Programs, Athletics and Special Events for Adults, Youth and Families
Arts advocate
Soccer stars
This local woman’s support for the arts goes beyond just the paperwork. See Arts + Leisure.
MIDDLEBURY Parks & Recreation move • grow • connect
A VUHS senior tops a 2018 Independent team featuring a number of Tigers. See Sports, Page 1B.
November 2018 - March 2019
ADDISON COUNTY
Vol. 72 No. 46
Winter Activity Guide
Rec. guide Build your skills, get some exercise and have some fun. See the Winter Activity Guide inside.
Middlebury Parks & Recreation Department townofmiddlebury.org
INDEPENDENT Middlebury, Vermont
Thursday, November 15, 2018
60 Pages
$1.00
Prosecutor to lose three key staffers
Perkett, Otey and Ricard find new jobs By JOHN FLOWERS MIDDLEBURY — Two deputy prosecutors and a victims’ advocate will soon be leaving the Addison County State’s Attorney’s Office to pursue other career opportunities. Addison County State’s Attorney Dennis Wygmans is contending with this impending staff turnover at a time when his own professional future has been clouded by an upcoming recount of ballots in a super-close, Nov. 6 election between himself and Middlebury independent Peter Bevere. Wygmans, a South Burlington Democrat, prevailed on Election Day by a nine-vote margin (7,802 to 7,793). To no one’s surprise, Bevere on Tuesday formally requested a recount that’s likely to occur at the Frank Mahady Courthouse next week. Meanwhile, Addison County Deputy State’s Attorneys Christopher Perkett and Rebecca
Otey are preparing to transition to their own private law practice in Bristol. Otey, who joined Wygmans’s staff last year to prosecute domestic and sexual violence cases, will be stepping down next month. Perkett, hired back in 2004 by former Addison County State’s Attorney John Quinn, will be stepping away in early January. Otey and Perkett will become partners in a new law firm called OPLaw LLP, based at 25 Mountain View St. in Bristol. Also moving on will be Victims’ Advocate Jennifer Ricard, who has accepted a full-time position with benefits in her home state of Rhode Island, according to Wygmans. Otey, Perkett and Ricard all announced their respective departure plans prior to the Nov. 6 election. “I have been very fortunate to work as both a colleague and supervisor (See Perkett, Page 14A)
Deer season opening boasts solid numbers
It’s show time!
Bow, youth, rifle totals running strong
TWO LOCAL HIGH schools will stage rollicking good musicals full of dancing, singing and — it’s high school, after all — drama. At Vergennes Union High School the show is “Anything Goes!” — a hilarious shipboard romp, wrapped around one of Cole Porter’s most magical scores. At a Tuesday rehearsal, shown above in a photo by Cal Gramling, are Kobe Kessler, left, Cedar Winslow, Jack Halpin and Leah Cooke dancing on the ship. Middlebury Union High School will stage “Singin’ in the Rain”; at right Eryn Diehl rehearses the role of Kathy Selden in a Tuesday rehearsal photo by Todd Balfour. Photos of Mount Abe’s forthcoming production of “Newsies” appeared in last Thursday’s edition. All three local high school musicals will be staged this Thursday through Saturday. See more VUHS play photos on Page 13A, and MUHS play photos on Page 10A.
By ANDY KIRKALDY ADDISON COUNTY — Opening weekend of 2018’s deer rifle season — this past Saturday and Sunday — did not approach 2017’s near-record start, but the season got off to a solid beginning with 175 bucks weighed at Addison County wildlife reporting stations. Opening weekend of 2017 saw 242 deer weighed on the way to a rifle season total of 554, part of the year’s local post-2005 record of 1,089 deer taken in all seasons.
The overall numbers look promising again for county hunters in 2018. Between the first weekend of rifle season, the first portion of archery season (Oct. 6 to Nov. 2) and Youth Hunting Weekend, county weigh stations have already handled 549 deer, more than half of last season’s high-water total. In 2005 Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department officials banned shooting spikehorn bucks during rifle season, depressing numbers (See Rifle season, Page 12A)
Potential new players emerge on Middlebury hydro scene By JOHN FLOWERS MIDDLEBURY — The town of Middlebury has withdrawn from a non-binding agreement with the Holm family for development of a hydroelectric project at the Otter Creek Falls. This opens the door for other entities that have recently expressed
interest in harnessing the immense power potential at one of the downtown’s most scenic locations. David Hallam serves as Middlebury’s project manager for issues relating to hydroelectricity at the town-owned “Powerhouse” site to the northeast of the Otter Creek (See Hydro, Page 3A)
VUHS course offers new option ‘Workshop’ class allows students to pursue projects on their own
By the way Attention artists and music enthusiasts: The Bristol American Legion Post 19 will host a Nov. 30 “Paint N Sip” fundraiser for Mount Abraham Union High School music students who will be traveling to New York City (See By the way, Page 14A)
Index Obituaries................................. 6A Classifieds.......................... 5B-6B Service Directory............... 7B-8B Entertainment.........Arts + Leisure Community Calendar......... 8A-9A Arts Calendar.........Arts + Leisure Sports................................. 1B-3B
By MARIN HOWELL me motivation because I’ve always VERGENNES — As the bell wanted to write music, but I never rings to begin 8th block at Vergennes really thought that I could,” Walsh Union High School, a dozen students said. “Being able to have this time head out into the to get creative is really community rather than helpful.” into the classroom, “This class VUHS English all embarking on a isn’t geared teacher Michael separate project and toward learning Thomas, working each doing so for a specific with the leadership credit in a new projectdevelopment and subject. It’s based learning class. financial resources of They are enrolled about finding a Rowland Fellowship, in a pilot class called what you want created the Project Project Workshop to do in your Workshop course that that allows students at future, what is co-taught by Social VUHS to study topics Studies teacher Rebecca interests you, that interest them, and Coffey. Thomas they say it is unlike and creating an became familiar with any other classroom outlet for you to project-based learning experience. when teaching at the study that.” Caitlin Walsh, a — VUHS senior now closed Rutland VUHS senior, uses Jack Halpin Academy. her time in Project Students there Workshop to explore worked on independent songwriting. Walsh said that she learning projects three times a year. has always been interested in The project was chosen by the songwriting, and the class gives her student, guided by a mentor, and the time and motivation she needs to eventually presented to the entire write music. school. Thomas said he saw an “It allows me to go home and play appreciation for learning in these around on the piano. It just gives independent projects, and he wanted
to bring that to VUHS. “I really loved the learning that I saw there and the excitement, so I’ve always had that in the back of my mind,” said Thomas. When Thomas began teaching at VUHS in 2008, many teachers had already begun working on implementing proficiency-based graduation requirements (PBGRs) and personalized learning at the school. Kristine Kirkaldy, a Spanish and Community Based Learning teacher at VUHS, was among the group of teachers that developed PBGRs. In 2010, Kirkaldy earned a Rowland Fellowship that allowed her to further the work of implementing graduation requirements. During her sabbatical, Kirkaldy helped VUHS earn another grant from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation to further the effort. Kirkaldy said the second grant allowed teachers to continue exploring what personalized learning would look like at VUHS. “We continued our work and that’s when we started thinking about ‘how can students design (See VUHS, Page 7A)
VUHS SENIOR CAITLIN Walsh practices her songwriting craft in a Middlebury recording studio as part of her independent work for Project Workshop, a new course that gives students the freedom to pursue independently a project of their choice. It is a major step forward in the larger effort toward personalized learning at VUHS. Photo by Jack Halpin