Monday, March 26, 2018

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MONDAY EDITION

ADDISON COUNTY

INDEPENDENT

Vol. 29 No. 48

Middlebury, Vermont

Emergency planning: Comedy act set for THT

• The Middlebury theater will host the sketch comedy show “The Unbearable Whiteness of Being.” See Page 10.

Blaze consumes Addison duplex

Middlebury’s officers prepare for the worst By JOHN FLOWERS MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury has established itself as one of the safest towns in the state and indeed the country, but local emergency responders want residents to know they’re prepared for any potential disruption to the serenity of Addison County’s shire town — whether it be man-made or courtesy of Mother Nature. The Middlebury selectboard

on March 13 approved the most recent version of the town’s “Local Emergency Operations Plan (LEOP),” an 11-page document that essentially lists contacts for the go-to people and organizations that should be contacted in the event of a disaster. But local residents should rest assured the state-mandated LEOP represents only a fraction of (See Middlebury, Page 18)

Monday, March 26, 2018

32 Pages

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March 27 public hearing to focus on new 5-megawatt solar project MIDDLEURY — The Middlebury selectboard on Tuesday, March 27, will hold a public hearing on a proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Global Resource Options and the town of Middlebury regarding the company’s plan to build a 4.99-megawatt solar farm and battery storage project near the

intersection of Old Middle Road and Halladay Road. It was last November that representatives from Global Resource Options, which does business under the name groSolar, presented the town with its proposal to buy a 112-acre parcel off Halladay Road for the solar farm, which would feed energy (See Solar farm, Page 32)

• Tenants lost everything in a March 18 fire that was out of control by the time firefighters arrived. See Page 17.

Town’s land said to be a tough sell • Ferrisburgh officially put its parcel next to Vergennes back on the market, and might have to be patient. See Page 7.

Panther women seek another win • The Middlebury lacrosse team eyed a 6-0 record when Bowdoin visited on Saturday. See Page 20.

Getting heard

AN ESTIMATED 400 people filled Middlebury’s town green Saturday afternoon to observe the national March for Our Lives gun violence protest. The Vermont House passed a gun control bill at the Statehouse on Friday.

Independent photo/Trent Campbell

Elder joins Addison-4 House race Lincoln author pens 20th novel

• “The Flight Attendant,” an international crime thriller, is Chris Bohjalian’s 20th novel. See Page 2.

Starksboro Democrat stresses better education, heath care By JOHN FLOWERS STARKSBORO — Caleb Elder has been a leader in his community on renewable energy and education issues. Now he wants to offers his ideas on those and a variety of other subjects as a member of the Vermont House representing the Addison-4 district. The Starksboro Democrat had been considering a run for the past four years, and now believes the time is right. He joins a field that

“To protect the status quo with respect to health care doesn’t make sense right now.”

— Caleb Elder

already includes fellow Democrats Paul Forlenza and Mari Cordes of Lincoln, as well as incumbent (and top vote-getter in 2016) Rep. Fred Baser, R-Bristol. Rep. Dave Sharpe, D-Bristol,

announced at Town Meeting that, after 16 years, he would not be running for re-election. A primary runoff will be needed to whittle the Addison-4 Democrat competitors down to two. The twoseat district represents Bristol, Lincoln, Monkton and Starksboro. “I’ve followed Vermont politics since I was in high school,” Elder said. “I always have been interested in our citizen Legislature.” While every state legislature (See Elder, Page 19)

Ferrisburgh hazmat event first of three in rural precincts By ANDY KIRKALDY FERRISBURGH — Ferrisburgh and Panton residents will have a chance to dispose of hazardous household waste locally on May 19, instead of having to take the garbage to the Addison County Solid Waste (See Hazmat, Page 32)


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Monday, March 26, 2018 by AddisonPress - Issuu