The Charlotte News | July 31, 2014

The Charlotte News Volume lVI Number 24

The VoIce of The TowN

Thursday, July 31, 2014

Focusing on Farms, Commission Begins Town Plan Workshops Brett Sigurdson

in Charlotte increased by 17 between 2002 and 2007. In Chittenden County, the number of small farms increased by With the release of the first draft of 178 between 1992 and 2012.

Saxton noted that these numbers the 2015 Town Plan at the end of June, Charlotte’s Planning Commission last may not paint an accurate portrait of Wednesday took a big step in its work agriculture in Charlotte at this moment, with the first of several planned com- as these were the most up-to-date figmunity workshops. About 25 people ures on farming in the area available.

The question of keeping agriculture filled the chairs at Town Hall to discuss and provide feedback on the commis- as the cornerstone of the community’s identity—which sion’s chapter on agriall at the workshop culture.

Next towN PlaN seemed to support— The fact that agriculraised several othworkshoP ture was the first chapers: How does the ter to receive a pubtown define an agrilic hearing is perhaps What: Natural Resources cultural enterprise? fitting, as language W hen: Thursday, July 31 (Some wondered if in the Town Plan has Pouring rain wasn’t enough to keep family, friends, co-workers and wellW here : Town Hall homesteading was read “agriculture is and wishers from coming out last Sunday to celebrate Leo Roberts’ retirement after t ime : 7 p.m. considered “farm45 years of working at Horsford Gardens & Nursery. Among those celebrating shall remain the priing” or whether Roberts (second from left) were current owners Charlie Proutt (left) and Eileen mary economic activThe Commission has also keeping chickens ity in Charlotte.”

Yet Schilling (right), as well as former owner Sallie Soule (second from right). scheduled workshops on transor growing vegProutt read a speech thanking Roberts for teaching him how to run the nursery the workshop, led by portation and energy for Aug. etables constituted and told the crowd that many customers would only deal with Roberts. The rain planning consultant 21 and land use Sept. 4. The such an operation.)

Brandy Saxton of Port came and went during the event, but the smile never left Roberts’ face. workshops are open to all. For How does the town Henry, N.Y.-based updated agendas and a copy promote diversiPlaceSense, showed of the first draft of the Town fied farm operations just how tenuous that Plan, visit the town’s webwithout their growassumption may be. site at charlottevt.org. Those ing so large they According to the who cannot attend the workimpede neighborpresentation at the outshops can send feedback to the One of several topics discussed at that would provide more clarity in future set of the workshop, Planning Commission at town- ing residents? And reports. how can the town the July Selectboard meeting the amount of land plancomments@gmail.com.

During the financial discussions, being actively farmed encourage more Peter Trono raised the question whether farmers to get their John Hammer in Charlotte is decreasthe town was adequately compensated start in Charlotte?

The charloTTe News ing. Fewer people in town are making for calls, particularly paramedic calls, Currently Charlotte uses the Vermont their living by farming, and those farms A key meeting regarding the Char- to surrounding towns. His concern and that remain have either down-sized secretary of agriculture’s definition lotte Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service that of others in the audience was that their operations or consolidated. The of “agriculture”—there isn’t a defini(CVFRS) was held on July 21 at which because Charlotte is the only one with farms that remain are diversifying, tion of “farming” in the town’s Land time the provisional finances for Fiscal paramedic services, its call load for expanding into other business sectors Use Regulations—which encompasses Year 2014, which ended June 30, were mutual aid was greater than that of other like retail, dining, tourism, education cultivation of land for growing and reviewed. It was noted that the figures towns and that it was costing the Char- and event hosting, among others. harvesting everything from crops to included still outstanding accounts such lotte taxpayer. The consensus among all Despite the apparent decline of large Christmas trees to maple syrup and parties was that the matter needs further as patient billing. agricultural operations, the number managing everything from livestock to Dave McNally, president of the study.

The issue of the rescue squad’s con- farming in Charlotte and the county horses to fish and bees.

CVFRS corporate board, painted a Yet the state’s definition may not be has actually been growing, mostly due rosy picture in stating that they were to an increasing number of small farms, the same definition Charlotte would “clearly under budget and have manSelectboard noted Saxton. According to the U.S. aged it reasonably well this year.” A continued on page 21 Town Plan Census Bureau, the number of small number of adjustments were discussed continued on page 10 farms—defined as less that 50 acres—

Roberts Honored for 45 Years at Horsford Retirement Party

Photo by NaNcy Wood

THE CHARLOTTE NEWS

One Rescue Suspension Lifted, Another Extended

Thirty Years Old and Still Playing For 30 years, the Charlotte Children’s Center has been providing a place for young children to learn by playing. As it celebrates its anniversary, a look at how some things never change.

Brett Sigurdson The charloTTe News On a hot summer day, a pair of twoyear-olds at the Charlotte Children’s Center are cooling off by playing at a water table in the facility’s expansive playground. But the kids are doing more than playing: they’re also learning—learning about how water can clean and move and, yes, even cool.

This is the kind of play-based learning that other kids are doing under supervision of teachers in the playground: driving in cars, playing in the sand, exploring the trees. It’s the kind of learning that forms the bedrock of the Charlotte Children’s Center, a place where toddlers to pre-kindergartners aren’t known for their

ages; they’re known for names that speak to the ethos of the school: explorers, builders, adventurers, seekers. This year the nonprofit is celebrating its 30th year of making major learners out of curious kids.

Sitting in an upstairs kitchen in an old Victorian house on Ferry Road that has served as the Charlotte Children’s Center for over 25 years, Director Nancy Elder and board member Marilyn Richardson discussed how the Center came to be and how it’s changed since 1984.

The Center grew out of a need for quality childcare in Charlotte, recalled Richardson. “There was nothing around.”

So “the Janes,” as they’re fondly called—Sara Jane Von Trapp, Jane Peters, Jane Ross-Allen—and Nancy Small banded together to form the Children’s Center. The first location was in what was known as the Kiley House on

Children’s Center

continued on page 7

Hit the Beach for 2nd Annual Celebration Aug. 3 Building on last year’s success, the Charlotte Recreation Commission will host its second annual Town Beach Party on Aug. 3 from 3–8 p.m. at Charlotte’s Town Beach.

According to Bill Fraser-Harris, chair of the Recreation Committee, last year’s party—which drew over 200 attendees—was so full of great food and entertainment that “everyone agreed it was worthy of making an annual event.”

Further, the Town Beach Party captured something of the community spirit the Recreation Commission tries to promote, he added.

“We have an amazing waterfront available to all Charlotters, and it is managed by the Recreation Commission,” said Fraser-Harris. “We felt that the community could be well served by a fun, free event where everyone’s small contribution led to the greater good. Our mission is building community through connections to the outdoors.”

Planned this year are an open-air pig roast and potluck, live music from the Mystic Party Band, a demo of paddle boards, kayaks and other water gear courtesy of Outdoor Gear Exchange, a Celtic dancing demo, and activities like soccer, volleyball, tennis and more. Attendees are invited to bring a chair, a blanket and their favorite beverage, Fraser-Harris said.

Admission to the event is a dish to pass or a $5 donation for dinner, as well as the usual beach parking fees. Fraser-Harris added that the beach party is carry-in/carryout and will be a zero-waste event.

For more information, or to volunteer, contact Fraser-Harris at 425-3663 or billandeva@gmavt.net.

The Charlotte News

Commentary

Charlotte Business: Ain’t Like It Used to Be? The Charlotte News PublishEd by and for CharlottErs sinCE 1958 The CharloTTe News is a nonprofit community-based newspaper dedicated to informing townspeople of current events and issues. It serves as a forum for the free exchange of views of town residents and celebrates the people, places and happenings that make the Town of Charlotte unique.

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Brett Sigurdson’s article “Ain’t Like It Used to Be” in the latest issue of the Charlotte News had me ready to close the doors of the Old Brick Store and run for the mountains. The horrible business climate and harbingers of doom gave me a sleepless night. But before I turned my back on my potentially failing business, I decided to take one last look at my sales figures.

Today looks great, last month was stellar, and upon further inspection, Year-To-Date is up 25 percent. Am I a fluke? Or is Charlotte really not as bad off as the Charlotte News made things out to be?

All snarkiness aside, I was curious about some of the News’s observations, so I decided to take a closer look. A simple search on the Vermont Department of State website lists 584 active principal business addresses right here in our little town. Granted not all of those are for-profit, or operating in Charlotte, but I think that figure sheds a little light on the contention that Charlotte’s business community is failing. The businesses highlighted by the article (Uncle Sam’s, Steve’s Citgo, Lake Champlain Waldorf School and EatingWell) left for reasons irrelevant to the town itself— buildings that were too small for the growing needs of the business, owner retirement and lack of management.

Did these businesses attempt to stay as they were or expand but were shut down by the Selectboard? Other than a failed attempt to place a Jolly Mart at Steve’s corner, I could find no evidence that the town forced these businesses to leave or shut down.

At the same time, new businesses are popping up and thriving in Charlotte. A quick flip through the News shows a plethora of hard-working Charlotters who advertise regu-

larly in the paper. The Selectboard is working diligently on creating a town septic system, and while still in its early stages, this Selectboard is on task and hoping to make the system a reality.

As a business owner in Charlotte, I have always felt that my concerns are regarded and addressed. My highest profile issue was the Ferry Road sidewalk, and while my opposition to it was mischaracterized (I feel the sidewalk should come after the empty buildings find their purpose), the Selectboard was diligent in making me a part of the planning.

The Charlotte News paints a picture of a once-thriving town that has hit the skids. It’s a faulty vision, though—folks lined up at the train station waiting to board for their commute to Burlington (the six of us who rode the train regularly never waited long to embark), a bustling business park that is turning into a ghost town.

Ain’t like it used to be? It used to be we did not have a Children’s Center, a Senior Center, a Fire and Rescue, a public library.

And the idea that Charlotte will ever be anything other than primarily a bedroom community is silly. We all live here because Charlotte is not Burlington, and I think you would be hard pressed to find one person who wants it to be. There are some things that would be nice for convenience sake, but most of those things do not make business sense.

As the former owner of a restaurant and a busy café in a much-larger population, I can attest with experience that a pub/restaurant/café would have a difficult time surviving with such a small population.

Honestly, think of how many times you would eat out at a restaurant in Charlotte— twice a month? Once a

month? Multiply that by the number of folks who live here and divide that by ten percent—the likely number of people who would actually come out.

That number is not one that can sustain a restaurant serving two or three meals a day. And a grocery store?

We already have one grocery store, and it survives not on people buying groceries but on people buying deli items. There is a cost associated with being small and rural, and once again you can’t have it all.

Charlotte’s draw is not its industry.

Years ago, when it was primarily an agricultural town, the people who lived here made their living here.

There are those who hang on, and to them we are grateful—our farming families are critical to our rural nature, and thankfully, more farmers are choosing Charlotte as their home.

They maintain the fragile open space and beauty we love and cherish. The rest of us who make our living here do so because we work hard and love what we do.

Change will come to Charlotte.

The corner of Route 7 and Ferry Road will turn around, the buildings between Ferry and Greenbush will see businesses move in. Hopefully these changes will be well thought out and make business sense, not only to our town but also for the business owners themselves.

Meanwhile, 700 people walked through the door of the OBS last Sunday. Not one of those people commented on our lack of community, our failing business climate or the empty train station. The most frequent answer to the question “How is your day going?” was “Another day in paradise.”

Carrie MacKillop Stockbridge Road

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The distressing events in Gaza and Israel reflect two very different historical narratives. There is an Israeli story and a Palestinian story.

The seldom-heard Palestinian story is as follows: It was not until 1882 that a trickle of Jewish refugees from the vicious anti-Semitism in Europe began to settle in Palestine. At that time, there were about 500,000 ethnic Arabs in the area now called Israel and the West Bank, compared to about 25,000 religious Jews, who resided mainly in the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem.

Prior to 1882, the indigenous Arab people had lived on the land for over 1,000 years. The Muslim Ottoman Empire (predecessor to modern Turkey) controlled Palestine until the British conquered Jerusalem and the surrounding area in 1917. By that time there were about 70,000 Jewish colonists on land purchased from absentee Ottoman landowners.

After the British took over under a post-World War I League of Nations Mandate, Jewish immigration into Palestine accelerated and a Jewish paramilitary organization was formed. Palestinian revolts during the 1930s were put down by the British Army and the Jewish para-

military, and the leaders of the revolt were killed or exiled. The League Mandate, which had promised independence to the Palestinians, was ignored even though similarly situated Lebanon, Syria and Iraq became independent.

The British in 1947 gave up on the conflict in Palestine and turned the problem over to the United Nations, which created Israel. Within two years, over 700,000 ethnic Arabs had been exiled and the State of Israel had expanded its boundaries to over one-third more territory than provided under the UN Resolution.

Property belonging to Arabs who fled or openly opposed Israel was confiscated by decrees issued by the Israeli government.

Fast forward to the 1967 “Six Day War,” when Israel captured the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt, Syria’s Golan Heights, all of Jerusalem and the present West Bank. Palestinian Arab East Jerusalem was annexed at that time. The captured Egyptian territory was returned as part of the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty negotiated at Camp David in 1979.

However, the West Bank, Jerusalem and the Golan Heights have remained under Israeli occupation since 1967.

The Israelis have now included within the boundaries of Israel over 75 percent of the land lived on by the indigenous Palestinian Arabs in 1882 (not including settlements in the occupied West Bank). Over 80 percent of the original Palestinian population has been driven out.

There are over one million refugees in the West Bank, Gaza and neighboring Arab countries. The occupied West Bank now has around 200 Israeli settlements containing over 300,000 settlers, not counting the settlers in the annexed Palestinian section of Jerusalem.

The people who live in Gaza are overwhelmingly the children or grandchildren of the very people who lost their homes and jobs after the creation of Israel or as a result of the 1967 war. Arguably they have the same right of defense as the Israelis who settled on top of them and the same right to ask for the recognition of a Palestinian state that Israel demands for a Jewish state.

The conflict will not go away.

Sadly, Israel will need to continue suppression of Palestinian resistance into the indefinite future.

Ed Amidon Popple Dungeon Road

The Charlotte News

Letters Charlotte can have business and beauty Brett Sigurdson’s July 3 “Charlotte’s Web” column paints a gloomy portrait of the local business environment. Business owners (and prospective business owners) face challenges, including restrictive zoning ordinances, lack of water and septic, and distance from population centers.

Most vexing, though, is a pervasive antibusiness attitude.

Rural charm and scenery are the essence of Charlotte, and nobody wants to lose this.

But let’s be honest, the addition of a restaurant, tearoom or hair salon won’t turn us into Taft Corners. Yet when our neighbors try to open a hometown shop we circle the wagons.

When we maintain Charlotte as rural parkland we lose places to gather and build community. We compromise the majesty of our green spaces with “For Sale” signs and vacant/neglected businesses. We harm our environment when we’re forced to drive to Burlington for work, to South Burlington for groceries, to Shelburne for gas, etc. With some energy and effort, however, we can gain the tax revenue, philanthropic efforts and time-saving convenience local business provides.

Mike Russell and his committee have ideas we should listen to. As I understand it, the proposal is to develop a plan for retaining our existing businesses, make our land use ordinances less onerous, and recruit businesses that suit the needs and character of our town.

It’s possible for us to welcome commerce while maintaining our rural Green Mountain identity. After all, isn’t independence, helping others and buying local what Vermont is all about?

Chris Falk Lake Road

Thanks for Another Successful Town Party Hallelujah! Great weather prevailed and contributed to the success of the 20th annual Town Party on the Green.

As in the past this event would not have happened without the efforts of many.

First, our sincere thanks to John Crabbe of Vermont Tent Company, whose very generous donation to the Friends of the Library makes this event possible, and to the Charlotte Selectboard for again assuming the cost of providing tent space for the various town and local nonprofit organizations.

Thank you so much to the Fire & Rescue Auxiliary for so efficiently providing food and sustenance to fuel the party, to Town Constable Josh Flore for traffic control, to the Children’s Center staff and board for setting up a myriad of fun activities in honor of their 30th anniversary and to the many town organizations for sharing their information and enthusiasm. The Quinlan School and Senior Center provided some respite from the rigors of the celebration.

And thank you to the incredible Charlotte Library staff members for their cheerful assistance, infinite patience and intestinal

An Unfortunate Phrase In your recent and truly fine article on the lack of growth, or even maintenance, of existing commercial and light industrial development in Charlotte [“Ain’t Like it Used to Be,” July 3, 2014], one unfortunate phrase grabbed my attention and provoked a reaction. It referred to the decline in Charlotte’s business fortunes and attributed this to the “battle between conservation and development.”

As far as I know, those concerned with the conservation of natural places have not been impeding or battling any development within the town areas zoned for such uses, unless they have included designated wetlands within those zones. If that were the case, then it would be a bad choice of location on engineering as well as ecological grounds. Charlotte conservationists have usually not been opposed to appropriate commercial/light industrial development, and they support designated growth zones as essential to an economically balanced town.

Of course there is concern and appropriate opposition from conservation interests to ill-advised housing developments that are proposed for areas of significant wildlife habitat or areas of high public value as shown on maps, available to any developer, in Town Hall or on the web. The location of housing is usually flexible and with the help of the Planning Commission can often be positioned or limited to avoid serious damage. To call any such legitimate negotiations between private and public interests in town a “battle” is perhaps in this case a little more appropriate, but it is also inflammatory and not at all helpful to the process.

The landmark United Nations Summit Conference in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro was titled “Environment and Development,” not versus. In fact, without a conserved environment (clean air, pure water, productive soil, healthy plants and animals) there can be no development or life. It bothers me to see this red-flag phrase used that unnecessarily perpetuates an adversarial mindset.

Larry Hamilton Bittersweet Lane fortitude in tolerating the massive invasion of their space.

We also need to acknowledge and thank all those who donated the close to 6,000 good-quality books that were clearly essential to the success of the book sale!

Some donated books have been added to the library’s collection; others have been earmarked to give to kids attending this fall’s Tractor Parade and to kids on a Native American reservation. We also donated a few boxes of books to our neighbors at the Charlotte Children’s Center.

As always an enormous thank you goes to the more than 40 volunteers (too many to mention individually here) who sorted books, set up the book tent, cashiered and cleaned up. Kris Gerson and Abby Foulk oversaw the Greening of the Town Party with the able assistance of some very special rising third grade students!

Last but not least we thank the Friends of the Bixby Library for transporting the remaining books to Vergennes to add to their ongoing book sale.

Friends of Charlotte Library Board: Laura Cahners-Ford, Denise Danyow, Shanley Hinge, Nan Mason, Beth Merritt, Dana Murphy and Martha Whitfield

Microburst Topples Charlotte Trees A microburst storm wind hit the shore of Charlotte on July 23 in the vicinity of Popple Dungeon Road, causing amazing damage to large trees. It seems to have been about one-half mile wide and did not reach far inland. This photo shows Ed Amidon standing amid some of the damage and mourning the loss of some very large conifers in the shoreland protection zone. Larry Hamilton, Charlotte’s tree warden, was quick to reopen Whalley Road, which was blocked by fallen trees. Thankfully, no structures were reported damaged.

Photo and text by Tree Warden Larry Hamilton.

In appreciation of community spirit I’ve always been happy to call Charlotte my hometown—now more so than ever with my involvement at the special 20th Town Party on the green. You see, I’m just a “regular resident,” as I like to refer to myself, only now I have this volunteer capacity that throws me in the public spotlight periodically. My fifth year celebration of Ceal Moran’s Genealogy Day was a figure under the tent (it’s being held at the Charlotte Senior Center Aug. 9). My interests seem to center around family, and now I guess you could say it really overflows to “my love of community.”

Please take a moment to thank volunteers you come across, and by that I mean

Cafferty for County Sheriff I would like to take this opportunity to endorse Ed Cafferty for the position of Chittenden County Sheriff.

I have known Ed for many years. He is an honest and straightforward person, a respected member of the Vermont State Police and an adjunct professor of Criminal Justice at Community College of Vermont. His credentials make him well qualified for the position.

But qualifications are not everything.

Ed has a vision of what the sheriff’s department can be beyond what it is today. The department is responsible for transport of prisoners, for courthouse security, for traffic control and, when contracted by municipalities, for police services. Ed proposes to expand those responsibilities by actively working with

especially those regular folks “behind the scenes” at places like SCHIP (who also celebrated their special tenth year at the Town Party, and we all know they serve residents of surrounding community as well as Charlotters).

I’ll end with a recent comment that seems to say it all that was shared during conversation at a Vermont pet store register check-out that went something like, “Vermonters are a bunch of conscientious people that care on a higher level.” We really do... So here’s a big shout that I’m hoping spreads like wildfire: Go Charlotters, Go! (And thanks for making a difference one random act of kindness at a time).

Ceal Moran Nature’s Way

other police agencies in illegal-drug enforcement and prevention, creating a Community Advisement Committee, and instituting safe home and business programs.

Also important, in my opinion, is his strong support for universal background checks for all gun sales, an issue that I also hope to address in the upcoming legislative session.

So I encourage you to vote for Ed in the Democratic Primary election on Aug. 26. If you will not be available to go to the polls then, you can vote by absentee ballot anytime between now and the election by contacting the town clerk.

Of course, I hope you’ll cast a vote for me as your State Rep, too.

Rep. Mike Yantachka Charlotte-Hinesburg (Chit 4-1)

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

On the cover Lydia Smith Submitted thiS photo of her ewe “VaLerie” to our peter CoLeman photo ConteSt. it waS taken in 2013, when VaLerie waS a year oLd.

next iSSue date: thurS., aug. 14 ContributionS: mon., aug. 4 by 5 p.m.

LetterS: mon., aug. 11, by 10 a.m.

The Charlotte News

Playing the Fool

Charlotte’s Woody Keppel (center) is the driving force behind the Festival of Fools, and there’s one thing that drives his work: making people laugh.

Brett Sigurdson THE CHARLOTTE NEWS

In medieval times, some European countries would go through a sort of temporary cultural shift around the first of each new year. The upper echelons of society such as clergy and kings would be subordinated by peasants, or fools, for a day, and low culture would rule the land during celebrations called “feasts of fools.�

Burlington will see a similar cultural transformation as an international lineup of street performers, musicians and vaudeville acts take over the city for the seventh annual Festival of Fools, Aug. 1–3. And acting as the role of the lead jester—the top fool—is Charlotte’s Woody Keppel.

Sitting in his East Charlotte home,

There’s that slight hint of fall and the shop has:

whose cabin-like interior is filled with instruments and American vaudeville accouterments, Keppel reflected on the role of the fool today and how his festival keeps old traditions alive.

The first thing to understand, he said, is that the word “fool� is a misnomer. “The fool in today’s society, the word conjures up low status,� said Keppel. “But really in the Middle Ages it was extremely high. The fool could make fun of the king.

He permitted that.�

Playing the fool is in Keppel’s blood, and he embraces it (his phone number, for example, is 1-800-Foolery). While growing up, Keppel’s father schooled him in the art of Laurel and Hardy—still his favorite comedians—Charlie Chaplin and the Marx Brothers. He was attracted to their irreverence, the way they targeted higher social hierarchies and the government, but in an inoffensive way.

Keppel eventually entered the world of modern vaudeville through his bumbling duo Waldo and Woodhead, a musical/ comedy/acrobatic act that has performed throughout the world. During these travels Keppel performed at long-standing Festival of Fools celebrations in Edmonton, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Dublin and Halifax—where Waldo and Woodhead was named the top performer one year—taking note of how each of the popular festivals worked, how they attracted attendance and entertained the masses.

By the time Keppel decided to move to the Burlington area, he had amassed a considerable body of knowledge about how to make a big festival work, and he

knew a Festival of Fools could be big in Burlington. In fact, he moved here because of how successful buskers on Church Street were and the supportive audiences they drew.

When he found out the city was looking for a summer festival in 2006, Keppel knew what to do. “I had one in my pocket,� he said. “It was just the convergence of like minds.�

Working with Charlotter Doreen Craft of Burlington City Arts, Keppel planned the debut of the first Festival of Fools in 2007. That year provided a template for future festivals: a mix of street performing, vaudeville, cabaret and comedy. It also set a standard for quality entertainment, as evidenced by the festival’s reception. “Immediately there was a connection,� said Keppel.

Part of this comes from the quality of acts that Keppel curates, a balanced mix of circus-skill shows, character-driven performances and music. Part of it also comes from Keppel’s insistence on making the Festival of Fools a place where families can come together and enjoy a good time. “I look at my job as putting as many laughs on the street as possible,� he said. “Burlington will have more laughs in the world that weekend.�

Among the acts providing laughs and entertainment this year (see sidebar) will be Keppel’s own Hokum Bros., a trio that plays a humorous take on Americana, like Woody Guthrie playing alongside Oliver Hardy. Like all his acts, Hokum Bros. carries on the lineage of vaudeville, the American invention that in the early twentieth century was the country’s most popular form of entertainment, now relegated to something of a subculture in the entertainment industry.

Yet Keppel sees this classic entertainment style lasting precisely because of events like Burlington’s Festival of Fools. “I think the art form is definitely going to last,� he said. “I think these downtown festivals held annually—they’re just so popular with the public and the performers. I see no reason why they won’t last.

It’ll find a place always.�

Keppel is already planning for next year. Like a classic vaudeville act, he sees the festival lasting long into the future because of the core ingredient of the festival’s makeup: laughter. “Comedy is such a great counterpoint to life’s tragedies,� said Keppel. “It plays a role in society because it keeps our offi-

The 7th Annual Festival of Fools The Festival of Fools features the best international street performers on four main stage locations surrounding the Church Street Marketplace and City Hall Park. It will feature continuous street theater, performing to over 10,000 visitors to Church Street each day, making it one of the biggest such festivals in the country.

A big reason for this is the quality of the acts Keppel brings in as the event’s artistic director. This year is no different. The scheduled acts range from vaudeville performers to live music to kids’ shows to acrobats.

The Festival of Fools kicks off Friday, Aug. 1, at 1 p.m. with “pre-show fooleryâ€? compliments of Keppel’s own Hokum Bros. At 6 p.m., Mayor Miro Weinberger will officially open the festival with the Fools’ Gala Opening, featuring the giant puppets and music of Big Nazo Band. The Fool’s Cabaret with Modern Times, a musical pantomime duo from Hardwick, will follow on the City Hall stage, as will music by Starlight Lounge in front of Halverson’s Upstreet CafĂŠ. Closing out the night’s events will be a screening of Buster Keaton’s classic silent film The General at City Hall Park.

The weekend will feature continous performances by acts like the Very Merry Theatre, a youth performance group based in Charlotte; Swing Noire, a swingin’ jazz group from Bristol; MamaLou, the world’s strongest woman; and Broadway performer Fred Garbo and his Inflatable Theatre Company, among others.

The festival will culminate on Sunday with the Feast of Fools from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m, which will feature a literal feast of good food and performances at City Hall Park. The festival will close at 5:30 p.m. with the “Last Laugh Variety Show� at City Hall Park, where all of the performers will come out for one final performance.

For a full list of all the Festival of Fools’ performers and schedules, visit vermontfestivaloffools.com.

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The Charlotte News

Selectboard Moves Forward with Wastewater Planning Grant Susan Crockenberg Contributor At the July 14 Selectboard meeting, members gave a unanimous thumbs-up to applying for a $20,000 municipal planning grant, which requires a 30-percent match from the town, to assist with drafting a West Charlotte village wastewater system policy/ordinance.

Although the wastewater report submitted several years ago included technical information and cost estimates from engineer Dave Marshall, who volunteered his expertise, Selectboard member Fritz Tegatz stated that costs and needs may have changed in the interim.

Mike Russell spoke forcefully in favor of the Selectboard’s moving quickly to implement a wastewater policy to foster commercial interests in the village. According to Russell, if the excess septic capacity allotted to the Town Hall were sold at $60 per gallon, it would generate funding to expand the system. Tegatz stated that the wastewater policy should coordinate with the new Town Plan and added that it’s unclear whether businesses that have expressed interest in expanding would be willing to pay the costs of connecting to the town septic capacity.

Russell suggested that more people needed to come forward and express interest in expanding business in the village in order to move the project along.

Budget talks A discussion of the budget preparation timeline ensued. Matt Krasnow suggested inviting all committee chairs to meet and talk about the budget preparation process, then determine how many meetings would be needed for each committee. In response to the point that the Selectboard should not simply accept whatever increase a committee requested, Selectboard member Charles Russell proposed that they begin with an assumption of zero growth.

Selectboard member Ellie Russell suggested that they begin with a zero budget and simply ask the committees to start over in making up their budgets for the next year. Town Clerk/Treasurer Mary Mead emphasized that the board needed to ask more questions of the people presenting budgets and should be aware of how much of their previous budgets committees had actually spent.

She suggested that the board use its Thursday meetings to talk among themselves about the budgets they would respond to at their subsequent Monday meeting. Charles Russell pointed out that the Thursday meetings, though open to the public, were poorly attended and argued that Selectboard deliberations should occur in front of Charlotte citizens.

At Chair Lane Morrison’s suggestion, the board agreed to work backward from the date the budget must be complete to when the process should begin, as is usual. Carrie Spear asked if two meetings were always enough to decide on a committee budget. The board’s response: maybe not.

Homestead declaration penalties waived

Mead proposed the Selectboard waive the eight-percent penalty for late filing of the Homestead Declaration, which the State of Vermont has reinstated after a number of years of no penalty. Mead explained that the change has confused people and also that often when people neglect to file on time it is due to illness or other personal or family crisis.

Morrison asked if there was a point at which it was too late to file (essentially whether the request was to extend the deadline for filing or simply do away with it). After some confusion, it was ascertained that the proposal was to do away with it. Charles Russell asked about the cost to the town of eliminating the penalty, which prompted Mead to retort that that could be a homework assignment for the Selectboard.

Ellie Russell noted that it is difficult to know

how many people fail to file because of hardship or due to carelessness.

In any event, the Selectboard agreed unanimously to waive the penalty for late filing of the Homestead Declaration.

safety committee regroups The board considered whether there is a need for a community safety committee, and, if so, what its focus should be. Police services, road safety and emergency planning were suggested topics. Bonnie Christie and Carrie Spear have volunteered to serve on such a committee, with Krasnow as board liaison. Charles Russell said that the committee would be advisory to the board, as was stated at Town Meeting. Krasnow mentioned that safety concerns were being conveyed directly to the State Police. In future, complaints should be funneled through him.

speeding on Bostwick road Shelburne residents Nick and Cindy Cowles expressed concern about the high speed of vehicles making the 90-degree turn on Orchard Road, often breaching the fence that surrounds Shelburne Orchards and endangering horseback riders who use the road. They also identified the stretch of Greenbush Road as it approaches Bostwick Road—where cars from Charlotte come over the hill very fast—as a danger spot for horseback riders.

The Selectboard unanimously agreed to the Cowles’s request for signs warning motorists of horse traffic at those spots. It also discussed other options, such as dropping the speed from 45 to 35 mph as Greenbush Road approaches the Shelburne town line, posting a 15 mph speed limit at the turn on Orchard Road, and painting a section of the road to draw drivers’ attention to horse traffic.

Krasnow will ask the Vermont State Police to monitor that section of Greenbush Road. The board may hire an engineer to work with the Safety Committee to examine areas of concern and ensure that any changes in the speed limit are enforceable.

otHer Business In other business, the Selectboard er’s request for temporary easements for construction outside of the Route 7 right-of-way and conveyance of any remaining rights within the Route 7 right-of-way at intersections with town highways (State Park Road, Thompson’s Point Road, Higbee Road, old Higbee Road) and the recreation path in preparation for the Route 7 project, scheduled to begin in 2016. According to Carter, these easements have no value to adjoining property owners. The Agency of Transportation reimburses the town a nominal fee for the permanent easements. expected cost of the system is $8,000 to $11,000.

The board will contact Ben Chartrand, who runs an electronic sound and AV business, to determine if he could create a sound system at lower cost. install white pine bulletin boards and a built-in table to provide more space for the ever-increasing selection of notices, brochures and sign-up sheets that currently surround the town clerk’s public desk in Town Hall. Brooks would construct the boards and table at a cost of $2,600—$600 for materials and $2,000 for labor—to be paid into the private improvements pot of the cemetery funds. Brooks brought a pine bulletin board to demonstrate the high quality of his work, but several Selectboard members requested drawings, noting that the layout was hard to visualize. Spear inquired where the money for the project would come from. Charles Russell objected to depositing funds into the cemetery fund given that the taxpayers had not agreed to do so. Brooks suggested in that case they could just pay him. Tegatz will provide the scale drawings, after which the Selectboard will reconsider the proposal.

New Library Drop Box Installed in East Charlotte Here we have the Charlotte Library’s handsome and official new book return box, installed recently on the front of Spear’s Store. A higher level of customer service is thusly extended to residents living on the east side of town. In Charlotte a problem becomes an opportunity when the right people come together.

Photo and text by Stephen C. Brooks

The Charlotte News

Children’s Center continued from page 1 Wings Point.

Richardson recalls the first time she brought her then 18-month-old son to the Center. When she arrived, she saw a group of 18-month-olds walking in line gathering sticks and leaves, exploring the area. She immediately enrolled her son.

“It certainly provided a need for me because I was a working mom,” she said.

“The big thing is the ‘q’ for quality. I think it’s provided: a community-based setting where kids can have quality education and childcare. It’s far more than just care, and to me that’s the important piece.”

Other parents agreed, and the Center quickly outgrew the Kiley House. The organization’s board began to fundraise to purchase the current facility and fix it up for five classrooms. It’s been there, growing, ever since.

While the Center has grown in the last 30 years, its basic mission hasn’t.

“If you’re sending your kids here we’re hoping it’s because you want them to spend a lot of time engaging in the natural world and outdoors and learning about that world,” said Elder. “You also believe children learn best through play.”

Here is an example of what Elder means. Children recently dug a trench from a rain barrel to a water tub the staff had dug in the ground. They filled it with rocks and stretched plastic tubing.

Since then, they’ve been watching how water moves from the barrel to the pond over different mediums, how it pools and how it disappears when it eventually evaporates.

Charlotte Children’s Center by the numbers number of years: 30 ages served: Six weeks old to five years number of kids: 62 full- and parttime students amount filled: At 98 percent capacity with wait lists for some programs (however, that shouldn’t discourage parents from inquiring, said Elder) teaChers on staff: 10 longest tenure: 18 years (many have been there around ten years) Parents involved: All of them— Richardson said all parents are seen as partners at the Center. stars from state steP-ahead Program: Five, the top ranking, which indicates the school goes beyond basic licensure requirements. number of ComPuters: Zero. “We want children engaging with human beings,” said Elder. “We’re really big into kids having extended conversations with their peers and teachers. That’s probably a big difference with other centers. You wouldn’t have seen a computer here 30 years ago and you won’t see one now.” oPen: 7:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., five days a week, year-round, save for some holidays more information: charlottechildrenscenter.com, 425-3328.

Nancy Elder (right) talks with children in the playground of the Charlotte Children’s Center recently.

And this. In the room for four-yearolds the staff has constructed a rudimentary oceanographic laboratory complete with microscopes, test tubes and a pretend laptop computer the children use as they explore what objects float and sink and why water gets darker the deeper one goes in the ocean.

And this. The children keep gardens in five raised plots near the playgrounds.

Each garden is based on a book they’ve read—one is The Little Red Hen (Makes a Pizza), another is Growing Vegetable Soup—and each contains vegetables that are the ingredients from the book.

As the plants grow, the children keep track of their progress from seed to sprout to plant.

“They’re planting it and tasting it and smelling it,” said Elder. “It becomes theirs.”

This kind of experiential learning—connecting reading and doing—is at the heart of the Center’s mission. This augments the autonomy the Center teaches its

Thanks to Judy Tuttle for sending this picture of art someone made out of rocks and wood and other found objects at Charlotte’s Town Beach.

Have a photo you’d like to share? Send it to news@charlottenewsvt.com

children. As lunchtime approached, for example, the three-year-olds were each busy washing their hands and collecting their respective lunches from their class’s fridge—all with minimal guidance.

“If you listen, there are about 30 children right now and it’s not chaos,” said Elder. “It’s a very harmonious environment.”

For Richardson, a former early childhood educator, the skills the Center instills in its children serve a vital purpose.

“I just love this age,” she said.

“This developmental age—what happens between birth and 6—is such an important time.”

Elder is quick to point out that the Children’s Center doesn’t differ markedly from other such programs—all of its teachers are trained and certified to meet Vermont Early Learning Standards, for example—but the focus on play and the natural world sets it apart from other programs across the country, though perhaps not in the state.

“We’re pushing back against the notion that kindergartners have to be first graders,” said Elder. “So many other places in the country are more rote. But in this area, a lot of schools follow the same approach. It’s a forward-thinking approach in the state.”

Despite this, much has remained unchanged at the Center, according to Richardson.

“I think you could have walked in here 25 years ago and seen the same thing,” she said. “Kids still like the same kinds of games, the same kinds of songs, the same kinds of activities.”

After the children finish lunch and get ready to take naps, Elder takes a moment to look toward the future. “The first children who came here are probably starting parents. We’re hoping to serve that next generation.”

But as far as the Center changing what it does? That likely won’t happen.

“Childhood doesn’t change. We want to continue to make childhood as happy as we can for families and children.”

The Charlotte News

The First Steps of a Long Run Jorden Blucher Contributor Editor’s note: Blucher is running the entirety of the Long Trail, which spans Vermont north to south, for a project called Running Down Cancer. This piece details the first leg of his run on June 24, a 26.8-mile section from Manchester to Wallingford.

As I move along the trail I touch the front pocket of my racing vest yet again, feeling the 35mm film canister. The contents that it carries are more important to me than anything else that I have.

The night earlier I had placed a small amount of my dad’s ashes into that canister—a fitting way to carry him on my run, as he was the one who fostered my love of photography. That night was far more emotional than I thought it would be, though surprisingly I wasn’t nervous in the least. A calm had set in with the knowledge that the Lord will help lead me through the first leg of my journey running the Long Trail.

I stepped on to the trail just after 7:20 a.m.

This part of the trail is much more buffed out than the northern sections because it coincides with the Appalachian Trail and thus gets more traffic. Nonetheless, I need to watch my step as I make my way up the flanks of Bromley Mountain. I am feeling lonely—something that I am not accustomed to on my runs. This leads me to sprint up the mountain faster because the summit is my first check-in point. Before long, I step out of the woods onto a ski trail; its summit is my destination. As I climb I realize I probably skied this trail long ago.

Back then, nearly every Friday afternoon my dad would volunteer to take me and other classmates to Bromley to learn to ski. When I reach the summit I kneel down and take the film canister from my pack. I say a prayer of thanks and sprinkle a bit of my dad’s ashes. After a few deep breaths I continue on.

At the Mad Tom Notch road crossing, I’m happy to discover that not only does the water pump work but two men have already primed it and offer to pump while I refill my water bottle. Unfortunately, I neglect to put my bandanna over the opening and end up filling it with some rusty water. After treating the water and fixing some hot spots on my feet, I begin the climb up Styles Peak. I watch the trees change from hardwoods to soft and soon am running on a carpet of pine needles, nearly enclosed in a tunnel of pine trees.

Dark clouds hang ominously to the east as I look over the valley, and I am certain that soon I will find myself running through the rain.

The only way to know that you have

An old photo of the author (left) with his dad and brother near the Big Branch River. holds a great deal of meaning to me—it is carved into my wedding band and inked into my forearm as a tribute to my father.

The Valley of Vermont looking south from Baker Peak.

I last summited Baker Peak nearly 20 passed over Peru Peak is because the trail years ago, and flattens for a moment and there is enough the image I had in my mind was that of space between the trees to tell there is no a nearly bald summit with an expansive more vertical gain. The beginning descent view. What I remember and what I find, off the peak is extremely steep, but soon however, are very different—so much so the pitch eases and I am able to motor all that I walk past what I think is the summit the way down to the Peru Peak shelter. A just to double check that it is actually the sign about bears back at Mad Tom Notch top. Here I also sprinkle a little bit more and copious amounts of moose droppings of my dad’s ashes. have me whooping and clapping most of As I cross over the Big Branch River the way down, something my time spent on the suppression bridge, nearly 18 miles living in the West has conditioned me to into my run, I look down into the deep do. But I’m also worried that because I clear cold pools of the river. Though I spend most of my time running looking know that the water is bone-chilling cold, down, I’m more likely to run into the back I have never wanted to lounge in these end of a bear. pools as much as I do at this moment.

The Peru Peak shelter is very nicely This river holds a special meaning situated next to a clear mountain stream. for me not only from all the days spent I linger long enough to leave my calling swimming in its cold clear pools, but also card and then push on to Griffith Lake. because when I was young, my dad and Here the wind begins to pick up and blows brother and I hiked into a campsite along strong and steady across the lake. I shuffle the river. I do not know why this trip holds along the boardwalk that makes up most so much significance for me nor why the of the trail here, the slippery wood mak- picture of the three of us sitting on a large ing for a much higher fall rate than the boulder in the river (above) is so impornormal trail. tant. But it is something I have carried The last stretch of trail to the summit around to all the places that I have lived of Baker Peak is a scramble over a nar- over the years. I take a couple of moments row ribbon of rock that at times has me to visit the spot where we camped and guessing where to go, as the white blazes sprinkle some more ashes along the bank that mark the trail are hard to find. Baker and at the campsite.

Peak is the highlight of this section of I am eager to get to Forest Road 10 a trail because from there I get an aerial mile and a half away where my family will view of the fields and woods that I played be waiting with my friend Ed, who will run in as a child as well as of my childhood the last several miles with me. As I round a home. Directly across from Baker Peak, corner our dog spots me and starts to bark. rising up out of the valley in front of The boys and my wife have hiked a short me, is Dorset Mountain. It is a peak that distance in from the road to meet me.

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After a quick break, Ed and I start off, walking at first while we catch up. Ed is one of my running inspirations because he has lost an entire person in weight and has run a handful of marathons. He has offered to run with me on this last leg because he knows how hard the last miles can be and wants to support me.

The trail is rocky enough at the start that we have to slow to nearly a walk, and then the trail disappears altogether.

Around mile 20 my legs start to really feel the fatigue of being on the move for nearly seven hours. My energy level has also begun to decline, and the miles that seemed to be falling away earlier in the day seem now to be crawling by.

We move out of the hardwood forest and into a stand of tall pines. The terrain becomes littered with jagged rocks, and the pitch increases significantly in some spots. The last mile of the trail is a rather steep constant downhill over an old road, and though my quads are screaming, I have no desire to walk, and so I continue running the last mile of as fast as I can with wobbly legs and a foggy head.

We reach the White Rocks picnic area after three hours and eight and a half miles. I have been on the move for almost nine hours, covering just over 25 miles while gaining 4,726 feet of elevation and losing even more: 5,370 feet.

I have learned a lot on this first run that I will carry over not only on my daily runs but also my Long Trail Runs to come.

Despite my fatigue I feel really good, and I am already looking forward to the next run.

Jorden Blucher is a stay-at-home-dad and the legs behind Running Down Cancer. To learn more and to donate go to runningdowncancer.com. His next run, a 24-mile stretch from Wallingford to Sherburne Pass near Killington, is scheduled for Aug. 2.

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The Charlotte News

Legacy Trees: Our Heritage A town concern about preserving such heritage trees may be of help when there is a question of their removal, even though healthy. Such is Contributor the case with an ancient sugar maple on the land of Mike Hinsdale, which until July 22 was threatTrees are your best antiques ened by the Route 7 road widening/improvement —Alexander Smith (1829–1867) project. The tree is just on the edge of the state How much delight we take in the large old right-of-way. It had been proposed, however, to roadside and home shade trees that enhance so remove it so that the power line could be relomany of our houses, roads and lanes in Charlotte. cated to that side of the road because the existing These are a legacy from those forethoughtful line is in the way of a temporary detour lane.

Would a young sapling and a bit of cash payfolks of yore who planted them as saplings and maintained them largely for the next generation ment be an adequate trade-off for a healthy maple that has stood watching and the next and on. Some, the passing traffic for over 200 of course, may be residual years? Not in this druid’s mind! I single trees left deliberately worked with the Vermont Transin land clearing. portation Agency to try to save For instance, Ted Montthis tree by having Green Moungomery’s swamp white oak tain Power shift the line further at Ten Stones has “seen” the west. Lo and behold, I was teleWar of 1812 and has survived phoned on July 22 that VTrans every adversity since. With will get the power line shifted a girth of 160 inches, it has out of the detour lane in order a greater diameter than any to save the tree! “Score” for a other known tree of its spelegacy tree! cies in the town. To provide And it was because we are a future legacy, Ted planted gradually losing our heritage a new young oak in 2012 as trees along the roadsides due a memorial to his wife, Sarah. to natural senescence, disease, Large trees such as this, and the unusual slippery elm This 200-year-old, healthy sugar salt injury, windstorms and road widening that the Rutter Famat the Garretts’ on Thomp- maple near the state’s right of ily Tree Restoration Program son’s Point Road or the white way along Route 7 was threatwas instituted in 2007. There are cedar in Barber Cemetery, ened with cutting during the now 436 trees planted along our are really part of Charlotte’s roads. What a legacy was proheritage. It was with the idea upcoming road construction of finding and listing these process. The tree was recently, vided by the Rutter Family grant saved thanks to the work of the and its additional challenge grant large old organisms that I to the community that supplied started the mild competition author. the funds to carry out this work! to list the largest (and ostenThank you once again Bill and sibly the oldest) native trees family. of each species.

The last dollars in the fund have been spent This Charlotte Big Tree Roster is posted in Town Hall and is updated as new “champions” this spring on replacing five trees that had failed. are found. For instance, last month the largest Your tree warden suggests that anyone wishing silver maple on the corner of Prindle Road and to leave a tree legacy on his or her own property Spear Street was displaced by one on the land of start the planning process now for the fall. TechSelectboard Chair and Mrs. Lane Morrison on nical help is available. And if anyone wishes to Lake Road. At the Town Party, Charlotte News leave a public legacy of trees, tax-exempt contriboard member Tom O’Brien thought perhaps he butions to the town would be welcomed by your had a champion shagbark hickory. At 132-inch crew of Charlotte tree stewards. girth it is indeed impressive and a wonderful summer residence for bats, but it comes in only Larry Hamilton is Charlotte’s volunteer tree as number 2. Sorry, Tom, but it, too, is a heritage warden. tree.

Larry Hamilton

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The Charlotte News

Life on Windy Corners Farm Amos Baehr Contributor The food is good at Windy Corners Farm— really good. What do I mean by good? Fresh, really fresh, sometimes measured in minutes from harvest to plate; clean, the kind of clean that means the bugs and snails were picked off by hand; and local—amazingly I eat several meals a week where every ingredient but the salt and pepper comes from within 1,500 feet (not miles) of the table. You hear a lot about good, fresh, clean local food, but if you want to know what all this really means, stop by and have a meal with us at Windy Corners Farm.

With all that local emphasis our table always has an international flavor. Tiny and Roel, my housemates and owners of Windy Corners Farm, are from the Netherlands. Table topics include Roel’s work in Cambodia or New Zealand, with related condiments or recipes and food stories. On a recent visit by a colleague I was surprised to hear opinions on the palatability of tarantula.

That’s right, I said tarantula. Thankfully we can’t get that locally!

But the warmest surprise for me came when Roel promised me a special breakfast of sausage from his homeland.

When unveiled I recognized it immediately. The conversation revealed that Roel grew up near the homeland my mother’s people left in 1862. Windy Corners is a huge, small world.

Creative blend is an accurate descriptor of the activities around here. Tiny is a visual artist in both clay and water colors. Roel spins and knits with both wool and computer code. His simula-

tion models of economic dependence on ecosystems may help stem the tide of self-destructive market activity.

His sweaters will positively keep you warm. I do some creative and technical writing and a variety of construction projects consistent with the creative flare in the Big House, the Milk House and the Love Shack (old chicken coop pressed into residential service after a house fire).

The ebb and flow of such a wide range of interests is matched by the ebb and flow of the resident population. At the moment there are only the three of us, but a steady reunion of dozens of former students, colleagues, family and friends occurs. In August we will welcome two semi-permanent residents in the Milk House. A second private apartment is under construction in the Big House, anticipating another couple or small family buying in. We have composting toilets and a high efficiency wood-fired boiler for the radiant floor heating. The majority of landscaping services (translated: lawn mowing) are accomplished with the teeth of cattle, sheep and goats and the blade of a scythe. Innovation and tradition are evident in both the activity and infrastructure at Windy Corners.

The mention of the scythe recalls the contrast between the back-to-the-land romance of my youth and my sweat equity at Windy Corners Farm. My scythe is precious in part because it does not drown out the sweet sensations of life within and around me. Scythe mowing elevates body awareness in the form of sweat and discipline. After three seasons I am actually faster with a scythe in some situations than you could ever be with a power mower.

I am still years away from the even

height that comes automatically with a machine, but I expect to achieve that.

I, of course, will never match the sheer volume possible with a machine in an open space. But no machine will ever help me synchronize my breathing with the steady rhythm of my blade and the gentle swing of my body. It takes training and practice to turn lawn mowing into a recreational activity, but it can be done with a scythe in due time.

Most people are committed to the complex machine / simple technique paradigm, and the switch to a simple machine with refined technique eludes them. Windy Corners Farm is a good place to explore the realities of modern, postmodern and antiquated paradigms in thought and action.

Call then—come visit in your work clothes. I can’t promise what tide you will find rising: wood working, pottery firing, cheese making, honey extraction, wood splitting. The list goes on.

It varies season to season and year to year. Our permanent residents don’t always know what’s next, but it won’t be boring.

This is not a place for a lot of entertaining; it’s a place where you learn to entertain yourself with others. A notable exception being World Cup football season, which piques the international flavor. Time a visit right and there will be fresh fish from Lake Champlain.

Fishing is my “job,” along with turning technical jargon into contemporary cliché.

It’s a tough job but somebody...

Amos Baehr is a farmer at Windy Corners Farm in West Charlotte.

Town Plan continued from page 1 like to use, said Saxton.

“The definition of what is considered farming in Vermont is very broad,” said Saxton. “It’s where we’re faced with the questions with what’s going to happen in these rural areas to these add-on businesses and activities—do they fall under the umbrella of what you guys consider ‘farming’?”

Some audience members suggested that up-to-date data and maps on all the farm and agriculture operations in town, big and small, would help the Planning Commission refine its definition.

A diversified fArm economy

A big part of the evening’s discussion centered on how to allow for more diversified farm operations while balancing the town’s land use objectives and preventing undue burdens on neighboring property owners.

Here too the issue of definitions came up, particularly in reference to a discussion question about agriculture as the “primary economic activity” in Charlotte.

In discussing the issue of allowing more on-farm businesses in Charlotte, for example, some wondered if it was a chicken or egg scenario. Dave Nichols, owner of Nichols Fodder Farm in East Charlotte, asked, “If I was going to have a country inn and have guests and feed them my own vegetables and food I grew, is agriculture my primary activity?”

Others wondered if the town could help farmers by having a more businessfriendly attitude.

“One of the issues we hear about,” said Nancy Wood, “is the reputation of Charlotte as being terribly negative and restrictive and unwelcoming to businesses of all kinds, and this is limiting the sale of properties. I mean we have a very bad reputation, and it’s partly because we all get involved in saying what we can’t do rather than having a positive approach to creativity and entrepreneurship, whether it’s in agriculture or in other kinds of businesses.”

Adam Hausemann, owner of Adam’s Berry Farm, agreed. “To me there needs

Town Plan

continued on next page

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The Charlotte News Others urged the town to be more creative, to think of businesses that provide essential infrastructure for farmers.

“Maybe we should do some soul searching about what kind of agriculture we want,” said Mel Huff. “There are a horrible lack of slaughterhouses.

Maybe we should look at what farmers need.

Brandy Saxton (left) and Jeannine McCrumb We need all parts that make it thrive.”

While many disto be a change in permissiveness,” he cussions encouraged said. “The farm B&B is nothing new, allowing more on-farm businesses, some nor is selling from farms. This is how questioned ways to maximize the amount farms have thrived since the beginning of agricultural businesses while ensuring of agriculture. When we talk about dif- they don’t get too big. ferent businesses, they’re just different Said Town Planning and Zoning sales outlets. I think the town needs to Administrator Jeannine McCrumb, “We recognize this.”

Donors to Date Donna atwater & roDney Parsons Pamela & ClyDe BalDwin Joe rivera & martha Barton-rivera elizaBeth Bassett & John Pane thomas & lorna Bates Dave BeCkwith william & BarBara BeneDiCt meg Berlin virginia Besthoff, virgina tony & sara Blake marianne BlanCharD & ronan Belisle lynne BonD & DaviD watts teD & Joan Braun stePhen C. Brooks Charlie & mary Brush Jim BunCher laura Cahners-forD Peter & Dayna Carleton roBert & elsa CarPenter nelson Claflin linDa & Curt CooPer emile & Diane Cote DaviD g. Cray susan & vinCe CroCkenBerg raChel & sCott Cummings Curtis, arthur w., Jr. & Cynthia s. raven Davis anDrew & Birgit DeeDs william & Phyllis Deming JosePh & Jennifer DiCkerman marty illiCk & terry Dinnan James & PatriCia DoBson Barrie & whitney Dunsmore heather & John Dwight thomas & valerie esnes Chea evans Barry finette & sharon mount rex & lell forehanD franCes foster Jim & liz foster stePhen & margaret foster walter & Joan gates Darrilyn Peters & Charles gluCk avery hall & anDrea rogers susan & roB hall lawrenCe & linDa hamilton John & DorriCe hammer kathleen mCkinley harris thomas henneBerger riCharD hertzBerg Jeffrey & amanDa herzBerger Carl & Carlanne herzog JuDy hill & Bill hella irene & Jeffrey horBar riCharD & tamar howson susan & James hyDe aliCe & Dale hyerstay alan & karen JorDan John & miChelle JorDan walter JuDge & Jean o'neill kim keyes virginia & mChenry keyser manDy & erik koskinen eDwarD & Jane krasnow missy kraus

Janet kuenne Julian & lisa kulski kate lamPton BrigiD & Paul lanDler yolanDe larson John & susan lavigne margaret lazar alexanDra lehmann hugh Jr. & leslie lewis DonalD & Betty ann loCkhart Charlie & genevieve lotz James & sheila maCk anDrea & Drew mahoney James & kathleen manChester allen & nanCy martin Ben & nan mason lois mCClure DaviD & theresa miner James & gretChan morse Jim & aliCe murDoCh magDalena naylor william & PatriCia nestork roBert niCkelsBerg roBert noeltner Brian & ute otley aliCe outwater susy Parker russell & martha PartriDge gary & Donna Pittman remo & Donna Pizzagalli mark & viCtoria Powers DaviD & nanCy PriCer susan & Daniel raaBe roBert & Jane ramsey gay regan Dave & sue sChermerhorn howarD & BarBara seaver John sheehan susan & Craig sim lois simone gary & karin small meg & whit smith susan smith larry sommers & Joanne Dennee sallie soule sarah soule Chris souliere Jim & DeB squires laura st. george BoB & Christine stiller ruah swennerfelt & louis Cox Jeannette thiBault laurie thomPson & John limanek titus insuranCe Co. mary & tim volk aBigail foulk & mort wasserman sharon riCharDs & Doug weaver DiCk & Joan weeD t.J. & Jen whalen Bill & Pat wheeler roBerta & roy whitmore John J. winton ann wittPenn roBerta wooD miChael & Janet yantaChka 15 anonymous

have such a large rural district that you are encompassing everything from smaller neighborhoods that are very different— they’re almost like residential areas—to farms. So the difficulty that you have sometimes is that some entrepreneurs get so big others start to complain. That is often what happens.”

But Peter Carreiro asked, “You’re going to tell people they can’t be too big?” he asked.

“It’s not about the money,” responded Roel Boumans. “It’s about the impact on the land.”

The discussion moved to finding a balance of agricultural businesses while keeping the landscape open and beautiful—the central issue the Commission is hoping to settle.

Encouraging morE farmErs

Because the number of small farms in the area is growing, some at the meeting talked of how to encourage more farming by young people. The town’s Demeter

Park, which consists of 119 acres of prime agricultural soils and is currently being leased to a single farmer, was cited as a possible place where the town could provide a farm incubator, something like the Intervale.

However, some wondered if young farmers would invest in the land if they were only renting it. The cost of owning land in Charlotte, too, could be too much for a young farmer, so others wondered if they would stick around.

The Planning Commission intends to consider all the feedback it received from this workshop and others for future drafts of the plan. McCrumb was happy with the feedback the Commission received at its first workshop.

“Overall, I think the workshop went well and fostered some good discussion,” she said. “I was also happy to see some different folks from the farming community in attendance.”

Look How Far We’ve Come...

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9th Annu Coleman Pho

Runner Up, Wonders of Charlotte: “Antique Hay Rake”

by Fred Murphy

Best of Show (Adult): “Eastern Tree Frog” by Terry Dinnan

Best of Show (Youth): “Hay Bales” by Dana Gove

Winner, Wonders of Charlotte (Youth): “Full Double Rainbow” by Dana Govett (16) Runner Up, Animal (Tiny Weevil): “Homage to Jimmy Durante” by Rich Steele

Winner, People: “Blowing Bubbles” by Amira Silverman (15)

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The Charlotte News

9th Annual Peter Coleman Photo Contest

Winner, People: “The Queen of Charlotte” by Chloe Lyons (14)

Best of Show (Youth): “Hay Bales” by Dana Govett (16)

Winner, Landscape (Youth): “Ice on McNeil Bay” by Kaelan Murdock (16) Honorable Mention, Miscellaneous: “Marine Gear”

by Chris Falk People: “Blowing Bubbles” by Amira Silverman (15)

birdseye sitework

For a look at all the winners of this year's Peter Coleman Photo Contest, take a look at our Facebook page. Many thanks to everyone who entered photos in this year’s contest, and to our three judges: Patricia Coleman, Sarah McGarghan and Linda Williamson.

Get In Shape Before Getting In Shape

Timothy Gould Contributor Congratulations! You’ve initiated a regular exercise program, the first and arguably most important step in the effort to improve your physical health.

Perhaps you’ve joined a gym, scoped out some group exercise classes, signed up for a 5K, enlisted a group of friends as workout partners or pulled the dirty laundry off the home treadmill.

In any case, you’ve bought new sneakers to support the endeavor, and they look great. So now you are all set to begin exercising and embark upon the path to a bettered you, right? Well, pause the “Get Pumped Mix” on your iPod and please spare a moment.

Consider this: Your vintage firstgeneration Mustang (all right, Corvette – whatever makes the analogy agreeable to you) has been sitting beneath a cover in your cold, dusty garage all winter. On the first nice day of spring you tear the cover off and, without checking the gas or oil, pull out of the garage and immediately open up on the road. You promptly set task to breaking last year’s 0 to 60 acceleration record, which you almost accomplish before smoke starts drifting ominously from under the hood.

That was predictable, right? Do you think you might have taken a more gradual approach—checked the vitals, let the engine warm and fluids run—before asking so much of your car? Sure you would have. You wouldn’t abuse your favorite classic vehicle in such a way, nor would you expect smooth performance from something so recently woken from a sedentary state. If you wouldn’t do it to your car, why do we so often ask our bodies to make the abrupt leap from inactive to active and expect good results? Why don’t we take stock of our level of con-

ditioning before we impose new physical stresses on ourselves?

The answers likely lay somewhere in the world of exercise psychology, relating to our desire for immediate results and tendency to act hastily during bouts of motivation. But in our ambitious haste, we often leave ourselves prone to injury.

In fact, many musculoskeletal injuries are rooted in periods of relative inactivity followed by sudden acute stints of activity.

Classic examples include muscle strains,

Why don’t we take stock of our level of conditioning before we impose new physical stresses on ourselves? tendinitis and stress fractures. Our bodies adapt to stresses placed upon them over time, which is why we can gain flexibility through stretching, strength through resistance training, and endurance through long duration exertion.

When such stresses are introduced suddenly and without preparation, however, they can overload our tissues and result in damage. Body tissue (be it muscle, tendon, ligament or bone) that has lacked physical stress adapts to a sedentary state.

This can result in reduced diameter in muscle fibers, decreased loading capacity of bone, impaired extensibility (flexibility) of tissue and less tensile accommodation in tendons. Therefore, the body does not possess the ability to take on stresses to which it is not accustomed. To become stronger, fitter and more flexible, controlled forces must be gradually introduced to avoid injury.

Considering that injury is one of the top reasons people drop out of exercise programs, how do you get started while minimizing risk?

The first thing to do is to take stock of where you currently are. An assessment of your baseline strength, flexibility, endurance and movement patterns is an ideal way to determine the proper starting point for your program and to help guide its progression. By identifying your status and limitations, you can set priorities in training and design a plan that addresses your individual needs. Focusing on these areas will reduce injurious stresses and help you meet goals through subsequent advances in your training.

For the most comprehensive and objective assessment, specially trained physical therapists, certified personal trainers, athletic trainers and exercise physiologists can conduct screens. On your own, you can begin by trying various stretches and noting your areas of difficulty, checking your heart rate during activity and comparing it to target exercise heart rates, acknowledging previous injuries and residual limitations, and performing measures such as the YMCA step test, chair stand test, squat test, push-up test, pull-up test, single leg balance test, plank and sideplank tests. (You can get started here: sparkpeople.com/resource/ fitness_articles.asp?id=1115.) Many of these tests have published age and gender norms; you can look them up and compare your performance to averages. As always, your physician should be aware that you are beginning a new exercise program and clear you to do so.

It’s like I tell the runners I work with: “Don’t run to train. Train to run.”

Avoid the painful pitfalls of the Weekend Warriors and Couch to 5Kers: Take stock of your physical profile and prepare yourself before you begin your new activities.

You will stay healthier and find success by taking a little extra time beforehand.

Timothy Gould holds a doctorate in physical therapy from SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, N.Y., and works at Dee Physical Therapy in Shelburne.

By Margaret Woodruff Summer days: The tomatoes are ripening in the library garden and the chairs on the porch are welcoming readers of all ages and it feels like we are in prime summer mode here at the Charlotte Library. Thanks to our Youth Services Librarian, we’ve had a host of programs to fascinate and entertain kids taking part in our “Fizz, Boom, Read” summer program in July. If you were fortunate enough to stroll into the library last week, you might have experienced the balloon rocket launch or witnessed the e-textile project in action.

As we move into August, our program pace slows down but our offerings continue. With the expert work of our Tech Librarian, Susanna Kahn, the library now has additional computer access for e-mailers, internet rovers and job seekers. You can still hop on our two stalwart public computers, but if you prefer a laptop or e-reader just ask at the desk and we’ll get you fitted out with one of our latest devices. And, don’t forget to pick a Sun Gold tomato as you pass the vegetable patch!

Upcoming at the Library Monday, August 4, 5 p.m.: Very Merry Theatre performs on the Library lawn. Bring a picnic, low chairs and bug spray to enjoy this troupe’s rendition of “Once On This Island.”

throUghoUt the SUmmer Wednesday Night Knitters. Join us every other Wednesday evening at 5:30 pm, next on August 6. We compare notes, knits and share good company.

Library Contact Information Director Margaret Woodruff

Youth Services Librarian Cheryl Sloan Hours Mon, Wed: 10 a.m.-–7 p.m.

Tues, Thurs, Fri: 10 a.m.-–5 p.m.

Sat: 9 a.m.-–2 p.m.

Phone 425-3864 Email charlottelibraryvt@gmail. com

Website charlottepubliclibrary.org

The Charlotte News

Charlotte Senior Center

The Café Menu

by Mary Recchia, Activities Coordinator

August artist Kate Hartley “has always found inspiration in close observation of the natural world and in the everchanging play of light and shadow over organic forms,” she said. Her exhibit, which runs from August 1-31, will include watercolors, illustrations from Good Morning Loon, and a few of her recent mosaic works that incorporate flowing forms within a tile and glass format. She’s excited to show her artwork in her hometown.

–––– “Sail” by ferry to Essex A group from the Senior Center on a recent kayaking trip to Farrell Dam in Panton. for a Mid-day Concert and Lunch on Thursday, Aug. 14. via ferry by 4 p.m. Please call the Here’s a chance to show your “fall We will meet at the Senior Center at 10 a.m. and go together to Center for a detailed description of each colors” in our 9th annual Charlotte concert offering.

Registration required.

Senior Center Community Art Show. board the 10:30 a.m. Charlotte ferry. A very short walk (one block) to the Essex Fee: Lunch money and $7.00 for round- With a theme of “My Vermont,” this show will hang in the Great Room for Community Church is where Vaughn trip ferry ride.

–––– the month of September and is open Watson, renowned organist, will perThe Center is pleased to host the to all “creative spirits” 50 or older in form. The concert starts at 11:30 a.m., American Red Cross Blood Drive our community. Registration forms with lasts about 45 minutes, and admission is by donation and much appreciated. for this much needed community event specific details are available in the front Afterward, you can visit the unusual on Thursday, Aug. 14, from 2–7 p.m. foyer at the Center with a deadline for shops in town for a bit and stop in at The comfortable atmosphere and great submitting forms of Aug. 15. As always, one of the local eateries for a bite to snacks make giving the “gift of life” at there will be a reception for the artists, friends and relatives on Wednesday, eat before returning home to Charlotte this site most pleasurable.

––––– Sept. 3, at 1 p.m.

–––– Hank Kaestner will take us on another Bird Watching Expedition Wednesday morning, Aug. 20, from 9 a.m. to noon. Good views are guaranteed through Hank’s “Oh-my-God” telescope. Meet at the Center so we can carpool together to the location Hank has scouted for spectacular bird watching. Please register for this event; if we have to change the date

MONDAY, AUGUST 4 : Bulgar salad with cranberries and pecans, summer carrot salad, pound cake with fresh blueberries WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6: Curried chicken salad, cucumber salad, birthday cake and ice cream MONDAY, AUGUST 11: Chicken salad, corn-black bean salad and watermelon salad, bread, blueberry dessert WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 13: Deli meat roll-ups, green bean 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. A $4 donation is requested. Reservations are not required for the Monday Munch.

due to bird migration or weather, we will call you. Registration required. No fee.

–––– Join us for our Annual Summer BBQ Friday, Aug. 22, beginning at 5 p.m. Bring a friend. Bring the family.

Join the fun. Enjoy the music and entertainment of Woody Keppel & Friends, a world-renowned vaudevillian who will perform his unique brand of bumbling earnestness. Please RSVP by Aug. 15.

Fee: $12 per person.

Several people participated in Ceal Moran's "Celebrating Family" workshop July 23. Pictured are (From left) Mike Yantachka, Janet Yantachka, Ceal Moran, Mary Lovejoy and Jim Lovejoy.

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SPORTS

by Edd Merritt

Summer is when the Twins come out to play The “Twins,” of course, being Vermont and New Hampshire 2014 high school graduates who recently faced off on the soccer pitch, the basketball court and the LAX field. CVU was well represented on both men’s and women’s squads, as well as by Coach Ute Otley who led her charges to victory in the women’s basketball, maintaining her undefeated coaching streak for the year.

Charge they did. With four Redhawk players on the Vermont team, the Green Mountain girls carried a 15-point lead into the second half, holding on for a 79-66 victory. CVU’s Amanda Beatty was the second highest scorer for Vermont with 13 points, behind the team-leading 17 by Rice’s Hailee Barron. Redhawk Emily Kinneston hit for 12 points and snagged 13 rebounds. Kaelyn Kolasch and Amanda Lougee, whose free throw in the last seconds of the state championship game, won the title for CVU, were also on the Twin State squad.

The men were not as fortunate, as New Hampshire snapped a four-game losing streak by defeating Vermont 91-75. The winners worked well off a pair of guards who led numerous fast breaks resulting in baskets. Charlotte’s Lucas Aube was a leading member of the Green Mountaineers.

Girls from both states drink from the Lions Soccer Cup A goal from U-32’s Emily George with just over a minute remaining in the game gave Vermont a 2-2 tie with New Hampshire in Twin State soccer. Charlotte was well represented on the team

by Haliana Burhans and Mackenzie Kingston. Both women again demonstrated talents they displayed during the regular season.

Burhans’ speed and foot skill with the ball and Kingston’s strong play regardless of her position contributed to the team’s strong showing.

Vermont soccer boys knock the granite off the mountain CVU’s Peter Haliana Burhans (23), shown here during the regular season against Essex, particiCastano hit pated in the recent Twin State soccer game against New Hampshire. the net twice for Vermont as the boys defeated New summer as a solo driver, having prepared well with a Hampshire 4-1. With its defense as much team in Watkins Glen. The Canadiann Tire Motorsports in evidence as its offense, Vermont held the Park turned out to be a friendly venue as Dillon finished opponents scoreless for three-quarters of the 15th in a BMW, following up with two trips to the game. Zach Evans also represented CVU. podium in the Lamborghini and the first overall win by an amateur.

Machavern crosses the border to pick up his first motor-sport victory of the season Charlotte’s Lawrence Dee leads Jr. Voyageur Bowmanville, Ontario, proved to be the Lacrosse to victory site for Charlotte’s Dillon Machavern to The Vermont Junior Voyageur boy's lacrosse team win Round 7 of the Lamborghini Blancplain completed an undefeated 9-0 Montreal Junior Lacrosse Super Trofeo North America auto race. His League season last week by handing the host team, the Lamborghini Gallardo, fielded by Mitchum Shamrocks, an 11-5 defeat. St. Michaels College junior Motorsports, won overall honors. A pit-stop and CVU graduate Lawrence Dee led the victory with violation by the competition helped Dillon three goals and two assists from his attack position. take the lead, losing it only for a lap as This follows up on a pair of wins over Montreal in late he spent his mandatory 90 seconds in the June in which Lawrence garnered 11 points on 8 goals pit before regaining the front of the pack and 3 assists. He is the son of Mike and Justine Dee of and holding it for the final 20 minutes of a Charlotte.

55-minute race. This was his first time this

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The Charlotte News

Rec News

by Kristin Hartley Oh what a summer! What a beautiful place to call home! There are so many outdoor things to do here, I hope you get outside and recreate.

Currently

The Charlotte Town Beach is a hopping place. Come play some tennis, have a picnic, watch the sunset or take a dip. Resident seasonal beach passes cost $20, $40 for nonresidents. A day parking pass is $3 for residents and $6 for nonresidents. The beach is now pack-in, pack-out trash, so please remember that whatever you come in with must go out with you. No dogs are allowed at the beach.

Our town tennis courts have just been resurfaced, and we have new nets and a freshly painted backboard as well.

Pickle ball lines have now been put down, so if you are a pickle ball player Charlotte beach is the place to be.

Greg Smith is organizing our 2014 Wednesday evening adult tennis play.

Come join your neighbors and fellow tennis enthusiast for pickup tennis.

Meeting time is 6:30 p.m. Bring your racket, some balls and some game. This group meets every playable Wednesday throughout the summer. Fridays are the regular backup dates.

–––– Our 2nd annual beach party will take place Sunday, Aug. 3, from 3 to 8 p.m, so mark your calendars. It will be a potluck affair. Bring a dish and share a free pig roast. (If no dish please donate $5.) Free admission with a beach pass or pay to park. We are lucky to have the Mystic Party Band entertain us while you try free kayaking, paddle boarding and other water sport demos sponsored

by Outdoor Gear Exchange. Our storyteller is back this year and so are Celtic dancers. There will be soccer, horseshoes, ultimate Frisbee and a free tennis drill. This party should be lots of fun!

–––– This summer the Charlotte Rec Department is supporting the Vermont Parks and Recreation Association by selling discount tickets to the Great Escape ($35), Six Flags of New England

Participants get in shape at adult early morning boot camp at CCS. The class continues through the summer.

($38) and Bromley Adventure Park for ($28). Have a fun summer adventure with your family. Tickets are available here at the town offices.

Summer CampS

It has been a busy summer full of camp opportunities. There are still a few left to participate in if you have not signed up already.

Green Thumbs Gardening Camp.

This camp is being offered the week of August 4-8, for 1st through 5th graders.

Voltage Soccer Camp will to be held at CCS the week of August 18-22; this is a half day camp.

Horseback Riding Camp will be held at the Livery Horse Farm in Hinesburg. Come join your friends the week of August 11-15.

Fall programming

Fall soccer signup has begun. It is an awesome time of year! Early signup truly helps us set up the right sized teams with the right number of coaches so everyone has a good experience. The cost of our program is $40 with T-shirt and $35 without. The deadline is Aug. 1. After that, fees will be $65 and $60.

Fall soccer is for preschoolers through 8th grade—6th–8th graders may sign up if they don’t want to play on the school team. The season begins the week of Sept. 2, and games begin Saturday, Sept.

6, and continue through Oct. 11. Practice schedules will be set according to

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each coach’s availability.

Preschool and kindergarten teams meet once a week on Saturdays, and 1st-2nd graders practice once a week with Saturday games. Third through 6th graders practice twice a week with Saturday games.

There is a soccer cleat exchange here at the town offices. If your child has outgrown his or her cleats or you are in need of a larger size come share in the cleat exchange.

–––– Fall programming will be posted soon on the Charlotte town website.

We will be adding Celtic dance, afterschool piano, afterschool percussion, afterschool horseback riding and a Red Cross babysitting certification class, so check it out.

We have just begun registration for our fall driver’s education class, which begins Oct. 13. Sign up is on a firstcome, first-served basis, and spots fill up quickly.

adult programming

Adult early morning boot camp is the place to be at 6 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday mornings outdoors at CCS. It is so much fun! We have such a great community—come out and join us and make a commitment to fitness. This class will continue through the summer.

There are eight class sessions, but you can join at any point.

The beginner adult biking series run

by Karyn Lewis will happen again in September. I hope you will mark your calendar and join this group.

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

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

Learn ‘Secrets of Mt. Philo’ Aug. 5 Join Judy Chaves of North Ferrisburgh for an exciting, in-depth look at Mt. Philo’s past during a presentation titled “Secrets of Mt. Philo” on Friday, Aug. 5, at the Mt. Philo Inn beginning at 7 p.m. This illustrated history of Vermont’s first state park is being presented jointly by the Charlotte Historical Society and Charlotte Land Trust. Admission is free and refreshments will be available.

OutDoors

by Elizabeth Bassett

August Outdoor Ideas

Views expand to the Adirondacks park, offers year-round access to views, recreation, and geology. The park sits

a half hour or more. Parking on Lower

from Champlain Valley Cohousing Final work on this section will be completed this summer. Common Way

encompassing wetlands, bobcat dens and migration corridor, nesting areas for ravens, three state-significant forest communities and an anticline—a unique geological feature known localvide breeding habitat for wood frogs

rising abruptly from the Champlain Valley. Both an asphalt road and hiking trails climb to the summit, where picnic tables, benches and chairs look toward Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks.

Admission charged mid-May to midbe leashed.

the southwest corner of the housing

left. Gravel road leads to trailhead and -

As August stretches ahead of us, there’s plenty of summer left for exploring the outdoors. Here’s an update on Charlotte trails and about Local Motion’s Trail Finder.

If you’ve not visited Local Motion’s Trail Finder (http://trailfinder.info) in a while, you are in for a treat. This interactive site allows users to select a type of recreation (e.g., biking, walking, hiking, cross-country skiing), features (wildlife, historic site, restroom, dogs allowed) and location by region or by town. Check off your preferences and—voila!—Trail Finder suggests a range of trails with descriptions, maps, photos, driving directions and links to further information for each.

A selection of walking trails in the Burlington area featuring a natural area produces 24 trails, including several unfamiliar names like the Awasiwi Trail in South Burlington that follows the Potash Brook, and Forestdale Loop, a two-mile trail in Essex.

The Trail Finder site is not perfect— the results of a search for walking trails in Charlotte did not include Mt. Philo—but it is a useful tool and an introduction to new venues.

Charlotte has an extensive array of trails, some included in the Trail Finder, others not. Work continues on the Town Link Trail, which will eventually connect Mt. Philo to the Town Beach.

The recreational trail is suitable for walking, biking, snowshoeing or skiing.

The following sections are open to the public and in varying stages of completion:

minutes.

Committee is writing a grant proposal and beginning prep work for this section.

are well marked, and spurs lead to expansive views. A trailhead sign details Pease’s natural history and has an excellent map. Pets must be leashed and on the trails at all times. Please clean up after them.

Trevor Mack Trail runs between State

follows Mack property fence to the south and continues toward the inn.

Conservancy preserve in an island of trees amidst farm fields. A boardwalk keeps visitors above often-waterlogged soil and the tangle of roots that grow above ground. The trail weaves beneath giant hemlocks, old oaks and white

Charlotte. Meadows, fields and views of the Green Mountains. Plouffe Lane Street. Parking and picnic table near trails.

volunteers cleared paths fanning out sweaty memories for the long winter ahead!

walker can continue north and west across brush-hogged trails that lead to continue to improve this section of trail across their land. For those who prefer better footing, a mowed trail follows the the train station to the Knowles Farm at Elsewhere in Charlotte:

property, trails for pedestrians and horsland, succession woodlands and wetlands. A series of loop trails rise more

Photo by Edd MErritt

Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks.

Parking lot on east side of Greenbush daily from 8 a.m. until a half hour after

Soccer Skills at CCS A coach watches two young soccer players practice during a kids’ soccer camp held at CCS recently. TetraBrazil runs the camp, and the kids are divided into two groups—one of 7 and 8 year olds, the other of 9, 10, 11 and 12 year olds. There’s a mix of boys and girls in each group with about 25 kids in all. That afternoon, the older group was practicing dribbling around cones, and the younger group was passing, shooting on net and defending.

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The Charlotte News because of sounds they hear? Or do they just dream of Mom? Babies also startle in the womb, suck their thumbs and even hiccup. just give it a little tug (not really) Whenever my son Caden hiccupped, and out comes their order of food. I would catch myself centering on it, No waiting to nurse or waiting for a anticipating every future hiccup, astonbottle to warm. For nine months, they ished by how human he was beginning hear sounds of gurgles, rumbles, shh- to feel within me. Clearly these were hhhh’s and swooshes replicating the signs that his nervous system was sound of ocean waves, harmonious developing quickly.

Anyone who has been pregnant can and untroubled. In the background on surround sound, there is always one attest to the fact that very early on never-failing stable sound of a heart- babies learn how to do cartwheels and beat—thump-thump-thump—which is ride motor cross in utero. Sometimes, always on continuous play, fixed and I would worry they would lacerate or rupture something in there. I was afraid they would kick themselves in the eye or get their Whenever my son Caden toes stuck in their ears from all the rallying hiccupped, I would catch and contorting they do. myself centering on it, I swear it’s like they walk along your uteranticipating every hiccup, ine walls, pushing out as they go, preparing astonished by how human their legs for walking and movement. And as he was beginning to feel they grow in size from a pumpkin seed to a within me. kumquat, their movements get stronger and more colossal. steadfast, all day and all night.

And, alas, at some point, they have Some babies are also known to dream in the womb, which always to depart their comfortable familiarity. made me wonder, what do they dream They eventually get evicted when the about? They have no knowledge of miracle of birth takes place and their the outside world, so do they dream voyage in the womb comes to an end of what they envision it to look like The cord is cut, severed; lifelines dis-

The Humbled Parent The Miracle of … Eviction Sera Anderson Contributor

There are katrillions (not sure if that’s a real word, but it stands for a disastrously large number) of books, articles and online resources that exist on the tribulations of transitioning into parenthood. So, we are all pretty well informed concerning the effects it has on us. Now, it’s somewhat beyond the bounds of possibility to completely understand babies’ experiences, but, thanks to science, we have some comprehension of what it’s like for them before they go from womb to world.

We consign to oblivion the dramatic changes they endure. But, we do turn their world upside down. We rock it.

In their uterine home, they are warm, safe-guarded and cushioned within the bubble of the amniotic sac. They breathe and swallow amniotic fluid that engulfs their little bodies like a memory foam mattress.

They have their own personal feeding tube that’s linked to their bodies so whenever they are hungry, they

united. Then they see the light of the outside world ablaze.

They draw in oxygen for the first time (kind of like in The Abyss, when they go from breathing the oxygen liquid to air). They open the floodgates.

They screech and holler and all hell breaks loose. For the first time they feel the touch of human hands cupping around their wrinkly, waxy, mucky bodies. The smells of this distant land must be forceful and acrid. The cold stings their little bodies. Their hands and legs thrash all over the place, reaching for a barrier, reaching for containment, finding nothing but space. And then they feel cold clamps, suckers and goop. No wonder they cry—it’s the only way they know to express and communicate what they are feeling.

And, finally, they are reunited again.

Mother and child.

The warmth and softness are felt, the smell of something familiar. You can’t possibly spoil them this young; they have already been affixed to their mother for all those months, a link stronger than any on earth. The love has been constructing and the physical kinship has laid down the foundation for one of life’s greatest loves. You are affected with something you can’t explain, something so beyond words that you never knew existed. Your eyes and heart begin to swell.

Welcome my sweet, sweet baby.

Nice to meet you. I am your mommy.

when they have extra portions.

Food Shelf News

Wish lisT Thank you to all who responded with donations on our wish list! Our wish list now includes fresh vegetables, salad dressings, ketchup, mustard, pickles and mayonnaise, as well as toilet tissue, shampoo, dish soap and healthy kids’ snacks.

Updated wish lists will also be included in the Charlotte Congregational Church and Our Lady of Mount Carmel weekly bulletins.

Kerrie Pughe Contributor

Be sure to stop by our table at the Town Party this month!

Thank you We appreciate the fresh eggs from Rachel Hutchins. Thank you for the support from Deedle Kiley of Kiley Family Partnership—East Farm and to Walter Gates. Thank you to the Senior Center and Charlotte Central School for keeping the Food Shelf in mind

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

Oherwise, checks may be mailed to: Charlotte Food Shelf & Assistance 403 Church Hill Road P. O. Box 83 Charlotte, VT 05445

Business Directory

Donated food drop-off locations: All non-perishable 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 during the distribution mornings. We request that all fresh foods be dropped off at the Food Shelf by 7:30 a.m. on the distribution mornings (see Ongoing Events calendar on page 22.

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 at 425-3130.

For emergency assistance (electricity, fuel) call the Food Shelf at 4253252.

For more information, call Karen at 425-3252 or visit our website at sites. google.com/site/charlottefoodshelfvt/.

Food shelF hours The Food Shelf is open from 7:30–9:30 a.m. on the following Thursdays: Aug. 7, Aug. 21 Sept. 11, Sept. 25 It will also be open from 5–7 p.m. on the following Wednesdays: Aug. 6, Aug. 20 Sept. 11, Sept. 25

Julie Elitzer

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The Charlotte News CVFRS and District 3 had been successful. The Selectboard has taken the issue under advisement and is seeking an early combined meeting with the CVFRS board to discuss the Memorandum of Agreement and personnel issues.

Selectboard continued from page 1 ditional licensing came under intense discussion following the financial review. The probationary period for the state operating license has been extended an additional three months. The state wants to see more evidence that CQI (Continuing Quality Improvement) procedures are up to date. CQI procedures are reporting and review protocols that review, analyze and provide feedback on rescue calls and provided services. The paramedic operations suspended earlier this year have been restored.

However, Dr. Laurel Plante, the EMS District 3 medical director, has called for a six-month probationary period to allow “time to ensure there is demonstrable change.” Key to ending this probationary period is regular attendance at District 3 meetings.

McNally stated that, “Internally within Rescue, we are trying to look at how to restructure and improve our operations and communications with the district.

Meg (Modley) has taken over as head of service.” He further stated that the board is carefully looking at how best to utilize rescue resources and to leverage paid and volunteer personnel to improve services going forward.

Consideration is being given to establishing a full-time paramedic rescue director / head of service position.

Dr. Ruth Uphold, who offered to look into the communications and relationships between CVFRS and EMS District 3, reported that she was very supportive of Rescue. She expressed grave concern regarding the need for more accountability within the organization; at the very least, a performance improvement plan needs be put in place.

She said her conclusions came after having spoken with people at all levels. She discovered that of the three district-wide provisional licenses issued over the last ten years, two have been to the CVFRS. More important, the last provisional license has now been extended a further three months. In her eyes, this extension was not just a slap on the wrist but indicative of the need for a major change in behavior and possible restructuring.

Dr. Uphold, in making this verbal report, felt that her offer to improve the communications between the

Wage classification plan The Charlotte Selectboard continues to hold multiple meetings in an effort to finalize the wage classification plan. The plan is about 75 percent completed, and by the time this article is read the Selectboard will have met with a consultant from the firm of Gallagher Flynn to validate their concept. They will also have met with the town’s contract auditors to determine the appropriate tax rate and approve a plan to adopt a modified accrual basis for accounting in town books.

Selectboard

continued on next page

greenbush speeding The speeding problem on Greenbush Road came up during the final discussion period.

Matt Krasnow, the Selectboard representative working with the Charlotte Safety Committee, reported on a very interesting meeting he’d had with the State Police liaison for Charlotte. They reviewed this year’s incident log and discussed a number of concerns, including the speeding.

The discussion resulted in Krasnow’s very enlightening four-hour ride in a police cruiser on patrol in Charlotte. Krasnow was impressed by the close attention paid by the officer to events occurring in Charlotte. This extended down to and included monitoring Front Porch Forum on the cruiser’s computer.

The discussion evolved into specifically addressing the growing concerns of speeding in the village centers. The result was the decision to paint fog lines (those white lines along the side of the roads 10-feet from the centerline) on each of the four crossroads emanating from the two major intersections (Four Corners and Baptist Corners) for a distance of 0.4 miles. Traffic engineers have proved that these lines have the psychologi-

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cal effect of slowing drivers down.

These lines will be tried for a year and represent a first step in addressing the problem. Krasnow said he would be happy to discuss any safety concerns and can be reached at 922-2153 or by email at mattkrasnow@ townofcharlotte.com.

(802) 846-9516 | SJacobs@HickokandBoardman.com

Real Estate Listings

Jane Kiley,

REALTOR® Your Right Choice in Any Market

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

www.ChrisvonTrapp.com Classic 3 bedroom farmhouse, with 2 bedroom apt. in back ell.

Property has 11.32 acres of land organic. 3 car attached garage. $499,000. Adjacent residential lot could be added.

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

Year Round Lake Residence On Lapham Island, this home was built in ‘96 and has been meticulously maintained. Main house has enough room for everyone, and the charming Cottage makes for additional guest space or rental.Bridport. $349,000 | MLS# 4227253

Charlotte VT Barn Home Sited on 7.5 acres and recently renovated, this 4 bedroom, 3 bath home is loaded with the warmth and charm you would expect.

Features a hand crafted European style wood stove. $625,000 | MLS# 4312672

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Restored 1856 Farmhouse on 75 acres offers unparalleled natural beauty including a swimming pond, 2,200’ of the Huntington River, large barn, sugar house, and lush open pastures. Starksboro. $629,000 | MLS# 4365245

4 Season Waterfront Living Ferrisburgh, just 25 minutes from Burlington and the airport. This totally upgraded and renovated Cottage has looking the water and more! $499,000 | MLS# 4229805

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

Places To Go & Things To Do THURSDAY, AUGUST 31 Selectboard meeting, 9 a.m., Town Hall. Planned is a joint meeting with Board of Auditors. Agenda at charlottevt.org.

Town Plan workshop: natural resources, 7 p.m., Town Hall. Share your feedback on the first draft of the 2015 Town Plan. For more info, see story on page 1.

Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash, 8 p.m., Saint Michael’s Playhouse, Colchester. Cash’s remarkable life story is told through his music, climaxing in a performance that will both move and exhilarate. Performances continue through Aug. 5.

Cost: $32.50–$43.50. More info: saintmichealsplayhouse.org, 654-2281.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 1 Festival of Fools, 6 p.m., Burlington. Fun summer festival kicks off with Fools’ Gala Opening, with Mayor Miro Weinberger. For more info on festival, see page 4.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 2 Saturday Story Time, 11 a.m., Phoenix Books, Burlington. Listen to and enjoy stories with your little ones. Check out the store’s website, phoenixbooks.biz, and Facebook page for details. Free.

More info: SUNDAY, AUGUST 3 Town Beach Party, 3–8 p.m., Charlotte Town Beach. See story on front page.

Wild mushrooms of summer, 1–3 p.m., Green Mountain Audubon Center, Huntington. Join your mycological tour guide for a colorful presentation introducing the region’s most distinctive and delicious species, followed by a foray in the rich woods that surround the Audubon Center. Members: $25, Nonmembers: $30. Preregistration required. More info: 434-3068, vermont@audubon.org.

Presentation: Smugglers and Shootouts, 2 p.m., Ethan Allen Homestead Museum, Winooski.

In 1807, a cargo ship known as the Black Snake was caught smuggling potash by federalized Vermont militia on the Winooski River, and the resulting shootout killed two of the militiamen and Jonathan Ormsby, a farmer living at the Ethan Allen Homestead. Author Gary Shattuck will discuss his new book about the incident, which has come to be called the Black Snake Affair, and then take visitors to the approximate site of the event where a State Historical Marker commemorating the incident will be dedicated. Cost: free. More info: info@ethanallenhomestead.org, 865-4556.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 5 Presentation: Secrets of Mt. Philo, 7 p.m., Mount Philo Inn. See story on page 17.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 7 Planning Commission meeting, 7 p.m., Town Hall.

Regular meeting scheduled. Agenda at charlottevt. org.

First Thursday Music at the Vineyard with the Beerworth Sisters, 6 p.m., Shelburne Vineyard.

Local singer-songwriters, the Beerworth Sisters, return to the Vineyard with a whimsical mix of folk,

country and classic rock. Music will be outdoors, weather permitting; indoors if not. Come early, bring family and friends and settle in for a great evening. Wine and Fiddlehead for sale by the glass.

American Flatbread pizza by the slice. Free. A portion of beverage sales will benefit The Champlain Housing Trust. More info: shelburnevineyard.com, 985-8222.

Book signing: Paula Marcoux, author of Cooking with Fire, 5:30–8 p.m., Intervale, Burlington.

Cooking with Fire stands out for its fun, affordable, accessible approach that mixes the DIY aesthetic with a pinch of geek, a pat of humor, and a generous serving of culinary history—and, of course, truly mouthwatering recipes. Marcoux is the food editor of Edible South Shore magazine, writes on food history topics for popular and academic audiences, and consults with museums, film producers and publishers. Event part of Summervale activities.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 8 Opening reception: Summer Horizons: New Vermont Paintings by Bonnie Acker, 5:30–7:30 p.m., Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery, Shelburne.

Acker creates paintings, paper collages and fabric banners and is immersed in numerous food and farming adventures. Her work has been featured in Vermont Life Magazine and several books including The Art of Lake Champlain and The Community Land Trust Reader. Free.

Contra Dance, 8 p.m., Shelburne Town Hall. Queen City Contras will hold its regular dance with calling

by Mary Wesley and music provided by Geordie Lynd, Roger Kahle and Dan Restivo. All are welcome, all dances taught, no partner or experience necessary. Beginners session at 7:45 p.m. Please bring clean soft-soled shoes for dancing. Cost: $8/ adults, 12 and under/free. More info: queencitycontras.org.

Selectboard continued from previous page

Town bridges The Selectboard swiftly took care of actions on three of the town’s six bridges. First, it approved payment of an amount not to exceed $2,000 to Stowe Pest Control to treat the Seguin (Rule) Bridge for carpenter ants and powder post beetles. Then, it approved a request for proposal to repair railings on the Spear Street Bridge (#13). Last, it approved an eight-ton weight limit over the Carpenter Road Bridge (#30). This will apply until temporary repairs are made to the support structure. A scope of work seeking cost proposals for this repair was also approved.

oTher business A proposal received from Building Energy Company to replace the library roof and insulation would cost in excess of $104,000, far higher than the budgeted amount.

The Selectboard voted to broaden the search for additional proposals in an effort to find a lower bid. It will also undertake a search for grants as well as look for other sources of funding.

Jim Donovan, Charlotte’s representative on the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC), presented an update on regional planning issues. He reported that two CCRPC studies are ongoing: the feasibility of Route 7 pedestrian crossings at the Ferry Road intersection, and sidewalk improvement and storm water management along Ferry Road in the West Village. A third study will start soon on the feasibility of locating a Park and Ride lot in Charlotte.

In an administrative action, the Selectboard changed the compensation package for the animal control officer, Cali Griswold, to $500 quarterly to better compensate her for services. Her role is strictly restricted to dog problems.

She can be reached at 373-3442. For other animals, Charlotters should contact the Vermont game wardens.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 10 Yoga on Shelburne Beach, 8–9 a.m., Shelburne Beach. Shelburne Recreation, with the help of Yoga Roots, a local Shelburne yoga studio, is hosting a series of free yoga classes at Shelburne Beach. You do not need to be a Shelburne resident to attend.

No registration necessary, just bring a mat. If you don’t have one, there will be a few extras on site.

Also scheduled for Aug. 24. Free. More info: yogarootsvt.com.

Switchback Brewery Beer Tasting, Mt. Philo, noon–4 p.m. Come to the top of Mt. Philo for a beer tasting as well as Dakin Farm meat and cheese and jams. Gold Town Band will perform. Cost: admission to park.

MONDAY, AUG. 11 Monday Night Fun Run, 5:30 p.m., Peak Performance, Williston. More info: vtpeakperformance.com.

Have an event you'd like published in our calendar?

Send it to News@charlottenewsvt.com

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Information: 425-3625.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Charlotte News

Around Town Congratulations to Anne and Marc Richter on the birth of their son Eliam Gabriel Kirby Richter, born June 24 at Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington. to Christina and Matthew Moulton on the birth of their son Anthony James Moulton, born June 21 at Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington. to Kathryn Drumheller of South Burlington and Christopher Little of Charlotte who announced their engagement recently. The son of Mr. and Mrs. William Little of Charlotte, Christopher is a marketing and business-development specialist with Wintersmiths.com and Ursa Major of Burlington. Kathryn is a marketing manager with Wealth Management Systems based in New York City. They plan an August wedding. to Sam Darling who graduated from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy with a bachelor of science in marine transportation and a U.S. Coast Guard license as a third mate in the Merchant Marine. Sam has been hired by the Otto Candies Corporation, which services the offshore oil and gas industry, primarily in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Brazil. to Rachel Baginski who earned placement as one of 196 incoming freshmen in the University of Vermont’s Honors College. Invitation into the Honors College is based upon the student’s academic achievement in high school and the university’s commitment to create a diverse learning community. Rachel plans to major in biology. to the following Rice Memorial High School students from Charlotte who earned placement on the honor roll for the fourth quarter, 2014: Connor Gorman, Emma Hudziak, Avery Kidd, Anna Schibli. to Kendra Heaslip, a junior majoring in business administration at Merrimack College, North Andover, Mass., who earned placement on the dean’s list for the spring term 2014. to Madeline Weaver, a student at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, N.Y., who earned placement on the dean’s list for the spring semester 2014. to Noa Urbaitel, a senior at Champlain Valley Union High School whose prose piece titled “Mondays” appeared in the July 18 issue of the Burlington Free Press as part of the Young Writers Project. Noa’s piece focuses on just about everything going through a boy’s mind except schoolwork on this and every Monday since his sophomore year. He’s particularly interested in a classmate, Michelle. “It’s Monday,” he says to her.

“I’m aware,” she replies. “Would you like to go steady with me?” he asks, at which point she slams her locker, says “not this week,” and retreats down the hall. Read the story to discover the boy’s thoughts on this incident.

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. Send to The Charlotte News Classifieds, P.O. Box 251, Charlotte, VT 05445 or email your ad to ads@charlottenewsvt.com.

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to Andrew Blake, a graduate of Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY, who was hired as an investment operations analyst with Pinebridge Investments in New York City. The son of Sara and Tony Blake of Charlotte, Andrew carried a double major in college composed of business and environmental studies. to Charlotter Richard Flood of Flood Financial Services, Inc., South Burlington, who was a featured speaker at the Lincoln Financial Network Mastery of Advice planning forums held in Las Vegas and Chicago.

Providing insight as a top performer nationally, Richard addressed about 500 people in each forum. to Lori Lustberg, formerly of Charlotte who, in June, was elected to serve on the board of directors of the Association of Divorce Financial Planners (ADFP). An attorney who practices out of Shelburne, Lustberg is also editor in chief of the ADFP News, the Association’s monthly newsletter. She provides clients going through divorce with in-depth financial analysis as well as mediation services. to Meg Smith, who was featured in the summer 2014 issue of Vermont Woman as executive director of the Vermont Woman’s Fund. According to the article, the fund was started 20 years ago as “the only Vermont non-profit dedicated to providing grants to girls and women exclusively.” Meg’s vision includes a desire to “increase the level of grant making to girls and women in Vermont, helping to support their goals to be successful and thrive.”

to Birgit Deeds who was featured in an article in the July 27 Burlington Free Press that spoke of her work on developing the gardens at Shelburne Farms and showed several pictures of the results. Birgit describes herself as a “lifelong gardener” and has been involved with the restoration of the Vanderbilt/Webb Shelburne Farms mansion since 1984. The formal gardens in front of the house overlooking Lake Champlain are where Birgit volunteers daily.

Cafferty Named New Rotarian The Charlotte-Shelburne Rotary Club’s newest member is Ed Cafferty (left), who was welcomed into the club by membership chair Ric Flood of Charlotte. Cafferty is well known around town for his efforts in determining and analyzing community needs for policing. He teaches criminal justice at Champlain College with a specialty in crime associated with the heroin epidemic. He also works part-time for the Vermont State Police, is running for sheriff of Chittenden County and is writing a book.

Morse's Doodles & Jots

to Leon Leary, a student at the University of Maine at Farmington who earned placement on the college’s dean’s list for the spring semester 2014.

Sympathy is expressed to family and friends of Lindsay Goldsborough Reagan of Portland, Maine, who passed away July 4 at the age of 49. Living with her family on Shelburne Point, Lindsay spent many hours during her younger years on her horse Charlie at the Charlotte Pony Club. The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, contributions be made in Lindsay’s name to Foreside Financial Services, Three Canal Plaza, c/o Samantha

NEW AT THE MT. PHILO INN: Overnight accommodations, spacious 2-3 bedroom suites available by the day, week or month. Adjacent to Mt. Philo State Park, with panoramic views of Lake Champlain. Each "wing" in the historic inn has a private entrance, full kitchen, laundry and porch. MtPhiloInn.com 425-3335.

RENEWABLE ENERGY: Heat your home with a Maxim Outdoor Wood Pellet Furnace by Central Boiler and gain energy independence. Boivin Farm Supply 802-475-4007. (57-01) VACATION RENTAL: Thompson's Point lakefront camp available for rent Aug. 9 through Aug. 23. Five bedroom, 3 bath, water access on main lake with spectacular sunset views! $2500/week, plus Vt tax. Call Martha at 210-380-3963 or email martjoe@earthlink. net. (24) PUMP FOR SALE: Gould water pump #20. $100.

Please call Bill Powers, 425-3370. 160 No. Shore Rd.

The practice of medicine should take into account that immortality wasn’t designed for humans.

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

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