MONDAY Â Â EDITION
ADDISON COUNTY
INDEPENDENT
Vol. 25 No. 8
Canine cops ÀQLVKLQJ FDUHHUV ‡ 7KH VWDWH SROLFH KDYH UHWLUHG WZR YHWHUDQV ZKR VQLIIHG RXW H[SORVLYHV 6HH 3DJH
Expansion eyed for Lincoln board ‡ 7RZQ ZHLJKV DGGLQJ WZR WR VHOHFWERDUG RU VWLFNLQJ ZLWK WKUHH PHPEHU SDQHO 6HH 3DJH
Girls’ lacrosse opens with win ‡ 08+6 WRSSHG IHOORZ SH UHQQLDO ' , SRZHU 5XWODQG 6RXWK %XUOLQJWRQ LV QH[W 6HH 6SRUWV 3DJH
Middlebury, Vermont
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Monday, April 15, 2013
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28 Pages
75¢
Gaucher launches push Canal barge to ship Vt. to grow local business food products to NYC By  JOHN cuss  the  potential  FLOWERS of  setting  up  a  new  MIDDLEBURY  business  or  indus- —  Jamie  Gau- try  in  town.  A  town  cher  has  only  been  committee  that  was  0LGGOHEXU\ÂśV ÂżUVW FKDUJHG ZLWK GHÂżQ- ever  business  de- ing  and  overseeing  velopment  director  Gaucher’s  position  for  about  10  days,  had  set  a  goal  of  12  but  he  has  already  months  to  sign  up  mapped  out  what  a  prospect  or  pros- he  wants  to  accom- pects. plish  during  his  “As  I  looked  at  next  90. (the  schedule),  I  Gaucher’s  plan  thought,  ‘I  think  is  to  lay  a  strong  I  can  be  more  ag- foundation  for  job  gressive,’â€?  Gau- growth  in  Middle- cher  said.  “I  hope  bury  that  will  in- to  exceed  their  ex- clude  setting  up  pectations.â€? new  software  to  Gaucher,  46,  re- track  corporate  cently  relocated  to  JAMIE  GAUCHER prospects,  network- Middlebury  from  ing  with  Middlebury  College  alumni  West  Virginia.  There,  he  served  as  as  well  as  state  and  local  economic  deputy  chief  of  the  West  Virginia  GHYHORSPHQW RIÂżFLDOV DQG PHHWLQJ Small  Business  Development  Cen- with  local  business  leaders  to  get  ter.  In  his  role  with  the  West  Vir- IHHGEDFN RQ KRZ WR ÂżOO YRLGV LQ WKH ginia  SBDC,  he  had  administrative,  local  job  market. strategic  planning,  budget  and  other  And  if  Gaucher  has  his  way,  these  responsibilities.  Prior  to  his  current  efforts  will  culminate  in  one  or  two  job,  he  was  responsible  for  manag- strong  prospects  visiting  Middlebury  ing  West  Virginia’s  Small  Business  (See  Middlebury,  Page  5) within  the  next  three  months  to  dis-Â
Project hopes to lessen reliance on trucks By  XIAN  CHIANG-ÂWAREN Andrus,  who  runs  Bound  FERRISBURGH  —  “Where  Brook  Farm  and  Good  Compan- does  our  food  come  from?â€?  is  ion  Bakery,  says  he  is  committed  a  question  to  which  to  building  resilient  shoppers  concerned  “I’m trying food  systems  both  on  about  eating  local  have  and  off  of  his  Bur- to raise the given  careful  consider- roughs  Hill  Road  farm.  issue of the ation  in  recent  years.  As  part  of  this  he  is  Ferrisburgh  farmer  fact that our building  a  39-Âfoot,  and  baker  Erik  Andrus  food system $30,000  canal  barge  to  has  a  slightly  different  is cripplingly prove  that  transporting  take  on  it:  “How  does  dependent Vermont  food  products  our  food  get  to  us?â€? to  critical  out-Âof-Âstate  Long  ago  water- on truck markets  in  New  York  ways,  not  roads,  were  transport.â€? City  and  the  Lower  the  backbone  of  the  — Erik Andrus Hudson  River  Valley  Northeast’s  regional  doesn’t  have  to  rely  on  food  system.  After  decades  of  re- fossil  fuels. liance  on  roads  and  automobiles  “What  we  really  need  in  order  to  get  foods  to  market,  Andrus  is  to  have  sustainable  food  systems  (See  Barge,  Page  7) taking  a  journey  back  in  time. Â
VUHS  board  seeking  2. IRU ORDQ WR Âż[ URRI $600,000  vote  set;Íž  later  bond  on  tap By  ANDY  KIRKALDY VERGENNES  —  Residents  of  the  ¿YH $GGLVRQ 1RUWKZHVW 6XSHUYLVRU\ Union  towns  will  be  asked  in  a  dis- trict-Âwide  May  14  vote  to  support  a  ¿YH \HDU ORDQ WR SXW D QHZ roof  on  the  leaky  Vergennes  Union  High  School  classroom  wing  and  au- ditorium.  In  Vergennes,  balloting  will  coin- cide  with  the  city  council’s  request  for  a  $1.45  million  bond  to  build  a Â
new  North  Main  Street  police  station,  DQG VFKRRO DQG FLW\ RI¿FLDOV DUH ORRN- ing  at  holding  a  joint  informational  meeting,  possibly  on  May  7. If  voters  back  the  $600,000  loan,  payments  would  add  about  $10  of  taxes  per  $100,000  of  assessed  home  value,  according  to  a  preliminary  es- timate  offered  on  Tuesday  by  ANw- SU  business  manager  Kathy  Cannon.  That  estimate  is  before  any  adjust- (See  VUHS,  Page  20)
By  JOHN  FLOWERS MIDDLEBURY  —  A  group  of  around  20  Middlebury  residents  joined  their  local  school  board  on  Wednesday  evening  to  vote  unani- mously  for  a  2013-Â2014  spending  plan  of  $6,418,788  for  Mary  Hogan  Elementary  School. The  meeting  lasted  around  one  hour,  according  to  ID-Â4  school  board Â
Chairwoman  Ruth  Hardy. “There  were  some  good  questions  and  people  seemed  genuinely  sup- portive�  of  the  budget,  Hardy  said. People  at  the  meeting  also  agreed  to  place  $100,000  from  a  fund  bal- ance  into  an  education  reserve  fund,  and  extended  their  appreciation  to  several  veteran  staff  who  will  be  (See  Mary  Hogan,  Page  13)
Instrumental ingenuity Small  group  OKs  ID-Â4  budget ‡ -DSK\ 5\GHU¡V JLJ DW 7ZR %URWKHUV KLJKOLJKWV WKH ORFDO SHUIRUPDQFH VFHQH 6HH $UWV %HDW 3DJH
FERRISBURGH  FARMER  ERIK  Andrus  holds  a  model  of  the  39- foot  sail  barge  he  is  building  to  ferry  Vermont  agricultural  prod- ucts  to  Hudson  River  Valley  and  New  York  City  customers.
Independent  photo/Trent  Campbell