The Other Paper - 9-21-23

the South Burlington’s Community Newspaper Since 1977

Council lukewarm on wards versus at-large elections

COREY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER

South Burlington’s City Council, hearing from the city charter committee on Monday, appeared lukewarm to the idea of changing the city’s at-large voting system to a ward-based system, but noted that more time is needed to consider whether changes should be made.

It was the first time the council took up the issue since charging the city’s charter committee in 2021 with exploring new governing models for the city and school board.

That resolution asked the committee to investigate whether changes in the city’s electoral and governance systems in its council, administration and school board could “ensure that voices are equitably represented at policymaking tables” for the city’s growing population.

Their work, which began in earnest in spring 2022, touched on a variety of hypothetical changes. Committee members interviewed mayors, city managers, school board members and other actors throughout the state. Surveys and public forums were held to get a temperature of some proposed changes — like switching from a city manager to a mayor, expanding the number of both school

board and council members, and switching from an at-large electoral system to a ward- or districtbased system.

While Monday’s meeting marks a pause to the charter committee’s work, it begins what should be a continued dialogue for the city council. Any motion to make a charter change would first need approval from the city council before going on a ballot.

South Burlington is currently governed by a city manager and council chair form of government, with five councilors elected at-large to represent the city’s population of 20,000 people, with the city manager appointed by the council.

The committee’s final report recommended several changes — adding members to both the school board and the city council and keeping the city manager over switching to mayoral-based administration.

But the committee was split on the prospect of changing to a ward-based election system from the current at-large system. Wards — along with the issue of election campaign financing — have arisen as two of the most debated of the potential changes.

Klinger’s Bread commemorates three decades in S. Burlington

LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER

“If you want a good sandwich, you really have to start with a good bread,” Dave Klingebiel said, seated next to his wife, Judy and brother, Ed, the trio that has led Klinger’s Bread Company in South Burlington for 30 years.

The origin story of Klinger’s began in 1993 in Judy’s accounting office with a single phone call and

an unlikely client who happened to be licensing his sourdough starter and pastry recipes.

“One of my clients was quite the foodie, and he studied quite extensively in France for pastries,” Judy said. “He also developed a starter for sourdough-based breads. He was starting to license his recipes, so I got interested and it looked like a good opportunity.”

World-renowned bakers

Michael and Wendy London, the

masterminds behind the recipes and mentors to the Klingebiels, were gaining popularity with their pastry shop in Saratoga Springs, “Mrs. London’s.” From there, Judy, the accountant, Dave, a manager at General Electric and Ed, the dentist, set off to start what would become a booming business in just five short months without

PHOTO BY LIBERTY DARR

The Klinger’s trio, Ed, Judy and Dave Klingebiel. The bakery celebrates 30 years of operation in South Burlington.

“The issues of crime, the issues of quality of life, the issues of traffic, are vastly different than a certain portion of our city.”

— Dan Albrecht

South Burlington hires deputy chief

Served as homeless, community outreach coordinator in New York

COREY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER

The South Burlington Police Department welcomed its newest member Monday, deputy chief Sean Briscoe, who brings with him nearly 30 years of experience in policing and community outreach.

Briscoe’s hiring marks the first time the position has been filled since 2020, when the role was one of several not funded due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the city’s finances.

“This is really a great opportunity for us as an organization, and more broadly for advancing public safety and what policing means in the City of South Burlington,” police Chief Shawn Burke said at a swearing-in ceremony at the department’s headquarters.

Briscoe previously served as

a patrol officer, sergeant and lieutenant with the City of Saratoga Springs, New York, for 27 years.

“I couldn’t imagine a better place to continue my law enforcement career for the foreseeable future,” Briscoe said Monday. “It just seems like a really good fit with the way I believe policing and police officers should interact with the community.”

The new deputy chief briefly retired from police work about a year ago — taking a job in the private sector. But the private sector wasn’t for him, he said, and he started looking around for police jobs. He found one in Vermont, where much of his family was from originally.

“I’m not really sure how we ended up in New York,” he said. During his time in Saratoga Springs, Briscoe served as a

community outreach coordinator, homeless outreach coordinator and was a founding member of the Saratoga Coalition to End Homelessness — which brought professionals from medical care, mental health, substance use and addiction, and counseling and housing services working together to address vulnerable populations.

“It really helped to get people into those services. It made a dent the homelessness in the area,” he said. “That group has changed to involve different people throughout the years, but it’s still continuing to see success there.”

With a bachelor’s degree in

criminal justice and organizational law enforcement leadership, he also served as a liaison to the school district, an accreditation program manager, and he created a program for military members approaching active deployment.

His involvement in this area, officials said, influenced the final decision to bring him onto the force — one that, in the post-pandemic years, saw a significant depletion of its ranks to retirement.

The police department, from 2021 to 2022, “lost about 20 percent of the police department to retirement. That is a phenomenon that has been seen across the country,” Burke said.

“We’ve been able to make those gains back,” he said. “Looking toward what’s going on in this community in terms of growth, a little more urban grit, some challenges that we’re seeing in our policing, we found Mr. Briscoe,

who has actually lived this experience during his time in Saratoga Springs Police Department, a community that’s similar in a lot of ways, demographically, and also some of the unmet social service needs that pressed upon their resources as police professionals.” While his family is still in New York, Briscoe said they are beginning to make the transition to Vermont.

He was joined by plenty of city officials at the police department for his swearing-in ceremony — which also marked the first for the city’s new clerk, Holly Rees.

“This is a really exciting moment for the city,” city manager Jessie Baker said. “The work he’s done with always building trust with the community, looking for new ways to innovate public safety, is exactly in line with what we are trying to do here in South Burlington.”

“It really helped to get people into those services. It made a dent the homelessness in the area.”

— Sean Briscoe

PHOTO BY COREY MCDONALD

City clerk Holly Rees swears in Sean Briscoe, the police department’s new deputy chief.

South Burlington, Shelburne work with communications district on internet service

COREY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER

The Shelburne Selectboard last week approved the allocation of $50,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds toward the Chittenden County Communications Union District as it continues to set up its operation and map out coverage gaps in the region.

The $50,000 represents the third injection of funds into the communications union district — a state mechanism to either expand or introduce high-speed fiber-optic internet connection while addressing pockets of underserved areas that the private market has so far failed to address.

“That reflects positively on the collaborative nature of this,” said David Solomon, Shelburne’s liaison to the district, of the town’s allocation. “I’d like to think that perhaps we may have other funds coming from other areas.”

Since being approved by voters in November 2022, the district — the 10th

of its kind in the state — has expanded to include a total of eight municipalities: South Burlington, Essex, Essex Junction, Jericho, Shelburne, Underhill, Westford and Williston.

It has since received a $300,000 grant from the state’s community broadband board, as well as a $10,000 grant from the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, which has been providing staff support and other administrative functions. A public hearing is set for Nov. 8 before the district finalizes its fiscal year 2024 budget.

While the needs for internet access in Shelburne, South Burlington and other towns in the district not as great as more rural parts of the state, there are still pockets of areas that have limited access to high-speed fiber (100/100 speed), or even basic broadband (25/3 speed).

“We’re in a much more privileged posi-

See INTERNET on page 18

New Covid-19 vaccines are coming to Vermont

PETER D’AURIA VTDIGGER

Vaccines that protect against new Covid-19 variants are arriving in Vermont, Vermont’s top health official said.

The single-shot mRNA vaccine — available in two versions, by Moderna and Pfizer — is intended to provide protection against new strains of the coronavirus that have been circulating in recent months.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved the updated vaccines Tuesday. They are recommended for anyone age 6 months and older.

“It’s really being provided universally to people,” Vermont Health Commissioner Mark Levine said. “No matter what your estimation of your risk is, what your age is or anything. It’s really for everyone.”

Rather than COVID-19 boosters, Levine encouraged Vermonters to think of the vaccines as more akin to flu shots, offered annually to protect from an ever-mutating virus.

The new shots were intended to protect against the XBB.1.5 variant of Covid-19, which made up most cases within Vermont and the Northeast for much of the year. Other variants are now gaining ground in the state. But Levine said those new variants are relatively closely related to XBB.1.5, meaning the new vaccine will provide protection against those newer forms as well.

“The virus keeps mutating, as it will,”

Levine said. “But these most recent mutations are all within that same family tree. And that’s why the vaccine will be as effective against them as it is against the original (variant).”

After the CDC’s approval of the shots Tuesday, the vaccines are being rolled out across the country. In Vermont, large pharmacies were expected to begin administering the shots last last week, while smaller clinics and primary care facilities will likely receive them this week or later this month, Levine said.

The shots are free of charge. Vermonters’ health insurance should cover the full cost, and the shots are also available for uninsured people through federally qualified health centers, pharmacies participating in the federal Bridge Program, or district health department offices.

COVID-19 hospitalizations in Vermont are still low, but they have crept up over the past two months, following a national trend.

Vermont recorded 14 COVID-19 deaths in August, the highest number since April of this year. As of Sept. 13, four Vermonters had died of the virus this month.

As fall approaches, Levine urged Vermonters to get the new shots and to follow common-sense strategies for reducing transmission: wash your hands, stay home when you’re sick, cough into your sleeve.

“First thing is, of course, the basics,” he said.

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South Burlington Police Blotter: Sept. 11-17

Agency / public assists: 32

Traffic stop: 24

Alarm: 20

Welfare check: 18

Field contact: 14

Suspicious event: 13

Accident: property damage: 12

Motor vehicle complaint: 11

Larceny from motor vehicle: 10

Retail theft: 9

Disturbance: 8

Trespass: 8

Juvenile problem: 7

Foot patrol: 7

Directed patrol: 6

Animal problem: 6

Leaving the scene of an accident: 5

Noise: 4

Larceny from a structure: 4

911 hangup: 3

Stolen vehicle: 3

Unlawful mischief: 3

DUI: 1

Total incidents: 278

Arrests:

Sept. 1 at 10:08 p.m., Cora K. LeClair, 33, of Hinesburg, was arrested for leaving the scene of an accident on Hinesburg Road.

Sept. 11 at 1:36 a.m., Julia J. Pettinelli, 25, of Milton, was arrested for driving under the influence, second and subsequent offense, on Williston Road.

Sept. 11 at 9:21 p.m., Aaron J. Montgomery, 34, of Spring-

the

field, was arrested for felony possession of stolen property on Hinesburg Road.

Sept. 12 at 8:06 p.m., Kelly A. Shedleur, 51, of South Burlington, was arrested for driving under the influence criminal refusal on Brand Farm Drive.

Sept. 14 at 10:31 a.m., Eric J. Badore, 40, of St. Albans, was arrested on an in-state warrant on Williston Road.

Sept. 14 7:09 p.m., a 17-yearold juvenile was arrested for aggravated assault on Dorset Street.

Sept. 14 at 7:53 p.m., Larry M. Farley, 42, no address provided, was arrested for possession of heroin on Shelburne Road.

Sept. 15 at 2:40 p.m., Penny L. Powers, 39, of Milton, was arrested for felony possession of stolen property on Shelburne Road.

Sept. 15 at 10:34 p.m., Hassan I. Jafar, 20, of South Burlington, was arrested for violating conditions of release at Main Street and East Avenue.

Untimely deaths:

Sept. 13 at 7:03 a.m., police responded to South Henry Court for the death of William Kennedy, 80, of South Burlington. The medical examiner’s office is determining cause and manner of death.

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Residents, police meet to discuss Stonehedge crime

MIKE

DONOGHUE CORRESPONDENT

About 30 Stonehedge Condominium residents and a couple of state legislators met with South Burlington police last week to discuss ongoing issues with a residence in the housing complex that was raided by city, state and federal law enforcement earlier this summer.

Drugs were seized during the raid, but no arrests have been made as police continue to investigate the residence and those that frequent the condominium, Lt. Chris Bataille said at the meeting at the police station on Sept. 12.

Bataille reported city records show there have been 47 calls for police service at unit J-15 since May 31, 2022. That is due to pro-active neighbors concerned about quality-of-life issues, he said.

The calls include the execution of two court-ordered search warrants and several requests to

check on the welfare of people, some of them asleep or passed out in cars, he said.

Det. Martin Maloney will be the point person for the ongoing investigation and future calls, Bataille said.

He urged residents in the complex off Spear Street to report suspicious activity, and police plan increased police patrols in the area.

Bataille said Stonehedge, which is more than 35 years old, has always been a quiet, trouble-free residential complex. He recalled only one other problem unit in the D cluster in Stonehedge North and after police got involved it soon ended.

Bataille, who oversees the patrol division, said many residents have provided photographs, doorbell videos and other information to police.

Residents said there is considerable foot and car traffic in the

PHOTO BY MIKE DONOGHUE

Notice of the meeting with South Burlington Police were plastered throughout Stonehedge North and South on mailboxes and on parked cars. See STONEHEDGE on page 23

OPINION

Committee’s investigation could lead to sheriff’s impeachment

From the House Rep. Martin LaLonde

Impeachment is rare in Vermont history. Before this year, the last time the state went through impeachment was 1976 when the House impeached, and the Senate acquitted, Sheriff Malcolm Mayo. This year, I have been chairing a special committee investigating whether to bring articles of impeachment against two Franklin County elected officials.

The Vermont Constitution allows only one method to remove a duly elected state executive or judicial constitutional officer from office: impeachment ordered by the House of Representatives and a subsequent conviction in the Senate. The Constitution does not set standards for what constitutes impeachable conduct.

Rather, the General Assembly has broad discretion to determine the grounds on which an elected official may be impeached and removed from office. As the special committee has learned in its deliberations, those grounds

could include actions that violate the public trust, undermine the operation of government, exceed or abuse the powers of office or misuse the office for an improper purpose or for personal gain.

The special committee began its work in May, focusing initially on whether to recommend articles of impeachment against Franklin County state’s attorney John Lavoie. In an investigative report provided to the Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs, the law firm Paul Frank + Collins substantiated several allegations of Lavoie’s inappropriate behavior, actions that created a hostile work environment in the Franklin County State’s Attorney’s office. The committee’s task was to determine whether these, or other allegations, constituted impeachable conduct.

Over the summer, the special committee met 13 times and took testimony from 31 witnesses, including employees of the Franklin County State’s Attorney’s office, court personnel, law enforcement and victim advocates. The investigation was thorough.

The committee’s next steps were going to be reviewing the testimony, discussing what conduct could constitute impeachable behavior, determining whether the evidence showed impeachable conduct and making a recommendation based on that discussion. If the committee had recommended articles of impeachment, a resolution proposing those articles would have been brought before the House.

But the committee never reached that point. After concluding the testimony, we let state’s attorney Lavoie’s attorney know that if Lavoie resigned, we were inclined to end the investigation and make no decision on articles of impeachment. It had become apparent to us that prolonging the process would not be in the best interest of the employees of the Franklin County State’s Attorney’s office or the residents of Franklin County.

We were also concerned about the stress and burden that would have been imposed on witnesses if we were to proceed to articles of impeachment and a trial. So, we gave Lavoie a chance to do the right thing and step down. Fortunately, Lavoie resigned, effective Sept. 1, and the special

committee recommended that no further action be taken by the Legislature in this matter.

The conclusion of the investigation into the state’s attorney has allowed the committee to turn its attention to another investigation, this one into whether to bring articles of impeachment against Franklin County sheriff John Grismore. We will be investigating several areas of serious concern.

Other investigations are currently ongoing that involve Grismore’s conduct. He is facing a simple assault charge based on an incident that happened last fall when he kicked a handcuffed suspect. Based on the same incident, Grismore is facing a process before the Vermont Criminal Justice Council that may result in loss of his law enforcement certification if the council decides he used excessive force. In addition, Vermont State Police and the Vermont Attorney General’s Office is undertaking an investigation into possible financial improprieties.

In short, there are concerns regarding inappropriate use of force and financial irregularities. The special committee needs to delve into these concerns to understand what happened and what, if anything, amounts to impeachable conduct. To help us do so, the committee hired the law firm Downs Rachlin Martin to investigate. The law firm is considering, among other issues,

whether the sheriff is failing to fulfill the duties of his office, improperly managing accounting for the budget and finances of the office, misusing the office for improper purpose or personal gain, or otherwise violating the public trust or undermining the operation of government. The report is expected in mid-October, after which the special committee will focus on its findings.

In the interim, the committee will start to consider the issue of appropriate use of force. In 2019, the Legislature passed a law setting forth standards for law enforcement use of force. Since that time, law enforcement has promulgated a statewide use of force policy and has rolled out training on appropriate use of force, including de-escalation techniques. The committee will be looking into the Franklin County sheriff’s compliance with the use of force standards and policy as part of its investigation.

The special committee’s work should be completed by the end of the year. If it recommends that articles of impeachment should be brought against Grismore, the full House will consider the articles in its upcoming session.

If you have any questions on this or other legislative matters, contact me at mlalonde@leg. state.vt.us or 802-863-3086.

Martin LaLonde, a Democrat, represents South Burlington in the Chittenden-12 House district.

Letters to the Editor

SoBu rocks and keep up the good work

To the Editor:

I’m sorry the folks at The Other Paper took such abuse over the innocuous (and appropriate) use of SoBu.

I wonder how many of those who took such umbrage have no qualms about using the term SoHo when they visit New York City or even know what it means.

That said, I’m not a resident of South Burlington, but I do realize how provincial and protective we can all be about place.

Honestly, the bigger issue is why keep a name that sounds like a substandard suburb of Burlington? Why not explore the exciting prospect of renaming the city to something that would differentiate it from Burlington and really make

it stand out?

I’ll keep my suggestions to myself.

Keep up the outstanding work you do and thank you for accepting all the negativity with such grace.

Ric Cengeri Colchester

No-trespass letters show lack of good faith

To the Editor:

A recent article about Burton sending no trespass letters to neighbors concerning its plans to develop a “way too big for the spot” musical venue missed some

Rep. Martin LaLonde

SB School Board invokes secrecy inappropriately

Guest Perspective

Mike Donoghue

As a lifelong resident of South Burlington, a longtime taxpayer and a product of the city school system it was shocking and dismaying to see how the South Burlington School Board and School District tried to invoke secrecy several times last week instead of being transparent with taxpayers.

We learned in school the founders of Vermont established in the state constitution in Chapter 1, Article 6 (Officers servants of the people) “that all power being originally inherent in and consequently derived from the people, therefore, all officers of government, whether legislative or executive, are their trustees and servants; and at all times, in a legal way, accountable to them.”

It appeared to be lacking in South Burlington last week.

It started when there was a request for a copy of the resignation letter submitted by school board member Bryan Companion on Sept. 11. More than two days later I was first told I could not get a copy because the district had not shared it with the other board members. That’s not my fault the district failed to do its job.

The resignation letter was a public record under Vermont law as soon as the city received it.

The district employee then tried to delay the release by telling me I would have to put my request in writing. I explained to her that Vermont law does not require a public records request to be made in writing.

The same employee then promised a further delay by incorrectly stating the city had three days to respond. I explained the Vermont law requires the public record be provided “promptly.” The definition was modified several years ago to make it clear to government officials that they were not to sit on requests.

Responses should be immediate unless the record is in use. Would the city claim three days if somebody asked for the minutes of the latest school board meeting or a union contract?

It is bothersome that people on the front lines for the school district have not been trained or do not know an important transparency law.

In fairness, a few hours later, after apparently checking the law, the district emailed me the resignation letter. However, I wonder how many other taxpayers through the years have been denied public records improperly by the district?

Even more bothersome

Perhaps more bothersome was the school board meeting last Wednesday, Sept. 13. For some unknown reason the school board believes it needs to be trained behind closed doors.

The board conflated the limited exemptions for a closed-door meeting with a definition that was added to the law a few years ago. The amendment made clear that boards do not have to call a meeting if a majority of their members show up at a social event

like a high school game or concert, press conferences, media events like a ribbon cutting, training and conferences.

All those events are held in the public eye and the public can see the board members and monitor if they are conducting school business outside a legally warned meeting.

So why can’t taxpayers hear what they are being told about how they should govern?

The school board also had no Zoom access for the community in what should have been a public meeting. The local cable access channel also was not at the meeting to show taxpayers what the board was doing and learning.

The agenda was also defective in a few ways. It was troubling the agenda said the school board, after 15 minutes in open session, was going into executive session for “School Board Training.” It should have said the board would consider “a possible executive session” because a motion must be made, a second received, followed by an affirmative vote on the motion.

By making it sound like it was a mandatory closed-door session, the board discouraged the public from attending.

When it came time to vote on the executive session to discuss training, I challenged the board because it was not among the legally permitted exemptions listed under the law (Title 1, Section 313). Board chair Kate Bailey then claimed it was about personnel and that she thought it was a valid excuse. There was no indication, as required, as to who and what was being considered under personnel.

Was it a hiring, firing or discipline? Was the board targeting a specific employee like the superintendent, a teacher or some employee? A general discussion about personnel is not allowed under the law.

Even the invited trainer, Michael Healy of Columinate, told me while we were locked out of the school district building ahead of the meeting that he knew of no reason for city taxpayers being excluded from the public meeting. It was about governance, he said.

When I brought Healy’s comments to the attention of Bailey and the other two members present — Chelsea Tillinghast and Laura Williams — it was ignored. The board knowingly and intentionally then moved forward to exclude the public and not comply with the law.

In addition, when the motion was made, with a second, and passed 3-0, it was defective.

As the board stood up and started to move upstairs for the private session, I mentioned the motion never said who would be invited into the secret session as required. Instead of going back to the table and making a correct motion, Bailey just announced that Healy, the trainer, would be part of the session.

The public was never told superintendent Violet Nichols, who is not part of the

important points.

Yes, if developed as promised, the project will be very noisy and will cause parking and traffic problems for those in nearby neighborhoods. As frustrating as those disruptions will be, the article completely left out some of the more worrying consequences of such an oversized venue.

Traffic in and out of the neighborhood crosses a one-lane bridge, difficult in the best of times, but likely hair-raising in the dark, with drivers who are unfamiliar with the etiquette of one lane passage, and potentially under the influence. Car crashes in the recent past — one involving a guest leaving a Burton campus party almost two years ago — have left the bridge with inadequate guardrails.

The weird bike lanes on Queen City Park Road are even more scary. Many drivers I have spoken to find these painted lanes difficult and dangerous. The new lanes just seem to create more confusion and are potentially a threat to those who pedal and walk, especially after dark.

Red Rocks Park, just across the street from the Burton campus, is an access point for emergency services to Lake Champlain. It sees regular requests for rescue from people boating, paddling or who jump off the park’s cliffs and find themselves in distress.

One can only imagine the uptick in people, inebriated and amped after a show, wanting to test their jumping luck. Calling the South Burlington Police Department for help adds to the responsibilities of South Burlington, a reluctant neighbor to the proposed venue. Calling Burlington police for traffic and other assistance might not pan out either, since the department is understaffed and already overwhelmed with downtown issues, especially at night.

Just look at all of the unchecked larceny of cars, bikes and shops.

Perhaps the most important

point missing from this article is that, as of 2019, Burton is a Certified B-corporation, a distinction that requires high standards of transparency, climate positive policy and community building.

Burton rightfully takes great pride in its work to reduce its carbon footprint, to support women in leadership and to steward positive youth development.

Yet, those global good neighbor qualities have seemingly been tossed in the process of engaging its actual neighbors near their South End campus.

Most of these concerned neighbors are not opposed to a properly scaled venue. Yet Burton has shown little interest in meaningful discussions of possible modifications to the scale of the proposal. They remain insistent that “the concerns raised by a small group of opponents are misplaced.” It seemed that once they understood just how committed neighbors were to flagging these safety issues, Burton dropped all good faith communication, packed up their dog and pony public relations show, and went home. They would listen no more.

The no-trespass letters Burton sent this summer escalated this lack of good faith engagement. Barring folks who did nothing but speak about their worries, smacks of bullying and corporate intimidation. Burton is a mega international company. Why are they so afraid of a group of neighbors simply asking them to take valid concerns seriously?

Lori Hayes South Burlington

Committee creates survey on topic of unleashed dogs

To the Editor:

The Committee on Common Areas for Dogs launched a survey this week to begin tackling the issue of off-leash dogs. The committee’s focus on integrating

the needs of dogs and their owners into South Burlington’s quality of life and conservation goals includes addressing the issue of off-leash dogs.

While we recognize and respect the legitimate concerns regarding off-leash dogs, the ultimate goal is to find realistic and effective strategies that will encourage safe and enjoyable experiences for everyone and less conflict between community members and dogs. City ordinances that prohibit dogs off-leash in city parks, trails and bike paths are impossible to enforce.

It is time to explore new strategies. People who allow their dogs off-leash must be engaged to ensure they recognize it’s in their best interest and their responsibility to help find a solution.

The “To Leash or Not to Leash” survey is the first step in this process. Everyone is encouraged to respond and there is space for comments. Go to surveymonkey.com/r/sbdogs.

There will also be other opportunities for people to participate.

The Committee on Common Areas for Dogs meets at 6 p.m. on the second Tuesday each month. The public is welcome to attend. If you have any questions regarding this survey or the committee, contact Betty Milizia.

Betty Milizia Chair, Committee on Common Areas for Dogs

S. Burlington: Stop trying to be ‘not Burlington’

To the Editor:

Please, South Burlington, stop throwing time and money at trying to make this place into something else. Thank goodness we’re done with SoBu — the cringing made my neck hurt —but I’m rattled by the amount of money spent on that boondoggle.

People who have kids move here because of the great schools.

Those from neighboring towns scoot in to go to Target or patronize other businesses. The Market Street makeover is fantastic and it’s useful.

Please spend money only on things that actually have use to the people who live, work and shop here. No name changes,

DONOGHUE

continued from page 7

school board and not covered under the open meeting law vote, would be part of the secret session. Nor was the public told that Tillinghast was apparently bringing her child into the closed-door meeting.

The motion wrongfully excluded the public as there was no reasonable basis for shutting out taxpayers.

The fourth board member, Alex McHenry, was spotted driving into the parking lot as the public ran for their cars in a major downpour.

After the meeting, Bailey did forward me her personal statement about the resignation of Companion. She had said during the meeting she had shared her thoughts with The Other Paper but refused to read it into the record at the meeting when asked.

She did offer the other board members present a chance to address the resignation, but they sat silent.

It was refreshing to see Bailey’s email included comments about transparency and holding people accountable. They were certainly lacking by the board and district last week.

As Bailey noted in her letter,

no marketing schemes. Keep up actual improvements.

I don’t want my taxpayer money thrown over some cliff because we’re trying to be “not Burlington.” Get over it!

April Richards-Bradt South Burlington

“It’s uncomfortable. It’s still worth doing. It is also a requirement by law that all board business be transparent and open in public board meetings. I believe speaking openly about our governance and communication is not only required by law; it is the honest and professional thing to do.”

I hope the full board and any new member selected to fill the recent vacancy will commit to total transparency with the taxpayers. We should expect nothing less. Proper education on public records and open meeting laws should be required every year. You can never get enough education.

Mike Donoghue, a South Burlington resident and a well-known advocate for issues centering on the public’s right to know laws, which the Legislature has asked him to help amend from time to time. He serves as part-time executive director of the Vermont Press Association and frequently speaks on First Amendment issues. He is retired, but does freelance work, including covering some public safety and court stories for The Other Paper.

I hope the full board and any new member selected to fill the recent vacancy will commit to total transparency with the taxpayers. We should expect nothing less.

Nancy Haulenbeek

Nancy Beairsto Haulenbeek, 94, died peacefully on Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023.

Born in Trenton, N.J., on Aug. 10, 1929, she was the daughter of the late Dr. Everett Benjamin Beairsto and Doris Atkinson Beairsto.

She was predeceased by her husband, Frederick Donnelly Haulenbeek; her sister, Barbara Huntington; and her brother, Everett Benjamin Beairsto.

She is survived by her children, Frederick D Haulenbeek Jr., of Hinesburg, Elizabeth Trivison of Jacksonville, Fla., Karen Wisell of Vergennes, and their families.

Nancy attended Trenton public schools and graduated from George School and Colby Junior College.

OBITUARIES

For many years she played tennis with her family and friends while vacationing on Lake Champlain. As a longtime member of the Trenton Country Club, she loved playing tennis, golf and bridge. As a resident at Pennswood Village, she continued to enjoy the company of lifelong friends, crossword puzzles, garden club and bridge.

Learning bocce and playing in tournaments contributed to fulfilling her competitive nature and her desire to be physically active.

There will be a gathering to celebrate Nancy’s life at the Prindle-Baldwin events barn, 1570 Baldwin Road, in Hinesburg on Saturday, Oct. 7 at 3 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions me be made to Pennswood Village Activity Fund, Pennswood Village, 1382 Newtown-Langhorne Road, Newtown PA 18940.

Ann Smallwood

Ann Smallwood, 93, died peacefully with her family by her side on Sunday, Sept. 3, 2023, after living independently at Wake Robin in Shelburne since 2001.

Ann was born in Montclair, N.J., on Oct. 7, 1929, the daughter of James and Dorothy Logie. After graduating from Montclair High School, she attended Smith College and graduated in 1951. That September she married Frank

Smallwood, who predeceased her in 2013.

Ann’s life was full of family, friendship, a quest for learning and love for travel, the arts, music and gardening. Ann and Frank raised their family in Norwich and lived in their home, which Ann designed, for almost 30 years before they relocated to the Burlington area in 1991. Other places that Ann and Frank called home for extended periods were England, Greece and Washington, D.C. Avid travelers, they spent many weeks each year for almost 50 years in her beloved Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands.

Ann cherished time with family, organizing many family reunions over the years. She also had a fulfilling career. She began working after college at the Design School in Cambridge, Mass. When the children were teenagers, Ann went back to school, receiving her Master of Education from the University of Vermont.

She worked for many years as an assistant dean of students at Dartmouth College, an opportunity that allowed her to support and mentor young adults. She held an interim deputy director position at the Hood Museum at Dartmouth, volunteered and served as chairman of the board at the Fleming Museum at UVM, helped with the recent Pierson Library renovation in Shelburne and was very

involved in many committees and activities at Wake Robin, including the Gentry Lectureship and the art selection committees.

Ann truly cherished the gift of friendship and joy so many gave to her. When asked to describe Ann, her friends offered the following: “She was an individual of exceptional grace, elegance, intelligence and generosity of spirit” and “She had a particular talent for making people feel deeply heard and genuinely appreciated.”

Ann was very generous and active with many local nonprofit organizations. Ann and Frank established the Smallwood Family Scholarship Endowment Fund at the Stern Center for Language and Learning in Williston. She was also a passionate supporter of the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival and was proud that the family donated the beautiful music sound shell in Frank’s memory, which was used on stage at the festival.

Ann is survived by her four children, Susan and her husband, Warren M.S. Ernst of Dallas, Texas, Sandy and her husband, Don Rendall of South Burlington, Dave and his wife, Patti (Sullivan) of Essex Junction, and Don of South Hero.

She was known as “Mia” to her 10 beloved grandchildren and their spouses and partners, Joshua and Kathryn, David and Ariana, Sam and Emilie, Katherine and

Ryan, Annie and Matt, Stephanie and Mike, Sarah and Walt, Carrie and Andrew, Derek and Maura and Kendra and Tristan; as well as her 10 great-grandchildren, Lydia, Nila, Teddy, Kate, Aza, Arthur, Margot, Oliver, Riley and Blaine. Ann is also survived by her brother, Jim Logie; and sister, Jane Logie Whitley.

The family would like to express special thanks to Dr. Gene Moore and the staff at Wake Robin. Those wishing to remember Ann with a gift, please contribute to the Lake Champlain Chamber Music Festival, the Stern Center for Language and Learning or a nonprofit of your choice.

A circle of remembrance will be held at All Souls Interfaith Gathering in Shelburne on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 2 p.m.

Ann Smallwood

Nancy Haulenbeek

South Burlington Energy Festival comes to city

On Saturday, Sept. 30, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., the South Burlington Energy Committee is hosting a festival in support of the city’s climate action plan and dedicated to engaging the community on ways to reduce our energy costs and carbon footprint.

The event will take place at South Burlington Public Library and City Hall, 180 Market St., and will feature more than 20 exhibitors, food vendors, kids’ activities, live music and short seminars and free Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.

See induction-stove demonstrations and take a ride on the smoothie bike. Kids can visit with

COMMUNITY

Community Notes

Champ, bop around in the bouncy house and participate in an energy-themed scavenger hunt. There will be electric vehicles, electric bikes and an electric school bus to explore.

The festival will include presentations on a variety of educational topics, including weatherization, solar, heat pumps, bike tire repair, transportation, composting and recycling and more. Take an architect’s tour of the library and city hall — a modern, green building — and see a live dashboard of the building’s energy generation and usage.

The event will include three races, featuring $3,000 worth of prizes and over 50 winners.

For more information and a

complete schedule of events, visit southburlingtonvt.gov.

11th Cannon 5K Walk & Run honors teacher

On Sunday, Oct. 1, students from South Burlington High School will host the 11th 5K Walk and Run in honor of George Cannon, a beloved science teacher. All money raised will be donated to the Cannon Memorial Scholarship Fund. The scholarship is awarded to a South Burlington High School senior. Start time is a 9:30 a.m. (registration begins at 9 a.m.) in front of the high school. Participants are encouraged to wear a costume with a Superhero

theme, or the color green to celebrate Cannon’s favorite superhero, Green Lantern. Dogs, on a leash, are welcome. A minimum donation of $5 per person is requrested. If you cannot attend the event and would like to donate to the Cannon Fund, mail a check to South Burlington High School, Attn: Cannon Walk/Run, 550 Dorset St., South Burlington VT 05403. Checks must be made out to South Burlington Schools Foundation and include “Cannon Fund” in the memo section.

Class brings Vermont Bird Museum to library

You think you can’t draw a bird?

From simple shapes to loose sketches, this South Burlington Library class will show you how to look at the basic shapes of birds and practice drawing them, while learning a little bird biology at the same time on Thursday, Sept. 28, 3-4:30 p.m. in the Katie O’Brien Activity Room.

No drawing experience required. This class will be fun for any level of sketcher or birder.

For ages 6 and up, beginners are welcome.

All materials will be supplied. If you have a favorite sketching tool, feel free to bring it with you.

Also, be sure to check out the two displays about birds in the month of September. In the upstairs gallery is “Birds in Art,” a wonderful and sometimes whimsical display of the variety, depth, scales and even history of the art of birds.

In the downstairs display case is “Carving: Tools and Techniques.”

From wood blocks and wood blanks to finished carvings, this display shows the tools and steps a wood carver uses to create lifelike birds. Both are on loan from the Birds of Vermont Museum.

Walk for Diabetes to be held in Jericho

The Jericho-Underhill Lions Club is sponsoring a Walk for Diabetes event at Mills Riverside Park, Route 15 in Jericho, on Saturday, Oct. 7, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

This walking event on the park’s fields and trails is an effort to bring awareness about diabetes and its ramifications.There will be several walking trail options, informational tables from community partners at the Snowflake Bentley pavilion, and someone onsite will perform optional testing

for diabetes.

Post-walk refreshments and snacks will be provided. The event is free and open to all ages.

Student milestones

The following students have been named semifinalists in the 2024 National Merit scholarship program, making them eligible to compete for $28 million in scholarships next spring. They include Eve A. Neider of Rice Memorial High School, and Trent E. Biaza of South Burlington High School.

Allard Square hosts craft fair, bake sale

Allard Square is hosting a craft fair with more than a dozen vendors and a bake sale to benefit activities for residents, Friday, Oct. 20, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Allard Square is located at 146 Market St., South Burlington, next door to city hall and the library. For information, contact Kathy Alarie at lv2knitinvt@gmail.com or 802-777-9173.

Bike, sewing machine collection is Saturday

Vermont returned Peace Corps volunteers will be collecting used bikes and sewing machines for developing countries on Saturday, Sept. 23, 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m., at Burton Corporate Headquarters, 180 Queen City Road, in Burlington.

A donation of $20 per item is requested with each item.

Since 1999, Vermonters have shipped more than 4,000 bikes and 1,000 sewing machines to community projects in the developing world through this project. More at /bit.ly/3P7JtZz. Or

George Cannon

South Burlington school nurse named state’s best

Called “the heart and soul of Chamberlin School,” school nurse Kerry Farrell was named the 2023 Vermont School Nurse of the Year by the Vermont State School Nurses’ Association.

The award, presented in a small ceremony at the South Burlington school on Sept. 11, is based on six core areas of school nursing: standards of practice, leadership, community public health, quality improvement and collaboration.

Named a Vermont Visionary in the spring 2021, WCAX and the Seven Days published stories highlighting her pride that school nurses are a large part of the whole educational team.

“She not only cares for students’ health, but she also demonstrates to them that tap-dancing, smiles, and personal connection bring a whole new level of health to the mind, body and soul,” according to a press release from the association.

Chamberlin School principal Holly Rouelle, in her recommendation letter nominating Farrell, said, “Visits to nurse Farrell are often just to have a sip of her ‘magic water.’ The magic is in the kind words and TLC that they receive from Kerry, along with water in a paper cup.”

Farrell brings an equity voice for students with medical needs

COMMUNITY NOTES

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contact Paul Demars at 802-7930888 or demers.paul6@gmail.com

Jane Austen Society president gives talk

Jane Austen Society of North America president Mary Mintz is visiting the Vermont chapter to

to team meetings and arranges care conferences to strengthen ties between school and medical homes to support students in the best ways in the classroom.

A longtime volunteer and costume team member for Lyric Theater, Farrell and her team affected the greater community in a substantive way during COVID19.

When her medical professional peers, school colleagues and students required masks, Farrell and her theatrical team went to work sewing as many masks as they could. They sprinkled their “magic” all around Vermont with their masks.

Farrell is also one of the many school nurses who joined the Vermont State School Nurse Association’s weekly town halls during COVID-19.

“She jumped in to be involved, educated herself around the ever-changing science of Covid, and was part of a statewide team of nurses who worked together to figure out how exactly to get kids back to school safely,” the association wrote. “Kerry remains a district representative for the VSSNA today. We are delighted to have Kerry as part of our team to ensure that school nurses remain strong across our state.”

speak on “Jane Austen’s Reputation: Highlights of Her First Century in American Periodicals.”

The talk will be held at the Richmond Free Library, 201 Bridge St. on Sunday, Oct. 1, from 2-4 p.m.

For information, email jasnavtregion@gmail.com or go to fb.me/e/3MmAtVjwe.

Braces for Children & Adults

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COURTESY PHOTO

From left, 2023 School Nurse of the Year Kerry Farrell, the Chamberlin Elementary school nurse, Kara Cassani, Orchard Elementary School nurse, Becca McCray, Vermont State School Nurses’ Association immediate past president, and Kelly Landwehr, president.

H ME garden design estate real O

Coming weather could make, break fall foliage

EMMA COTTON VTDIGGER

Vermont forests have experienced floodwaters, a general excess of moisture, wildfire smoke, unexpected frost and heat waves this growing season. Still, according to state officials, none of those conditions are expected to disrupt the fall foliage season.

“In general, things look really good,” Josh Halman, forest health program manager for the Vermont Department of Forest, Parks and Recreation, said.

On the heels of receding floodwaters that proved disastrous for many business owners, Vermonters are looking to the trees with their fingers crossed, hoping for a spectacle of red and gold that will bring tourists and confirm that much of Vermont is, indeed, open for business.

Earlier this month in some parts of the state, maple trees have already turned red — a potential symptom of all the moisture, Halman said, but not an entirely unusual phenomenon for late summer.

“It’s not crazy to see a few trees this time of year that have turned red in different locations.

But with all this rain, I think people are picking up on it a little more than usual,” he said.

Moisture can impact the colors of the leaves in several ways, Halman said. The first is that too much water can stress trees.

When Vermonters watch trees change color, they’re watching the trees reabsorb nutrients and carbohydrates that the leaves have created in the summer, which the trees transfer back to their stems and roots.

“It’s a way of saving all that stuff that they worked so hard for during the growing season,” Halman said. “When that happens, they’re reducing the chlorophyll contents in the leaves. And that’s why the yellows and oranges are observed at that point.”

If trees are waterlogged, the trees become stressed and need the nutrients sooner, which could cause leaves to change color earlier in the season.

Moisture can also make leaves more susceptible to fungal diseases, which Halman said are not currently widespread but

Vermont grouse, woodcock hunting starts

A quiet walk down a hidden woods road, bright fall foliage coloring the canopy overhead and the crisp, cool air of an early morning — these are just some of the elements of a great Vermont

upland gamebird hunting experience. Hoping to see the dramatic flush of a grouse or woodcock is, of course, another reason hunters try to get out into Vermont woodlands in the fall.

Vermont’s hunting season for ruffed grouse or partridge is Sept. 30 to Dec. 31. The daily limit is four grouse with a possession limit of eight.

The woodcock hunting season is Sept. 30 through Nov. 13. The daily limit is three with a possession limit of nine.

Woodcock are often found in alders along brooks and near beaver ponds as well as in new-growth small timber where old fields are reverting to forest or recent timber harvests have occurred. Ruffed grouse also frequent the same habitat, and they are particularly fond of the apples they find under wild apple trees.

All migratory game bird hunters — woodcock, common snipe, ducks and geese — must also be registered with the Harvest Information Program in each state they hunt. Register on Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department’s website or call 877-306-7091. After providing some basic information, you will receive your annual registration number, which is then recorded on your hunting license.

More regulations can be found at vtfishandwildlife.com.

The best local guide to home, design, real estate and gardening

PHOTO BY JOHN HALL

Invite pollinators to your garden

BONNIE KIRN DONAHUE UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT EXTENSION

Adding shrubs to your landscape can have many benefits. After being planted, they can live for many years. They visually ground gardens, adding structure throughout the year. Perhaps most importantly, they can provide food and shelter for small mammals, birds and insects.

Native flowering shrubs also can attract and support pollinators in your garden. There are many fantastic flowering shrubs that you can add that will appeal to pollinators and beneficial insects.

One of my favorites (which makes an appearance in almost every one of my planting plans) is red-twig dogwood (Cornus sericea). Growing over 6 to 8 feet tall and wide, red twig dogwood is a native shrub that thrives in wet and dry conditions and in full to part sun.

Dogwood’s red twigs bring color to the bland winter landscape and attract pollinators to its white flowers in spring. Fruits from this shrub are also attractive to birds. Red twig dogwood’s roots are strong and can help prevent erosion and stabilize slopes.

Willows such as pussy willow (Salix discolor) are great bank stabilization plants. They are one of the earliest shrubs to flower, so they provide a great service at a time with limited food options

FOLIAGE

continued from page 12

have impacted some of the state’s maples. Leaf fungi could have an impact on fall foliage colors.

In an annual fall foliage forecast for New England Magazine, Jim Salge, a former meteorologist at Mount Washington Observatory in New Hampshire, predicts that leaf fungi are the “biggest concern, and biggest question mark, about the season.”

Salge predicts that El Niño conditions may cause warmer temperatures during late summer and fall, which could cause the colors to last longer and peak later, producing a longer foliage season. He also predicts more pastel colors and fewer reds due to the warm, wet weather and the moisture.

Halman said the biggest indicators of the foliage season remain to be seen. A recipe of cool, crisp nights and warm, sunny days typically produwce the most vibrant colors.

for pollinators.

Pussy willows can be trimmed as shrubs or allowed to grow into small multi-stem trees, growing 6 to 15 feet tall and 4 to 12 feet wide. Their wispy foliage provides a unique texture to the garden. They prefer medium to wet soils, and full to part sun.

Another excellent pollinator plant for the garden is viburnum. American Cranberry Bush (Viburnum opulus var. americanum) has showy, white flowers in the spring, growing 8 to 12 feet tall and wide. Its brilliant red berries are edible for birds and people alike. This pollinator shrub prefers full sun to part shade and medium soil moisture.

A native spiraea, steeplebush (Spiraea tomentosa), has pink, upright plumes that grow up to 5 feet tall. Steeplebush prefers moist soils and full to part sun. Seen in the wild, this spiraea and its relatives (Spiraea alba and Spiraea tomentosa) are excellent pollinator plants that would be a unique addition to the home garden.

There are many more wonderful, native shrubs that attract pollinators. Check out the University of Vermont Extension Master Gardener Garden Resources webpage (go. uvm.edu/garden-resources) for more plant ideas.

Bonnie Kirn Donahue is a UVM Extension master gardener and landscape architect from central Vermont.

PHOTO BY BONNIE KIRN DONAHUE

The American Cranberry Bush has showy, white flowers in the spring, and edible red berries in fall, making this an attractive pollinator plant for the garden.

design

The best local guide to home, design, real estate and gardening

Manage trees with these five tried, true techniques

Into the Woods

Ethan Tapper

Some of my favorite forest managers are landowners, people who work on a small scale to make their forests a little heathier and more vibrant each year. While a thoughtful forest steward can have a truly positive relationship with their woods, the

breadth of their impact is limited by their finite time and energy. Through using these five simple techniques, you can maximize the positive impact that you have on your forest.

Leave dead trees alone. Fallen trees, dead-standing trees and dead wood bene-

See INTO THE WOODS on page 15

PHOTO BY ETHAN TAPPER

A healthy forest is sometimes a messy one, so get trimming, but don’t be too tidy.

fit wildlife habitat, soil health and fertility, carbon storage and forest hydrology, among other things. If the tree is dead, leave it alone! Be proactive, not reactive: focus on cutting living trees, especially unhealthy trees which are competing with healthier “crop trees.”

Use the “crop tree release” method, a shift in the way that we look at the forest: instead of focusing on cutting all the trees that “need to go” — trees that are unhealthy, that have wounds or defects, trees of undesired species — we find our forest’s healthiest, most promising trees and release them from competition individually.

“Crop tree” is a bit of a misnomer: while a crop tree could be a tree that we’re encouraging to produce a crop like maple sap, it can also be any healthy tree of almost any species. What makes crop tree release so efficient is that we only cut trees that are competing with our crop trees. If a tree isn’t competing with a crop tree, leave it alone. Get comfortable with cutting trees and leaving them on the ground. This will be a more efficient use of your time — allowing you to release more crop trees and thus have a greater positive impact on your woods — and will also increase the amount of dead wood in your forest and its associated habitats and benefits.

Girdle some trees. “Girdling” a tree means creating two shallow, parallel cuts around its circumference, just deep enough to touch its wood. This severs the tree’s cambium, eventually killing the tree and turning it into a “snag” (a dead-standing tree), which is another important habitat. Girdling will turn trees into hazards, so it’s not a method to be

used around your house or your recreational trails.

Get comfortable with “messiness.” In working with hundreds of landowners, I find that nearly everyone’s instincts tell them that a healthy, well-managed forest looks like a park: with large, evenly spaced trees and a clear, open understory.

In fact, healthy forests are messy, with trees of all different sizes and ages, dead trees, gaps in the canopy and tons of dead wood on the forest floor. “Cleaning-up” our forests — removing dead trees and dead wood, managing them to look like parks — is not just a waste of time: it actually makes our forests less healthy, less resilient and less rich with habitat. When you manage your forest, avoid piling brush or

lopping up trees and branches so that they lie flat on the ground. While they make your forest look neater, these practices actually diminish many of the benefits that these trees and tree tops offer to wildlife and forest ecology. If you can learn to appreciate the messiness, you’ll see that not “cleaning-up” your forest will save you tons of time and energy, and make your forest healthier at the same time.

Ethan Tapper is the Chittenden County Forester for the Vermont Dept. of Forests, Parks and Recreation. See what he’s been up to, check out his YouTube channel, sign up for his eNews and read articles he’s written at linktr.ee/chittendencountyforester.

Kunin Award honors first woman of color elected to Legislature

Former state representative Louvenia Dorsey Bright is the recipient of the 2023 Governor Madeleine M. Kunin Achievement Award from Emerge Vermont, which recruits and trains Democratic women to run for office.

Bright, the first Black woman to serve in the Vermont Legislature, died in July at her home in Illinois. She was 81.

Bright represented South Burlington and served in the House from 1988-1994.

The award will be presented to her family by former Rep. Kiah Morris and current Rep. Saudia LaMont, who are the second and third Black women ever to serve in the Legislature. Joining them for the award presentation will be Emerge president A’shanti Gholar.

founder and CEO Kyle Clark about the value of keeping business in Vermont. The association boasts more than 100 members strong and is growing. It fosters South Burlington’s business environment through regular educational meetings, communications and deliberations on issues affecting the business community. Businesses considering membership are welcome to attend a meeting for free. For more information, contact Julie Beatty at sbbabiz@gmail.com or sbbabiz.com.

Bright lived out her remaining years in Illinois, but her family remained engaged in Vermont and New England. Her husband, Dr. William Bright II, was associate dean of the College of Education at the University of Vermont before retiring in 1995.

Her son, Bill Bright III, worked for Sen. Patrick Leahy and her daughter, Rebecca Bright Pugh,

has had a long career teaching and is currently an education consultant for Savvas Learning.

Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale is the second woman of color to serve in the Legislature after Bright and a co-founder of Emerge Vermont and the Bright Leadership Institute, which is an organization that helps advance leaders of color in Vermont and is named for Bright.

“It was an incredibly serendipitous and bittersweet call, because Louvenia Bright had passed away just days before. No one outside of the family knew then, so it was almost a divine experience that the Brights were able to hear how loved Louvenia still was and is as a pioneer in our state in the days after her death,” Ram Hinsdale said. “Whether you knew her or knew of her legacy, she changed the state for the better, and we hope others will join us in remembering and honoring the difference she made.”

Said her son, Bill Bright: “We’re honored and humbled that her work is still being celebrated and that her legacy will live on. Her work on race and gender, equity, inclusion and opportunity is still relevant today and we hope her story will inspire the next generation of leadership in Vermont.”

The award, bestowed in honor of Kunin, is given annually to a Democratic woman in Vermont. Recipients must meet certain criteria, including maintaining a consistent focus on mentoring and supporting women in their political, professional and educational pursuits; focusing on policy work that expands opportunities for others; and evidence of her work having an impact on the lives of other Vermonters.

Rep. Bright is the seventh recipient of the award.

The Kunin Achievement Award

be presented to the family of

at

will

Bright

Emerge Vermont’s 10th anniversary celebration on Saturday, Sept. 23, at The Barn at Lang Farm in Essex Junction.

PHOTO BY ANTHONY ALICHWER

Members and Friends of the South Burlington Business Association attended the annual summer mixer at BETA Technologies on Sept. 14. The group heard from BETA’s

Louvenia Dorsey Bright

KLINGER’S BREAD

continued from page 1

having any significant knowledge of the breadmaking industry.

“(Michael) gave us some pointers and told us what equipment we were going to need, how to lay it out and all that,” Judy said. “He was a big help because none of us was in the baking business.”

The building, an old telephone truck repair station located at the intersection of Swift and Farrell streets, sits off the beaten path, away from major foot traffic but it was the perfect location to install their nearly 21-ton specialty French oven. Although many businesses have come and gone from the neighboring spaces, the Klingebiel’s have remained steady stewards.

“This was completely empty,” Judy said. “So, we kind of built it from the ground up.”

The oven was imported and put together piece by piece, stone by stone, Dave said, noting that the bread crew bakes nearly 20,000 pounds of bread a week.

“It took two weeks to heat it up because it was getting all the latent heat into the stone. If you wanted to work on it and take it apart, you’d probably have to wait about two weeks for all the stone and brickwork inside to cool off.”

With nearly 26 different kinds of bread baking in the oven weekly, he equated the job of the breadmaker to the conductor of full-scale orchestra, cueing in each instrument at exactly the correct time.

“If we make nine or 10 (breads) in a given day, each one of those ages at a different pace,” Dave said. “So, in order to make sure that you’re filling the oven, he has to do a pretty masterful job coordinating.”

Nearly 65 percent of the breads are sourdough-based with every loaf handmade and packaged in-house.

“There’s no manufacturer, there are no additives, or anything in the bread. They’re all-natural,” Dave said.

Although retail was the first stop for the Klingebiel’s success story, shortly after they opened their doors in August 1993, wholesaling to grocery stores became a natural next step and with that came the evolution of their sliced bread.

“With customer feedback, we figured out

that we really needed to go from the handmade round loaves to individual loaves of sliced bread,” Dave explained.

That led to a whole string of changes, including implementing sandwiches and soups to the cafe menu.

“It’s a journey, but you take careful steps one at a time and just keep building on what you’re doing,” Dave said.

He said the goal of the cafe was to provide a European-style bakery with the inside replicating a walkable street and a window that shows breadmakers at work alongside a full case of croissants of all shapes and flavors set beneath open bread baskets stuffed with fresh baguettes.

“In Europe, almost all the cities had a bakery nearby where people live,” Dave said. “People would say, ‘Well, that’s my bakery.’ So, we kind of wanted to envelop that concept with the look as well.”

Klinger’s head bakers, Darko Saric and Nick Sedic, have been with the company for 29 years after coming to America from Bosnia, and have helped to uphold a stable and consistent breadmaking department for the company for nearly three decades.

“We’ve been very fortunate in the breadmaking department,” Judy said. “We’ve had a great staff.”

But it has not always been smooth sailing for the company, especially in recent years in the aftermath of a global pandemic and the ensuing inflation-related difficulties. Like many other small businesses, staff retention in other departments has been a hurdle that makes further expansion for the company almost impossible.

“There’s no way that with egg prices spiking to $5.50 a dozen last December, we could even dream of raising the prices on our pastries to cover that,” Dave said. “It also spurred a lot of labor inflation. All you have to do is look around to see how many hiring signs are up.”

The trio is happy to have the next generation of Klingebiel’s planting themselves in the business, but the company’s next steps remain exactly like when they started: “Just keep on going,” Ed said.

INTERNET

continued from page 3

tion than a lot of the state,” South Burlington city manager Jessie Baker said.

Less than 20 households in South Burlington are not fully connected to cable, Baker said.

In Shelburne, anywhere from 50 to 70 homes lack basic internet coverage, Solomon said.

“That may not seem like a lot, but the cost to bring service out to those can be astronomical,” he said. “The other piece of that is, if you look at that map of Shelburne, we have very few addresses meeting the 100/100 threshold that fiber offers.”

“One goal is getting people connected (to high-speed fiber),” Solomon said. “The second is getting people connected to sort of a minimum standard, if you will.”

The district this year brought on Mission Broadband, a telecommunications consulting group, to help the district “fine tune our mappings so we really understand what our

coverage is right now between the existing providers, and where there are those gaps,” Baker said.

Once the district’s budget is finalized, and once the mapping has been complete, officials said the next step would then be looking for an internet service provider “to see how we might be able to meet the needs of the folks who are underserved,” Solomon said.

“(Mission Broadband is) pulling together that map and then with that, we will develop a strategy of not only how to connect to those last mile customers, but also how we provide the best service for all of our residents,” Baker said.

Partnering with a provider could still be months away, but the Chittenden County district’s advantage comes from its communities working together and combining population size as it collectively looks to negotiate with a provider.

“With customer feedback, we figured out that we really needed to go from the handmade round loaves to individual loaves of sliced bread.”

— Dave Klingebiel

PHOTOS BY LIBERTY DARR

Klinger’s breadmakers at work prepping loaves before they head into the oven. The cafe’s display case.

Redhawks blank South Burlington co-op team

feated with a win over Mount Abraham on Thursday, Sept. 14.

Football

Champlain Valley 49, South Burlington-Burlington 0: The South Burlington-Burlington co-op football team struggled on offense in a loss to Champlain Valley on Saturday, Sept. 16.

The Redhawks, defending Division I champs, jumped out to a 28-0 lead at halftime and did not falter in the shutout.

Ahmed Diawara led the SeaWolves with 13 carries for 56 yards.

Girls’ soccer

Burlington 3, South Burlington 1: After entering the second half tied, the South Burlington girls’ soccer team gave up two goals to fall to Burlington 3-1 on Friday, Sept. 15.

Oakley Machanic scored the lone foal for the Wolves, who move to 1-2 with the loss.

Field hockey

South Burlington 4, Mount Abraham 0: Four different Wolves scored for South Burlington as the field hockey team remained unde-

Ella Maynard, Sawyer Bailey, Jillian Monahan and Rosa DiGuilian each had a goal for the Wolves (3-0), while Sabrina Brunet added an assist.

Amber Rousseau stopped three shots in goal in the shutout.

Boys’ soccer

South Burlington 5, Rutland 0: Hammad Ali had a four-point effort to help lead South Burlington boys’ soccer over Rutland on Sept. 14.

Ali had one goal and three assists as South Burlington moved to 4-0. Romantic Mahe, Sebastian Bertmann, Henry Polika-RIvas and Momin Waqar each added a goal for the Wolves.

Milo Schmidt and Marco Stazi each had an assist, whole Will Goyette made three saves in goal.

Girls’ volleyball

South Burlington 3, BFA-St. Albans 2: The girls’ volleyball team continued its winning ways, defeating BFA-St. Albans 3-2 on Sept. 14.

The Wolves pulled out a win in the five-set match to move to 3-1 on the season.

LAUREN READ CORRESPONDENT

PHOTO BY AL FREY

The SeaWolves’ Sam Harris (No. 9) and Anthony Bouffard try to bring down Champlain Valley Union High School running back Anderson McEnaney in Redhawks’ 49-0 win on Saturday.

WARDS continued from page 1

Six of the last seven councilors — and four of the five current members — all live in the city’s southeast quadrant, a tract of land that, were it its own municipality, would be the wealthiest in the state. Less than 23 percent of the city’s population live in this area.

“We’re not a small little Vermont town, and yet, our system of government is stuck as if nothing changes,” Dan Albrecht, a South Burlington resident, said. Having a ward-based candidate would mean residents “have a person who knows your experience, comes from that experience and represents you.”

“We’re all informed by the neighbors that we live around and our lived experience and there’s a very, very different lived experience from living in area that is exclusively zoned for single-family homes versus living on Shelburne Road,” he said. “The issues of crime, the issues of quality of life, the issues of traffic, are vastly different than a certain portion of our city.”

“It’s just good planning and good government, to my mind to move towards the geographic representation,” he said.

Roughly 38 percent of respondents to the charter committee’s survey wanted to keep council members elected at-large, while 33 percent and 30 percent of respondents, respectively, wanted council

members elected from the city’s five wards, or with members elected from a combination of wards and at-large.

Charter committee members during their discussion could not come to a consensus on their recommendation, ultimately handing it off to the council.

But city council members on Monday night seemed skeptical that the switch would allow residents greater access to policymaking decisions.

Helen Riehle, the chair of the city council who served as a House representative and state senator in Vermont’s Legislature, said she thought that there was “a real value in being forced to look at the entire city, and not just thinking about ‘Well, I represent the airport and I care about (the Chamberlain neighborhood).’”

“I think by and large, we’ve been pretty responsive to anyone and everyone who comes to our council meetings and brings up issues,” she said. “I don’t think the system is broken. Would it be helpful to have a more racially diverse group? Sure. But I’m not sure a ward system will address that.”

Councilor Meaghan Emery, who has previously noted her hesitation to switching to wards, said that limiting each council to a ward would limit the work councilors do.

“Representing the city is what I do. If I were to be limited to a

Construction worker is killed in accident at Beta Technologies

MIKE DONOGHUE CORRESPONDENT

A construction worker was killed during an accident at Beta Technologies off Williston Road

Tuesday morning, South Burlington police said.

A large stack of plywood being moved by a front-end

ward, my work would just, I feel, not serve the city well,” she said. “As big as you think we are, I have constituencies across the city, I have people who write to me regularly from every part of the city … To be deprived of those relationships, and not be able to benefit the city through those relationships, would impoverish what I do.”

“I think we all really do try and have the city’s best interests at heart,” city councilor Andrew Chalnick said. “We’re still the size where we can let good people that represent the entire city and have that that perspective to really do good for the entire city.”

Wards versus at-large was not the only discussion point. Councilors, discussing the prospect of adding more members to the dais, suggested that might add time to

loader about 6:50 a.m. fell on the worker, who was a longtime employee of PC Construction of South Burlington, police said.

The name of the construction worker was being withheld until the next of kin could be notified.

Deputy police chief Sean Briscoe said the South Burlington Fire and Rescue person-

the length of council meetings — which already last from two to four hours.

That could dissuade residents who want to run for council from even trying in the first place.

“It’s challenging to get people who are not retired like myself to be able to spend this kind of time. That is a challenge,” Riehle said. “We aren’t in a position, I don’t think, to pay enough so that someone could see this as a real part-time job that pays them $30,000 so they can feel like they can spend the time and have the time.”

The issue of campaign finance also hung over the meeting, with some discussion over whether there were ways to cap spending on election campaigns or create a public finance mechanism.

More than $25,000 was spent

nel provided medical attention to the man and rushed him to the University of Vermont Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

Briscoe said the Vermont Occupational Safety and Health Administration was sending personnel to the scene to investigate the workplace site accident.

among the five candidates in the March’s council elections — the majority of which of came from the southeast quadrant.

“What is the fairest process to try and get somebody elected because the public perceives him to be a valuable person to put on city council?” city councilor Tim Barritt said. “Money just blows that out of the water. It makes it less fair. That’s what bugs me.”

Emery said during Monday’s meeting that the council should spend more time deliberating over the recommendations of the charter committee before making a final decision.

“That’s a mighty charge, and I would just recommend that this be put on two or more meetings for us to truly think through what we want,” she said.

ANSWERS FROM THIS ISSUE

Weekly Puzzles

September 21, 2023

SERVICE DIRECTORY

RABIES BAIT

continued from page 2

Eat

Be

Piano Lessons

The week-long bait drop is a cooperative effort between Vermont and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services to stop the spread of the potentially fatal disease.

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Feeding Chittenden hires new food shelf head

Edi Abeneto is the new food shelf manager at Feeding Chittenden.

Abeneto will translate, interpret and coordinate multilingual communication with visitors while managing the movement of food, including overseeing food sorting and stocking of shelves.

Abeneto came to Vermont from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the early 2000s. He speaks five different languages, including Swahili, French, English, Kirundi and Lingala. He

STONEHEDGE

continued from page 5

area with some people only stopping for a few minutes. Some residents reported being stopped while on their daily walks by people looking for the J-cluster.

Officers said they conducted the raid in July based on evidence collected about possible drug activity in the area and a declining quality of life.

Members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI and the Vermont Drug Task Force assisted city police in the 6 a.m. raid.

Police, dressed in tactical gear, including helmets and carrying protective shields, seized narcotics and suspected cutting agents used in the sale of drugs, officials. No guns were found at the residence, but some ammunition was located, they said.

The owner was not home, but five people were inside, police said. Officers said they arrested one man on an outstanding arrest warrant for failure to appear in court for a charge of driving under the influence, second offense. He was immediately jailed, police said.

Residents from both Stonehedge North and South attended the meeting. Stonehedge South has 109 condominiums, while Stonehedge North has about 78 residences. They are separate associations but connected by the mile-long circular road.

Bataille said police are glad the community is concerned. Residents received emails about the meeting and various fliers were posted on mailboxes and on car windshields in the complex.

Police said when residents encounter suspicious activity, officers are interested in the make, model and license plate number of vehicles coming and going; description of the driver and others in the car, if that can be collected safely; time of day and length of stay; description and names of any people living at the residence, besides the owner;

began his career as an interpreter with the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity over 17 years ago, and his expertise has been pivotal in helping Vermont’s diverse population get groceries and other vital services.

“Food connects people,” Abeneto said. “Food creates conversations between people of different cultural backgrounds. In my new role, I want to improve outreach and customer service by making our services accessible for New Americans, people living

with disabilities and people experiencing homelessness or otherwise marginalized.”

Anna McMahon, associate director of Feeding Chittenden, said, “Anyone who has met Edi will tell you his talents extend far beyond what his job requires. His tranquil nature and level of care set the tone for all Feeding Chittenden services, helping to make our food shelf a place of respite from the difficulties faced by many Vermonters.”

More at feedingchittenden.org.

PROPOSED SOUTH BURLINGTON MUNICIPAL PLAN

Public Hearing Tuesday, September 26, 2023, 7:00 pm

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the South Burlington Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, September 26, 2023 at 7:00 PM to consider the City’s Draft Municipal Plan (known as CityPlan 2024). Participation options:

• In Person: City Hall Auditorium, 180 Market Street

• Interactive Online: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/9960639517

• Phone: (929) 205 6099; Meeting ID: 996 063 9517

The Purpose of this hearing is to consider the readoption of the City’s Municipal Plan pursuant to 24 VSA § 4381-4387. This draft Plan affects all areas within the City of South Burlington. A table of contents for the draft plan is as follows:

Guiding Principles; Introduction; People & Population; Housing; Economy; Energy; Environment; Transportation; Community, History, & Culture; Recreation; Community Services; Water & Utilities; Land Use Plan; Appendix A & B Act 174 Enhance Energy Plan Data and Assessment

Copies of the proposed Plan are available for inspection at the Department of Planning & Zoning, City Hall, 3rd Floor, 180 Market Street South Burlington, between 8:00 AM and 4:30 PM Monday through Friday except holidays, and on the city website at www.southburlingtonvt.gov.

officer to deal with any loose dogs and take them away if warranted.

LEGAL NOTICE

The South Burlington School District (the “District”) is seeking Statement of Qualifications from qualified Construction Management (“CM/C”) firms to provide Construction Management - Constructor services for limited renovations at three schools: Chamberlin Elementary School, F.H. Tuttle Middle School and South Burlington High School. The scope includes selective window replacement, toilet room renovations, and site improvements to be completed during Summer of 2024. Estimated construction cost is approximately $2,500,000, exclusive of general conditions or construction management fees. The District is soliciting bids from qualified Construction Management firms. The District has established prequalification criteria that a prospective bidder must meet in order to submit a bid for consideration by the District, and invites interested construction management firms to apply for prequalification. Request for Statement of Qualifications can be requested by telephone or email from:

Attn: Mr. Timothy Jarvis

Senior Director of Finance and Operations

South Burlington School District

577 Dorset Street South Burlington, VT 05403

Telephone: 802-3652-7052

Email: tjarvis@sbschools.net

Statements of Qualifications are to be submitted on AIA Document A305 with attachments necessary to respond to additional pre-qualification criteria established by the District. Completed prequalification statements shall be received at the above address by mail or delivery no later than 12PM Noon on Oct 3rd, 2023.

Applicants for prequalification shall be notified on or before October 13th, 2023 (Note: must be at least 30 days prior to proposed bid opening per 16 §V.S.A. 559(c) (2) pursuant to Department of Education Rules 6342.1) whether they are eligible to bid. The District anticipates opening the bids for the contract on November 21st, 2023.

STAFF WRITER

Come work where you play! e Valley Reporter, a local, weekly newspaper serving the Mad River Valley as well as Sugarbush and Mad River Glen, is looking for a sta writer.

e ideal candidate will possess a curious mind, exceptional writing skills and an appreciation for small-town life. While a background in journalism is not required, the ability to write concisely and accurately is. is person will report on the people, places and events of the Mad River Valley, including local politics, education, sports, recreation, agriculture, business, cra beer, the environment and more. Must be detail and deadline oriented. A exible schedule is required; the individual will attend public meetings on some nights and weekends. Photography and social media skills required.

Send a cover letter, resume and two to three w ritin g samples to lisa@valleyreporter.com

Jessica Louisos, Chair August 31, 2023

PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE SOUTH BURLINGTON LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS

Public Hearing Tuesday, October 10, 2023, at 7:00 p.m.

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, October 10, 2023, at 7:00 P.M. to consider amendments to the Land Development Regulations. The amendments affect all parts of the City unless otherwise specified below. The hearing will be held in person and remotely via Zoom.

Participation options:

• In-Person: City Hall Auditorium, 180 Market Street

• Interactive Online: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/9960639517

• Phone: (929) 205 6099; Meeting ID: 996 063 9517

The purpose of the hearing is to consider the following:

• LDR-23-03 Multiple Principal Structures on a lot – Mobile Home Parks

• LDR-23-04: City Center FBC: Buildings on Outside of Road Corners and Interstate Façade Standards

• LDR-23-05: Minor and Technical Amendments

Copies of the proposed amendments are available for inspection at the Department of Planning & Zoning, City Hall, 3rd Floor, 180 Market Street, and on the city website at www.sbvt.gov.

Jessica Louisos, Planning Commission Chair September 21, 2023

Electrical, Optical and Firmware Engineers

Creative Micro (CMC) is a small company specializing in advanced augmented reality and artificial intelligence technology development. CMC is looking for highly motivated individuals to join our unique team. We build systems using microprocessors to control cameras, inertial guidance units, and custom hardware including ruggedized, outdoor Augmented Reality display systems. Multiple engineering positions available in Waitsfield, VT including electrical, optical and firmware. Come work on the cutting edge of technology development in the Mad River Valley!

Please check our website: www.creativemicro.com/

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