Thursday, August 9, 2018

Page 1

Arts + Leisure

New biz

Twin titles

A collection of important early German printed books is on display at the college library.

A barbecue restaurant has taken over a prominent Route 7, New Haven, location. See Page 3.

The Champs and Marlins swim teams won divisional crowns at the state meet. See Page 1B.

ADDISON COUNTY

Vol. 72 No. 32

INDEPENDENT Middlebury, Vermont

Thursday, August 9, 2018 

42 Pages

$1.00

Area Democrats to vie in Aug. 14 runoffs for sheriff, House seats By JOHN FLOWERS BRISTOL — Local primary elections typically offer few fireworks and are thus notorious for low voter turnout. But a hotly contested race for sheriff and a crowded runoff for the Addison-4 House district are giving Addison County residents — and

particularly Democrats in the Bristol area — extra reasons to vote on Aug. 14. Local interest is also being generated by Ethan Sonneborn, a 14-year-old Bristol youth who will compete for the Democrat nomination for governor. In addition to the two Addison

County races, area voters will help decide contested statewide primary elections for U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative and Vermont governor, on both the Republican and Democrat sides. Registered voters at their polling places will be given a choice of selecting the Democrat, Republican or Progressive Party

ballot. The primary will determine which candidates advance to the Nov. 6 general election. SHERIFF’S RACE Locally, Democrats Peter Newton and Ron Holmes are both vying for the right to face Independent candidate Kevin Gibbs in the general election for Addison County sheriff.

Newton, 46, currently serves as a lieutenant with the department under incumbent Sheriff Don Keeler, who’s not seeking re-election. Newton has earned Keeler’s endorsement. Newton has already logged 28 years in the public safety field. Certified as an advanced life support EMT, Newton worked for various

Carol’s café closes after 13-year run

Bristol tax rates drop dramatically

By CHRISTOPHER ROSS BRISTOL — Bristol tax rates are down across the board for the coming year, but what that will mean for individual tax bills will vary according to the results of the town-wide reassessment of property values that was completed this past spring. The Bristol selectboard at its Aug. 6 meeting set the 2019 fiscal year municipal tax rate at $0.6989, (a decrease of $0.0627, or about 8 percent), and the police district tax rate at $0.3182 (a decrease $0.0453, or about 13 percent). Residents within the onesquare-mile police district will pay a combined municipal rate of $1.0171 per $100 of assessed property value. The town’s education tax rates also fell, in part due to Act 46 school consolidation incentives, which include a tax discount of $0.08 this year. On July 1 schools in the Addison Northeast Supervisory Union merged into the Mount Abraham Unified School District and will from now on be governed by one school board. Bristol’s FY2019 residential (homestead) education tax rate decreased by $0.2296 (13 percent) to $1.5270. The nonresidential education tax rate decreased by (See Bristol, Page 7A)

By the way Attention people who drive through Middlebury: The temporary rail bridge on Main Street needs to be repaved, and that will mean closing both lanes of the span for portions of Thursday, Aug. 9 and Saturday, Aug. 11. Jim Gish, Middlebury’s community liaison for the $72 million rail bridges replacement project, noted the temporary Main Street span is around a year old and its pavement is deteriorating due to a combination of hot summer weather and heavy traffic. So on Thursday, workers are slated to close both lanes starting at 7 a.m. in order to safely strip the pavement from the deck of the bridge. That work should last about two hours and affect morning commuter traffic. Then on Saturday, workers will again close both lanes of the bridge starting at around 6 a.m. to repave the bridge deck. They expect to reopen it by 10 a.m., (See By the way, Page 14A)

Index Obituaries................................. 6A Classifieds........................ 8B-10B Service Directory............... 6B-7B Entertainment.........Arts + Leisure Community Calendar......... 8A-9A Arts Calendar.........Arts + Leisure Sports................................. 1B-3B

emergency response organizations from 1990 to 2003, including Middlebury Regional EMS and Fletcher Allen Coordinated Transport. In 2003, he began his law enforcement career, starting off as a Middlebury Police Department officer before joining the sheriff’s (See Primary races, Page 7A)

New coffeehouse set to open in its place

JUDGE ELIZABETH HALL of East Montpelier talks with contestants Ruby Hubbell, left, and Sarah Hill during Tuesday’s 4-H Youth Dairy Show Conformation Classes at Addison County Fair and Field Days. Independent photos/Trent Campbell

It’s fair time!

It’s about racing pigs, stunt bikers, rides and more, but also about local heritage

Editor’s note: As Addison was brought out, Hall strode County’s Field Days get underway between them with authority, this Tuesday through Saturday, we inspecting each specimen and rushed out on the fair’s opening sporting a black and white floralday to record a few vignettes of printed shirt that could only be life at the fair. Here are three described as cow-patterned. Inspections complete, Hall that show just a small part of the varied activities you’ll find. More grabbed her microphone and congratulated the photos and stories will be in next warmly Monday’s issues as well, and look participants, as she had many times for videos at addisonindependent. over the past few hours. Then she got down to business. com. “You’ve heard me talk about my By NICK GARBER NEW HAVEN — The bleachers type, and that’s a balanced, correct were almost full at the animal cow,” she told the crowd, before show arena at Addison County Fair gesturing at her chosen winner. “I’m going to go with & Field Days as several this Ayrshire yearling. 4-H kids led their cows “You’ve heard She’s flawless, she’s inside for conformation me talk about great to breed off of, classes, angling for a my type, and this young lady wide range of possible and that’s should be proud of awards. this cow.” Hall smiled, Large as that a balanced, and the young lady audience may have correct cow.” been, the 4-H-ers — dairy judge beamed. Dairy judging, like were mostly aiming Elizabeth Hall any other judging, to impress the person isn’t a purely objective whose opinion counted most: dairy judge Elizabeth Hall of endeavor, Hall explained after the show. East Montpelier. (See Field Days, Page 12A) As each new category of cows

A PIG FROM Robinson‘s Racing Pigs takes a flying dive into the water hazard during a race at Addison County Fair and Field Days Tuesday.

By JOHN FLOWERS MIDDLEBURY — Downtown Middlebury’s much-loved, but financially challenged, Carol’s Hungry Mind Café sold its last muffin and cup of coffee on Tuesday, with owner John Melanson saying a slow summer and mounting debts finally forced him to throw in the towel. Meanwhile, the Addison Independent has learned that Adam Shafer — co-owner of Shafer’s Market & Deli at 54 College “It’s heart– St. — will breaking for open “the Daily me.” Grind” in the — John Carol’s venue Melanson at 24 Merchants Row. Shafer confirmed the new coffee shop venture will open later this month and will include light meals. That unfortunately brings little solace to Melanson, who said his goodbyes to longtime customers as he rang up the final sales of the day. “There have been tears, presents, hugs and good wishes,” Melanson said during a break from manning the counter at Carol’s, which became a popular gathering spot for folks from all walks of life and economic strata. “It’s heartbreaking for me.” Indeed, Melanson had flirted with closure several times during his 13-year run “I feel with the venture, bad we’re which became losing our a labor of love. ‘Cheers’ in An independent Middlebury, coffee shop is typically a where you modest revenue can come g e n e r a t o r , in and chat specializing in with people beverage and who you pastry sales know and to customers who love to don’t know.” — Salisbury linger over a resident, book, laptop, Earl Corey smartphone or pleasant conversation. Carol’s always seemed to scrape by, in large part due to a loyal clientele, including some regulars who extended Melanson the occasional financial gift to keep the doors open. But Melanson said the beginning of the end really began with construction on the downtown Middlebury rail bridges project, (See Carol’s, Page 13A)

Sheldon exhibit explores local participation in WWI

By JOHN FLOWERS MIDDLEBURY — It was idealistically, perhaps even naively, dubbed “the war to end all wars” after an international accord brought an end to the carnage of World War I on Nov. 11, 1918. But man’s inhumanity to man has continued unabated during the century that has followed that first Armistice Day. Now the Sheldon Museum of Vermont History is offering an exhibit that uses period clothing, correspondence, memorabilia, weaponry and photos donated by Addison County families to

convey the drama, violence and local response to WWI through the eyes of some of the people who lived it. “Doughboys and Flyboys: WWI Stories by Vermonters from the Home and Battlefront” debuted on July 31 and will end, symbolically, on Nov. 11. The exhibit boasts a treasure trove of fascinating historical artifacts, roughly 25 percent of them culled from the family of Sheldon Museum Director Bill Brooks. The Sheldon show includes a variety of gear, war souvenirs and family letters penned and received by Brooks’ grandfather, Dr. Jacob

J. Ross of Middlebury, a local physician who served as a flight surgeon in France with the 17th Aero Squadron. Also included are WWI letters written by two other prominent Middlebury citizens: Waldo Heinrichs, a pilot with the 95th Aero Squadron, known then as “luckiest man in the war” for surviving two plane crashes and internment in a German hospital; and Werner Neuse, a German by birth, who enlisted in the German army as a teenager shortly after his father, Richard Neuse (also a German soldier) was killed. Werner Neuse is the grandfather of

longtime Middlebury attorney Karl Neuse. Werner Neuse later immigrated to the United States, became a citizen, earned his graduate degrees and joined Middlebury College’s German Department. He helped to start the College’s German summer language school. Ironically, Neuse and Heinrichs lived on the same block of South Street in Middlebury following the war. Ross was a physician in Middlebury and head of the physical education department of Middlebury College when the United States (See Sheldon Museum, Page 1A)


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