The Charlotte News | July 2, 2015

Ch rl tte News The Hometown Paper Since 1958

Volume lVII Number 23

The VoIce of The TowN

Thursday, July 2, 2015

LCA’s Day in the Capital T he C harloTTe N ews

Voice of the town since 1958

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July Fourth.

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E N R U B SH E L M A R K E T U PE R

Solar heating up in Charlotte 1 ∙ Rev. Will Burhans moves on 1 Hyams honored 4 ∙ Retiring in Vermont 17

The Charlotte News Volume lVII Number 23

The VoIce of The TowN

Thursday, July 2, 2015

CHarlotte [news] STRONG The “Voice of the Town” for more than half a century, The Charlotte News runs on community power—some 150 contributors, volunteers and hundreds of generous donors allowed us to deliver a free paper to every mailbox in town this year.

We are working on a bumpersticker, but in the meantime, The Charlotte News needs your help in its annual fundraising campaign.

Help us sustain The News and maybe even build a new website/archive!

Summertime and the giving is easy.

Please give today.

See pages 2-3 for the details.

Rev. Will Burhans in his office at the Charlotte Congregational Church. His last day as the pastor there is August 2. Photo: Brett SigurdSon

Living into the questions As Rev. Will Burhans prepares to leave the Charlotte Congregational Church, he’s looking forward to continuing a faith journey he started long ago Brett Sigurdson THE CHARLOTTE NEWS

T

he first song of Rev. Will Burhans’ CD, “Making Shadows,” does what all opening songs should do: it serves as an invitation. An invitation to keep listening, an invitation to the artist’s voice and style, an invitation to the artist’s themes and concerns. In “Lord, Seek Me,” Burhans’ voice is possessed of a kind of yearning, a powerful longing for true connection to God. In short, like all great first songs, “Lord, Seek Me” begins a journey: “I will seek you, too.

In my life make room for you Clear away what obstructs the view

To you.”

For Burhans, an entirely new journey is on the horizon: after 15 years as the leader of the Charlotte Congregational Church (CCC), he is set to begin a new ministry as lead pastor of the First Congregational Church of Winchester in Massachusetts, just outside Boston.

In Burhans’ bright and open office, a Martin guitar sits on a stand near his alb and an assortment of stoles, the case leaning against the desk. “I always have it right there,” Burhans says of the guitar.

“Quick access.”

A bookshelf lines most of one wall.

It is filled with decorations and art—a hand strumming a guitar, drawn by his wife, Tracy, is prominently displayed— and books, some religious, some not: a biography of Abraham Lincoln, Robert Frost’s collected poetry, “Christ the Yogi: A Hindu Relfection on the Gospel of John” by Ravi Ravindra, “Fear and Trembling” by Soren Kierkegaard, a

Burhans continued on page 14

Is the future bright for solar in Charlotte?

Three new installations in the planning stages Brett Sigurdson THE CHARLOTTE NEWS

S

olar, it seems, is heating up in Charlotte.

Right now Charlotte is looking at potentially three new solar projects in the near future, and two of them could prove as large as the installation on Hinesburg Road in East Charlotte.

As part of the state’s Section 248 permitting process, two companies have filed 45-day notices stating they will file a petition for a certificate of public good with the Vermont Public Service Board for 500kw solar projects on Ferry Road.

At its July 2 meeting, the Planning Commission will discuss one of those projects: a 500kw group net-metering project on four acres on the site of the former Lake Champlain Waldorf School.

According to the notice supplied to the town and nearby property owners, the project, proposed by Shelburnebased Bullock Deautsche ECO Solar,

headed by Charlotter Greg Beldock, calls for 2,400 solar panels installed on a post-mounted racking system up to nine feet off the ground and surrounded by an eight-foot perimeter fence. The plan also calls for installing a new distribution pole along Ferry Road and upgrades to connect the installation to Green Mountain Power service.

According to Phil Lassalle, Bullrock’s vice president of public relations, the project is well-suited for the commercial/industrial-zoned area of town, where it will sit between the Vermont Railroad line and former Eating Well property.

“Additionally, the land is not applicable for agricultural use and the existing building and landscaping will, for the time being, be maintained,” he said.

While the final design project has not been detailed, it states that the solar installation would be built around structures associated with the Waldorf School. Chief among them is the 7,900 square-foot, three-story former creamery that served as the main campus building for the Waldorf School.

Lassalle explained the company has not

Solar continued on page 12

Against the odds, literarily speaking The Classical Connections program celebrates its fifth year Alex Bunten THE CHARLOTTE NEWS

I

n 2010, Alex Kroll approached the Charlotte Library with a wild idea— he wanted to get middle school kids interested in classical literature. He had pitched a similar idea to a library in his native Leechburg, Pennsylvania, but the program flopped. The local school didn’t see the potential. The parents weren’t interested. The kids dropped out.

The odds of the idea working in

Charlotte seemed slim, but he found an enthusiastic audience with Margaret Woodruff, the Charlotte Library director.

“She thought it was really something they could do,” Alex recalls. “But her approach was completely different from the Pennsylvania town. We talked about it, and the first thing Margaret did was go to the school to get their ideas and get them involved.”

A seemingly herculean task, getting rising 7th and 8th graders to read classical literature has been the bane of middle school social studies teachers from time eternal. Not to be discouraged, Margaret

Classical continued on page 8

Afternoon participants in the 2015 Classical Connections program with their paired books in hand—“The Great Wide Sea,” by M. H. Herlong, and “Treasure Island,” by Robert Louis Stevenson. (From left) Morgan Poquette, Elyse MartinSmith, Courtney McDermott, Luisa Louchheim, Heidi Huestis, Stella Martenis, Cheryl Sloan, Wylie Simard, Brynn Hutchins and Edie Wright. Photo: Alex Bunten

2 • July 2, 2015 • The CharloTTe News

Voices We couldn’t do it without you The Charlotte News The Voice of the Town Since 1958.

The Charlotte News is a nonprofit communitybased newspaper dedicated to informing townspeople of current events and issues. It serves as a forum for the free exchange of views of town residents and celebrates the people, places and happenings that make the Town of Charlotte unique.

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

The Charlotte News is published in Charlotte

by The Charlotte News, Inc., a Vermont domestic 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation. Distribution is made every other Thursday to all households and businesses in Charlotte and to more than 50 outlets in Shelburne, Hinesburg, North Ferrisburgh, Ferrisburgh and Vergennes. It relies on the generous financial contributions of its readers, subscriptions and advertising revenue to sustain its operations.

eDItorIal staff news@charlottenewsvt.com 802-425-4949

Editor in chief: Alex Bunten Assistant editor: Brett Sigurdson Contributing editors: Edd Merritt, Ruah Swennerfelt Summer intern: Lawrence Dee Copy editors: Beth Merritt, Leslie Botjer, Vince Crockenberg

BusINess staff ads@charlottenewsvt.com 802-343-0279

Business manager: Shanley Hinge Ad managers: Monica Marshall, Liz Philip-Morris Circulation group: Valerie Lebensohn

BoarD MeMBers Co-president: Tom O’Brien Co-president: Vince Crockenberg Secretary: John Hammer Board members: Rachel Cummings, Tim Halverson, Carol Hanley, Michael Haulenbeek, Patrice Machavern, Gay Regan, Louisa Schibli

coNtrIButors

Alice D. Outwater Amos Baehr Barrie Dunsmore Beth Merritt

Carlanne Herzorg Larry Hamilton Mary Recchia

Alex Bunten & Vince Crockenberg the charlotte News

W

hen you look at the list of names on this page, you might be surprised.

These are not just any 96 people, but all 96 volunteer writers—contributors—who have graced our pages with their words and time over the past year. We’d have more than 150 if we counted the staff, volunteers and photographers. To believe that we’ve had that much input from the community to publish our little paper!

Imagine what would it be if we added up all 57 years.

We pride ourselves on being “The voice of the town,” and this list shows that it’s not just a clever slogan. Some of these voices are your friends and neighbors, others are people who have left town—from young folks to retirees.

Together they make up part, but not all, of the patchwork quilt of a community that we call home. And the more we have, the better. feelINg the love We feel like a very loved organization when we see lists like this, but it’s not all roses. In addition to relying on enthusiastic, verbally-endowed locals, we also need help funding the increasing costs of production—from paying appropriate stipends to our small staff to paying for the cost of printing and mailing the paper to every mailbox in Charlotte.

By now everyone in town will have received a copy of this year’s summer fundraising appeal. Hopefully you got it.

Hopefully you can see how passionate we are about this town from all the hard work we put in. And hopefully you noticed the amount we need to raise to meet our operating costs—about $25,000 at minimum.

If you’ve supported us in the past, a huge thanks to you. We couldn’t do it without you and we look forward to your support again this year.

If you haven’t donated—or haven’t donated recently—think about someone you have seen in the paper or someone you liked (look at the list) who has written for us over the years and consider a donation as a way to support their work with The News—their love of the town.

It’s the town’s paper. We are just the

oN the cover Marty Illick accepts the Governor’s Award for Environmental Stewardship on behalf of the Lewis Creek Association on June 30 in the Cedar Creek Room at the Vermont State House. According to a press release, the LCA was given the award for their efforts implementing a “successful gully stabilization project on a farm, reducing sedimentation and erosion by over 90% from six gullies.”

Photo: terry IllIck

Next Issue DeaDlINes Next issue date: Thursday, July 30 Contributions due: Monday, July 20 by 5 p.m.

Letters due: Monday, July 27 by 10 a.m.

suBscrIPtIoN INforMatIoN The Charlotte News is delivered at no cost to all Charlotte residences. Personal or out-of-town subscriptions are available for $20 per year (Bulk Mailing) or $40 per year (First Class). Please send a check or money order to the address below.

PostMaster Send address changes to: The Charlotte News P.O. Box 251 Charlotte, VT 05445 Telephone: 802-425-4949 Circulation: 3,000 copies per issue.

Copyright © 2015 The Charlotte News, Inc. Printed by Upper Valley Press

Editor’s note: To the writers and contributors who gave their time and thoughts to The News over the past year, we can’t thank you enough!

Not on the list? Send us the date you contributed and we’d be happy to amend our records.

Abby Foulk Alice Brown Alice D. Outwater Amos Baehr Barrie Dunsmore Becca von Trapp Beth Roberts Bob Hyams Bradley Carleton Brandon Johnsson Carrie Fenn Catherine Bock Catherine Metropoulos Ceal Moran Chris Davis Chris Falk Cindy Bradley Claire Innes

The Charlotte News staff keeping a smile on their faces through their 57th year of publication. From left: Liz Philip-Morris, Ruah Swenerfelt, Brett Sigurdson, Shanley Hinge, Monica Marshall, Beth Merritt, Edd Merritt and Alex Bunten (Leslie Botjer, Valerie Lebensohn and Vince Crockenberg not pictured). enthusiastic stewards of local history, but we need your help.

Past aND PreseNt Speaking of history, in addition to fundraising a portion of our operating costs, we also have a project idea. We love projects, especially ones that could improve your experience with local news. It’s a new website, one that’s user-friendly on desktop computers and on mobile devices. In partnership with the Charlotte Library and the Charlotte Historical Society, we plan to build a searchable digital news archive that records and constantly updates the history of Charlotte. You could find that funny article you wrote when you were in middle school. You could find that cover shot your friend was in. You could explore what it means to be a Charlotter and how that’s possibly changing.

We know our current website is clunky and hard to navigate. We want to fix it.

We have the people and power, but we need the funds to create it.

Building the archive will require technical help in transferring the content of our current site to the new one along with staff to help digitize and archive every issue from 1958 to now. It’s an exciting project, but not cheap—our own volunteer sweat equity is, though. And we are ready to take it on.

Clyde Baldwin Dave Perrin David Ziegelman Dorothy Varney Hill Elizabeth Afanasyev Ellie Russell Elizabeth Bassett Emily Donnegan Emily Raabe Eric Naud Georgia Edwards Hannah Cleveland Hans Ohanian Helen Toor Holly Sullivan Howard Verman Jamie Hardy Jean Andersson-Swayze Jenny Cole Jim Hyde Jim Morse Joanna Cummings Joe Gallagher John Hammer Jon Davis Jorden Blucher

It was the young people of the community—including summer residents—who began the paper in 1958 on a mimeograph with blood, sweat and tear sheets. Many of the original participants live here today or continue to visit each summer. We want to preserve the legacy of Charlotte’s modern history while continuing to celebrate its present. What’s the town’s history worth to you? Donate today. Come see us at the Town Party on July 11. We’d love to talk with you about our other plans and get your suggestions about what we could be doing—or doing better.

We’ll have a variety of gifts—from food to Charlotte News hats—to entice you into pleasant conversation or donating. We’ll also have the Peter Coleman Photo contest winners to display.

And, of course, if you’d like to join the community of writers and volunteers at The News, we’d be happy to add your name to our much-loved list of local contributors.

Note: Last year we formed The Friends of the Charlotte News to help with the annual drive and other fundraising events.

The Friends is a registered nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization, which means that contributions to The News through the Friends are tax deductible.

Joseph Oliveri Joseph P. Blanchette Josh Flore Karyn Lunde Kate Lampton Kerrie Pughe Kevin M. McGarghan Kim Schmidt Kristin Hartley Kristin Hirsch Kristin Wright Larry Hamilton Leigh Simpson Linda Patterson Margaret Russell Margaret Woodruff Mark McDermott Mary A. Mead Mary Recchia Maryanne Kyburz-Ladue Mel Huff Michelle Jordan Michelle M. Hough Mike Dee Mike Walker Mike Yantachka

Nan Boffa Nina Cucchiari Peter Fenn Peter Hyams Peter Moses Rachel Bergstein Rachel Carter Robbie Stanley Roel Boumans Ruah Swennerfelt Sandra Steingard Schuyler Edgar-Holmes Sera Anderson Seth Zimmerman Sharon Mount Skyler Heininger Stephen Sinclair Sue Smith Susan Crockenberg Susan Grasso Suzy Hodgson Tai Dinnan Tom Scatchard Valerie Graham Vera Simon-Nobes Vince Crockenberg

k n

a h u T o Y

The CharloTTe News • July 2, 2015 • 3

Voices An encyclical argument The pope weighs in on climate change

Barrie Dunsmore CONTRIBUTOR

O

n June 18, Pope Francis inserted himself directly into the 2016 U.S. presidential elections. Whether or not that was the intent, it is a clear consequence of the pope’s new encyclical on the environment—because this document puts him on a collision course with the Republican Party.

The New York Times lead best summed up the pope’s broad global concerns and objectives.

“Pope Francis on Thursday called for a radical transformation of politics, economics and individual lifestyles to confront environmental degradation and climate change.

“The vision that Francis outlined in the 184-page encyclical is sweeping in ambition and scope: He described a relentless exploitation and destruction of the environment, for which he blamed apathy, the reckless pursuit of profits, excessive faith in technology and political shortsightedness. The most vulnerable victims are the world’s poorest people, he declared, who are being dislocated and disregarded.”

With that latter point, the pope is making climate change a moral issue. A papal encyclical is meant to be a teaching document for Roman Catholics world wide— and it ranks among the most authoritative statements a pope can make.

This encyclical is a major step in Pope Francis’s personal campaign to lead his church in the battle against global warming. As a prelude to the next major international environmental conference scheduled for Paris in December, the pope plans to address the subject during the United Nations General Assembly in September. And also on that trip he will speak to a joint meeting of the United States Congress.

House Speaker John Boehner insulted the White House when he invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak to Congress in opposition to the Iran nuclear talks. But the way things are shaping up, the speaker’s invitation to have the pope address Congress will be even more controversial.

That’s because most Republican members of Congress claim not to believe that global warming is largely man-made. And

of the historic number of Republicans running or thinking about running for the 2016 presidential nomination, none is so far willing to admit that climate change has been scientifically proven.

However, before the pope enters that lion’s den of climate change deniers called the American Congress, the Vatican also plans to have prominent bishops around the country deliver sermons, homilies and hold press conferences in support of the pope’s warnings and pleas.

Miami Roman Catholic Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski is one of those actively involved in that effort. The archbishop reportedly hopes the pope’s message will resonate with two members of his flock in particular: Florida’s junior senator, Marco Rubio, and former Gov. Jeb Bush, both Catholics and both Republican presidential candidates.

Like all of the Republican candidates, Mr. Bush and Mr. Rubio have refused to concede that humans are the main culprits responsible for global warming, and they oppose policies designed to tax or limit the burning of fossil fuels. In this they are in lock-step with the billionaire Koch brothers, who will be spreading their enormous campaign fund largess to Republican presidential wannabes according to those who completely toe their line.

When a leaked draft of the papal encyclical surfaced in mid-June, candidate Jeb Bush was quick to try to inoculate himself against any notion that the pope might be able to sway his view.

At a campaign event in New Hampshire, Mr. Bush said, “I don’t get economic policy from my bishops or my cardinals or my pope … I think religion ought to be about making us better as people and less about things that end up getting in the political realm.”

Senator Rubio takes the position that the climate is constantly changing but insists that “humans are not responsible for climate change in the way some of these people out there are trying to make us believe.”

Gov. Bush and Sen. Rubio are immediately susceptible to pressure from billionaire campaign donors for whom protecting their investments in oil, coal and gas are paramount. But especially for Florida politicians, the politics of global warming could change. Thirteen federal agencies issued a 2014 National Climate Assessment, in which Miami was named as one of America’s cities most vulnerable to physical and economic damage due to human-caused climate change.

On June 10, the PBS News Hour devoted a long segment to how rising sea levels caused by global warming threatened the Florida everglades. As Judy Woodruff

put it in her introduction, “The consequences aren’t just to hundreds of species of animals and plants that for centuries have called the everglades home. It’s to the economy and way of life for millions in South Florida who depend on the vast and teeming water once dubbed ‘the river of grass.’” Among the most troubling of the details in the report is that the everglades, “a wild habitat once the size of Connecticut has shrunk by more than a half.”

On a visit to Florida to mark Earth Day in April, President Barack Obama visited the everglades and noted its vulnerability, “In terms of economic impact, all of this poses risks to Florida’s $82 billion tourist industry, on which so many good jobs and livelihoods depend.”

Republican energy lobbyist Michael McKenna, who says he’s a conservative Catholic, dismisses the pope’s message. “This pope is selling a line of Latin American-style socialism,” said McKenna. “This guy is not in sync with the American Catholics.”

Actually according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center, 86 percent of American Catholics view Pope Francis positively and 71 percent believe the planet is getting warmer. However, only a quarter of Catholic Republicans believe climate change is man-made. As for the Congress, 30 percent of the members are Catholics, including Speaker Boehner.

And they promise to be Pope Francis’s most skeptical audience.

Yet as the American people watch the network news, which virtually every night leads with historic and disastrous weather conditions in various parts of the country, they might finally begin to ask, Why? Pope Francis is providing credible answers.

This commentary originally appeared in the Rutland Herald and Montpelier (Barre) Times Argus on Sunday June 21, 2015. Barrie Dunsmore is a journalist who covered foreign affairs for ABC News for 30 years. His commentaries are also featured on VPR. He lives in Charlotte.

Have something to say?

Send your letters to

Thinking of dads The article you wrote about your dad was beautiful. Thank you. June 21 is Father’s Day. It’s also the 13th anniversary of my dad dying and would have been my parent’s 56th anniversary. He died on their 43rd. Every year, when one of my friends loses a parent, I send them a card on either Mother’s or Father’s Day. Firsts are always so damn hard.

I’ll be thinking of you on Sunday.

Suzanne Slesar Charlotte

Health Matters column Congratulations on securing the input of Dr. Jim Hyde in writing a column on public health issues. The first one in my opinion was truly informative and well written—he has a knack in communication. I, for one, look forward to regular contributions from Dr. Hyde on a subject of great importance to all of us.

Larry Hamilton Charlotte

Lemonade and lemons Your story about your father in The Charlotte News hit me in two ways.

Firstly, I was happily acquainted with your dad and enjoyed his cheerful visits— he delivered fuel to our house and to the ferry I work on.

I remember one day driving up Greenbush Road and saw the fuel truck parked on the shoulder. As I drew abreast of the truck I could see fluid on the ground under it, looked like a fuel leak!

Looking ahead I saw Roger running up the road, running! Concerned, I drove up beside him and asked if I could help!!

Where did he need to go?!?? “Oh no,” he said with a smile, “I’m just out for a run till the other truck gets here”!!! I had a big smile on my face as I drove away, thought that was just great! Seemed to easily make lemonade out of a lemon moment!

Secondly, my father died last year.

One of two people I’ve known all my life is gone and it’s taking time to accept, to adjust, to get fully back into living in the present and for the future. The grief is, in a way, a measure of how much he meant to me and how much I loved him.

I have so many memories of him and am incredibly grateful for the wonderful life he started me on! Your story about your dad was not easy to read because I miss my dad so much, and your story was so good to read because it expressed so much about your dad. I liked how you put it together. Helps my perspective on looking back on so much my dad did and all that we did together.

news@charlottenewsvt.com

Peter Heininger Charlotte

The Charlotte News Annual Fundraiser YES! I would like to support The Charlotte News for the coming year in keeping us informed, entertained and in touch with our town and neighbors. Enclosed is my check in the following amount: $__________ q $1,000 Publishers Club

q $500 Editors Club

q $100 Community Club

q $50 Friends Club

q other_________

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

Please make your check payable to: The Friends of Charlotte News and mail to P.O. Box 251, Charlotte VT 05445.

4 • July 2, 2015 • The CharloTTe News

Bob Hyams honored with David M. Brown Award Alex Bunten

Charlotte Meetings July 2–July 30

THE CHARLOTTE NEWS

On June 23, in a small ceremony at the Town Hall, Robert “Bob” Hyams was recognized for his extensive conservation work in the town by becoming the fourth recipient of the David M. Brown Award.

Established by the Charlotte Conservation Commission, previous recipients have been David M. Brown (2002), Albert F. Moraska (2005) and Linda Hamilton (2007).

Commenting on what motivates him, Bob says, “There is a wealth of committed people around the state. It’s the partnerships that make it worth it.”

The next challenges for Charlotte, according to Bob, will be land-use planning around managing storm water and Lake Champlain. “It doesn’t matter where we are in the town,” Bob said, “we are all connected to the lake.” He added, “If we are more proactive, we can have some say about how to manage the lands rather than waiting around for state regulations.”

In a short acceptance speech, Bob reminded the current board that, “As you embark on your next journey, remember that you are an inspiration to others around the state.”

The David M. Brown Award was established in 2002 to “honor outstanding contributions and long-term commitment to the maintenance of wildlife in Charlotte and the region through habitat conservation and public education.”

hyaMs’ hard work at

Charlotte Conservation CoMMission: joined in 2003; chair from 2008-2013.

ProJeCts: member of Charlotte Significant Wildlife Habitat Map and Database update team; CCC representative to Charlotte Park and Refuge Oversight Committee; point person for using the 2008 updated map and impact assessment protocol with the Planning Commission; pulled together CCC input for revision of the town plan; CCC liaison to the Charlotte Trails Committee and the Town Farm Bay Frobit program; promoted grassland bird conservation; helped start the Conservation the

Selectboard: July 13, 7 p.m. planning commiSSion: July 2, 7 p.m. ccS School board: none cVu School board: none Zoning board: July 8, 3 p.m.

seleCtboard MeMbers Chair, Lane Morrison: 425-2495 Matthew Krasnow: 922-2153 Carrie Spear: 425-4444 Jacob Spell: 425-6548 Fritz Tegatz: 425-5564

Robert “Bob” Hyams (above) accepts the David M. Brown Award from the Charlotte Conservations Commission Co-chair Roel Boumans. (right) The David M. Brown Award is kept at Town Hall.

CCs sChool board Chair, Mark McDermott: 425-4860 Vice Chair Erik Beal: 425-2140 Kristin Wright: 425-5105 Clyde Baldwin: 425-3366 Susan Nostrand: 425-4999

Currents column in The Charlotte News. at the lewis Creek assoCiation: Conservation Partner ProJeCts: Leader of a yellow iris removal project for LCA and Lake Champlain Biodiversity Project in the Thorp, Kimball, Lewis and Laplatte rivers; recently completed a riparian habitat planting on a Lewis Creek tributary in Charlotte; member of the LCA and Partners Steering Committee for the Ahead of the Storm project, focusing on stormwater education and mitigation in rural areas (Charlotte, Shelburne and Hinesburg); recently received $70,000 to move ahead with design and implementation of 10 demonstration projects on public and private properties.

correction In the June 18 issue of The News, the Annual Peter Coleman Photo Contest was incorrectly listed as the 11th annual contest—it is the 10th. We apologize for this error.

Dick Hess (owner)

“After 5 great years, Archie’s is saying goodbye to the best customers I could have asked for.”

— Dick Hess Archie’s will close as of July 18.

Come in and redeem your gift cards.

Eat, drink, and bid a fond farewell to our amazing staff.

New Hours: Wed - Sun 11- 9 until July 18 www.archiesgrill.com

4109 Shelburne Road, Shelburne 985-4912 • 75% gluten free options • homemade dressing •

wings • fresh salmon burgers • fresh chicken • salads • local burgers

• local burgers & turkey burgers • salads • vegetarian • milkshakes & creemees yearround • wings • fresh chicken • salads

Selectboard Regular Meetings are usually at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall on the second and fourth Mondays of each month. If you would like to bring an issue to the attention of the Selectboard, contact the board chair or administrator Dean Bloch at 425-3071, ext. 205.

Currently: Started Habitat Restoration Solutions, LLC which performs invasive plant control and restoration plantings for towns, the state, and private landowners; board member of the Vermont River Conservancy; Chair of the Lands and Stewardship Committee; board member of the Association of Vermont Conservation Commissions, working to empower conservation commissions across the state; helping to lead the South Chittenden River Watch sampling plan with Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation; working to remove the invasive frogbit, yellow iris and purple loosestrife in Ferrisburgh, Charlotte and Shelburne stream corridors.

PLANNING COMMISSION Administrator, Jeannine McCrumb: 425-3071; jeannine@townofcharlotte.com Chair, Jeffrey McDonald: 425-4429 Vice Chair, Peter Joslin Members, Gerald Bouchard, Paul Landler, Linda Radimer, Donna Stearns, Marty Illick

Meeting times are subject to change.

Check the town website for more info: charlottevt.org

The CharloTTe News • July 2, 2015 • 5

Planning discusses West Village wastewater capacity Study finds village center could support more development with wastewater expansion Brett Sigurdson THE CHARLOTTE NEWS

I

n Charlotte’s West Village, growth goes hand in hand with wastewater capacity.

At a meeting of the Planning Commission June 18, town officials received a glimpse of just what that growth could look like and how it could happen with the expansion of the municipal wastewater system.

In addressing wastewater capacity, the town could effectively direct that growth through policy, explained Dave Marshall, a civil engineer and a member of the former Charlotte Wastewater Committee.

Marshall appeared at the meeting to discuss a draft wastewater report the committee delivered to the town in 2011 and to nudge town officials into acting on the committee’s recommendations, which so far have gone unheeded.

Marshall appeared at the behest of Planning & Zoning Administrator Jeannine McCrumb, who was approached

by Selectboard members about exploring the issue so “people can get a sense of what that might mean or what that might look like,” she said.

“This is really kind of a way to say, here’s what we truly have, here’s what we’re hearing in terms of uses—what we have and can have—and quell some of the fears about what that might mean for Charlotte. And then come up with a strategy about how we move it ahead in terms of steps.”

According to figures provided by Marshall, the town currently uses roughly 3,102 gallons of water per day (gpd) for the Town Hall, the Charlotte Library, the fire hall and the Senior Center. However, the town’s current system, which is built into the town-owned Burns property adjacent to Town Hall, is permitted for 4,999 gallons per day. And through a state permitting process the town’s current wastewater system could support 6,499 gallons

a day. That would leave 2,963 gallons per day for other use.

Given that other areas in and around the Burns property are suited for wastewater expansion, Charlotte could have a potential wastewater capacity of 15,000 gpd, though it would take infrastructure investment, Marshall noted.

According to figures provided by Marshall, town officials could use the remaining wastewater capacity to mix and match potential business growth.

For example, a 50-seat restaurant or pub serving two meals a day would use an estimated 1,350 gpd. Add a third meal per day, and the restaurant or pub would use 2,025 gpd.

Other uses Marshall outlined include a service station with one set of pumps, which would use an estimated 500 gpd; additional pumps would add a likely 300 gpd per set of pumps. A grocery store roughly the size of Shelburne’s IGA would use an estimated 1,050 gpd.

Finally, Marshall noted that a onebedroom apartment would use 140 gpd while a four-bedroom house would use an estimated 490 gpd.

Data like these are contained in a 2011 report submitted to the Selectboard by the four-member Charlotte Wastewater Committee that conducted research and gathered data on the issue over ten months.

In attempting to chart the possible growth in the West Village as stated in the Town Plan, the committee recommended the town create a wastewater master plan that would take steps to expand to 15,000 gpd while instituting policies—and eventually an ordinance—for operating and maintaining the system.

A major part of a potential master plan and ordinance, according to the study, is a fee program that would subsidize wastewater growth by charging new businesses or homes that connect to the system for roughly $60 per gallon plus a roughly onedollar-per-gallon annual operating fee.

The 50-seat restaurant would, for example, pay $81,000 to connect to the town’s wastewater system and $1,174 annually.

Library roof nearing completion Workers from Ellis, Inc., a contractor based out of New Haven, work in the noonday sun to complete a new roof for the library. The roughly $91,000 project involves installing new plywood and foam insulation to make the interior of the library more energy efficient. The company is also installing a medium-brown metal seam roof. The project is expected to be finished in the next few weeks.

That money would, in turn, be placed into a sinking fund to pay for the infrastructure and repair costs, gradually paving the way to a municipal capacity of 15,000 gpd.

“If we truly want to have that vibrant nature, if it means three businesses, at least when we use that first one we will have that seed money,” said Marshall, noting that there isn’t a budget for wastewater. But by doing it incrementally, the town can do a revolving fund that can help pay for new investments and repair, he added.

At the meeting, the Planning Commission and audience members discussed the ramifications of expanding the wastewater capacity and how it could, or should, be balanced between business and housing—two aspects of growth outlined in the Town Plan.

“My thinking has been it is chickenand-egg in terms of building vitality in the village,” said Charlotter Mike Russell.

“But based on what we have as a municipality for septic, if we’re going to encour-

age one or the other, we have much greater potential to succeed encouraging commercial uses with that 15,000 gallons than trying to encourage residential uses.”

Commission member Peter Joslin noted business growth should be tied to residential growth—perhaps senior or affordable housing—as “they go hand-in-hand with creating a more vibrant community.”

One other consideration: from a public health standpoint, the town must reserve capacity for people who need wastewater due to their own failed systems.

The town can direct these decisions through developing policy on wastewater, said Marshall. “What we’re trying to do is create tools to allow this to happen,” he said. “What we’re seeing is not anything happening.”

The meeting finished without any concrete steps forward to achieve this, though the commission did discuss urging the Selectboard to reinstitute the wastewater committee, which could help move the issue forward.

Selectboard: Solutions to erosion explored, purchasing policy approved John Hammer THE CHARLOTTE NEWS

The Charlotte Selectboard’s June 22 meeting took up where the last meeting left off with a spirited discussion on the trees and erosion problems on the Mack farm at the northwest end of East Thompson’s Point Road. The meeting followed an extended site visit at the farm, with Robert and David Mack in attendance, by the Selectboard, Jeannine McCrumb, Junior Lewis, Roy Schiff (water resource engineer), Marty Illick (Lewis Creek Association) and a number of other environmentally interested citizens. At issue were the disposition of Rutter-Fund trees, drainage from the field into a town roadside ditch and the flow of run-off into Thorp Brook.

New legislation, H.R.35, establishes a law governing, among other things, control of erosion run-off passing into the state’s waterways. The site visit sought to find alternative ideas on how to handle the water flowing off or through the field. The Macks have planted the field in hay and have agreed to keep the field in hay and not till it for five to six years, thus reducing the potential for run-off.

The visit also addressed another law, which prohibits a private landowner from filling or grading the “land adjacent to a

highway so as to divert the flow of water onto the highway right-of-way, without a written permit from … the legislative body, or designee of a municipality, in the case of town highways” (bit.ly/1Ic81JE).

Part of the Mack plan seeks the possible removal of about eight of the westernmost trees and some regrading to lighten the run-off load through the meadow.

Marty Illick, speaking for the LCA, described a program titled “Ahead of the Storm.” This program provides grant money to build demonstration projects addressing storm water run-off issues.

She feels that this particular field will be an excellent demo site. A long and unresolved discussion followed, after which Roy Schiff called for alternative analyses to be conducted on the run-off being experienced. Selectman Morrison asked all parties to come up with proposals, including the disposition of the trees, to be presented at the Selectboard meeting on July 13.

Approval was given for the tenth annual Kelly Brush Ride on September 12. This is a ride, not a race, so groups of racers ought not to be expected. The ride begins in Middlebury, and cyclists will be coming through Charlotte after 10:30 a.m., thus missing a half marathon scheduled for that morning on North Greenbush and Lake Roads. In addition the Selectboard

approved bicycle time trials, sponsored by the Green Mountain Bicycle Club, for July 9 and August 13. These trials will take place along South Greenbush Road, south of the intersection with East Thompson’s Point Road, and will last from 6:30–7:30 p.m. Generally only single riders will be encountered. Details for both events may be found at bit.ly/1eFWSVV. The final version of the Town Purchasing Policy was approved with only slight typographical changes. Elected Town Auditor Jenny Cole recommended that there be training for members of town committees, commissions and boards. Generally it was agreed that the Selectboard would oversee purchases with a second look being performed by the town treasurer. A preferred vendor list will be reviewed at the next meeting, and the elected town auditors will undertake developing a pro forma for generating requests for proposals. In an associated action, the position of road commissioner was designated a purchasing agent for all purchases pertaining to the highway budget.

The Chittenden Solid Waste District (CSWD) has a Community Clean Up Fund to be used by towns to clean up illegal dumpsites in an effort to preclude their future use. Abby Foulk, the town’s CSWD board member, received approval to apply for the use of $750 from the fund

to cost-share with CCS in providing containers to receive illegal waste from the school grounds. The school will arrange for the labor to fill the containers. She also received approval to apply for up to $500 for Lewis Excavating LLC to clean up an illegal dumpsite on the Manchester property on Lime Kiln Road. A further motion was passed for an amount up to $335 to post signs preventing further dumping at both sites.

Selectman Tegatz’s motion to utilize surplus paving funds to widen the south side of Ferry Road with a concrete curb failed for lack of a second. Discussion on the pros and cons failed to resurrect the motion. Selectmen Krasnow and Spell would not support the motion, saying that more and wider public input was needed.

Two further administrative actions closed the meeting. First, the Comfort Hill Kennel contract was renewed for the housing of controlled animals for FY 2016. The contract amount, $600, is the same as for the past year. In the second action, the lease for Thompson’s Point lots 176 and 177 at 760 North Shore Road was terminated for Steven Stetson. A new lease was approved for Gary F. and Jane Alsofrom, co-trustees for the Alsofrom Trust.

The next regular Selectboard meeting will be held on July 13.

6 • July 2, 2015 • The CharloTTe News

Town Sets Public Hearing Woman charged in fatal crash awaits arraignment for Budget Charter First hearing to change Town Meeting budget vote Sept. 14 Brett Sigurdson THE CHARLOTTE NEWS

Last month, Charlotte took another step in becoming one of the first communities in the state to change the way it votes on its municipal budget.

At its June 8 meeting, the Charlotte Selectboard set September 14 for the first of two hearings regarding a proposed change to a legislative charter that would allow voting on the budget in two parts.

According to the language of the draft charter, Charlotters would first debate and vote on the Selectboard’s proposed budget and budget-related articles on Town Meeting Day. However, the budget would not take effect until a second vote by Australian ballot that would be warned and scheduled at least 20 days later.

One of the main points of discussion when the charter was discussed at Town Meeting centered on the procedure should the second vote fail.

According to the draft charter, if this happens, the Selectboard may, but will not be required to, develop a revised budget. After hosting a public meeting, the Selectboard will have at minimum a week to schedule a new vote by Australian ballot. The process would be repeated until the budget passes.

Changing the way the town votes on the budget was the most talked-about

item at Town Meeting in March, with some Charlotters stating such a change would alter the sanctity of and community spirit behind Town Meeting.

Given that Essex is the only other community in the state to broach a change to its municipal budget procedure, others questioned the risks of charting new territory.

But members of the Town Meeting Solutions Committee, a group that has been working on the issue since 2013, and other Charlotters focused on the lack of participation in the budget vote at Town Meeting. Lynne Jaunich, a member of the committee, noted in 2013 that 1,061 voters submitted ballots for the CCS budget vote, which is conducted by Australian ballot on Town Meeting Day. The number present for the floor vote on the municipal budget that day: 141.

Charlotters will be able to continue the discussion at the first public hearing Monday, September 14, at Town Hall beginning at 7 p.m. A second public hearing will take place at an undetermined location on Monday, October 12.

If the charter is accepted, the town will submit it to the State Legislature for its approval in January 2016. Given that the town must warn Town Meeting five weeks before the event in March, that leaves little time for the Legislature to vote on the matter, noted Town Administrator Dean Bloch.

The woman charged with killing Gonyeau provided a preliminary Charlotte bicyclist Ken Najarian on breath test indicating a blood alcohol June 18 in a drunk driving accident is content of .123 percent. She was proexpected to appear in Vermont Superior cessed for driving under the influence Court in Middlebury on July 13, accord- and released on a citation to appear ing to a report by at the Addison County The Burlington Criminal Court.

Free Press.

The State Police were Holly Gonyeau, assisted at the crash scene 36, of Ferrisburgh, by the Vergennes Police was to originally Department and Rescue report to court on Squad and the Ferrisburgh June 29 to answer Fire Department. The to a first-time State Police Crash charge of driving Reconstruction Team under the influence responded to assist with in the accident, the investigation. though the state Najarian’s obituary is still collecting portrays Najarian as a evidence and conpassionate outdoorsman, Ken Najarian sidering charges, artist and intellectual, one according to The whose devotion to his wife, Free Press report.

Krissi, and children, Jared According to police, Najarian, 60, and Sharon, ran deep. His funeral was was riding his bike south on Greenbush held in Providence, Rhode Island, on Road when he was hit by Gonyeau, June 25. who was also traveling south in her This was the third fatal bicycle-car Chevy Cruze sedan. Najarian, a radiol- crash in Vermont this year. ogist and professor at UVM College of Medicine, died at the scene as a result of the injuries sustained from the crash.

Final CCS bonded repair project to cost $370,000 Brett Sigurdson THE CHARLOTTE NEWS

Providing Repair, Refinishing, Restoration and Transport

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Now that school is out, work will commence on repairs to CCS funded by a bond passed at Town Meeting Day in March. The final costs of the project will total $370,000—ten percent less than the $409,000 bond passed by voters.

As reported by The News in May, the school board committed $265,000 in construction contracts for three roofing projects, new lighting in a wing of the school, and a new limited-use elevator.

As the board has moved to finalize costs for the project, it recently completed roughly $100,000 in expenses that will cover details of the major

projects. These include a skylight for the roof ($5,000), electrical work for the elevator ($5,000) and exterior stucco ($5,000).

The bulk of the remaining money is for concrete work for the elevator project ($32,824) and for consultation and project support from architects Dore & Whittier ($33,300).

Additionally, structural engineering ($8,500) and project management costs ($6,563) factor into the overall cost. The school will also have a $13,838 contingency fee as a cushion in the event of cost overruns.

The projects are slated to begin shortly, said School Board Chair Mark McDermott, and finish by midAugust.

The CharloTTe News • July 2, 2015 • 7

Celebrate the life of a special tree at Town Party

The News partners with Vermont Reads Program

Larry Hamilton Contributor There is great merit in thanking trees for the myriad benefits they provide. It is not only good for the person but good for the trees. Please come for 10 or 15 minutes during Town Party to nourish our Millennium Tree.

This will be done by watering it ceremonially, touching or embracing it, celebrating and thanking it by saying a few words, or by a short poem or haiku that you have written to celebrate its 15th birthday. Water and ladles provided if you simply wish to add a thirst quencher to the honored tree.

This bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) was planted to beautify Town Hall in the year 2000 in a small ceremony recognizing that we were marking a significant milestone in human history. This tree is located off the southeast corner of the building, and those who love trees are invited to assemble around 1:30 p.m. (an announcement will be made). Charlotte Tree Steward Annemie Curlin will lead the ceremony, assisted by other members of the Charlotte Tree Team—Tree Warden Larry Hamilton and deputy tree wardens Sue Smith and Mark Dillenback.

Long may the Millennium Tree thrive!!!

Congratulations to the Charlotte Library for its successful application to the Vermont Humanities Council 2015 Vermont Reads Program! The library has been awarded 75 copies of “Haroun and the Sea of Stories” by Salman Rushdie. The proposed program will have locals, young and old, preparing for and participating in a Storytelling Festival of True Stories.

The Charlotte News along with Charlotte Central School, Charlotte Senior Center and Shelburne Museum were all named as collaborators in the project. It will take place from approximately August 1 – September 30.

For more information about the program, go to vermonthumanities.org/ vermont-reads.

Also, look out for details about Charlotte’s participation in the coming issues of The News.

“The Honoree Tree,” a bur oak, planted at Town Hall in 2000 to celebrate the millennium. Photo: Larry hamiLton

“No student knows his subject: the most he knows is where and how to find out the things he does not know.”

–Woodrow T. Wilson 8th grade high honors Evan Beal Daniel Bernier Benjamin Blackmore Cole Boffa Augusta Claire Burhans Lillian Cazayoux Elizabeth Emmons Maxwell Gorman Cooper Harvey Seamus Higgins Elizah Jacobs Julia Kahn Brynn Marshall Hadley Murphy Mason Otley Caroline Reynolds Audrey Schnell Rayona Silverman Samuel Sturim Paige Thibault Eleanor Woodruff Thomas Wright 8th grade honors Alysha Aubin Hannah Cleveland Enzo Delia Emma Flore Bay Foley-Cox Zachary Horgan Samuel Knox

Welcome, Lawrence!

The Charlotte News would like to welcome Lawrence Dee as its Outwater Summer Intern.

Lawrence is a rising senior at St. Michael’s College, majoring in American Studies, Lawrence Dee and he hopes to one day teach a combination of English, history and journalism.

Over the coming months we’ll be putting him through the paces. He’s interested in learning the finer points of what it takes to be a journalist, and we’ll do all we can to make this happen.

He’s off to a good start with his article on Pizza on Earth.

Get Involved in the Town!

The Selectboard is looking for interested citizens to fill the following vacancies:

CCS SECOND QUARTER HONOR ROLL Congratulations to all the CCS students who made the honor roll this past semester. For your efforts, The Charlotte News presents you with a lofty quote about learning to keep you grounded.

News from The News

Sam Koskinen Maverick Lowrey Cole Otley Kaitlyn Sorrell Andrew Tieso Elizabeth Toensing Parker Urie 7th grade high honors Maryn Askew Katheryne Boardman Cecily Breen Isabel Cohen Jane Hardy Sadie Holmes Peter Hyams Annaliese Kramer Henry Lunde Lily Menk Isabelle Mittelstadt Binney Patton Alden Randall Michaela Siegel Wiley Simard Eden Wright 7th grade honors Kayla Carroll Khomanani Clemmons Reed Dousevicz Aydan Forando Olivia Hagios McLain Jipner Kayley Lambert Aaron McNally Ethan Naylor Nikolai Pughe Stuart Robinson Ciarra Tapia Tate Therrien Santiago Vazquez Benjamin Vincent Benjamin Wetzell Samuel Zinner

The following committees currently have unfilled seats: • Design Review Committee—1 vacancy with a term ending in April, 2016 • Community Safety Committee—1 vacancy with a term ending in April, 2017 • Recreation Commission—1 vacancy with a term ending in April, 2017 • Zoning Board of Adjustment—1 vacancy with a term ending in April, 2018 • Trustee of Public Funds: The trustees of public funds oversee real and personal estate, held by the town in trust, including cemetery funds.

Please include a brief explanation of why you are interested in the position.

Following your submission, a brief interview with the Selectboard will be scheduled.

Interested applicants should contact Dean Bloch by e-mail (dean@townofcharlotte.com), phone (425-3533) or stop by the office for more information.

8 • July 2, 2015 • The CharloTTe News

Classical

continued from page 1 pulled in Heidi Huestis, the CCS librarian, and Cheryl Sloan, the Charlotte Library youth services librarian, and in the summer of 2011 the project took off.

“Everything that happened after that was their genius,” Alex said. “Not only did they do it creatively and effectively, they did it cheaper than the people in Pennsylvania.”

Classical Connections just finished its fifth year on June 19, and it’s clear that the enthusiasm and community involvement in the program has paid off in Charlotte and beyond. The program takes place the week after school finishes and now offers both morning and afternoon sessions at Charlotte Library. With a waiting list of eager pupils, the library is considering offering evening sessions for next year, and it has already developed a winter

program called “Cabin Fever Book Club” that starts in February.

Farther afield, Classical Connections grants are now open to all of Vermont libraries, thanks to the organization of the Charlotte Library and sponsorship from Mr. Kroll. The most recent grant round saw successful applications from Brownell Library (Essex Junction), Burnham Memorial Library (Colchester), Fairfax Community Library, Franklin Grand Isle Bookmobile and Jamaica Memorial Library.

As with most things of genius, the organization of the program is relatively simple. At the start, CCS teachers Leslie Williams and Matthew Lutz were involved to ensure the program would satisfy the summer reading requirements.

Kathy Folley also came on board to introduce participants to the Young Writers From left: Brynn Hutchins and Edie Wright participated in the fifth season of Project at the beginning of each session. Classical Connections at the Charlotte Library. Photo: Alex Bunten The week before school finishes the kids get two books that have been rough- literature—and they are expected to read “The kids are still in school mode,” ly paired by theme—one contemporary about 60 pages before the first session on says Andrea Harvey, who had both of novel and a graphic novel of classical Monday and then about 60 pages each her boys, Cooper and Carter, beg to be in night. the program. “Asking them to read in the “They were writing about [literature], middle of July is much more difficult.” they were talking about it, they got to Some towns have rebelled against the design their own T-shirts. There were use of classics in graphic-novel form, snacks,” Alex says. “And each year it got saying, “It’s not real literature.” Heidi better.” disagrees, saying, “It makes it accessible.

According to Cheryl, it’s a boon for At least it gets them engaged and we can both children and parents that the pro- talk about it. That’s what good books gram fulfills the summer reading require- should do.” ments—kids get it out of the way at the For more information about the start of the summer, and parents don’t Classical Connections program, go to the have to pester their kids on sunny days in Vermont Department of Libraries website August about what they have (or haven’t) at libraries.vermont.gov/about_us/vplf/ read. grant. For more photos and impressions It may seem strange to have the pro- of the program, follow Heidi Huestis’ gram the week after school ends, but blog at goo.gl/5KpchM. otherwise, Heidi says, “It’s impossible to gather all of the kids. After that week, a lot of kids are off on vacation.”

At the end of a long literary week, Classical Connections participants Brynn Hutchins, Edie Wright and Wylie Simard enjoy a sailing field trip to bring the theme of the books alive. The Lake Champlain Community Sailing Center. Photo: heidi huestis

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The News is taking its annual summer break beginning July 2. We’ll be back in your mailbox on July 30.

See you at the Town Party!

The CharloTTe News • July 2, 2015 • 9

Morse's Doodles & Jots

“In nuclear war, the means are the end�

Congregational Church gets on Noah’s Ark

Jim Morse is a former Vermont Supreme Court Justice living in Charlotte. Find more of his

Members of the Charlotte Congregational Church sing and dance during a performance of Noah’s Ark June 7. The lively musical featured children and adults alike retelling the famous Biblical story.

Doodles & Jots in his book, available at the Flying Pig Bookstore or online at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble or Red Barn Books.

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Charlotte Conservation Currents Connect the dots “Climate instability” and the role of food systems in today’s world Amos Baehr CONTRIBUTOR

Let me tell you why I think Charlotte would be wise to continue its hearty support for all food systems in town with the attitude of “the more the merrier.”

I came of age talking about “global warming.” This is relatively superficial though accurate terminology. Global warming morphed into “climate change” because, while warming is the overall trend, this warming can actually lead to localized experience of climate cooling.

(There is a plausible theory that warming could actually trigger a new ice age.) This last winter the skiers and ice fisherman in my life were near ecstasy because global warming brought more snow and ice. So there is some confusion surrounding “climate change.” This invited Republican Senator James Imhofe, Chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works committee, to make a fool of himself on the Senate floor. The February 26 headline in the Washington Post summed it up well—“Jim Imhofe’s Snowball has disproven Climate Change once and for all.”

The case for using “climate instability” as a more useful term was made

by Laura Lengnick in a presentation at

the Slow Living Summit in Brattleboro, Vermont. Ms. Lengnick explained how she had interviewed 25 farmers who had been in business for at least 25 years in every region of the U.S. She shared stories of less water and more water, low temperature challenges and high temperature challenges. But the theme that came out in every region of the country was that growing conditions were less predictable, less stable.

Climate instability is the most useful label for this concern because instability in the climate leads directly to instability in food systems and ecosystems in general. Food price instability is connected to instability in the supply, which is connected to the instability in the climate.

The real problem is that the new normal is not normal. It is not that global warming is going to give Vermont a longer growing season, but that unusually late or extraordinarily early frost will make the length of any given growing season less predictable. The same is true for rain—when and how much are less reliable. These primary conditions of temperature and moisture are driving forces in our food supply. It is hard to adjust when it is unclear what to adjust to.

In this situation, systems that cushion against extreme weather events in our environment are of dramatic importance. Wetlands are a familiar example in our ecosystem, and local food is an example in our economic system. The extreme drought in California is threatening to impact food prices and quality.

In Charlotte, our robust local agriculture is a buffer economically as well as providing quality and variety that is unequaled in the commodity food system. And that variety is another wise strategy in an unstable climate.

Diversification is a well-understood strategy against risk. Biodiversity is as relevant to agriculture as it is to ecosystems. Conservation efforts to expand and protect biodiversity in Charlotte can logically be extended to expand and protect the diversity of farms in our town.

Risk is an important factor in every economic calculation, and climate instability increases risk directly in agricul-

“The real problem is that the new normal is not normal.”

The pathway to understanding climate change is an uphill battle.

PHOTO: CREATIVE COMMONS

ture. But it also increases risk directly or indirectly in every other sector of our market economy, and that makes money itself less reliable. Yes, that is what I said! “Climate instability makes money less reliable.” So local agriculture not only contributes to food security but helps build community that is a form of social security. I experienced this first hand as a vendor at farmers markets in Addison and Chittenden counties.

Another break-out session at the Slow Living Summit was titled “The Emergent Agriculture: A new paradigm for the sustainable future of food.”

This session became a personal delight when Dr. Gary Kleppel, biology professor at SUNY Albany, brought out a loaf of pain au Levain. Five years ago I wouldn’t have known that pain au LeVain was bread, but then I spent three of the last five summers baking pain au LeVain in a wood-fired oven at Good Companion Bakery in Ferrisburgh. As he sliced the bread and passed it around I was dying to find out if his sourdough French was better than mine!

Dr. Kloppel and I had lunch, reveling in our stories of customer interactions.

Stories like the father who came to get birthday breakfast for his daughter turning sweet 16 and bought the multigrain she had specifically requested. Or the woman who showed up before the market opened to be sure she got her friend a baguette, knowing they often sold out in the first hour of the market. Her friend’s cancer had returned and she had requested a baguette. We exchanged health reports as well as bread for several months thereafter.

It is this kind of relationship to food producers that enriches both the table and the community. And to quote from the Slow Living Summit, it is this kind of relationship that shows, “Food is not a commodity but a craft.” That craft is alive and well in Charlotte, so support your local craft people.

For more information about “climate instability” read Laura Lengnick’s book, Resilient Agriculture: Cultivating Food Systems for a Changing Climate.

Wild parsnip – time to cut it out!

Invasive species are a big topic in Charlotte. But not all invasives cause as much pain as wild parsnip. To prevent family, friends or pets getting burned by this toxic plant, it’s important to mow it before it goes to seed. For more information, there is a handout available at Town Hall. Or you can find more information at the Vermont Department of Health website at healthvermont.gov/enviro/outdoor/wildparsnip. aspx.

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The CharloTTe News • July 2, 2015 • 11

Nine species added to threatened and endangered list in Vermont It may seem like there are a lot of critters out in the summer in Vermont, but not all of them are thriving. The Vermont Agency of Natural Resources recently added nine species to the list of the state’s threatened and endangered species. On the list are four plants, three bumble bees, one amphibian and one bird.

Three pollinators were listed—the rusty-patched bumblebee, yellow-banded bumblebee and Ashton cuckoo bumblebee.

Pollinators such as bees, moths and butterflies are critically important to Vermont’s agriculture, but many are in decline nationwide.

According to a survey by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, beekeepers reported losing 42 percent of their honeybee colonies between April 2014 and April 2015.

Vermont’s bumblebee species appear to be in decline due to a parasite infestation. Another concern for pollinator conservation is the widespread use of a group of systemic insecticides referred to as neonicotinoids. These pesticides

are used on agricultural crops and also in concentrated doses on home gardens, lawns and ornamental trees.

Several types of neonicotinoids are highly toxic to bees, in addition to making them more susceptible to parasites and pathogens. The federal Environmental Protection Agency is currently considering legislation that would limit the use of these chemicals.

“Pollinators are essential to our farms and also to our meadows and wild orchards,” said Deb Markowitz, Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. “Adding them to the endangered species list is only one of many steps we can take to help protect them.”

More information on pollinators, including a list of pesticides for homeowners to avoid, is available on the Xerces Society’s website at xerces.org.

Fowler’s toad, rusty blackbird, dwarf birch, tulip tree, whorled milkweed and green mountain quillwort were also listed as threatened or endangered in Vermont.

Vermont currently has 51 threatened

(Above) The rusty blackbird, the rustypatched bumblebee (right), and the green mountain quillwort (inset) are three species named to the endangered list in Vermont. Photos: (above, below) Creative Commons. (right) Johanna James heinz, Courtesy of the

XerCes soCiety

and endangered animals and 163 threatened and endangered plants. Three well-known birds were removed from the list in 2005—the peregrine falcon, osprey and common loon—following the birds’ recovery as a result of conservation efforts.

A picture of the Fowler’s Toad at Fort Custer Recreation Area in Michigan.

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Solar continued from page 1 made any decisions about what it would do with the building.

“No specific use has been determined for the building, but Bullrock Deutsche ECO Solar has been approached by a number of community members who have suggested various uses such as renting it out as office space, medical offices and/or for community services,” he said.

According to a study commissioned by Bullrock, the project, estimated to take three months to complete, would impact three proposed Class III wetlands and would require permitting from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The project would be installed with minimal impact on the soil and not require tree removal or grading within the wetlands, according to the report. The company would also be willing to explore further mitigation measures after the project is completed, according to the letter.

At its July 2 meeting, the Planning Commission will commence a site visit to the proposed project at 6:15 p.m. It will discuss the project in more depth during its meeting beginning at 7:45 p.m. According to Planning & Zoning Administrator Jeannine McCrumb, the town’s role in these projects is to “review

A rendering of a proposed 500 kW solar net-metering project at the former Lake Champlain Waldorf School in between the railroad tracks and the former EatingWell building. The planning commission will discuss the project at its July 2 meeting. it from the aspect of what are the town’s interests.” This includes protecting scenic roads, vistas or habitat issues, among other things, she explained.

One area that may cause concern is the underground power lines on the property, which were buried to maintain the view corridor.

“There’s a significant precedent that

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the town jumped through lots of hoops to make sure there weren’t power lines and now they want to put panels in,” said Selectboard member Fritz Tegatz at the June 8 Selectboard meeting. “It would imply that view is significant to the town.”

The Selectboard will likely discuss the issue at an upcoming Selectboard meeting, said Selectboard Chair Lane Morrison at the meeting.

Adjoining landowners and others affected by the project have until July 18 to submit comments to Bullock, which plans to submit an application to the PSB on July 19.

This is the third solar installation Bullock is hoping to install in Charlotte.

One of those projects, a 150kw installation on Spear Street, was installed earlier this year. Bullock Deutsche ECO Solar has 20 megawatts of solar proposed in Vermont, noted Lasselle, and another 30 megawatts proposed throughout New England.

Lasselle explained “those who will utilize the clean energy produced by these solar projects are health-care facilities, schools and a ski resort.”

The Planning Commission at its May 21 meeting discussed another application for a 500kw installation. Vermont AllSun Solar would host the project on about five of a total 40 acres owned by Kurt and Patricia Fischer of 2467 Ferry Road.

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The CharloTTe News • July 2, 2015 • 13 be submitted to the PSB by the end of the month, noted McCrumb.

Finally, as the Charlotte Congregational Church moves into the end of summer, it will begin to install a 28kw solar system on its property. It calls for two arrays with 84 panels placed between the church vestry and parsonage. Electricity from the project will be used to provide all of the church’s electricity and then some, saving the church $4,428 a year and roughly $100,000 over the 25-year lifespan of the array. What’s more, it’s expected to offset 10,000 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions per year. As part of the plan, the extra electricity will be tithed to Joint Urban Ministry Project for energy vouch-

ers to help in-need customers pay electric bills.

The $70,000 project was made possible by a $20,000 Green Mountain Power grant as well as donations from the congregation. The timeline for completing the project according to the grant is Aug. 31, 2015.

What do you think about this story and others? Send us a letter: news@charlottenewsvt.com

Charlotte looks at change to solar siting standards Brett Sigurdson THE CHARLOTTE NEWS

A final site plan for a 500kw group net metering project at 2467 Ferry Road.

The location of the solar project was adjusted after neighbors spoke out about its proximity to their property.

According to the proposal sent to landowners prior to filing with the PSB, the group net-metering project consists of installing 83 6kw solar trackers and associate equipment on the parcel, with wiring to Green Mountain Power’s distribution system on Ferry Road buried under ground. Each tracker will stand at a height of 20 feet.

According to the notice to the town and adjacent property owners, the project will have minimal impact on the parcel and will be shielded from views by the current vegetation. However, neighboring land-

owners appeared at the meeting to speak out against the proximity of the project to their properties. McCrumb noted last week, however, the landowners had negotiated with AllSun Solar to relocate the project to an area of the parcel farther from the neighbors.

According to the project proposal, the installation will contribute to the Vermont Department of Buildings and General Services contract for renewable energy services and offset electric bills at Bennington State Office Complex and McFarland State Office Building in Barre.

With the new site plan, the project will

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Town officials are hoping to meet new state solar siting standards by updating Charlotte’s own.

With the state’s push for 90 percent renewable energy by 2050, the state is seeing a solar boom. Yet that rise in solar projects means more potential for developers, landowners and towns to disagree over where to site projects.

Now that the state has passed new energy legislation through H.40, the state will impose minimum setback standards and will require regulators to look more closely at local screening standards when considering a project.

At the June 18 Planning Commission meeting, Planning & Zoning Administrator Jeannine McCrumb discussed amending the town plan and zoning regulations to give the town more

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authority in regulating the location of future solar projects. Because Charlotte’s Town Plan does not have specific language speaking to the location of solar installations, McCrumb is hoping to add more specific regulatory language to both documents, which the state Public Service Board refers to under Section 248 reviews for energy projects.

As the state will create a special siting committee in January to research municipal siting standards, McCrumb sees the state moving toward giving towns more authority in directing solar installations.

“I almost got the feeling that this is the beginning of them saying we will recognize whatever the town has in the regulations at some point,” said McCrumb, though she added, “I just don’t know where they’re going.”

McCrumb showed the commission a draft list of standards as a starting point for developing the regulatory language.

It contained a prioritized list of the projects the town would support, which ranged from increasing system capacity through efficiency and conservation programs at the top to new large-scale renewable energy products at the bottom.

The draft also lists the areas of high public value and areas where the projects would be immediately excluded, such as wildlife habitat and flood hazards. Moreover, the draft lists specific uses that the town would consider for any solar proposal, including lot coverage, historic structures and districts, lighting and sound, and scenic views and vistas.

As updating the Town Plan and zoning regulations both require public hearings and a vote, McCrumb said the commission hopes to develop this language into a set policy. This would be presented to the town to vote on in the fall, likely with the potential vote on the town charter (see page 6).

The language will update the land use section of the 2008 Town Plan.

McCrumb said the major overhaul to the 2008 Town Plan, which was renewed by voters in 2013, is still in progress.

14 • July 2, 2015 • The CharloTTe News

Burhans continued from page 1 Danish philosopher who felt God could only be known through a “leap of faith.”

Burhans is intimate with leaps of faith.

He grew up “deep, deep, deep” within the church in Richmond, Virginia, he said, his voice still possessing a slight Southern lilt. He later left religious life, only to return after a chance visit to a monastery.

His father was a Baptist minister, as was his grandfather. He often went on missions with the church, experiences that exposed him to the “underside and underbelly of our wealthy country,” he said, adding this sensitized him to social justice issues. It was in his father’s sanctuary that he first played music for an audience (Amy Grant’s “El Shaddai,” which he performed with his sister).

Burhans attended William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, pursuing a degree in anthropology with a focus on pre-modern religion. After graduating, he traveled west, spending six months hitchhiking and busking and working in a deli in Santa Fe, New Mexico. This time marked six years away from the church, a time when he needed to see the world differently.

“It was so much a part of the air I breathed,” Burhans said of religion. “I needed to extricate myself from it in order to turn around and see it more clearly and embrace the faith as an adult.”

Burhans attributes his eventual return to the church to a “spirit-fueled sequence

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of events” that led him to a Benedictine monastery in Connecticut. There he discovered another world, a place where the power of religion was evoked by the simple scene of nuns walking among their gardens. He also read a quote by the agrarian philosopher Wendell Berry there: “We can turn away from it or against it, but that will only bind us tightly to a reduced version of it,” Berry wrote. “A better possibility is that this, our native religion, should survive and renew itself, so that it may become as largely and truly instructive as we need it to be.”

“It was a profound experience for me,” said Burhans of the experience at the monastery—even more so because it was there he met Tracy, who was serving as an artist in residence.

Soon after, Burhans enrolled in the Pacific School of Religion, where he earned his M.Div. degree. The search for a church to begin his own ministry led him to Charlotte in 2000, where he connected with the church and its community immediately.

“We felt a real call to be here,” said Burhans.

In particular he identified with the CCC’s social justice efforts, such as its outreach efforts in South Carolina through what is now Volunteer Vermont.

“I thought to myself, this church is really willing to step outside of its comfort zone and do some ministries that are meaningful,” he recalled. “That has been an important part of what I’ve appreciated about the church and sought to foster in the church.”

In the time since, Burhans has bolstered the church’s outreach through involvement with programs like Migrant Justice and the Joint Urban Ministry Project, and through activism like marching against the Iraq War in Washington (the congregation also planted 4,000 flags on the church lawn to mark the American soldiers who died fighting the war).

This mission work is a direct extension of the religious work done in the CCC’s sanctuary every week, Burhans explained.

“I feel the point of Sunday morning is that you are in the steady diet contemplating and meditating upon the scriptures,” he said. “The scriptures are constantly challenging us to move beyond our comfort zones and focus upon ourselves outward to those who are in need.”

Burhans has attempted to be an advocate and leader of a similar kind of

change in his church members. His eyes get misty when he thinks of the role he’s played in their lives: the marriages consecrated, the babies baptized, the comfort provided to the dying. Just as significant, there are the journeys into faith he’s led as his parishioners “explore and grapple with relationships with God, and what it means to lead faithful lives in this world.”

“That has been profound,” he said.

Much of this work is accomplished through Burhans’ sermons, which are conversational, candid—not so much a religious leader shouting down the word from the pulpit but a fellow searcher trying to find his way through life’s biggest questions. In the often black-and-white world of religion, Burhans Burhans' guitar sits in front of his alb and stoles. revels in the gray areas.

“I love grappling with the questions,” said Burhans, co-grand marshals of the annual East “with the nuances, trying to tease out Charlotte Tractor Parade, and Cray joked, meaning and purpose in life.”

“How will we find our way down the That’s why he calls each of the 250 or hill without him? I guess that it is a so members of the CCC “individual min- net down-hill drive from Vermont to isters”— they’re all helping one another Winchester, Massachusetts.” find a way to answer the questions.

But in a very real sense, Burhans is “For me, I sense that Will is content still finding his way—to the questions that he has brought his congregation clos- and to the answers that surround religious er to Christianity and God,” said Martha faith—and he’s ready to continue that Perkins, a member of the church. She journey once he begins his new position calls him “one of the few truly Christian in Winchester on September 1. people I know. His Christian beliefs “I feel like I’m trying to follow the translate to his congregation through promptings of the spirit and that God’s compassion, love, social justice, listen- got things in store that I can’t imagine,” ing, education and action,” she said. said Burhans. “I am eager to experience “Will is a man of deep and unabashed those things unfolding beyond what I can faith and not hesitant to call attention to imagine. For me, it is a sense that this is the practical demands of the Gospel,” right and good and a call toward the next said Father David Cray of Our Lady of step. What exactly that means I don’t Mt. Carmel in Charlotte, where Tracy know.” and their three daughters are members, One thing is clear, though: when something that often brought Burhans Burhans leads his last sermon on August to Saturday Mass. “He has been a lead- 2, he will leave his congregation in er in our own area and in the greater Charlotte closer to finding answers then Burlington area on issues of social jus- they perhaps were before. tice, particularly immigration issues and Said Perkins, “We will miss his reguconditions for our local immigrant farm lar reminders of what it is to follow workers, as well as Habitat for Humanity. our Christian beliefs. We will miss his He is a seriously holy man.” music.”

Cray and Burhans have long been the

The CharloTTe News • July 2, 2015 • 15

OutTakes Commentary

by Edd Merritt Now pose for your mug shot Hey ayy hey ayy And sing it like a chain gang Hey ayy hey ayy —Mug Shot, Max Schneider

Well, worry not. Unless you have provided a grand service to our community, are playing in the band or helping “Soccer Central” regain its significance, the chance of seeing your face on the front page of The Charlotte News might take a while.

That, however, is not nearly the case for The Caledonian Record, that trendy rag from the Northeast Kingdom. The Record recently came out with a classy new paper called “Mugshots,” subtitled a “Right-to-Know-Journal of Recent Arrests in Vermont.” Not only did it print all the shots in color, but it felt circulation would be significant enough to charge people $3 per issue. Talk about chutzpah!

My mother used to be able to wash our family clothes for less than that.

As a local-paper journalist, I am appalled by The Record’s use of this format as a way of gaining income. It’s assuming that enough people in Vermont want to see 24 pages of bizarre looks on often unfriendly faces, and would pay to do so, which leads me to question the editors’ brain power. The idea did not come from a brain focused on an upbeat civic

Taking Care

Alice D. Outwater, Ph.D.

When to sell the house One morning I stood at the top of the stairs with my legs shaking. I wondered how I would safely reach the bottom.

I was scared. So I told myself to calm down and go slowly. That night I pulled myself up the stairs step by step. This continued for the next two days. My husband, John, was in a nursing home. “Do what you need to do with the house,” he wisely said. “It might be too much for you now. Whatever your decision, it will be the right one.”

As I debated, another event convinced me to sell. However, the task of cleaning out our beloved Tudor house with 65 years of accumulation seemed daunting.

Why is your mug front-page news? culture or fine-tuned visual arts, and I’m them animals? hoping that a neuroscientist will delve Animals we were when I was growing into the editors’ hemispheres and discov- up. My clique of friends all took animal er the abnormalities that led to the idea. names. I was “Beaver,” and not long ago, There is another questionable item in the head of the assisted-living facility in the paper. It shows pictures of people Minnesota that housed my parents, and who have been arrested who happened to be but not tried and convictin the clique, smiled There is another ed, so some of these mugs and called out, “Hey, may eventually prove to questionable item in Beaver!” as I passed be just that—faces on a his office. I admit I the paper. It shows looked around to page, not convicts in the pen (I think I knew some make sure he was pictures of people pigs back on my grandtalking to me. father’s farm, however, If I became who have been that fit that description, upset and poundarrested but not tried ed on my shorter and the ones that scamper down Ittleman’s field friend, “Mouse,” and convicted, so toward Church Hill Road would I appear in some of these mugs “Mugshots”? I hope seem often to reach the fence with smiles on their may eventually prove not, because I was faces.). pretty hot on Mouse’s What would happen to be just that—faces sister who most days if all those pictured in give me a on a page, not con- wouldn’t “Mugshots” took offense glance. Her sights and descended on St. were set on a bigvicts in the pen.

Johnsbury to take over ger animal we called control of the community?

“Moose.”

Having The immediate out-migration of residents spent summers in northern Michigan, I would probably resemble something akin knew the difference. to parting the waters of the Kingdom, Other mugs in “Mugshots” go making late evenings at the Tunbridge under headlines from “Fugitives and World’s Fair look like a Disney film.

Furloughees,” “Assaulters,” Robbers The first page of the rag is titled and Stealers” (What’s the difference?), “Crimes Against Children and Animals.” “Domestic Abusers,” “Drug Criminals,” Now there were times in their early lives “Moving Violators,” just plain “Violators when we called each of our sons an of Conditions and Orders,” to seven animal for behavior that usually meant pages charged with “Driving Under the badgering either or both parents. It often Influence.” centered on a creemee stand. But,was it a Now, as I recall I learned to drive under crime to come down on the kids and label the influence, but it was the influence of

my father. He taught me largely on the two-hour trip to duck camp at 4 a.m.

Saturday mornings in the fall. I had better listen carefully. Otherwise, we’d end up in some of the best cow corn in Southern Minnesota.

Drug dealing was another interplay between father and son. My dad, a physician, would get samples from pharmaceutical representatives all the time. In turn, he would try them out on me—particularly for my annual hay fever. I never took the same antihistamines from one summer to the next. When we ran out of one brand, he headed to the bathroom cabinet for number two, saying, “Oh yes, Edd, this is fresh off the shelf from the drug dealer. See how it works. If it doesn’t help, we have others.”

Another perturbing thing about the show of mug shots is how those photographed may feel about their pictures in a newspaper. I sense that a number of them might, in fact, like it. Since they have seldom gained notoriety of any type in their lives, even a mug shot is better than nothing.

“Look man! There I am, freckles and all, as a moving violator. I don’t see you on the page. What happened? You weren’t swerving enough to get a ticket?

Oh well, better luck next time. When you see the nose of the state cop car peeking out of the woods, hit that accelerator hard and leave a streak on the black top.”

Finally, I think it might be interesting to follow up “Mugshots” with a paper that features the mugs of the publishers themselves. Although, I think I’d call it “Rectal Fissures.” And I’m still debating on whether to include Rupert Murdoch.

I opened the bedroom curtains the next morning to find a heavy snowstorm had blanketed the town. Below four kind neighbors were brushing my walk and digging out my tires. Both couples had small children: the women had children and responsible jobs and their husbands were lawyers. “Don’t worry, Alice, you’ve been full of courage…we’ll take care of you this winter.”

Their generosity flabbergasted me— but was this fair to them? Over the next few days I began to realize the endless upkeep the house and grounds demanded.

I was simply too old. Part of me had been pretending it was easy and to just keep going. So I telephoned an appraiser to inspect everything and give me a thorough report as soon as possible.

The house had been built 80 years before. The infrastructure needed attention—some rusty pipes leaked, hissing radiators banged and never heated up, insulation was skimpy with drafty blasts pouring in. The dining room ceiling had water spots from some mysterious source.

This would entail months of work by professionals—and hefty bills. I never liked workmen arriving day after day at 7 a.m., then leaving a mess behind.

How many rooms was I actually using?

real soul, and I want the new owners to be happy here. Perhaps you’ll want to show the appraisal to your head workman.”

Next the whole family including the grandmother arrived and paraded through the house. Charlie’s wife noted, “Look at those oak doors and woodwork. They remind me of my childhood home. It’s both cozy and grand.” Charlie offered, “Wow, so many possibilities.” The oldest boy chimed in, “Dibs on the bedroom looking out on the garden.”

I held my breath. The following week— far more rapidly than I expected—they approved the purchase. Charlie wanted to start work on the house immediately because of the school schedule. The timing was non-negotiable. This meant I had one month.

Now I was committed to completing this intimidating task. I needed to proceed in an orderly way. For inspiration I reminded myself of those two mornings when I prayed to get down the stairs safely.

(Next I will write about the awesome task of moving out: how I dealt with the contents and the memories they evoked.)

I counted a mere five of the 14. This was an extravagant amount of space for one person. The stairs were definitely a challenge. I longed for a young family who would love it.

I couldn’t leave our children the dismal task of dispersing the contents after I died. John had a workshop in the former playroom. It was filled with a drill press, band saw, lathe, and large and small tools, as well as a plethora of unfamiliar objects.

The furnishings seemed the least worry. The children would choose what they wanted. But what about the china, silver bowls, serving pieces and paintings? Some went back generations from both our families. These were a responsibility I needed to resolve carefully.

I telephoned Brian, the real estate broker, for advice. “Oh, I have the perfect family,” he said. “They have three children and live in Grande Isle. They want them to walk or bike to school with neighborhood pals. They love your street.”

It didn’t take long to make up my mind.

We set the price and placed it on the market. Charlie, the potential buyer, arrived and I handed him the extensive appraisal.

He had restored several old houses. I cautioned him, “Read this carefully, as there is much work to be done. This house has a

16 • July 2, 2015 • The CharloTTe News

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The CharloTTe News • July 2, 2015 • 17

Vermont…really?

Seeking a retirement location Carlanne Herzog CONTRIBUTOR

We started our retirement search four years before we actually determined “where to be.” With my husband’s career as a petroleum engineer coming to a close in the foreseeable future, we started a serious search for a retirement location.

Houston, Texas, where we were located between international postings, is a fairly routine place for oil company employees. Picture clogged freeway systems, miles of billboards, semi-trucks barreling alongside you at speeds almost always above the posted limit and a cacophonous level of noise accompanying six to eight lanes of traffic. The heat and humidity of Houston bring out a variety of undesirable insects, among them roaches, centipedes, spiders and swarms of mosquitoes in the summer after a thunderstorm.

Upon sharing with friends that we were moving to Vermont, we had incredulous reactions—Isn’t it very cold there in the winter? Do you know anyone? Aren’t the taxes quite high? What will you DO there?

With a lengthy history of moving behind us, we understood the concept of transitions. A good transition involves saying your “good-byes” before moving into the “wilderness” stage. Facing change is never easy, especially when it means leaving friends and familiar surroundings. While change is obviously external, it’s necessary to also realize the internal emotional changes. With this move, we had control and to some degree could safely say the outcome would be desirable. This move was important because we wanted it to be permanent and not transitory. Retirement, coupled with choosing to move, provides an oppor-

tunity to assess your goals for such an important decision. Once determined, the chosen location marks the third stage of transition—the hellos. Making the decision with my husband gave a sense of “we’re in this together.”

Armed with ten books about the best places to retire in the United States and the many questions to be considered surrounding such a move, we started with what each of us enjoyed doing as individuals and together. While I am not a fan of cold weather, my husband is an active outdoor person, summer AND winter. I manage winter okay but must take leave of Vermont in mud season.

Our search started in the West at Lake Tahoe and then moved to the East Coast.

We discussed the pros and cons of several locations, among these Camden and Portland, Maine, and Northampton, Massachusetts. Hanover, New Hampshire, seemed a charming place, but we were given a word of caution that unless we were part of the Dartmouth College community it might be hard to make friends.

We had read in one of our many books about the desirability of a small city called Burlington, Vermont. We loved the lake, and Church Street was charming with outdoor cafes and live music here and there along the way. Upon driving south on Route 7 from Shelburne to Charlotte, I carry in my mind’s eye the initial delight at gazing across the sparkling waters of Lake Champlain to the Adirondack Mountains on a summer day. Every now and then, when the lighting allows it, the hills and valleys are highlighted making the mountains appear much higher than they are in reality.

The charm of Charlotte started to unfold before us even before we actually lived here. The only person we’d met lived across the little dirt lane from us and showed us a beautiful photograph of what was to be our location. I ordered a copy from an East Hardwick photographer for

PROPERTY TRANSFERS June 5. Ronald Wade Purdum Revocable Trust to Andrew and Julia Beerworth, 5.81 acres with dwelling, 162 Fox Run Road, $365,000.

June 11. William and Nancy Petty to West Wind Water Corporation, .06 acre easement, 955 Whalley Road, $13,007.

June 4. Dana and Kathleen Dunn to Dimitry Krementsov and Arianna Bailey, 1.4 acres with dwelling, 87 Line Drive, $293,000.

June 23. Steven Stetson to Gary F. Alsofrom Trust, seasonal cottage, 760 North Shore Road, $365,000.

June 4. Bonnie Christie to Cole Shea, .5 acre with dwelling, 2996 Greenbush Road, $315,000.

June 26. Stephen C. Taylor to Brian and Erin Just, .56 acre with dwelling, 543 Ten Stones Circle, $453,000.

Local businesses and small-town values make Vermont towns like Charlotte ideal places to retire. Photo: Bill SymmeS a Christmas gift for my husband.

Of course, change of address cards would be necessary. The Charlotte Post Office was holding our forwarded mail for us because we were living at a temporary address in Houston. One day, on a summer visit to Vermont, I was browsing the postcard rack at the Old Brick and came upon the perfect postcard, which captured our view perfectly! I ordered eighty of these to be sent to our new address. The postal worker told me they would hold mail for only a month. But we were not to come again for six weeks. Oh, what to do? Long story short, arrangements were kindly made by the postal worker for my postcards to be collected at the Old Brick.

On my wanderings in this small town, I took notice in several places of exquisite bouquets of scent-laden roses in hues of sun-burst yellow, flaming red and a deep red like soft velvet. I admired these roses at the post office, the Old Brick, the Charlotte Senior Center and even my family doctor’s office in Shelburne.

I inquired about this at my friendly post office and was told an older French man had been supplying various venues with roses from his greenhouse for many years. He wanted no fuss; however, I learned the staff passed the hat around at Christmas for a gift for this generous soul, who wanted nothing more than to share the glorious results of his skilled green thumb.

Serendipitous moments occur now and then in a small place like our town. I remember the first winter we were here.

Our world was white with howling wind and ice-laden trees, and it was so cold that the snow crunched underfoot. Overtaken by cabin fever, my husband and I layered ourselves and headed for the ferry. Soon, it came in and the captain got off the boat, asking us, “Are you foot passengers?”

He probably wondered if we were sane!

I said, “No, we’ve just moved here from Texas and needed some fresh air!” He was rather taken aback and said, “On the boat you go, free ride over and back, 20 minutes each way!” It is this kind of experience that we find so endearing about this small place in northern Vermont!

Yes, indeed, it is very cold here in the winter. We did not know a soul before moving here. The taxes are a drawback and among the highest in the United States. My husband loves his outdoor activities, I am happily busy with my music, and we both have an active calendar enjoying events in both Burlington and Middlebury. We’ve landed in an area where many people travel to interesting places, gaining an expanded world vision.

Just as Mother Nature’s seasons change, so do the seasons of our lives.

With autumn leaves turning, snowflakes falling, spring flowers blooming and summer sun shining, we have, indeed, found a wonderful place to retire.

18 • July 2, 2015 • The CharloTTe News

SportS ‘Tis the high school all-star season With graduation and state tournaments behind them, recent graduates have faced the Granite-State warriors in several Twin-State games, and all-star teams in spring sports were named. CVU contributed players to nearly all categories.

Higgins and Alpert finish near the top of state decathlon championships

On June 20, Elliot Mitchell, CVU grad from Charlotte, scored a hat trick for Vermont at Dartmouth in the 23rd Hanover Lions Twin-State men’s lacrosse game. The 15–14 victory was the first for Vermont in 20 years, with New Hampshire leading the series 20 wins to 3.

Mitchell’s third goal tied the game at 14 in the fourth quarter with only three minutes to go, before South Burlington’s Cam Nolting won the contest. Michell at midfield was joined by Greg Talbert, another Redhawk middie, and longstick defender Sam Wilkins on the team.

Vermont’s All-State women’s lacrosse team lost to New Hampshire 21-9 despite Rice Memorial’s Michelle Bolger scoring two goals and adding two assists. Emily Kiernan from Middlebury and Clancy Farrand from Woodstock also netted two goals apiece.

Edd Merritt Sports Roundup

Two Charlotte athletes from CVU finished among the top ten at the 40th Annual Decathlon state championships held at UVM on June 16. Carly Alpert in seventh and Maeve Higgins in eighth joined another classmate, Laurel Johnson, to place among the top 10 athletes overall in the tournament. Johnson was second in the shot put, throwing 27 feet, 6 inches, eight feet short of the winner. Higgins was second in the 1,500-meter run, 13 seconds behind the winner.

What is so “twin” about Vermont and New Twin-State hockey splits with New Hampshire Hampshire?

Twin states, perhaps. However, it often seems quite opposite—granite versus marble, White Mountains versus Green, a Connecticut River running up the border.

For the first time in 11 years, the Twin-state baseball games saw a split, with New Hampshire taking game one by 3-2 and Vermont winning the nightcap 5-4. The win is significant for the Green Mountain team, particularly because New Hampshire has more divisions and more players from which to choose. Played at Holman Stadium in Nashua, New Hampshire, this year, the games head west to Vermont next year.

Lincoln Pritchard pitched and hit his way through game two to garner the Vermont MVP award. He retired nine Granite State hitters from the mound (every one he faced) and collected three hits over the two games. Rice’s Anthony Phillip led Vermont at the plate and on the bases in both games with three hits, three steals and three runs. Charlotte’s Will Potter and teammates Deagan Poland and Shea Ireland were also Twin-State players. The squad drew from 13 high schools of all sizes and divisions.

Gutterson Field House at UVM was the sight of the two-game Twin-State rivalry in hockey last weekend. The New Hampshire men eked out a 1-0 win over Vermont, and the Green Mountain women turned things around in the afternoon for a 7-0 victory, the team’s first win in two years.

Coaches and players from CVU make the statewide coaches’ all-star groups

The almost-state-champ CVU baseball team found its coach Tim Albertson named “Co-coach of the Year” by his colleagues and Chicago Cub draftee Rayne Supple as “Player of the Year.”

First baseman Shea Ireland, outfielder Deagan Poland and Will Potter, pitcher from Charlotte, earned first-team status. The second team included CVU pitcher Sam Mikell and Dan Poodiack, and Landon Carpenter received honorable mention.

Four Redhawk softball players earned all-state honorable mention by their coaches: Natalie Gagnon, Charlotte’s Claire Potter, Elizabeth Boutin and Bronwen Hopwood.

Suzanne Lourie of Charlotte participated in the 5K run at Women Helping Battered Women’s 8th Annual Run for Empowerment on June 20. Photo: Jean Plasse Five of CVU’s women lacrosse players were named by the league coaches to all-star ranks. First-team midfielders included Annie Keen and Lily Schmoker. Second-team honors went to defender Emma Plociennik and goalie Bailee Pudvar. Megan Gannon won honorable mention.

The state lacrosse champ Redhawk men placed Charlotte product Elliot Mitchell on the coaches’ first all-state team and attacker Matt Palmer plus defenders Pat McCue and Sam Wilkins on the second team.

CVU spreads its baseball players to a couple of teams for American Legion

Sam Mikell and Deagan Poland from the Redhawks have been playing well for Essex VFW, Post 91. In a 17-4 win over Addison County, Poland had two RBI’s and Mikell had two doubles and scored four runs. In a later one-run loss to South Burlington, Poland collected two hits. On the South Burlington side of the fence, Charlotte’s Will Potter col-

lected two hits and an RBI in a 4-1 loss to Clinton County Legion of New York.

Machavern on a roll

At the end of May Charlotte’s Dillon Machavern tackled Lime Rock Roadway in western Connecticut in his No. 24 Heritage Motorsports/UniFirst/ PPG/Traqgear Racings Innovation Ford Mustang. Another Lime Rock roadrunner from some years back, actor Paul Newman, would have been proud.

Dillon ran the course from fifth to third, ending in second on the podium. He was smart in the process, taking advantage of restarts to move up and, in one instance, running off on the grass in order to move into second place. He ended three car lengths ahead of the third place driver. He stands second in the run for the Trigon Trophy and heading through the 2015 Trans-Am Championship and the 3-Dimensional Service Triple Shot Showdown—whew.

We wish him luck in Bob Dylan-land near Brainerd, Minnesota.

Gabe Louire-Wisbaum finished third in the 10K men’s division of the Women Helping Battered Women’s 8th Annual Run for Empowerment on June 20. He finished first in his age category. Photo: Jean Plasse

The CharloTTe News • July 2, 2015 • 19

Charlotte Senior Center

The café menu

by Mary Recchia, Activities Coordinator Wishing everyone a very happy and safe Fourth of July! Just a reminder that the Center will be closed on Friday, July 3.

July Artist, Rachel Doran, shares her photographs, which express feelings and thoughts about life – what once was and what could be, and especially of reverence for the beauty of nature.

Join Hank Kaestner on Wednesday morning, July 15, for another Birding Expedition as we try to record 100 species of birds in one year! Meet at the Center a little before 9 a.m. so we can carpool together to the location Hank has scouted for spectacular bird watching. Please register for this event so if we have to change the date due to bird migration or weather we can call you.

No fee.

Are You Ready for an Active Summer? Ginger Lambert continues this energetic fitness class on Friday mornings from 9 – 9:45. We all have different body types and fitness experience but know that being strong and fit helps us to live our lives to their full potential.

Using timed intervals and a series of stations this class will incorporate body weight, light weights and other cardio/ strength building tools to boost strength, cardiovascular fitness, agility and flexibility. Some active games will be included to make this a fun and interesting workout. Joint and ligament issues will be taken into account. Every exercise can be modified for any ability or level of fitness. If you have been looking for a class that challenges you but doesn’t leave you in the dust, then this is for you.

Registration required. Fee: $10/class.

Welcome aboard! Join Joe and Martha Barton-Rivera and the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum for a Shipwreck Tour—without getting wet!—on Tuesday, July 7, beginning at 9:30 a.m.

Did you know that there are over 300 historic shipwrecks at the bottom of Lake Champlain? Take a tour boat to the site of one of these wooden wrecks and go for a “dive” using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). This robotic camera sends back real-time video to an on-board monitor as the vessel’s dramatic story is shared. We will gather at the Center and carpool to the museum where we will meet our tour

Food Shelf News

weDnesDay, July 1 Brian’s chicken salad Birthday cake and ice cream monDay, July 6 Chicken Caprese pasta salad Homemade dessert weDnesDay, July 8 Grilled pork tenderloin Summer salad Homemade dessert monDay, July 13 Chef’s choice Homemade dessert weDnesDay, July 15 Seafood salad Homemade dessert

Hank Kaestner led a hike up Mt. Philo with a group whose goal is to see 100 species of birds in one season. So far, they've spotted 81. guide for the one-hour trip. Afterward, feel free to eat the bag lunch you brought or grab a bite at the Red Mill Restaurant, but plan to spend the afternoon strolling the grounds since your ticket includes admission to the museum. Don’t miss this incredible experience! Registration required. Maximum: 25. Fee: $15 (includes admission to the museum).

The day for Tubing on the White River with Phyllis Bartling and Sukey Condict is Tuesday, July 14, from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Weather dependent.

Affectionately known as the tubing capital of Vermont, “The Stockbridge Yacht Club,” as the locals call it, has the finest tubing on the White River. For $15 you get a tube and a shuttle up the river, and then you are on your own for the 3-mile float down the river, which takes about two hours. Slow enough to just sit back and watch the world go by. The water is no more than a couple of feet deep, but even in its deeper holes the bottom of the river is crystal clear. Enjoy summer in full swing at one of Vermont’s natural playgrounds! A hat, sunscreen and water shoes are recommended. Pack a bag lunch to enjoy at the end of the trip on the “shore” with fellow tubers.

Reservations required. We will carpool from the Senior Center. Fee: $15.

A three-day outdoor intensive work-

PlanT a row Thanks in advance to all of you gardeners growing an extra row for the Food Shelf this season. We especially love potatoes, onions, cabbage and beets as well as anything to put in a fresh salad.

wish lisT We need snacks for kids such as raisins, Goldfish, rice cakes, peanut butter, crackers and pretzels.

looking for summer volunTeers Kerrie Pughe CONTRIBUTOR

Thank you We appreciate the support from the Charlotte Grange and J.D. Schultz.

Thanks to Brahm Lasek and his partygoers for the bag of food and donations collected for his birthday celebration. A big thank you to the Shelburne/Charlotte middle-school dance for all the donated canned goods. And thank you for the food donated from the CCS kitchen.

We need additional volunteers. Will you help us? We need substitutes to help us with the Wednesday evening and Thursday morning food distributions for July and August. Please call Nancy at 425-6116 if you can help.

DonaTeD fooD DroP-off locaTions

All nonperishable food donations may be dropped off at the Charlotte Library, the Charlotte Congregational Church vestry, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church (main entrance) or at the Food Shelf dur-

shop titled Color and Light in Pastel with Angela Manno, an internationally acclaimed visiting artist, will take place on July 21 and 22 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (with a one-hour lunch break) and July 23 from 9 a.m. to noon. Learn or sharpen your skills in capturing radiant color and light in your work in the tradition of landscape painting that Claude Monet used to create his impressionistic masterpieces. Students will practice and learn the secret to approaching subjects in changing light, how to simplify the landscape into basic masses and develop the ability to see the full spectrum of color.

Classes are taught in pastel. Those proficient in other media are also welcome.

Open to beginning through advanced students. Plenty of individual instruction will be given, ending with critique in a supportive atmosphere. Registration required. Fee: $150.

“Sail” by ferry to Essex for a Midday Concert and Lunch with Harriett Brainard, Mary Harry and Tani Gagner on Thursday, July 30. We will meet at the Senior Center at 10 a.m. and go together to board the 10:30 Charlotte ferry. The scheduled concert is chamber music by Point Counterpoint. It is a very short walk (one block) to the Essex Community Church; the concert begins at 11:30 and will last about 45 minutes.

monDay, July 20 Sweet potato & black bean enchiladas Pea & bacon salad with ranch dressing Watermelon surprise weDnesDay, July 22 Grilled chicken Caesar salad Homemade dessert monDay, July 27 Tomato Florentine Parisienne salad Homemade bread Ice cream weDnesDay, July 29 Waldorf chicken salad Homemade dessert 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. Reservations are not required for the Monday Munch; a $4 donation is requested.

Admission is by donation and much appreciated. Afterward you can visit the unusual shops in town for a bit and stop in at one of the local eateries for a bite to eat before returning to Charlotte via ferry by 4 p.m. Registration required. Fee: Lunch money and $7 for the round-trip ferry ride.

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

The Charlotte Food Shelf is located on the lower level of the Charlotte Congregational Church vestry.

Distribution days/times are posted in this newspaper and on the bulletin board in the Charlotte Congregational Church hall.

You may also call the Food Shelf number (425-3252) for a recording of the distribution times.

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

For emergency food call John 4253130.

For emergency assistance (electricity, fuel) call Cindi at 425-3234 For more information call Karen at 425-3252 or Visit our website at sites.google.com/ site/charlottefoodshelfvt/.

The canned goods collected at the Shelburne/Charlotte joint middle school dance. Kids were to bring a canned good as part of their admittance fee.

20 • July 2, 2015 • The CharloTTe News

Join your neighbors at Charlotte’s annual Town Party Beth Merritt CONTRIBUTOR

It’s hard to believe that what began as an effort by the Friends of the Library to showcase the library building project over 20 years ago has grown into such a fullscale town event. This year’s party, again organized by the Friends of the Library, is on Saturday, July 11, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Town Green. Highlights include a great book sale, community organization displays, Quinlan School and Charlotte Children’s Center activities, and lunch at the fire station.

Be ready at ll a.m. sharp for the opening of the well-loved book sale, an annual crowd pleaser. Great summer reads await you in what promises to be a large selection of gently used materials. Donations of books in good condition can be dropped off at the library during library hours through Thursday, July 9. Donation guidelines are available at the library and on the library website (charlottelibraryvt. org). Proceeds from the book sale help stretch the library’s annual book budget.

The library is collecting information from townspeople as part of its strategic planning process, so be sure to complete the short questionnaire found at the booksale check-out stations as well as in the big tent.

Local organizations take over the big tent on the green to display materials and talk about current projects. Here you’ll discover how the Hands to Honduras group is constructing a neonatal intensive

The Charlotte town green will be covered with tents for Town Party July 11. Photo: Alex Bunten care unit at Tela Hospital; the projects the Charlotte Land Trust has undertaken in its mission to protect special lands in town; the activities the Lewis Creek Association is focusing on in protecting the Lewis Creek watershed and beyond; and the details of the Charlotte Congregational Church’s solar energy project.

Be sure to check out tables of other local groups, including the Grange, the Selectboard, the Conservation Commission, the Trails Committee, the Planning Commission, the Charlotte Historical Society, Charlotte Recreation, the Charlotte Democrats and Transition Town Charlotte. Check out the recycling information at the CSWD and CCS Green Team table and information on the CCS PTO and CCS Connecting Youth mentoring program.

This year the Charlotte Children’s Center staff will be face painting under the library trees on the green. Don’t forget to stop in at the Quinlan School where you can take a step back in time to when

Charlotte’s children attended one-room schools. While you’re there, create a pencil holder using town history materials, enjoy some lemonade and listen to stories from the past. Unfortunately, due to traffic issues and dwindling participation, there will not be a parade this year.

You’ll find The Charlotte News display in a separate tent again this year.

Fill out the short questionnaire, sign up to volunteer or make a donation and you’ll come away with a treat from Champlain Chocolates. Donate $100 or more and take home a great new Charlotte News hat. And the winning photos from the 10th annual Peter Coleman photo contest are always a must-see.

The aroma of grilling hamburgers and hot dogs will draw you across Ferry Road to the fire station where the Fire & Rescue crew will be hard at work preparing a great lunch. Again under the able direction of Rita St. George, the menu will feature hamburgers, hot dogs, drinks and accompaniments, locally baked desserts

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and popcorn. Fire & Rescue thanks our own Fat Cow Farm along with Shelburne Supermarket, Shelburne Meat Market, Lantman’s, Creed Ice Company, and the Coke and Pepsi distributors for their generous donations to the meal. Take a break, relax and visit over lunch, and also enjoy checking out the fire trucks and fire-fighting gear on display.

Next door the Senior Center will be open with coffee available. Be sure to take a look at the photographs of Rachel Doran whose work will be on view there through the month of July.

And last, but definitely not least, a huge thank you goes to the Vermont Tent Company for its continuing support of our Town Party.

You won’t want to miss this special all-town event: the Town Party, Saturday, July 11, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Town Green.

The CharloTTe News • July 2, 2015 • 21

A Taste of Summmer

Not your everyday pizza joint Lawrence Dee THE CHARLOTTE NEWS

Jay and Marcia Vogler have been dishing out pies and pastries on Hinesburg Rd since 1999.

This July they will also be open on Thursdays. phoTo: Lawrence Dee

S

ixteen years ago when Jay and Marcia Vogler bought a wood-fired brick oven, it was primarily for personal use. The same went for their 64-acre spread, known as Bingham Brook Farm, on Hinesburg Rd. Marcia, co-owner and pastry chef, recalls that, “Originally, we started making pizza with it for our own use at home, and when local customers would come to pick up their fresh vegetables every Friday, we started offering the option of taking a pie home with them as well.”

From there Pizza on Earth blossomed into a notoriously delicious pizza venue, recognized not only in Vermont, but also in Boston and Montreal.

After being featured in a 2010 Boston Globe article outlining the top 10 pizza places around New England, Jay Vogler saw customers arriving from the greater Boston area, making a point of stopping

by Pizza on Earth during their interstate travel to see what the fuss was all about.

They came and they left happy, and they seem to continue to come back.

“One man from Montreal even brings the press clipping from the Montreal Gazette almost every summer since we were mentioned in their newspaper,” explained Jay, showing his modesty towards the widespread popular appeal that Pizza on Earth has gained over the years.

Since they started in 1999, the variety of Pizza on Earth’s offerings has expanded. The Voglers enhanced their menu with pastries and tarts about five

years ago, and now they even do homemade gelato and artisan breads. “Our Milky Way pastry seems to be the top seller,” says Marcia. “Normally by 6 p.m. every Friday there’s none left on the shelf!”

Having Stony Loam Farm up the road from the pizza oven has made it easy for the Voglers to use the freshest possible ingredients. The dough for the woodfired pizza and bread are made in house, while fresh veggies and herbs, such as zucchini and basil, are plucked from the farm and immediately incorporated into and dabbled on fresh pies.

“The big one for us is the garden

pizza, using our own zucchini, red onion, and fresh basil. We get the most orders for that one,” said Jay as he pulled a freshly cooked example of the top-seller out of the oven for a customer waiting patiently.

After spending just half an hour in the shop, it was clear what made Pizza on Earth a tremendous success. Keeping their menu simple, adding small expansions and tweaks to it over the years, combined with their mutual devotion and appreciation for good food, Jay and Marcia have developed a model of business that is as appealing as their pizzas.

The Scoop What: Pizza on Earth When it’s open: Fridays, 4-7:30 p.m. Starting this July they will also open on Thursday from 4-7:30 p.m.

What you’re eating: Jay recommends the garden veggie for pizza, and Marcia suggests the milky way out of all the tarts and pastries. Be sure to try some of their wood-fired artisan breads, as well as the gelato and Marcia’s muffins.

What you’re drinking: Pizza on Earth is mainly a takeout place, however, they do have an assortment of soft drinks, as well as ice cold water.

What you’re doing: Picking up delicious food, as well as posting up on one of the picnic tables if the weathers nice. Perhaps even catching a sunset over the roaming hills of Hinesburg Rd. Where to find it: 1510 Hinesburg Rd. Charlotte, Vt. Look for the orange sign (picture above) outside of a yellow house.

More inforMation: Cash and Check only. Phone: 425-2152, pizzaonearth.com.

Fresh Salads • Pasta Steak • Seafood • Gourmet Pizzas Reservations Online www.lavillabistro.com Shelburne • Rt. 7 • Tenneybrook Square

A panoramic view of the interior of Pizza on Earth and an example of what they can produce (above) – A half provence, half BBQ chicken pizza. Other examples of the Vogler's latest creations can be found on their Facebook. phoToS: courTeSy

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22 • July 2, 2015 • The CharloTTe News

Community EvEnts Community Beach Party and Pot Luck July 11

p.m., and 8:15 p.m. Return train departs Burlington at 10:30 p.m. Info: 800707-3530, railtour@vrs.us.com. Buy tickets in advance on the website: goo. gl/TnyBsk

This year on July 11, the Recreation Commission wants to keep the Town Party popping a little bit beyond the afternoon. Join your neighbors and friends at the Charlotte Town Beach from 4–8 p.m. for some fun in the sun: Celtic dancers, volleyball, tennis, soccer, petanque (they will explain what that is there), horseshoes, pickle ball, or a disc golf demo. There will also be an “on water demo” of paddleboards and kayaks from Outdoor Gear Exchange. It’s free admission and parking if you bring a potluck dish. Don’t forget!

Misty Knoll Chicken and Fat Cow Farm burgers will be on the BBQ for all to enjoy, and live music from the Mystic Party Band. No dogs. No trash—carry out what you bring in.

Contact Bill Fraser-Harris for more information at billandeva@gmavt. net.

CONCERT: Vermont Symphony Orchestra at Shelburne Farms. Our musical sorcery spirits you to Middle Earth—and then safely back to your picnic spread. Concert concludes with 1812 Overture, marches and fireworks. Gates open at 5:30 pm for picnicking, concert at 7:30 p.m. Info: Flynntix at 802-86-FLYNN or flynntix. org. Adults: $35 ($40 at the Gate) Under age 18: free w/ advance adult ticket purchase only ($12 at the Gate).

JULY 4 SatuRday

JULY 5 Sunday FESTIVAL: 37th Annual Middlebury Summer Festival-on-the-Green, A free, family-friendly event supported by community donations. July 5 through 11, Middlebury Recreation Park, Middlebury. Info: 802-462-3555 festivalonthegreen.org.

JULY 6 JULY 2

monday

thuRSday

TRAINING: The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Lakes and Ponds Program will be holding an information and training event at Kingsland Bay State Park, Ferrisburgh from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. on the Shoreland Protection Act which took effect last summer on July 1, 2014. Info: Craig Heindel, 860-9400 x102, cheindel@gmavt.net.

EXHIBIT: Frog Hollow, the Nation’s First State Craft Center presents a new body of work by photographer Victoria Blewer, Cuba! Victoria Blewer will be in the gallery on Thursday, July 23 to give an informal talk about photographing Cuba. The talk begins at 6:30 p.m. The talk is free and open to the public. 85 Church St, Burlington.

Info: 863-6458, info@froghollow.org, froghollow.org.

JULY 3 fRiday

FIREWORKS: Burlington Fireworks Train. Charlotte Passenger Station Park & Ride, 730 Ferry Rd. Charlotte. Trains running between Charlotte and Burlington, with stops in Shelburne and South Burlington. Trains depart Charlotte at 5:15 p.m., 6:45

JULY 10 fRiday

ACTIVITY: Audubon Vermont presents, Bird Banding: Science in Action, 7–11 a.m. Drop in any time.

We’ll walk you through the banding process, from mist nets to data sheets.

Please call ahead if rain is forecasted, we are unable to band birds in the rain.

Info: 434-3068, 255 Sherman Hollow Road, Huntington.

Regular Church Services SATURDAYS St. Jude Catholic Church, Mass, Hinesburg, 4:30 p.m.

SUNDAYS 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: 425-3176.

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

St. Jude Catholic Church, 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, Ferrisburgh Ctr. Rt. 7, Sunday Worship 10 a.m. Information: 4253625.

Assembly of God Christian Center, Routes 7 and 22A, Ferrisburgh, Sunday worship, 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., Sunday School, 9 a.m. Information: 877-3903.

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.

JULY 11 SatuRday

EVENT: Support Mrs. Vermont and Shelburne Recreation by visiting a Touch A Truck event Saturday, July 18 from 10-2. Cost is $5/person. This is a great family fun event that let’s kids get up close to all the big vehicles they see on the road. Carnival games and food for sale makes this a fun day event.

FESTIVAL: 10th Annual French Heritage Day, celebrated in Winooski for the first time 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Winooski Falls Way, music, arts, food, games, crafts, re-enactors, family, community, history. Info: Steve Norman, Organizer, 802-363-2431, FrenchHeritageDay@ gmail.com, facebook.com/ VermontFrenchHeritageDay. EXHIBIT: Helen Day Art Center in Stowe, Vermont presents our 24th annual outdoor sculpture exhibition: Exposed 2015, curated by Rachel Moore. Exhibition dates: July 11 – October 14, 2015. July 11 Opening Reception: Walkabout & Progressive hors d’oeuvres at 4 p.m. Helen Day Art Center, 90 Pond Street, Stowe. Info: 802-253-8358, www.helenday.com.

ACTIVITY: Audubon Vermont presents: July Bird Monitoring Walk.

7–9 a.m. Take your birding to new heights this summer. Help us gather long-term data on bird populations. 255 Sherman Hollow Road, Huntington.

No pre-registration needed. Info: vt.audubon.org/events/bird-monitoringwalks-0

JULY 12 Sunday

THEATER: Uncle Buzzy’s Hometown Theater Show will be performed at 5 p.m. at Middlebury’s Town Hall Theater. Tickets are $15. Info/tickets: 802-382-9222, townhalltheater.org, at the THT Box Office (Mon-Sat, noon5pm) and at the door, if available.

CONTRA DANCE: Queen City Contras will hold its regular dance at 8 p.m. at Shelburne Town Hall, 5376 Shelburne Road. Music provided by The Irregulars. All are welcome, all dances taught, no partner or experience necessary. Beginners’ session at 7:45 p.m. Admission is $9 for adults. Under 12 free. Please bring clean, soft-soled shoes for dancing. Info: 802-371-9492 or 802-343-7166, queencitycontras. org.

JULY 13 monday

PICNIC: Annual Grange Summer Picnic at the Charlotte Town Beach.

6:30 p.m., potluck. The Grange provides hotdogs and drinks. Rain location is the Grange Hall in East Charlotte on Spear St. Info: Dorothy Hill, 425-4140.

JULY 16 thuRSday

PRE-SCHOOL ACTIVITY: Audubon Vermont presents: Down by the River. 9–10:30 a.m. What could be better than a visit to the Huntington

River on a hot summer’s day? Sign up now to hold your spot. Info: vermont@ audubon.org or 434-3068. 255 Sherman Hollow Road, Huntington, VT 05462

JULY 17 fRiday

EXHIBIT: “Running the Gamut: From Realism to Abstraction” A group show featuring the paintings of Daniels Gottsegen and 15 other artists. July 17– September 1, 2015. Opening Reception: Friday, July 17, 5:30–7:30 p.m. All are welcome! Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery 86 Falls Rd., Shelburne Village. Info: fsgalleryvt.wordpress.com, fsgallery. com.

JULY 23 thuRSday

COMEDY: Middlebury Actors Workshop at Addison Repertory Theater presents Greater Tuna. July 23–26 and July 30–August 2 8 p.m.

Thursday–Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday. $22. At the A.R.T. black box, located at the Hannaford Career Center, 51 Charles Ave, Middlebury. Info: 802382-9222, townhalltheater.org.

JULY 25 SatuRday

ACTIVITY: The Charlotte Library at the Grange, 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Activities for children, books to lend and a light breakfast. Contact Cheryl Sloan, 4253864, youth.charlottelibraryvt@gmail. com.

ONGOING EVENT: Celebrate Your Farmer Social Adam’s Berry Farm, Charlotte, July 23, 5:30-7:30 p.m., RSVP and Dinner donation requested.

EXHIBIT: Art, farm, history—a new exhibit at Rokeby Museum brings together three things Vermont is famous for. The Farm: The Drawings of Rowland Evans Robinson, 18501880 features nearly 40 pictures of farm life 150 years ago. The Farm just opened and will be on view at Rokeby Museum’s Education Center until October 25, 2015. Info: 802-822-3406.

For a preview: goo.gl/ilFVXq.

Summertime rolls! The News is taking its annual summer hiatus beginning with this issue. We hope you'll enjoy the sun as much as we will (our office doesn't have much light, and we spend too much time there). Any and all submissions will be considered for our next issue, scheduled for July 30.

Compiled by Ruah SwenneRfelt Send youR eventS to newS@ChaRlottenewSvt.Com with EVENT in the SubjeCt headline.

The CharloTTe News • July 2, 2015 • 23

Around Town Congratulations to a series of Charlotte residents who were featured in the “Nest” section of the June 17 edition of Seven Days: Meg and Peter Walker, both artists in their own media. Peter was for years a partner with world-renowned landscape architect (also a Charlotter) Dan Kiley.

Amy Lilly, the author of the article, notes that some of Peter’s designs when he worked with Kiley “became iconic in the world of landscape architecture.”

His work varied, going from a landscape for a marketplace in Osaka, Japan, to an urban-parks system in New Haven, Connecticut. Environs around aquariums in Alexandria, Egypt, and France are his current venture, and he was active closer to home when he and Kiley worked on the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Burlington back in 1974. A fire two years prior to that had destroyed St. Patrick’s Chapel and Rectory, and the diocese reviewed many proposals before selecting New York architect Edward Larabee Barnes and landscaper Dan Kiley to re-do the cathedral and surrounding landscape. Peter was Kiley’s partner at the time.

His wife Meg, who is also Scottish and studied art at the Edinburgh College of Art, met Peter in Vermont when she was visiting her brother-in-law, Ian Tyndall, then Kiley’s partner. Meg is an accomplished artist of her own, working with sculpture as well as drawings and watercolors. She loves testing new media, and according to the University of Massachusetts Hampden Gallery curator Anne LaPrade Seuthe, she is “fearless.” The Walkers’ barn and studio off Hinesburg Road divides its space between Peter’s designs for public use of a site and Meg’s creations that “prod the imagination.”

Ashley Robinson, a second Charlotte landscape designer, who was called in to help “master plan” newly purchased property. She began, as she usually does, after walking a piece of land, sitting talking with the owners to find out “what they like to do, how they live and what they like about the property.” A common mistake, Robinson says, is trying to do too much too soon. After meeting with the Picards (Ken Piccard authored the article and is also the property owner), Robinson submitted rough sketches and estimates of cost. She says that new homeowners should think of landscaping as adding a family room. It may seem pricey but it adds value to the house. It’s also something that need not be finished immediately, and the work can be shared between professionals and the owners.

Kristen L’Esperance, an architectural designer who hopped into the business shortly after graduate school at the Pratt Institute by both designing and managing the construction of a house for her father on Lane’s Lane, Thompson’s Point. The building is called the “Projector House,” as it faces out to Lake Champlain with high ceilings and large open space in that direction. The design shields the house from nearby neighbors and from the road by focusing its orientation on Town Farm Bay. L’Esperance completed the house in 2012, and her parents spend virtually every summer Sunday with her there.

An apprentice with Essex architect John Donne, Kristen is building a portfolio of her work, hoping to earn a Vermont architect’s license soon. to Nielsen Davis of Charlotte who earned his baccalaureate, cum laude, from Colorado College, Colorado Springs.

Also a graduate of Proctor Academy, Nielsen majored in art at CC. to Samantha Marie Kittredge, a

sophomore majoring in history at Endicott College, Beverly, Massachusetts, who earned placement on the dean’s list for the spring 2015 term. Samantha is the daughter of Keith and Carol Kittredge of Charlotte. to Chennah Sharpe of Charlotte who earned placement on the dean’s list at Providence College, Providence, Rhode Island. Chennah is a member of the class of 2017. to Kaylah Sharpe of Charlotte, a member of the Class of 2015, who was named to the Spring 2015 dean’s list at Stonehill College. to Ryan Hurd of Charlotte who was named to the chancellor’s list for this past spring semester at Chapman University in Orange, California. to Catherine Hill of Charlotte who made dean’s list at the University of Maine in the spring 2015 semester. is extended to family and friends of

Sympathy Kenneth Najarian, M.D., F.S.I.R. of Charlotte who passed away June 17 at the age of 60. He was a professor of radiology at the University of Vermont Medical School where he earned his M.D. and later completed a residency. The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to Sts. Sahag and Mesrob Church, 70 Jefferson Street, Providence, Rhode Island 02908 or to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, P.O. Box 1000, Dept. 142, Memphis, Tennessee 38101. is extended to family and friends of Arona Curtis of Williston who passed away June 19 at the age of 80. Her husband of 58 years, Albert Curtis, Sr. was

from Charlotte. He died in 2013. The family asks that those wishing to make a donation in her memory consider doing so to the American Heart Association or to the Parkinson Disease Foundation.

To the family and friends of Sue Wyman Fox, 50, of Charlotte, who died peacefully at the Vermont Respite House on June 26, 2015, from complications from gliobastoma multiforme.

She moved to Vermont in 1993, and in 1996 joined the Lyric Theatre Company, first as a cast member in “Oklahoma!” and “The Wizard of Oz,” and later became a more integral part of the organization as a board member, chair of the Education Committee, production supervisor (“A Chorus Line,” “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Titanic”), and finally as director of the 2014 production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor® Dreamcoat.”

Sue's appeared in her last stage production as Don John in “Much Ado about Nothing” in April 2014.

She is survived by her husband, Jeffrey Fox, and two children, Josie and Benjamin, as well as her mother, Joanne Wyman Koester of Palm Harbor, Fla., and three sisters, Debra Denette of Goodyear, Ariz., Sheryl Baine of Colchester, Conn., and Diane Nadolny of Mechanicsburg, Pa. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 11, 2015, at the Lyric Theatre Company facility at 7 Green Tree Drive in South Burlington.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Sue Fox Memorial Fund at P.O. Box 367, Charlotte, VT, 05445.

Classifieds The Charlotte News classifieds: Reach your friends and neighbors for only $7 per issue (payment must be sent before issue date). Please limit your ad to 35 words or fewer and send it to The Charlotte News Classifieds, P.O. Box 251, Charlotte, VT 05445 or email us ads@charlottenewsvt.com.

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The Charlotte News Annual Fundraiser YES! I would like to support The Charlotte News for the coming year in keeping us informed, entertained and in touch with our town and neighbors. Enclosed is my check in the following amount: $__________ q $1,000 Publishers Club

q $500 Editors Club

q $100 Community Club

q $50 Friends Club

q other_________

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

Please make your check payable to: The Friends of Charlotte News and mail to P.O. Box 251, Charlotte VT 05445.