The Other Paper - 3-28-24

At Orchard School

South Burlington bolsters dispatch center

COREY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER

South Burlington last week unveiled new improvements to its dispatch center that the city says will bolster its public safety apparatus as efforts to regionalize remain elusive.

The city police department last week

revealed a new “state-of-the-art” dispatch center, with new technology upgrading the center from two workstations to four.

It features the latest technology, including fire computer-aided dispatch software, new computer hardware, and integration with the video technology operating within police headquarters and city hall.

“This was a huge, heavy lift by fire Chief Steven Locke and police Chief Shawn Burke and all of our dispatchers and many on our fire leadership,” Jessie Baker, South Burlington’s city manager, said. “It’s a new

LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER

An investigation by the Vermont Human Rights Commission found “reasonable grounds” to believe that Orchard Elementary School and South Burlington School District illegally discriminated against a biracial kindergarten student in the 2018-2019 school year in violation of Vermont’s Fair Housing and Public Accommodations Act.

Gregory and Lindsey Larmond, the parents of the student in the commission’s 2022 investigatory report — filed a civil complaint based on the claims outlined in that report three months after it was unanimously accepted by all five commission members.

The lawsuit, which the Human Rights Commission is an interested party in, is currently in mediation. A pre-trial hearing has been scheduled for April with a jury draw date set for May.

“When viewing the totality of the circumstances, this investigation concludes that the Respondent’s failure to proactively address the concerns of the (parents) are a reflection of racial bias and discrimination on the basis of race and color,” reads the detailed 40-page report. “This bias and disparate treatment

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Harbinger of spring

PHOTO BY MIKE DEAN

A robin enjoys a crabapple snack during last weekend’s snowfall in South Burlington.

Accessory dwelling units? Come learn more at info session

Are you interested in creating housing for your community while gaining an additional income stream? Have you ever heard of an accessory dwelling unit? Not sure you can afford it or where to begin?

An accessory dwelling unit, often referred to as an in-law apartment, is a smaller rental unit on the same lot of a main house. accessory dwelling units come in many forms: They can be created within the existing envelop of the house like an attic or a walkout basement; built as an attached extension; built within or attached to a different existing structure like above a detached garage; or built as a free-standing structure.

Want to learn more about creating and owning an accessory dwelling unit? Join an informational session on Thursday, April 18, 7-8 p.m. at the community room in the South Burlington Public Library.

This event will feature panelists discussing different types of units, financing, zoning and permitting, being a landlord of an accessory dwelling unit. There will be time for questions.

Light refreshments will be provided. This event is hosted by the Affordable Housing Committee in partnership with the library and AARP. To find out more, go to southburlingtonlibrary.org or call 802-8464140.

South Burlington library social work intern provides community support

Editors’ note: March is National Social Work Month.

DOUG GILMAN

Growing up in Winooski, Evelyn Monje dreamed of attending the University of Vermont as she went by campus on the way

to school every day. Working as a youth camp counselor during the summer after her first year of high school, she began to discover what her true calling might be.

“Ultimately, I chose social work because of my passion for helping people,” said Monje, a senior who earned a Presidential Scholarship to attend UVM.

“Now I’m leaning into a field that’s all about caring for others in the best way possible. I have loved all my roles working in summer camps, facilitation training and after-school programs. That joy led me to where I am now, and I

cannot wait to continue digging into this profession,” she said.

For her senior year internship, Monje is piloting a social work position at the South Burlington Public Library. Though she hadn’t previously considered a less traditional social work role like this, she was excited to see where it could lead.

“I offer low-barrier consultation and referrals to patrons as well as supporting the staff in training and de-escalation,” she

See INTERN on page 3

PHOTO DAVID SEAVER

As a social work intern at the South Burlington Public Library, Evelyn Monje provides valuable support for community members who have a range of needs and requests. She also facilitates training for library staff.

Burlington Airport unveils plans for new north terminal building

HABIB SABET

VTDIGGER

Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger and Direction of Aviation Nic Longo unveiled plans for a new north terminal building at the Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport on March 20.

Dubbed “Project NexT,” the infrastructure upgrade would completely replace the current northern concourse with a larger, net-zero energy terminal, adding improved aircraft gates, a third floor with dedicated office space and an outdoor patio area for public use, among other improvements.

“This ambitious project is not just about accommodating larger aircraft and boosting passenger capacity,” Weinberger said at a press conference at the airport. “It is about securing a vibrant, sustainable future for Vermont’s largest and greatest airport.”

The project would mostly be funded by a $34 million federal earmark secured by former U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy near the end of his tenure. The city council is

INTERN

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said. “I’m sharing what I learn with other libraries who are now seeking their own social workers.”

Since stepping into the role in September, Monje has met with over 300 people, including many with social work focused questions.

“The interest has been wide-ranging,” said Monje, who built a resource guide to keep at her mobile table. “People are looking for support with housing, employment, citizenship, health care, dental services and more. Some are seeking community engagement and connection to local services. These conversations are impactful.”

Library director Jennifer Murray says Monje brings common sense and compassion to the library staff and visitors alike.

“Her listening skills and empathy help us do our jobs better,” Murray said. “She makes visitors to the city, library and senior center truly feel welcomed. Evelyn learned a lot about local resources, which allows her to answer questions from the public and make valuable referrals.”

Monje’s internship was set up through the UVM Social Work Department’s partnership with the Howard Center, which hosts more than a dozen social work students at the bachelor’s and master’s level.

expected to formally accept the funding at a meeting next Monday. The remaining cost would be covered by a passenger facility charge, a small fee included in ticket sales to fund infrastructure projects.

Leahy, who also spoke at the event, said the expansion project was about more than just the city of Burlington, calling his namesake airport “a key to a vibrant Vermont.”

Longo said that, with council approval of the funding, the airport could break ground on the new project by late summer. It would then take about 18 months to complete construction, he said.

Project NexT would be the second major infrastructure improvement at the airport in just five years, following a recent expansion of its south terminal, which was completed in 2022.

Despite the increase in space, it remains unclear whether a new terminal would necessarily bring more airlines or flights to the airport.

Early this year, JetBlue, which previously provided flights from

Burlington to New York, pulled out of the airport. Leahy BTV has since partnered with Breeze Airways, adding flights to cities in Florida and North Carolina.

Although officials did not specify if any new partnerships were expected because of the project, they trumpeted the expansion and upgrades as a foundation for growth.

“As we gather here, we stand at the threshold of an extraordinary program — an extraordinary journey — one that promises to redefine the very essence of this airport experience,” Longo said. “Today marks the commencement of phase two, if you will, of our ambitious endeavor to transform Leahy BTV into a transcendent beacon of innovation and excellence in air travel.”

Burlington City Council president Karen Paul also joined the mayor and airport officials at Wednesday’s event.

“The difference between what we see today and what we see in the future is going to be like night and day, and that is a very big deal for the traveling public,” Paul said.

“When South Burlington city leadership approached Howard Center about a partnership in supporting a social work student at the library, it seemed like a perfect fit, and the inaugural year has definitely been a success,” said Charlotte McCorkel, who serves as Monje’s field instructor and is senior director of Client Services at Howard Center.

The field instructor role is a critical piece in the development of social work students. Over the past 15 years, McCorkel supported more than 20 students. She says hosting students in a program creates a culture of learning that benefits staff as well.

“In weekly meetings, Evelyn will often bring a scenario and we explore social work ethics and the intersections between her coursework and field work,” McCorkel said.

Cohort experience

Monje values the close-knit community and support structure in the social work program. During their junior year, students are grouped together to settle into practice and experience courses focused on their development as social workers.

“I appreciate the opportunity to learn from and grow with my peers, and I’ve made lifelong

friends along the way,” she said. “I also made valuable connections with each of my professors and feel fully supported and cared for by each of them.”

Monje also took on a leadership role in UVM’s Social Work Club, which is open to students in any major. Over the past semester, membership numbers have been on the rise, and the group is making plans for community action and conversations they would like to engage in this semester.

Monje envisions a future where she supports youth development through educational experiences outside of the traditional classroom setting. However, the internship opened her mind to the relatively new concept of library social work that is taking hold in more communities nationwide. She is already exploring ways to tie those two interest areas together.

“I grew up excited to go to UVM, so it’s a sweet full-circle moment as I approach the completion of my time here,” she said. “I am currently applying to graduate programs with the intention of completing my master’s degree by age 22. Through this process, I learned that transformative social work education UVM provides is unparalleled and highly regarded.”

South Burlington Police Blotter: March 18-24

Total reported incidents: 235

Foot patrols: 11

Directed patrols: 8

Public assists: 7

Field contact: 10

Animal problem: 4

Noise ordinance violation: 2

Agency assists: 4

Traffic stop: 21

Motor vehicle complaint: 7

Intoxication: 2

Stolen vehicle: 3

Larceny from a vehicle: 2

Suspicious events: 9

Juvenile problem: 2

Mental health issue: 3

Disturbances: 16

Domestic incidents: 1

Welfare check: 11

Property damage: 8

Trespass notice: 12

Larceny: 5

Unlawful mischief: 3

Retail theft: 11

Burglary: 1

Fraud: 2

Threats: 4

Sex crime: 1

Simple assault: 1

Aggravated assault: 1

Illegal dumping: 1

Alarm: 14

911 hang up: 2

Selected incidents:

March 19 at 5:05 p.m., a sex crime was reported to South Burlington police from Dorset Street.

March 22 at 10:28 p.m., a simple assault was reported to police from Proctor Avenue.

March 24 at 7:37 a.m., a business at 100 Dorset Street was reportedly burglarized, police said.

Arrests:

March 18 at 12:45 p.m., Matthew Charbonneau, 27, of Williston, was arrested on Dorset Street for misdemeanor retail theft.

March 20 at 5:50 p.m., Olivia A. Hines, 30, of South Burlington, was arrested for violating conditions of release. Hines was arrested earlier in the day and was arrested again the following day on the same charge.

March 21 at 3:09 a.m., Raymond W. White, 37, of Vergennes, was arrested on Shelburne Road for aggravated assault.

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Man who brandished shotgun in S. Burlington pleads guilty

Officials say he’s a ‘person of interest’ in Eden killings

MICHAEL DONOGHUE CORRESPONDENT

A Burlington man, who authorities say is a person of interest in the fatal shooting of two out-ofstate men found dead in Lamoille County last October, has pleaded guilty in federal court to an unrelated gun charge in a South Burlington case.

Theodore “Theo” Bland, 28, formerly of Stowe, admitted in U.S. District Court Friday that he brandished a shotgun outside a Shelburne Road convenience store in South Burlington in March 2023 while using a controlled substance.

Bland also agreed in his federal plea deal to forfeit the 12-gauge Mossburg shotgun, loaded with five shotgun shells, seized later that

day by police in Lamoille County.

Under the plea, Bland is expected to receive a 14-month federal prison sentence. He will get credit for about five months of time served.

Under questioning from Chief Federal Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford, Bland said he knew his plea deal will have no impact on possible criminal charges in the double homicide last fall.

“Yes, I do your honor,” Bland said as he stood next to his defense lawyer David Sleigh of St. Johnsbury.

Eden killings

A pair of 21-year-old men: Jahim Solomon of Pittsfield, Mass., and Eric White of Chicopee, Mass., were found fatally shot

in October in the rural town of Eden.

Members of the Vermont State Police Major Crime Squad are leading the ongoing and wide-ranging investigation.

The two men were reported missing by their families to Vermont police on Oct. 15 and phone records showed they had been to Burlington, Lowell, Morristown and Stowe after arriving in the state.

Autopsies showed Solomon died from multiple gunshot wounds to the head, while White died from a single shot to the head. Police say one body was found under a tarp about 20 yards off the

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Woman pleads guilty for buying gun; sentencing postponed

MIKE DONOGHUE CORRESPONDENT

A Jeffersonville woman has pleaded guilty in federal court to providing a false statement while making an illegal gun purchase two years ago at a Chittenden County firearms store.

Tamira Lynn McKenna, 38, admitted in U.S. District Court last Friday she lied when buying a Smith & Wesson 9-mm pistol at the Powderhorn Outdoor Sports Center in 2022.

When asked on the federal purchase form if she was an unlawful user of, or addicted to marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug or any controlled substance, McKenna knowingly marked the no box, court records show.

McKenna was a user of both heroin and cocaine when she signed the federal purchase form, Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Stendig said in court.

Meanwhile, her husband, Jacob Daniel McKenna, 38, is charged with three other felony gun charges. He is awaiting trial after pleading not guilty to three counts

of making false written statements to deceive licensed dealers in Chittenden County to unlawfully obtain guns.

In each case he knew the firearms were being purchased in his name, but were for somebody else, records show.

The indictment said Jacob McKenna made false statements while buying at least three firearms in October and November of 2022. They were a Ruger PLCP Gen 2 pistol at the Powderhorn in Williston; a Ruger LCP Max .380-caliber pistol from Dattilio’s Guns & Tackle on Shelburne Road in South Burlington; and a Ruger LCP Max .380-caliber pistol, also from the Powderhorn.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, along with members of the Chittenden County Gun Violence Task Force, conducted a raid at the McKenna residence on Sand Hill Road in July 2023.

Defense lawyer Lisa B. Shelkrot said in court papers that her client has completed residential drug treatment since her arrest and is now engaged in an aftercare program.

Chief Federal Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford agreed to postpone the sentencing for six months to determine if McKenna can continue her recovery.

Crawford said the signed plea agreement proposes a time-served sentence if McKenna, a stay-athome mom with two children, stays on the correct road for the next half year.

She could face up to 10 years in prison, followed by up to three years of supervised release and assessed a $250,000 fine.

Crawford ordered a pre-sentence report from the U.S. Probation Office to determine her past and ongoing conduct.

Her husband, Jacob, is facing three counts because it is against federal law to buy a firearm with the intent of providing it to another person. Those transactions are known as straw purchases and many of the unlawful gun purchases in Vermont through the years are often traded for illegal drugs, officials have said.

A large number end up at out-ofstate crime scenes, including homicides and other violent incidents, the ATF and prosecutors say.

Newspapers collect awards in regional journalism contest

TOMMY GARDNER STAFF WRITER

The Vermont Community Newspaper Group took home 13 first-place awards — and more than twice as many second- and third-place nods — for journalism and design at the New England Newspaper Convention, held over the weekend in Waltham, Mass.

The annual Better Newspaper Competition, held each year by the New England Newspaper and Press Association, awards the top newspapers from all six New England states in 85 editorial categories and 35 advertising categories. In recent years, the best college newspapers have also been honored.

The Vermont Community Newspaper Group publishes five community weeklies in Lamoille and Chittenden counties — the Stowe Reporter, News & Citizen, South Burlington’s The Other Paper, Shelburne News and The Citizen of Charlotte and Hinesburg — and two glossy magazines, the Stowe Guide and Magazine and Stowe/Green Mountain Weddings. All seven publications took home awards at this year’s competition.

“We’re small but mighty,” said publisher and editor Greg Popa. “I’m continually amazed by the talent of this crew and the serious news coverage and solid reporting they provide for our readers. I hope the sixteen communities we serve appreciate the work they provide to report the news week after week.”

Newsroom awards

The newspapers took home 20 awards for reporting, photography and overall presentation. That included five first-place prizes:

• Human interest feature story, by Aaron Calvin, for his piece about the death of a homeless veteran.

• Pandemic coverage, by Corey McDonald, for his piece about a well-known businessman grappling with the death of his son.

• Arts and entertainment reporting, by Avalon Styles-Ashley, for a profile of local artist Sue Gilkey.

• Serious Columnist, by David Rocchio, for a piece about snow and another about his memories of his father.

• Sports Action photo, by Al Frey, who also won second and third place in the same category, for three different photos of high school basketball games.

The newsroom also won seven second-place newsroom awards:

• Best Niche Publication, for the Stowe magazine, by publisher and editor Greg Popa.

• Arts and entertainment, by Rob Kiener, for a profile of painter Luigi Lucioni.

• Business and economic reporting, by Calvin, for a magazine story about how Idletyme restaurant and brewery weathered the pandemic.

• Climate change or weather, by Calvin and news editor Tommy Gardner, for their coverage of last July’s flooding in Lamoille County.

• Humor column, by Carole Vasta Folley, for her wit about tech trauma and kitchen freezers.

• Portrait photo, by Glenn Callahan, for a picture of Bambi Freeman.

• Reporting on religious issues, by McDonald, for a report on South Burlington schools renting out space to a church.

• Right-to-know, by Calvin, for a series about the dismissal of a Stowe police officer.

• Serious columnist, by Folley, for a piece about gender pronouns.

• Sports action photo, by Gordon Miller, for a Peoples Academy softball pitcher.

The newsroom won half a dozen third-place journalism awards:

• Crime and courts, by McDonald, about an investigation into a Shelburne cop.

• Human interest feature story, by Kiener, for a story about a man confronting the end of his dog’s life.

• General news story, by McDonald, for a piece about the Charlotte fire and rescue squads’ funding.

• Pictorial photo, by Gordon Miller, for a shot of the Spear Barn.

• Serious columnist, Tamara Burke, for pieces about marginalized people and school choice.

• Sports feature, by Gardner, about the Stowe soccer team with five sets of siblings.

Advertising and design

The Vermont Community Newspaper Group performed particularly well in the advertising categories, with eight first-place awards:

• Overall design and presentation of a niche product, by Popa, for Stowe magazine.

• Advertising in a niche publication, for the wedding magazine, by production manager Katerina Werth.

• Audience building, by design-

er Kristen Braley, for Get Connected.

• Automotive display ad, by Braley for Lamoille Valley Chevy.

• Creative use of small space, by Braley, for Manufacturing Solutions, Inc.

• Integrated ad campaign, by Werth and Braley, for Ferro Jewelers.

• Local display ad, color, by Werth, for Country Store on Main.

• Special section, by Werth, for the annual RIDE mountain biking supplement.

Second-place awards by the group were:

• Events ad, by the staff, for its advertising of newspaper-hosted political debates.

• Special section, by the Stowe Reporter staff, also for the RIDE supplement.

• Local display ad, black and white, by Werth, for Stowe Family Dentistry.

• Local display ad, color, by Braley, for Lamoille Valley Dance Academy.

The design crew took home

five third-place awards:

• Advertising general excellence, by the Stowe Reporter staff.

• Health ad, by Werth, for Stowe Family Dentistry.

• Local display ad, black and white, staff, for Rimrocks Mountain Tavern.

• Advertising sales media kit, by Werth, for the company.

• Audience building promotion, by the Stowe Reporter staff, for The Stowe Kids Report, a collaboration with Stowe Elementary School.

•

•

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Tommy Gardner, Corey McDonald, Kristen Braley and Liberty Darr hold their awards from the New England Newspaper and Press Association Better Newspaper Competition.

More

child care as Act 76 rolls out

From the Senate

Sen. Ginny Lyons

support. This will add child care slots in many programs.

March 15 was the last day for the Senate and House to pass bills out of policy committees for consideration in the other chamber. Senate legislative committees now work on bills from their counterparts in the House. In addition, committees may also review the administration’s work implementing legislation passed during previous sessions.

Act 76 of 2023 is significant child care legislation and is unique in the country. The law provides affordable access to child care for working families. On Jan. 1, 2024, child care programs received benefits to expand and improve their programs. Increased benefits and compensation for child care staff were also implemented on Jan. 1.

That staff includes some of the lowest paid professionals with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Vermont. The increase in salary is an important recognition of the value legislators place on early childhood care. On April 1 and in October more families will be eligible for child care

By December, over 7,000 additional children and families will be eligible for reduced tuition. These changes make Vermont a more affordable place for young families in our workforce. Child care is one of the many difficult problems facing Vermonters. As Act 76 is implemented, more families will be able to afford child care and programs will support and maintain staff. Everyone benefits. Vermonters can take pride in this ongoing support of our children and families.

Going ahead, housing issues will continue to dominate legislative conversations. Providing adequate housing stock for middle- and lower-income workers continues to be debated in legislative committees. Efforts to ensure that emergency housing is available, whether for flood recovery, weather events or other things will continue. My commit-

Another exciting proposal is Wisdom House, a new senior living multigenerational community envisioned for Jericho and Underhill. By providing community services (not assisted living) close to affordable condos or homes would allow older Vermonters to age in place.

tee, Senate health and welfare, will focus its attention on general assistance housing recommendations from the House Committee on Human Services. Improvements to the General Assistance Housing program should help relieve access problems caused by economic pressures or climate induced flood events. Underlying housing discussions about permits, zoning, Act 250 and funding sources are the desperate needs facing underrepresented groups in society. Before the pandemic I suggested that some Vermont Housing and Conservation Board funds might appropriately be allocated toward long-term or nursing home care, senior living, crisis step down beds, recovery residences, residential support for those with mental illness and for people

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Sen. Ginny Lyons

New school budget reduces effects on school tax rate

From the School Board

Tim Warren

On March 13, the South Burlington School Board unanimously approved a new budget proposal of $69,530,000 to place before the voters. The new proposal is a reduction of over $1.6 million from the original $71.2 million budget that voters rejected on Town Meeting Day.

The new budget continues to prioritize student-facing staff positions, retains important school safety improvements and bolsters academic rigor, including a new structured-literacy program that is important for our youngest learners.

ics the Legislature passed at the end of February, the new budget proposal represents a significantly reduced tax rate increase of 14.5 percent.

In addition to staff and programming cuts and the use of the surplus as revenue, the board has also reduced a line item of $1.9 million for the capital reserve fund to about $1.1 million. This change accounts for about half of the total $1.6 million reduction in the new budget.

Along with the surplus, the $1.9 million would have greatly improved the health of our chronically underfunded reserve fund. However, recognizing the need to address the tax rate, the board felt that reducing the amount to the reserve fund instead of eliminating it achieved the most prudent balance between the two needs without directly impacting student-facing programs.

Over the last several months, the board has received significant feedback from the community about the budget. With aging facilities, a growing student population that will demand more staff and resources and rapidly-rising home values that lead to higher homestead tax rates, there is a delicate balance between preparing a budget that meets the district’s educational needs with one that the community can support — a balancing act that promises to become only more challenging in the coming years.

The budget presented on Town Meeting Day represented a tax rate increase of 23.25 percent. To address taxpayer concerns and reduce this increase, the board has approved of not only staff and program reductions but has chosen to apply the $2.2 million surplus available from fiscal year 2022 to the revenues for this year’s budget instead of directing it into our capital reserve fund. Combined with the new education funding mechan-

For the average residential homeowner in South Burlington, this reduced rate increase of 14.5 percent results in an increase of about $71 per month, while the average condo owner would see an increase of about $48. As a community, we strive to ensure a safe, healthy, equitable work and learning environment for every one of our 600-plus staff members and 2,600-plus students, and the board believes that this budget does just that.

We hope that you, the South Burlington community, feel the same way.

The board encourages all eligible voters in the town to participate in the upcoming re-vote on the budget. You can find details about voting at southburlingtonvt.gov. For those who want to learn more about the new budget, the board encourages you to visit the fiscal year 2025 budget page on the South Burlington School district website (sbschools. net). We also welcome your comments at schoolboard@sbschools.net, as well as in person at upcoming meetings.

Tim Warren is a member of the South Burlington School Board.

LYONS continued from page 6

with disabilities capable of living independently.

These critical needs for housing have not changed; they have increased. Each area is important. There are many folks with disabilities living with aging parents. Having a residential facility that allows those with disabilities to live independently in small congregate settings can alleviate stress on families and potentially increase single family home access.

Another exciting proposal is Wisdom House, a new senior living multigenerational community envisioned for Jericho and Underhill. By providing community services (not assisted living) close to affordable condos or homes would allow older Vermonters to age in place. This could be a model for more rural parts

of the state where community support, including transportation, makes it difficult for seniors.

During the next weeks of the biennium, we will work on legislation that could reduce administrative burdens on health care providers, increase access to insurance for lower-income Vermonters, improve primary care access and reduce prescription drug costs. I look forward to sharing more about these issues in the future. Thank you for your thoughts and feedback.

Ginny Lyons, a Democrat from Williston, represents South Burlington, Charlotte, Hinesburg, Shelburne and several other towns in the Chittenden-Southeast Senate district.

Tim Warren

Is anyone really surprised we can’t afford Vermont’s school bill

Guest Perspective

Floyd Nease

Not unexpectedly, Vermont has once again hit a brick wall in public education funding. It’s nothing new. In fact, the wall was built and reinforced over decades by legislators, governors and school boards who jointly avoided addressing the root causes of the dilemma.

Simply put, the underlying structural problems in Vermont’s education system are threefold:

Vermont has too many school buildings, too much staff and too few students. That the funding is not well spent is evidenced by the fact that despite being second in the country in per-pupil spending ($23,299), pupil performance is in the middle of the pack, below many states spending much less. It’s reasonable to wonder what might be possible if we were to invest that funding more effectively and efficiently in programming for students instead of on redundant infrastructure and staffing.

There have been promising temporary efforts over the years — acts 60 and 68 and, most recently, Act 46 — that showed real promise toward addressing underlying structural challenges. But every time, when the conjoined specters of closed schools and laid-off staff arose, legislators, governors and school boards, assailed by constituents and special interests, backed off, making exceptions where they shouldn’t — Stowe and Ripton come to mind — and thereby defeated any potential for real reform.

The challenges faced this

year come from not addressing underlying problems, not, as has been said, because pay raises and health care costs have exploded. They have, of course, but those costs have exploded everywhere, every year. They are a factor, but not the root cause. Our relative performance continues to be middling at best, and per pupil cost continues to rise far beyond what payroll and health care inflation require.

The cycle of increased costs and declining results is made

it guarantees the immediate budget crisis will reappear — with Groundhog Day certainty — next year and year after year after that. Property taxes, which pay for more than 60 percent of school spending, will continue to increase by thousands this year and next — ad infinitum. This makes Vermont even less affordable for the young families we say we want to attract.

Already, postponed decisions to close schools and lay off staff has metastasized into an obstacle

al union schools, where students gained access to a richer array of academic and extra-curricular choices. Cries of “you’re killing our community” faded as communities adjusted to the new realities and learned to take advantage of them.

On the federal level, in 1988 both Congress and the administration recognized that too many aging military bases were not adding value to changing military needs. Predictably, efforts to close redundant bases

Vermonters must take a cold-blooded look at what we want Vermont’s education system to accomplish, and how it can be accomplished sustainably, over time. It’s time to authorize a process for Vermont’s future that would reorganize Vermont’s education system by repurposing schools, reducing staff and investing in excellence to “more efficiently and effectively support our students, increase student readiness for post-secondary education and training and facilitate new ways of doing business.”

worse by postponed maintenance, repair and replacement of too many aging buildings, most often in a misguided effort to forestall staff reductions. The combination of too many staff, too many aging buildings and too few students is a toxic feedback loop. It forces misspending on redundancy and unneeded space instead of investing in excellence.

The response from the Legislature this session is familiar: Tweak the formula (increase the yield, look for any revenue) to get through the immediate funding crisis. Tweaking always fails to address chronic underlying structural problems, and

that impacts everything we hold dear in Vermont. Every funding decision made by the Legislature or the governor is overshadowed by the unsustainable school funding problem. Addressing Vermont’s other very real immediate needs — housing, environment, agriculture, municipal, economic development, et al, requires that it be addressed. School spending must become predictable, sustainable and equitable, or the whole economy grinds to a halt.

We’ve been here before. In the 1970s, after much bloodletting and political angst, Vermont consolidated many village high schools into region-

were stymied by unsurmountable political impediments.

Their solution created Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), described by the U.S. Department of Defense as “the Congressionally authorized process DoD has used to reorganize its base structure to more efficiently and effectively support our forces, increase operational readiness and facilitate new ways of doing business.”

Nearby Plattsburgh Air Force Base was repurposed. BRAC removed most political and emotional considerations by anchoring decisions in objective criteria agreed to by a wide

range of interests.

Vermont can no longer wait to realign education spending. We must prioritize educational enrichment and equity for students as well as long-term economic viability for taxpayers, over short-term parochial considerations. By not addressing the triple threat of too many aging schools, too much staff and too few students, the economic impacts of that indecision have grown over time and are crashing over us, drowning other emergent needs in a tsunami of school misspending.

Vermonters must take a cold-blooded look at what we want Vermont’s education system to accomplish, and how it can be accomplished sustainably, over time. It’s time to authorize a BRAC-like process for Vermont’s future that would reorganize Vermont’s education system by repurposing schools, reducing staff and investing in excellence to, echoing BRAC, “more efficiently and effectively support our students, increase student readiness for post-secondary education and training and facilitate new ways of doing business.”

It can be done, but it will take political courage to do it.

Floyd Nease served in the Vermont House from from 20022010, for a time as Democratic Party Majority Leader. Trained as a mental health clinician, Nease led several nonprofit human services agencies in Vermont, including an alternative school for children and adolescents who were unable to thrive in public education settings.

COMMUNITY

Epic A.J. by Grayson Dailey

Community Notes

On Wednesday, April 3, at 7:30 p.m., Farmers Night at the Statehouse will honor Pete Sutherland, a leader of traditional and Americana music who touched and inspired many in Vermont and internationally through his compositions, playing, mentoring and teaching. Friends, fans, students, collaborators, admirers and others will join to celebrate and pay tribute to him. Guest musicians will include Lee Blackwell, Jim Burns, Patti Casey, Grey Larsen and Cindy Kallet, Tom MacKenzie, Oliver Scanlon, Fiona and Emmett Stowell and David Zuckerman.

The Farmers Night Concert Series is a longstanding Statehouse tradition that goes back over 100 years to a time when lawmakers entertained themselves in the House chamber mid-week while away from home.

Lund holds annual Lund by the Lake fundraiser

Lund presents its third annual Lund by the Lake fundraising celebration on May 16, 5 p.m., at Hula on the waterfront.

Last year’s event raised more than $166,000 and drew 140 attendees, including donors, staff and client families.

This year, Lund by the Lake will shine a spotlight on the integrated services Lund provides and its collaborative approach to supporting families.

“This year’s event aims to celebrate the perseverance of our clients and the collective efforts that empower them to overcome challenges and achieve lasting positive change,” Mary Burns, president and CEO, said.

For more information, go to lundvt.org.

Solaris Vocal Ensemble presents ‘Radiant Light’

Join the Solaris Vocal Ensemble, led by Dr. Dawn Willis, for two evenings filled with the uplifting power of choral music. As part of its 10th-anniversary celebration, Solaris offers “Radiant Light,” a concert featuring Mozart’s “Vesperae Solennes de Confessore,” with its soaring melodies and intricate harmonies and accompanied by a chamber orchestra.

Be moved by powerful motets and spiritual arrangements with selections by Bruckner, Hogan and Thompson. Witness the world premiere of Solaris’ own composer-in-residence, James Stewart, and his new work, “It Had to Be Your Fascinating Rhythm,” a reimagining of two iconic 1924 jazz tunes.

Concert dates are Saturday, April 6 at 7:30 p.m., at the College Street Congregational Church, Burlington, and Sunday, April 7 at 4 p.m., Bethany United Church of Christ, Montpelier.

Advance tickets are recommended at solarisensemble.org.

Shelburne church, Age

Well host April luncheon

Age Well is offering a luncheon on Tuesday, April 16, in the St Catherine of Siena Parish Hall, 72 Church St. in Shelburne.

The menu is Salisbury beef with barbecue sauce, baked beans, broccoli florets, wheat bun with butter, frosted pound cake with raspberry filling and milk.

Check-in time is 11:30 a.m. and the meal will be served at noon. There is a $5 suggested donation.

Diners must register by April 10 to Kerry Batres, nutrition coordinator, 802-662-5283 or email kbatres@agewellvt.org. Tickets are also available at the Age Well Office, 875 Roosevelt Highway, Suite 210, Colchester.

Grab and go meal in Shelburne, April 9

Age Well and St. Catherine’s of Siena Parish in Shelburne are teaming up to provide a meal to go for anyone age 60 and older on Tuesday, April 9.

Meals will be available for pick up in the parking lot at 72 Church St. from 11 a.m. until noon and are available for anyone 60 or older. Suggested donation is $5.

The menu is chicken in gravy with mashed cauliflower, diced carrots, southern biscuit with butter, carrot cake with icing and milk.

To order a meal contact Kathleen at agewellstcath@gmail.com or 802-5031107. Deadline to order is Wednesday, April 3. If this is a first-time order, provide your name, address, phone number and date of birth.

More at agewellvt.org.

COURTESY PHOTO

Farmers Night concert honors Pete Sutherland

“Material Matters,” a collection of hand-colored and black-and-white photographic images and mixed media collage by Weybridge artist Victoria Blewer is on display at the Vermont Supreme Court Gallery in Montpelier from Thursday, April 4 to June 28. There will be an opening reception and art walk on Friday, April 5, 4-7 p.m. As a photographer and visual artist, Blewer explores a variety of photographic mediums that derive from silver-print black-and-white and hand-colored images of agricultural structures. “I’m not the sort to live my life based on a bumper sticker, but one stuck with me as I realized that technology was forcing me to re-imagine everything I have done or may do next as an artist,” says Blewer, who has exhibited her photography broadly and has won many national and regional awards.

COURTESY PHOTO

OBITUARIES

Cathy Jane Ladd

Cathy Jane Ladd, 64, of South Burlington, died peacefully on Tuesday, March 12, 2024. It was her wish to donate her organs and with her family by her side she took the Honor Walk at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington.

She was born Oct. 25, 1959, in West Stewartstown, N.H., to Sanford Ray Ladd and Harriet Elizabeth (Noyes) Ladd.

She was employed for 39 years in the Information Services Department at the University of Vermont Medical Center, retiring in 2019. She enjoyed vacations to Europe and Hawaii with groups of hospital employees many years ago. She was an avid reader, loved to watch TV and was an independent lady. For the last five years she and her mother have been “two peas in a pod,” taking daily walks, doing laundry, watching TV, cooking, eating their meals together and

living separately in their apartments next door to each other.

Cathy is survived by her mother, Harriet, and her sister, Dencie, both of South Burlington; brother, Sanford (Stacey) Ladd II of South Alburgh; nieces and nephew, Krista (Dustin) LaBonte of Grand Isle, Travis Ladd and partner, Rebecca Isham of South Burlington, Hannah Ladd and partner, Greg Barnett of Colchester, and Abby Ladd and partner, Mitchell Hanna of Highgate; sister-in-law, Janice Bourdeau Ladd Coon of South Carolina; brother-in-law, Mark Mitchell of South Burlington; and extended family members in Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Texas.

She was predeceased by her grandparents, Wesley and Ella Ladd and Shirley and Leona Noyes; father, Sanford Ray Ladd (2000); and brother, David Owen Ladd (2009).

The family would like to thank Jen DeMaroney of the Dona-

tion and Transport Unit and the caring staff of the Medical Intensive Care Unit at the University of Vermont Medical Center, who took wonderful care of Cathy and her family in her final days, and to her primary care physician, Dr. Jennifer Gilwee. Cathy will be dearly missed by her family and anyone who knew and cared for her.

A private service and burial

Full-Time Police Officers

The Stowe Police Department is seeking full-time police officer positions to help fulfill its mission to provide quality service in a professional, respectful, and ethical manner.

Stowe is a vibrant four-season resort community offering world-class outdoor recreation. The community has 5,200 year-round residents and can have more than 15,000 visitors during peak periods. Stowe Police operates throughout the Town’s 72 square miles, which includes more than 90 miles of roadways.

Stowe Police Department is committed to excellence in law enforcement and dedicated to the people, traditions, and diversity of our town. We work in partnership with the community to preserve and improve the quality of life, making the town a safer, more pleasant place to live, work, and visit.

Up to $15,000 sign-on bonus for Vermont certified officers, with half paid upon hire and half after one year. Minimum starting pay for a certified officer is $30.05 per hour, as of July 1, 2024, and may be higher depending on qualifications and experience.

Applicants must be 21 years of age, a U.S. citizen, possess a High School diploma or equivalent, and possess a valid Driver’s License. Applicants must be able to perform all the essential functions involved with police duties. The hiring process includes a physical fitness examination, polygraph, oral board, written exam, medical exam, fingerprint check, and extensive background check.

The Town of Stowe currently offers an excellent benefit package including BCBS health plans with low premium share, dental insurance, generous paid leave including 13 holidays, VMERS D pension plan, life insurance and more.

If have any questions, please call Chief Donald Hull at (802) 253-4329 or e-mail at dhull@stowevt.gov.

Job descriptions and employment application can be obtained at: www.townofstowevt.org. Submit application, letter of interest and resume to: Town of Stowe, c/o HR Director, P.O. Box 730, Stowe, VT 05672 or by email recruit@stowevt.gov. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

The Town of Stowe is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

will be held in the spring in the Alice Hunt Cemetery in Canaan. In lieu of flowers, the family would ask you to consider donations in support of Dr. Kenneth McClain’s Histiocytosis Research efforts at Texas Children’s Hospital. Donations can be sent to Texas Children’s Hospital, Office of Philanthropy, PO Box 300630, Houston TX 77030. (Please note to designate the funds for the Histiocytosis Center.) Dr. McClain and his team cared for and supported her brother David with his fight with Langerhans cell histiocytosis.

Thomas E. Rhoads II

Thomas Edward Rhoads II, “Tom”, 71, of Williston, died peacefully on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. He was born on March 1, 1953, in Bellefonte, Pa., where he grew up, attended school and made lasting friends.

Tom led a fulfilling life dedicated to his family, career and athletic pursuits. He studied operations research at the U.S. Naval Academy from 1971 to 1973 and went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in computer science at Penn State University. He furthered his education with a master’s degree in technical management from Johns Hopkins University.

Throughout his 37-year career as an aerospace test systems engineer, Thomas patented software inventions that were instrumental to his company’s success.

Beyond a successful career, his passion for athletics included several marathons, including the Boston Marathon, hiking adventures and his acceptance onto the U.S. National Dragon Boat team. He also found joy and purpose in his role as a mentor for middle and high school students.

Tom was a member of Anacostia Lodge in Washington, D.C., and a Past Master of Hinesburg Lodge in Hinesburg. He was Penn State’s biggest fan and always dressed in blue and

white on football game day. He participated in the first “Thon” at Penn State, showcasing his dedication to charitable causes. Tom coached wrestling, baseball and youth basketball, leaving a lasting impact on young athletes.

Tom loved math, statistics and analytics just for fun. He was an avid reader with a special interest in epidemiology, especially during and after the pandemic.

Tom cherished his family above all. He is survived by his loving wife, Linda, the love of his life, with whom he shared nearly 40 years of marriage. He is also survived by his daughter, Molly, whom he (correctly) believes exudes kindness and possesses skills and potential that she often doesn’t realize she has. Per Tom, Molly is and will always be his baby. One of his most prized accomplishments was hiking a leg of the Appalachian Trail alongside Molly — Molly hiked all 2192.7 miles of the trail.

Tom marveled at the accomplishments in his son Zach’s life: Zach’s career, his values and his own wonderful family — a family that Tom considers a gift to the world. Tom was especially devoted to his granddaughter, Hadley. It is known, by Hadley and everyone else, that Pappy “loved Hadley the most.” When surgeons asked, “Do you want to be resuscitated should anything go wrong in surgery?” He always answered, “Well yes. I have to be here to see my granddaughter grow up.”

He is also survived by his daughter-in-law, Samantha, whom he feels blessed to call family; as well as his brothers, Mike, Dan and Doug, and all their children — his beloved nieces and nephews; and many beloved cousins and other relatives.

In addition to his immediate family, Tom is survived by his wife, Linda’s family, including her parents, brothers, sister and their children.

A celebration of Tom’s life will be held in the spring. The Rhoads family will make these details public closer to the date of the celebration.

In memory of Tom, please consider donating to one of his favorite nonprofit organizations: Connecting Youth mentoring program, connectingyouth.cvsdvt.org; Dragonheart Vermont, a breast cancer and supporter dragon boat organization, dragonheartvermont.org; McClure Miller Respite House, uvmhomehealth.org; or The Thon supporting Four Diamonds, thon.org.

Cathy Jane Ladd Thomas E. Rhoads II

Illuminate Vermont brings music, fun and food to SB

Vermont’s newest artistic festival returns April 5 and 6 to Market Street in South Burlington.

Illuminate Vermont features cocktails, food trucks, live music and an indoor-outdoor market. And it’s all free. The event is being held around City Center from 5-9 p.m. both days.

Bring an ID if you plan to have a drink or sample Vermont-made liquors, wines or beer.

For more information, check in at illuminatevermont.com.

Here’s the schedule of events:

Friday, April 5, gates open, 5 p.m.

Main Stage

• 5-6:45 p.m. — Better Angels trio

• 7:15–9 p.m. — Better Angels

Market Street

• 6-8 p.m. — Ryan Sweezey

Library

• 5-6:30 p.m. — A Pair of Pauls Playing Piano offer original compositions, jazz standards, selections from the Great American Songbook and ragtime, jazz and novelty tunes.

• 7-8:30 p.m. — Ukulele Clare is a duo that charms audiences with originals and songs drawn from the American Songbook, bringing the best of jazz, country, folk and blues.

Auditorium

• 6 p.m. — Vermont’s Own 40th Army Band

• 7:30 p.m. — Blue Note 6

Saturday, April 6, gates open, 5 p.m.

Main Stage

• 5-6:45 p.m. – Judi Emanuel Family Band

• 7:15-9 p.m. — Jenni Johnson and the Jazz Junketeers perform a variety of music that includes jazz, soul and swing.

Market Street

• 6:30-7 p.m. – Cirque de Fuego, a Vermont-based fire performance troupe, performs fire breathing, fire juggling, partner acrobat fire routines, choreographed pieces and fire dancing.

• 6:30-8 p.m. — EmaLou and The Beat is a Burlington-based trio offering a mix of contemporary and classic folk, rock ‘n roll and funk.

Library

• 5-6 p.m. — Dr. Jolivette Anderson-Douoning performs Poetry Theater, a lively spoken word literary artform.

• 7-8:30 p.m. — Music Brings Joy

Auditorium

• 6 p.m. — Andriana Chobot Duo

• 7:30 p.m. — Green Mountain Brass Band

COURTESY PHOTO

Cirque de Fuego entertains on Saturday, April 6 at City Center.

Vermont’s Charm

Around the region

State’s attorney issued Giglio letter to Shelburne’s new officer

MICHAEL DONOGHUE CORRESPONDENT

The newest police officer hired by Shelburne Police was quietly demoted as a Burlington police lieutenant last year after an internal investigation showed he filed 25 timesheets that were inaccurate or untimely, according to public records.

Former Lt. Daniel C. Delgado was reduced to patrol corporal and ordered to repay $695.05 to the city of Burlington last summer because it found he had inappropriately collected taxpayer money for hours he never worked, according to interviews and records.

Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah F. George eventually told the department she would not file any criminal charges against Delgado but began issuing so-called Giglio letters to defense lawyers in Chittenden County last July indicating she had found the officer was not fully honest, records show.

“Although there may be probable cause for a criminal charge, I do not believe we could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the intent of this conduct was to defraud. Therefore, we would not seek criminal charges at this time,” George said in a June 2023 letter to then-acting Burlington police chief Jon Murad.

“The allegations, however, are concerning, and contain an element of untruthfulness that I believe we are required to disclose to defense counsel in any incidents which Lt. Delgado is called as a witness,” George said in her letter.

News last week.

Repeated attempts to get a comment from Delgado this week were unsuccessful.

Shelburne Police Chief Michael Thomas said Delgado came “highly recommended” but would not say who provided the references or who conducted the background check for his department.

Thomas said Delgado worked a couple years for the Brandon police and more than 11 years with Burlington. The chief said he was satisfied with the new hiring.

Shelburne Town Manager Matt Lawless said he was made aware of the demotion incident and was satisfied with the explanation. He did say the background investigation was done within the police department and not completed by Adam Backus, the new human resources assistant hired by the town last month.

Selectboard Chair Michael Ashooh did not respond to a phone message.

During a special reception Friday evening to honor three recent Shelburne Police promotions and the hiring of about a half dozen civilian employees in the past few months, attendees were told the town is still seeking to fill vacancies in the police department.

About 75 people attended the invitation-only, catered event at the Shelburne Museum.

No charges

That July, George provided Murad a copy of the Giglio letter she said she intended to share with defense lawyers about Delgado.

Delgado’s jump to Shelburne police became public in a social media post by the town and a news story in the Shelburne

Government timecard cases have been handled different ways in Vermont. Perhaps the biggest was a former Vermont State Police patrol commander, who falsely claimed 63 hours of overtime across two pay periods in July 2012. He was charged within

PHOTO BY MICHAEL DONOGHUE Shelburne’s newest Police Officer, Dan Delgado, signs paperwork after taking oath from town moderator Thomas Little during reception on Friday night at Shelburne Museum.

LAWSUIT

continued from page 1

had very real consequences for the student, whose mental well-being declined significantly over the course of the school year. The Complainants have met their burden of persuasion that the school’s failure to initiate an investigation, take actions that would protect her, and address the concerns of her parents was discriminatory.”

In the report, Orchard School and South Burlington School District denied that the kindergartener didn’t receive equal access to the educational opportunities or benefits provided by the school and that she experienced unlawful harassment. School officials asserted that they acted reasonably to protect her from problematic conduct on the part of other students and deny she was treated differently based on race and color.

The complaint details a pattern of bullying and harassment from schoolmates that ranged from death threats to physical violence, exclusion based on her skin color, and inappropriate and racially stereotypical comments about her hair, body and name throughout the 2018-2019 school year.

It also alleges that school administrators blamed the student for the behavior she was exposed to, while excusing the harmful behavior of the white students.

“The fact that the administration never felt compelled to initiate an investigation of potential harassment and instead put the focus on the kindergarten student’s ‘choices and behaviors’ when making a coverage plan to prevent further violence against her is also indicative of racial bias,” reads the report.

The investigation points to multiple instances where behaviors on the part of the student are addressed by staff at Orchard School as concerning, but more serious behaviors committed by white students like

DELGADO

continued from page 14

days by then-Chittenden County state’s attorney T.J. Donovan.

The investigation eventually revealed former Sgt. James Deeghan had duped Vermont taxpayers out of more than $200,000. Deeghan later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years in prison. Vermont laws changed to let state or local government to get restitution by collecting their pensions.

In the Delgado case, public records show that George passed on filing any criminal charges. George said her decision came after Murad provided her access to the internal affairs investigation conducted by Burlington police.

A few hours after George sent the June 6 letter to Murad, he was confirmed by the Burlington City Council to be the permanent police chief.

Murad and his new public information officer, Sarah Hernandez-Timm, never disclosed the investigation or announced the demotion in a news release.

When George notified Murad about the Giglio letter last July, the chief said he appreciated her work on the case.

“Thank you for your time on this matter, and for the deep thought you put into your review of the materials we shared with you. I am deeply appreciative of your partnership and counsel,” Murad wrote in an email.

repeated violence, racial exclusion and death threats were overlooked, excused or given cursory attention, the report reads.

Specifically, the school district never notified the student’s parents of a second death threat from a student in March 2019, instead sending her home with a disciplinary referral indicating that she had misbehaved, which the Larmond’s felt was inaccurate and intentionally omitted the information about the threat and other harassment by the student.

‘Dropped the ball’

Orchard School principal Mark Trifilio later admitted that the school had “dropped the ball” by failing to notify the family of the threat and told investigators that he did not feel that the perpetrating student had actual access to a weapon and saw no reason to involve police.

The report also outlines another incident a month later, in April, when her daughter told Mrs. Larmond that a group of girls in her class wouldn’t let her play dolls with them because of her skin color. The parents waited to see if the classroom teacher was going to contact them about the incident, and after waiting a few days emailed her to initiate a discussion. Another incident cites an older student making comments surrounding the kindergartener’s hair, body and name.

Although the investigation found that the teacher responded quickly and appropriately to both incidents, there were several other instances of conduct and statements by Orchard School staff that suggest that “racial bias and discrimination” played a role, citing specifically the “adultification” against her.

“This is a documented form of racial bias, experienced by Black girls, where they are

Delgado was reduced to the rank of corporal.

Delgado, who was hired by Burlington in September 2012, moved up quickly through the ranks in recent years.

Records show Delgado was paid $150,684 in 2022 by the city, compared to $87,468 in 2021.

It is unclear how much manpower Murad assigned to the Delgado investigation and why an outside agency wasn’t called in to handle it.

Documents indicate that both deputy police chiefs, Wade Lebrecque and Brian LaBarge were involved in the internal investigation.

Murad sustained their findings, George said. She said the 25 timesheets that were not accurate or timely also showed Delgado was not punctual on those days and that “this behavior was improper and unbecoming.”

The overpaid money was taken out of subsequent paychecks to restore the city of Burlington, she said.

Issues over the timesheets apparently first surfaced in February 2023, according to George. She said, “Burlington police discovered improprieties in then-Lieutenant Delgado’s timecards when compared to his actual work hours — specifically that several of them were entered after the fact rather than using the fingerprint scanners as is custom to the department and did not accurately reflect.”

perceived as less innocent and more adultlike than white girls of the same age,” the report reads.

On March 26, in the context of a discussion about the threats and assaults the student experienced at school, Trifilio described her as “aggressive” and asked her parents whether she was “bossy.” Similarly, the classroom teacher used terms like “socially aggressive” and “savvy” to describe her in a meeting with her mother on March 21.

“Adultification also occurred at the end of the school year, when Ms. Beeli and Ms. Hill (the guidance counselor and behavioral facilitator) offered to take part in a ‘coverage plan’ for the student but would only monitor her conduct and not the ‘choices and behavior’ of the white students who had been threatening and assaulting her,” reads the investigation.

Trifilio also made “troubling” remarks toward the parents that reflected “racial insensitivity and ignorance.”

At a meeting on June 6, he asked the student’s father what he “should call” him – Black or African American —– in a way that he felt was insensitive. Trifilio also complained to the parents that he could not understand why a parent of color would be upset about a fourth grader reading about the KKK.

“Racial bias also permeated the principal’s description of how he was trying to cultivate relationships with a ‘group of black boys’ who were ‘always getting into trouble,’ telling the (parents) that the first graders would be discussing slavery in class and touting an annual ‘multicultural potluck’ as a way to bring positive minority perspectives into the student curriculum,” the report reads. This investigation also found that the parents exhausted administrative remedies by reporting the race-related comments and brought them to the attention of the principal. The parents met with the principal more than once and subsequently met with the former district superintendent David Young, but after finding no action was taken about their concerns, they filed a complaint to the Human Rights Commission.

Policies in place

During the 2018-2019 school year, the South Burlington School District had policies in place to prevent harassment, hazing and bullying consistent with Vermont Agency of Education policy.

Young asserted to the human rights commission that while the events experienced by the student should have triggered district procedures to start an investigation within five days of a report of harassment, he asserted that even if that had occurred it would not have changed the outcome.

The report alleges that Orchard School failed to give the parents a copy of the applicable policies and procedures, failed to consider or investigate potential harassment, and staff failed to effectively separate the student from the two classmates who harmed and threatened her, after a specific request from the parents on March 21.

“Orchard School ultimately failed to adequately protect her from bullying, threats, and aggressive behavior at the hands of her classmates, and instead repeatedly suggested that she had responsibility for those occurrences,” the report reads.

The parents describe that over the course of the year, their daughter went from an even-keeled, confident, happy and confident child eager to learn, to an anxious child who cried herself to sleep, communicated feelings of despair and complained of stomach aches on a daily basis.

According to the complaint filed in court, having lost all faith in the South Burlington School District, the Larmonds enrolled their daughter in a private school where she is “thriving” and has not experienced the racial disparity she endured at Orchard School.

Trifilio, who was set to retire from the district at the end of this school year, has been on an unspecified leave of absence since Feb. 21. It has also been confirmed that Trifilio did not submit a notice of leave to the district.

It is unclear from district officials whether these two incidents are related, but Julia Maguire, communication coordinator for the district, said the district does not comment on ongoing litigation.

Coming April 8: a total eclipse of the sun

ILLUSTRATION BY ADELAIDE MURPHY TYROL

The Outside Story

Michael J. Caduto

In the cosmic dance of heavenly bodies, no phenomenon possesses the drama of a solar eclipse, when the moon passes directly between the sun and earth. In the path of totality, where the moon completely obscures our home star, the world falls into an ominous darkness that has evoked everything from wonder to dread.

This year, our region will experience a total solar eclipse on April 8.

For any specific geographic location, “total solar eclipses are extremely rare events,” said Amanda Leith, education coordinator at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord, N.H.

The most recent solar eclipse in which New England was in the path of totality was in 1970, and totality then was visible only in Nantucket and the southeastern tip of Cape Cod. Before then, Maine was within an eclipse path of totality in July 1963, and parts of New Hampshire and Massachusetts were in October 1959.

Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium in St. Johnsbury will feature educational programs and a live video from NASA, plus a play-by-play description of the eclipse with Planetarium Director Mark Breen and Vermont Public’s Jane Lindholm.

From April 6-8 the Appalachian Mountain Club will offer a full schedule of astronomical programming.

From making pinhole cameras to assembling a 9-foot Total Eclipse Puzzle, the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center is planning fun and informative eclipse-related activities and a Solar Eclipse Viewing Party from noon-5 p.m. April 8. The center will also screen the film “Totality” at noon each Wednesday through Sunday through April 7. The Center’s Countdown to the Eclipse webpage includes eclipse information, activities and safety tips.

“Sunglasses, 3D-glasses, and regular telescopes and binoculars will not protect your eyes from damage. The safe ways to look at the sun are with dedicated safe solar eclipse viewers … and by looking at the eclipse indirectly, such as with a pinhole projector.”

— Amanda Leith

Vermont has not experienced totality since Aug. 31, 1932, and according to NASA’s website, there will not be another major total eclipse in the United States until August 12, 2045, when the path of totality will start in northern California, arc across the southern states and end in Florida.

On April 8, the eclipse maximum (when the largest portion of the sun’s disc is hidden behind the moon) will pass over northern New England over about eight minutes. It will begin in northern Vermont at 3:25 p.m. in South Hero, then at 3:26 in Burlington, 3:27 in Montpelier, and 3:28 in St. Johnsbury.

It will start at 3:29 in Lancaster, N.H., and 3:32 in Caribou, Maine. Eclipse viewers along the path of totality will see the moon block out all but the sun’s corona, or outer atmosphere, which will appear as a faint glow around the edge of the moon’s disk.

“The duration of totality may last seconds to several minutes, depending on location,” Catherine Miller, observatory specialist in the Department of Physics at Middlebury College, said. “As you go farther away from the path of totality, the fraction of the sun that is blocked by the moon gets smaller.” When viewed from southern Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, the eclipse will block roughly 95 percent of the sun.

Many organizations are planning events to celebrate the eclipse. The

Safety is paramount, and eclipse viewers should never look directly at the sun when viewing the eclipse, which could burn the retinas in their eyes and can cause blindness. Both NASA and the American Astronomical Society offer detailed safety information on their websites.

“Sunglasses, 3D-glasses, and regular telescopes and binoculars will not protect your eyes from damage,”

Leith cautioned. “The safe ways to look at the sun are with dedicated safe solar eclipse viewers … and by looking at the eclipse indirectly, such as with a pinhole projector.”

Miller recalls viewing the partial eclipse of 2017 while working at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. “I remember looking at the ground beneath some trees where the sunlight was filtering through the leaves. Instead of seeing normal leaf shadows, I saw crescent shapes. The openings in the tree canopy were acting as pinholes, each creating an image of the eclipsed sun on the ground.”

Celebrating the solar eclipse is a way to share a mesmerizing experience with millions of people. It is a rare opportunity to behold a cosmic event that has enthralled humankind for millennia, inspiring story, song, and mythology from time out of mind.

Michael J. Caduto is a writer, ecologist, and storyteller who lives in Reading. He is author of “Through a Naturalist’s Eyes: Exploring the Nature of New England.” The Outside Story is assigned and edited by Northern Woodlands magazine and sponsored by the Wellborn Ecology Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, nhcf.org.

Shelburne Pediatrics closes after 35 years

LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER

For many families in Shelburne and surrounding areas over the last 35 years, stepping into Jeanne Kellner’s pediatric office felt a little bit like coming home.

Set on the second story of an old farmhouse, the office is bright and quaint with cozy carpets, making the waiting area a perfect place for kids visiting for their yearly checkup to break out a new coloring book or toy set that Kellner keeps stocked in the corner.

But come March 15, Kellner is hanging up her lab coat and retiring — a bittersweet move, she said through a few tears.

“It’s been a very emotional past couple of weeks. It’s very sad to say goodbye to our babies, patients and my teens,” she said.

Kellner moved to Vermont in 1987 from Illinois, where she received her education, and has been a faithful resident of the Chittenden County area ever since. Upon her arrival, she began her practice with Charlotte Family Health Center for two years before stepping out on her own venture in 1989 in the same building she’s at today.

patient spots the vaccine cart — although, no vaccine is administered without a character-themed Band-Aid to perk up ever tearyeyed child.

The office, rather than cold and bleak, resembles a comfortable space with loads of natural light and a scenic view from the window. And, of course, the comfort of Kellner’s soft voice and nurturing nature make not-sofun visits less intimidating.

“I think it attracts a certain personality because it seems like other pediatricians are fun too,” she said.

“That’s really what pediatricians are all about, I think, keeping people healthy and helping people have healthy habits. That’s why I love pediatrics because you start out with a bit of a clean slate.”

— Jeanne Kellner

“I opened here, and I had probably four patients that followed me. I opened with only like two charts,” she said, noting that the move was natural for her since she came from a long line of entrepreneurs. “My parents had their own business. I grew up in a family that had their own business. So, I kind of had that mindset.”

Still focused on a smaller clientele, it’s not rare for patients that she saw when they were children and teens to bring their little ones in for checkups now.

Almost everything about Kellner’s practice feels personal, including the famous bearthemed writing pad that she breaks out when hand-writing notes to her clients about what vegetables they should eat, or how many times a day to take cold medicine for a stuffy nose.

It takes a special kind of spirit to be a pediatrician, she said, especially during tantrums and screaming matches when the

Pediatrics was her last rotation during medical school, and she started to get worried since she wasn’t feeling particularly called to any sort of medical practice yet.

“But I got to pediatrics, and I liked the kids and I just like the energy around kids,” she said. “They’re honest and always tell you what they think.”

While most of her spare time is spent attending conferences and looking to grow her knowledge within the field, she said that her heart has always been in a holistic approach to medicine, which is exactly the reason she loves working with kids so much.

“That’s really what pediatricians are all about, I think, keeping people healthy and helping people have healthy habits. That’s why I love pediatrics because you start out with a bit of a clean slate. I feel like parents and adults would do more for their kids than they would for themselves,” adding that a lot of her focus now has been on nutrition and studying food science.

“Food is medicine.”

Her staff has remained relatively small throughout the years with one office manager, Paula Mathewson, and one nurse practitioner one day a week.

Mathewson, who’s the friendly face that checks families in for their appointments, explained that throughout the past three months since notifications have been sent to patients about the impending closure, families call to say things like, “‘But you were one of the first people that held our baby,’ or the 9-year-old

patient who heard the news of the closing from his parents and said, ‘But, I’ve been going there my whole life.’”

For now, Kellner plans to use

retirement to travel and see her own family, master more recipes, and maybe even join another book club. But the families she has served over the years will

remain close to her heart forever.

“I feel like my practice is my little family,” she said, a few more tears filling her eyes. “I truly hold them on my shoulders.”

PHOTO BY LIBERTY DARR

Dr. Jeanne Kellner sits in her exam room holding her famous “bear pad.” Kellner, who recently retired, lives in South Burlington.

South Burlington all-stars play in regional games

LAUREN READ CORRESPONDENT

Boys’ basketball

South Burlington’s Tyler Bergmans was named to the Vermont Basketball Coaches Association all-star roster.

Bergmans was named to the Division I-II South team, representing the Wolves in a matchup played at Windsor High School Saturday. South lost to the North team 97-75.

In addition, Deng Aguek was named to the Dream Dozen, a 48-member team made up of the best boys and girls first-year, sophomore and junior players from all four divisions.

Girls’ hockey

The Wolves were well represented at the 38th annual Rotary All Star Classic, held on Saturday and featuring the state’s top high school hockey players from the senior class.

Six South Burlington players were named to the Harris squad for the annual matchup: Cait Bartlett, Sabrina Brunet, Kylie Burke, Ava Hershberg, Jordan Larose and Taylor Tobrocke.

Brunet was named team MVP for the Harris squad, which fell to the Austin group, 5-3. Kiley Burke added an assist.

The two teams are dubbed Team Harris and Team Austin, named, respectively, after the founder of Rotary International and the president of Vermont’s first Rotary chapter.

Boys’ hockey

Four South Burlington players were named to the Austin roster for the Rotary All Star Classic.

James Bradley, Will Bradley and James Chagnon represented the Wolves in the game, while Nick Kelly was named to the team but was unable to play.

BLOTTER

continued from page 4

March 21 at 5:52 p.m., Dale M. Irish, 48, of Colchester, was charged with driving with a criminally suspended license.

March 22 at 3:44 p.m., Hailey M. Rheaume-Fox, 27, of Williston, was arrested on an in-state warrant.

March 22 at 9:14 p.m., Cameron B. Scott, 30, of Shelburne, was arrested on Arlington Green for domestic assault.

March 23 at 12:11 a.m., Brittnie L. Blanchard, 32, of Milton, was arrested on an in-state warrant.

March 24 at 7:37 a.m., Antonio A. Hammond, 40, of Burlington, was arrested on an in-state warrant.

March 24 at 7:37 a.m., Michelle

SB skier competes for Vermont

Other teams included New York, Maine and Massachusetts, and the event was held at the Holderness School in Plymouth, N.H.

The three South Burlington players helped the Austin team to a 7-4 win over the Harris squad, led by Will Bradley who scored two goals and was named the team MVP.

James Chagnon (seven saves) and James Bradley (five saves) split time in net for Austin.

Deaette, 32, no address given, was arrested on an in-state warrant.

Previous incidents:

March 8 at 1:32 a.m., Adios Djozo, 30, of South Burlington, was arrested for trafficking more than 70 mg of fentanyl.

March 14 at 5:18 p.m., Thomas A. Burke, 41, of Colchester, was arrested on Hinesburg Road for second degree domestic assault, negligent operation and eluding a police officer.

Note: Charges filed by police are subject to review by the Chittenden County State’s Attorney Office and can be amended or dropped.

BLAND continued from page 4

Albany-Eden Road, and the second body was found later about a mile north. Police reportedly found other evidence associated in the case in Eden and nearby Lowell.

Investigators have also conducted a court-ordered search at an Orleans County home in Albany, but officials say a judge sealed the state’s warrant.

Authorities reported that after the bodies were found on Oct. 24, investigators identified several possible suspects but have not provided any specifics.

Bland is due in state court in Burlington on April 9 for related pending charges for aggravated assault and reckless endangerment.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in October filed a criminal complaint in federal court against Bland concerning the earlier incident in South Burlington from March and obtained an arrest warrant.

Street and to refrain from buying, using or having regulated drugs without a prescription, court records show.

The ATF and South Burlington Police were unable to locate him. Bland was arrested Oct. 30 on four criminal charges, including possession of drugs and paraphernalia near Knoxville, Tenn., officials said.

The gun case stems from an incident at the Simon’s Convenience Store where it appeared that Bland ordered two women out of a car at gunpoint.

The gun case stems from a March 2023 incident at the Simon’s Convenience Store on Shelburne Road where it appeared that Bland ordered two women out of a car at gunpoint. In reality, one of the women had gone into the store to call Bland to ask him to rescue them from their driver, Walter Biggs, 58, of Colchester, who reportedly was soliciting them for sex in exchange for crack cocaine, federal and state court records indicate.

Bland had been released from state court on conditions that included a 24-hour curfew at his then Burlington apartment on Myrtle

Vermont State Police stopped Bland and the two women later that night on Vermont 100 near Gold Brook Road in Stowe. When police looked inside the car, they found the loaded shotgun in the backseat.

COURTESY PHOTO

Paige Poirier, a senior at South Burlington High School competed on March 15-17 for the Vermont team at the Eastern High School Championships. After three individual events, she was 27th overall (98 skiers) and the 12th for the Vermont girls’ team. Combined with boys, Vermont placed second. The New Hampshire team won the championship.

DISPATCH

continued from page 1

technology, a new innovation and new efficiency for our dispatchers and we think it will really not only improve our public safety response, but also be an improvement for our dispatchers and how they do their jobs as well.”

South Burlington’s dispatch center receives more than 16,000 calls for service each year between its police, fire and EMS services, Burke said, and is a critical component of the city’s growing public safety service.

“It’s work that’s not often thought about when you think about the police or the fire department,” he said. “We don’t go anywhere unless they pick up the phone and tell us where to go, and they’re always that voice that really resonates with crime victims or those suffering with some type of medical events in their homes.”

Dispatchers are often juggling several different calls at once between fire and EMS calls and request for police services. Burke pointed to an incident in 2021 when shots were fired inside the University Mall, and dispatchers had to coordinate dozens of phone calls coming into the center.

“When you hear our dispatchers interfacing with the public on the telephone in moments of crisis, it’s really work that I can’t highlight enough,” he said. “It’s extraordinarily tough.”

The investment into the center comes as years-long efforts to regionalize a dispatch center for Chittenden County municipalities have come to a halt. While South Burlington officials have remained committed to regional efforts, it has continued with improvements to its own dispatch.

The city’s immediate goal is to hire an eighth full-time dispatcher, which would allow the police department to always keep two dispatchers on duty. A seventh dispatcher was recently hired, but the city remains short of reaching its staffing goal.

“There are times in the dispatch center when we only have one employee working — it’s an artifact of how small government and public safety once was,” Burke said, “and now that we’re growing it’s definitely a service area that city management is focused on growing.”

The city began talks to form a regional dispatch model in 2016, when a committee with representatives from eight Chittenden County communities was formed to determine the feasibility of a regional dispatch model.

Seven communities in 2018 signed on to the formation of a union municipal district — the Chittenden County Public Safety Authority — to provide regional emergency dispatch services.

Initially, Essex and Shelburne declined to join the union, and Milton later partnered with St. Albans to provide those services.

But the organization was struck a blow last year when Colchester, a partner of the public safety authority since its inception, failed to authorize the annual funding for the municipal entity.

It reflected a common problem for municipalities involved in the effort: Attempting to generate the capital costs for a regional center,

while maintaining their own local dispatch.

South Burlington was “highly invested” in a regional dispatch model at the time of the group’s inception. During that period, much of the city’s infrastructure in house was at the end of its serviceable life.

But the city has seen continued growth in its public safety agencies: the fire department had grown both in size and call volume — driven mainly by fire-

based EMS.

The city in its fiscal year 2024 budget used American Rescue Plan Act funds, as well as surplus dollars, to invest in the new technology and the seventh dispatch employee. Grant-funded equipment originally intended for the regional project was also repurposed in house.

Burke said the city “made a very smart decision” in investing in its in-house dispatch center and “building it not only for what we

need today, but maybe what we’ll need in the future.”

He suggested the potential remains for contracted services for other municipalities: “Maybe that’s more the way forward in a regional model, as opposed to an all-pair model. I don’t know.”

The city’s dispatch center “is now ready for potential regional or contract dispatch services as the future of public safety dispatching evolves in Chittenden County,” according to a city press release.

COURTESY PHOTO

One of the new terminals in the South Burlington Dispatch Center.

WARNING

CITY OF SOUTH BURLINGTON SCHOOL DISTRICT 2024

SPECIAL MEETING

The legal voters of the City of South Burlington School District are hereby notified and warned to meet at their respective polling places at the Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School on 500 Dorset Street, the Orchard School on 2 Baldwin Avenue, the Gertrude Chamberlin School on 262 White Street, and South Burlington City Hall Senior Center on 180 Market Street on Thursday, April 4, 2024, at 7:00 o’clock in the morning, at which time the polls will open, until 7:00 o’clock in the evening, at which time the polls will close, to vote by Australian ballot on the following article:

ARTICLE I BUDGET

Shall the voters of the City of South Burlington School District approve the School Board to expend Sixty-Nine Million Five Hundred Thirty Thousand and 00/100 Dollars ($69,530,000.00), which is the amount the School Board has determined to be necessary for the ensuing fiscal year?

Polling places are at the Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School on 500 Dorset Street, the Orchard School on 2 Baldwin Avenue, the Gertrude Chamberlin School on 262 White Street, and South Burlington City Hall Senior Center on 180 Market Street. Voters are to go to the polling place in their respective District.

The legal voters of the City of South Burlington School District are further warned and notified that a public information meeting will be held to discuss Article I on Wednesday, April 3, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. at 577 Dorset Street, South Burlington, VT.

Dated at South Burlington, Vermont this _____13th_____ day of March, 2024.

South Burlington School District Board of School Directors

Received for record and recorded this _____14_____ day of March, 2024, in the records of the City of South Burlington.

180 Market St., South Burlington 802-846-4140 • southburlingtonlibrary. org for information about any programming, cancellations or in-person changes. Some events may change from in-person to virtual. Some events require preregistration.

Hours: Monday to Thursday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.; Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; and Saturday 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Email sbplinfo@southburlingtonvt.gov.

KIDS & TEENS

Babytime

Wednesdays in April, 10:30-11:15 a.m.

For infants to 12 months and their caregivers. Board books, manipulatives and baby-appropriate toys will be available for exploration and play.

Lego builders

Fridays in April, 3-4:30 p.m.

Projects geared to kids ages eight and up, or ages six and up with an adult helper. Each week, builders explore, create and participate in challenges.

Musical storytime with Ms. Liz

Tuesday, April 2, 10:30-11 a.m.

For infants to age 4.

Storybook craftytown

Tuesday, April 2, 3-4:30 p.m.

Read a favorite story, then make a craft. Projects are geared to kids ages 8 and up, or ages 6 and up with an adult helper.

Music & movement

Thursday, April 4, 10:30-11:15 a.m.

Join Miss Emma as she leads singing, movement and jam sessions for kids from birth to age 5.

Kids’ Friday movie

Fridays, April 5 and 26, 1-3:30 p.m. April 5: “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” is a 1971 musical fantasy based on the book by Mary Morton. April 25: “Despicable Me.”

Toddlertime

Tuesdays, April 9, 16, 23 and 30, 10:30-11 a.m.

Weekly storytime for toddlers and their caregivers.

Craftytown

Tuesday, April 16, 3-4:30 p.m.

Wednesday, April 24, 1-2:30 p.m.

Arts and craft fun. April 16: Clothespin people. April 24: weave a flower in the round with yarn.

ADULTS

Knit for your neighbors

Thursdays in April, 2-5 p.m.

Yarn, needles and crochet hooks supplied. Knit or crochet hats and scarves to help keep your neighbors warm. All finished projects will be donated to the South Burlington Food Shelf. Special guest Hannah Miller, an associate professor of education at Vermont State University-Johnson, is spending her sabbatical on a quest to write, read and knit in as many public libraries in

Vermont as possible. She shares her adventures in South Burlington on April 11.

Cookbook club

Tuesday, April 2, 5:30-6:45 p.m.

This month’s cookbook is “Pulp: A Practical Guide to Cooking with Fruit” by Abra Berens, named a Best Cookbook of the Year by Epicurious. To attend, let us know what you plan to cook by signing up at the circulation desk or by emailing sbplprograms@ southburlingtonvt.gov. Books are available at the library.

Tech help drop-in

Tuesdays, April 2 and 16, 5-6:30 p.m.

Have questions about your smartphone, laptop or iPad?

Mandarin conversation circle

Tuesdays, April 2 and 16, 11 a.m.-noon

Learn and improve your Mandarin and make new friends with volunteers from Vermont Chinese School. Drop-in. No registration.

Space movies Friday

Friday, April 6, 1-3:30 p.m.

“Hidden Figures,” the phenomenal true story of the black female mathematicians at NASA.

The Unsung Mendelssohn and Schumann

Wednesday, April 3, 1:15-2:30 p.m.

Learn about Fanny Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann, the two most prominent women composers of the 19th century.

Tech help by appointment

Friday, April 5, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Tuesday, April 9, 1-4 p.m.

Sign up for a free 40-minute appointment to get some one-on-one help and learn new skills.

Illuminate Vermont at the library

Friday and Saturday, April 5 and 6, 5-9 p.m.

Enjoy cocktails, food trucks, live music and shopping at this free indoor-outdoor market. The library will host performers in its living room area, pop-up book sale. The library also hosts a Pair of Pauls Playing Piano, who will tickle your funny bones as they tickle the ivories, on Friday, April 5, 5-6:30 p.m. At 7 p.m., Ukulele Clare with Rebecca Padula will charm audiences with originals and songs drawn from the American Songbook, and the best of jazz, country, folk and blues.

My Vermont Eyes at Illuminate Vermont

Saturday, April 6, 5-6 p.m.

Poetry performance by Join Dr. Jolivette Anderson-Douoning as part of Illuminate Vermont.

English conversation circle

Mondays, April 8 and 22, noon-1 p.m.

English as a Second Language discussion group, facilitated by staff.

COURTESY PHOTO

Judi Emanuel Family Band plays at Illuminate Vermont in April and also at a library program on April 21.

LIBRARY continued from page 20

Poetry group

Tuesdays, April 9, 23 and 30, 11 a.m.-noon

Come share your poetry in a supportive, comfortable setting. Second and fourth Tuesday of the month.

Author Malinda Lo

Tuesday, April 9, 7-8:30 a.m.

Malinda Lo reads and talks about her book, “Last Night at the Telegraph Club,” set in San Francisco’s Chinatown during the 1950s, and about writing about queer life during that time. In-person and Zoom. Call 802-846-4140 for information.

Seed starting and beginner gardening

Wednesday, April 10, 4:30-6:30 p.m.

Workshop with one of the expert gardeners and educators from the Vermont Garden Network and their mobile classroom van.

Morning book group

Thursday, April 11, 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Part adventure, part historical saga, and part coming-of-age love story, “West with Giraffes” by Lynda Rutledge explores what it means to be changed by the grace of animals, the kindness of strangers, the passing of time and a story told before it’s too late.

Poetry games workshop

Tuesday, April 16, 6-8 p.m.

For teens and adults, join poet Holly Painter for an evening of poetry games in this hands-on

If it’s important to you or your community look for it in The Other Paper.

workshop that will make you think about poetry from new angles. Painter is the author of four collections of poetry.

Puzzle swap

Wednesday, April 17, 2:30-5 p.m.

Bring a puzzle you’ve already completed and leave with a new puzzle to put together. Bring any 250-plus-piece general adult puzzle(s) that you would like to trade during the event.

Accessory dwelling unit workshop

Thursday, April 18, 7-8 p.m.

Learn all about accessory dwelling units from a panel of speakers. What are they and why are people making them? In person and online. Get the Zoom link on the library website for this South Burlington Affordable House Committee program.

Caribbean Rain concert

Saturday, April 20, noon-1 p.m.

Friends of the Library free concert series presents Caribbean Rain, Vermont’s only multi-generational Jamaican family band. In the auditorium. Doors open at 11:45 a.m. No tickets or registration needed.

Legislative forum

Monday, April 22, 6-8 p.m.

Join representatives Emilie Krasnow, Martin Lalonde, Kate Nugent, Noah Hyman and Brian Minier and senators Ginny Lyons, Kesha Ram Hinsdale and Tom Chittenden to discuss what’s being debated in the Statehouse.

Evening book group

Thursday, April 25, 6-7 p.m.

The April selection is “The Boys in the Boat” by Daniel Brown, which tells the story of

Community Bankers

the University of Washington’s 1936 eight-oar crew and their epic quest for an Olympic gold medal. Copies available to borrow. Both in-person and on Zoom.

‘Homeless is a Housing Problem’

Tuesday, April 30, 7-8 p.m.

Join a conversation about homelessness and housing with

Gregg Colburn and Clayton Page Albern’s book as a point of discussion. Discuss the causes and effects of homelessness and housing instability in South Burlington and the region, moderated by Jess Hyman, associate director of the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity housing advocacy programs and by the affordable housing committee.

Community Bankers

Community Bankers

BUILDERS | MAKERS | DOERS®

BUILDERS | MAKERS | DOERS®

Community Bankers

BUILDERS | MAKERS | DOERS®

There is no better time to join our Team!

acres of an existing 6 acre lot located entirely within the Southeast Quadrant Natural Resource Protection zoning district, 1780 Dorset St.

There is no better time to join our Team!

BUILDERS | MAKERS | DOERS®

Community Bankers

There is no better time to join our Team!

There is no better time to join our Team!

BUILDERS | MAKERS | DOERS®

There is no better time to join our Team!

North eld Savings Bank, founded in 1867, is the largest LOCAL BANK in Vermont. We are committed to providing a welcoming work environment for all.

Northfield Savings Bank, founded in 1867, is the largest LOCAL BANK in Vermont. We are committed to providing a welcoming work environment for all

Northfield Savings Bank, founded in 1867, is the largest LOCAL BANK in Vermont. We are committed to providing a welcoming work environment for all

Northfield Savings Bank, founded in 1867, is the largest LOCAL BANK in Vermont. We are committed to providing a welcoming work environment for all

Consider joining our team as a Community Banker at our Taft Corners or Richmond location!

Northfield Savings Bank, founded in 1867, is the largest LOCAL BANK in Vermont. We are committed to providing a welcoming work environment for all

Consider joining our team as a Community Banker at our Taft Corners or Richmond location!

Board members will be participating in person. Applicants and members of the public may participate in person or remotely either by interactive online meeting or by telephone:

Interactive Online Meeting (audio & video): https://zoom.us/join

By Telephone (audio only): (646) 931-3860

Meeting ID: 819 6637 0540

A copy of the application is available for public inspection by emailing Marla Keene, Development Review Planner, mkeene@southburlingtonvt.gov.

March 28, 2024

Relevant Skills: Customer Service, Cash Handling (we’ll train you!)

Consider joining our team as a Community Banker at our Taft Corners or Richmond location!

Consider joining our team as a Community Banker at our Taft Corners or Richmond location!

Relevant Skills: Customer Service, Cash Handling (we’ll train you!)

Relevant Skills: Customer Service, Cash Handling (we’ll train you!) Even better… if you have prior banking experience, we encourage you to apply!

Even better… if you have prior banking experience, we encourage you to apply!

Even better… if you have prior banking experience, we encourage you to apply!

Relevant Skills: Customer Service, Cash Handling (we’ll train you!) Even better… if you have prior banking experience, we encourage you to apply!

If you are 18 or older and have a high school diploma, general education (GED) degree, or equivalent, consider joining the NSB Team!

If you are 18 or older and have a high school diploma, general education (GED) degree, or equivalent, consider joining the NSB Team!

Opportunity for Growth

If you are 18 or older and have a high school diploma, general education (GED) degree, or equivalent, consider joining the NSB Team!

Opportunity for Growth

If you are 18 or older and have a high school diploma, general education (GED) degree, or equivalent, consider joining the NSB Team!

Opportunity for Growth

Opportunity for Growth

NSB has training opportunities to engage employees and assist with professional development within our company. The average years of service for an NSB employee is 9! If you’re looking for a career in an environment that promotes growth, join our team!

NSB has training opportunities to engage employees and assist with professionaldevelopment within our company. The average years of service for an NSB employee is 9! If you’re looking for a careerin an environment that promotes growth, join our team!

What NSB Can Offer You

What NSB Can Offer You

NSB has training opportunities to engage employees and assist with professional development within our company. The average years of service for an NSB employee is 9! If you’re looking for a career in an environment that promotes growth, join our team!

What NSB Can Offer You

NSB has training opportunities to engage employees and assist with professional development within our company. The average years of service for an NSB employee is 9! If you’re looking for a career in an environment that promotes growth, join our team!

What NSB Can Offer You

Competitive compensation based on experience. Wellrounded benefits package. Profit-Sharing opportunity. Excellent 401(k) matching retirement program. Commitment to professional development. Opportunities to volunteer and support our communities. Work -Life balance!

Competitive compensation based on experience. Wellrounded benefits package. Profit-Sharing opportunity. Excellent 401(k) matching retirement program. Commitment to professional development. Opportunities to volunteer and support our communities. Work -Life balance!

Please send an NSB Application & your resume in confidence to: Careers@nsbvt.com

Competitive compensation based on experience. Wellrounded benefits package. Profit-Sharing opportunity. Excellent 401(k) matching retirement program. Commitment to professional development. Opportunities to volunteer and support our communities. Work -Life balance!

Competitive compensation based on experience. Wellrounded benefits package. Profit-Sharing opportunity. Excellent 401(k) matching retirement program. Commitment to professional development. Opportunities to volunteer and support our communities. Work -Life balance!

Please send an NSB Application & your resume in confidence to: Careers@nsbvt.com

Please send an NSB Application & your resume in confidence to: Careers@nsbvt.com

Please send an NSB Application & your resume in confidence to: Careers@nsbvt.com

Equal Opportunity Employer / Member FDIC

Equal Opportunity Employer / Member FDIC

Equal Opportunity Employer / Member FDIC