MONDAY Â Â EDITION
ADDISON COUNTY
INDEPENDENT
Vol. 25 No. 21
Middlebury, Vermont
X
Monday, July 15, 2013
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32 Pages
75¢
Repair  plan  drafted  for  Middlebury  River Miss Vt’s princess pal ‡ 0LGGOHEXU\ JLUO WR DWWHQG 0LVV $PHULFD 3ULQFHVV &DPS WKHQ IROORZ PHQWRU WR 0LVV $PHULFD SDJHDQW 6HH 3DJH
Tunnel touted for Middlebury ‡ 0LGGOHEXU\ RIÀFLDOV VHHN VWDWH VXSSRUW IRU D WXQQHO WR UHSODFH WZR ORFDO UDLO EULGJHV 6HH 3DJH
Tiger alum takes over former team ‡ $IWHU .HOOH\ +LJJLQV GHFLGHG WR VWHS GRZQ WKLV IDOO 08+6 WXUQHG WR 0HJDQ 6HDUV 6HH 6SRUWV 3DJH
MIDDLEBURY Â RIVER Â AT Â GRIST Â MILL Â BRIDGE
By  JOHN  FLOWERS EAST  MIDDLEBURY  —  Town  leaders  have  applied  for  $1.85  million  in  Federal  Emergency  Management  Agency  (FEMA)  grants  to  pursue  a  series  of  improvements  to  the  Middlebury  River  designed  to  prevent  IXWXUH ÀRRGLQJ LQ (DVW 0LGGOHEXU\
The  Middlebury  River  Task  Force  has  been  working  with  project  Manager  Amy  Sheldon  and  a  consultant  in  developing  a  series  of  recommendations  to  keep  the  river  ZLWKLQ LWV EDQNV GXULQJ PDMRU ÀRRG HYHQWV such  as  Tropical  Storm  Irene  two  years  ago.  (See  Middlebury  River,  Page  23)
Adding value to foods gives area farmers an edge By  XIAN  CHIANG-ÂWAREN MONKTON  —  For  Monkton  natives  Galen  and  Moriah  Helms  and  Starksboro  native  Sara  Paule  Koeller,  what  began  as  a  quarter-Âacre  garden  on  a  fam- ily  property  in  Monkton  four  years  ago  has  expanded  into  a  burgeoning  farming  and  foraging  business  called  Mountain  Warrior. The  Helms  siblings  (Moriah,  27,  and  Galen,  24)  and  Koeller,  28,  have  carved  out  a  niche  in  area  farmer’s  markets  by  focusing  their  efforts  on  unique  value- added  products,  including  a  chai  tea  made  of  chaga  mushrooms,  pickled  ramps,  ginger-Ârhubarb  chutney  and  a  range  of  pesto  and  other  spreads.  They  currently  run  stalls  at  both  the  Bristol  and  Shelburne  markets  on  Saturdays. “It  wasn’t  an  ambition  I  always  had,  but  it  evolved  very  organically,â€?  Moriah  Helms  said  of  starting  Mountain  Warrior  in  2009.  “I  had  been  out  of  college  for  a  few  months,  my  brother  had  been  farming  and  we  MXVW NLQG RI JRW WR WDONLQJ $W WKH HQG RI RXU ÂżUVW VHDVRQ (See  Monkton,  Page  22)
VUHS co-Âprincipal excels at career Taylor  rose  quickly  in  education
Mae West tells her story on stage ‡ $PHULFDQ SRS LFRQ LV VXEMHFW RI SOD\ DW 7RZQ +DOO 7KHDWHU 6HH $UWV %HDW RQ 3DJH
By  ANDY  KIRKALDY VERGENNES  —  New  Vergennes  Union  High  School  co-Âprincipal  Stephanie  Taylor  has  risen  rap- idly  in  her  second  career  working  outside  of  the  home. After  graduating  from  Boston’s  Simmons  College  in  1981,  the  Poughkeepsie,  N.Y.,  native  and  long- time  Vermont  resident,  who  was  hired  in  May  for  her  new  post,  spent  time  in  the  business  world  for  several  \HDUV LQFOXGLQJ PDQDJLQJ D IRRG VHUYLFH ÂżUP Then,  as  Taylor,  now  a  Burlington  resident,  puts  it,  “I  was  lucky  enough  to  stay  at  home  with  my  fam- ily,â€?  which  includes  three  children  now  in  their  mid- to-Âlate  20s. During  those  years  in  her  hometown  of  Essex  Junc- tion,  Taylor  said  she  became  active  in  her  children’s  schools  and  school  boards  and  substitute  taught.  Her  career  path  had  moved  in  a  new  direction.    “When  it  was  time  to  go  back  to  work,  it  was  clear  my  interests  had  changed,â€?  she  said. (See  VUHS,  Page  20)
Feelin’  it
WENDELL  HOLMES  BELTS  out  the  blues  during  a  performance  by  The  Holmes  Brothers  at  last  Wednesday  night’s  Festival  on-Âthe-ÂGreen  in  Middlebury.  See  more  photos  from  the  festival  on  Pages  16  and  17. Independent  photo/Trent  Campbell