MONDAY Â Â EDITION
ADDISON COUNTY
INDEPENDENT
Vol. 25 No. 27
Middlebury, Vermont
X
Monday, August 26, 2013
X
36 Pages
75¢
VUHS auditorium closed as school opens By  ANDY  KIRKALDY VERGENNES  —  The  Vergennes  Union  High  School  auditorium  will  be  closed  for  what  school  RIÂżFLDOV VDLG FRXOG EH D IHZ ZHHNV IROORZLQJ D safety  inspection  last  week,  but  they  also  said  WKH\ KDYH D SODQ WR Âż[ WKH PRVW SUHVVLQJ SUREOHPV and  bring  the  room  and  stage  back  on  line  as  soon  as  possible  —  but  probably  not  for  a  full  fall  the- atrical  production.  “We’re  going  to  take  the  immediate  steps  that  are  necessary  so  it  can  be  used  as  an  auditorium Â
‌  and  for  performance  purposes,â€?  said  VUHS  board  and  building  committee  member  Jeffry  Glassberg.  :LWK WKH ÂżUVW GD\ RI VFKRRO VHW IRU :HGQHVGD\ RIÂżFLDOV KDG H[SHFWHG WR DW OHDVW KDYH WKH DXGL- torium  open  for  all-Âschool  assemblies  and  meet- ings,  but  Co-ÂPrincipals  Ed  Webbley  and  Stepha- nie  Taylor  said  inspectors  could  not  guarantee  the  integrity  of  the  wooden  structure  that  holds  heavy  lights  right  over  seats.   “They  are  suspended  directly  over  the  audito-Â
rium  seating  area,�  Taylor  said. VUHS  director  of  building  and  grounds  Bob  Worley  will  arrange  for  contractors  to  come  and  remove  the  lighting,  they  said. But  at  a  Thursday  meeting  in  the  auditorium,  the  VUHS  building  committee,  Worley,  the  co- principals,  and  Addison  Northwest  Supervisory  Union  Superintendent  Tom  O’Brien  only  made  one  decision:  a  temporary  shutdown.    “We  realized  that  we  had  to  keep  the  audito- (See  VUHS,  Page  34)
New coach for MUHS ‡ %UHW :HHNHV KDV WDNHQ RYHU WKH ER\V¡ VRFFHU SURJUDP IURP ORQJWLPH KHDG 'RF 6HXEHUW 6HH 6SRUWV RQ 3DJH
6KRZ WR EHQHÀW musicians’ camp ‡ 5LWD 3RUÀULV ZLOO SOD\ YLROD LQ D FKDPEHU PXVLF FRQFHUW RQ 6DWXUGD\ WR EHQHÀW D /DNH 'XQPRUH PXVLF FDPS 6HH $UWV %HDW RQ 3DJH
Wedding  parade MEGAN  OSTERHOUT  AND  Gus  Brakeley  parade  down  Middlebury’s  Main  Street  on  Aug.  17  after  getting  married  in  the  Congregational  Church.  The  bride,  groom  and  guests  were  accompanied  by  Gene  Childers’  jazz  band.  For  more  photos,  see  Page  2. Independent  photo/Trent  Campbell
Opera company pleases audience ‡ )RXU IDQWDVWLF VLQJHUV ZRZHG WKH FURZG DW D WK DQQLYHUVDU\ 7RZQ +DOO 7KHDWHU VKRZ 6HH 3DJH
Common  Core  leaves  many  with  questions By  XIAN  CHIANG-ÂWAREN VERMONT  —  As  districts  across  the  state  prepare  for  the  new  school  year,  educators  and  admin- istrators  are  gearing  up  to  continue  the  transition  to  the  Common  Core  State  Standards,  a  new  approach  to  education  that  has  been  prompting  changes  in  testing  and  classroom Â
instruction  in  recent  years.  Vermont,  which  adopted  the  &RPPRQ &RUH LQ LV DPRQJ 44  other  states  and  the  District  of  Columbia  overhauling  their  educa- tional  approach.  Yet  despite  the  ubiquity  of  its  implementation,  a  striking  major- (See  Education,  Page  20)
Bristol  woman  waiting  for  a  double-Âlung  transplant By  XIAN  CHIANG-ÂWAREN BRISTOL  —  A  Bristol  woman  who  has  been  awaiting  a  double-Âlung  transplant  for  16  months  is  embark- ing  on  a  mission  to  spread  awareness  about  a  national  shortage  of  organ  donors  by  sharing  her  own  story. “I’m  not  a  public  person,â€?  was  the  ¿UVW WKLQJ WKDW 7DPP\ 6KDFNHWW of  Woodlands  Drive  said  when  she Â
reached  out  to  the  Independent.  But  KHU RZQ GLI¿FXOW H[SHULHQFH ZKLOH awaiting  a  transplant,  along  with  the  overwhelming  support  she  found  by  meeting  others  in  her  situation  online  (as  well  as  in  the  Addison  County  community),  convinced  her  to  tell  her  story  in  the  hopes  that  it  will  help  and  inspire  others. (See  Transplant,  Page  35)