Thursday, December 13, 2018

Page 1

Section C

DENT

ADDISONINDEPEN

9

WINTER 2018–201

SPORTS

FEATURING

ules • pictures • team rosters • sched

Sports Report

OV in battle

‘Man on Fire’

Our special section within takes a look at all the local high schools’ winter varsity athletic teams.

Visiting West Rutland held off the Otter girls in the their home opener. See Sports, Page 1B.

A Middlebury College professor’s new film examines racism in his hometown. See Arts + Leisure.

and stories

Vol. 72 No. 50

ADDISON COUNTY

INDEPENDENT Middlebury, Vermont

Thursday, December 13, 2018  52 Pages

$1.00

Porter plans new heart care services New rehab center, staffing in the works

By JOHN FLOWERS MIDDLEBURY — Local residents who have experienced a heart attack, heart failure or heart surgery soon won’t have to travel outside Addison County for medical rehabilitation appointments. Porter Medical Center next spring will begin offering cardiac rehabilitation services at its Middlebury campus, a new service that’s expected to extend lives and offer greater convenience to local patients who must currently drive to Burlington or Rutland to participate in such programming. Plans call for the new cardiac rehab offering to be located in a 933-squarefoot space currently occupied by

Porter’s IT division, just inside the front entrance of the main hospital building off South Street. It will be conveniently attached to the office of Porter cardiologist Dr. Gavin Noble. Porter spokesman Ron Hallman said IT personnel will relocate into “more than adequate space” on the third floor of the same building. The estimated $319,813 cardiac rehab project (which includes the requisite exercise equipment) will be put out to bid in January, leading to an early June launch, according to Hallman. Cardiac rehab is currently unavailable in Addison County. More than 40 area patients currently travel to Burlington for cardiac rehab

“It’s hard enough to get people into cardiac rehab programs, even though it’s been shown to have anywhere from 30-50 percent mortality reductions in people who have had a heart attack.”

— Dr. Gavin Noble

services and only 35.5 percent of eligible patients avail themselves of rehab following a heart attack, according to Porter officials. “It’s a huge deal, in terms of people’s wellbeing, symptoms, exercise tolerance, daily life, stability

from falls, even depression; all the things we see after heart attacks are improved with cardiac rehab,” Noble said. Cardiac rehab is a medically supervised program designed to improve the cardiovascular health of patients who have experienced traumatic heart problems. The rehab process includes three components: Exercise, counseling and training; education for heart healthy living; and counseling to reduce stress. The new service, as envisioned, will be pretty straightforward but life-changing for the many local heart patients who must now make a two-hour round trip three times per week to get to rehab programs in Chittenden or Rutland counties. (See Porter, Page 11A)

CARDIOLOGIST DR. GAVIN Noble says new cardiac-specific exercise equipment will become a key part of the rehabilitation services Porter Medical Center will offer to heart patients next spring.

Independent photo/John Flowers

Compromise struck on a new Farm Bill

FitzGerald getting to work at Mount Abe

Congress offers help to dairy, maple producers

By MICHELLE MONROE St. Albans Messenger WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new federal farm bill, passed by the U.S. Senate Tuesday and expected to pass the House on Wednesday, provides some provisions that Vermont food producers will like. The bill, which still must be signed by President Trump, makes some modest improvements in dairy programs while stopping an effort by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to label the sugar in maple syrup and pure honey as “added sugar.” It also ends the national prohibition on hemp production, a growing industry in Vermont and here in Addison County. “We need a farm bill and there was significant question as to whether we would have one,” said Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., who told the Messenger on Tuesday that he intends to vote for the bill. It is a compromise bill intended to reconcile differences between the versions initially passed in the House and Senate. The compromise bill passed the (See Farm bill, Page 7A)

By the way The town of New Haven will host its annual Winterfest Celebration this Saturday, Dec. 15, beginning at 5 p.m. with refreshments at the Congregational Church on Town Hill Road across from the town green. Bundle up, get a cup of hot cocoa, tea, coffee, eggnog or cider, and come across the street to the town green, where the fire department will host a memorial tree lighting by the town green at 5:30 p.m. You can then help decorate the memorial tree and (See By the way, Page 2A)

Index Obituaries................................. 6A Classifieds.......................... 7B-8B Service Directory............... 5B-6B Entertainment.........Arts + Leisure Community Calendar......... 8A-9A Arts Calendar.........Arts + Leisure Sports................................. 1B-3B

New facilities chief ramps up rehab

Holiday lights

A CROWD ILLUMINATED by the SD Ireland lighted cement truck enjoys their drinks outside the hot chocolate hut in downtown Middlebury this past Thursday evening during the first of two Midd Night Stroll shopping promotions. The second Midd Night Stroll will be tonight, Thursday, Dec. 13, when from 5-8 p.m. downtown businesses will be open late with lots of sales. See more photos on Page 13A.

Photo by Max Kraus

Respected counselor, coach recalled fondly Many at VUHS, beyond mourn Quinn By ANDY KIRKALDY WALTHAM — The Saturday death of highly respected Vergennes Union High School clinician and basketball coach Peter Quinn sent waves of shock and sadness through the students and athletes he served, his colleagues and fellow coaches, former hoop teammates and fellow pick-up game competitors, and all those who respected his dedication to his work, love of basketball and quick wit. PETER Quinn, 69, died unexpectedly from natural causes; the Vergennes Area Rescue Squad responded to his Waltham home early on Saturday. He grew up in Concord, Mass., and settled in Vermont after graduating from Middlebury College in 1971. Quinn started his career in social

work at the former Weeks School in Vergennes in the early 1970s. After obtaining a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Boston University he began work at the Kingsland Bay School, a therapeutic group home for troubled adolescent girls. He took over as Kingsland Bay School’s director and ran it through the late 1990s. In 2000 he became a VUHS schoolbased clinician, in the employ of the Counseling Service QUINN of Addison County, known as CSAC (see full obituary on Page 6A). CSAC Executive Director Bob Thorn and VUHS Principal Stephanie Taylor both praised Quinn’s work at the school. “He was an important and caring (See Quinn, Page 12A)

By CHRISTOPHER ROSS BRISTOL — When Joel FitzGerald accepted the job as facilities director of the Mount Abraham Unified School District, he knew what he was getting into. His brother has lived in the 5-Towns for more than 35 years and the second generation of FitzGeralds is about to enter its school district. In addition to making sure students are safe, warm and undistracted by their environment every day, FitzGerald would have to manage a rapidly deteriorating high school in a district where voters have three times rejected bonds to renovate it. Six weeks in, with a number of accomplishments already under his belt, FitzGerald is excited about the opportunities he sees for improvement. “You know when you look at a plane when it leaves the aircraft carrier, it drops a little bit, then it goes up — that’s the vision I see every day, and I believe we’re on the way up,” he said, adding that (See Mt. Abe, Page 14A)

Greg’s slated for February opening

By JOHN FLOWERS MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury Development Review Board on Monday approved local businessman Tony Neri’s plan to reopen the former Greg’s supermarket at 3 Elm St. as soon as this coming February. “I’m very pleased,” Neri said on Tuesday. “I thank the board for working with me on this.”

Managed by Gail Daha, the supermarket will continue to bear the “Greg’s” moniker in honor of its namesake, Greg Wry, who developed a loyal clientele for the independent grocery store by offering good prices, friendly service, deliveries to shut-ins and a well-stocked deli/ meat department. Neri plans to replicate much of what made Greg’s successful, albeit

on a slightly smaller scale. He said the store will continue to emphasize meat, vegetables, deli and deliveries. But he told DRB members the new Greg’s will largely be a “grab and go” market; he doesn’t foresee carrying the extensive inventory of grocery items that the former market stocked during its heyday. Neri’s plan includes removal next (See Greg’s, Page 11A)

THE MIDDLEBURY DEVELOPMENT Review Board on Monday OK’d local businessman Tony Neri’s proposal to re-establish a supermarket at the former Greg’s building at 3 Elm St. Neri’s plan also calls for removal of the adjacent Pool World building, in order to make way for additional parking. The new Greg’s is expected to open in February.

Independent file photo/John S. McCright


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