s statewide education reforms. The district will study the possibility of a merger with another district and collaborate with a larger regional network, called a cooperative education service area, to consider sharing some services and resources. The legislation — Act 170 — has paired Champlain Valley with the Mount Mansfield Union Unified School District to study a merger between the two. The two districts have been named to the broader “Champlain Valley South,” service area, which also includes the majority of Addison County’s school districts, including the Hannaford Technical Center in Middlebury. The merger studies and the creation of the service area groups are mandated by law. Whether or not the districts actually merge, and what services end up being shared, will be decided later by voters. See MERGER on page 15
PHOTO BY SOPHIA BALUNEK
A couple kids on a raft are pulled by a small boat on Lake Iroquois — before the water gets too cold.
Hinesburg’s water worries going down the drain BRIANA BRADY STAFF WRITER
As Hinesburg prepares to connect another well to the town’s water system this fall, concerns about the system’s sustainability are easing. While new water allocations are
still on hold, that is likely to change in the coming months. Over the last couple of years, Hinesburg’s town water, which has relied on a single well, has faced some difficulties. A large leak at the Sunset Lake Cooperative trailer park last year saw the system almost maxing out its
capacity and a drought last summer brought worries about the water table. A year ago, the selectboard put a halt to any new water allocations.
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Page 2 • August 27, 2026 • The Citizen
Meet three Vermonters with lesser known histories KYLE NEECE COMMUNITY NEWS SERVICE
This summer marked the 250th anniversary of the United States, and many Vermont towns and cities celebrated residents who played important roles in the fight for independence. But there are many other notable Vermonters who lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Their names may be lesser known, but their stories reveal the realities of life at the time.
Charles Bowles Charles Bowles was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1761. His father was an African servant, and his mother was the daughter of Revolutionary War hero Col. Morgan, according to a biography by John W. Lewis. At the age of 12, Bowles became a servant in a loyalist household. When the Revolutionary War kicked off, Bowles joined the colonial army as a waiter. In 1776, Bowles served in a New Hampshire regiment as a private. After the war, in 1779, Bowles was honorably discharged in Newburgh, New York. Shortly after, he moved to Warren, New Hampshire, and began preaching in nearby communities. A few years later, Bowles moved to Vermont, where he continued preaching. Author and historian Elise Guyette researched and wrote about Bowles for her book “Discovering Black Vermont.” “This was during the Second Great Awakening, which is a very important movement in our country,” said Guyette, referring to a major religious revival around the turn of the 19th century. “But usually you don’t read about people like Charles Bowles, even though he was a very important part of it.” Bowles lived in Huntington, where he was a successful preacher with a congregation of about 60 people, according to Guyette’s
research. He also preached across central and northern Vermont and upstate New York. He founded Free Will Baptist churches in Huntington, Hinesburg, Shelburne and Duxbury. “He held huge revivals all over the state, and hardly anybody remembers this man,” Guyette said. Bowles eventually moved to Malone, New York, where he purchased small farmland and settled down with his daughter, Eunice. He died on March 16, 1843, at age 81. The church Bowles built in Huntington still stands today. The building became the town hall, then the first volunteer fire department. According to Guyette, the town has been working to preserve the building.
Joseph Susap Joseph Susap was born circa 1739 in Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, a member of the Mi’kmaq people. When Joe was only 6 years old, the British sieged Louisbourg and killed his family, according to Jill Mudgett, an independent historian who has researched Susap’s life. Susap, along with other Indigenous people, fled to Odanak, Quebec, where he was taken in by a group of Abenaki. This is where Susap grew up and met Molly, an Abenaki woman with two sons, whom he would eventually marry. However, trouble followed Susap as he escaped death a second time. In 1759, British Army Officer Robert Rogers and his rangers attacked the Odanak village. Susap and Molly fled south and lived in a variety of places ranging from Derby at the northern Vermont border down to Cabot, Morristown and as far south as Newbury. When the Revolutionary War started in 1775, Susap enlisted to fight for America. “He had strong opinions about the British,” Mudgett said. Susap served as a scout for Gen. Jacob Bayley and helped map out
IMAGE COURTESY OF AMERICAN HISTORY CENTRAL
An illustration depicting what Charles Bowles’ congregation might have looked like.
the Bayley-Hazen Road, which was ordered by George Washington to connect the Connecticut River Valley with Canada. After the war, Susap traveled far and wide within northern Vermont.
He had a reputation for being kind to settlers and was known as “Indian Joe.” In one story, Susap shared moose meat with a family before feeding himself. In another, he
killed a catamount to protect a group of settlers. Mudgett says that Susap’s friendly actions left a See VERMONTERS on page 7
Police remind drivers to be aware as school starts back up for the semester BRIANA BRADY STAFF WRITER
With the start of the new school year, the Hinesburg Police Department is reminding drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists, students and families to make safety a priority around Hinesburg’s schools. Beginning Wednesday, Aug. 26 the first day of school, the police department began conducting intensified traffic enforcement around the town’s schools — Hinesburg Community School and Champlain Valley Union High School.
The increased enforcement will focus on traffic violations and unsafe behaviors that create the greatest risks for students, particularly speeding, distracted driving, failing to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks, improper passing or stopping near school buses, and other violations. “The beginning of the school year is an important reminder that our roads are shared by drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists and our youngest community members,” police chief Chris Romance said. “We ask everyone to slow down, stay focused and give themselves
extra time. A few extra seconds can make a tremendous difference when it comes to protecting a child.” The department is placing particular emphasis on crosswalk safety. Drivers must yield to pedestrians who are crossing or are about to cross the roadway, slow down and scan carefully for pedestrians and be prepared to stop. Police say students and families should use designated crossSee SCHOOL on page 9
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The Citizen • August 27, 2026 • Page 3
‘USPS isn’t delivering for Vermont’ ERIN PETENKO VTDIGGER
Vermont’s congressional delegation has received more than 2,000 complaints from constituents about mail service so far this year, the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Postmaster General David Steiner on Friday. “As you know, the Postal Service’s Delivering for America ten-year plan was launched in 2021, supposedly to modernize and support the financial self-sustainability of the postal network,” the letter begins. “Five years into this plan, mail delivery service in Vermont is at an all-time low, staffing shortages in the state are pervasive, and USPS has not improved its financial outlook.” The Postal Service did not respond to a request for comment. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., sent the letter to Steiner to share Vermonters’ complaints about the U.S. Postal Service and posed a series of questions to his office that they hope to have answered by Sept. 1. “It’s clear the national leadership of USPS isn’t delivering for Vermont,” Welch said via email to VTDigger. “The postal service is a critical public service, and we want answers about what steps USPS is taking to improve delivery for Vermonters.” The letter cited local news coverage about Vermonters receiving only one or two days of mail delivery per week, leading to paperwork mishaps, missed birthdays and gaps in prescription medications. The issue has also affected state government operations: According to the letter, the Vermont Agency of Administration has reported two separate batches of vehicle titles have been lost in the mail. “These incidents not only create unnecessary administrative burdens for the state, they also present real security threats to customers’ most sensitive personal information,” the letter said. Steve Hutkins is a mail quality advocate who tracks Postal Service news on his blog Save the Post Office. He said he wasn’t surprised to hear that Vermonters have been experiencing poor service — because he’s been hearing about it, nationwide, for years. Data from the Postal Service shows that about 84% of firstclass letters in the Maine-New Hampshire-Vermont region get to their destination on time, roughly in line with the national average but far below the Postal
Are you tired of missed pick ups? PHOTO BY GLENN RUSSELL/VTDIGGER
Drive-by mailboxes bearing the logo of the United States Postal Service.
Service’s target of 90% to 95%. But even that “on time” designation is suspect, since the Postal Service has changed its definition, so what was supposed to take two days is now supposed to take three, Hutkins said. “They slow down the literal standard of what it’s supposed to be, and then they can’t even make the new, more relaxed standards,” he said. The letter alleges that some Vermont postal workers are being told to prioritize Amazon and United Parcel Service deliveries over traditional USPS mail service, delaying the mail further. That, too, is a national issue, Hutkins said. Postal workers are “being told at the office, ‘Get those
Amazon packages out, because we have to have a high rating with Amazon,’” he said. Among the congressional members’ questions are several asking about what the Postal Service is doing to address an alleged staff shortage. “In January 2026, USPS’ NNE District Office confirmed to the Vermont Congressional Delegation that Vermont lags behind its regional neighbors in new employee recruitment numbers,” the letter reads. “What resources or strategies have you committed directly to the NNE District to boost statewide hiring efforts?” Hutkins said federal reports See POST OFFICE on page 4
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Page 4 • August 27, 2026 • The Citizen
Hinesburg Police Blotter: Aug. 17-21 Total reported incidents: 55 Traffic stops: 38 Special overtime: 4 Directed patrol: 2 Crash-property only: 2 Crash-injury: 2 Suspicious person/ circumstance: 1 Welfare/suicide check: 1 Agency assist:1 Fingerprints: 1 Lockout: 1 Child abuse/neglect: 1
Selected incidents: Aug. 14 at 10:30 a.m., an officer responded to a single car crash on Pond Brook Road. Aug. 14 at 1:17 p.m., police investigated reported harassment by electronic communication. Aug. 14 at 7 p.m., police arrested someone for driving with a criminally suspended driver’s license. Aug. 14 at 7:52 p.m., police attempted a traffic stop on 104 Robin Hood Dr., Swanton 528 Essex Rd/Route2A, Williston 414 Route 7, Milton
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Charlotte Road. The driver fled the scene, and police stopped pursuit for public safety concerns. Aug. 18 at 10:31 a.m., police investigated a report of child neglect on Jourdan Street, but no issues were found. Aug. 18 at 2:37 p.m., police helped someone with fingerprinting for a job. Aug. 18 at 4:22 p.m., police assisted someone with a lockout. Aug. 19 at 9:21 a.m., an officer responded to Charlotte Road for a motor vehicle crash
involving a bicyclist. Aug. 19 at 2:14 p.m., police cited someone during traffic stop on Route 116 for driving with a criminally suspended driver’s license. Aug. 19 at 5:48 p.m., an officer responded to a two-car crash on Farmall Drive. Aug. 20 at 2:00 p.m., officers assisted first responders with a medical emergency on Hawk Lane. Aug. 20 at 8:05 p.m., police conducted a welfare check on Village Heights Road. Aug. 21 at 7:57 a.m., police
helped someone with a VIN verification. Aug. 21 at 8:16 a.m., an officer responded to a two-car crash on Route 116. Aug. 21 at 11:36 a.m., police assisted someone on Hillview Terrace with a civil issue. Aug. 21 at 2:31 p.m., an officer responded to a two-car crash on Route 116.
ballots not arriving in time to be counted for the election, since mail-in ballots must be received by local election officials by the close of polls on Election Day, according to the Vermont secretary of state. According to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, Vermont has a relatively low rate of mail-in ballots getting rejected, including for late delivery — only 0.2% of returned ballots in 2024. Hutkins said the Postal Service takes “extraordinary measures” to ensure that mailin ballots are delivered promptly for November elections. But the
rhetoric from the federal government against mail-in ballots has some advocates worried. President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March that would require states to share voter information with the U.S. Postal Service in order to utilize mail-in ballots. A group of Democratic states challenged the order, taking the case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where it is pending. “This is a huge deal, and the Postal Service is right in the middle of it, and that’s why it’s provoking questions like that from Vermont elected officials,” Hutkins said.
Note: Charges filed by police are subject to review by the Chittenden County State’s Attorney Office and can be amended or dropped.
POST OFFICE
continued from page 3 have shown the Postal Service particularly struggles to retain “pre-career” employees, temporary workers who do not have the same benefits as career employees and are not guaranteed a regular schedule. “The usual problem is, the job is too hard,” he said. “They don’t like the forced overtime. Then people get burned out really quickly.” He said rural mail carriers might struggle even further because their routes take them down mountainous dirt roads. The three congressional members also expressed concern about the possibility of mail-in
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The Citizen • August 27, 2026 • Page 5
Rising healthcare costs are squeezing Vermonters. Here’s how everyone can make more affordable choices. Vermont has some of the highest healthcare costs in America. This hurts everyone in our community and the well-being of our state. So, it’s the perfect time to learn ways to make care more affordable. Consider these costs comparisons for common procedures: Bone Density Study
Breast Biopsy
Cataract Surgery
CT Chest Scan
Gallbladder Removal
Hip Replacement
Laparoscopic MRI Hernia Repair of Spine
Upper GI Endoscopy
Vaginal Delivery
$913
$16,054
$9,785
$3,495
$35,057
$51,432
$30,361
$4,438
$7,768
$28,912
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital
Winsdor Hospital
Dartmouth Hitchcock
Northeastern VT Regional Hospital
Northeastern VT Regional Hospital
Dartmouth Hitchcock
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital
North Country Hospital
University of VT Medical Center
$359
$8,262
$4,806
$1,396
$16,262
$24,642
$17,569
$2,560
$3,626
$18,248
Porter Hospital
University of VT Medical Center
University of VT Medical Center
Vermont Open Imaging
Springfield Hospital
Dartmouth Hitchcock
Rutland Regional Medical Center
Northeastern VT Regional Hospital
Central Vermont Medical Center
Brattleboro Memorial Hospital
$64
$2,597
$2,712
$1,222
$13,293
$23,558
$10,761
$1,410
$1,928
$10,135
Thomas Chittenden Health Center
Northwestern Medical Center
VT Eye Surgery and Laser Center
Vermont Diagnostic Imaging
Central VT Medical Center
Central VT Medical Center
Central VT Medical Center
Vermont Open Imaging
Green Mountain Surgery Center
Northwestern Medical Center
(Spine or Pelvis)
(with Imaging)
Source: Blue Cross Blue Shield Association Axis Cost Transparency Data Averages, Spring 2026. Costs include facility and provider costs.
There are many reasons for this affordability crisis and no one entity or individual can fix it. That’s why our organizations continue working together to be part of the solution. We invite you to join us, take action, and explore these tips to save on your care.
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• Costs for procedures can vary widely between hospitals, outpatient facilities, surgery and imaging centers. Knowing your options can help you save hundreds or thousands of dollars.
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• See if getting a 30-day, 60-day or 90-day supply of your medications can help you save. • Compare costs and look for discount coupons on websites like ArrayRx, GoodRx, RxSaver, WellRx, SingleCare, Cost Plus Drugs, and the new federal website TrumpRx.
Review Your Health Insurance Benefits
• For routine procedures, there is usually ample time to explore care options, understand costs, and look for savings. • Ask for a written estimate before your procedure, so you have a clear picture of the costs beforehand. Afterward, review your itemized bill to understand the charges and confirm they are accurate.
• This Open Enrollment season is a great time to revisit your health plan’s benefits, premiums, deductibles, and copays to determine what makes sense for your health needs and budget. • When planning your care, check for “in-network” providers, which are more affordable and can help avoid unexpected expenses.
S p o n s o re d B y
Visit our website to get more cost comparisons, helpful tips, and free resources.
VTAffordableCare - BANG 10.25x12.5.indd 1
8/5/26 3:52 PM
Page 6 • August 27, 2026 • The Citizen
OPINION Greed has tarnished the truth as the world changes ly but intently, trying, no doubt, to discern its filling. Replace the sandwich with a Tupperware full Paul Wein of hot food, and you get them Free is good. Everyone likes sniffing like a pack of dogs. free. Driving down most any “What’s ya’ got there? They Vermont road, you’re likely to spy may say. “Smells good!” a pile of stuff sitting off to the side Replace the Tupperware with with a “Free” sign on it. My wife a meat product, and now you’ve and daughter find them irresistible got a story. Roasted or barbecued and cannot pass up free furniture meat, especially. Ribs, burgers, that “needs only” a little sanding chicken or even a lowly hot dog, and a coat of paint to be repurand people, men and women alike, posed into a freshly sanded and move closer than is comfortable painted piece of rubbish cluttering for a better look: eyes wide, lips up another house. parted, breathing deeply, trying, I have eaten more fast food in it seems, to inhale the calories my lifetime than right off the anyone I know. I meat before it Somewhere along have the surgery can enter your scars and medical mouth. the line, “Free” got bills to back that Not just at claim up. In over work, either. hijacked by greedy half a century, Eating chicken never once have wings from the advertisers. I been given grocery store on a larger order than what I was the way home, I have more than expecting. Not one random French once nearly caused an accident as fry’s worth. The closest I came oncoming and nearby drivers whip was when I received five McNugtheir heads toward the passing or gets instead of four, the fifth being oncoming protein. somewhat of an overcooked, Somewhere along the line, shriveled runt of a McNugget, “Free” got hijacked by greedy too dinky to really count. I was, advertisers. “Free” anything on the however, overjoyed at my boonInternet is usually followed by a doggle. I enjoyed it mightily, being screen where you fill in your credit perhaps the finest chicken nugget card information. Hmm. ever. I believe this began in the On the subject (almost), I like mid-seventies. Up till then, bananas. I eat one nearly every watching television was free, other day. I eat it at my computer, than the initial cost of the TV set alongside my co-workers, facing and the antenna on the roof. Then incoming customers at the service came cable TV. I believe it then desk. No one pays me any mind. cost $9.95 a month, but for that, Same with an orange, apple or any you could watch all day long withtype of fruit or vegetable. Nobody out seeing a single commercial. gives me or the food a second That has slowly morphed into look. Replace that bit of fruit with $100 per month, more commera sandwich, and interest increases cials than ever, and I’m still watchtenfold. They will look at it quicking reruns of Andy Griffith, for
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lack of any better shows out there. If I go to a restaurant, I am treated to “Free WiFi!” if I pay $6.95 for a cup of coffee. I know, I know, there is no free lunch, it’s a free country and there is always freedom of choice, but I dislike a word’s meaning changing by misuse. Especially a word I like. Call me a frugal Yankee or
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idea of putting two mannequins out in front of the shop, a man and a woman, wearing not a stitch. Something about seeing naked humans in one’s peripheral vision works like a magnet; a tasteless and somewhat bizarre magnet, but See WEIN on page 7
The Citizen • August 27, 2026 • Page 7
VERMONTERS
continued from page 2 complex legacy. “He unintentionally and culturally gave the sense that (settlers) have the go-ahead to colonize due to his friendly nature,” Mudgett said. “It’s not so much that he is literally doing that, but he is symbolically used to do this. The settlers used his actions as one guy as a stand-in for Indigenous people.” As he grew older, Susap was taken care of by a group of Vermonters. He died in 1819 and is buried in Oxbow Cemetery in Newbury. Joe’s Pond, which straddles Caledonia and Washington counties, is named after Susap. According to Mudgett, Joe’s story has persisted with Vermonters because of his “friendly” attitude towards white settlers. But she says that Susap’s tale is a reminder that other Indigenous peoples’ stories are not as popular. “The communities that claim him as their own have always historically embraced him because he’s Joe the ‘friendly Indian,’” Mudgett said. “And if it’s more complicated than that, then these stories get erased.”
Martha Powell Martha Winslow Powell was born in 1724 in Gloucester, Massachusetts. In 1748, at age 24, she married John Felix Powell. Shortly after their marriage, they had their first child, who died as an infant. In 1761, she gave birth to a son, Felix Powell Jr. In 1768, the family moved to Dorset, Vermont, where Felix Powell is credited as the first settler; Martha Powell was left unmentioned in the land deeds, according to Angie Grove, executive director of the Ethan Allen Homestead, who has researched Martha Powell’s life. In 1770, the Powells moved to Pittsford, where Martha Powell gave birth to a second daughter, only for her to die as an infant as well. Martha Powell’s life “reflects the hardships, displacement and active contributions of working-class women who helped
settle the frontier and establish the state of Vermont during the Revolutionary period,” Grove said during a panel discussion in April. The Powells eventually settled in Burlington, where the family purchased property in 1774. Martha Powell helped with her husband’s trade activities, managed household financial accounts and spending, and performed various tasks like cleaning, cooking and maintaining gardens. When the American Revolution began, both Felix Powell Sr. and Felix Powell Jr. left to serve in the war. In September 1777, forces aligned with the British attacked and burned down the Powells’ home during a raid. “The American Revolution was experienced by everybody. It was not just soldiers on battlefields; the chaos, fear, and drama were experienced by everyone on every piece of land. People’s experiences differed vastly and were heavily influenced by their demographics and personal relationships,” Grove said. According to Grove, Martha Powell, who was pregnant at the time, escaped into the surrounding woods. While she was hiding from the raid, Powell went into labor and delivered her baby alone in the forest. This baby, too, didn’t survive. Martha Powell did not live to see the conclusion of the war, as she died sometime between 1777 and 1780 in her early to mid 50s. In October 1780, her father authored a revised will leaving portions of his estate to his surviving daughters and “to my grandchildren born of Martha Powell, deceased.” Grove says that researching stories like Powell’s takes a lot of time and resources but that the histories of everyday people are essential. “The majority of people throughout history have been common people whose stories have not been highlighted,” she said. “Most people today would relate more to these untold stories than to the political leaders whose stories are commonly told.”
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WEIN
continued from page 6 a magnet nonetheless. The female mannequin held a small sign: “Free Brake Inspection.” It worked incredibly well, but not to bring in customers for their brakes to be inspected. Neighbors complained, schoolboys gathered in droves and local papers had front page stories. Suddenly, we had more customers than we could help. The phones rang off the hook. The police became involved. Dave was fired. The whereabouts of the mannequins were lost over time. Maybe it’s the treasure-seeker within me that keeps me waiting for that extra burger in my drive-thru order, keeps me watching Antiques Roadshow, keeps my wife and daughter eyeing the piles of broken furniture alongside the road. Maybe it’s the treasure hunter in all of us that the advertisers and television moguls use to their advantage. We are all looking for something. Something good. Something free. I belong to a group of volunteer ministers who offer free Bible studies. We aren’t
selling a thing; we don’t get paid for these studies, nor do we collect any credit card information. We truly believe that obeying God’s word is the key to gaining everlasting life, something far better than free television shows, including first-run movies. Over the years, I have seen the look in people’s eyes harden when I use the word “free” before the words “Bible study.” So, I no longer use it as much, if at all. And that is what makes me sad: greed has once again tarnished the truth. In a world rapidly changing for the worse and truth getting more and more scarce, I dislike the thought of having to stand outside naked, holding a sign or tying a spare rib around my neck to get people to find the treasure the Bible offers. But one must do what one must do. Come and let anyone thirsting come; let anyone who wishes take life’s water free. (Revelation 22:17). Paul Wein grew up in Hyde Park and now lives and works in Windsor County.
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Page 8 • August 27, 2026 • The Citizen
COMMUNITY Community Notes September Age Well luncheon St. Catherine of Siena and Age Well will offer a luncheon Tuesday, Sept. 8, for anyone 60 or older at St. Catherine of Siena Parish Hall, 72 Church St., Shelburne. Check-in is at 11:30 a.m., with lunch served at noon. The suggested donation is $7. The menu includes baked chicken breast with Hawaiian pineapple sauce, black beans and rice, corn with peppers, an apple and milk. Registration is required by Sept. 3. Contact Pam Niarchos at 802-6625283 or pniarchos@agewellvt.org. Tickets also are available at the Age Well office, 875 Roosevelt Highway, Suite 210, Colchester.
Get on your dancing shoes Contra Dance presented by Queen City Contras is Aug. 28 at 6:45 p.m. at Shelburne Town Hall, 5374 Shelburne Road. The Spring Chickens Trio (Jenny Monfore, Chris Hollis, and banjo player) will play. Our caller will be Will Mentor. All are welcome; all dances are taught; no partner or experience necessary. $12 adults over 18, $5 kids 12-18/low-income, under 12 free. Please bring a pair of clean, soft-soled shoes to
dance in and a water bottle to keep you hydrated.
Gallery to show off ‘Painter of Vermont’ J. Kenneth Fine Art and Atelier Frame & Design will present Painter of Vermont 1900-1955, a group exhibition featuring artists inspired by the Vermont landscape. The exhibition runs Sept. 2 through Oct. 3 at J. Kenneth Fine Art, 145 Pine Haven Shores Road, Suite 1160, Shelburne. The exhibition spans more than five decades of Vermont art, from turnof-the-century paintings through mid-century works of the 1950s.
Girl Scouts host Stories and Scoops Girls in pre-kindergarten and older and their families are invited to Stories and Scoops on Saturday, Aug. 29, from 10 a.m. to noon at the Fletcher Free Library, 235 College St., Burlington. The free event will include stories, a craft and ice cream, and will offer families an opportunity to learn more about Girl Scouts and meet other families. Participants are encouraged to bring a friend, and walk-ins are welcome. To RSVP, call 888-474-9686 or
COURTESY PHOTO
Mark your calendar: The eighth annual Vermont Climbing Festival will hit the cliffs of Bolton Sept. 25-27.
email customercare@girlscoutsgwm.org. More information is available at girlscoutsgwm.org.
Chamber music comes to the farm The Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival will hold an afternoon of music and discussion Thursday, Aug. 27, at Meach Cove Farms in Shelburne. The program will feature a talk by David Serkin Ludwig, dean of the Juilliard School, followed by a concert of American spirituals and Antonín Dvořák’s E-flat Major Viola Quintet. Tickets are available at lccmf. org.
The hills are alive with food at Trapps The von Trapp Family Lodge & Resort will host a farm-totable dinner Saturday, Sept. 5, featuring ingredients grown and raised on the property and paired with Höpler wines and von Trapp Brewing beers. The evening begins with a 4 p.m. cocktail reception in the gardens, followed by a multicourse dinner at 5 p.m. Menu highlights include von Trapp Farmstead cheeses, watermelon salad, roasted von Trapp beef tenderloin, garden vegetables and plum galette. The $275 price includes food, beverages, taxes and gratuities. Nonalcoholic options are available. The event is limited to 100 guests. In case of inclement weather, dinner will be held in the event tent.
COURTESY IMAGE
“Deiana Poppies” by Francesco Igory will be on display at Hexum Gallery’s “Wallflowers” exhibit through Sept. 25.
Bread and Puppet brings circus to Snow Bowl Bread and Puppet Theatre will bring its annual circus tour to the Middlebury College Snow Bowl in Hancock on Saturday, Sept. 5. “The Upside-Down World Circus” begins at 3:30 p.m., following a 3:20 p.m. performance by Bread
and Puppet’s brass band. The political puppet show combines paper mâché, dance, music and traditional circus elements to explore contemporary themes. Following the performance, Bread and Puppet will See COMMUNITY NOTES on page 11
The Citizen • August 27, 2026 • Page 9
Obituary Diana Carris Diana Marie (Farrar) Carris, 88, of South Burlington, died on Aug. 10, 2026, in Berlin. She was born Sept. 20, 1937, in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the only child of Roland “Jerry” Farrar and Dorothy Lynch Farrar. She attended Nativity School in Saint Paul, graduated from Derham Hall High School, and had completed two years at the University of Minnesota when she married Barry Carris in Saint Paul in October 1958. The first dozen years of their marriage moved them often, following Barry’s service in the Navy and then his career with American Hospital Supply Diana Carris Corporation: Brunswick, Maine; Duluth and Saint Paul, Minnesota; White Plains, New York; and Glenview and Buffalo Grove, Illinois, before they settled in Lake Forest, Illinois. When her son entered high school, Diana announced that she intended to finish college before he did, and she did, earning her bachelor’s degree from Barat College in 1977, at thirty-nine. In those same years she and Barry opened two small businesses in Lake Forest: a clock shop, the Clockworks, and then a bookstore of her own, Farrar & Company, named for her family. She was an avid, lifelong reader who spent much of her life in libraries and used bookstores, and for many years a member of P.E.O., the philanthropic educational organization that helps women return to school — a cause she had lived herself. In 1981 they sold the businesses and moved to Vermont, fulfilling a long-held wish to live in small-town New England. Diana
found work almost immediately at Hackett, Valine & MacDonald, and the two of them were welcomed by a community that became lifelong friends. They lived first in South Burlington, then built a home in Charlotte where they stayed for many years, before downsizing to a townhouse and later a cape in South Burlington. Much of their life together was spent outdoors — canoeing, camping, sailing, hiking and cross-country skiing — and after Barry’s retirement they traveled throughout the United States and abroad, to Europe, Central America and as far as New Zealand. More recently she was a member of the Friends of the South Burlington Library. Barry, her husband of fifty-four years, predeceased her in June 2013. She is survived by her son, David Carris of Montpelier; her former daughter-in-law, Anne LaBrusciano of Marshfield; and three grandchildren, Ruby LaBrusciano-Carris and Ella LaBrusciano-Carris, both of Portland, Oregon, and Theo LaBrusciano-Carris of San Francisco. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 10, at St. John Vianney Church, 160 Hinesburg Road, South Burlington, with the Rev. Timothy Naples officiating, followed by a reception for family and friends in the parish hall. The Rite of Committal will be private. Memorial gifts in support of the Vermont Chapter of P.E.O. and women’s education may be made to the P.E.O. Foundation, 3700 Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50312
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tions, and avoid stopping in locations that obstruct crosswalks, sidewalks or the visibility of other motorists and pedestrians. The increased police presence is intended not only to enforce traffic laws, the department said, but also to educate drivers and reinforce safe habits as students return to school.
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Page 10 • August 27, 2026 • The Citizen
Weekend winds favor annual Diamond Island Regatta TIM ETCHELLS CONTRIBUTOR
In Homer’s “The Odyssey,” Aeolus is the ruler of the winds. To ensure a safe passage home for Odysseus and his crew, Aeolus provided them with a bag containing all the winds they would need. When almost home, so close the sailors could smell fresh bread being baked ashore, Odysseus’s men, thinking the bag contained treasure, opened it, and the winds blew their ship all the way back to Aeolus’s home island of Aeolia. Aeolus sent them on their way, but without any of his precious wind. Aeolus does not make an appearance in the Christopher Nolan film The Odyssey, but Aeolus and various other wind gods are in the prayers each year of race director Wendy Friant — and all the sailors — in the days leading up to the Diamond Island Regatta, held on the waters of Lake Champlain off Ferrisburgh and Charlotte. For the 14th edition of the Diamond Island Regatta on Aug. 15, and the Split Rock Race the next day on the, the wind gods all prayers were answered. The DIR featured a strong north wind, with a steady 15 knots and gusts well over 20. And on Sunday, the race began in a moderate southerly, and the wind blew hard throughout the day. The races are organized by the Diamond Island Yacht Club and Point Bay Marina in Charlotte and benefit the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Ferrisburgh. The money raised is still being tallied but is expected to exceed $4,000. On Saturday morning, 27 boats were on the starting line for the Diamond Island Regatta, which took them on a course of about 11 nautical miles, from the start/ finish line in Town Farm Bay, north to a mark just south of Sloop Island off Charlotte, south to Diamond Island off Ferrisburgh, and then back north to the finish. The race started in a moderate breeze, which built throughout the race. Gusts over 20 knots were common — as were (mostly minor) equipment issues. The next day, 18 boats started the sixth annual Split Rock Race, in a south wind, following a course of about 13 nautical miles from the start/finish line in Town Farm Bay south to Diamond Island, north to a mark off Cannon Point just south of Essex, N.Y., back to Diamond Island and then north to the finish. Boats came from all over the lake for the weekend of racing, with sailors from, among other places, the host Diamond Island Yacht Club in Charlotte; the Lake Champlain Yacht Club in Shelburne; the Malletts Bay Boat Club in Colchester; and as far away as Quebec. The races are scored using the Performance Handicap Racing Fleet system, so boats with different speed potentials can compete against each other. Each boat’s elapsed time for the course is turned into a “corrected” time to determine the winners
PHOTOS BY LEA ANN SMITH
Above: Odinn, a J/111 captained by Kjell Dahlen of Lake Champlain Yacht Club, heads for the finish line during the final windward leg in the Diamond Island Race, with Camel’s Hump in the background. Odinn was first to finish in the race. Right: The crew of Slingshot, a J/30 captained by Fritz Martin, had a weekend to remember, winning the Diamond Island Regatta and finishing as runner-up in the Split Rock Race. Below: Lift Ticket, a J/92S captained by Sam Pratt of MBBC, was one of just two double winners for the weekend, taking first in Spinnaker B class in Saturday’s Diamond Island Regatta and Sunday’s Split Rock Race.
in each class. The first boat to finish in the Diamond Island Regatta on Saturday, in 1 hour, 39 minutes and 56 seconds, was Odinn, a J/111, 36 feet long, captained by Kjell Dahlen. On corrected time, the top three finishers were all J/105s, 34-foot sloops, from LCYC. The winner was MOOvin’ Up sailed by John Harris and Doug Merrill. Second went to Jeff Hill’s Foxy Lady, and the third-place finisher was Rogue, captained by Walt Marti. In Sunday’s Split Rock Race, the win in the Spinnaker A class went to Foxy Lady, followed by MOOvin’ Up. Full results can be found at the DIYC website: diamondislandyc.org/dir-srr-results-for-2026/
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The Citizen • August 27, 2026 • Page 11
Upcoming Events Thursday, September 3, 6 p.m. Special Book Club:
Dead but Dreaming of Electric Sheep by Paul Tremblay
Saturday, September 5, 6 p.m.
Wild Poetry Night
COURTESY PHOTO
Town Hall Theater’s free 5 Fridays Concert Series returns Middlebury Friday, Sept. 4. Billy Wylder plays at 5:30 p.m.
Thursday, September 10, 6 p.m.
Craft Night
COMMUNITY NOTES continued from page 8
serve its famous sourdough rye bread with aioli, and books, posters and other items from the Bread and Puppet Press will be available for purchase. Tickets are required, with proceeds benefiting Bread and Puppet Theatre and Town Hall Theater. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. Bring chairs and picnics. The performance is weather dependent.
5 Fridays concert series returns Sept. 4 to Middlebury Town Hall Theater’s free 5 Fridays Concert Series returns to Maloney Plaza in Middlebury on Friday, Sept. 4, with music, dancing, food and shopping from 3 to 8 p.m. The event coincides with downtown Middlebury’s First Friday celebration. DJ Serena Kim opens the festivities, followed by Billy Wylder from 5:30 to 7 p.m. and a late-night DJ set from 7 to 8 p.m. featuring a go-go dancer. Food and drinks will be available throughout the event. A Theatrical Closet Sale will run from 3 to 8 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 5, at Town Hall Theater’s Anderson Studio at 72 Merchants Row. The sale features costumes and accessories from local theater companies.
Bryan Gallery opens two new exhibitions Bryan Gallery in Jeffersonville will open two new exhibitions Aug. 26 through Oct. 25: “Land & Light & Water & Air” features more than 100 traditional landscape and plein air works depicting New England vistas in mediums including painting, watercolor and gouache. “Postcards from Here” reimagines vintage postcards and explores the nostalgia of travel and hand-addressed correspondence. An opening reception and award ceremony will be held Thursday, Sept. 3, from 5 to 7 p.m. Both exhibitions are free and open to the public. Summer gallery hours are Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Hexum Gallery presents ‘Wallflower’ Hexum Gallery will present Wallflower, a group exhibition featuring the work of 11 artists, Aug. 28 through Sept. 25. The exhibition explores both the flower and the social idea of the “wallflower,” with artists responding to a shared theme centered on identity and self-portraiture. The exhibition features painting and drawing by Matteo Callegari, Amie Cunat, Francesco Igory Deiana, Jack Kenna, Jenny Kemp, Danielle Mysliwiec, Elizabeth Powell, Erik Probst, JD Raenbeau, Kelli Thompson and Velvet Other World. An opening reception will be held Friday, Aug. 28, from 4 to 8 p.m. Admission is free and all are welcome.
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Stowe filmmaker’s ‘Townies’ to screen Aug. 29 “Townies (or, My Little Town),” a short film by Stowe High School alum Callum Adams, will screen Saturday, Aug. 29, at 6 p.m. at Stowe Cinema. The 22-minute film will be followed by a Q&A with Adams, with a reception at Front Four Gallery at 7 p.m. Tickets for the Stowe screening are $15 and will be sold at the door. Following its world premiere at the Oscar-qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival in Los Angeles, “Townies” follows two people from a resort town whose tense encounter raises questions about who gets to call a place home. The film contains strong language and mature themes.
Farm Table at Spruce Peak: Jasper Hill Cellars The Lodge at Spruce Peak will host a Farm Table dinner featuring Jasper Hill Farm cheeses Wednesday, Sept. 2, at 6 p.m. The dinner explores the relationship between land, time and craftsmanship, pairing cellar-aged cheeses with early fall produce, thoughtfully sourced proteins and seasonal preparations. Jasper Hill cheeses will be incorporated throughout the multicourse menu.
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Page 12 • August 27, 2026 • The Citizen
OUTDOORS
How milkweed tussock moths evade predators Guest Perspective Ben Applegate The black and orange stripes catch my eye as I swing the scythe through dew-laden grass. My eyes typically follow the tip of the 28-inch blade as I mow, trying to keep it level with the ground, but the contrasting color pattern pulls my attention to milkweed plants just a few feet to my right. A group of seven very hairy caterpillars, sporting alternating tufts of black, white and orange hairs, are nibbling away at a leaf. They have already reduced nearby leaves to just limp central veins. These gregarious feeders are the larval form of the milkweed tussock moth (Euchaetes egle). This August morning, I mow around my apple trees from the trunks to a few feet beyond the edges of their canopies in preparation for the coming harvest. The milkweed grows in an unmown alley between the tree rows, and I am delighted to see these caterpillars here now. Based on the presence of their colorful hairs, these caterpillars have already passed through a few instars, or larval stages. Weeks earlier, a female moth deposited dozens of eggs on the underside of a leaf. At first, the tiny larvae feed together in one large mass, but by the third instar they disperse and feed in smaller groups, like the one I admire now. Milkweed tussock moths are native and common throughout much of the eastern United States, and are abundant in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. The hairs of these caterpillars are not venomous, but they are barbed and serve as a defense against birds and other predators. Hairs come out from everywhere on the caterpillar’s body, with longer tufts of black and white on either end, and more tightly bundled and shorter tufts of black, white and orange in the middle. The striping pattern is visually stunning and communicates to would-be predators that they are not a pleasant meal. Milkweed plants produce toxic compounds in their sap that make them unpalatable to most insects. Milkweed tussock moth caterpillars have developed a specialized metabolism that allows them to ingest these toxins and then store them in their skin. If this strategy sounds familiar, that is because it is the same approach monarch caterpillars use. Both species feed exclusively on milkweed, capitalizing on its defensive strategy and turning it into their own. Even more amazing is that these toxic compounds are carried through metamorphosis and into their adult forms.
ILLUSTRATION BY ADELAIDE MURPHY TYROL
Monarch butterflies advertise their toxicity through their brilliant orange and black wings. The milkweed tussock moth, on the other hand, has dull gray-brown wings that mask an orange and black abdomen. So why has the moth reduced its brilliant larval colors into cloaked undergarments? Monarchs fly by day, and milkweed tussock moths by night. The moth no longer needs a visual cue. Bats, which use sound rather than sight to hunt their prey, are the primary nighttime predators of milkweed tussock moths. Incredibly, the moths have developed a way to communicate to bats that they are distasteful: using a pair of specialized organs called tymbals, they produce high-frequency
clicks. When moths detect ultrasonic pulses from an attacking bat, they respond with clicks of their own that match the frequency of the bats’ sonar. Scientists have tested this evasion strategy and shown that the auditory clicks need to be paired with actual toxic compounds to deter the bats’ behavior. Other species of tiger moths, the family group to which milkweed tussock moths belong, use a jamming technique to distort the sonar to evade bat capture. The moth produces an extremely high rate of clicks, which scrambles the returning signals to the bat, causing it to misjudge the exact location of the moth right before capture. It amazes me to think of this species interaction that is beyond our human perception.
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What I can perceive is that these fuzzy caterpillars are doing well on this milkweed patch in my orchard. In a few weeks, they’ll crawl down under some leaf litter or duff, spin a cocoon and overwinter as pupae. Next spring, they will emerge as adult moths to start another generation, and I will keep leaving milkweed to grow in the orchard for them and the monarchs to feed on. Ben Applegate is a naturalist and arborist based in northeastern Vermont. 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.
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The Citizen • August 27, 2026 • Page 13
Horoscope August 27, 2026
ANSWERS FROM THIS ISSUE
Weekly Puzzles
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saliva. If left untreated, rabies is almost always fatal in humans and animals. However, Page 14 • August 27, 2026 • The Citizen treatment with the rabies vaccine is nearly The week-long bait drop is a coopera- 100 percent effective when given soon after tive effort between Vermont and the U.S. a person is bitten by a rabid animal. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services So far this year, 23 animals in Vermont to stop the spread of the potentially fatal have tested positive for rabies, and 14 of disease. those have been raccoons. Rabies is a deadly viral disease of the According to wildlife officials, rabid brain that infects mammals. It is most often animals often show a change in their norseen in raccoons, skunks, foxes, and bats, mal behavior, but you cannot tell whether but unvaccinated pets and livestock can also an animal has rabies simply by looking at get rabies. The virus is spread through the it. People should not touch or pick up wild bite of an infected animal or contact with its To advertise email advertising@thecitizenvt.com or call 802-238-4980 animals or strays – even baby animals. continued from page 2
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The Citizen • August 27, 2026 • Page 15
MERGER
Building bridges
continued from page 1 “To me, it seems like we are moving down a continuum of voluntary consolidation, voluntary mergers to less voluntary consolidation to address rising costs across the state,” CVSD Superintendent Adam Bunting said, referencing not only Act 170, but also laws passed in 2015 and 2010 that pushed district and administrative mergers. While the board has stated it will enter into the study in good faith with MMU, the tone from board members, in general, to the idea of a full merger was resistance. “We were by ourselves until two days before the end of the session, and at the very end, they decided that they did not want us to be by ourselves, and they paired us with MMU with no rationale whatsoever,” board chair Meghan Metzler said of the Legislature, adding that she was still happy to talk with MMU. Keither Roberts, a director from Hinesburg, said plainly that he personally had no interest in merging with any other district. Both Mount Mansfield and Champlain Valley have more than the 2,000 students the state has identified as the goal for a baseline district population. Additionally, Metzler said, the districts combined cover 405 square miles. For example, the drive between the two high schools — Mount Mansfield Union is in Jericho — is about 30 minutes. The board named Metzler (Charlotte), its vice-chair Dave Connery (Shelburne) and
Erin Henderson (Williston) to the merger committee. Mount Mansfield, the smaller of the two districts, will have two members on the committee. “We’re engaging communities. We’re determining a merger advisability and then developing a proposal. If it’s recommended, that proposal then goes to the secretary of education,” Bunting said. Board members were much more positive about the possibilities of the cooperative education service area. Metzler noted that the cooperation could be useful for sharing specialized services that are utilized by high numbers of students and back-end administrative tasks. Earlier this summer, the board named Bunting as its representative to the cooperative board. He told the board at its Aug. 18 meeting that, on top of organizing some leadership structure, the group is currently researching how other similar boards operate in New York, working toward resource mapping — figuring out what all of the districts already offer for services in order to determine how to cooperate — and eventually will develop a financial model through which it could operate. It’s a lot of work, Bunting said. “A lot keeps getting added to public schools and public education, and our administrators and our boards, and nothing is being taken away,” Metzler said.
WATER
continued from page 1 According to town manager Todd Odit, however, the new additional well that was drilled near the village is likely to be connected to the system in mid- to late October. The connection is happening alongside construction of the nearby Haystack Crossing housing development. Some developments, such as Haystack, which will encompass 176 new homes, have water allocations already as part of their permits. The Windy Ridge development across the street, however, only has partially allocations for the 74 housing units it has planned. Any new development will have to wait on securing its water. However, Odit said that, with the new well capacity in mind, he would likely approve a new conditional allocation, predicated on the well connecting first.
“This initial phase is increasing our COURTESY PHOTO capacity only in that we could run both wells The Hinesburg Area Trails committee and volunteers built a new bridge between the ball fields behind in one day as opposed to one, and it will also Lantman’s and the Russell family trails. give us some bit of relief knowing that there’s two sources and not one,” Odit said, noting redundancy in the system provides a failsafe if something happens to one of the wells. installed in spring or summer next year. while the schools are out of session, and Along with the new well, Hinesburg is Although fixing the leak at Sunset Lake it’s difficult to pinpoint where the swings in also installing a new nanofiltration system — along with smaller leaks that cropped usage might be coming from. for the additional well and, as part of the up over the year — evened out usage to a Long term, he said, the town is also startbond it took out to pay for connecting the degree, Odit said the town is still seeing ing to look into increasing its water storage. well, it will be installing generators at its some spikes in how much water is being It currently has an underground tank that can pump stations. If there’s a prolonged power pulled from the well. Although the current hold 500,000 gallons — about 3-days’ worth outage, Odit said, the 4/29/2019 town will still be able well sees, on average, 150,000 gallons flow- of current water usage. to provide water. ing to users, at points this summer that has “Given the amount of growth that we Adding a second well the Shelburne risen sharply, nearly 190,000 gallonsCitizen once, have coming, and especially for fire suppres3.5adds x 2water ADtofor News & The system, but the treatment will allow the new before falling again the next day to levels as sion — I’d say probably mostly for fire well to function at full24 capacity as a source of low as 130,000. suppression — it$432.00 would probably be good to Consecutive Weeks $18.00/week for both papers town water, Odit said — he expects that to be Odit said this has been happening even be able to double that,” Odit said.
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Page 16 • August 27, 2026 • The Citizen
HONORING OUR
VETERANS
On Nov. 5, The Citizen will be honored to publish photos of the men and women who have unselfishly served our country. Page 14 • November 10, 2022 • Shelburne News
HONORING The Veterans Among Us
If you have a veteran who you would like us to honor, please mail or email your photo and the following information by
ROBERT F. WHITEMAN, SR. U.S. Air Force E6 1959-1979
LORENZO P. BUSHWAY, SR. April 28, 1960 Active Duty: Feb. 1953-Feb. 1955
ROBERT S. BORKOWSKI Sergeant (SFC) Medic VT Army National Guard 1982-2005
PVT. HENRI DE MARNE & PVT. CLAUDE DE MARNE Henri de Marne and his brother Claude, Patton’s 3rd army, WW2, 1944 following French resistance before liberation.
PETER PAUL ZUK U.S. Marine Corps 1st Lieutenant Served 1955-57 Japan and Korea
DAVID F. LELAND United States Navy Lieutenant WWII 1944-1955
ROLAND W. WILBUR United States Army T/4, 14th Armored Division WW II 1942-46
PERRY D. MELVIN U.S. Navy, HM 3 3rd Marine Regiment Vietnam War
BRUCE NUNZIATA 1st Infantry Vietnam 1967-68
THOMAS C. GIBSON Royal Air Force Squadron Leader 1947-1952, Malaya
MICHAEL W. LYNCH U.S. Navy, Lt.J.G. Civil Engineer Corp 1967-1975 VT Air Guard 1976-1979
PETER GADUE US Army and VTARNG 1970-2009
SHANNON B. BLAKE U.S. Army, Major 1986-2006 Afghanistan War Veteran
DAVID WINER Corporal, Marine Corps March 1944-July 1946 Peleliu Campaign
WILLIAM A. READ JR. U.S. Navy Commander Gunnery Instructor Patrol Squadron 101 Southwest Pacific
THURSDAY, OCT. 29 Please include: • Name of veteran • Branch of service • Rank • Years of service • Town of residence
EMAIL PHOTOS AND TEXT TO: stephanie@shelburnenews.com OR MAIL TO: The Citizen, P.O. Box 489, Stowe, VT 05672 If you have submitted a photo in a previous year, you do not need to resubmit.