The Charlotte News | June 19, 2014

The Charlotte News Volume lVI Number 22

The VoIce of The TowN

Thursday, JuNe 19, 2014

Selectboard Gets Update on Route 7 Reconstruction Board also discusses CCT community gathering place at busy meeting John Hammer

Members of DOOR push Dan Briggs, who is afflicted with spina bifida, along the Champ Run route June 8. They are (from left) Seamus Flint (orange), Howie Vander Wey (pusher), Phillip Jerome, Clifford Bell, and Amanda Crane.

Photo by Stacey Stone

The charloTTe News

Going the Distance Over 300 people crossed the Champ Run finish line June 8. For a team of racers from Middlebury, completing the race took dedication, perseverance and—especially—teamwork.

Brett Sigurdson The charloTTe News On a hot, muggy day at the end of May, students from the Diversified Occupation Program were running along Creek Road in Middlebury, where the alternative special education school is located.

What was ostensibly a 5K route (3.1 miles) somehow felt longer to students in the D.O. program’s running club, called D.O. On the Run, or DOOR.

The long-delayed Route 7 reconstruction project was the highpoint of the Selectboard’s June 9 meeting. The project will result in the widening of the roadway for three miles from the North Ferrisburgh town line to a point just beyond the Wild Flower Farm. It will increase the roadway to a standard width embracing two 12-foot wide travel lanes bordered by an eight-foot paved shoulder on each side.

This project, as described by project engineer Paul Upmal of the Vermont Agency for Transportation, has been on the boards for “a long, long time,” he said. The widening will bring this portion of Route 7 to meet the width standards for a highway of this importance.

Much of the delay was caused by the insistence of the town to include an underpass to link the Melissa and Trevor Mack Trail to the rest of the town trail system near the Charlotte Berry Farm. Accordingly, the new plan will include the placement of a 10’x10’ precast concrete box structure to form a tunnel under the roadway.

Most of the necessary re-permitting has been done, and 40-50 percent of the abutting property owners have

Nicky Cyr was one of the students feeling the distance as the team trained that day for the recent Champ Run in Charlotte. When she crossed the finish line, she was close to tears, overcome with heat, exhausted.

On the drive back to the school, another runner asked the driver to measure the run distance on the odometer. He knew it had to be longer than 3.1 miles,

Selectboard

continued on page 5

Distance

continued on page 8

Julie Holmes coNTrIbuTor Picture a place where people walk around in crazy hats or in costumes made from candy wrappers or plastic spoons, where people wear brightly colored T-shirts displaying their state or country, and people speak in pun or song. Picture a place where people strike up friendly conversation, and where people have such different stories but the common connection of creative problem solving.

Teams from all over the world traveled to Iowa State University in Ames in order to compete for the title of World Champion. Out of over 836 teams of seven, our team, the Green Submarine— featuring Aidan Devine, Emmett LaChapelle, Chloe Silverman, Riley Bagnato, Chris Haigney, Sam Holmes and Malinn Sigler—represented Charlotte and Vermont on a world stage and competed against the best teams from 35 U.S. states and 15 other countries.

Students who developed exceptional solutions and took creative risks were invited to compete at World Finals. Our team competed in “The Driver’s Test,” where we built a vehicle and created a performance. High scores are awarded to teams that take risks and think outside the box.

In Odyssey there is no one correct answer, only open-ended problems where the creative solutions gain the most recognition.

“The end result isn’t always as important as thinking of new, creative ideas, which should also be rewarded,” said founder Dr. Sam Micklus.

Our team worked for months and was considered to be one of the best in Vermont. We traveled together as a team to attend this four-day world finals event. Not only did we learn about different cultures, we stretched our creative abilities to new limits by performing our solution in front of judges and completing a “spontaneous” problem, in

Odyssey

continued on page 5

Photo by Don Lockhart

CCS Trip to Odyssey Finals a Success

Abenaki Chief Speaks at Senior Center Don Stevens, chief of the Nulhegan Band of the Abenaki Tribe, displays an ancient Native gorget, a piece of protective armor, during a Charlotte Historical Society meeting held at the Charlotte Senior Center June 2. President Dan Cole introduced Chief Stevens, who provided a lively, informative and interesting presentation. His overview included a description of the real Abenaki people of Vermont and their journey to eventual official recognition by the State. The audience enjoyed seeing Abenaki tribal items, and examining them close up.

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The Charlotte News

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Yantachka’s stance on GMOs common sense I write in response to Peter DuBrul’s May 22 letter regarding his stance on GMO crops as part of the solution to global hunger.

Proponents of GMO crops and foods have been touting genetically engineered foods as a way to feed the world for well over a decade and probably closer to two. This is an initially convincing argument until one delves into the weak foundation holding up this idea. We, the public, are meant to buy into GMO foods for the sake of the world’s poor and under-fed (as well as our future’s burgeoning population). It’s a clever strategy meant to convince us, but one based more on marketing than any real need from any existing public.

Current world food shortages have much more to do with a lack of political will or corruption, the problems that cause poor distribution, than from an actual lack of food in poorer regions of the world.

There is more than enough arable land in the world for farmers to use. What we need less of and not more of is the chemicals—pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers— that are inherent in the growing of

Help Campaign for Healthy Children

all GMO crops.

People once spoke glowingly of Vitamin A rice—the so-called Golden Rice (Oryza sativa Japonica). But it’s been on the horizon in development for well over a decade—and they still haven’t found the key to unveiling a rice compatible with the rice paddies of southeast Asia, where it would be grown and where Oryza Indica is grown, a whole other distinct cultivar.

If you’re interested in where my science comes from, I quote directly from Dr. Michael Hansen, Ph.D., senior staff scientist with the Consumers Union, who consulted with the USDA from 1998 to 2002.

You can also listen to Dr. David Suzuki, eminent geneticist as well as long-time activist to halt global warming.

The opinions of anti-GMO activists are informed by scientists and are far from “anti-science,” as Mr. DuBrul suggests. Drs. Suzuki and Hansen are both highly regarded, prominent scientists in their respective fields.

Finally, the question of nutrientdense foods (like Vitamin A rice) brings up my final concern regarding foods of this kind. Until we and other first world nations came in to countries like India and monopolized large swaths of farming for our own needs (corn, cotton, soy), for kindergarten unprepared.

As part of this great campaign, I attended the field training and planning day and have participated in spreading the word at the many local events such as Kids’ Days and Lund’s 6 Annual Ride for Children. In the future, the campaign is offering speakers bureau training to anyone interested in speaking to and educating our communities. I will also be attending a few of the local events throughout Vermont and continuing to support this campaign.

I urge you to focus on the first years in your children’s lives and help us spread the word. Please join this campaign as an ambassador to connect with Vermonters about the importance of the earliest years. Go to letsgrow kids.org and sign our pledge!

local people throughout the developing world ate indigenous greens and plants. Often, when companies like Monsanto enter an area to sell their seeds and accompanying chemicals, we find an expansive and aggressive monoculture that denies the biodiversity needed for bees and insects—the pollinators—to survive. Whereas industrial agriculture accounts for only 28 percent of the world’s food production, it is using up 75 percent of the world’s resources.

This is a highly inefficient system. According to Business Week, “the issue isn’t so much that we can’t grow enough. Rather, existing food supplies are so poorly distributed that those hundreds of millions have too little for their own health, while 2 billion-plus have too much.” On top of that, worldwide a third of food is wasted, spoiled and thrown out before it even reaches consumers.

No. Progressives like Rep. Mike Yantachka actually do have the right idea about resisting GMO crops, monocultures, a chemically laden, chemically dependent industrial farm system. I wouldn’t call that knee-jerk, anti-intellectual or anti-science at all. I’d call that common sense.

Meg Berlin Greenbush Road

Celebrating Community at CCS

Call me sentimental. As I watched the Charlotte Central School Carnation Ceremony today I could not help but be moved. To Jack Johnson’s “We’re Going to Be Friends,” the kindergarteners strolled one by one, holding carnations. In the center, they were met by one or two 8th grade students who accepted a flower and tenderly reached down to hold their hands.

Together, the oldest and youngest CCS students walked, stood and sang the school song.

When I moved to Charlotte 13 years ago, it was at CCS that I found community. As my youngest moves on to CVU, this ceremony symbolizes not only the passage of time but also a school where children are taught respect and kindness. At Sera Anderson CCS my children found their second Mrs. Vermont 2014 home, a place they could explore, North Pasture Lane learn and play. I am grateful to all the teachers, coaches, staff and volunteers who have and continue to nurture Charlotte’s children. I am thankful for a school that works to The Charlotte News accepts all signed letters pertaining to issues of local and realize the special qualities of each national interest. Letters must be 300 words or fewer, include your full name and town, child and the importance of comand reach us by the appropriate deadline. Writers will only have letters published munity. once every four weeks. The Charlotte News reserves the right to edit for style and With appreciation,

One thing I hope to accomplish as Mrs. Vermont 2014 is to provide support to the children of Vermont.

After becoming a mother, I realized how important the well-being of a child is to our communities, our future and to the foundation of our state and nation. If we can’t bring up healthy children and make their well-being a priority, then we are doing a disservice to humanity.

I recently became a campaign ambassador for Let’s Grow Kids, a privately funded, statewide, public education campaign about the importance of giving our children a quality early experience to help them succeed in life. Surprisingly, new reports by Building Bright Futures and the Vermont Agency of Education show that kindergarten-age children are worse off than we previously thought, with 40 to 50 percent of children showing up

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.

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TownBites

by Edd Merritt

over to Bid and Helena before moving to Florida. It has been a regular stop for burgers, snacks and creemees for travelers on Route 7 as well as local Little Leaguers and soccer players.

Some townspeople felt its picnic tables and parking lot were venues for local political decisions and that, in fact, it often was a summertime extension of Town Hall.

No word on the coleslaw recipe, however.

Panels in place for East Charlotte solar arrays

The 15 acres of solar panels off the Charlotte/Hinesburg Road in East Charlotte are in place. Work on the field, which is set back from the road several hundred feet, has been going on for over a month. The construction workers expect the major portion of the project to be completed by mid-July.

Uncle Sam’s won’t open this year

The Charlotte News fields a number of questions that don’t always have to do with newspaper inquiries, editorial outlook or advertising. Recently, we were asked about a fixture along Route 7 in Charlotte, Uncle Sam’s Dairy Bar. The writer wondered whether we knew if it would open this summer, hoping so because she was a major fan of its coleslaw. If the “Closed” sign did not disappear, she asked on behalf of the community that the recipe be made available somewhere in town.

Speaking with Bid Spear, who, along with his wife, Helena, has run Uncle Sam’s since the mid 1970s, we learned that the stand would not open again in the foreseeable future, as it was becoming too strenuous and costly for them to operate.

Sam, Bid’s brother, built the drivein in 1971, ostensibly as a spot to employ his daughters, then turned it

The story of the old road up Mount Philo

Judy Chavez, resident of neighboring North Ferrisburgh, wrote an article in the summer 2014 issue of Northern Woodlands magazine based on her study of a period in Mt. Philo history. A regular hiker of the road up the mountain, she became particularly interested in it when she discovered that the sign saying “Old Carriage Road” had mysteriously been moved to a footpath farther up the hill.

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

Digging through postcards from the University of Vermont’s special collections, she uncovered shots of the west side of the mountain showing its lower elevations as open farm land, pastures on what are today wooded slopes. She found that “sheep fever” was prevalent in the early 1800s, resulting in the deforestation of nearly three-fourths of New England. Forty years after sheep fever declined, Frank Lewis bought the Jones-Smith farm on the mountain’s west side, tore down the farmhouse, built an inn and established tent sites for city visitors who wanted a rustic experience. In the early 1900s the Humphreys from Massachusetts bought pieces of Lewis’s land and allowed trees to regrow. Chavez discovered a postcard with a picture of a cement water basin in a gazebo next to the mountain road.

The water basin is now surrounded by forest. Maples, beeches and Norway spruce have taken over much of the old roadbed.

Judy requested that the “Old Carriage Road” sign be returned to its original site because, as it turns out, the sign was moved by new staff who were unfamiliar with the road’s actual location.

Northern Woodlands is the trade name for the Northern Woodlands Center for Education, a body whose mission is to “advance a culture of forest stewardship in the Northeast.”

Grevatt, Timothy Halvorson, Fiona Higgins, Jessie Hunt, Madison Hyams, Christopher Jordan, Peter Kellner, Izette Kelly, Mackenzie Kingston, Robyn Leary, Emily Luce, Callum Mahoney, Brendan Murphy, Brandon O’Connell, Anna Schenker, Emily Sheehan, Tucker Shelley, Emma Slater, Alexandra Spicer, Evan Trus, Jasper White-Hansen, Samuel Zimmerman, Addison Zinner.

The following Charlotte graduates earned placement in the National Honor Society: Caroline Braun, Alexandra Bull, Kathryn Danyow, Anna Franceschetti, Kestrel Grevatt, Fiona Higgins, Madison Hyams, Mackenzie Kingston and Robyn Leary.

Rachel Baginski, Caroline Braun, Anna Franceschetti, Amanda Gellis, Kestrel Grevatt, Fiona Higgins and Addison Zinner exceeded the standard with their graduation challenge projects, while Caroline Braun graduated summa cum laude and Alexandra Spicer earned placement in the National Business Honor Society.

Members of the class of 2014 from Charlotte also won individual honors.

Addison Zinner won the Arthur Scott Scholarship as well as the Friendship Masonic Lodge #24 Award. Robyn Leary won two awards: the French Language Award and the John Phillip Sousa Band Award. Brandon O’Connell earned the Journalism Award, while National Merit commendations went to Caroline Braun, Kestrel Grevatt, Fiona Higgins and Emma Slater. Anna Franceschetti was a senior speaker along with Will Colomb.

50th CVU graduation

As a public service announcement to those entering Charlotte Town Hall, we ask that you heed the pink tag tied on Mo-Mo’s collar (he’s the yellow Labrador retriever) saying, “Do not feed me.” His countinance may lead you to think otherwise, but his vet and his owner, Assistant Clerk Sharon Balaban, say, “No.”

Two CVU graduates spoke to a full house of students, relatives, friends, and faculty of the Champlain Valley Union High School class of 2014 about their experiences at CVU. State Senator Diane Snelling and current teacher Chris Hood addressed the 278 graduates receiving diplomas. This year marked the high school’s 50th anniversary. Snelling’s mother, Barbara, who went on to become Vermont’s lieutenant governor, was the chair of the school’s first board. Hood, who heads an advisory and teaches mathematics courses, graduated in 1988.

Forty members of this year’s class were from Charlotte: Lucas Aube, Rachel Baginski, Jane Baker, Tatianna Baker, Caroline Braun, Alexandra Bull, Haliana Burhans, James Cazayoux, Ora Clemmons-Sparks, Ming Fen Congdon, Jason Cora, Kathryn Danyow, Claire Dillenbeck, Ashley Filardi, Joshua Finkelstein, Anna Franceschetti, Amanda Gellis, Kestrel

No Mo’ Food for Mo-Mo

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Boy Scouts, Masons to Host Flag Retirement Ceremony July 4 Charlotte-based Boy Scout Troop 615 and Freemasons of Friendship Lodge #24 will celebrate Independence Day July 4 with a flag retirement ceremony at Town Hall beginning at 10 a.m. During the ceremony, all will be allowed to share their thoughts. Those wishing to retire a flag may leave it at Town Hall or with a member of the Selectboard.

Famous Town Party Book Sale Just Around the Corner Donations of sellable books accepted starting June 25 The Friends of the Library, in preparation for the annual book sale, would like to clarify donation guidelines and share book recycling information.

To avoid rejecting (and having to recycle) pounds of books and adding to the already labor-intensive sorting process, we would greatly appreciate it if you would recycle unsaleable books before dropping off your donations at the library.

3. Goodwill (open every day) on encyclopedias and old books.

donations for the Book sale: 1. Bring saleable books to the library during library hours. Please do not leave donations outside the door when the library is closed.

What We cannot accept:

out where to leave your donations and to preview for suitability if you are uncertain.

pages/covers, underlined, yellowed, etc.)

library staff.

We will accept donations start-

Reader’s Digest condensed books number of books to donate, please

here’s What you need to do: 1. Throw out damp, moldy, mildewed or smelly books with your trash. listed above.

Paperbacks can be recycled with your other recyclables or dropped off at a Chittenden Solid Waste (CSWD) drop-off site. Hardcovers cannot be recycled with your regular recycling but can be dropped off at a CSWD drop-off site.

ments.

Your book donations are what make the book sale the success it is. We are thank you for your continued support of the sale. Following these simple guidelines will make this year’s sale the best ever!

Join us for a cup of coffee... and a second opinion During volatile and confusing markets, we understand that even the most patient investors may come to question the wisdom of the investment plan they’ve been following. We’d like to help – and we can start by offering a cup of coffee and a second opinion.

By appointment, you’re welcome to come in and talk with us about your investment portfolio. If we think your investments continue to be wellsuited to your long-term goals — in spite of the current market conditions — we’ll gladly tell you so, and send you on your way.

Boucher Investment Group of Wells Fargo Advisors

Reg Boucher, CRPS® 180 Battery Street, Suite 300 Burlington, VT 05401 802-864-2664 Reginald.Boucher@wfadvisors.com

If, on the other hand, we think some of your investments no longer fit with your goals, we’ll explain why, in plain English.

And, if you like, we’ll recommend some alternatives.

Ron Boucher, AAMS®

Either way, the coffee is on us.

For a free consultation, please contact us and let us know if you prefer milk or cream.

180 Battery Street, Suite 300 Burlington, VT 05401 802-864-2664 Ronald.A.Boucher@wfadvisors.com

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email: edd@charlotte newsvt.com

The Charlotte News

Selectboard continued from page 1 signed off. Negotiations are being finalized now. By the end of July the state expects to be ready to “file for necessity,” which will lead to court action for the taking of land; the state and expects that the court determinations will be completed by January of next year. The next step will be the completion of utility relocation in November 2015. This is a two-year project costing between $12 and $15 million.

Earlier fears of detoured traffic around the construction zones were somewhat eased by the explanation that the construction plan calls for the building of temporary two-way traffic lanes within the 100-foot right of way of Route 7. These temporary lane structures will be moved along the path of the construction and may have a negative impact on abutting land parcels, particularly in the Wildwood West area.

Upmal emphasized that, once construction has been completed, the re-grading and landscaping of adjacent roadsides will leave them in better shape than at

present.

Upmal said that the whole project will provide better “safety and mobility for the public.” Of particular note will be work on the dip in the area near Claflin Farm Road, where sight distances will be increased by shaving the crest to the north of that dip.

In other highway actions the bid by S.D. Ireland to repave Charlotte’s roads this summer was accepted. The bid of $62.98 per ton of asphalt was lowest and will provide the estimated 4,500 tons required to cover needed repaving.

In a lengthy discussion, the group of Charlotters called Charlotte Community Transition (CCT) appeared before the Selectboard to seek board members’ ideas and support for a community gathering place in the West Village. The stated mission of the CCT is to create an indoor and outdoor space for residents of Charlotte to gather, socialize and conduct community business. CCT is a not-for-profit organization headed by Tony Federico and seeks to establish a multipurpose site that might serve as an affordable pub and coffee shop.

The group is now considering a potential purchase of the house at 65 Ferry Road. Funds for the purchase of this property will come from private

funding similar to the model of the Bobcat Café in Bristol. CCT sought signs of enthusiasm and support from the Selectboard before it went further.

Selectboard Chair Morrison indicated support, though it was noted that there were multiple considerations still to be investigated, such as parking and hooking up to the town’s septic system.

Boy Scout Troop 16 was given the go-ahead to conduct a U.S. flag retirement ceremony at 10 a.m. on July 4.

The ceremony will be held on the Town Green.

The contract for a sum not to exceed $1,000 was approved for Robert Hyams to apply two or three applications of herbicide to eliminate a patch of common reed (Phragmites Australis) on town garage land. Common reed is a pernicious, invasive plant, and Hyams’ work will allow the Charlotte Conservation Commission to collect data for cost analysis.

The Selectboard approved the use of $2,711.68 from the Recreation Capital Fund along with an amount not to exceed $3,300 from the Selectboard’s unanticipated expense budget line to repair the cracks on the Town Beach tennis courts as well as reinforce or replace the net posts. The contract will

be awarded to Advantage Tennis Company.

While moving the World War II monument to the Town Green will be delayed by a late wetland permit, the Selectboard authorized payment to Jeff Kuhn of $1,700 to clean and move the monument. Funds will come from privately raised contributions and will not be paid until the move has been permitted.

In a series of administrative actions the Selectboard approved the annual $600 contract with Comfort Hill Kennel to accept dogs that have been picked up by the animal control officer.

The board went on to approve an amendment to the agreement between the town and the Charlotte Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service (CVFRS) that would require CVFRS to obtain Selectboard approval prior to purchases of capital equipment.

Lincoln Applied Geology was selected as the class three operator for the library and Town Hall water systems.

Finally, the Selectboard chair was authorized to sign town employee time sheets when the town administrator is unavailable.

The next regular Selectboard meeting will be held on June 23.

Odyssey continued from page 1 which we have just a few minutes to solve a problem in a short, alloted time frame.

Along the way, we’ve made new friends from places like Germany, Mexico, China and Poland. Several team members cited getting to know our buddy team from Mexico as one of the highlights of World Finals. Also, living on campus in the dorms, seeing people of all ages and backgrounds and seeing so many different solutions to the problems were highlights.

Again, a huge thank-you for the community support and help in creating this experience. The relationships built and new ways of thinking will extend well beyond the trip.

For more information about Odyssey of the Mind, go to odysseyof themind.com.

Members of CCS’s Green Submarine team have some fun with their new friends from Mexico while at the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals in Iowa City recently. After earning a spot in the competition this spring, the team raised nearly $13,000 to travel to Iowa with three coaches. The seven 4th graders on the Green Submarine team are Aidan Devine, Emmett LaChapelle, Chloe Silverman, Riley Bagnato, Chris Haigney, Sam Holmes and Malinn Sigler.

The Charlotte News

Meet Charlotte’s Volunteer Tree Care Givers Larry Hamilton Contributor Trees on town property such as the Town Hall area, road rights-of-way, Thompson’s Point, Whalley Woods, Mutton Hill, Charlotte Park and Wildlife Reserve, and East Burying Ground and Barber Cemetery are valuable town assets. As such they need constant monitoring and care, especially the 435 roadside trees planted through the Rutter Family Charlotte Beautification Fund over the last six years.

Each Vermont town is asked by law to appoint a tree warden to carry out such functions. He or she is empowered by law to fine those who cut or mar these trees without permission. This position is appointed by the Selectboard each year. The appointee is also able to designate a deputy warden to share the load.

Due to the heavy responsibility of having a host of recently planted roadside trees in Charlotte, your tree warden also appointed two volunteer tree stewards in 2014. The rogues gallery of tree care-givers for 2014 in Charlotte is shown below.

Larry Hamilton is tree warden with particular focus on roadside trees, right-ofway issues, other town lands and tree-education activities. He formerly taught forest conservation at Cornell,and worked on Asia and Pacific forestry out of Hawaii as an educator.

Mark Dillenbeck of Oak Hill Road is deputy tree warden, with particular focus on tree issues at Thompson’s Point. He is a business-

man and trained forester who has done international work in forestry.

Annemie Curlin is an artist who dotes on trees and lives on Toad Road in East Charlott e .

She has taken both the Charlotte Tree Keepers Program and the course on Stewardship of the Urban Landscape (SOUL). She is the Charlotte tree steward overseeing recently planted trees east of Mt. Philo Road.

Sue Smith of Lake Road Extension is West Charlotte tree steward, overseeing planted trees west of Route 7. Sue is the Warrior Queen Against Invasives, both in Charlotte and in the Adirondacks. In 2013 she received the Vermont State Tree Steward Leader Award.

Both Mark and Larry serve on the Charlotte Park and Wildlife Reserve Oversight Committee. For the first time in the 19 years of no budget for this work (except for a small allocation in fiscal year 2013), an official budget allocation of $900 was made for 20142015. Most of this will go to replacing trees and shrubs along Lewis Creek that were damaged by unprecedented ice blocks overflow from the creek last winter. The Rutter Tree Fund is still open to tax-free donations.

Larry Hamilton is Charlotte’s volunteer tree warden.

Steeple Ridge Equestrian Rider Wins National Finals Steeple Ridge Farm in Charlotte is This is Steeple Ridge’s first year parproud to announce its latest national ticipating in IEA. The team consists of winner. Caroline Carrara, a freshman 20 middle and high school riders from at Rice High School and member of the Charlotte, Shelburne, Cornwall, VerSteeple Ridge equestrian team, won the gennes, Montpelier, Milton and Stowe.

Interscholastic Equestrian Association Riders who are in 6th through 12th (IEA) Junior Varsity Novice over Fenc- grade are eligible to compete. The IEA es national finals in West Springfield, Mass. C a r o l i n e competed in a class of 22 national finalists from across the United States. Competitors in her class were the top riders from California, Texas, Georgia, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, New York, South Carolina, Colorado, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.

Caroline was the only rider who qualified from Vermont.

Mindy Hinsdale, the Steeple Ridge equestrian team coach, said, “Caroline Carrara was amazing in her class today!

She rode with precision and grace.

She put in a trip Caroline Carrara, the IEA Junior Varsity Novice over that would have Fences national finals champion, pictured with her trainer, won in any com- Mindy Hinsdale. pany!”

The IEA governs middle school and high school season follows the school calendar and teams throughout the United States. runs from September through May. Riders do not compete on their own Riders of all levels are eligible to comhorses. They ride a horse provided by pete. Anyone interested in participating the horse show in a random draw. It is in the IEA team at Steeple Ridge should a true test of horsemanship to compete contact Mindy Hinsdale at (802) 922and be successful on an unfamiliar 3529. horse.

The Charlotte News

Get a Workout at CVU—Free School to hold free summer fitness center hours

Ninth Annual Kelly Brush Ride Set for September 6 Sign up for ride to support adaptive sports, ski race safety

Beginning Monday, June 23, Charlotters are invited to use CVU’s fitness center at no cost. The fitness center will be open for two three-hour sessions Monday through Friday, the first from 7–10 a.m. and the second from 3–6 p.m.

This schedule will be interrupted during a pair of two-week personal fitness classes between June 17 and 26 and July 7 and 17. During these sessions, morning community access hours will be 7-8 a.m. or 7-8:30 a.m., depending on the instructor’s needs.

The free fitness center hours are open to all members of the CSSU community. For more information call 482-7100.

This Year’s Champ Run Biggest Ever Already in its 12th year, the Champ Run keeps getting larger. This year’s event was the biggest ever, with over 300 registered racers coming out for the June 8 event, put on by the CCS PTO. The event raised money to support mini-grants for teachers as well as enrichment programs like Four Wind and Continental Math. The proceeds will also go toward purchasing new uniforms for the crosscountry team.

Beyond the money raised, the race was a success because of the people who came out to run for a good cause, said race organizer Ellen Santos.

“It was so great to see families running together, kids challenging themselves to run faster than their parents, and so many generous sponsors willing to donate to CCS,” she said. “Our sincere thanks goes out to the community of Charlotte for supporting the 2014 Champ Run.” This year’s winners included several Charlotters, including Sadie Holmes, 12 (3rd, 5K Women); Henry Bijur, 11, (1st, 5K Men); Sean Gilliam, 11 (2nd, 5K Men); Leigh Sampson, 44 (2nd, 10K Women); Walter Deale, 44 (1st, 10K Men); and Tim Ziter, 42, (2nd, 10K Men).

For more info on the CCS PTO and its work, visit the school’s website (ccsvt.org).

Kelly Brush Davisson leads the start of the 2013 Kelly Brush Century Ride, powered by VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations in Middlebury, Vt. Now in its ninth year, the ride has raised nearly $1.5 million for adaptive athletes and to improve ski racing safety.

Registration is under way for Vermont’s largest fundraising ride the Kelly Brush Century Ride, powered by VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations, on Saturday, Sept. 6. The ride draws hundreds who spin in support of the Kelly Brush Foundation’s mission to conquer the challenges of paralysis through love of sport and to improve ski racing safety.

The ride was started by the Middlebury College ski team as a way to buy an adaptive mono-ski for team member Kelly Brush Davisson, a Charlotter paralyzed as the result of a ski racing crash. Brush and her family later founded a nonprofit, and the ride was opened to the public.

Participants enjoy gently rolling terrain and lake views over several distance options: 25, 50 or 100 miles, with options to ride 65 or 85 miles. Riders and teams of riders compete to raise the most money, with prizes for reaching fundraising milestones. The ride ends with a celebratory post-ride party and barbecue.

Last year’s ride drew more than 750 riders. The event is also the region’s largest for adaptive athletes using handcycles, with more than two dozen participants taking part annually.

In the nine years since the Kelly Brush Century Ride

started, participants have raised nearly $1.5 million.

That support has enabled the foundation to purchase nearly 100 pieces of adaptive athletic gear for those living with spinal cord injury (SCI) and more than 400 miles of safety netting for ski racing and training courses, improving safety and preventing injury.

“The incredible dedication and support from riders, volunteers and sponsors over the years has made it possible for the foundation to improve the quality of life for individuals living with spinal cord injury and to raise the bar when it comes to ski racing safety,” said Kelly Brush Foundation President Zeke Davisson. “While the foundation has accomplished a tremendous amount in just under a decade, there is still so much more to do. Our main fundraising event, the Kelly Brush Ride, is key to meeting our mission.”

The foundation’s multifaceted mission encompasses ing with SCI by purchasing adaptive athletic equipment for those with financial limitations, to traumatic SCI. Registration is online at kellybrushfoundation.org.

The Charlotte News This growing interest compelled the program’s leaders to make DOOR as inclusive as possible, explained Amanda Crane, a D.O. teaching assistant. “We just continued from page 1 really expanded the definition of who we thought could join,” she said. and it was—more than a half mile longer.

Those students who couldn’t run were Not bad for 14 runners, many of whom given other options: one became the team had never run before this year and whose manager, who encouraged the runners special needs, ranging from learning dis- from the seat of his bike; another, Stacey abilities to ADHD to autism, had until Stone, became a team photographer. now precluded them from even joining a “She really felt like she was a member team. That day on Creek Road was a spe- of the team,” said Crane of Stacey. cial moment for the DOOR team.

But the natural camaraderie students “That was a really pivotal turning felt from the team’s inclusive ethos was point,” said Iain Hoefle, a D.O. teacher, augmented by a simple team rule: no one of the training run. “It was also a teach- can give up. According to Hoefle, each able moment. I told them, ‘You guys did participant had to sign a contract stat3.7 miles and you did it under extremely ing he or she would commit to finish the difficult circumstances. You can easily do Champ Run, no matter what. Further, the 3.1 miles.’” contract stipulated no complaining—each And they did. The entire group of run- sore muscle was not a sign of weakness, ners, all of them dressed in bright green the team’s philosophy went, but evidence shirts and followed by a student man- the body was getting stronger. ager on a bike and a student photographer, While all the runners who participated crossed the finish line at the June 8 Champ in DOOR overcame obstacles to get there, Run, many of them together in groups. It one team member seemed emblematic was a finish representaof the commitment tive of the team effort it to cross the finish took to get there. line: Dan Briggs, a DOOR started two 19-year-old with years ago at the behest spina bifida. The conof a single student, who genital disorder has suggested the D.O. Proleft Dan without the gram start a running ability to walk long club that culminated distances without the with participation in aid of braces. a 5K. She had been a Despite the fact he member of Girls on the had limited ability Run, a national running to move on his own, program whose misDan wanted to join sion is to empower preDOOR. Owing to adolescent girls through the inclusive nature running. With a focus of the club, the D.O. on confidence building, Program’s leadexercise and inclusion, A D.O. Teaching assistant ers vowed to find a Girls on the Run would hugs DO student runner Phillip way for him join as a stand as a template for Jerome on a race well-run. racer. He would need DOOR. a special jogger that That first year, seven would simultaneousstudents joined the D.O. running club. ly support him as he walked and comfort They trained for four months to compete him when he sat. in the annual Crowley Road Race in Because the cost of buying or renting Rutland. The inaugural year proved such such a jogger was prohibitive, the D.O. a success that after the Rutland race, the Program’s leaders sought the funds to running club expanded, in part because build one. The husband of a D.O. aid students saw the fun their friends were volunteered to give it a shot, and using having. three bike tires and an old school desk “I never ran before and I really like that was cut and welded onto a steel frame running,” said Nicky. “And my friends with handles on the back for pushing, he wanted me to join.” customized an adult jogger for Dan. With

Photos by stacey stone

Distance

Members of the DOOR team celebrate finishing this year’s Champ Run. the jogger, Dan not only got to train with his teammates, he also did some pushing of his own, becoming the team’s de facto cheerleader during practice runs.

The morning of the Champ Run was hot and muggy, just like the run along Otter Creek. There was a nervous excitement on the bus as the 14 DOOR runners and six volunteers traveled to Charlotte. After the team members secured their race packets and pinned their numbers on their shirts, they held a team meeting. “There’s always someone who is going to run faster and there’s always someone who is going to run slower,” Hoefle told them. What mattered was they ran the race as a team.

The group ran together, three boys trading off as they pushed Dan. One hundred yards from the finish line, Dan got out of the jogger and pushed it himself to the end, something he’d practiced over and over. His parents and teammates were there to cheer him—and the rest of the team—on.

“It felt pretty good,” he said of the finish.

“It was good,” Nicky added. “It was fun running to the finish line and hearing people cheering me on.”

For Hoefle, who also participated in the race, seeing everyone finish was a memorable moment. “As a teacher and a parent, what is exhilarating is to see the excitement of the students crossing the finish line,” he said. “There was some anxiety and nervousness about finishing.

But when you see them work to the edge and accomplish their goal that’s pretty gratifying.”

It was also gratifying for parents, he

added. “All the parents at some point or another have said thanks for believing in my kid,” he said. “They get teary when they say that. It’s a great feeling to be included. It’s a pretty powerful event.

There were a lot of misty eyes at the finish line.”

In a press release to local media prior to the Champ Run, Hoefle promoted the story of DOOR as an antidote to the negativity in so much of the news, a story that “conjures up an endless list of clichés.”

Why not?

It takes a village.

We can do this.

It’s not what you’re born with—it’s what you do with it.

Indeed, it’s a good story—one that such clichés were born to describe. But DOOR’s success goes beyond the easy story lines summoned by such simple bromides.

“It really is an example of life,” Hoefle said of the club’s success, “of life’s challenges. It’s also a strong message we’re sending to our kids: that it’s important to be inclusive. And if you have to adapt to something, that’s okay. Dan has proven that. So has the kid who is a general manager and the kid who is the photographer.”

DOOR will continue next year and hopefully expand, said Hoefle. Already the group is considering races for next year. Until then, the members of DOOR are going to keep putting one foot in front of the other—and getting others running, too.

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News From CVU Susan Grasso Contributor Toward the end of every academic year, international students CVU has hosted over the course of the school year visit the CVU School Board. This year students from Austria, Denmark, Italy, Germany and Sweden talked about the many differences between their schools and CVU and were unanimous in their praise of the CVU experience.

They noted they felt like part of a family rather than students in a school and said that their involvement in classes, athletics, clubs and community activities quickly made them feel comfortable and connected. As is typical at this end-of-year visit, the students focused on the mixed emotions they were feeling. Clearly they were looking forward to seeing their families and friends at home, but they also knew they would miss the many important people who made their experiences at CVU and in Vermont so memorable.

CVU has welcomed at least one foreign exchange student annually (typically around ten these past few years) for more than 20 years. The school and community at large embrace these students from the moment they arrive. The school features international students’ photos and short bios in the September edition of the parent newsletter and the school paper. Members of the school community encourage all those who recognize these students to engage with them and welcome them to CVU and Vermont.

The faculty looks forward to having these students in their classes and makes accommodations, especially early on, to let the students adjust to their new home and language. The emphasis is on encouraging these visiting students to try new things, and the American students support them on their teams and clubs, as well as include them in high school life.

The benefits of the exchange, however, go in both directions. The inter-

CVU’s international exchange students this year are (from left) Irene (Spain), Simona (Lebanon), Martin (Denmark), Alex (Sweden), Philipp (Germany), Dominik (Austria), Louis (Germany) and Luca (Italy).

national presence helps CVU students understand different languages and cultures, as the visiting students are encouraged to share as much about their home country as possible. One exchange student noted that the student inquiries about life in his home country were so numerous that he found himself having to do a little research of his own to be sure he provided accurate answers.

These types of interactions give CVU students opportunities to gain new perspectives on their own country in relation to other parts of the world and to begin to understand how tightly connected the people of the world are to each other. The Internet and its various forms of social media have made it easier for CVU students and their international friends to stay connected long after the school year is over. It is not uncommon for CVU students to travel abroad to visit an international student they befriended in school.

This year’s school board visit with our international students was made even more special by a student presentation of the Education First’s (EF)

“High School Exchange Year Global Education Excellence Award” to CVU Principal Jeff Evans and School Board Chair Susan Grasso on behalf of CVU. According to Jan Bedard, local coordinator of the EF High School Exchange Year program, this award is presented annually to high schools that demonstrate an extraordinary commitment to international understanding and global awareness. Our school was one of a select group of high schools and districts recognized across the United States for the 2013-14 school year.

In addition to the plaque, CVU was chosen as one of five “Superior Schools” nationwide and received a $100 scholarship payable to a senior who best represents EF’s dedication to the mission of opening the world through education.

“Champlain Valley has shown an outstanding commitment to offering a global education,” said Dan Sodervall, president of EF High School Exchange Year. “By welcoming exchange students into the classrooms, CVU has created new and unique learning opportunities not just for the exchange stu-

dents, but for the American students and faculty as well.”

The international exchange student program is possible in large part because of families in the community who generously volunteer to host visiting students. To learn more about getting involved with high school exchange at CVU, please contact the CVU main office at 482-7100 to receive contact information for participating global exchange programs.

Susan Grasso is a Shelburne representative to the CVU School Board.

Charlotte representatives to the CvU sChool Board Lorna Jimerson

ljimerso@wcvt.com mariLyn riChardson mkrichardson1520@gmail.com

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The Charlotte News

CVU Seniors Receive Friendship Lodge Scholarships CVU seniors recently accepted Friendship Lodge #24’s 2014 scholarships.

They are (from row, second from left) Autumn Eastman, Steven Robert, Seamus Buxton, Olivia Hern and Addie Zinner. Their families joined them at the lodge’s meeting and presention of the scholarships.

Jordan Cannon to Study in Turkey on Department of State Scholarship Jordan Cannon, a tenth-grade student at the Vermont Commons School and a Charlotter, has been awarded a National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) scholarship for 2014-2015.

Jordan will study Turkish in Turkey for the summer.

Jordan has always loved learning other languages because they provide a window into other cultures and a bridge to connect with people from different parts of the world. She is excited to have this opportunity to learn firsthand about Turkey by immersing herself in its language and culture.

Launched in 2006, the NSLI-Y program is funded by the U.S. Department of State and provides merit-based scholarships for eligible high school students to learn less commonly taught languages in summer and academicyear overseas immersion programs.

NSLI-Y seeks to increase the number of Americans who can engage with native speakers of critical languages by providing formal instruction and informal language practice in an immersion environment.

The goals of the NSLI-Y program include sparking a life-long interest in foreign languages and cultures and developing a corps of young Americans with the skills necessary to advance international dialogue and cross-cul-

Jordan Cannon

Isabella Carrera graduates from Vermont Commons School Amira Silverman receives academic honors On Friday, June 6, 12 academically talented students graduated from the Vermont Commons School in South Burlington.

Charlotte resident Isabella Carrara, daughter of Joe and Kathleen Carrara, graduated from the school and will enroll at Boston University in the fall. Prior to graduation, she spent the final five weeks of the academic year focused on her senior project working with thoroughbred horses at After the Track, a program that rescues former racehorses and works with them until Isabella Carrara they are placed at new homes with new jobs.

She worked closely with John Burgoin of Ferrisburgh, who she said knows about working with off-the-track thoroughbreds. An accomplished equestrienne herself, Bella has participated in the North American Rider Junior Championships.

As a class, the 12 students received nearly $1.3 million in merit-based academic scholarships from the colleges and universities offering them admission, an average of $106,250 per student. The merit scholarships were offered prior to receipt of their financial aid packages. All members of the class plan to enroll in college in the 2014-15 academic year.

Academic awards were also bestowed at the graduation ceremonies, and Amira Silverman, daughter of Jonathan Silverman and Martha Whitfield of Charlotte, was the recipient of the Academic Achievement in Fine Arts.

Amira just completed her ninth-grade year at Vermont Commons and was noted for her artistic talent, keen eye Amira Silverman and gifted work in the school’s studio.

tural opportunities in the private, academic and government sectors. The State Department offers approximately 625 students per year the chance to study Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Persian, Russian and Turkish overseas through NSLI-Y. Applications for 2015-2016 NSLI-Y programs are expected to be available at nsliforyouth.org in the early fall. For information about exchange programs sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, visit exchanges.state.gov.

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on Camel’s Hump Road, which leads to the trailhead, and two houses up from me were our neighbors, who lived about half a mile from trailhead.

They told us several stories about getting a knock on their door after dark from hikers who were lost because they came up the Forest City Trail but went down the Forestry Trail. When the neighbors were new residents, they were very accommodating to lost hikers and would drive them to the Forest City trailhead, a considerable drive from Duxbury.

After one too many deliveries of ungrateful hikers who wouldn’t share the gas bill or at least buy their chauffeurs a six-pack for the trouble, the neighbors instead offered their telephone to call a taxi. A name change from Forestry to Monroe Trail keeps hikers from getting lost and neighbors from being disturbed.

Joanna Cummings The Monroe Trail is named after Will Monroe, Contributor who lived from 1863 to 1939. He was a professor at the University of Vermont, a trail builder, dog The grave of Bebe Alpine, a Saint Bernard that belonged to It is hard to resist the call to hike when a perfect conlover and owner of the Crouching Lion Farm. The William Monroe. vergence of sunny skies, warm temperatures and a light farm was located in the vicinity of the ranger station breeze keeps the black flies at bay. The Monroe Trail on trailhead and on either side of the trail as it ascends the Duxbury side of Camel’s Hump Mountain was my through the lower forest. Wall remnants made of destination for a quick hike to the summit. But first a few Except for the very loud guy drinking beer and gabstone marking out the fields are evident along the words about the name of this trail. bing on his cell phone, the summit was a great place to trail. Professor Monroe, his sister and several of their Before 2000 the Monroe Trail was called the Forestry be on such a sunny and clear day. The panoramic view beloved pet dogs, including a collie, Great Pyrenees and Trail. On the Huntington side of the mountain is a trail included Canada, New Hampshire and New York. As St. Bernard, are buried in a cemetery behind the ranger called Forest City. During the 1990s I lived in Duxbury many times as I have seen this view, it will always take station. The inscriptions on the gravestones for the pets my breath away. are very telling of how much they loved Although it is too early to observe any of the alpine and admired their dogs. plants on the summit in bloom, other organisms called Because of the distinctive shape of lichens grow there and choose rocks as their substrate. the summit, created by glacial action Lichens are not plants but a combination of organisms, thousands of years ago, Camel’s Hump Fri Jun 20 /6pm a fungus with either an algae or a cyanobacteria in a Mountain has been called Tah-wak-beShelburne Cider House Boys V ineyard “symbiotic relationship,” though in some cases the reladee-esso-wadso (Abenaki for restBluegrass tionship can be more parasitic.

Wine, Fiddlehead beer & Bluebird BBQ ing place), Le Lion Crouchant (resting There are several species of lichen on the summit, and lion, named by Samuel de Champlain), one that I find interesting is map lichen. This beautiful Couching Lion (English translation of Thu Jul 3 /6pm lichen is yellow-green in color, bordered with black French) and Camel’s Rump (on a map Mike Colbourn spores and very sensitive to air pollution. Map lichen is created by Ira Allen). Today it is one Alt Country Americana a slow grower—about one millimeter a year—but knowof the most popular places to hike in ing the growth rate is important to climatologists for Fri Jul 11 /6pm Vermont.

Chasing 440 determining the age of glacial deposits and understandThe very popularity of the area is a Bluegrass ing glacial movement.

Lichens were the first organisms threat to the fragile alpine vegetation on Wine, Fiddlehead beer & Old Brick Store pizza to recolonize the land after the last glacier receded from the summit, which covers approximately Vermont approximately 12,000 years ago.

Thu Aug 7 /6pm ten acres. If stepped on by people and Beerworth Sisters The return trip from the summit can be anti-climactic, dogs, which could happen hundreds of Grounds open Folk, Country & Classic Rock but what goes up must come down, and I had time to times on a busy day, the vegetation for picnicking at 5:30pm think about the tiger swallowtail butterflies I saw along would die, so summit caretakers from Fri Aug 22 /6pm the Winooski River as I drove up to the mountain. It Free Admssion the Green Mountain Club are vigilant The Dupont Brothers Open to the Public reminded me of a sighting many years ago while travabout telling people to “stay off the Bluegrass eling with friends on a country road, slowly driving grass” and to leash dogs. www.shelburnevineyard.com Wine, Fiddlehead beer & Bluebird BBQ through a cloud of hundreds of swallowtail butterflies. I I heard several species of birds on the was in the right place at the right time to experience the hike up, at the summit and then down wonder, just like the view from the top of a mountain on the mountain. My amateur knowledge of a sunny day. bird songs missed a few identifications, but the ones I did know were winter wren, red-eyed vireo, white- throated Joanna Cummings is co-chair of the Charlotte Conservation Commission. sparrow and brown creeper.

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Food &Field

thing with my life.

It was a self-applied pressure. I was not really finding the deeper sense of purpose that I needed to sustain me. And then I got a job on an organic farm.

I know our name is Stony Loam Farm, which refers to a soil type, but the fact of the matter is that we have about five acres of stony loam soil and 27 acres of the heavy Vergennes clay that is predominant in these parts. Vergennes Clay Farm wasn’t as catchy a name, so we went with the other. I wish we could have been Sandy Loam Farm, but there isn’t a whole

Growth Like Good Soil Dave Quickel Contributor

I immediately found something that made sense to me. I could be outside engaged with nature and work hard physically. There were many challenges and puzzles to solve every day. There was risk, and there was reward for a job well done, a puzzle properly solved. And at the end of the day there was something tangible, worthwhile and delicious. It fit me like a glove!

That was almost 20 years ago, and today I feel just as engaged, a whole lot more knowledgeable, and find myself the owner of a thriving farm of my own. It’s exciting and it feeds me on a lot of different levels. And maybe most important, you get what you give. You’ve got to hustle to make it work.

Our farm is diverse. We have a CSA, which provides vegetables to about 100 families in the area. This is how we started and is the heart and soul of the farm. We also sell vegetables to a bunch of local restaurants and grocery stores.

This seems to be a good mix financially to keep the cash flow positive.

But aside from the business aspects of farming, the main thing that I focus on is the soil. Healthy soil is the essence of organic farming. The health of our soil is absolutely critical to our success, and maintaining and enhancing fertility is essential. This is no small task as we are removing many tons of crops from our fields each season. But by carefully planting and managing cover crops— which are crops grown exclusively for, and plowed down to enhance, the health of the soil—we’ve been building up our organic matter and making our challenging clay soil a little better every year.

Life on a vegetable farm at this time of year means one thing and one thing only: the weather and the length of the day dictate everything. If it’s wet and rainy, we work in the greenhouses seeding trays and preparing for when the weather changes. This is not too hectic and allows us to get prepared. We make sure all the equipment is ready to go, make sure any supplies needed are on hand, make sure we have a solid plan for how we’ll move when the change comes. I actually return phone calls and respond to emails in a timely fashion when the ground is too wet to work.

When the rain stops and the soil dries out, it’s go time. The fields need to be prepped, and we need to get the transplants and seeds into the ground as fast as we can. Crops that have already been planted need to be cultivated (farmerspeak for “weeded”) and may need to be watered. Everything other than the work at hand falls by the wayside, and there’s a singular focus. The rain, when it comes, will settle the seeds and transplants, and then it’s time to go back to the other side of things—greenhouse work and repairs.

It’s a natural rhythm and one that makes sense to me.

I went to UVM and studied political science. I was lucky to have a dad who counseled me to follow my interests and not worry about where the road would lead. “You’ll figure it out at some point,” he said. When I graduated, I was faced with the familiar set of choices about what to do. Nothing relating to my college work was of interest to me (law school or grad school were the primary choices), so I took off out West and became a ski bum. I moved to Idaho and lived cheap, working wherever I needed to further my skiing and mountain biking passions. It was a pretty good time, and I pretty well enjoyed myself.

I actually spent several years like this and remember these years very fondly. However, at some point I started to feel that I should probably hawkcreekfence.com start to consider doing some-

lot of that soil type in the area.

We grow crops for harvest on any given piece of land for two years, and then we seed those fields with clover to let it rest. Clover is great for soil. There’s an old saying that goes something like this: you can improve soil better with ten pounds of clover seed than you can with the manure from 100 cows. Clover produces tons of lush vegetative growth, which we mow and leave on the field to build up organic matter. It also has the great quality of taking nitrogen from the air (“fixing it”) and turning it into little nodules in the soil that are then available to our crops. We also seed fields into rye or oats for shorter periods to keep the soil covered, lock in nutrients so they don’t run off, and provide additional organic matter when they’re plowed down.

This is kind of the backside of organic farming. You do a lot of work and put a lot of investment into things that don’t easily have a yield price tag. When we grow tomatoes, I know the range of return I can expect. But managing cover crops is different. The payback is slow, but it’s certainly there. Soil tilth (farmer-speak for “texture”) is immediately evident when you plow up a piece of land.

It’s the crumble and friability that allow roots to stretch out into the bed and find the

Eli Quickel (left) and Marie Kaigle stand in the rye cover crop before it is tilled in.

mix of water and nutrients they need.

And now that I’ve been farming this piece of land for almost ten years and getting soil tests done regularly, I see quantifiable improvements. Each test shows our organic matter has improved, and each year the soil is a little more productive.

I’m proud of this because I ask a lot of this land. It’s the kind of arrangement I love. By paying attention to the details, making careful study of my practices, it gets easier every year. We’re not headed the way of the Dust Bowl. We can farm, grow delicious food and make the land better. Now if only we can avoid another rainy summer we’ll be all set!

Dave Quickel owns and operates Stony Loam Farm in Charlotte. For more info, visit stonyloamfarm.com.

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We Can’t Afford to Avoid This: Unspoken Factors Driving Up Health Care Costs

Dr. Andrea Regan Contributor A patient recently asked me to explain the price difference between two surgeries he had in Burlington. The first was to remove a skin cancer on his nose. During a Mohs procedure, a dermatologist and pathologist work together to minimize the amount of skin removed to improve the cosmetic outcome. In his case, only one excision was needed. The second surgery was a laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair.

Admittedly, I was shocked to learn that he was charged three times more for the Mohs surgery.

It may be surprising, but most physicians do not know how much they charge for a given service or how much they are paid for the care they provide. This includes not only office visits but basic services such as imaging tests, blood work or, in this case, surgery. This confusion has become a reality in a system where what a health care provider is paid 1) varies by insurance type, 2) is frequently changed/ updated, 3) is protected by nondisclosure clauses in provider contracts with insurance companies and by anti-trust laws that make it illegal for practices to discuss how much they are paid for services, and 4) varies by the location and the provider

Adventures in Medical Billing Vince Crockenberg the Charlotte news My wife couldn’t believe it when she got my call. She was relieved when I told her last fall that I was taking up golf again after a 25-year hiatus, not least because golf was a whole lot safer than riding my bicycle up and over App Gap every year.

Now, in late March of this year, we were in Tucson, and I had just fallen out of a golf cart, injured my leg and needed to get to an emergency room.

When we got back to Burlington five days after the accident, additional x-rays and CT scans revealed a fractured tibial

giving the service.

Physician payment, or reimbursement, is very complicated. “Provider charges,” or fees (what they’re asking for), are usually determined by the office’s reimbursement trends. “Provider payments” (what they actually get paid) are usually determined by the insurance company and cannot legally be shared with people outside of the practice.

Physician reimbursement is a very confusing concept to physicians and patients alike. It differs from how we pay for most services and products on a daily basis. To illustrate the difference I often use an analogy of a grocery store, where the store is a health care provider’s office, the customers are the insurance companies, and the medical service is an apple.

Some special considerations include: 1. Determining the price of services: If a grocery store operated like a medical office it would be forced to set the price of an apple without knowing how much other stores were getting paid for apples. For the sake of this argument, let’s say the grocery store has decided to charge $1 per apple.

2. Determining the payment for services: Unlike other businesses, providers do not expect to get what they ask for.

Payments from an insurance company vary by provider and are influenced by a number of things, including the insurer, the plan type (i.e. gold, silver, bronze) and the provider’s office’s ability to negotiate with an insurance company.

Large chain stores (i.e. a hospital or large physician practice) are able to nego-

tiate a higher payment than smaller, independent groups for the same services.

This is a similar concept to negotiations in unions. The end result is everyone pays a different price for the apple at the checkout counter of different stores.

A private insurer or a “better” plan might pay $0.75 to a mom-and-pop store but $0.95 to a chain store for the same apple.

Medicaid or a “lower” private insurance plan may pay $0.60 and $0.75, respectively. Customers with high-deductible savings plans (HSAs) will pay the reduced rate but out of pocket, while the uninsured typically will be charged the full $1.

3. Adjusting rates appropriately: Over time, provider rates and reimbursements increase with inflation. Eventually someone is willing to buy the apple for $1.05. If the price is listed still at $1, then the store loses potential income. In this situation the provider’s billing company will typically recommend increasing the fee by five to 30 percent above the $1.05 to capture that additional revenue. So now the apple could cost as much as $1.36 to an uninsured person, while insured customers continue to pay a varying reduced rate for the apple.

Since physician and facility charges become inflated by this process, data on physician payments (how much different people are paying for apples at different stores) is essential for tracking health care expenses. Surprisingly, however, this information is not available—even to Vermont’s lawmakers—due to anti-trust laws and payer contracts, thus hindering

plateau that needed surgical repair. Two weeks after the surgery, the insurance paperwork began to arrive.

I’ve now accumulated about an inchthick sheaf of paper from Cigna explaining what was and was not covered by Medicare, my primary insurer, and Cigna, my secondary insurer. The cover sheet on each new batch of paperwork states in bold capitals just below my street address, “THIS IS NOT A BILL.” It is instead an “explanation of benefits.”

And it’s fascinating reading.

For example: Just for the surgery alone, the “Billed Charges” were $35,239. But $23,022 was “Not Allowed/Not Covered.” Medicare then paid $10,703, and Cigna paid an additional $1,514. So what happened to the $23,022 of billed charges that were not allowed or not covered?

Medicare simply ignores billed amounts and typically pays 80 percent of what it determines is the “usual, cus-

tomary and reasonable charges” for each medical service—an amount determined by the average costs for the service adjusted for geographical factors, case severity and, for hospitals like Fletcher Allen, the additional costs incurred by academic teaching hospitals. Cigna, my secondary insurer, paid the other 20 percent.

Who, if anyone, actually pays the full billed amounts? Well, they’re paid—or expected to be paid—by patients with no insurance or by non-Medicare-eligible patients insured by companies that do not have contractual agreements with the medical provider for a discounted rate.

Health insurance in America is expensive, and the cost of sudden, uninsured hospitalization can quickly drain a family’s or an individual’s financial resources. The $35,239 of billed charges for my surgery does not include an additional $4,172 in charges for X-rays, CT

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reform. Furthermore, insurance companies are unwilling to share with the government their payment rates to different practitioners, claiming those payment rates are proprietary. Discrepancies in payment for the same services have also led to many independent offices closing, resulting in decreased competition and higher health care costs.

As Vermont contemplates the role of a single-payer system to curb rising health care costs, health care providers, the Legislature and the public all need to develop a better understanding of our medical payment system. For providers, improved understanding of costs occurs through feedback from patients, insurers and electronic medical records. For the Legislature it is through testimony, research and reform.

As for you, the consumer, it is essential that you understand your coverage and do your homework. A MRI of the shoulder might cost three times more at one facility than another. Or an independent physician’s fee for gallbladder surgery or a colonoscopy could cost half of that by a hospital-employed physician. Even blood work can be done at many small offices or sent to a private lab for large savings.

After all, we shop around and discuss other major purchases, so why aren’t we doing this for our health care? We can’t afford not to.

Dr. Andrea Regan is a physician at the Charlotte Family Health Center.

scans and emergency room visits or the additional several hundred dollars of doctor and facility charges for pre- and post-operation visits. Medicare, as the primary insurer of millions of older Americans, can set prices for medical services that protect seniors from this kind of financial exigency.

Medicare certainly has its problems going forward, most notably the increasing cost of new technologies and treatments and an aging population that uses a disproportionate share of medical resources. But as a Medicare beneficiary with good secondary insurance coverage, I deeply appreciate the way the program protects me and my family from the sudden financial shock of a medical emergency. And as a citizen I wish it— or something very like it—were available to everyone else here in the richest country on the planet.

The Charlotte News

Charlotte Senior Center

The Café Menu

by Mary Recchia, Activities Coordinator

Do you love theater? Do you appreciate the spoken word? All The World’s a Stage is our play reading group that meets once a month and is for people who enjoy reading plays aloud or listening to others perform. Parts have been assigned for our reading on June 26 from 1–3 p.m., when we will hear a screenplay under option by Doris Roberts and Ed Asner titled Hasbeen Hotel.

As a participant or a listener, all are welcome to join as we continue to broaden our exposure to this rich and poignant form of literature. There is a sign-up sheet in the registration book at the host desk where you can let us know if you would like to be given a part for our next reading on Thursday, July 24.

–––– Our first kayak trip for women, led

by Claire Rivers and Daryl Hatch, is scheduled for June 27 to Farrell Dam in Panton. These trips provide an opportunity for like-minded older women who share a love of recreational kayaking, paddling and exploring our many local lakes, ponds and rivers. We help each other, laugh a lot and have fun. To register your interest, please respond by email directly to Susan Hyde, susanfosterhyde@gmail.com), and you will be placed on a master list of paddlers. One week prior to the trip, you will receive an email with specific details asking for a commitment.

Paddlers need to provide their own boats for all trips, be on time, have all their gear, bring lunch and plenty of water, and be ready to have a fun day.

We are planning on beautiful weather for all the outings, since there will be no rain dates. Registration required.

Maximum: 12 paddlers for some trips this year. ____ Our genealogy group, led by Carl Tatlock, will gather on Thursday, July 3, from 1–3 p.m. Do you want to research your ancestors but are not sure how

to get started? Have you started your search and need some ideas on what to try next? Come have some fun, share ideas, trade information and tell stories of your journey through history. Family Tree Maker and Ancestory.com are available at the Center to assist you in your search. No Fee. –––– Let’s ride! with Sojourn on Tuesday, July 8, beginning at 9 a.m., with our destination Essex, N.Y. Get outdoors, meet some folks, and enjoy yourself!

Join Charlotte-based Sojourn for fun, supported recreational rides along the best cycling roads in the region. You will enjoy the camaraderie of Sojourn tour leaders and the comfort and support the van. Snacks and refreshments will be provided.

The ride will begin from the Center at 9 a.m. and will return by noon. If you would like to come along but don’t have a bike, let us know; for $15 Sojourn will provide you with a properly sized bicycle. Registration required. No fee.

–––– Painting color and light—An outdoor pastel class with Angela Manno, an internationally acclaimed visiting artist who has taught at her studios in Colorado and New York, in Provence, France, and through the New York Open Center in Manhattan.

Learn the approach to landscape painting that Claude Monet used to create his impressionistic masterpieces. Students will learn the secret to approaching subjects in changing light, how to simplify the landscape into basic masses and to develop the ability to see the full spectrum of color. Classes are taught in pastel, but those proficient in other media are also welcome.

Manno’s approach to capturing radiant color and light in the landscape and still life has been handed down through the Cape Cod School of Art in Provincetown, Mass., founded by Charles

MONDAY, JUNE 23: Vegetarian 7 Bean soup, Salad, Bread, Surprise dessert Hawthorne, a contemporary of Claude Monet who taught Monet’s painting technique. Her landscapes have received numerous awards, including the Award for Excellence from the National Parks Academy of the Arts, and are featured in the French documentary film, Voyage au Pays des Lavandes (Journey to Lavender Country). Her art is in private collections throughout the U.S., Europe, South America and the Middle East and in the permanent fine art collections of NASA and the Smithsonian Institution.

To see more samples of her work, go to angelamanno.com.

Open to beginning through advanced students. Five Tuesday mornings (July 22, 29, Aug 5, 12 & 19) from 9 a.m.– noon. Registration required. Fee: $150.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25: Seafood and tortellini salad, homemade dessert MONDAY, JUNE 30: Manhattan clam chowder Salad, Ice cream sundaes WEDNESDAY, JULY 2: Grilled hot dogs, cole slaw, birthday cake and ice cream

Senior LunCheonS are held every Wednesday at noon. Reservations are necessary in advance and can be made by calling the Senior Center at 425-6345. A $4 donation is requested. Reservations are not required for the Monday Munch.

A group of Senior Center paddlers prepare for a river adventure last year. The next trip is scheduled for June 27.

Tell Our Advertisers You Saw it in the News!

by Elizabeth Bassett

Invasion of the….

Invasives are as old as ships at sea; tomatoes and dandelions once hitched rides across the oceans. Neither tomatoes nor dandelions are taking over the countryside, but some of the newer invasives are far less benign and are spreading aggressively without natural enemies to tame them.

What’s a property owner to do? Why should we care?

Charlotte Tree Warden Larry Hamilton suggests pulling buckthorn seedlings while the ground is still soft and damp. “Cut larger stems and, to avoid resprouting, apply glyphosate (active ingredient in Roundup) carefully using a medical type plastic squeeze bottle with constricted flow tip,” he says, “just enough to cover.” Repeated cutting of sprouts will eventually kill the plant, “but it may take years,” he adds.

One possible upside of buckthorn, “The wood is very attractive,” Larry says. “It can be used for woodworking. It also makes good firewood once the dwarf spur twigs are removed.”

What about wild parsnip? Consider a neighborhood effort. “It’s almost hopeless unless you can get your neighbors to join in the effort,” Larry says. Wild parsnip, a member of the parsley family that looks like Queen Anne’s lace on steroids, is especially pernicious as the sun activates its sap that causes second-degree burns to the skin. Do not mess with wild parsnip without proper protection!

Jenny Cole and Sue Smith continue efforts to tame invasives, including wild parsnip, at Charlotte Park and Wildlife Refuge, formerly known as the Demeter property.

“We have a small budget for mechanical help,”

Invasives worthy of worry are those that crowd out native species. Many insects have adapted to eat just a few plants. If we lose those plants we lose our insects as well as the songbirds and amphibians that depend on them.

Sue Smith, known fondly by some as Warrior Queen against Invasives, is handling the reins of European frog-bit removal in Town Farm Bay with Bob Hyams of the Conservation Commission. Bob has lined up several groups that will organize volunteers to paddle the bay this summer and lift the invasives into fivegallon pails.

“We own boats, paddles and life preservers,” says

Photo by Sue Smith

OutDoors

Jenny says. “Dick Preston does brush hogging early in the season before the wild parsnip goes to seed. We’ve also had some help from Church Hill Landscapes.

Over six or seven years we have had lots and lots of volunteer help.”

Among the many volunteers at the park are high school and UVM students, the Nature Conservancy’s Wise on Weeds program, and Mark LeBarr from Audubon. Early this season Jenny and other volunteers pulled the few patches of garlic mustard.

“Later in the summer and fall we’ll resume work on the honeysuckle, buckthorn and amur maple,” Jenny says. Amur maple is an invasive landscaping plant

Volunteers paddle through Town Farm Bay in an effort to remove European frog-bit from local waters.

that seeds prolifically and crowds out native shrubs and grasses. “The good news is that we can see a difference,” she says. “Trees are growing taller and shading out some invasives, and enough native trees, shrubs and wildflowers are coming in to fill the empty spaces.”

To volunteer call Jenny at 425-3105.

Sue, who spent years developing the program to this point. “We have great partners: Alexa Lewis allows us to use her land for access, and Point Bay Marina stores our boats over the winter and provides a scow for the weed we remove.”

Volunteers remove several tons of frog-bit each year. Last year they also removed some water chestnut.

In addition to Sue and Bob, this summer’s organizers include the Charlotte Conservation Commission, the Charlotte Land Trust, the Shelburne-Charlotte Rotary and Marty Illick, executive director of the Lewis Creek Association. Volunteer crews will work every week from mid-June to mid-August. To contact the coordinators for each week visit the Conservation Commission page on the town website, charlottevt.org, and look for weekly updates on Front Porch Forum.

Town Farm Bay and adjacent wetlands serve as a filter for pollution entering Lake Champlain from Thorpe and Kimball brooks. The class I wetland is of highest value and statewide significance. “Natural communities of plants and animals on which our lives depend are worth caring for,” Sue says. “Besides, it’s fun to be on such a beautiful part of the lake helping to keep it healthy.”

In comparison to wild parsnip the challenge of garlic mustard seems manageable—if we act soon.

Brought to the United States in the 19th century as a remedy for gangrene and ulcers, garlic mustard has its wiles: a single plant can produce up to 8,000 seeds, and plants quickly grow to tower above and out-compete native spring wildflowers or ephemerals, stealing their sunshine. Garlic mustard roots also exude compounds that kill beneficial soil fungi and prevent other species’ seeds from germinating.

The good news, relatively speaking, is that it’s easy to pull out in the spring (make sure to destroy the plant, as seeds will continue to develop even after the plant has been pulled from the ground), and it has not yet completely taken over, at least in Vermont. Garlic mustard is advancing across the country at a rate of 2,500 square miles a year, so the time to act is now.

What can you do? Learn to recognize the plant and remove it wherever you find it. Make sure to pull the entire root. Burn or bag plants and send them to the landfill.

Happy hunting!

The Charlotte News

SPORTS Men’s LAX repeats as state champs The CVU men’s lacrosse team topped rival South Burlington for the state championship on the Castleton State College turf last Saturday. It was not an easy victory for the Redhawks, however, as they had to overcome an early Rebel lead. Hoyt McCuin’s goal well into the fourth quarter finally iced it for CVU, which won by a final score of 11-8.

Matt Palmer scored five goals and Charlotte’s Elliot Mitchell four to help the Redhawk cause. Two of Palmer’s came in the final segment of the game.

Although it entered the net from the whip of a teammate’s stick, Mitchell’s pass across the field to Palmer near the end of the first half set the tone for the rest of the game and brought CVU to within two goals to begin the second half. Again, senior midfielders Steele DuBrul and Alex Bulla won battles outside the attack zone with DuBrul controlling face-offs as he has all season. Griffin, the younger of two Diparlo brothers, assisted on four goals, one of which began the final 4-0 roll that brought CVU the victory.

Getting to Castleton was not an easy task. It took a goal by Dylan Schaefer in the last 15 seconds of the semi-final against Essex to give CVU the needed 7-6 win. Diparlo scored twice and DuBrul once to further the team’s cause. Owen Hudson was tall in the net in both games with eight saves against the Hornets and 14 in the championship.

by Edd Merritt

with only four losses apiece, were evenly matched. CVU was defending its state crown, and both pitchers, sophomore Ted Hesslink for Rice and Rayne Supple for the Redhawks, were two of the best in Vermont. It was the second time this season that CVU faced Hesslink.

In the first battle, CVU’s errors led to a loss, even though Supple with relief help from Sam Mikell pitched no-hit ball. The second time around it was again unearned runs that crippled the Redhawks. Ahead early, CVU dropped behind in the fifth inning on errors without Rice gaining a hit. A hit batter with the bases loaded in the fifth inning put Rice up by the final 2-1 score. Hesslink, while allowing

A Redhawk beats out the throw to first base in CVU’s loss to Rice in the state tournament playoffs. the top teams from Rutland, Essex, St. Johnsbury, South Burlington and Burr and Burton. As he has been doing for most of the season, Peter Scrimgeour was the Redhawk medalist, shooting a 78 for 18 holes. The overall medalist, Troy Evans from Spaulding, shot a 73.

Women’s tennis falls to South Burlington in state finals Despite some catching up as matches progressed, CVU was not able to overcome South Burlington for the state team championship in tennis, losing to the Rebels 5-2.

After dropping the number one doubles match (featuring Charlotte’s Mackenzie Kingston) and losing a close singles match between Redhawk MacKenzie Buckman and Slovakian transfer student Romana Bartosova, Elyse Killkelley gave CVU its first victory, a three setter, 6-2, 1-6, 10-7. The number one player in the state, Redhawk sophomore Kathy Joseph, added a second match point by beating her opponent 6-3, 6-1. While that closed the Rebel deficit to 3-2, it was not enough to overcome another single and doubles loss.

Green Knights ride over Redhawks in baseball Two losses to Rice Memorial—one in the regular season, the second in the playoffs—may be hard for CVU’s baseball team to stomach. However, both teams,

Rec News

by Kristin Hartley

School is out—let the summer begin!

CURRENTLY The Charlotte Town Beach is now officially open. The dock and rafts are in, so come down, play some tennis, have a picnic and take a dip! Resident seasonal beach passes cost $20. The cost for a nonresident is $40. A day parking pass is $3 for a resident and $6 for a nonresident.

The beach is now pack-in, pack-out trash, so please remember that whatever you come in with must go out with you. No dogs are allowed at the beach.

–––– The tennis nets are up at the town courts! The courts are being used in the mornings the week of June 16 and 23 for our Tim Serrell Tennis Clinic and the following week for tennis summer camp.

Other than that, courts are open. Greg

CVU’s Eastman is second fastest in New England Redhawk runner Autumn Eastman finished in second place in the 3,200-meter run at the New England Hoyt McCuin moves in on the Middlebury net during a men’s championships in Bridgewater, Mass. lacrosse match. The Redhawks repeated as state champs this year. She was one of nine Vermonters to place among the top six in their respective events in the 69th annual running of this regional competition. five hits overall, settled down as the game progressed, Maeve Higgins places in state decathlon retiring CVU’s last seven batters.

Charlotte's Maeve Higgins placed sixth overall after the first day of the state decathlon championships at Golfers putt to sixth place in the state UVM. She and CVU teammate, Lauren Johnson, were The Division I golf championships at the Country Club of Vermont saw CVU come in sixth behind the Redhawks among the top ten decathletes.

Smith is organizing our 2014 Wednesday evening adult tennis play. Come join your neighbors and fellow tennis enthusiast for pick-up tennis. Bring your racket, some balls and some game! This group meets every playable Wednesday throughout the summer. Fridays are the regular backup date.

This summer we will be having court work done and installing new nets as well.

Stay posted for the work days.

–––– Our 2nd annual beach party will be taking place Aug. 2 this year, so mark your calendars. It will be a potluck affair with, music, free kayak, paddle board, and other water sport demos sponsored by Outdoor Gear Exchange. It should be lots of fun.

Summer campS

Here is a recap of what recreation now has to offer: It is time to sign up for summer camp, and we have lots of options here in Charlotte.

Our summer begins with a week of one-hour, free tennis instruction at the annual Tim Serrell Tennis Clinic for Charlotte residents. This clinic is led

by Amy deGroot, a PTR professional instructor with a huge tennis resume. I hope you are able to take advantage of this opportunity! There is a class size limit, so sign up soon.

The next week, June 23-27, Amy will be offering a tennis camp in Charlotte

for 10- to 14-year- olds, a great way to continue working on your tennis. Amy will also be holding camp for 6- to 7-year-olds and 8- to 11-year-olds July 7-11 at the Shelburne Davis Park courts.

Registration for this week needs to be done through Shelburne Recreation.

If your children like the outdoors, they will love exploring and learning about the garden at the Green Thumbs Gardening Camp. This camp is being offered two different weeks of the summer. Experienced outdoor educators Tai Dinnan and Stacy Carte will be running this camp for 1st-5th graders.

This summer we are hosting three soccer camps: the British Challenger Camp, TetraBrazil Challenger Camp and the Voltage Soccer Camp. All will be run at CCS—no commute!

If your children would like to work on their golf games, they can be a part of Golf Camp at Cedar Knoll taught by Barry Churchill, a master of the game.

This camp is limited to four people ages 8-15 and takes place August 4-7.

The Town of Charlotte is partnering with the Community Sailing Center in Burlington to hold a Summer Sailing Camp. Come learn the lifelong sport of sailing with your friends. The camp is scheduled for July 21-25.

Horseback riding is a popular sport in Charlotte, and we now have three weeks of camp throughout the summer where your children can learn to ride or

have fun honing their skills. The camps take place at the Livery Horse Farm in Hinesburg.

Track and field is being offered again this summer. We join with our sister towns, Hinesburg and Williston, on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:15-7:45 p.m. June 16-July 24. Great coaches, great experience!

adult programming

Adult early morning Boot Camp is the place to be at 6 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday mornings at CCS. It is so much fun! We have such a great community come out and join us and make a commitment to fitness. This class will continue through the summer. There are eight class sessions, but you can join at any point.

The beginner adult biking series run

by Karyn Lewis will take place again in mid-August. I hope you will mark your calendars and join this group.

Registration forms for all programs and more information can be found on our town website (charlottevt.org) or here at the Charlotte Town Offices. If you have questions email me at recreation@townofcharlotte.com.

As always there are full and partial scholarships available for all recreation programs. If you have any questions about any of our programs contact me at recreation@townofcharlotte.com or 425-6129, ext. 204.

lotte Rotary, and the Charlotte Grange for providing funds to make this possible. In addition, a special thank you to Carrie Spear for donating the space for the drop box and for her enthusiasm for and support of the library effort.

Not only do we hope the drop box will encourage more visits to the library with the ease of return, but we also see it as the first step in expanding our programs and services in East Charlotte.

The library is here for our entire community, and we want to share that message and our offerings with everyone, wherever they live and whatever they seek at the library.

by Margaret Woodruff

Expanding horizons If you drive past Spear’s Corner Store regularly, you’ll soon note a new feature on the outside of the building.

East Charlotte finally has a library drop box! Now Charlotters living in that part of town have a more convenient way to return items checked out on the west side of town.

Thanks goes to Stephen Brooks for his craftsmanship in constructing the drop box and to the Charlotte Friendship Lodge #24, the Shelburne-Char-

Upcoming at thE library Wednesday Night Knitters, throughout the summer. Join us every other Wednesday evening at 5:30 p.m. beginning June 25. We compare notes, knits and share good company.

Summer Reading Kick-Off, Wednesday, June 25, 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 of programs and check out some new books to get your summer started! (No

Very Merry Theatre to Perform Several Charlotte Shows this Summer Charlotte-based Very Merry Theatre will perform several of its popular wagon tour shows, and its hometown is on the list of stops. Throughout July and August, area teenagers will perform The Long Ranger Meets Cherokee Princess, The King and I, and Once On This Island.

The Lone Ranger Meets Cherokee Princess will come to the Charlotte Library on Thursday, July 3, at noon and Friday, July 4, at Staige Hill Farm in Charlotte beginning at noon. The sequel to Very Merry Theatre’s original Lone Ranger tale, this new musical tells the story of the plight of the Cherokee, and how the Lone Ranger teams up with a young woman to save some of their cherished land. If it rains, the performance will take place at the Charlotte Congregational Church.

The King and I tells the tale of an English schoolteacher who travels to Siam and discovers she can influence

events in the king’s household as well as his political views. It features a timeless musical based on the novel

by Margaret London. The Very Merry Theatre company will perform the musical at Staige Hill Farm on Friday, July 18, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

Finally, the Charlotte Library will host Once on This Island on Monday, Aug. 4, beginning at 5 p.m. This great Broadway musical, based on the novel

by Lynn Ahrens, is set in the Caribbean and tells the story of a brave peasant girl who uses the power of love to bring together people of different social backgrounds. If it rains, the performance will take place in the Fire Hall. The company will also perform Once on This Island at Staige Hill Farm on Aug. 8 beginning at 6:30 p.m.

For more information about these and other area performances, visit verymerrytheatre.org.

registration required) St. Andrew’s Pipe Band of Vermont performing on the library green, Wednesday, June 25, 7 p.m.

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

Makers Series: Toy Hacking, Monday, June 30, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. 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.

Very Merry Theatre Presents “The Lone Ranger Meets The Cherokee Princess!” Thursday, July 3, noon.

Relax on the library lawn with a blanket or low-slung chairs, sunscreen and a picnic lunch.

Be a Junior Scientist, Week of July 7-11. Do you like to experiment? The library is a working laboratory this week. Slide on some lab glasses and be ready for slippery, slimy, smelly and colorful during Story Time on July 8

Library Contact Information Director Margaret Woodruff

Hours Mon, Wed: 10 a.m.-–7 p.m.

Tues, Thurs, Fri: 10 a.m.-–5 p.m.

Phone 425-3864 Email charlottelibraryvt@gmail. com

Website charlottepubliclibrary.org

and Books & Fun on July 10. See the calendar at charlottepubliclibrary.org and register for programs right from your computer.

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.

Be Wild Parsnip Aware Follow these tips from the Charlotte Invasive Collaborative to halt the spread of this poisonous plant.

Sue Smith Contributor Soon we will be seeing the yellow flowers of wild parsnip on our roadsides and fields.

It is time to line up the person who brush hogs that field for you as timing is of great importance.

To gain control of this plant, it needs to be mowed before A close up of wild parsnip, an invasive species it goes to seed. If you mow with yellow flowers that grows along roadsides it after it has flowered and and in fields. is starting to form seeds, it will only make your infection be working to control wild parsnip by worse, since these seeds will grow into mowing Charlotte’s roadsides before plants next year. Plants will grow back wild parsnip is in seed. this year and will flower again, so they The Charlotte Invasive Collaborative will have to be brush hogged again. is available to help with plant identifiIf you have a small number of plants cation and control methods of invasive or if plants are mixed with other plants plants. There are also wild parsnip handyou do not want to mow, pulling or cut- outs at the Town Hall. ting below the surface with a spade is Members of the Collaborative are: effective.

Avoid contact by wearing protective (425-2732, ssmith@ clothing while working around this plant gmavt.net) as its sap can cause a severe skin rash (425-2002) with exposure to sunlight. (charlotte Road Commissioner Jr Lewis will vtcc@gmail.com)

The Charlotte News

Going to Camp Bradley Carleton Contributor

July. The days are warm and full of activity. Gardens are beginning to show fruit and the black caps are growing juicy on the vine. The days are full of flowers and lying in the hammock between the old trees. The chickens run happily around the yard chasing butterflies and scratching for worms in the dry dirt. The mountains seem to fade into a shimmering purple haze of heat. Streams are gurgling merrily along. Insects store their energy during the heat of the day and emerge in the cool evening. Rainbow trout rise lazily to the hatch beneath the riffles of the dams, breathing in the life-affirming oxygen.

For humans, the heat begins to drive us to the shade of the woods. It’s going to be a long, hot summer, and the mountains are calling me. My wife, Katie, my sister, Callie from Connecticut, and I pack a picnic lunch and load the truck with bottles of water and snacks.

As so many Vermonters do, we are heading for the respite of camp.

The nice thing about camps is that it really doesn’t matter whether your camp is a spacious monument overlooking the lake or if it’s something simple tucked off in the woods away from the madding crowd. It’s a getaway. It’s a place where the mundane rules of everyday etiquette relax a bit. It’s okay to not make your bed. It’s okay to wake up a little later and eat a hearty breakfast at 10 a.m. The days are unrushed. Our little camp is humble—heck, some people might think

it’s a paragon of poverty—but to us and the people we invite it’s a slice of heaven.

As the truck pitches from side to side going up the old logging road we sing along to the radio, and it feels like we are in a time machine going backwards to a simpler period in human life. We pull up to the deck and check the water system, which is extracted from the bubbling brook. It fills an old bathtub with ice-cold mountain spring water. Once hooked up, the same wonderful aqueous substance flows directly into the kitchen sink. Two large recliners and a fold-down couch surround the old Defiant woodstove with its touch of rust on the surface.

After a cool drink of water, our friends begin to arrive. One by one, big-wheeled trucks roll up into the parking area. Coolers of food and beverages are unloaded and bottles are placed in the bathtub where they will remain slightly above freezing.

After everyone unpacks, we collectively decide to hike to the top of Crow Hill for a view of the valley.

The ascent is steep and full of loose rocks. Arriving at the top we are literally clinging to small pines to pull ourselves up to the next level. The short pines are thick and the ground is covered in spongy moss, its musky fragrance blending with the aromatic balsam and permeating the air around us. We are sweat soaked and our knees are shaking. Another 100 yards to the rock outcropping.

We follow a deer trail right to the spot. Suddenly, the trees part and we are standing on a large shelf of rock, looking down on the Champlain Valley that seems to wave like a mirage in the heat. Beyond, we can see the lake shimmering in the mid-day sun. The Adirondacks seem to reach up into the azure sky, blending in bluish-purple with the distant horizon. As far as the eye can see, there is beauty.

The author’s sister, Callie Spencer Hill, with a crown of ferns during a recent trip to camp.

Sacred beauty that cannot be touched by development. For this, we can all give thanks. For this is solace for a world gone mad with busyness. As we stand on the precipice, time seems to stand still and we are all united in our mindfulness that this ground is sacred.

Bradley Carleton is executive director of Sacred Hunter.org, a non-profit that seeks to educate the public on the spiritual connection of man to nature and raises funds for Traditions Outdoor Mentoring. org, which mentors at-risk young men in outdoor pursuits.

LCA Helps Fund Amphibian Underpass in Monkton The Lewis Creek Association (LCA) recently announced it met its goal of raising $100,000 to help install a wildlife crossing in Monkton, a goal the Charlotte-based organization has been working toward since 2013. At a total cost of nearly $400,000, the Monkton Amphibian Crossing Project will provide for Vermont’s first highway with an amphibian underpass.

The project under Monkton-Vergennes Road crossing will consist of two tunnels and fencing for the rare blue-spotted salamander—a species of regional significance—and a diverse group of other amphibious species such as the four-toed and spotted salamanders, frogs and other animals. The building cost is being offset by federal grants LCA reached its final fundraising drive through an Indiegogo online campaign that ran from March 4 through April 27. All told, the organization had 375 online funders from Mumbai to Monkton, with donations ranging from $10 to $2500 and 25 more people who mailed checks that did not appear on the Indiegogo site.

At present, engineers are finalizing designs and we are in negotiations with VTrans and Monkton for the bidding process. Groundbreaking is scheduled for some time in 2014.

For more information about the Lewis Creek Association and its projects, visit lewiscreek.org.

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An artists rendering of the Monkton Amphibian Crossing Project, which is slated to be built under the Monkton-Vergennes Road. The project received a boost in funding from Charlottebased Lewis Creek Association.

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‘Giving Back’ Has Its Rewards Millions of Americans choose to “give back” to their communities by making donations to their favorite charities each year. In fact, according to the Giving USA Foundation and Center of Philanthropy at Indiana University, charitable contributions totaled more than $291 billion in 2010.

Qualifying organizations are those that have been granted tax-exempt charity status by the IRS, and include churches, religious organizations, and various organizations that promote education, health and other social services to benefit the general public.

While gifts of cash are probably the most common type of gift, many individuals find that it is beneficial to make charitable gifts in other ways. When determining a charitable-gifting strategy, it’s important to keep in mind that there are annual limits on the amount you can claim as a charitable deduction for tax purposes, depending on the types of charities you donate to and the type of assets gifted.

Direct gifts of appreciated securities. This method conserves the donor’s cash while helping to avoid capital-gains tax on the sale of the appreciated security. Generally, you may deduct the mar-

ket value of the securities (determined at the time of the gift) on your current-year tax return.

Direct gifts of life insurance. You may choose to transfer a life insurance policy to an organization if the life insurance coverage is no longer required.

Transferring the policy to an organization may provide benefits for you and the organization. If the policy has a cash value, the organization may be able to borrow funds from the policy, and you may be entitled to an income-tax deduction in the amount of the policy’s value.

Charitable remainder trust. This technique lets you make a charitable contribution of assets (property or securities) into a trust in which the assets can be sold without generating current capital-gains tax. You may receive an income stream from the trust during your lifetime and receive a current incometax deduction based on the present value of the future benefit to an organization.

The organization receives the assets in the trust, usually upon the donor’s death.

Private charitable foundations, supporting organizations and community foundations. Creating a foundation lets your family control the allocation and investment of contributions made to

Business Directory brokers/realtors

Army Corps of Engineers Attacks Sea Lampreys in Lake Champlain The Lake Champlain watershed includes Charlotte as well as areas across the lake in New York. According to a report from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, environmental degradation of the watershed has created a need to solve the problems it poses for the lake.

Access by sea lampreys (parasites that prey upon numerous types of fish) through the watershed has been detrimental to the fish populations and other aquatic resources. The Corps of Engineers in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as well as the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (VANR).

The Lake Champlain Basin Program performed an initial site visit ten years

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ago, followed by a plan to manage the lamprey population. Barriers, keeping them from entering the lake, are the primary means of control, and the Frog Farm Dam on the Great Chazy River in the village of Champlain, N.Y., was named the primary site for barrier work.

The dam was rebuilt in the 1980s to hold lampreys upstream.

However, they still breach the dam, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) has asked the Corps to determine the cause of the breaching. Since the initial project plan was developed, cost-sharing requirements were established, and the NYSDEC is waiting for non-federal matching funds to help set it underway.

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The Charlotte News

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Places To Go & Things To Do THURSDAY, JUNE 19 Planning Commission meeting, 7 p.m. Meeting will consist of discussions about the Vermont Shoreland Protection Act, storm water, and a community pub.

There will also be a Town Plan workshop centering on agriculture. Agenda online at Charlottevt.org.

Library Board of Trustees meeting, 5:30 p.m., Charlotte Library.

FRIDAY, JUNE 20 The Rock-It Science Concert, 7 p.m., Middlebury Town Hall Theater. Clint Bierman and his rocker friends work with young musicians for a solid week on musicianship, songwriting, and performance, ending in a blow-out concert. Student bands perform both covers and original compositions. Admission is by donation. More info: 802-382-9222 or www.townhalltheater.org.

Talk: Elizabeth Warren, 3:30 p.m., First Unitarian Universalist Society Meeting House, Burlington.

Phoenix Books welcomes Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren for a discussion of her bestselling memoir A Fighting Chance. An unlikely political star, Warren tells the inspiring story of the two-decade journey that taught her how Washington really works—and really doesn’t. Warren will discuss her book and answer audience questions. All books will be pre-signed by Senator Warren with a limited number available for purchase at the event.Tickets: $35-45 More info: phoenixbooks.biz.

SATURDAY, JUNE 21 Milton Festival of the Arts, 9:30 a.m.–4 p.m., Bombardier Park, Milton. First-ever event will feature a fun day of local art, food and live music. Free.

More info: 734-0758.

SUNDAY, JUNE 22 Strawberry Festival, noon–3 p.m., Monkton. The 28th Annual Strawberry Festival, Book Sale and Silent Auction to benefit the Russell Memorial Library will be held at the Monkton Central School.

As ever, the strawberries will be local and freshpicked, the cake homemade, the ice cream mouthwatering and the hot dogs plump and ready. Folk music and books for sale, too. What’s not to love?

Cost: free. More info: 453-4471.

MONDAY, JUNE 23 Selectboard meeting, 7 p.m., Town Hall. Agenda and meeting packet online at Charlottevt.org.

Talk: Ryoki Sato, 6:30 p.m., Kellog-Hubbard Library, Montpelier. Japanese Soto Zen Priest Ryoki Sato will describe his personal encounter of surviving the tsunami that struck Japan on March 11, 2011. The tsunami and the resulting failure of the Fukushima nuclear power plant had devastating consequences for Japanese citizens and for the environment, consequences that will be felt for many years to come. In his role as head priest of the Togenji Temple, Sato Sensei counsels parents who lost their children in the disaster. Free. More info: ShaoShanTemple@gmail.com.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25 St. Andrew’s Pipe Band of Vermont, 7 p.m., Town Green Bring the family and a picnic supper, chairs

and a blanket to hail the start of summer with pipes and drums.

THURSDAY, JUNE 26 Talk: Melissa Cronin & Pete Daigle, 7 p.m., Phoenix Books, Burlington. With a traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurring every 18.5 seconds in this country, chances are you’ve been touched in some way by this experience. TBIs occur due to accidents and sports, and are also common in returning soldiers. Whether you are recovering from a TBI or supporting someone who is, this event with Melissa Cronin and Pete Daigle (both contributors to Chicken Soup for the Soul: Recovering from Traumatic Brain Injuries) will encourage you on your healing journey. Free. More info: Phoenixbooks.biz.

FRIDAY, JUNE 27 Exhibition: Renascence, Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery, Shelburne. Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of “Renascence”, a group show with featured artist Barbara Wagner.

The other artists in the exhibit are Miriam Adams, Bonnie Baird, Annelein Beukenkamp, Cynthia Lee Bowler, Kevin Fahey, Kerry O. Furlani, Betsey Garand, Brenda Garand, Dan Gottsegen, Kate Hartley, Karen Henderson, Julia Jensen, Virginia McNeice, Gail Salzman, David Smith, Frank Woods, and Joyce Zavorskas. The exhibit opens with a public reception with the artists on Saturday, June 28, 5-7 p.m., and will run through August 5. Free.

Please join us at our reception to celebrate the beginning of our bountiful Vermont summer SATURDAY, JUNE 28 Experience History Workshop: Needlepoint, Education, and Class, 10 a.m.–3 p.m., Ethan Allen Homestead Museum, Burlington. Sewing and needlepoint were key skills for a young lady in the 18th century, sewing provided a degree of economic opportunity and an opportunity for education.

Samplers became a repertory of stitch types, and a school exercise where certain verses and letters were required to demonstrate a young lady’s skill and sewing. Samplers often varied as to form and function based on the social class of the person making it. Learn a little more about needlepoint and samplers, and then get an opportunity to try making one for yourself. Cost: donations appreciated. More info: info@ethanallenhomestead.org.

MONDAY, JUNE 30 Deadline, 9th Annual Peter Coleman Photo Contest. See story on page 2.

Strawberry Festival, 6-8 p.m., Vergennes City Park. Homemade strawberry shortcake and beverage, $5. The Vergennes City Band will provide entertainment. Proceeds benefit Champlain Valley Christian School. More info: call Mandy at 802-7593218.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 2 Children’s Summer Lunch, 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., Spear’s Corner Store. This weekly get together, hosted by the Charlotte Congregational Church, will provide children the opportunity to interact with one another through conversation and sing-a-longs led by Rev. Will Burhans. More info: contact Deb Christie at 425-3932.

St. Jude, Mass, Hinesburg, 4:30 p.m.

Community Alliance Church, Hinesburg, Gathering Place, 9 a.m., Sunday School, 9 a.m., Worship, 10:15 a.m. Information: 482-2132.

Charlotte Congregational Church, Worship, 10 a.m., Sunday School, 10 a.m. Information: 4253176.

Lighthouse Baptist Church, 90 Mechanicsville Rd., Hinesburg, 10:30 a.m., Evening Service, 6 p.m. Information: 482-2588.

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Mass, 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. Information: 425-2637.

St. Jude, Mass, Hinesburg, 9:30 a.m. Information: 482-2290.

North Ferrisburgh United Methodist Church, Hollow Road, Worship, 10 a.m., Sunday School, 9:45 a.m. Information: 425-2770.

Cross Roads Chapel, Relocated to the Brown Church on Route 7, Ferrisburgh. Worship, 11 a.m.

Information: 425-3625.

Assembly of God Christian Center, Rtes. 7 and 22A, Ferrisburgh, Sunday worship, 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., Sunday School, 9 a.m. Information: 8773903.

All Souls Interfaith Gathering, 291 Bostwick Farm Road, Shelburne. Sunday Service 9 a.m., Evensong Service 5 p.m. 985-3819 Trinity Episcopal Church, 5171 Shelburne Rd., Shelburne, 8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist, 9:15 - 10:15 a.m. “Space for Grace” (educational hour), 10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist (with child care and Sunday School). 985-2269.

THURSDAY, JULY 3 The Lone Ranger Meets Cherokee Princess, noon, Charlotte Town Green. See story on page 18.

"Celebrate the Lake" 3rd of July Party, 5:30–11 p.m., ECHO Lake Aquarium, Burlington. Every July 3rd the City of Burlington treats thousands upon thousands of people to an epic waterfront fireworks show on Lake Champlain. This Burlington tradition has grown to include music, festivals, and special events happening up and down the waterfront that begin in the afternoon and continue until the wee hours. This year, for the first time, ECHO is allowing the public to view the fireworks from the aquarium and science center with a memorable party called “Celebrate the Lake”! The event will include dinner (American BBQ-style), music, cash bar, face painting, airbrush tattoos. More info: info@echovermont. org.

FRIDAY, JULY 4 Flag retirement ceremony, 10 a.m., Town Hall. See story on page 5.

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ONGOING EVENTS MONDAYS Senior Center Café, 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m. Featuring soup, salads, bread and dessert. No reservations necessary.

Charlotte Multi-Age Coed Pickup Basketball Open Gym, 7–9 p.m. at the CCS gym. High school students welcome. Call 425-3997 for info.

WEDNESDAYS Charlotte/Shelburne Rotary Club, 7:30–8:30 a.m., Parish Hall, Trinity Episcopal Church, Shelburne.

Newcomers Club of Charlotte, Shelburne and surrounding area meets once a month on the third Wednesday from September to June. Variety of pro-

grams, day trips and locations. Information: Orchard Corl, president, 985-3870.

AA Meeting, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, 7 p.m.

Senior Luncheon, Senior Center, noon. For reservations, call 425-6345 before 2 p.m. on previous Monday.

Volunteer Fire Dept. Mtg., 7:30 p.m., Fire Station.

Charlotte Multi-Age Coed Pickup Basketball Open Gym, 7-9 p.m. at the CCS gym. High school students welcome. Call 425-3997 for information.

Food Shelf, open from 5–7 p.m. June 11 and 25.

Lower level of the Charlotte Congregational Church vestry. Information: Karen at 425-3252; for emergency food call John at 425-3130.

THURSDAYS Food Shelf, open from 7:30-9:30 a.m. June 12 and 26. Lower level of the Charlotte Congregational Church vestry. Information: Karen at 425-3252; for emergency food call John at 425-3130.

FRIDAYS AA Meeting, Congregational Church Vestry, 8 p.m.

Charlotte Playgroup, 9:30–11 a.m., CCS MPR. Free, ages 0-5.

The Charlotte News

Around Town Congratulations to Charlotte residents who earned degrees from the University of Vermont, presented to them at the school’s commencement May 18. Those who earned bachelor’s degrees are Carter Curran (Psychology), Alessandra Ferrentino (Biology), Laura Gagnon (Anthropology), Colleen McCarthy (Biology), Eric Ziegelman (Global Studies), Zoe Adams (Community and International Development), Catherine Akin (Professional Nursing), Benjamin Barker (Community and International Development), Erick Crockenberg (Ecological Design and Development), Brady DeHayes (Parks, Recreation and Tourism), Bol Gai (Professional Nursing), Molly Hebert (Professional Nursing), Laura Jackson (Environmental Studies), Jameson Voll (Mathematics), Lucille Halvorson (Business Administration), Giles Crelly-Byers (Business Administration). Those who earned graduate degrees are Samantha Ford (M.S., Historic Preservation), MacKenzie Seeley (M.S., Communication Science and Disorders), Matthew Burke (M.A., Public Administration), Timothy Snow (Doctor of Medicine), Matthew Burke (Certificate of Graduate Studies), Lindsay Galvani (M.A. ,English), David McNally (M.A., Teaching, Curriculum and Instruction). to the following Charlotte residents who earned placement on the Dean’s List for the spring semester 2014 at the University of Vermont: Zoe Adams, Zachary Adams, Stephanie Burns, Benjamin Comai, Kylie deGroot, Daniel Hebert, Jessica Hella, Elizabeth Richards, Donna Waterman, Kyla Williamson and Eric Ziegelman. to Zachary Pete of Charlotte, who earned a bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University, Waltham, Mass., as well as placement on the Dean’s List. to the following students at Clarkson University, Potsdam, N.Y., who earned honors for their coursework during the spring semester 2014: Chase Weaver, a freshman majoring in civil engineering who was named a Presidential Scholar, and Nicholas Fortin, a freshman majoring in engineering and management who was named to the Dean’s List. to 2014 graduate Kerry Ramsden, who earned placement on the Dean’s List at St. Michael’s College for the spring term. Kerry is the daughter of Karen and Robert Ramsden of Charlotte and a graduate of CVU.

to Hollie and Michael Patenaude, who earned placement on the Dean’s List for the spring term 2014 at the University of New England, Biddeford, Maine. to Alessandro Delia who graduated from the Pennington School, Pennington, NJ. Alessandro received the diploma at commencement exercises June 7. to Greg Beldock, owner of Bullrock Corporation and The Lodges Senior Living Communities, who was appointed to Governor Shumlin’s Business Advisory Council. This council provides the governor with advice and information on financing a publicly funded health care system. Chaired by David Coates, it contains 21 members from across the state. to Ellen Mercer Fallon, an attorney with Langrock Sperry & Wool, LLP, who was appointed to the Vermont State Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. The committee evaluates and reports on civil rights concerns in Vermont. Fallon joined Langrock Sperry & Wool in 1977 and became the firm’s first female partner three years later. to James Budis, R.N., M.S.N., M.P.H., currently the clinical director of Addison County Home Health & Hospice, who was recently appointed vice president of clinical services for the Visiting Nurse Association of Chittenden County and Grand Isle, a sister agency.

Budis and his family moved to Charlotte from New York two years ago. He had spent five years as clinical director for the home care division at the Visiting Nurse Service in New York City.

Sympathy is extended to family and friends of Olive Esther Thompson of Laconia, N.H., who passed away June 6 at the age of 85. Her surviving family includes her sisters Lucia and Louise Plante of Charlotte.

The family asks that those wishing to remember her through a gift consider making a donation to the Laconia Senior Center, 17 Church Street, Laconia, NH 03246 or to the New Hampshire Association for the Blind, 25 Walker Street, Concord, NH 03301.

Robots will fight the next war as a video game.

The Charlotte News is set to take its annual two-week summer break this July. That means there won’t be a new issue between July 3 and July 31. If you have an event or notice that takes place during our break and would like it highlighted in our pages, please submit it for our July 3 issue.

The special deadline for that issue is Friday, July 27, by 5 p.m. Send submissions to news@charlottenewsvt.com.

Jim Morse is a former Vermont Supreme Court Justice living in Charlotte. Find more of his Doodles & Jots in his book, avail-able at the Flying Pig Bookstore or online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Red Barn Books.

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

Part-time Charlotte resident and bird enthusiast Hank Kaestner recently submitted this photo of a male bobolink perched on cut grass in a local field.

While the photo shows a beautiful spring scene, Kaestner notes that, sadly, the bird—along with three other bobolinks—lost its nesting habitat when the field was mowed in late May. In a recent News article titled “Grassland Birds: Timing is Everything,” Conservation Commission member Holly Sullivan wrote of the importance of this time of year for bobolink breeding. “Timing your haying and mowing activities is everything,” she wrote. “Cutting fields in June can result in 100 percent of the active nests failing, 80 percent by machinery and 20 percent by gulls, crows and mammals that then have easy pickings. The longer you can wait, the better the survival rate of the nestlings.” Kaestner wanted to encourage Charlotters to be bobolink aware. “It's a pretty view, but a sad situation,” he wrote. “We must do better next year.”

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

MAXIM OUTDOOR WOOD PELLET FURNACE:

by Central Boiler adapts to existing heating systems & heats with renewable wood pellets. Boivin Farm Supply 802-475-4007 (-23)

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.

VACATION RENTAL: Thompson's Point lakefront camp available for rent, July l2th through July 19th and Aug 9 through Aug 23. Five bedroom, 3 bath, water access on main lake with spectacular sunset views! $2500/week, plus Vt tax. Call Martha at 210-380-3963 or email martjoe@earthlink.net. (24)