MONDAY EDITION
ADDISON COUNTY
INDEPENDENT
Vol. 30 No. 29
Middlebury, Vermont
Monday, November 19, 2018
• Acclaimed folk musician to play in Brandon in her return to the Northeast. See Arts Beat, Pages 10-11.
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But apple harvest good, growers say By CHRISTOPHER ROSS ADDISON COUNTY — The weather, as usual, wrote the complex story of this year’s apple season. Take, for example, the beloved McIntosh, Vermont’s most popular variety, which accounts for roughly half the state’s annual production. At a Cornwall orchard, this summer’s drought reduced the size and number of Macs (though not their quality), and a warm spell in September drastically reduced their picking season. In Ferrisburgh, an early spring deep-freeze damaged the crop preblossom. But a Monkton orchard produced some of the biggest and most beautiful Macs in memory. That all goes to show that, (See Orchards, Page 23)
Bald eagles had a productive year
• Vt. wildlife officials report a large number of eagle chicks in 2018. See Page 13.
Panthers eyeing NCAA crowns
• The field hockey team played in the final four, and women’s soccer hosted in the Sweet 16. See the results on Pages 17-19.
‘Sleep Out’ to raise money for homeless
Busy kids
• Goshen native Nick Stewart has an interesting resumé. See Page 2.
32 Pages
Orchards battled extreme weather
Welcome back Cotter
New officer joins Middlebury PD
MORIAH BAKER SHOVELS new snow off the sidewalk in Middlebury Friday morning while her buddy Eric Chen takes a break. School was delayed for two hours due to the snow, but these Mary Hogan students used their time wisely while waiting for the bus.
Independent photo/John S. McCright
By JOHN FLOWERS MIDDLEBURY — Hale and hearty supporters of John Graham Housing and Services (JGHS) will keep their annual camp-out appointment at the Otter Creek Falls in Dec. 1, a frigid outing that will raise money to battle homelessness while giving participants a taste of the hardship a growing number of Vermonters are experiencing on a regular basis. It’s the fifth annual “Sleep Out to (See Sleep Out, Page 22)
Rep. Welch gears up for Democratic House By MICHELLE MONROE St. Albans Messenger ST. ALBANS — Vermont Congressman Peter Welch believes there are issues on which Republicans and Democrats can work together in the upcoming Congress.
Although ballots are still being tallied in some states, the Democrats will take a majority in the House of Representatives in the next Congress, to be seated in January, having taken 37 formerly Republican seats with a handful still to be determined as of late last week.
“We want to do things and reach out to Republicans,” said Welch, explaining that outgoing House Speaker Paul Ryan, who retired rather than seek re-election, had a policy of passing legislation with only Republican votes. It was a policy Welch said
empowered the most extreme members of the party, effectively giving them veto power over legislation. A group of Tea Party Republicans, known as the Freedom Caucus, “was an impediment even to many of my Republican colleagues,” (See Welch, Page 14)