Thursday, June 15, 2017

Page 1

Champions!

Pocock Rocks Bristol will close Main Street for a big party, including singer Josh Panda. See details in Arts+Leisure.

The OV baseball and MUHS girls’ lax teams each made big plays and won titles on Monday. See Page 1B.

ADDISON COUNTY

Vol. 71 No. 24

INDEPENDENT Middlebury, Vermont

Decision is near on 6th grade at MUMS

Thursday, June 15, 2017  56 Pages

There go our kids!

Superintendent says no; panel says yes

By JOHN FLOWERS and sixth grade to MUMS at this time. JOHN S. McCRIGHT Burrows instead advocated MIDDLEBURY — Will the creating a long-range master plan seven towns in the Addison Central that encompasses “enrollment School District send patterns, facilities their sixth-graders “We are analysis, demographic to the Middlebury entering into a trends, financial Union Middle School, costs, and educational new conception opportunities expanding MUMS from to only grades 7 and 8 to a of who we determine optimal grade are as an grade 6-8 school? configurations and The ACSD Board is educational infrastructural changes scheduled to decide the community, for ACSD students.” 
 question at its meeting and we need ACSD is caught next Monday, June 19. up in the complexity This comes as time and of consolidating Superintendent Peter practice to governance and Burrows this week build trust.” budgeting among the released a “Grade — Superintendent seven communities Reconfiguration Report” Peter Burrows and nine schools in in which two teams the district along with considering ACSD’s transition to the figuring out how to transition to the International Baccalaureate Program IB program, and moving sixth grade (IB) recommend expanding MUMS to MUMS is pushing change too far and Burrows recommends not moving (See Decision, Page 11A)

Film festival to bring big names, add venue More movies screened, cash prize offered By JOHN FLOWERS Jay Craven will again MIDDLEBURY — serve as its artistic Organizers of the third director. The growing annual Middlebury New event will also feature Filmmakers Festival tributes, special guests, are putting together workshops, parties and their most ambitious an awards ceremony. event yet, with the Komesar and Craven promise of expanded last week provided viewing opportunities, the Independent with exciting new rewards a sneak peek at some for top filmmakers and of the upcoming the participation of attractions of this year’s nationally known actors M. EMMET WALSH MNFF, which they and writers who will said has attracted the convey their firsthand experiences in highest-quality entries in its brief the movie industry. history. This year’s festival will span This year’s festival received Aug. 24-27 and will showcase more a combined total of around 350 than 90 films submitted by first- film submissions. A group headed and second-time filmmakers. Once by Craven has gone through the again, Middlebury New Filmmakers entries and culled approximately 90 Festival, or MNFF, will be produced features, shorts and documentaries by its founder, Lloyd Komesar. that will be shown during the festival Nationally renowned filmmaker (See Film festival, Page 11A)

By the way In case you hadn’t heard, the school district that serves the five towns in the northeast corner of Addison County has a new name. Residents of Bristol, Lincoln, New Haven, Starksboro and Monkton last fall voted to unify governance of the Addison Northeast Supervisory Union under one board. Late last month the new school district board chose an official name for the new unified school district. After considering 600 responses to suggestions for a new name for the ANeSU, the (See By the way, Page 12A)

Index Obituaries................................. 6A Classifieds.......................... 4B-8B Service Directory............... 6B-7B Entertainment.........Arts + Leisure Community Calendar......... 8A-9A Arts Calendar.........Arts + Leisure Sports................................. 1B-3B

Community rallies as farmer fights deportation By WILL DIGRAVIO PANTON — More than 110 people have donated money to a GoFundMe campaign in support of Juan De La Cruz, a Panton resident of Mexican birth, farm owner, and father of six who, according to the campaign website, was told that he will be deported on July 6. The fundraising webpage was created by Ferrisburgh resident Kim Haigis on June 12. The money donated, more than $8,000 as of Wednesday morning, will be used to help pay his family’s legal fees. According to the description written by Haigis on the GoFundMe page, when De La Cruz went to his annual check-in with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, commonly referred to as ICE, he was told that he would be deported immediately. However, his deportation timeline was eventually extended. “The authorities reconsidered and are allowing him 30 days to get his affairs in order because of his financial responsibilities and young children,” Haigis wrote on the page. “Juan and his family don’t have much (See Deportation, Page 11A)

High school graduation 2017 SEVERAL HUNDRED YOUNG people achieved a big milestone this past weekend as the four local high schools held commencement exercises and sent the classes of 2017 out into the world. Clockwise from above, Vergennes Union High School senior Camden Bushey gets a laugh from Superintendent JoAn Canning, left, and a second look from Principal Stephanie Taylor; at Mount Abraham, right, Ernesta McIntosh hugs Jenna McArdle; in Middlebury, below from left, Molly Wetmore, Maria Wiles and Hannah Williams are ready to accept their diplomas; and Charlotte Winslow, left, presents her brand new Otter Valley diploma. For stories and more photos see pages 7A (OVUHS), 12A (MUHS), 13A (VUHS) and 14A (Mount Abe). Even more coverage is in our Graduation/Where Are They Now special section. Photos by John S. McCright, Buzz Kuhns, Trent Campbell and Lee J. Kahrs

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Thursday, June 15, 2017 by AddisonPress - Issuu