The Charlotte News | June 5, 2014

The Charlotte News Volume lVI Number 21

The VoIce of The TowN

Thursday, JuNe 5, 2014

Past, Present & Future Come to Head at Planning Meeting Brett Sigurdson The charloTTe News As it nears completion of a first draft of the rewrite of the Town Plan, the Planning Commission has been slowly crossing off chapters that are ready for public comment.

However, at a workshop on May 29, the commission didn’t get a chance to discuss a draft chapter on land use. Instead, the meeting turned into a fascinating dialogue that illustrated the tension between differing views of how Charlotte moves into the future.

Much of the meeting consisted of a spirited discussion on how to balance demographic and economic growth with preservation of Charlotte’s rural, agrarian identity. Similarly, the discussion centered on how to make changes where so many

Dave Garbose, co-owner of Charlotte’s Mt. Philo Inn, at the piano in the ballroom, which dates to 1927.

An Inn for All Seasons—And Art Brett Sigurdson The charloTTe News Dave Garbose stepped quickly through the cavernous ballroom at the Mt. Philo Inn last Friday morning such that his footsteps echoed off the walls and windows that look down on Charlotte below. It was hours before the room would be filled with people

for a concert by Pete Sutherland, a local, Middlebury-based folk singer.

Folding chairs were set up in rows in front of a piano, tables in the back of the room had glasses set out for beer from Fiddlehead in Shelburne and plates set up for food provided by Charlotte’s Little Garden Market.

As he gave a reporter a tour, he proudly showed off local art on the

wall and heaped praise on the local workers and artisans who helped he and his partner, Jane Garbose, revive the Mt. Philo Inn since they bought it in 1990.

This local-centric theme continues for the rest of the tour through the elaborate-yet-cozy interior of the Mt.

Inn continued on page 9

2014 State Rep Race Will See Familiar Faces Mike Yantachka and Ed Stone will square off for the third time this November for the opportunity to represent Charlotte in the Vermont Statehouse.

Brett Sigurdson The Charlotte News With the end of the 2014 legislative session, Mike Yantachka, Charlotte’s representative to the Statehouse, has his sights set on the future. He’s recently announced he’ll be seeking re-election for a third term as the Chittenden 4-1 representative, which also covers a portion of Hinesburg. On Election Day Nov. 4, he’ll face a familiar opponent—Ed Stone, a republican who also vied for the seat in 2012 and 2010.

Yantachka, a democrat, made the

announcement in a letter to the editor published in the News. In the letter, he cites openness and communication with his constituents as a cornerstone of his term, something he would continue if elected.

He also cites his support for working Vermonters, local business, education, health Ed Stone care, the environment and Representative Mike Yantachka energy.

Indeed, much of Yantachka’s success as a able energy and the environment, he lawmaker has centered around the lat- said. ter two policy initiatives. As a repIn the last two years, Yantachka and resentative, Yantachka has, for the the HNRE passed a solid waste manlast four years, been a member of the agement bill that diverts leaf, yard and House Natural Resources and Energy organic farm waste from Vermont’s Committee (HNRE), which he lobbied Race continued on page 18 to join because of his interest in renew-

efforts in the past have failed.

In determining the level to which Charlotte could actually grow while protecting its open spaces, Planning and Zoning Administrator Jeannine McCrumb pulled out a map of the town and placed it on the table.

She asked the six members of the commission and three members of the public to draw circles on where they could envision growth based on present development patterns and the availability of septic and water.

There were three circles: over the east village, the west village and the area that extends from Route 7 to CCS via Church Hill Road—essentially, a larger village zoning district.

“That’s the starting point,” said resident Michael Russell, pointing to development around CCS. “The

Planning Meeting

continued on page 18

12th Annual Champ Run Ready to Go June 8 Come celebrate the end of the school year and the start of summer with the 12th annual Champ Run on June 8 with a fun run beginning at 8:30 a.m.

This fun, family event includes a 5K run/walk, a 10K run, and a 1-mile fun run (not timed). Both the 5K and 10K begin at 9 a.m. and will be chip timed.

This race is an out-and-back, beginning and ending at Charlotte Central School. Prizes will be awarded to the top three male and female finishers in both the 5K and the 10K divisions in addition to the top finisher in each age group (five-year groups).

The cost to participate in the 5K run/walk and 10K run is $20 per person. The fun run is $15 per person. A family package for a group of four is $65.

Race day bib pick up will be held Saturday from 9–10 a.m. and Sunday, 7:30 to 8:45 a.m. Please consider coming on Saturday to avoid the long lines on Sunday.

All proceeds for this event will benefit the Charlotte Central School Parent Teacher Organization. For more information or to register, visit racevermont.com/champ-run.

Now is the best time to invest in solar.

To schedule a free site evaluation, call us at (802) 872-9600 or visit www.allsuntrackers.com

2 • June 5, 2014 • The Charlotte News

To the GOP, the Sky Isn’t Falling Barrie Dunsmore CoNTriBuTor

The Charlotte News PublishEd by and for CharlottErs sinCE 1958 The CharloTTe News is a nonprofit community-based newspaper dedicated to informing townspeople of current events and issues. It serves as a forum for the free exchange of views of town residents and celebrates the people, places and happenings that make the Town of Charlotte unique.

Contributions in the form of articles, press releases and photographs pertaining to Charlotte-related people and events are accepted and encouraged from all townspeople and interested individuals. For submission guidelines and deadlines, please visit our website or contact the editor at news@charlottenewsvt.com.

The CharloTTe News is published in Charlotte by The Charlotte News, Inc., a Vermont domestic 501(c)4 nonprofit corporation. Distribution is made every other Thursday to all households and businesses in Charlotte and to selected outlets in Shelburne, Hinesburg, North Ferrisburgh, Ferrisburgh and Vergennes. It relies on the generous financial contributions of its readers, subscriptions and advertising revenue to sustain its operations. oN The weB aT:

TheCharloTTeNews.org

Editorial Staff

News@CharloTTeNewsvT.Com

802-425-4949 Editor in ChiEf…………………..BreTT sigurdsoN Contributing Editor…………………edd merriTT ProduCtion & dEsign Editor….liNda williamsoN intErns…………………..emma slaTer, Kim CriBari CoPy Editors………..BeTh merriTT, leslie BoTjer, viNCe CroCKeNBerg, edd merriTT

Business Staff ads@CharloTTeNewsvT.Com

802-488-0757 businEss ManagEr…………………shaNley hiNge advErtising ManagEr …………...NiCK mCdougal CirCulation grouP……….gordoN BrowN, diaNe NiChols

Board Members Co-PrEsidEnt………………………...Tom o’BrieN Co-PrEsidEnt………………….viNCe CroCKeNBerg sECrEtary………………………….....johN hammer MEMbErs………….…………………...KaThy luCe, louisa sChiBli, roBiN TurNau, raChel CummiNgs, miChael hauleNBeeK, meg smiTh, NaNCy wood

Contributors sera aNdersoN elizaBeTh BasseTT haNNah ClevelaNd Barrie duNsmore larry hamilToN KaryN luNde

jim morse Kerrie Pughe mary reCChia ruah sweNNerfelT margareT woodruff

Subscription information The CharloTTe News is delivered aT No CosT To all CharloTTe resideNCes. PersoNal or ouT-of-TowN suBsCriPTioNs are availaBle for $20 Per year (BulK mailiNg) or $40 Per year (firsT Class). Please seNd CheCK or moNey order To The address Below.

PostMastEr: seNd address ChaNges To

The CharloTTe News P.o. Box 251, ferry road BusiNess ParK CharloTTe, vermoNT 05445 TelePhoNe: 425-4949 CirCulation: 3,000 CoPies Per issue.

CoPyright © 2014 thE CharlottE nEws, inC. PrintEd by uPPEr vallEy PrEss

I had the occasion to sit beside a well-educated, professionally successful person at a dinner recently. Everything was fine until I happened to raise the issue of climate change—and then it was as though I had turned on Fox News. Scientists disagree! Climate change is a normal/natural phenomenon! Humans are not responsible! (And—this was a new one on me—all this talk of climate change is simply a fad started by Al Gore to make himself rich!)

I have to admit I did not just graciously change the subject. But I did hold back some of the choice, unprintable phrases I normally use in response to such oil-industry brainwashing.

But that conversation demonstrated once again what an uphill battle it is to get Americans to take climate change seriously. It may seem strange that, even as we witness historic patterns of extreme weather, in this country and around the world, the number of Americans dismissing climate change as a man-made phenomenon is actually rising—now to about 30 percent.

One of the reasons for the skepticism is the fact that the rise of surface temperatures around the globe has indeed slowed down since 1998. But that has to be seen in context. Current atmospheric temperatures are higher than any time in the past 4,000 years, and the planet itself has gotten warmer in the past decade. Yet climate change deniers have used this pause in surface temperature increases as evidence that climate scientists’ dire predictions are wrong.

They aren’t. And there is important bad news/ good news on this front. Both were included in a report in the New York Times recently. It begins: “El Niño is coming. Above-average sea surface temperatures have developed off the west coast of South America and seem poised to grow into a full- fledged El Niño event in which usually warm water temperatures spread across the equatorial East Pacific. Models indicate a 75 percent chance of El Niño this fall, which could bring devastating droughts to Australia or heavy rains to the southern United States.”

Obviously that’s part of the bad news, as is the calculation, according to the Times report, that this round of El Niño “will probably increase global temperatures, perhaps to the highest levels ever. It could even inaugurate a new era of more rapid warming.”

So what’s the good news? In the Times’ words, “A sustained period of faster warming won’t convert skeptics into climate change activists. But the accompanying wave of headlines might energize activists and refocus attention on climate change going into the 2016 presidential election. Those headlines could include landslides in Southern California and widespread floods across the South.” In other words, El Niño may prevent climate change deniers from continuing to use the pause in the rise of surface temperatures, to discredit climate scientists’ virtually unanimous conclusion that the real consequences of global warming are already upon us.

I know there are Democrats who are not yet convinced of global warming. But I am totally confident

that being a climate change denier will not be mandatory to win the Democratic presidential nomination for 2016. That cannot be said with conviction about the Republicans. As evidence, I submit the Washington Post’s Paul Waldman and his article “Where the GOP contenders stand on climate change” (May 12, 2014).

Some highlights: • Florida Senator Marco Rubio has lately offered vigorous climate denialism. “Our climate is always changing,” he said, noting that human activity has nothing to do with it and that efforts to do something about it “will destroy our economy.”

• Texas Senator Ted Cruz is emphatically convinced the whole thing is a hoax. He told CNN this year, “Contrary to all the theories they are expounding, there should have been warming over the past 15 years. It hasn’t happened.” (Actually it has, as explained above.)

• Kentucky Senator Rand Paul said in a recent interview that the earth goes through periods of time when the climate changes, but he’s “not sure anybody knows exactly why.”

• Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed, advocating more production of fossil fuels, saying that President Obama “must put energy prices and energy independence ahead of zealous left-wing environmental theory.”

• Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed a “no climate tax” pledge, promising not to support any legislation that would raise taxes to combat climate change.

• Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush has in the past cast himself as a skeptic if not outright denier. “I think global warming may be real,” he said in 2011, but added, “It is not unanimous among scientists that it is disproportionately man-made.”

• Former Pennsylvania Senator Rich Santorum says global warming is “a beautifully concocted scheme” by liberals.

• Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee once supported the Republican-created, market-based capand-trade system, which successfully reduced acid rain.

He now strongly denies ever having done so.

Of all the potential presidential nominates, only New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has not disavowed his earlier unequivocal position. He said in 2011, “When you have over 90 percent of the world’s scientists who have studied this, stating that climate change is occurring and that humans play a contributing role, it’s time to defer to the experts.”

Now, just why is it that nearly every Republican presidential wannabe has decided that climate change is not real? It is very hard not to conclude- it’s all about the money. Since the Supreme Court opened the floodgates to virtually unlimited campaign contributions often secretly donated, significantly more than a billion dollars will be needed to get elected president in 2016. And Republican candidates expect to receive much of their money from the oil, gas and coal industries—which, by curious coincidence, just don’t happen to recognize climate change either.

Yet it seems to me that, given the scientific evidence and with the future of the planet at stake, anyone denying the existence of man-made climate change is demonstrably not fit to be president.

This commentary originally appeared in the Rutland Herald/Montpelier Times Argus on May 25, 2014.

Barrie Dunsmore is a journalist who covered foreign affairs for ABC News for 30 years. His commentaries are also featured on VPR. He lives in Charlotte.

PUBLIC MEETINGS Selectboard Regular Meetings are usually at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall on the second and fourth Mondays of each month. Sometimes they begin earlier; check online at charlottevt.org or with the Town Clerk (425-3071). Chair: Lane Morrison (4252495), Matthew Krasnow (922-2153), Ellie Russell (425-5276), Charles Russell (425-4757), Fritz Tegatz (425-5564). CCS School Board Regular Meetings are usually at 6:30 p.m. at CVU on the third Tuesday of each month. Chair Kristin Wright (425-5105), Clyde Baldwin (425-3366), Susan

On the cover

a Bee daNCes aToP a flower looKiNg for NeCTar. PhoTo By KaryN luNde.

Nostrand (425-4999), Erik Beal (425-2140), Mark McDermott (425-4860). Planning Commission Regular Meetings are usually at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall on the first and third Thursdays of each month. Chair Jeffrey McDonald (425-4429), Vice Chair Peter Joslin, Gerald Bouchard, Paul Landler, Linda Radimer, Donna Stearns, Marty Illick.

Committee meetings are listed on the town website.

Check times and agendas online or by phone; for the town: charlottevt.org, Town Hall, 425-3071 or 4253533; for CCS: ccsvt.us, CSSU office, 383-1234.

Next issue deadlines NexT issue daTe: Thurs., juNe 19 CoNTriBuTioNs: moN., juNe 9 By 5 P.m. leTTers: moN., juNe 16, By 10 a.m.

The Charlotte News • June 5, 2014 • 3

Commentary School Taxes and Consolidation: We Have Time To Consider Nancy Wood The CharloTTe News Charlotters are concerned about high property taxes: 62 percent of the respondents to the recent Charlotte News Town Plan Survey included property taxes among the top three issues facing the town. Some suggest increasing the tax base with more commercial growth as a solution. A few suggest school district consolidation as a solution. Most throw up their hands and say, “Do something about it!”

The Selectboard can “do something” about the municipal part of the tax bill, and the board spends many hours each fall crafting the town budget. Voters also can do something by revising or rejecting that budget at Town Meeting. And, yes, more business activity in our town center and commercial districts would increase the Grand List a bit, spreading the municipal tax burden over more property.

But the municipal portion is only about ten percent of Charlotters’ property tax bills. The bulk of the bill is for education, and the education property tax is a statewide tax. It is not set locally. The CCS and CVU school boards develop budgets that we vote on, but there is not a direct relationship between the budgets and the rates. Leaner budgets do translate into relatively lower residential tax rates but

have no impact on the nonresidential rate. town would help. Decreasing enrollment The Legislature, with the consent of the is the trend in Charlotte, as elsewhere in governor, has complete control over the the state, causing an increase in operateducation property tax rates. ing costs per student. The state’s funding In March, the CCS School Board pre- formula is not based on our total budget, sented a budget with a modest 2.1-percent but rather on the per-student cost. If there increase for the 2014-2015 school year. were just another 14 students at CCS But according to the estimates available (assuming they could be absorbed in the from the state at that time, the budget budget as approved), there would be no would have meant a 5.3-percent increase increase in the residential tax rate this in taxes. The voters passed it anyway by a year! small margin. Months later, after considWhat about school district consolidaerable horse-trading between House and tion? Would that reduce property taxes in Senate, the Legislature finally approved Charlotte? And what would we have to rates that are a bit lower. So our CCS bud- give up to make that happen? get, going up just 2.1 percent, will result The bill that the Legislature considered in a residenthis year tial tax rate would have that is going done away up “only” 3.2 with the If there were just another 14 percent. local school students at CCS (assuming W o u l d boards and broadening transferred they could be absorbed in the the tax base ownership budget as approved), there in Charand conlotte with trol of local would be no increase in the more busischools to ness growth new Expandresidential tax rate this year! reduce these ed Districts rates? No. (EDs). In There are our case, our good reasons to increase economic activ- ED would have probably been the same ity—jobs, services for residents, a livelier towns and schools as we now have in town center—but this isn’t one of them. our Chittenden South Supervisory Union.

The statewide tax rates are based on There would have been one budget for the statewide equalized Grand List (plus pre-kindergarten to 12th grade education other sources of revenue), and Charlotte’s in the district, one board with representaGrand List is too small a part of the state tion from each of the towns, and votes list for a reasonable amount of growth to would have been commingled as they are have any impact on the statewide rate. On now for CVU. There would be no way the other hand, several more IBMs, any- for our Charlotte representatives to know where in the state, would have an impact. how Charlotte residents voted, and our So what can we do to reduce property representatives would be a small minority taxes? Attracting a few more families to on the larger board.

Got Something to Say?

Letter Rep. Yantachka announces re-election bid It has been an honor and a privilege to serve Charlotte and Hinesburg residents as your state representative for the past four years. The work has been challenging, and I appreciate the responsibility with which I have been entrusted by you.

I want to take this opportunity to let you know that I am running for re-election, and I am asking for your support to serve another term. Two-way communication with constituents is a key factor in being a good representative, and I have tried to keep you informed with my weekly articles.

I always appreciate the emails, letters and phone calls I receive from you, and they, along with your participation in the annual Doyle Poll at Town Meeting, help to inform my decisions at the Statehouse.

All staff, including teachers, would have become employees of the ED. There would be one teachers’ contract and the possibility of moving teachers from school to school as needed. Restructuring of schools and grades within schools would be at the will of the ED board.

The bill suggested that school choice could become more available within the ED, and that with a more unified system there would be improvements in education delivery and savings through more efficient use of personnel and in purchasing of supplies and equipment. Also, data about performance and costs would be collected statewide in a consistent fashion for analysis on the state level. Efficiencies of scale on a statewide basis could help stabilize the total cost of education and help reduce statewide rates.

But is this the only way to achieve improvements in education and savings to the taxpayers? Could similar improvements and efficiencies be accomplished with our current governance structure?

A month ago, many hoped the Legislature would not act on the proposed school district consolidation bill, but rather allow more time for discussion at the local level. After many hours of debate in both House and Senate, the bill was left in the dustbin. So now we have time to consider how Charlotte and Vermont schools can provide a 21st- century education for all students at a reasonable cost to taxpayers.

Rep. Mike Yantachka has scheduled a gathering tonight (Thursday, June 5) at the Senior Center (7–8:30 pm) on school funding and governance to jumpstart that discussion. It should be an interesting meeting.

I have worked hard to support working Vermonters, the environment, our business community, public health and safety, universal access to health care and good educational opportunities for our children, and I will continue to do so. I look forward over the next few months to exchanging ideas with you to help me do my job better.

I’d like to start by inviting you to a roundtable discussion about education funding and governance on Thursday, June 5, at the Senior Center beginning at 7 p.m.. Future roundtable discussions will consider other topics. Look to Front Porch Forum for reminders. Thanks for your attention.

The Charlotte News accepts all signed letters pertaining to issues of local and national interest. Letters must be 300 words or fewer, include your full name and town, and reach us by the appropriate deadline. Writers will only have letters published once every four weeks. The Charlotte News reserves the right to edit for style and length. Your submission options are news@charlottenewsvt.com or The Charlotte News, P.O. Box 251, Charlotte, VT 05445.

All opinions expressed in Letters and Commentaries are those of the writers and not of The Charlotte News, which is published as an independent, nonprofit, unbiased community service and forum.

HELPING CLIENTS MAKE SMART DECISIONS WITH THEIR MONEY

W

e help a select group of individuals

Mike Yantachka State Representative Charlotte, Hinesburg

going through transitions, due to

death, divorce, inheritance and retirement— make smart decisions with their money that are aligned with their values and goals.

We do this by using a consultative

The Charlotte News Annual Fundraiser YES! I would like to support The Charlotte News for the coming year in keeping us informed, entertained and in touch with our town and neighbors. Enclosed is my check in the following amount: $__________

Antoine T. Williams, AAMS Wealth Manager AAMS , CDFA Cer tified Divorce Financial Analyst Financial Planner Wealth Manager

process to identify where they are now, where they want to go, and any gaps for getting there.

We then work with a network of professional advisors, such as accountants and attorneys, to help our clients make informed decisions to increase the probability of them achieving

Name ________________________________ E-mail________________________ Address ___________________________________________________________ I prefer to remain anonymous. Do not thank me publicly in The Charlotte News.

Please make your check payable to: The Charlotte News and mail to P.O. Box 251,Charlotte

802-985-8808

their goals.

2997 Shelburne Road Shelburne, VT 05482 Antoine@AntoineWilliamsAndAssoc.com www.AntoineWilliamsAndAssoc.com Securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advice offered through Private Advisor Group, a registered investment advisor. Private Advisor Group and Antoine Williams & Associates Financial Services are separate entities from LPL Financial.

The Charlotte News

on

Lens the

Charlotte land trust

Land

Bob Hyams recently took this picture of the Varney Barn as part of a Charlotte Land Trustsponsored photographic workshop headed by Jonathan Hart of Amazing VT Photography, LLC. Located just off Route 7 in the northern end of Charlotte, the Varney property borders on conserved land under the Charlotte Park and Refuge project (Demeter land). The barn and surrounding land is high enough to give beautiful vistas of the lake and Adirondacks to the west and the Green Mountains to the east.

Lens on the Land, sponsored by the Charlotte Land Trust (CLT), is a monthly Charlotte News feature showing the beauty of Charlotte throughout the year. CLT encourages anyone to submit photos to info@charlottelandtrust.org where all submissions will be judged and one selected for publication. Please include a description of where the land is located and why it matters to you.

Charlotte Listers Set Grievance Hearings for June 19 Personal Service, Professional Results Michael T. Russell — Member Attorney Serving Charlotte for 15 Years Business Formation & Consulting Construction, Development & Subdivision Real Estate Transactions Wills & Trusts (802) 264-4888 www.peasemountainlaw.com mrussell@peasemountainlaw.com 823 Ferry Road, Suite 100 Charlotte, Vermont

The Charlotte Board of Listers has lodged the abstract of the Grand List for the tax year 2014 with the town clerk. According to state law, “A person who feels aggrieved by the action of the listers and desires to be heard by them, shall, on or before the day of the grievance meeting, file with them his objections in writing and may appear at such grievance meeting in person or by his agents or attorneys” (32V.S.A sec. 4111).

The next grievance hearings will be held at the Charlotte Town Hall on Thursday, June 19, from 10 a.m. to noon and 1–4 p.m. Appellants should be prepared to present evidence and documentation.

Grievances are heard by appointment only and the appointments are 15 minutes.

The deadline for calling to schedule an appointment is 4 p.m. Wednesday, June 18.

To make an appointment for grievance or for further information, please call the Lister office at 425-3855. Emails for appointments will not be accepted.

The Charlotte News

Town to Pay Back Employees for Missed Pay Selectboard tackles pay policies at Monday meeting John Hammer The CharloTTe News The Selectboard meeting of June 2 was consumed for the most part with discussions surrounding the passage of amendments to the town’s personnel policy dealing with holiday and leave benefits. Since Town Meeting in March, the Selectboard has undertaken a marathon review of the town’s personnel and pay policies. In fact, it continues to meet on an almost weekly basis in working through these issues.

The analysis of holiday and leave policies led Selectman Charles Russell to discover discrepancies in the holiday and leave pay of four employees.

These discrepancies, through no fault of the employees, resulted in their being underpaid a total of $13,025. Russell computed all the back pay owed, and the first motion at this meeting approved the paying of this back pay as a bonus. Funds for this payment will be drawn from the Selectboard’s unanticipated expenditure line item. Now

that all holiday and leave pay issues have been resolved, the New England Municipal Resource Center (NEMRC) personnel-tracking software can be initialized.

The second board action in this regard approved changing the wording in the personnel policies to clear up the ambiguities that resulted in earlier pay irregularities. These changes will take effect after the town’s attorney has approved them. In an accompanying action the board approved the wording in the town’s time-sheet procedures to refine the actions necessary to account for holiday and leave taken.

In a quick action, the board authorized Carol Conard’s application to apply for a Wastewater System and Potable Water Supply Permit for 260 North Shore Road on Thompson’s Point. This will allow her to move a guest bedroom from her main camp to an accessory building.

Finally, the Selectboard approved an agreement for Tim Hunt, prospective buyer for the Varney farm, to amend the town easement and right of way from the south border of the farm property to one to the north. He wishes to relocate the farmhouse, which will become his residence, to the south of the barn where the shed is presently located. His worry is that the southern trail easement would pass too close to his dwelling.

Therefore, he had proposed that the easement be re-routed to the north to be away from the house and barn. This action allows him to proceed with the permitting process.

Take Your Best Shot: Enter the News’ Peter Coleman Photo Contest

Chris Falk’s “Waiting for the School Bus on Ferry Road” won last year’s Charlotte People category.

The Charlotte News invites amateur photographers of all ages to enter its 9th annual Peter Coleman Photo Contest, held in honor of the renowned Charlotte photographer and one-time editor of the News who passed away in 2006.

There are four categories this year: “Wonders of Charlotte,” “Animals,” “Charlotte People” and “Landscape” Please limit your entries to no more than one per category with a maximum of three photos per person.

The deadline for submissions is June 30, and winning photographs will be displayed at the Town Party on July 12. Nancy Wood is coordinating the contest this year, so full-size, high-resolution jpg files should be sent directly to her e-mail address, nwood@gmavt.net.

Include with each photo your name, address, telephone number, age if under 18, a description of the subject/location of the photo and the date taken. (Note: By submitting a photograph you will be giving the Charlotte News permission to print it in the paper and on its website and its Facebook page. Please obtain permission for publication from any person—or the parents of children—photographed.)

Let the contest begin!

The Charlotte News

Charlotte’s Web Brett Sigurdson

The CharloTTe News

If one were to break down three surveys offered to Charlotters around the time of the last major Town Plan rewrites (1994, 1999 and 2014, respectively) into a simple, all-encompassing theme, it would be something along the lines of that old saying, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

Or, mostly the same—until this year, that is.

Surveys can tell us only so much— especially when less than five percent of the population participates in one—but they can also reveal a lot. In the case of these three surveys it is this: Charlotters are fiercely protective of the town’s rural nature as the town moves into the

future; the desires for more business and development expressed by many in these surveys over the last 30 years remain that—desires.

According to the results of this year’s survey, however, more residents than ever are serious about seeing Charlotte’s leaders bridge the divide between promoting more business and demographic growth and maintaining Charlotte’s rural character.

In order to understand the theme of these three surveys, it’s important to understand a central truism about Charlotte, one expressed and confirmed through all three surveys: this is a place where the rural, the scenic, the agrarian have taken precedence over density, demographics and convenience. Indeed, sprawl and

(Above) Responses to the question “What would you like to see in Charlotte that isn’t here now?”

(Right) Responses to the question “What are the three biggest issues facing Charlotte now?”

Chapter three:

A Tale of Three Surveys

development are often seen as contrary to the identity of this place. “[Charlotters] want it to stay Real. Local. Simple,” says the summary of the 1994 survey.

This survey, called the Charlotte Village Survey, was conducted by the Planning Commission in March 1994 as a way to investigate Charlotters’ desires for development in the West Village. A total of 214 residents responded to the 14-question survey.

According to Dana Farley, a Planning Commissioner at the time, a majority of Charlotters expressed apprehension toward the idea of developing the West Village area—this at a time before the library, town hall and post office had been built.

“Perhaps the most strongly voiced opinion on this question was that there should be no further growth or development in the village at all,” wrote Farley in a report about the survey. “Charlotte residents firmly express that there should be no growth or development which jeopardizes the existing character of the Village in any way.”

However, the next largest group of survey respondents—no actual figures were provided in the survey report— stated they would endorse “very limited development” in the village that would allow for small-scale commercial businesses like a drug store, restaurant, hardware store and bakery, among others.

Interestingly, in a nod to just how insular to outside development some Charlotters were at the time, several people wanted “development which serves local people as opposed to the type of development which attracts people regionally or even tourists,” according to the survey results.

The 1994 survey also captures sentiments about pedestrian accommodations and speeding that are still apparent 30 years later. “Many residents think that it is dangerous and often frightening to walk around the Village … because of the speed of the cars and lack of pedestrian walkways,” states the report.

Further, the report states the “lack of sidewalks and places to sit, as well as the traffic speed, make the Village less inviting than it otherwise might be.”

Five years later, the Planning Commission compiled another survey to gauge Charlotters’ sentiments on the future of the town to coincide with the rewrite of the 2000 Town Plan.

A total of 123 people responded.

Just as in 1994, Charlotters were intent on maintaining open spaces and combating sprawl resulting from development and uncontrolled growth. Asked to rank the top three issues, a majority of respondents (37 percent) cited “development/ growth/sprawl” as the most pressing issue facing Charlotte at the cusp of the new millennium. High property taxes ranked second, with 23 percent calling it the most important issue. In terms of the second and third biggest problems facing the town then, loss of farms/rural character/ maintaining open space were mentioned the most.

Other results to the 1999 survey add to a sense that Charlotte should maintain its quiet quality of life. The most commonly cited answer for what brought new residents to Charlotte was “natural beauty/ rural character/country quality of life.”

Thirty-two percent cited “rural character/small-town feel” as the reason they stayed in Charlotte, with 25 percent adding Charlotte’s natural beauty and open spaces kept them here.

However, to the question of what Charlotters would like to see in town, a total of 39 percent of respondents mentioned more businesses for services and local

The Charlotte News • June 5, 2014 • 7 employment, with 13 percent of those their towns! How? Create infrastructure expressed in the 1994 and 1999 surveys desirous of commercial services like a to assist with lack of septic. Create zoning as ultimately bad for the town. grocery, pharmacy and hardware store. plan/incentives to enable Burns & LeB“The protectionism in our zoning laws Just as in 1994, though, this opinion oeuf property to be developed as mixed is outdated,” said one respondent. “The seemed an outlier. Despite the desire by use of small commercial and clustered businesses we have are not providing some to see more development in Char- housing.” what a lot of us would like, and keeping lotte, exactly half of all respondents said This jibes with questions that asked other businesses out of Charlotte is not they would like to see Charlotte preserve its natural beauty, open spaces and farms in 2010.

Fast forward 15 years to the present, and the inward view of Charlotte has shifted, at least according to results of the 2014 Charlotte News Town Plan Survey, which 121 people responded to over the course of February and March of this year.

While preserving Charlotte’s rural character is still a prominent goal among many who took the survey—28 percent cited protecting against too much development as a top priority for the 2015 Town Plan—a majority of people cited taxes and the cost of living in Charlotte as the biggest issues facing the town now. A word cloud captures the prevlance of certain words mentioned in response to the quesAccording to the survey, 62 per- tion “How would you describe Charlotte at this moment in time,” which appeared in the cent feel taxes, particularly the recent Charlotte News Town Plan Survey. school budget, are among the most critical issues facing Charlotte right now. Several, when asked to what Charlotters would like to see in forcing us to patronize them—we’re just provide the three biggest issues current- town now. Fifty percent said they would taking our business elsewhere and some ly facing Charlotte, said simply “taxes, like to see more businesses and housing other town is getting the benefit of our taxes, taxes.” development in the villages, specifically a sales tax. We simply aren’t a town full Some respondents to the 2014 survey restaurant. Others mentioned a desire for of farmers anymore, and it’s silly to keep noted they see the town’s aging popula- a café/pub, pharmacy, grocery store and acting like we are. We can’t afford to contion demographic and lack of services as bank. As opposed to 20 years ago, this tinue funding CCS and not developing a a contributor to this. In a quote indica- time when asked to envision the future of commercial tax base.” tive of many respondents’ sentiments, Charlotte 15 years from now, many in the And, just as is the past surveys, other one survey taker said, “Keep working 2014 survey pointed to a desire for more desires expressed in 2014 are bike/walkto preserve open/agricultural land but development. ing paths and sidewalks, more afford[we] need to ‘promote’ scaled growth In fact, some who championed more able and elderly housing, and combatting in Village Center to provide services for business in Charlotte cited strict zon- speeding. Some things don’t change. residents. People want basic services in ing laws and the anti-growth sentiments In the end, what can the Charlotters take

Sweet Charity

from the results of these three surveys?

Given the small amount of respondents relative to the overall population and the lack of scientific rigor with which these surveys were conducted, can we write these results off as insignificant? Perhaps. (According to Farley, some in the 1994 survey called planning a “flatlander process,” stating, “Village planning and surveys are dreamed up by people ‘with too much time on their hands.’”) Or is the fact that the divide between development and growth over the last 30 years seems to be shrinking significant?

Perhaps the answer lies in how Charlotters view the town. One question in the 2014 survey asked to describe Charlotte at this moment in time. Some spoke of its beauty—“It’s is a privilege to get to live in such a beautiful place and I think most towns people feel this way,” said one person—while others spoke to a perceived darkness below the views: “Pretty nice on the outside, needs work on the inside.”

But by far the main sentiment is Charlotte is in transition toward something other than what it once was, and some expressed apprehension at this. Will Charlotters bridge the divide between development and conservation? It will take more than a survey to tell.

To see all of the respondents’ answers to the Charlotte News Town Plan Survey, as well as the 1994 and 1999 surveys, visit http://charlottestownplan.wordpress. com. There you’ll also find our Charlotte’s Web articles on the Town Plan rewrite as well as drafts of the new Town Plan as they are available.

Note: Nancy Wood contributed to this report by providing data analysis of the survey results.

PROCEEDS HELP SUPPORT Hospice Volunteer Services AND

Women of Wisdom

Whether you’re moving or simply REDECORATING, please consider donating to Sweet Charity

Help by donating... dishes, artwork, bookcases, lamps glassware, furniture, books, tables, rugs...

www.sweetcharityvt.com

A full-service law firm, Primmer represents a wide range of clients in the public, private, government and non-profit sectors.

Our clients include individuals as well as companies in all stages of growth and development from entrepreneurs and start-ups to established family businesses and large corporations.

With a regional presence and more than forty attorneys, our experienced professionals deliver practical and effective legal e representation in an increasingly complex business environment.

Contact Gary Franklin at gfranklin@primmer.com

The Charlotte News

The Humbled Parent Congrats!

Now What?

Sera Anderson Contributor You have been discharged. They released you from the hospital and gave you the go ahead to be parents. You have now joined the “club,” the secret society of the young and old, the rich, the poor, the sleep deprived, the panicstricken and the naïve.

You are now supposed to take this helpless, fully dependent, wrinkly little stranger into your home and take on full responsibility for the next 18 years.

You had better treat it better than you did that calla lily that your mother-inlaw gave you two months ago. And you will. You’ve got this. You’ve been dog owners for the past four years, right?

You are home. You’ve walked through that front door. You’ve set baby on the floor. Great, now what? What are you suppose to do with it? Do you feed it? Is it hungry? Did it poop yet? Where is that poop checklist? Let’s get out the baby manual.

They (whoever that is) say that babies don’t come with manuals. Well, I beg to differ. Mine did. It came with an online manual: Google. I can’t tell you how many times, in sleep deprivation, pure exhaustion and bewilderment, I Googled things into the wee hours of the night. (Photos of poop, average hours of sleep for a newborn, baby acne, crusty scalp, newborn fingernails, breastfeeding, colic, etc.) The Internet was a quick

path into the world of where others had entered and come out alive. It was a place where I could find help without incessantly calling the hospital or the pediatrician’s office and filling up valuable voicemail boxes. So, yes, Google some. However, be wary of what you read lest you give your baby West Nile virus, Gardner syndrome or rabies.

Newborns are little chameleons.

They begin as bloated, wrinkly little cone heads or scaly aliens. But don’t be distraught. If you wait a few days, they change drastically. They go from looking like a shaved sphinx to a scaly frog in such a short amount of time. Trust me. Look back at your photos. That is, if you were able to rally the time and energy to document this madness in your sleep-deprived state of mind.

And, no matter what they look like at the time, they are still the most beautiful things you have ever laid eyes upon.

And hands down, your baby is the bestlooking baby you have ever seen. Thank you, biology.

Also, move over waterboarding, there is sleep deprivation. You will never sleep the same and you will never get enough of it, at least in the beginning.

As long as you can accept that you will be better off for the long haul. I had months and months of broken sleep until Caden finally slept “through the night”—five hours in a row—at 13 months old. I somehow functioned, but I was always operating in a state of fog.

In the end, I was getting pretty dippy and began to feel like I was entering into some type of mental illness. I would forget things; I couldn’t concentrate on anything, and I had forgotten my age.

And that Nap Nanny that costs a hundred

RESIDENTIAL

COMMERCIAL

Featuring Environmentally Friendly Flooring Solutions

802-658-9336

Caden, the author’s son, as a newborn.

dollars? It does not deliver more sleep, no matter what it says on the packaging.

Not for us anyways. But in foggy desperation I was willing to purchase anything that promised and delivered more sleep. So, let’s just hope you are one of those parents that has to wake their child to eat during the night while afterwards silently drifting off to little chameleon slumber land.

Warning: This next paragraph is graphic and not for the non-parent-type.

I read somewhere that newborns were the number one producer of crude oil. I think they might have a case. Babies are ticking grenades, explosive and secretive. It all comes out—sometimes when you least expect it and sometimes all at once. I had never thought excrement could come in such volumes and in such an array of textures, colors and scents.

And meconium? That black napalm that shoots out the backside? Yes, to answer your question, it really was designed to punish new parents. Don’t let that get on anything or else you will need heavy duty Poo Gone to get it out.

Babies will cry. Some cry a lot, some not so much. Our baby was labeled as

colicky; it just made us feel better that we had an answer.

Or shall I say “no answer.” My husband would take the baby for a few hours every night so I could lay down for a bit and get some sleep. I remember he would walk up the stairs, around the couch, into the sunroom, around the couch again and back down the stairs. He did this from 8 to 11 p.m., bouncing and shhhhing Caden as he bellowed, blared and roared. As tired as I was, it was always hard to relax and get some shut-eye.

No cry cuts deeper into a mom than her baby’s cry, and it’s such a challenge to figure out why. They cry because they are hungry, they cry when they are tired or cold, they cry because it’s Tuesday, they cry because they have clothes on and because it’s really bright out here, they just cry, and ours did a whole lot of it.

Lastly, all of those snuggles, cuddles and kisses will be the bandaid to all of the above. I promise. It will make all of the wrinkles, smells, bellows, confusion and sleep deprivation all worth it. Something biology got right again.

Something you won’t need to Google because you are going to go with your gut on this one. Snuggle and cuddle to your heart’s content—Love-LoveLove. You have been given one of life’s most precious gifts.

Congratulations. You are going to be great parents.

Charlotter Sera Anderson is the current Mrs. Vermont America. A former business owner, she is now a stay-at-home mom.

The Charlotte News

The Library Garden is Growing

A total of seven volunteers worked to plant this year’s edible garden at the Charlotte Library over Memorial Day weekend. The garden is a collaborative effort spearheaded by Transition Town Charlotte.

Ruah Swennerfelt Contributor Early on Memorial Day morning, seven hearty folks helped plant the edible garden by the Charlotte Library.

Transition Town Charlotte began this garden in collaboration with the library in 2012 to respond to the national Transition US’s challenge to convert public lawns into food production. The Transition US “Community Resilience Challenge” includes participants all over the country. Each year the story, with photos, is reported on the organization’s website. All the surplus food is donated to the Charlotte Food Shelf.

This garden was made possible because of wonderful community support. Jim Manchester rototilled the plot, Steven Wisbaum provided compost, and Charles Russell donated bales of mulch hay. Their contributions are much appreciated.

Abby Foulk (aka The Compost Lady) provided a compost bin with organic materials to keep filling it all summer. The bin is for the food scraps of town employees and others picnicking there instead of the valuable compost material ending up in the landfill.

In fact, Abby has secured a grant for the bins and support from the town to make sure food waste is composted at all public events. She has also worked her compost magic at CCS, where they now compost food waste from the cafeteria and plant gardens.

This year, in addition to potatoes, green beans and tomatoes, we planted lettuce, flowers and five blueberry bushes. We heartily thank Will Pelkey for his generosity for the blueberry bushes. Last year, children visiting the library enjoyed the cherry tomatoes, and this year they’ll love the blueberries. Next year we’re hatching a plot to plant raspberries (pun intended).

This year Transition Town Charlotte is collaborating with the Charlotte Congregational Church to plant a food garden on part of their lawn. During the summer children will learn about growing food, donating to those in need, and about good stewardship of land. What a wonderful outgrowth of our 2012 beginnings.

Those hearty souls digging and planting that morning were Charlie and Margaret Woodruff, Dora Coates, Wolfger Schneider, Mike Yantachka, Louis Cox and me. It didn’t take us long. Remember the old adage that “many hands make work light.” We were fortunate to have a break in the rain just at the right time. We laughed while we worked and felt accomplished when done. We stood back and appreciated the satisfaction of providing food for those in need.

Stop by the garden, pick a tomato or a blueberry or maybe even a weed or two and revel in the miracle of the transformation from seed to plant to food!

You can find out more about Transition Town Charlotte at transitioncharlottevt.org.

DOES YOUR CAT DRINK EVERYTHING IN SIGHT ?

Increased water consumption in cats can be a symptom of an illness such as diabetes, kidney disease, hyperthyroidism and others.

Affectionately Cats Feline Veterinar y Hospital and Boarding Suites

860 - CATS (2287)

George & Pam Darling P.O. Box 32 Ferry Road, Charlotte, VT gdarling@gmavt.net

Inn

continued from page 1

Philo Inn’s five suites. From a bed frame made with 200-year-old wood from a local barn to Vermont-sourced marble to breakfast baskets consisting of local eggs and meat, each suite is high end, filled with art and fine modern touches that play off original features of the hotel—all with a touch of Vermont.

All of this has given many, including Fodor’s, reason to call the boutique hotel one of the best small hotels in Vermont.

Such is the new identity of the Mt. Philo Inn, which for the first time in 50 years began taking overnight guests last year: a place for out-of-towners with a local focus. Nowhere is this more apparent than in its recent addition of arts programs.

Through it, they’re hoping to be a bigger part of the community.

From 1896 to 1960, the Mt. Philo Inn was a traditional inn that welcomed visitors from all over to stay in the main house, cabins and tents. But with the rise of chain motels, business at the inn declined, and it was sold. In 1970, the inn was purchased by a collective that formed a kind of commune there.

Once the Garboses purchased the Mt. Philo Inn, they set about making changes to it, updating it, moving it ever so slowly toward what it is now.

The concerts are a kind of link to the past, to the days when the art and intellectual engagement filled the ballroom.

For Garbose, they’re a chance to bring the community into the inn to see what they’ve done with the place. Charlotter Stephen Kiernan played the first concert.

Since then, the Mt. Philo Inn has hosted ten concerts, all with local connections, including Paul Asbell, Matteo Palmer, Woedoggies and Mayfly and the Hokum Bros, fronted by Charlotter Woody Kep-

pel, who calls the ballroom “soulful and spiritual.”

“It’s wonderful in that, for one, the sound resonates so well in that room because of the old wood and the way that it’s constructed,” said Keppel, who has played the ballroom close to a dozen times.

“But there’s just a real great vibe, a real soul.”

“People love playing here—it’s a great, intimate environment,” said Garbose, who added that several musicians have told him the ballroom was one of the top five venues they’ve played. There’s even a waiting list of musicians hoping to play there.

The Garboses see the series as a kind of salon, a place where people can meet and share ideas, and they’re hoping to bring in educational programs like lectures, featuring people like Robert Nickelsberg, the prominent photojournalist who spoke at the Mt. Philo Inn recently (see story on page 10).

Dave Garbose hopes to bring more local art to the Mt. Philo Inn in other ways. He and Jane envision install an art-installation garden, for one. More lectures and concerts are on the horizon come fall, too, said Garbose, and perhaps other entertaining surprises as well.

“We like to keep things interesting,” he said.

As a performer, Keppel is grateful to have a place in Charlotte to perform with the Hokum Bros.

“The Garboses are patrons of the arts,” he said. “It’s a joy to play there because they’ve turned it into a wonderful venue and they get wonderful people to come there who appreciate the arts.”

Just before he leaves to pick up supplies for the night’s show, Garbose looks down from a porch off the west wing of the building to the community below.

“We like to show off Vermont,” he says of the inn. “We like to show off Charlotte, and that has allowed this to become a special place.”

Redesigned. Reimagined.

And finally revealed.

Nothing was overlooked in the complete redesign of the Volvo XC60, inside or out. Introductions include all-new sport seats, and Adaptive Digital Display, a new body design and innovative safety technologies, just to name a few.

THE COMPLETELY REIMAGINED VOLVO XC60.

Photographing a Forgotten War Robert Nickelsberg, a part-time Charlotte resident, shared his experiences as a photojournalist covering the Middle East at the Mt. Philo Inn recently.

Emma Slater The CharloTTe News

In March 1994, photojournalist Robert Nickelsberg was standing on the second story of an abandoned building in the battered business district of Kabul.

From his vantage point he observed several Jamiat fighters in a dispute over a looted television set when one man lowered his rifle and shot another colleague in the midsection. Nickelsberg was able to capture an image as the wounded man was carried away by his comrades in a wheelbarrow.

When asked how he is able to operate in this volatile environment, Nickelsberg, who has covered wartorn areas for publications such as Time magazine, the New Yorker and the New York Times, explained, “It’s normal. I go looking for this stuff. You know the

expression, ‘be careful what you wish for.’ Very often I found it. It is often counter intuitive.”

This story is just one of many that Nickelsberg described in his book Afghanistan: A Distant War, which he discussed with a group on May 16 at the Mount Philo Inn. Although Nickelsburg currently lives with his wife in Brooklyn, his family has spent time in Charlotte for many summers.

Afghanistan: A Distant War portrays a chronological, photographic view of Afghanistan from the Soviet withdrawal in 1988 to present day. These photos are augmented by intermittent essays by experts in the field and reflections

by Nickelsberg himself. The premise of the book, as indicated by the title, is to address the issue of a gap between foreign cognizance of Middle Eastern conflict and the significance of events that have occurred in the past 25 years. His book provides a poignant and expansive documentation of the context that Nickelsberg believes is critical to understanding the post 9/11 world.

Nickelsberg acquired this breadth of knowledge while working as a contract photojournalist for Time magazine, covering conflicts in Kashmir, Iraq, Sri Lanka, India and Afghanistan.

Nickelsberg’s ability to witness Afghanistan’s progression all the way from the initial withdrawal of Soviet forces in 1988 to the ensuing growth of the Taliban to

L

Robert Nickelsberg the U.S. invasion in 2001 has given him a profound understanding of the events that transpired.

He also found that living in close proximity to the region he was working in appealed to him personally and professionally. Instead of the peripatetic lifestyle associated with journalism, Nickelsberg opted to extend his stay in the region after assignments. This allowed him to find continuity between stories, building a more holistic understanding of the region by immersion.

During an interview before his lecture, he explained that, “There’s a lot going on in the shadows that affects the destiny of a country’s progress. To understand Afghanistan, you need to understand Pakistan.

To understand Pakistan, you need to understand India.

It’s all one big region. It’s complicated. It’s multilayered.”

Nickelsberg believes that the intricacies of Afghanistan are difficult for journalists to understand when they arrive and then leave within a few weeks. He describes the identity of Afghanistan as four to five ethnic groups,

ANDSHAPES landscape design & installation

Shaping Vermont’s landscape since 1992.

-Spring clean-ups & estate services - woodlands management & invasive species removal - landscape design & installations 802.434.3500

www.landshapes.net

The Charlotte News

A photo from Nickelsberg's book. Afghanistan: A Distant War. more than a cohesive country.

Many of these ethnic factions have long histories in this region that direct modern-day conflict. The leaders in power will play off these longstanding sentiments to wield more power, often leaving civilians to bear the consequences. As a witness Nickelsburg felt that the ethnic fighting in Pakistan and the Hindu-Muslim riots in India were the most eye-opening because of his proximity to the conflict and its intensity.

“When it comes to ethnic riots or ethnic clashes, it can often turn very violent,” he said. “It doesn’t take much to spark a riot, and you can usually find out who gave the matches and who provided the gasoline. It can be found.”

Nickelsberg explained that the environment can be very cynical when the people in power seem to turn riots on and off with the flick of a switch. Often, he noted, it’s even more challenging to work in the cities than working on a front line, in a field, on a road or in the mountains. In a city, sounds echo off of the walls, making it easy to become

trapped as the conflict evolves.

“When you don’t know where the sounds are coming from and the echoes are in alley ways, you’re stuck, and you can’t like Spiderman jump to the top of a building and get out of it,” said Nickelsberg. “You’re very easily cornered by circumstance.”

Usually there are perpetrators in a mob, and they generally won’t allow media coverage. “Off to your left and right there may be fires, people attacked by swords, knives and occasionally guns,” Nickelsberg said. “Those are the victims that you want to get a picture of or at least talk to.”

In these situations he tries to focus on two things: finding the victims and finding an escape route. Although he recalls many tense moments, he and his colleagues have been able to negotiate out of them.

After viewing many of his photos at the presentation, an audience member remarked at how striking it is to consider that Nickelsberg himself is standing behind the camera in each shot. When viewers consider the great

sacrifices he makes to document these events, many wonder what compels him to be a war photographer. What would inspire a person to go to such lengths?

Nickelsburg considers “storyteller” his foremost role.

“To understand peace, you need to understand war and conflict and what makes someone pick up a gun in the first place,” he said. His mission is dictated by an intrinsic curiosity and a desire to provide viewers with a view of Afghanistan that is less filtered by political agendas.

In addition to storyteller, he explained that success in this intense environment requires one to be a good observer, communicator and a quiet listener. This is how a photographer is able to “learn the contours of a culture.” It is also important for a professional photojournalist to approach dangerous conditions with a firm grasp of their history.

Nickelsberg is uncertain about his projections for the future of Afghanistan, as the United States and NATO withdraw. However, he does believe that the situation will become even less predictable and secure as the latest elections settle. As troops leave there will also be a drop in demand for stories from that region, decreasing journalism coverage as well.

After spending several years on his book, Nickelsberg will start fresh by aiming his lens at India. He’s also interested in exploring urban areas of the United States which people feel challenged and where there is less of a safety net in place. Images from his current projects are available at his website robertnickelsberg.com.

Emma Slater is a CVU senior and current Charlotte News intern.

Caring for a healthy smile starts earlier than you may think.

From the time they start eating finger food, your children are ready to see a dentist. Our team includes the only board-certified pediatric dentists in Chittenden County, who have gone through years of specialized training, so your children can get the unique care they need for their one-of-a-kind smiles.

Visit us at timberlanedental.com.

General & Cosmetic Dentistry • Pediatric Dentistry • Orthodontics • Periodontics & Implant Dentistry

hawkcreekfence.com

“Endless Boundaries...”

(802) 425-7157

Conveniently located in South Burlington, Burlington, Essex Junction and Shelburne

OutTakes Commentary

by Edd Merritt

Take Me Out of the Board Game Got a beat-up glove, a home-made bat And a brand new pair of shoes You know I think it’s time to give this game a ride Just to hit the ball and touch ‘em all A moment in the sun It’s a-gone and you can tell that one good-bye Put me in, coach, I’m ready to play today “Centerfield”—John Fogerty

A recent Seven Days contained an article titled “Superintendent Shuffle: Why Vermont’s Top Jobs in Education Turn Over So Quickly.” The gist of the argument revolved around the recent legislation H.883, which, had it passed, would have reduced the number of school districts in the state from 273 to about 50.

Those against the bill feared the loss of local control. Those in favor, including a number of superintendents, said it was not only tough working for 25 or more bosses, but it also virtually killed their lives outside of superintendency with 150 evenings per year devoted to meetings. Our own Chittenden South (CSSU) superintendent reports to five town boards plus CVU. If they meet on different nights of the week, that

often leaves only Sunday for a quick Scotch before hitting the trail again on Monday.

Well, okay, so you buy into that knowingly, and, in fact, CSSU is probably better coordinated than many of its neighboring groups, particularly those tucked in the far reaches of the Kingdom. True “strangers in the Kingdom” may, in fact, be a collection of school boards. One of the arguments for H.883 is that fewer boards would require greater sharing of resources, reducing the stratification between districts regarding not only what is taught but also how it’s taught.

I wonder what might happen if sports operated like schools. As I watched bits of a Red Sox game last week, I asked myself, “What if the Sox were under local control?”

Here’s a possible scenario: A batter singles, and, as he leads off, looks for

bat are not particularly fast. Remedial sliding practice may be in order before heading to second.

And the public, in its infinite wisdom, wants more transparency in such decisions due to the high cost they shell out for seats under the stadium’s roof (not to mention beer prices).

So, given the existing situation and the facts of the case, the governing boards decide to call another meeting. As we know, public meetings require warnings well in advance of their occurrence, and the base-path boards are not allowed to gather—even around the Gatorade—on their own without public invitation.

Major league baseball’s corporate management, on the other hand, has become a Selectboard of sorts, organizing other boards to carry out the public’s wishes in the most expeditious and efficient manner possible. These baseball bigwigs want input into the matter, too.

But rather than join the bleacher crowd, they gather in skyboxes wired for computerized analysis of each pitch and hit.

They view the managers in the dugouts as simply accountants keeping track of data on players’ positive and negative positional stats while wondering where to spit their next cheek-full of pistachio shells.

In the meantime, the base runner receives a note from his union president saying that stealing second is in order since the players voted secretly last Tuesday to make steals an integral part of their repertoire that would offer

The board members in the dugout collect around the water cooler to determine whether an attempted steal of second may be in order.

Two are in favor, two against.

the signal—not from a base coach but from a governing board in the dugout. The board members in the dugout collect around the water cooler to determine whether an attempted steal of second may be in order. Two are in favor, two against. A fifth abstains because, as a player, he was thrown out 70 percent of the time and felt he couldn’t vote without bias. Both the base runner and the hitter coming to

high financial gain early in careers— less as legs age.

To say that the fans are on the edges of their seats during these discussions may be an overstatement. They are more likely to be up and heading for the bathroom while the local boards on the field deliberate.

Not everyone is so detached, though.

There always seems to be several vocal proponents of local control in the leftfield stands. Their arguments with fellow spectators, while not leading to a picketed strike on the field, often cause chaos around their seats. Hats, live squid or lobster land at the feet of the opponent’s outfielders. Some players call the grounds keepers to clear the lawn; others fire the often-smelly objects back at the perpetrators, causing the left-field governing board to meet and determine how to handle hecklers. As often as not, police arrive, read them their rights, cuff them and remind them that under Miranda they should remain silent until their attorneys appear.

Meanwhile, the game continues. The infield boards finally come to a consensus and free the runner to gambol at first and break toward second.

Detroit’s Tigers, and to some extent the Yankees, seem to have runners with the necessary resources. My hometown Twins, on the other hand, look as though they are climbing the Mississippi River bluffs in order to reach the next base. Such is life, I guess, under local control. You either beat the odds with superior physical strength or you go with what you got and hope for the best.

But hope alone seldom prevails; so to expand educational resources through broader redistricting may be the wave of the future. I know this goes against the grain for many Vermonters, but it can still combine with localvore foods to give us a taste of our countryside sprinkled with a touch of modernity—and, hopefully, a shorter line to the restroom.

The Charlotte News

Charlotte Senior Center

by Mary Recchia, Activities Coordinator

The Café Menu MONDAY, JUNE 9: Dueling soups. salad, bread and homemade dessert.

The June Art Exhibit will be works by WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11: Lighthearted Arts (the Friday morning art Sloppy Joe hamburgers, homegroup) with a theme of “I can’t draw a straight made dessert line!”

We’ve all heard or said this when asked MONDAY, JUNE 16: about artistic abilities—but really, who is the Watercress and watermelon judge of it? We’ll let you be the judge when salad, tomato tart and apple you take in our response to the “straight-line bread pudding. dilemma” in our June art show. All sorts of lines in pictures and words—we hope they WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18: inspire you to try it! Join the artists for a Seafood and tortellini salad, reception on Friday morning, June 6, from homemade dessert 10–11 a.m.

–––– Let’s ride with Sojourn on Tuesday, June Senior LunCheonS are held every 10, beginning at 9 a.m. with our destination: Wednesday at noon. Reservations Shelburne. Get outdoors, meet some folks, and are necessary in advance and can enjoy yourself! be made by calling the Senior Join Charlotte-based Sojourn for fun, supCenter at 425-6345. A $4 donaported, recreational rides along the best cycling tion is requested. Reservations roads in the region. You will enjoy the cama- Birders saw 40 different species of birds through Hank Kaestner’s telescope are not required for the Monday raderie of Sojourn tour leaders as well as a during a recent expedition to the Vergennes area.

Munch. support van. Snacks and refreshments will be provided.

The ride will begin from the Center and will –––– return by noon. If you would like to come along but don’t An AARP Driver have a bike let us know; for $15 Sojourn will provide you with a properly sized bicycle. Registration required. No fee. Safety Class will be held at the Center with –––– The Center is pleased to host the American Red Cross Baird Morgan, AARP Blood Drive for this much-needed community event on Volunteer Instructor, on Thursday, June 12, from 2–7 p.m. The comfortable atmo- Thursday, June 19, from sphere and great snacks make giving the “gift of life” at this 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

A classroom refresher site most pleasurable. course for drivers aged –––– 50 and over, this highly Join horticulturalist Charlotte Albers for Color Play for Summer Gardens June 17, 24 and July 1 from 10–11:30 effective defensive driving course (which may a.m.

Just back from a visit to Monet’s gardens at Giverny in enable you to receive an France, Charlotte will inspire you to infuse fresh color into auto insurance discount) your beds, borders and containers. Each week participants are covers important issues encouraged to bring something in bloom from their gardens that affect older drivers, to share for discussion, and we’ll work to identify plants, talk such as physical changes about cool combinations for shade, as well as stunning con- and limitations, normal driving situations and trast and complimentary pairings for sun.

A group of Senior Center cyclists pose Finish the series with a tour of the instructor’s gardens in environmental condiShelburne. Please bring a notebook to each class along with tions, safe driving and vehicle information, and the effects of for a picture on the ferry to Essex, N.Y., for a bike trip. cut flowers or leaves to share. Registration required. Class medication on the motorist.

The course provides drivers the opportunity to fine-tune limit: 12 students. Fee: $35. driving skills and become safer and better drivers. Upon com–––– Hank Kaestner will take us on another Bird Watching pletion of the course, you will receive a certificate valid for Expedition Wednesday morning, June 18, from 9 a.m.–noon. three years, a course workbook and other instructional mateGood views are guaranteed through Hank’s “Oh-my-God” rial. Please bring a lunch. telescope. Meet at the Center so we can carpool together to Registration required. Class the location Hank has scouted for spectacular bird watching. limit: 25. Fee: $20 ($15 for Please register for this event—if we have to change the date AARP members), payable to due to bird migration or weather, we will call you. Registra- AARP and collected at the beginning of class. tion required. No fee.

Food Shelf News Thank you The Feinstein Challenge donation totals are in! We collected cash and check donations of $7,888.31. Donated food items, counted as one dollar each, totaled 516 for a grand total of $8,404.31.

We appreciate all of you who donated during this challenge. We exceeded our 2013 total by $859.03. A special thank you to the Charlotte Congregational Church for raising $1,343 and to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church for the food drive during Lent that brought in over 450 items.

In addition, we appreciate the sup-

port from the Charlotte Grange #398, the Carmel Hill Fund, Remo and Donna Pizzagalli, Shirley Marshall, Margaret Berlin and anonymous donors. Thanks to Robert Carmody, Mary Scripps, Shelburne Supermarket and the coffee bar supporters.

Thank you to the CCS Sunshine Fund for the gift in memory of Mrs. Donna Ann Houston Tiemann, mother of school paraeducator Christina Tiemann. CCS’s Sunshine Fund was created to send “sunshine” to employees of CCS. The fund sends flowers/cards to celebrate lifealtering occasions for an employee, such as the birth of a child, a wedding, or to express sympathy for the loss of a family member, often with a donation in lieu of flowers. This gift in memory of Mrs. Tiemann is greatly appreciated by the Charlotte Food Shelf.

LeTTer Carriers Food drive The Letter Carriers Food Drive collected 3,200 pounds of food, and 444 pounds were taken to the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf. Thank you to our letter carriers and all who contributed food. We appreciate the work of our volunteers who picked up and sorted the

POINT BAY MARINA

Full Service Marina Now Open 7 Days a Week Ship’s store fully stocked with: Bottom Paint, Cleaners, Waxes Fenders, Dock Lines, Moorings Snacks, Beer/Wine

Factory-trained service department 1401 Thompsons Point Road, Charlotte (802) 425-2431 www.pointbaymarina.com

food: Liz Deslauriers, Janet Landrigan, Peggy and Kayla Sharpe, Diane Cote, Lucas Mount-Finette, Louise McCarren, Lynn Alpeter, Cindy Tyler, Anne Molle, Cindi Robinson, John Lavigne, Nanci Bloch, Nina Falsen, and Karen and Colin Doris. Our shelves are overflowing!

summer CLoThing drive The Food Shelf will be collecting gently worn, clean summer clothing and shoes through the end of June. You may drop off donations at Heather Karshagan’s home at 2760 Spear Street (the white farmhouse at the corner of Spear Street and Hinesburg/Charlotte Road).

Please leave the items on the porch.

Wish LisT The current Food Shelf wish list includes sunscreen, anti-itch cream and children’s healthy snacks that require no preparation, such as crackers, raisins and other dried fruit. As planting season is upon us, the Food Shelf would be happy to accept extra garden produce as the harvest progresses. Updated wish lists will be included in the Charlotte Congregational Church and Our Lady of Mount Carmel weekly bulletins.

Just a reminder, we do usually have perishable foods such as milk, bread and eggs, as well as diapers and pet food available during our regular distribution times.

The Charlotte Food Shelf is run entirely by volunteers, so all donations go directly for food or assistance to our neighbors in need. If you are a customer of yourfarmstand.com, you may make a donation to the Food Shelf as part of your

online order. Otherwise checks may be mailed to: Charlotte Food Shelf & Assistance P. O. Box 83 Charlotte, VT 05445 Donated food drop-off locations: All non-perishable food donations may be dropped off at the library, Congregational Church vestry, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church (main entrance) or at the Food Shelf during the distribution mornings.

We request that all fresh foods be dropped off at the Food Shelf by 7:30 a.m. on the distribution mornings.

The Charlotte Food Shelf is located on the lower level of the Charlotte Congregational Church vestry. We are open from 7:30–9:30 a.m. on the following Thursdays for food distribution: June 12 and 26, July 10 and 24, August 7 and 21, September 11 and 25, as well as the Wednesday before each Thursday distribution morning from 5 to 7 p.m.

Distribution days/times are posted in this newspaper and on the bulletin board in the Charlotte Congregational Church Hall. You may also call the Food Shelf number (425-3252) for a recording of the distribution times.

We are open to all community residents. Privacy is very important and respected in our mission of neighbor helping neighbor.

For emergency food call John at 4253130. For emergency assistance (electricity, fuel) call the Food Shelf at 425-3252.

For more information call Karen at 4253252 or visit our website at https://sites. google.com/site/charlottefoodshelfvt.

The Charlotte News

SPORTS Ouch! Supple pitches a no-hit loss Leading CVU pitcher and Gatorade baseball player of the year in Vermont, Rayne Supple, felt the sting of errors as he pitched six innings of no-hit ball before turning the job over to Sam Mikell for the final two outs. Leading 3-1 going into the seventh, Supple got the first BFA St. Albans batter out before walking the next two. Bobwhite Nick Berno laid down a bunt that created two throwing errors scoring all three base runners. The 4-3 win gave St. Albans the Metro Division title in the regular season finale. CVU now heads into state playoffs with hopes to reverse the score. Middlebury, Milton, Essex and North Country were four Redhawk victims prior to the loss, giving CVU a 13-3 record heading into the playoffs.

Tennis sends racquets in the air Tennis courts around Vermont are busy with both team playoffs and individual contests, and Charlotters from CVU and Rice have been in the thick of things. On the men’s side, Redhawk George Lomas from Hinesburg and Rice Charlotter Hayden Kjelleren advanced to the final sixteen as singles players. CVU doubles pairs Ryan Schneiderman and Joey O’Brien as well as David Huber and Nathan Comai also gained the Round of 16. O’Brien and Schneiderman went on to defeat a Colchester pair in the quarterfinal round before being knocked out of the tournament by Essex.

Redhawk sophomore Kathy Joseph is the talk of the region among women players. She lost only four games in the three-day individual tournament and faced her St. Johnsbury nemesis, Ayame Yazawa, who defeated Kathy as a freshman in last year’s title match. Joseph gained revenge, downing Yazawa 6-1, 6-2. As a result, the Burlington Free Press named her the top performer on May 30th. CVU’s doubles pair, again sophomores, Elyse Killkelley and Isabelle Angstman lost in a final three-set match to South Burlington.

On the team end, CVU blanked Middlebury 7-0 in Division I quarterfinals. Joseph won the top singles match 6-0, 6-0 while Charlotte’s Mackenzie Kingston and her partner Maia Bertrand took the number 1 doubles match 6-0, 6-3.

For men, Charlotte’s Will Hodgson Walker has been part of a winning doubles team that has moved the Redhawks into a semi-final berth again South Burlington.

Lacrosse keeps the fans on the hill side Never let it be said that lacrosse is a boring sport. To prove that adage to its fans, CVU men held out on a

by Edd Merritt

victory over Middlebury until the final seconds of the game.

Down 6-1 early in the contest, the Redhawks never led until things mattered for the final score. Mid-fielders and attack handled ground balls well and moved the ball around the Middlebury zone until Matt Palmer turned the corner with a high shot that clinched the contest 12-11. Steele Dubrul consistently won face offs in the game’s latter stages when

Above, CVU's Rayne Supple fires one of his no-hit pitches toward a BFA batter.

Left, top Vermont high-school tennis player Kathy Joseph delivers a backhand.

controlling the ball mattered, and the Redhawk long sticks used their weapons to keep Mid without a clear path to the goal. Charlotte midfielder Elliot Michell contributed a hat trick and an assist. In addition to Palmer, Griffin Diparlo, Alex Bulla and Dylan Schaefer each scored twice with Ryan Keelan adding a goal and an assist.

CVU golfers qualify for states Playing at Basin Harbor, CVU golfers placed third behind Essex and St. Johnsbury to qualify for the state tourney on June fourth at the Country Club of Vermont. As he has most of the season, Peter Scrimegour led other CVU players over the course which was shortened to nine holes, shooting a 37, only 4 strokes off the medallist pace. The Redhawk golfers had secured a similar third-place finish behind the same Hornets and Academy Hilltoppers in the Metro Tournament at Kwiniaska the week before.

Scrimegour’s 80 was 8 strokes behind the medallist, Spaulding’s Troy Evans.

Feet pound the Essex track in preparation for states The Essex Invitational track meet is traditionally the final preparation for coming divisional meets. This year a number of meet records were re-established including one in the 3,000-meter run by CVU’s Autumn Eastman, an event that saw Charlotte’s Sophia Gorman finish fourth. Eastman also won the 1,500meter race, and Brianna Hake took javelin honors with a toss of 108 feet, 6 inches.

On the men’s end of the track, the 4X100 relay team, composed of Shane Hanlon, David Daly, Louis St. Pierre and Tawn Tomasi won a close race, beating the next four finishing teams by less than two minutes.

Charlotte’s Richard Tegatz placed sixth in the discus with a toss of 123 feet.

Twin-State teams contain familiar names Amanda Lougee whose last second basket helped the Redhaw women’s basketball team top Rice for the state championship last spring has been named to the Twin-State team that will face New Hampshire in July. She is joined by mates Kaelyn Kolasch and Amanda Beatty as well as CVU head coach Ute Otley.

The men’s roster will feature CVU forward and captain from Charlotte, Lucas Aube, plus Mike Osborne as assistant coach.

Smile! You’re in good hands.

Whatever it takes to make your smile radiant, Shelburne Dental Group is committed to helping you reach that goal. t #POEJOH 8IJUF 'JMMJOHT t )ZHJFOF 1FSJPEPOUBM t ;PPN 8IJUFOJOH t %FOUVSFT 1BSUJBM %FOUVSFT t %FOUBM *NQMBOUT

Local Purebred Herford Beef Select individual cuts everyday from our glass freezer @ Spear’s Store.

Call the farm office for whole or half sides butchered & wrapped to your order

800 Bingham Brook Road, Charlotte 425-3516

t *OWJTBMJHO¥ $MFBS #SBDFT t $SPXOT BOE #SJEHFT t 7FOFFST t &YUSBDUJPOT t 3PPU $BOBM

Our patients are our most important asset.

Shelburne Dental Group Dan Melo, DMD Susan A. Grimes, DDS

Shelburne Shopping Park www.shelburnedental.com

(802) 985-3500

chocolate kisses as well as a raffle for Flying Pig gift certificates.

A big thank you to the Flying Pig Bookstore for its kind donation and its support of our 6x6 Charlotte Challenge.

As they say, “…everything changes when we read.”

UpComing at the library

by Margaret Woodruff

6x6 Celebration Our first annual 6x6 Charlotte Challenge ended last Wednesday. Participants read six (or more) books over the six-week period from April 16 to May 28 and helped to launch a “community of literacy” here in our town.

Readers ranged in age from senior citizens to preschool, and materials read ranged in topic from steampunk graphic novels to New England teacher assessment manuals. The celebration was augmented with 6x6 cupcakes and

Classical Connections: Steampunk Time Machine: H. G. Wells Meets Leviathan, Monday through Friday, June 16 to 20, 10 a.m.–noon or 1-3 p.m. A “back to the future” mashup! Explore time travel and punk tech with the classic Time Machine and Scott Westerfeld’s modern World War I adventure.

Classical Connections is collaboration between CCS and the Charlotte Library for incoming 7th and 8th graders to help them discover the wonders of the classical literature. Please call or email the library to sign up: 425-3864 or charlottelibraryvt@gmail.com.

Summer Reading Kick-Off, Wednesday, June 25 at 10:30 a.m.

Celebrate the start of our Summer Reading Program with a leap into the pond with the Vermont Institute of Natural Science. Sign up from our terrific menu

Business Directory brokers/realtors

julie.elitzer@lmsre.com

®

www.DeePT.com rsak@gmavt.net ύ rvgelectric. com

Tom McLaughlin - Owner P.O. Box 371 Bristol, VT 05443

(802) 453-7956 tommy.floor@gmail.com

Rick Gomez for over 25 years

RVG Electrical Services, LLC 3317 Bristol Road, Bristol, VT 05443

rsak@gmavt.net rvgelectric.com

Mason Associates

Educational Consultants

U BRUSH HOG WORK U TILLING

Benjamin Mason, MEd, CEP

P.O. Box 59 2687 Greenbush Rd Charlotte, VT 05445 Phone: 802-425-7600 Cell: 617-283-6010 ben@masonconsult.com www.masonconsult.com

802-846-7860

Cell:

802-734-2930

Linda.Sparks@lmsre.com

LMSRE.COM

Master Electrician

Phone: 802-453-3245 Cell: 802-233-9462

Direct:

Lang McLaughry Real Estate

“Dustless” Floor Sanding quick dry environmentally friendly finishes Custom Installation

South Burlington Shelburne 23 San Remo Drive 166 Athletic Drive tel 865.0010 tel 985.4440

Broker, GRI, CRS Senior Associate

LMSRE.COM

Since 1988

Owner | PT

Linda H. Sparks

Lang McLaughry Real Estate

Walls Walks Patios Custom Floors Showers Etc. Manufactured and Natural Stone Brick Block Ceramic Slate Quarry

Mike Dee

library hoUrs Monday & Wednesday: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

550 Hinesburg Road So. Burlington, VT 05403

802-864-9856

802-373-3506

library ContaCts Margaret Woodruff, Director Email: charlottelibraryvt@gmail.com Phone: 425-3864

Website: charlottepubliclibrary.org

Realtor

Chuck Burns

Cindi Burns

library board Meeting: Thursday, June 19, at 5:30 p.m. Board members: Bonnie Christie, Chair; Vince Crockenberg, Treasurer; Emily Ferris, Vice-Chair; Dorrice Hammer, Secretary; Jonathan Silverman, Member-at-Large.

The Charlotte Library celebrated its 6x6 Celebration recently with cupcakes and chocolate kisses.

Julie Elitzer

Burns Real Estate Team

www.c21jack.com

of programs and check out some new books to get your summer started! (No Registration Required) St. Andrews Pipe Band of Vermont, Wednesday, June 2 at 7 p.m.

Bring the family and a picnic supper, chairs and a blanket to hail the start of summer with pipes and drums on the Town Green.

Makers Series Toy Hacking, Monday, June 30, time to be announced.

Exploring and manipulating electronic toys is a great way to learn circuitry and how to identify input, output and power.

See what re-creations you can come up with in this hands-on workshop. Ages 11 and over. Please call or email the library to sign up: 425-3864 or charlottelibraryvt@gmail.com.

U SMALL TRACTOR WORK U YORK RAKE -72” FINISH MOWER U SMALL CHIPPER

PAT LECLAIRE

802.985.8225

The Charlotte News

www.ChrisvonTrapp.com

Charlotte Contemporary Nestled in a woodland on 13.5 private acres and just minutes from Charlotte Central School, this 4 bedroom 3 bath Contemporary is a surprising delight. Mountain views possible with some clearing. $649,000 | MLS# 4355115

Sweeping Mountain Views Surprising Cape is a custom built, one owner home on 20

4 and a fenced pasture. Call Chris today for more details! $479,000 | MLS# 4352926

15.3 Acres, Lake Champlain Located on owned land, this super 3 bedroom Post & Beam is the best kept secret

Farmhouse with wrap porch.

10.1 acres with views of Mt.

Borders Conserved Land!

“no” maintenance materials, while inside is custom with cathedral ceilings. $699,500 | MLS# 4337318

kitchen, 3 levels, over-sized garage with apartment! $615,000 | MLS# 4358872

Real Estate Listings

Chris von Trapp, REALTOR® Chris@ChrisvonTrapp.com (802) 343-4591

ForeClosure: 2Br, 1BA Home on ± Acre in Chittenden County Thursday, June 26 @ 11AM 225 richmond road Hinesburg, VT

GENTLEMAN FARM Right here in Charlotte; 134+ acres in idealic location with about 2500' of frontage on Lewis Creek. Meadows, pastures and large areas of forest.

Restored barn plus several outbuildings ready for you to raise all kinds of farm animals. Small year round cabin for your use, until you build a house.

Approved septic design for 5 bdrms.

Call for information.

Thomas Hirchak Company

Dottie Waller, Realtor, CBR 846-7849 1-800-864-6226 x7849 Dottie.waller@lmsre.com

800-634-7653 · 802-888-4662

Premium Quality, Fine Details

Burns Real Estate Team BROKERS/REALTORS

$1,475,000 Charlotte ...................................................

Elegance and comfort describe this spacious 4 bedroom, 6 bath custom built home on 5+ acres. Spectacular lake and Adirondack views. Chef ’s kitchen, media room with 100” screen, master with gas fireplace and balcony, pool, sauna, multi-sport court. 25 minutes to Burlington.

MLS# 4343511

Chuck and Cindi Burns 802-864-9856 / 802-373-3506

CHARLOTTE - Post & Beam Farmhouse use 1-3 pm 8 n Ho Ope y, June a d Sun

Offered At

Offered At

$185,000

Spectacular 10 Acre Building Lot

Hinesburg

...................................................

$359,900

CHARLOTTE - Minutes from Shelburne Village

Camel’s Hump and Green Mountain views to the east and sunsets to the west from this exceptional building site convenient to Burlington and Middlebury. All permits in place with spectacular building site for the home of your dreams!

MLS# 4136574 Offered At

$120,000 Ferrisburgh ................................................... $349,900

CHARLOTTE - Just Reduced!

Private and fully permitted level building lot with open meadows and wooded areas.

Excellent south and east exposure. Underground power. End of the lane location is great for outdoor play, horses, dogs, gardening. 3 bedroom septic design. Easy commute north and south.

MLS# 4355649

Jane Kiley,

REALTOR® Your Right Choice in Any Market

$425,000

Call/text (802) 343-9980 JaneKileyRealEstate.com Jane@JaneKiley.com

Race continued from page 1

single remaining landfill as well as bills that create programs for paint and battery recycling. The HNRE passed legislation that raised the cap on the amount of net metering a utility could accept at peak load from four to 15 percent, thus allowing more people to participate in solar net metering.

Finally, to encourage economic growth while maintaining Vermont’s rural character, the HNRE passed legislation that discourages strip development while encouraging development within towns and cities designated as growth centers, which also involved streamlining the Act 250 permitting process to allow for growth centers to save time and development costs.

Outside of committee work, Yantachka has spearheaded a bill that inhibits the sale of stolen goods by requiring better recordkeeping by precious metals dealers and the Department of Public Safety and that makes for a more equitable warranty reimbursement for small equipment dealers. He has also supported the recent minimum wage bill, a paid sick days bill, legislation that helps low-income Vermonters save on heating, and proposals that require background checks on private firearm transactions, among many others.

Planning Meeting continued from page 1

school is our IBM. It’s our employment center.”

However, some expressed skepticism that Charlotters would favor what would allow for more development. Planning Commission chair Jeff McDonald recalled a contentious, widely attended meeting in 2011 that centered around a West Village study that proposed large housing developments on the Burns property behind Town Hall.

“When people talk about building the village, people come out,” said McDonald.

Others referred to the debate over sidewalks in the West Village, a measure that passed at Town Meeting in 2012 but was repealed soon after due to public outcry.

Outside of the three circles, commission and community members discussed areas in town where it might be possible to build affordable or moderately priced homes. One reason for the high cost of owning a home in Charlotte is the mandatory minimum five-acre zoning regulation. To allow for construction on smaller parcels, discussions and proposals throughout the meeting centered on changing zoning regulations to a tiered system that would range from a few acres to as many as 15, to promoting growth in areas that are already clustered.

Again, however, the notion of accomplishing any of these things was countered by reservations about the ability to do so.

“The political will to go up in lot sizes just isn’t there now,” said commission member Marty Illick.

Said Russell, “If you worry about politics, you’ll never get anything done.

Look at what’s right for the area and do it.”

“Sometimes it takes a long time and a lot of persistence to get a good piece of legislation enacted, and it is extremely satisfying when it finally happens,” said Yantachka.

If re-elected, Yantachka intends to work toward restricting the state’s education financing system, something he has advocated in the past, unsuccessfully, through a larger transfer of general funds to the Education Fund.

“The present system is unsustainable, and everyone knows it,” said Yantachka. “The rise of education costs will be a big part of the discussion, and this year’s attempt at governance changes will be a factor in trying to make education delivery more efficient. Rising property taxes will require finding other sources of revenue, but we can’t allow our children to be shortchanged in the process.”

Yantachka also said he intends to work with legislators and organizations to enact gun legislation to keep guns of the hands of criminals and those deemed dangerous due to mental illness.

“With gun trafficking along the I-91 corridor in connection with drug trafficking, we cannot just close our eyes to an increasingly dangerous situation,” he said.

This work aligns closely with his work locally on Charlotte’s Community Safety Committee. He also serves as a justice of the peace.

Stone, who did not make an official

announcement of his candidacy, has had a long history of public service in Charlotte, most recently as a member of the Selectboard, on which he served for 13 years. Stone also sat on Charlotte’s Planning Commission and Charlotte Volunteer Fire & Rescue, as well as several other boards. As a candidate for representative, Stone has run on the principals of open government, supporting the free enterprise and tax policy.

His reason for running this year is simple, he said: “We can do better.”

And, with an eye toward his previous governing positions, he said, “I’ve got enough experience that I know I can make a difference.”

In an interview Monday, Stone cited a number of state legislative concerns.

He has trouble with Governor Peter Shumlin’s plan for a single-payer health care system, Green Mountain Care.

Shumlin took the first steps toward realizing his campaign goal by recently signing legislation that creates the framework for developing and implementing the system. However, Stone cites the troubled rollout of Vermont’s health care exchange this year and questions about how Green Mountain Care would be paid for as potential issues for taxpayers.

Stone also criticized Governor Shumlin’s 2015 budget, which he said calls for millions in one-time expenditures to close a budget gap now but could leave Vermonters footing the bill with

tax increases in the long term. Among other issues, Stone mentioned concerns over the governor’s jobs proposals and teacher pension costs.

“There’s a lot of things going on that we don’t seem to be getting a handle on,” he said. “I’m worried about this state.”

Stone sees these issues affecting Charlotte as well, particularly the cost of living here. “I’ve talked to a lot of people in Charlotte, people not as fortunate as some, and they’re ready to bail out,” he said.

Yantachka will hold his first postannouncement event, a forum on education spending and governance, on Thursday, June 5 (see Yantachka's letter on page 3 for more information).

He says he will hold similar events throughout the summer and fall.

Stone said he does not have any election events planned, though he will attend meetings to provide his perspective.

Both Yantachka and Stone invite Charlotters to contact them to talk about their thoughts and concerns. Yantachka can be reached at myantachka.dfa@ gmail.com or by calling 425-3960.

Stone is available by calling 425-3277.

Candidates still have a chance to enter the races for a primary contest Aug. 26. The state’s filing deadline is June 12 by 5 p.m.

One conversation in particular embodied the theme of the night, the robust exchange of ideas that offered no clear map forward.

The map the commission drew on also showed forested areas of town, and Joanna Cummings, co-chair of the Conservation Commission, which has helped author some parts of the Town Plan, advocated for more conserved forestland, which has become broken up by development.

But Russell questioned the push to preserve more land at the cost of figuring out a way to allow more people in.

“You’ve got to be loaded to build a house here,” he said. “We’re already there in terms of protecting the land.

Charlotte is way ahead of everybody.”

“But it’s fragmented,” responded Cummings. “It’s harder for animals and plants here. If you want to maintain a rural character you have to have connectivity.”

“There’s a way to do both: have growth and conservation,” said Russell.

“But how do we do that?”

The Town Plan is one way though time ran out before the commission could discuss the land-use chapter itself. The four-page overview distributed at the meeting is much shorter than the chapter in the current edition of the Town Plan, owing in part to a decision the commission has made to put facts, figures and narrative in the new plan’s index, thus focusing each section on policies and strategies.

While much of the draft handed out at the meeting echoes language from past plans, it also lays out policies that address Charlotte’s most pressing problems—many of them regional—such as CCS’s dwindling student population, high taxes and land values, and an aim for more affordable and moderately priced housing. The goal, as stated, is “preserving the best of the past, embracing the new opportunities and meeting the challenges of the present

and future.”

Among the chief goals outlined is to determine an ideal population that mixes Charlotte’s rural aesthetic with increased demographic growth through attracting more young families. The key to achieving the goal is establishing optimal classs sizes at CCS. “With an aging population, we will attract younger families in keeping with a desired school capacity,” reads the draft. “To stabilize school costs per student, we will link growth goals to ideal school size.”

The draft also calls for finding ways for the town to embrace the “new food economy” and to encourage creativity and entrepreneurship through regulations.

Beyond these, other goals laid out in the draft echo past polices, such as preserving Charlotte’s unique working and scenic landscapes and small-town characteristics, recognizing and protecting historic structures and settlement patterns, and promoting community cohesion through volunteer governance.

In terms of specific strategies to get there, the draft land-use chapter aims to refine the town’s approach to welcoming business and industry by encouraging “a more economically active town center with business services to fulfill local needs and moderately priced housing.” It also calls for the town to reevaluate the adequacy of the commercial/ light industrial district off Ferry Road to attract and incubate new businesses that could provide local employment.

Other land-use strategies listed include:

other public facilities.” The layout of new infrastructure, such as roads, would then be in accordance with the official map.

drinking water resources within the village areas as well as identification of potential service areas for community septic in the West Village, official map for village areas that will enable “the preservation of lands for drainage, streets, parks, schools and

for the existing village area that would apply to site and building design that would protect the town’s rural, historical character. These would be advisory only.

Community members will have a chance to weigh in on the land-use chapter and others when the Planning Commission releases drafts of the Town Plan later this month. The next opportunity to learn more will be on June 23, when the Planning Commision will share the drafts with the Selectboard.

Public hearings on the Town Plan will take place throughout the summer.

The Charlotte News

Around Town Congratulations to Sarah Fallon and Daniel Fattahi of South Windsor, Conn., who were married in September of 2013 at the Basin Harbor Club. The bride is the daughter of Joseph and Ellen Fallon of Hinesburg who live on Thompson’s Point, during the summer. The ceremony consisted of both traditional Christian and Persian elements. The Persian portion was officiated

by Mohsen Arabzadeh, who traveled from Iran for the wedding. Sarah graduated from Colby College and Boston College of Law. Her husband has degrees from the University of Connecticut and Sacred Heart University. to Jennifer and Bradley Patnaude, who were married May 26 in Burlington. The groom is the son of Charlotte’s Mary and Jason Patnaude, who served as his son’s best man in the wedding. Jason’s brother Joshua was a groomsman. The couple honeymooned in Hawaii. to Nena Bliss of Charlotte, who earned an Associate of Science degree from the Community College of Vermont. Degrees will be awarded June 7 at Norwich University. to Kendra Haven, a recent graduate of Dickinson College, Carlisle, Penn., who was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to teach English in South Africa. An International Studies major in college, Kendra studied in Cameroon last spring. The experience sparked her interest in cultural exchange and the sub-Saharan region specifically. She was one of three selected out of nearly 100 applicants. She plans to expand

her learning outside the classroom, looking into sustainability and social/environmental justice. She is the daughter of Connie Roulier of Charlotte. to Jessica Spadaccini of Charlotte, who earned a degree from Vermont Technical College in Randolph, presented at commencement ceremonies May 17 at Norwich University. to Lindsay Kingston and Andrew Leckerling, who earned baccalaureates from Middlebury College last month, presented to them at the school’s 213th commencement exercises. Long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad spoke to the graduates and families about the importance to her of “never giving up,” regardless of the undertaking. to Taylor Thibault of Charlotte, who earned a Bachelor of Science degree cum laude from Providence College, Providence, R.I. Dr. Temple Grandin, an autism awareness advocate as well as innovator in the livestock industry and author, addressed those gathered for the college’s 96th commencement. to Emma Volk, who earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Colorado College, Colorado Springs, Colo., with a major in international political economy.

The daughter of Mary and Tim Volk of Charlotte, Emma received her degree at commencement ceremonies May 19. to Whitney Lussier of Charlotte who graduated from St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn., with a bachelor's degree in music education. Whitney is the daughter of Michelle and Lambert Loussier.

to Megan Dodge of New York City, formerly of Charlotte, who was appointed to the board of the Art Therapy Outreach Center (ATOC) in February. Meg is a corporate fiduciary professional with Goldman Sachs Trust Company. A graduate of Colby College, Waterville, Maine, she earned a law degree and Estate planning certificate from Syracuse University. She is a member of the New York Bar Association and active with Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts. She is the daughter of Clark and Pamela Dodge of Charlotte. to Liam Murphy and his law firm Murphy Sullivan Kronk of Burlington, which was named to the top tier of firms practicing real estate law by Chambers USA. Liam ranked in the top tier of individual attorneys in that category as well. He and partner Brian Sullivan were noted for their practice in the field of zoning and land-use law.

Sympathy is extended to the family and friends of Dr. Calef E. Heininger, of Malletts Bay, Colchester, who passed away peacefully after a courageous battle with cancer on June 2 at the Respite House in Williston. Among other family members, he is survived by his son Peter Heininger and his wife, Yvonne, and their children Skyler and Meara, all of Charlotte. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Respite House or the Vermont Cancer Center. A service will be held at the Louisa Howard Chapel at Lakeview Cemetery, 455 North Avenue on Friday, June 6 at 1 p.m.

Hannah Cleveland Participates in 4-H State Day Vermont 4-H State Day took place in Barre on May 17. Hinesburg 4-H Club members who attended were (from left) Caroline Hobbs, Corinna Hobbs and Hannah Cleveland of Charlotte. Hannah performed on stage with a piano instrumental, while Caroline and Corinna Hobbs both entered pictures for the judges to see. It was a beautiful day, full of fun, creativity and high spirits. (Note: this caption was written by Hannah, the club’s reporter.)

CHARLOTTE ZONING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT AND PLANNING COMMISSION Pursuant to Title 24 and the Charlotte Land Use Regulations, the Board of Adjustment and Planning Commission will meet at the Town Hall 159 Ferry Road at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday June, 11th 2014 to hear the following: -The Zoning Board and Planning Commission will be holding a joint hearing for Conditional

Use and Site Plan Review for a Bed and Breakfast. The property is owned by Elysabethe James and is located at 3960 Spear Street.

-Applications are available for review during regular Planning and Zoning office hours.

Participation in the hearing is a prerequisite to the right to appeal any decision related to an application. ********** Charlotte Planning and Zoning office 425-3533

FOR RENT: Quaint Cottage on Lake Champlain. 2+ bedrms, sleeps 5-6. Classic Long Pt cottage, dock, mooring, boats, beach. 206-829-9131 (-21)

NEW AT THE MT. PHILO INN: Overnight accommodations, spacious 2-3 bedroom suites available by the day, week or month. Adjacent to Mt. Philo State Park, with panoramic views of Lake Champlain. Each "wing" in the historic inn has a private entrance, full kitchen, laundry and porch. MtPhiloInn.com 802-4253335.

HONDA 1988 GL1500 MOTORBIKE: to be given away to a responsible person at no charge due to my son's sudden death. If interested contact lene.george2@ gmail.com

GARDENING - Would you like some extra help weeding, edging, mulching, planting, or with design and maintenance? Call Sunnyside Gardeners, 8643268. (22)

Classifieds

OFFICE MANAGER: Charlotte Congregational Church part-time office manager, particular interest in support for the church’s efforts to have an effective and engaging on-line presence, including social media. For job description http://www.charlotteucc.org/ and email resume to charlotteucc@gmavt.net.

June marks Lafayette Painting’s 38th year of serving Chittenden County. Thank you to our loyal customers and employees. We promise to provide top-notch service for years to come. Visit us at LafayettePaintingInc.com or call 863-5397. (22)