Monday, February 25, 2019

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MONDAY EDITION

ADDISON COUNTY

INDEPENDENT

Vol. 30 No. 41

Middlebury, Vermont

Monday, February 25, 2019

• Indian troupe’s ‘Sacred Earth’ evokes the fragile relationship between nature and man. See Arts Beat, Page 10.

BBQ tops menu at new business

• Paul Dow is offering pulled pork, deli sandwiches and other fare in East Middlebury. See Page 2.

• Tim Guiles and Dennis Reisenweaver face off for a spot on the selectboard. See Page 2.

Tourney time for women’s hockey • The Panthers began their annual postseason quest with a home NESCAC quarterfinal on Saturday. See Page 26.

40 Pages

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Residents to vote on $2.9M bond for OVUUSD

Dancers have a foreign flair

Candidates to talk in Brandon

JUTTA MISKA, LEFT, left, and Bethany Menkart display a few examples of the dozens of reusable bags they and more than a dozen other Addison County women have crafted as part of a campaign to cut back on single-use plastic bags. On March 5, Middlebury will vote on a resolution asking for an ordinance banning single-use plastic bags that local businesses provide to customers.

Independent photo/John Flowers

Effort to ban plastic bags gains steam By JOHN FLOWERS MIDDLEBURY — Supporters of a proposal to ban single-use plastic bags for retail transactions in Middlebury are ramping up their lobbying, and sewing, efforts as a critical town vote on the issue nears. Middlebury voters on March 5 will decide whether to encourage their selectboard to draft an ordinance

that would prevent local retailers from offering customers single-use plastic bags to carry out their purchases. Maggie Eaton, leader of the petition drive that resulted in Article 12 — making it only the upcoming Town Meeting Day ballot — made her pitch to the (See Plastic bags, Page 30)

By RUSSELL JONES BRANDON — Voters in the Otter Valley Unified Union School District rejected a $5.5 million bond proposal back in November, and next week they will consider a proposal of about half that amount. Residents of the OVUU towns of Brandon, Goshen, Leicester, Pittsford, Sudbury and Whiting will go to the polls on March 5 to decide the fate of a $2.93 million safety, security and operations improvements bond. School district residents will be able to attend an information hearing on the proposed school budget and bond proposal at 6:30 p.m. in the OVUHS auditorium at the annual meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 27. The “operations improvements” wording was added after feedback showed the community felt that the previous bond, which was labeled as a safety and security bond, was not completely upfront with voters. “I am glad that they have recognized that some of the funds (See OV bond vote, Page 39)

New funding devoted to job creation Leahy expands grants to Addison, other Vt. counties

See babies from birth and beyond • From birth helpers to lactation chambers: See our Babies & Families special section on Pages 17-24.

By JOHN S. McCRIGHT MIDDLEBURY — U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy was joined by a phalanx of local, state and regional economic development officials at the Middlebury Town Offices on Thursday to announce a major expansion of a federal program designed to spur business grown in rural areas, including Addison County. Vermont’s senior senator, along with Deputy Vermont Commerce Secretary Ted Brady, said that the federal Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) was expanded to make all communities in Vermont eligible for grants to fund infrastructure and other things that aid economic development. “Every good idea in Vermont (See Leahy, Page 38)

U.S. SEN. PATRICK Leahy, right, shares a humorous anecdote with Addison County Economic Development Commission chief Fred Kenney, left, and Vermont Deputy Commerce Secretary Ted Brady during a press conference to announce new grant options in Middlebury on Thursday.

Independent photo/Angelo Lynn


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