The Charlotte News | Dec 5, 2013

The Charlotte News Volume lVI Number 09

The VoIce of The TowN

Thursday, december 5, 2013

CCS Baseline Budget Up Slightly from Last Year Jump in CY program, special ed costs contribute to three-percent larger budget Brett Sigurdson

The charloTTe News Despite lacking both a quorum and an audience, the CCS School Board kicked off its annual round of community forums and budget talks on Nov. 19 by discussing the composite parts of a baseline that is three percent higher than last year’s adopted budget.

The total baseline budget presented at the meeting was $7.6 million. This is $246,268, or 3.35 percent, higher than the $7.3 million budget adopted for FY2013-14.

Part of the rise in costs stems from a higher assessment for services provided by the Chittenden South Supervisory

Union. At $528,987, CCS’s assessment is $34,000 higher for the proposed FY2014-15 budget than it was in last year’s adopted budget ($494,575).

Central to the increase is a substantially higher cost for the school’s Connecting Youth (or CY) Program, which consists of both a mentoring and a substance-abuse program. Its cost jumped almost $11,000 to $31,794 from the roughly $21,000 allocated in the FY2013-14 budget.

The FY2013-14 figure was, in turn, nearly three times as high as the nearly $7,500 annual budget allocation for CY from 2010 to 2013.

Budget continued on page 8

Selectboard Begins Yearly Budget Deliberations Caroline Cole stands next to her great grandfather’s grave at Arlington National Cemetery, where she recently performed “Taps” on her paternal grandfather’s trumpet.

Finding Her Voice Caroline Cole is living the life of a freelance musician—and that life has taken her to some fascinating places.

Brett Sigurdson

The charloTTe News Caroline Cole is the first to say her resume is a little peculiar.

She’s worked as an accountant, packaged Advent calendars, held numerous pizza jobs. She’s also sung the national anthem for all of Boston’s professional sports teams, performed with prestigious orchestras and, most recently, held the Massachusetts state flag during game six of the World Series at Fenway Park.

Through it all, there’s been one thing linking her disparate job experiences together: music, specifically the pursuit of making a living at it.

Cole, 31, the daughter of Dan and Jenny Cole of Charlotte, can recall the exact moment that set her on her eclectic career path as a freelance musician. At age 9, watching a 1991 Christmas performance by the Kansas City Symphony of Prokofiev’s Lieutenant Kijé suite, Cole caught sight of a trombone in the orchestra. Fascinated by it, she turned to her father and asked what instrument it was. Right then, Cole declared she would play the trombone when she grew up.

To Cole, the instrument’s appeal was

not so much in the way it sounded but rather in the way it looked. Unlike the other instruments, the trombone, with its long, telescoping slide, was peculiar looking and dynamic.

Cole, who describes herself then as boisterous in the company of her family but painfully shy outside the house, saw the trombone as a path out of her shell.

“It was kind of a way to be loud safely around other people,” she said.

In sixth grade, Cole began playing the trombone in earnest, joining the CCS band and receiving encouragement from music teacher Tony Petricola.

Continuing at CVU, she found herself in an “incredibly strong” music program.

Both of these programs gave her the opportunity to hone her musical chops in ways she might not have elsewhere.

“It was just luck that I happened to be raised here, where I could go to these schools,” she said. “It was almost like going to an art school, really. I’m not sure how far I would have gone if I hadn’t been here, so it was kind of this fortunate beginning.”

John Hammer

The charloTTe News The Selectboard meeting of Nov. 25 was a model of quiet deliberation.

Members of different town committees and commissions submitted their draft budgets for next year, which took up the larger part the meeting.

At the beginning of the meeting Chair Charles Russell explained that, henceforth, public comments would be entertained following the Selectboard’s initial discussion of an agenda item. Following public comment the Selectboard would once again discuss the issue and allow whatever comments it deems pertinent before voting on the item or passing on to the next item.

A number of big-ticket budget items were discussed, though most of the budgets proposed sought nearly level funding. It is important to note that the budget discussions that have been taking place over the past few Selectboard meetings have been preliminary only; final discussions will be held at the Dec. 16 meeting when the Selectboard will begin to craft its proposed budget.

The Charlotte Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service (CVFRS) board was the first to be heard. It presented its first -ever “unified” budget, which compares figures for the past two years, the current year and next year’s projected budgets on one page. The budget totals for next year

Selectboard continued on page 5

You’re Invited

Please join the staff and board of The Charlotte News at their holiday open house on Friday, December 6, at 5 p.m.

Voice continued on page 10

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The Charlotte News

Legislative Report

by Representative Mike Yantachka

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

Contributions in the form of articles, press releases and photographs pertaining to Charlotte-related people and events are accepted and encouraged from all townspeople and interested individuals. For submission guidelines and deadlines, please visit our website or contact the editor at news@charlottenewsvt.com The CharloTTe News is published in Charlotte by The Charlotte News, Inc., a Vermont domestic 501(c)4 nonprofit corporation. Distribution is made every other Thursday to all households and businesses in Charlotte and to selected outlets in Shelburne, Hinesburg, North Ferrisburgh, Ferrisburgh and Vergennes. It relies on the generous financial contributions of its readers, subscriptions and advertising revenue to sustain its operations. oN The weB aT:

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Vermont Laws Regulating Firearms: Next Steps This past summer, while driving to my granddaughter’s softball tournament in Connecticut, I had the occasion to drive through Newtown past the Sandy Hook Elementary School. The access to the school was still barricaded, a testament to the terrible crime that took place only nine months before when 20 children and six faculty members were gunned down. It was a stark reminder of what can happen when highly lethal weapons are misused by unstable people and criminals. Last month Gun Sense Vermont invited me to participate in a forum on gun violence in Vermont. Gun Sense Vermont is a statewide organization that promotes gun safety laws that respect the Second Amendment and protect children and communities by keeping guns out of the wrong hands.

I spoke about existing Vermont laws pertaining to firearms and efforts to enact other sensible regulations designed to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and people who pose a danger to themselves or others. The forum was well attended by both supporters of these efforts and people who advocate for the rights of gun owners. Vermonters have a long and strong tradition of hunting and sport shooting, which are honorable and beneficial sports in which firearms play an essential role.

Many families own multiple rifles, shotguns and pistols and use them responsibly.

However, there is also a dark side to the prevalence of firearms. From the thoughtless misuse that can result in a bystander getting killed by a stray bullet or the killing of other people’s cows and horses, to purposeful murders during domestic or neighbor disputes and the all-toomany suicides by young people who choose a permanent solution to a temporary problem, Vermont is not immune to gun violence. Compared to the rest of the country, gun violence incidents in Vermont may be few—but tell that to someone who lost a loved one due to gun violence under any of those circumstances.

We know that we can never prevent every tragedy from happening, but we have to ask if there is something we can do to reduce the likelihood that they’ll occur.

According to the Vermont Agency of Human Services, Vermont’s suicide rate is above the national average, and suicide is the second leading cause of death among Vermonters between the ages of ten and 24—about nine per year on average. Also, since 25 percent of Vermont’s youth suffered serious depression in 2011, this population is at greater risk of attempted suicide.

But it’s not just about the suicide rate. It is easier for criminals to obtain guns in Vermont than in neighboring states because transfers of firearms between individuals are not controlled, whether the transactions take place privately or at gun shows. Straw purchases, in which an individual eligible to buy a firearm does so with the intent of providing it to an ineligible person, are also easier in Vermont than in New York or any other New England state except New Hampshire.

Our goals should be to of domestic abuse, of mental illness, are judged to be a danger to themselves or others and access to them by our young people.

a nEEd for bEttEr Control Early in the 2013 legislative session I joined with several of my colleagues in the Vermont House to cosponsor bills that would seek to address these goals.

Why is legislation needed? Let’s look at the laws that currently exist in Title 10 and Title 13 of Vermont Statutes. Title 10 prohibits a person from hunting with a machine gun of any kind or description or an autoloading rifle with a magazine capacity of more than six cartridges.

Title 13 prohibits possessing firearms on school property or in courthouses as well as selling or providing firearms to individuals under the age of 16 by anyone other than a parent or guardian. Nor can anyone under the age of 16 possess a handgun without the consent of a parent or guardian. Furthermore, Title 13 subjects the purchase of firearms by residents and non-residents to the provisions of the federal Gun Control Act of 1968.

So, other than restrictions on persons younger than 16, Vermont law does not regulate at all who can obtain a firearm in Vermont. This creates a disconnect between Vermont law and federal law.

The federal Gun Control Act of 1968 prohibits the sale of firearms to convicted felons, domestic abusers, those determined by a court of law to be a danger to themselves or others as a result of mental illness, and other types of dangerous people; the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993 requires a federal background check on anyone purchasing a firearm from a federally licensed firearms dealer. These federal acts are enforced primarily by the federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agency, or ATF, and only peripherally by local or state police if they apprehend a prohibited person during the commission of a crime. Furthermore, there is a well-known loophole in the federal law that permits sales between private individuals at gun shows and between residents of the same state without a background check.

nExt stEPs The NRA is fond of saying, “Guns don’t kill people; people do.” Well, I agree! Then let’s plug those loopholes that allow prohibited persons to obtain guns. How do we do that?

First, a background check should be required for every transaction, retail or private, where gun ownership changes hands. Putting this into Vermont law will allow violations to be enforced and can be implemented using local and state police resources. While federal law prohibits private sales between residents of two different states without going through a licensed dealer, this has been extremely difficult to enforce.

Furthermore, there is no limit to how many firearms can be purchased at one time. This makes it possible for persons from New York, Connecticut or Massachusetts, states with strict gun laws, to come to Vermont to stock up on guns that can then be transported to Boston or New York City or elsewhere and resold privately. New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has stated that 85 percent of weapons recovered from crime scenes in the city are from out-of-state sources.

Second, Vermont law should require that persons who have been determined by an authoritative legal process to be dangerous or incompetent to manage their own affairs due to mental illness, or who have been committed to a mental institution, or who have been found incompetent to stand trial by reason of insanity should be entered into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) database. The same should be required for persons under restraining orders or who have been convicted of domestic violence.

Third, Vermont police should be given explicit authority to enforce any federal firearms laws. This would allow violators to be prosecuted under Vermont law instead of having to refer them to the federal court system. A related issue is what to do with weapons confiscated during commission of a crime. Today, most Vermont police departments do not have adequate or proper storage facilities for confiscated weapons. The State of Vermont should provide for one or more facilities that can be used for this purpose.

Fourth, we have to to make it more difficult for teenagers who may be coping with school, friendship, bullying or depression issues from getting their hands on guns and taking their own lives. It should not be considered a burdensome requirement for guns to be stored safely—with trigger locks installed—in homes with children or where children are likely to visit. Most Vermont gun owners are responsible, but we hear all too often of such tragedies.

So, I’m convinced that we need to tighten up regulations on the sale of guns in Vermont and that we can do so without violating the second amendment of the Constitution, without infringing on the time-honored traditions of hunting and sport shooting, and in a way that will reduce the incidence of gun violence in Vermont. Any legislation that has been or will be proposed will be thoroughly discussed by the appropriate committees in the Legislature. All sides will have the opportunity to provide input before a decision is made. We should not, however, be afraid to discuss any issue that involves making our communities safer.

The Charlotte News

Green Mountain Habitat Welcomes Crandall Family to Charlotte

Faith and science coexist I was speaking to someone about my being a Freemason. Belief in God is required for membership. He proudly announced that he was an atheist. He scoffed at me for believing in what he called mumbo jumbo. When I wanted to address the scientific achievements that help to explain what God may be, he cut me short and mocked the preposterous notion. I felt insulted.

I wrote a letter to the News in support of my position. I first brought my letter to read to my Freemason brothers. Reading it aloud was different than reading it on the computer screen or on paper. It sounded angry. Oh yeah, it had all the references to Higgs-Boson, the unified field theory, Einstein and metaphysics, etc. In the end, the letter sounded angry.

It would have been using negativity to explain God. In the end, I realized that even though dimensional thinking, spiritual exercises and mental focus aid my clarity, I was never going to elevate the consciousness of someone else through anger. You’re reading the re-write of that letter.

With the advances in science, which explore different levels of existence whether quantum physics, resonance frequency or whatnot, it all comes down to faith that others have worked it out over the millennia. Our current level of science is now crossing the line into metaphysics, or the study of the dimensional universe, which is at the core of all true religions. Religions use the term “God.” If you have the time and ability to research the findings, great; if you don’t, just have faith. Faith that God exists.

Faith that laughter is contagious, good feelings can spread, or that being good to one another matters.

For some of us old hippies, “good vibes” elevate us into the level of existence I call “One.” Call it whatever you

want. I feel wonderful having faith in the oneness of all. I mean, really, if I used the line from Star Wars and said, “May the force be with you,” it would have been politically acceptable.

I’m proud to be a Freemason. We make good men better men. Why are we considered secret? The “secrets” are to protect conversation topics and be free from outside political trends. These rituals predate the United States. The subjects of freedom, equality and the virtues of a good man could have gotten a Mason hanged from the closest tree by the British. Not only were the themes and concepts of our democracy Masonic, but Masons also helped build this country and our town. It’s not a coincidence that the founding fathers were Freemasons.

What have they done for us recently?

Everyday a mason is required to do the right thing, be civil with one another and not be judgmental. Something we sorely need right about now.

The cultural and morality conflict in modern religious organizations is not what the Masons or I am addressing.

We’re not allowed to discuss politics or religion in the lodge. We’re not a religion, but there are spiritual elements.

Am I perfect? Not if you ask my wife.

That’s why I’m a Mason. I’m working to become a better person.

Now, with that having been said, do you want to feel good? I mean, downto-your-socks good? Remind people you may know that they‘re wonderful and you love them. Remember, God’s listening— excuse me, let me rephrase that—the resonance frequency generated by the thought, action and words, spreads like a wave across existence. That would be quantum physics and spirituality.

Good will to all. Happy holidays.

Seth Zimmerman Patton Woods Road

CCS Budget Forum Dec. 17 Kristin Wright conTribuTor

If you are interested in learning about the budget, please consider attending our upcoming budget meetings. Hearing from the community early in the process better enables the board to make decisions that reflect the values of our neighbors. The dates and topics are listed below: Dec. 17, 6:30 p.m. at CCS: Decision packets, revenue and tax implications Jan. 7, 6:30 p.m. at CCS: Final budget, revenue and tax implications

Jan. 14, 6 p.m. at CCS: Budget article approval March 4, 7 a.m to 7 p.m. at CCS multipurpose room: School budget vote and Town Meeting Budget information continues to be posted on our website as it becomes available. You may access this at ccsvt. org/schoolboard/FY14 Budget.

Your suggestions and questions are always welcome. Please contact us anytime at ccsschoolboard@cssu.org.

We hope to see you at a school board meeting soon.

Kristin Wright is the chair of the CCS School Board.

Wayne Crandall (below right) and his wife, Amanda (center), speak at the dedication of a new Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity home on Albert’s Way in Charlotte on Nov.

TexT and phoTos by edd MerriTT

Letter

24. The home was built for the Crandalls and their three foster sons, Calvin, Christopher and Jacob. Also appearing at the dedication were Stu Burroughs, president of Green Mountain Habitat, David Mullin, its executive director, and Jane Stickney, head of Habitat’s family

TownBites

by Edd Merritt

Stephen Kiernan contributes a “Winter Tale.”

Charlotte author and playwright Stephen Kiernan will have his play, “Buried Gift,” read as one of the Winter Tales performed at Flynn Space through Sunday, Dec. 8. Winter Tales includes a series of stories and songs by local artists, and Stephen’s play is his seventh involvement with Vermont Stage Productions, a Mark Nash project. In addition to his local showing, Kiernan recently learned that 20th Century Fox movie producers have contracted Michael Petroni to write a screenplay for Stephen’s novel, The Curiosity. Petroni’s previous work includes screen writing The Book Thief and the Chronicles of Narnia in addition to many TV shows.

Brian Machanic’s book is one for the birds Charlotte photographer P. Brian Machanic has published a book of his

support group.

In placing his blessing on the home, the Reverend Stewart Pierson asked what people thought differentiated a “house” from a “home.” The answers all brought humanity into the picture—a spot for human interaction, a place where warmth comes about through those who live there, a variety of social factors. Having invested their sweat equity into the construction of their home, under the guidance of project manager Ron Reynolds, the Crandalls are the first residents of the new neighborhood, which will eventually comprise five families. The Crandalls moved into the home on Nov. 26. bird photos titled This Book is for the Birds (Shires Press). It is a series of pictures showing the birds that “grace the Eastern portion of the United States.”

Machanic uses a filter to enhance their colors so that each bird appears as the main image in the picture. Brian is the head of “Nature’s Eye Studio,” through which he sells his work.

Charlotte’s Bitybean Working Hard to Meet Kickstarter Goal Charlotte-based company Bitybean is about one-third of the way toward its goal of crowdfunding $15,000 on Kickstarter.com to provide the capital to launch its UltraCompact child carrier into full-scale production. The campaign ends Dec. 11, and founder Doug Hartwell noted the company is pressing to raise another $10,000 to reach full funding. “We’re working really hard to get the word out as much as possible in this final stretch, so that we can reach our goal and secure the funding,” he said. Hartwell noted the support for his product has been encouraging, and he’s hoping to keep the company growing after the campaign is over. To find out more about the campaign, visit bitybean.com.

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.

PUBLIC MEETINGS Selectboard Regular Meetings are usually at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall on the second and fourth Mondays of each month. Sometimes they begin earlier; check online at charlottevt.org or with the Town Clerk (425-3071). Chair: Charles Russell (4254757), Ellie Russell (425-5276), Winslow Ladue (425-2275), John Owen (425-4632), Lane Morrison (425-2495). CCS School Board Regular Meetings are usually at 6:30 p.m. in the CCS Library on the third Tuesday of each month. Clyde Baldwin (4253366), Edorah Frazer (425-4937), Kristin Wright

(425-5105). Erik Beal (425-2140), Mark McDermott (425-4860). Planning Commission Regular Meetings are usually at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall on the first and third Thursdays of each month.

Chair Jeffrey McDonald (425-4429), Vice Chair Jim Donovan, Gerald Bouchard, Peter Joslin, Paul Landler, Linda Radimer, Ellie Russell.

Committee meetings are listed on the town website.

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

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Next issue deadlines conTribuTions: Thursday, dec. 12, by 5 p.m. leTTers: monday, dec. 16, by 10 a.m. nexT publicaTion daTe: Thursday, dec. 19

The Charlotte News Charlotte land trust

on

Lens the

Land

Twenty volunteers from Charlotte and UVM pose for a picture after a work session to remove invasive plants from the Charlotte Park and Wildlife Refuge.

Volunteers Remove Invasive Plants at Wildlife Refuge Susan Smith Contributor

On Nov. 9, 20 volunteers from UVM and Charlotte worked together to remove invasive buckthorn and honeysuckle from hedgerows west of Route 7 in the Charlotte Park and Wildlife Refuge. Using handsaws, loppers and three chainsaws, the group cut the offending

s u p l e H Thrive @ 55

plants and dragged them to brush piles to be burned or chipped at a later time. Herbicide was applied to the cut stumps to prevent regrowth. We didn’t want to cut these plants again next year!

The Park Committee plans to do clearing work in all the park’s hedgerows over the next few years. Not only will the invasive plants be removed to benefit native plants and wildlife, but the work will open more of the beautiful views of Lake Champlain and the Adirondack Mountains.

Thanks to the volunteers who gave a total of 70 hours of work at the park.

Susan Smith is co-chair of the Charlotte Park Oversight Committee.

$55,000 OUR GOAL

$21,960 RAISED SO FAR

Help us raise $55,000 for our 55th anniversary by making a donation to the News today. You’ll be entered in a drawing for an iPad or quilt on Dec. 6. Find out more at thecharlottenews.org/support-the-news.

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I look at the beach as a window to the wonderful scenery we all get to enjoy here. The unoccupied bench in the photo appealed to me as an inviting place for one to enjoy the spectacular view of the lake and Adirondacks and sailboats on a brisk fall day.

—Bill Symmes The Charlotte Land Trust sponsors this series as a valuable way of reminding people of the extent of Charlotte’s natural beauty. We encourage anyone with a photo of Charlotte—it does not necessarily have to be of conserved land—to submit it to info@charlottelandtrust. org with a brief description of where it was taken and why you feel the picture indicates the town’s beauty or is a special place to you.

Contributors are encouraged to think beyond the lake and mountains to the less prominent—yet just as marvelous—areas of Charlotte’s landscape: fields, rocky outcroppings, trees.

The next “Lens on the Land” feature is scheduled for Jan. 30, 2014. Please submit your photo and description by Jan. 20.

The Charlotte News

Join Messiah Sing-Along at Congregational Church

Santa to Stop at CVFRS Dec. 8 Taking a break from preparing gifts for all the good girls and boys, Santa Claus has scheduled a quick trip to Charlotte’s Fire & Rescue station on Sunday, Dec. 8. He’ll leave his sleigh behind and will instead arrive via fire truck at 1 p.m. (though rumor has it his reindeer may show up, too). He’ll be on hand until 3 p.m. The community is invited to join him and the members of the fire department and the rescue squad for refreshments, tours and fun.

Selectboard continued from page 1 reflect an increase of $2,310.

The unified budget has been the subject of many rancorous discussions since July, when its establishment was requested. While late, it appears to fully meet its intended purpose with the combined corporate, fire, rescue and special funds clearly outlined.

CVFRS also presented a list of near- and mid-future projects and capital expenses for consideration.

Jr Lewis, Charlotte’s road commissioner, requested level funding and reported that, in his opinion, “all the roads are in pretty good shape.”

The Recreation Commission also requested level funding, though it intends to ask for about $6,000 to reset the tennis court net posts and fill cracks in the court surface. These funds will come out of the town’s Repair and Improvement Fund. The recreation coordinator asked for an additional three hours a week to manage additional programs.

Revenue from these programs will be sufficient to pay the costs for the increase in hours.

The Charlotte Conservation Commission (CCC) asked for an increase of $800, or 16.7 percent, to pay for a consultant to help run the invasive plant (frogbit) program. In conjunction with the CCC, the Lewis Creek Association (LCA) made its annual request for $600, which represents the town’s membership fees in this

active organization that organizes water quality sampling and invasive plant control programs in the Lewis Creek watershed.

The LCA also came forward with a proposal to begin, with the CCC, an invasive plant management pilot study to control phragmites, the common reed that has begun to spread aggressively in Charlotte.

Discover the magnificence of Handel’s masterpiece, Messiah, as the Charlotte Congregational Church invites the community to herald the holidays with a sing-along performance on Sunday, Dec. 8, beginning at 4 p.m.

This special evening of music is a recital where the audience sings along as the chorus, accompanied by Vermont Symphony Orchestra members and vocalists. (Musical instruction is provided.)

This marks the third year of the sing-along and brings the talents of Jane Kittredge and Russell Wilson on violin, Harold Lieberman on viola, Dieuwke Davydov on cello, Ray Vega and Jim Duncan on trumpet, Jeremy Levine on timpani, Luke Baker on bass and Carl Recchia on continuo.

The vocal soloists include Ellen Bosworth, soprano; Linda Patterson, mezzo; Adam Hall, tenor; and Stephen Falbel, bass. Anne Decker will lead the orchestra, chorus and audience.

Performed throughout the centuries, Messiah is a traditional tribute to the Yuletide season. Come to sing or just to listen and be surrounded by beautiful music.

Tickets are $12 per adult and $40 for a group of four. They can be purchased in advance at the Shelburne Supermarket or at the Charlotte Congregational Church. The church office hours are Monday through Friday, 8–11 a.m. Tickets may be reserved by calling the church at 425-3176. They will also be available for sale at the door.

For more information, contact the Charlotte Congregational Church or visit its website at charlottecongregationalchurch.org.

wednesday workshop:

Holiday Greeting Cards

Charlotte looks for town administrator

In other actions the Selectboard approved the job description for the new position of town administrator.

While the draft job description compelled a lengthy discussion at the Nov. 18 Selectboard meeting, there was little discussion on the matter a week later.

The town administrator’s job duties will consist of developing and managing town budgets, researching and preparing reports for the Selectboard, coordinating the hiring of new employees, reviewing and proposing updates to town policies, and providing administrative support to the Selectboard and its commissions, among other tasks.

Chair Russell posted the document at Town Hall on Nov. 26.

In other business, the Selectboard terminated the lease of Margaret Blatchford, Trustee, and Caroline MacAllister and approved a 20-year lease for David Weinstein and Erin Hanley on Thompson’s Point Lot 11 at 2750 Thompson’s Road.

Create a homemade greeting card in celebration of the season.

1 p.m. and 4 p.m, Dec. 18, Pizzagalli Center for Art and Education.

Pre-registration required.

Call (802) 985-0902. $20; $15 for Members. sponsored by:

www.shelburnemuseum.org

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The Charlotte News

A Tree Warden’s Thanksgiving Larry Hamilton Contributor As Charlotte tree warden what am I especially thankful for? Let me tell you.

One thing that comes quickly to mind is the fact that we do not (yet?) have either the emerald ash borer or the Asian longhorned beetle attacking our trees.

Earlier this month I was called to check on a suspicious ash problem on Common Way, but happily it proved not to be the emerald ash borer causing the tree to die.

So far, so good on this score. Apparently Charlotters and other Vermonters are careful not to bring ash fuel wood or logs in from other states.

I am grateful that Jr Lewis, Charlotte’s road commissioner, is such a thoughtful, cooperative person when it comes to trees in the town right-of-way. These trees grow rapidly and reach toward open areas over the roads and sometimes become hazards in their old age or ill health.

Thanks to Jr, trees are pruned or removed judiciously, when necessary, even though the cutting at the time may be temporarily unsightly.

Another person whose help I appreci-

ate is Deputy Tree Warden Mark Dillenbeck. Mark is a trained forester who now handles the bulk of the consultations at Thompson’s Point, where, because it is a special area, leaseholders are required to have tree warden permission to remove trees. As of this date, I am appointing Sue Smith as a Charlotte tree steward for West Charlotte and Annemie Curlin the same for East Charlotte. They will specialize in planted tree monitoring and invasive plant issues. Thank you Sue and Annemie for all your past volunteer work.

And I am thankful also for the Selectboard’s willingness to provide the supplemental funding I requested this year for maintenance of roadside trees (346 of them) planted under the Rutter Family Charlotte Beautification Project. The board has also approved, for the first time ever, an official tree warden budget in the draft town budget for next fiscal year.

I am thankful that there are so many tree lovers in our town. While trees can be a hazard at times or block views, most Charlotters recognize the many benefits of forests and shade trees, with their particularly strong ecological benefits and metaphysical values that nourish the senses and spirit. Many residents have planted trees (hopefully species native to this region!) on their properties, and we now have 31 new shade trees that have been funded on public land in honor or memory of loved ones. The Charlotte Big Tree and Significant Tree rosters (posted in

Town Hall) document those special specimens admired and protected by landowners. Under a state grant, volunteers were trained as tree keepers to help monitor and care for the roadside trees recently planted through the Rutter Project, and some of them continue to carry on this work. Thank you, volunteers.

I feel so fortunate to live in Charlotte, where community spirit and involvement is alive and well and the natural environment is appreciated and (for the most part) healthy. The landscape provides for a mix of actively worked fields and forests and also leaves room for plant and animal wildlife to make a living as well. I am grateful for the many residents who have made wise decisions about their own land, conserved it from misplaced development and supported a healthy environment—which is a lifeaffirming benefit and joy for all of us.

Thank you.

Charlotte Tree Warden Larry Hamilton “on duty,� preparing to handcuff and arrest any invasive species found trespassing in Charlotte.

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(Left to right) Rotarians George Schiavone of Shelburne and Linda Gilbert of Charlotte, Food Shelf Coordinator Karen Doris and Rotarian Linda Schiavone pose with one of the colorful decorations created by CCS students. In cooperation with the food shelves in Charlotte, Shelburne and Hinesburg and with generous support from Shelburne Supermarket, the Rotary Club provided more than 150 turkeys for local families. In total, the Rotary donated 36 turkeys to the Charlotte Food Shelf.

The Charlotte News

Charlotte Conservation Currents How I Became an iNaturalist A look at how an app, a camera and roadkill can tell us more about Charlotte’s animal species.

Mariana DuBrul Contributor Charlotte: Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to become a thriving community of citizen naturalists by helping to identify and record the plant and animal species that comprise the natural fabric of our town.

We’ll do this by using the website iNaturalist.org. This is a crowd-sourcing nature inventory website where you can peruse observations from all over the world and upload your own. It is fairly easy to sign up and make your own profile. I didn’t see too many instructions as I used the site, but it is pretty intuitive.

You can upload any species— plant or animal, wild or naturalized—that you have observed. You can make the location of the observation public, or you can make it “obscured” or “private” so that only the curators of any research projects you join can view the location. How great is it that your nonprofessional nature photos can find a wide audience rather than being forever relegated to the “My Pictures” folder on your hard-drive.

But what to record and upload?

So far, I uploaded a photo of a great blue heron that spent a couple of days poking around our yard hunting for voles. We enjoyed the novelty of having a yard heron, so I thought I’d share the experience. About 45 minutes after I posted my great blue heron, another iNaturalist user seemed to have checked out my photo and voted that it was indeed a great blue heron. My observation was elevated from “casual” to “research grade.” Yes! My satisfaction with my heron observation was short-lived, though. The great blue heron is ranked a

species of “Least Concern” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. They’re big and beautiful, but how valuable is a great blue heron observation? How could my species logging really contribute to a better understanding of some of Vermont’s pressing natural heritage questions?

This is where it gets fun. Once you’ve created an iNaturalist profile, you can join a project by visiting the “Projects” tab at the top of the page.

Every Charlotter should sign up to join the Vermont Atlas of Life, a project of the Vermont Center for Ecostudies.

Any citizen naturalist can contribute to the Atlas. What an amazing way for you to help write the story of our state’s biodiversity. You can open the Vermont Atlas of Life observation page from iNaturalist and read more about the project there and then click on the “Missions” section. Here is where we learn how our observations Several species of wildlife have been recorded in Charlotte on iNatucan get a little meatier than just the ralist.org, a crowd-sourcing nature-inventory website. next great blue heron you see.

There are five missions, and at least four of them are great ones for CharWell, we missed the oak leaves (though if you’re bold, lotters to work on. The first involves gathering data on the distribution of red oaks in Ver- you could spend the winter going around doing bark and mont. This seems like a great mission for the beginner bud IDs!) and the easy season for invasive identification. naturalist-photographer: the trees won’t run or fly away And the idea of woodland wildflowers in bloom seems when you take their pictures. A diligent push to collect preposterous this time of year. Must we twiddle our digithis data might have to wait for the next leaf season, tal camera thumbs all winter? Goodness, no. Get your snow tires on and go take pictures of roadkill! though.

Seriously.

Last month in this space you read about invasiveRoadkill is one of the Vermont Atlas of Life missions. plant management. Most of the invasive species that land managers tackle are here for Why? You can tell a lot about what animals live where the long haul—they are well-established in by recording what crosses (or attempts to cross) the our landscape, and we can only do our best state’s roads. Case in point: there were two dead opossums about 20 feet apart on the road a couple of miles to hack away at their presence.

But some invasive species present in Ver- from my house recently. Maybe the woods on either side mont have not yet taken over the landscape. of the road there happen to be good opossum habitat.

A second mission of the Vermont Atlas of If there are enough observations over time, patterns of Life is to track early infestations of these spe- species crossing can start to appear, giving us a picture cies. All the details on the targeted species of what animal networks might overlap our usual routes.

But for the data to be robust, there need to be lots for this effort are on the Atlas website.

A mission sure to provide ample oppor- of observations. So, I hope to start seeing some gross, tunity for beautiful picture taking is tracking woodland dead-animal photos with Charlotte locations on iNaturalspring ephemerals. These flowers bloom in the under- ist soon! story of our deciduous forests before the trees leaf out in the spring. The goal of this mission is to track the Conservation Currents is a monthly column penned by appearance of the ephemeral buds, flowers and fruit over members of the Charlotte Conservation Commission. the years in an effort to discern if there are any climate- The views expressed in this column are those of the indirelated shifts in the timing of these plants’ life cycles. So vidual authors and do not necessarily reflect the policies bone up on your flower ID now and find a favorite patch and positions of the commission. of woods so that you are ready to send in your observations in the spring.

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The Charlotte News

Budget continued from page 1 According to Bob Mason, chief operations officer for CSSU, the increase stems from the manner in which CSSU records its allocations. This year CSSU will assess costs to schools based on their use of the program. The mentoring program is different in scope and reach, said Mason, with Williston and Hinesburg having significantly more program breadth, which means they’ll be assessed more.

“What it in essence says is Charlotte in prior years has been getting quite a deal based on that view of how to allocate assessments,” said Mason, “and we’ve brought that into line with this new assessment methodology.”

School Board Chair Kristin Wright— she and Mark McDermott were the only two directors at the meeting, thus falling short of a quorum—said she could anticipate some taxpayers questioning the expenditure, as even the $7,500 the school spent was seen by some as overspending.

Wright asked if the CY programs were something the school should continue to invest in.

“We’ll continue to explore some options next year, but not this particular year,” said Co-Principal Audrey Boutaugh.

She explained the administrators could look at other options for the substanceabuse program as well as a new mentoring model.

Another factor driving the uptick is transportation for special education students. At $11,280, it is over $10,000 more than the budget for last year. A tuition cost line item also jumped precipitously from $1,600 last year to a proposed $13,850, a

$12,250 increase.

According to Mason, both costs are the result of the special education service plan.

“Services needed swing markedly year to year based on particular plans for particular children,” said Mason in an email after the meeting.

CCS’s baseline budget does not call for the addition of any new positions, Mason told the board. However, two kindergarten paraeducators currently employed at CCS would not be in the budget for the next year, as their positions were considered one-year positions, said Co-Principal Greg Marino.

The numbers in the baseline budget are formed from operating assumptions culled together in October and a service plan to meet the school’s obligations for special education. The school will receive further budget numbers in the near future, said Wright.

Despite having only one person in the audience, Wright began the budget forum with a list of priorities that she hoped to receive input about from the community as the board puts together its budget proposal, including focusing on the best possible instruction for students, creating a safe and welcoming facility, providing for the lowest possible property taxes, exploring innovative new programs, and promoting science, technology and math skills.

Wright said the School Board’s central goal in the budget process is to fashion a budget that allows the school to meet its goals and objectives while recognizing that property taxes are a burden for many in the community. She explained that the biggest budget drivers the CCS board has control over are transportation, technology, operations and maintenance, staffing

00 xt 3 bills get $25. off your ne d an 10 ril Ap by up !

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The Winter Fairy As I glance over my shoulder and hear tiny cries for help, I see the perfect snowflake falling to the ground.

But wait, what’s in the snowflake that glistens in the shy sun?

For the voice that I hear is coming from within the snowflake.

As it falls to the ground the voice becomes clearer.

I see a beautiful fairy.

Dressed all in white, her voice like a bell, who says simply, “ Help! For I have fallen to the ground!”

I pick her up carefully, so not to crush her wings.

I see some other fairies flying to greet her with a sling.

Some carry hopeful faces, while some look horribly grim.

They pick up the tiny fairy and carry her away to wherever their path takes them, but here I will have to stay.

Ani Kramer CCS, Grade 6 and local administration. The school has less control over special education, insurance and benefits.

As in previous years, this year’s budget discussions are happening in the face of persistent declining enrollment at CCS, which is expected to shrink from 416 students to about 360 by 2020. This is an issue affecting the entire state of Vermont, which is expected to see a 20-percent decline in enrollment from 1997 to 2020 and which, according to projections from the state, may not reverse until 2025.

This downshift in enrolled students compelled Governor Peter Shumlin to send a letter to school leaders on Nov. 16 asking them to seize this moment to lower costs and ease the burden on property taxes. According to Shumlin, between FY11 and FY 13, the state education tax

base rate increased only minimally.

“However,” he wrote, “forecasts are telling us that spending may well increase 3.8% next year, after rising approximately 5% this year, which will dictate a $0.05 increase in the residential statewide education tax base rate for the second year in a row. This is not a sustainable rate of increase that Vermonters can afford.”

The governor will partner with the Legislature in early January for a symposium on how to address issues created by the state education funding system and to find ways to make it more sustainable and equitable.

The CCS school board welcomes input from the community at meetings or via email at ccsschoolboard@cssu.org. The next budget meeting is Dec. 17 at 6:30 p.m. in the CCS library.

The Charlotte News

News from CVU A Look at StandardsBased Learning Susan Holson Contributor

CVU’s good news Oct. 22, 2013, was the first meet of the year for the CVU Mathletes. They traveled to BFA-St. Albans, where they placed fifth out of the 12 teams there. Participants included Bill Pinney from Charlotte.

As part of EnAct’s good work at CVU, four students joined Katie Antos-Ketcham and Kurt Proulx at an awards luncheon on Nov. 7 with Rep. Peter Welch.

Charlotte student Cally Braun attended on behalf of CVU.

More on standards-based learning Recently we wrote about CVU’s move toward standards-based learning (SBL). While CVU is at the forefront of this work in Vermont high schools, many schools, districts and even states around the country have already transitioned to a standards-based system.

CVU is paying careful attention to the successes and challenges faced in these places and is using this information to tailor a CVU-specific version of SBL to better track student learning, allow for more targeted intervention and achieve clearly specified standards for each student.

Here’s a snapshot of what’s happening around the nation.

Maine: In 2012, after a decade of research and exploration, legislators passed a bill requiring all schools to move to proficiency-based learning and graduation. High school students now graduate based on evidence of proficiency (or excellence) on agreedupon standards rather than on seat-time and credit count.

Last year CVU visited a school in Maine that was at the forefront of this work. Students, teachers and parents offered valuable insight about aspects of the system the CVU team loved and those that were unlikely to be good fits for our community.

New Hampshire: Many high schools in New Hampshire have moved to competency or standardsbased models, but two that have been watched closely

are Sanborn High School and Spaulding High School.

The state conducted detailed studies on the effects of SBL on learning and community in these schools and found decreases in discipline issues, increased engagement, decreased failure and dropout rates and increased rigor.

CVU will be visiting Sanborn High School in December to look closely at report cards and transcripts, talk to teachers and students and meet with special education department members.

Kentucky: The state has been a leader in standardsbased report cards. Its schools have gone to a statewide common reporting format, which builds consistency and provides much more calibrated information for colleges and universities. CVU has an exploratory report card committee working on creating options for faculty and community. The Kentucky model has been helpful in this process.

Oregon: Starting in the fall of 2013 all students in Oregon are supposed to receive grades based solely on academic factors. In order to support and encourage the move to standards-based learning, the Oregon legislature passed a bill in 2011 requiring the change. Teachers and districts are now figuring out how to define “academic factors” and how to separate behaviors from achievement. There are many similarities between Vermont and Oregon, and CVU will be paying close attention to what can be learned from the state.

Other states: Colorado and Alaska are also ahead of Vermont in the move toward standards-based systems.

Districts within both states have taken fairly radical approaches, some completely getting rid of traditional seattime requirements and basing graduation only on proficiency. This means some students are ready to graduate at 16 and others at 21. Obviously there have been many challenges to such extreme changes, but in each case learning has improved. While CVU is not interested in making that type of move in the near future, there’s a lot that can be learned from looking at the extremes.

Vermont: Elementary schools around the state have been providing standardsbased information to parents for decades, but until recently that level of information has often stopped when students reach middle or high school, to be replaced by a single letter grade based on a variety of factors. SBL at CVU will bring meaning and consistency to grading and report-

Kitchens Additions Restoration

ing; more important, it will help improve learning for all students. Educational and brain research support a move away from traditional grading and time-based learning. While there is controversy at times around implementation and the difficulty of changing from a known system, mounting evidence indicates that this approach is right for student learning. Most colleges and universities are moving in the same direction, and we are working very closely with admissions officers to ensure a smooth transition.

Standards-based learning requires care and attention to students’ achievement. CVU is excited to continue to apply what is known about learning to how our community’s students are educated.

Stay tuned for more information and opportunities for feedback.

For a list of references used in the preparation of this article, please contact one of the members of the CVU School Board Communications Committee.

Charlotte representatiVes to the CVU sChool board: Lorna Jimerson: 425-2497 Marilyn Richardson: 425-2391

Voice

continued from page 1

Cole took her first big step toward becoming a working musician by joining the Vermont National Guard and its 40th Army Band during her sophomore year at UVM, where she was working toward a degree in music and performing with the orchestra, jazz band, Vermont Wind Ensemble and Trombone Choir.

Joining the National Guard was instrumental in realizing her dream of being a professional musician—it provided her with the financial support to continue her studies at the Boston Conservatory of Music, where she earned a masters degree in trombone performance in 2010.

With the National Guard she was able to play consistently—and in places that she never would have otherwise. As a member of the 215th Army Band’s Voices of Freedom, a vocal quintet, Cole has performed the national anthem for the Patriots, the Bruins, the Red Sox and the Celtics—the group was also called upon to sing the anthem in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings in April.

“In a literal sense it’s got me where I want to go,” said Cole of performing with the Guard. “I can say with certainty that the Patriots would never call me to play the anthem—ever—if I wasn’t in the Guard,” she added, laughing.

Through her musical education and constant gigging—she’s been in a funk band, played in pit orchestras, joined a Chicago tribute band, a country-blues band and an Italian-American marching band—Cole has begun to find her own distinct voice as a musician, something that isn’t always encouraged in the orchestral world she longed to join as a child.

As Cole explains it, the audition process for orchestras can be brutal, so many musicians try to find a sound that pleases others. But this makes them “musical machines”—performers who take on a generic musical voice to get gigs, she

Caroline Cole plays her instrument of choice, the trombone. She graduated with a masters degree in trombone performance from the Boston Conservatory.

said. Cole found this part of vying for orchestral jobs so frustrating she has taken a break from auditioning.

“I’d rather play like me than play like what I think other people want,” she said. “What makes people interesting is they sound like themselves—they have a voice when they play.”

As she searched for new musical opportunities, Cole found a unique place to express her musical voice.

Last year, she joined a military funeral band with the 54th Honor Guard in Massachusetts. Her interest extended beyond the chance to have a full-time job playing music. She was disheartened to hear that, because there weren’t enough trumpet players in the state to play military funerals, many veterans were hearing the traditional “Taps” played on an MP3 player placed in a fake bugle rather than by a representative of the armed forces.

Despite the fear that playing trumpet would interfere with her trombone embouchure, Cole learned “Taps” on

trumpet and began performing at military funerals last October. To date, she's played at 274 funerals.

She describes these solemn occasions as nerve-wracking in ways performing normally isn’t. Her playing calls for a level of precision and care—not to mention stamina—that goes beyond a typical concert.

“You can’t move at all,” she said.

“And, no matter what the temperature is or the weather, you have to pick up the trumpet when it’s time and play the song as close to perfect as possible.”

Despite this, her rendition of “Taps” at military funerals often takes on a personal, spiritual dimension. Cole says sometimes she feels like she’s a vessel, a voice, for the deceased.

“I feel like I’m playing from a place beyond myself in a way that I don’t playing trombone because it’s an ode to this person who is deceased,” she said. “There are plenty of times where I play and I feel I’m not really playing it.

Sometimes I’m like ‘How did I do that?

I’m not that good of a trumpet player.’”

This feeling in part extends from the fact she performs with her grandfather’s trumpet. Stricken with polio, Al Cole wasn’t able to enlist in World War II, which made him feel disconnected from his generation. He learned to play the trumpet after a doctor told him it would help his lungs develop. He later formed Al Cole’s Orchestra, a big band jazz ensemble that played on the Ticonderoga.

“By playing his trumpet I sort of feel it’s almost like him playing instead of me,” said Cole. “I’m serving in a way he never had the opportunity to.”

Her time with the 54th has also given Cole the chance to connect with another relative, her great grandfather Lyman Reasoner, a World War I veteran who passed away the day before his granddaughter, Caroline’s mother, Jenny, was born.

Recently, Cole volunteered to play “Taps” at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., for the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s funeral.

Standing next to her great-grandfather’s grave, playing on her grandfather’s trumpet, Cole felt the cemetery come alive as military musicians across the hallowed grounds began playing “Taps,” each one seeming to stagger from the next, creating a solemn echo.

“When I finished I put the trumpet down and saluted and then I could still hear taps,” she said. “It was almost like the place was coming alive, like all the echoes of ‘Taps’ that have been played there over the years.”

Soon after, Cole went back to the motley, multi-faceted life of a freelancer, performing one night with a New Hampshire orchestra and the next with a country rhythm and blues band in a bar where patrons throw peanuts on the floor. It’s the life of a dedicated working performer, and, as long as she can find ways to keep playing trombone, she’ll keep going.

“I’ve always made a good bit of money on it,” she said of performing. “It’s all I really want to do.”

35th Annual Christmas Party at the Charlotte Museum Sunday, December 8 1–4 pm at the Museum 215 Museum Rd, Charlotte Everyone welcome, refreshments served

s r e t a e w l S l a for sions a occ

EILEEN FISHER

The Charlotte News

Food Shelf News

Also, we need gas and grocery gift cards to be included in the holiday baskets for the adults. Thank you.

volunteers needed On Friday, Dec. 13, beginning about 8 a.m., we will put together about 30 Christmas/holiday baskets for our neighbors in need. Please join us. We need many hands.

Welcome to our new volunteers, Liz Anderson and Pat Farr. Both will be helping with Wednesday evening distributions.

WisH list

by Kerrie Pughe

Holiday giving What do you get those people who have everything? What about a donation in their names to the Charlotte Food Shelf?

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

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

& toy boxes

The Giving Trees at Charlotte Congregational Church and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel will be available beginning the weekend of Nov. 30. Pick an ornament— it will tell you what is on the wish list for a child in need in our community. We need the unwrapped gifts turned in by the following Sunday, Dec. 7. Thank you in advance for your time and generosity.

You may also drop off new, unwrapped toys in our toy-drop locations at CCS, the Charlotte Library, Charlotte Senior Center, Charlotte Congregational Church, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and the Little Garden Market. Toys need to be dropped in the boxes by Thursday, Dec. 12.

We are collecting food items for the holiday baskets. Specifically, we need pie crust mix, roll mix, stuffing, canned vegetables, pie fixings (such as sweetened or condensed milk and canned pie filling), candy, coffee, crackers, olives, mayonnaise, fruit juice, cranberry sauce, aluminum foil, festive napkins, turkey gravy, sugar and soups (especially cream-based and mushroom soups). These items can be placed in our drop-off locations noted below. Thank you!

CHristmas Cards Have you received too many unsolicited holiday greeting card packets from charities? Or maybe you have holiday greeting cards you don’t plan to use? We could use them at the Food Shelf for our neighbors who might not otherwise be able to send holiday greeting cards to family and friends. If you would like to put stamps on the envelopes, that would be wonderful. The cards can be dropped off at any food shelf donation location listed below.

Thank you to all who have donated cards so far. We were able to include some packets in the Thanksgiving baskets.

tHank you Thank you to the wonderful volunteers for all the help putting together the Thanksgiving food baskets. Thirty-four Charlotte families picked up boxes full of Thanksgiving meal fixings, including turkeys.

Thank you to the Charlotte/Shelburne Rotary for the generous donation of the

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turkeys and to Rotarians George and Linda Schiavone for coordinating the turkey procurement for several neighboring community food shelves.

Thank you to the following for all the help with the baskets: John Lavigne, Bill Doris, Maj Eisinger, Nancy Bloch, Peggy Sharpe, Janet Landrigan, Karen Doris, Anne Molle, Ken Oboz, Susan Hall, Jeri Bergdahl, Lisa Sturtevant, Linda Gilbert, Marilyn Holmberg, Sharon Weaver, Josie Kaestner, Scout leaders Seth Zimmerman and Chris Morse, Thomas Robinson, Sam Zimmerman, Tarr Lausky, Calvin and Liam Morse, Andrew Gay, Ross Wheeler, Louise McCarren, Liz Paulsen, Diane Cote, Anne Molle (front) was one of many volunSusan Nostrand, Heather and Kara teers who put together Thanksgiving basKarshagen, Liz Anderson, Cindi Rob- kets for the Food Shelf at the Charlotte inson, Nancy Barnes, Janet Schwarz, Congregational Church on Nov. 22. A total Conner Gorman, Pat Far, Joan Braun of 34 families picked up the baskets. and Gayle Gardner.

We also appreciate the Thanksgiving boxes made by the K-5th grades at dropped off at the Food Shelf by 7:30 CCS and the baskets donated by the Char- a.m. on the distribution mornings (see lotte Grange and the Charlotte Children’s Ongoing Events calendar).

Center.

The Charlotte Food Shelf is located on Thank you to the following for sup- the lower level of the Charlotte Congreport this month: Elizabeth Bassett and gational Church vestry. We are open for John Pane, Nancy Wood, Deborah Cook, food distribution from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m.

Aileen Kraus, Maj Eisinger and John on Thursday, December 5 and 19, as well Searles, Evan and Catherine Metropou- as from 5 to 7 p.m. on the Wednesday los, Louise McCarren (in honor of her before each distribution morning. sister Mollie Moroney’s birthday) and Christmas/holiday baskets will be disDonna and Remo Pizzagalli (in memory tributed Saturday, Dec. 14, at 8:30 a.m. of Fr. John Welsh of Shelburne).

We are open to all community residents.

Privacy is very important and respected.

Donated food drop-off locations: All For emergency food call John at 425nonperishable food donations may be 3130. For emergency assistance (electricdropped off at the Charlotte Library, the ity, fuel) call Karen at 425-3252. For more Charlotte Congregational Church vestry, information call Karen at 425-3252 or Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church (main visit our website at https://sites.google. entrance) or at the Food Shelf during the com/site/charlottefoodshelfvt/. distribution mornings.

We request that all fresh foods be

OutTakes Commentary

by Edd Merritt

Soccer, the Next Corporate Power in Vermont?

C-E-L-T-I-C Celtic I see Celtic on the ball Each man ready, true and steady They will stand where all the others fall “Celtic on the Ball” Oh, I was born under a union jack As it is my nation and Ulster is my home –“Born Under a Union Jack,” Rangers

As I’ve said in previous OutTakes, there are moves emanating from our nation’s capital that lead me to believe that secession may be an advisable step for Vermont and any other states that would care to join us. Some recent reading has, however, helped me recognize an element in that step that cannot be forgotten or taken lightly.

That element is soccer.

In Europe and parts of Africa and the Mideast, soccer and politics walk hand in hand. Whether the political hand is connected to a democratic body or to a dictatorship seems immaterial. The soccer pitch is the mirror reflecting the

ruling power’s glory, and the players to patrol border crossings for deer huntand fans had better follow suit or their ers, he can be seen demonstrating his lives may be shortened by a shovel to own taste for our late fall colors as they the back of the skull. shift from the greens of summer to reds Since Vermont high schools are cur- and browns of autumn, causing him to rently between fall and winter sports don a florescent yellow top and bright seasons, and since I have little time for orange baseball cap for his own forays the phony show business that passes into the woods. for professionHmm. I wonder al sports these what might hapdays, as a sport pen if deer huntjunky I simply ing in northern What might happen if cannot linger New England foluntil Cairns lowed the pattern deer hunting in northern Arena and of soccer playing the CVU gym New England followed the in Northern Irebrighten their land or the Celtic/ Friday night Ranger divide in pattern of soccer playing lights again.

Glasgow, ScotSo, I picked up land. If you wear in Northern Ireland? a book I started the wrong colors to read several in the woods, you years ago called can be dead meat How Soccer Explains the World, by long before the buck has passed. If you Franklin Foer (Harper Perennial). wear the wrong colors to the soccer Nearly ten years old now, it still holds stadium, you are subject to hooligan a sense of immediacy. In this morning’s venom.

New York Times, for example, there According to Foer, examples of the was a lengthy article in the sports sec- religious rivalries that continue in modtion about a journeyman French player ern-day Scotland, symbolized by the who has been on the roster of a team in Catholic Celtic and Protestant Ranger Qatar for the last three years and whose soccer teams, can be traced back to at passport had been confiscated and who least the 16th century. Soccer had yet to claimed he had not been paid for two appear in the picture, but as Foer notes, years over a dispute emanating from his the “Protestant reformation had sunk its transfer to another team. Politics, not talons into Scotland with greater ferocsoccer, seems to be the basis of the dis- ity than anywhere else in Europe.” pute. According to the article, “With no It took nearly 200 years before the salary and no freedom to find another apartheid that diminished Scottish job or leave Qatar, Belounis [the player] Catholicism was broken in 1888 by a and his family survived on money sent Marist monk who started his commufrom relatives in France as well as the nity’s own soccer club, called Celtic. expatriate community in Qatar.”

Soon the Celtic versus Ranger rivalry While our good governor is not likely became known as the “Old Firm.” The

monk, Brother Walfrid, felt Catholic youths' leisure time needed to be filled by their church’s institutions or else Protestant organizations would claim the crop. Walfrid also hoped that a set of winning Catholic athletes on a football club would help wipe away the sense of his congregation’s inferiority.

It worked so well that Protestant Scotland could not let it pass unheeded. The Old Firm added a bi-cultural rivalry to its moniker, which had not been as intense before then. It also set the stage for some violence that the perpetrators could blame on sport and not political or religious passion.

I strongly sense that if Vermont took on nationhood, in a similar way we citizens might be required to choose corporate allegiance depending upon the insignia on the company hat. That is why soccer with a capital “S” is so important if the Independent Republic of Vermont is to succeed surrounded

by Red Sox Nation and the Empire of Yankeedom. Our heroes of yesteryear—Martin St. Louis, Tim Thomas, Aaron Miller, Patrick Sharp—all fled Chittenden County to ply their athletic trades elsewhere.

However, if Vermont chose to send its soccer team into battle, it may begin, as many major soccer powers have, by recruiting close to home until it reached a point at which power and globalization needed each other’s support. CVU High School, so long revered as “Soccer Central,” may then become the home of the Vermont Brotherhood of Corner Kickers, Midfield Manor, Defenders of Freedom or Green Fried Goal Tenders.

Save your hats. The Crusaders will rise again!

Morse’s Doodles & Jots You can tell the size of a lie by its popularity.

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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Charlotte Senior Center

The Café Menu

by Mary Recchia, Activities Coordinator

Our December art exhibit will feature works by Alan Lambert (not Lampson as appeared in the winter program).

Alan has been making photographic images for over 50 years. He is primarily a landscape and wildlife photographer, but anything that catches his eye could wind up matted and framed.

Alan’s work has been published in Vermont Life magazine and also by the Mount Washington Observatory.

–––– Come enjoy a classic holiday film on the big screen in the Great Room on Tuesdays from 1:30–3:30 p.m. On Dec. 10 we’ll watch Elf, and on Dec. 17. The Polar Express. Registration required.

No fee.

–––– Do you enjoy eating breakfast out in the company of friends? If so, and if you are willing to share in the preparation of the meal and related housekeeping duties, then the men’s breakfast may be for you. There are opportunities to practice your skills and to learn from others and plenty of time for sharing conversation in the morning on Dec. 12 from 7:30–9:00 a.m. Registration required. Suggested donation: $5.

–––– The center is pleased to host the American Red Cross blood drive for this much-needed community event on Thursday, Dec. 12, from 2–7 p.m.

The comfortable atmosphere and great snacks make giving the “Gift of Life” at this site most pleasurable.

–––– A winter centerpiece workshop with Charlotte Albers will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 17, from 10–11:30 a.m.

Celebrate the season by making a fresh arrangement for your holiday table using aromatic greens and cuttings, including wine-red dogwood stems, yellow dogwood, winterberry, evergreen holly, rhododendron and fragrant boxwood.

Bring a container of your choice that holds water, as well as a pair of pruners and an apron or smock.

Feel free to bring something from your own garden to use or contribute.

Charlotte will bring in cuttings from her gardens and demonstrate techniques as well as provide information about

MONDAY, DEC. 9: Beet-lettuce medley, chicken surprise, Christmas cookies WEDNESDAY, DEC. 11: Reuben sandwiches, cottage cheese with olives, panettone bread pudding MONDAY, DEC. 16: Butternut squash/ cranberry soup, spring mix salad, garlic bread/baguette, Christmas cookies WEDNESDAY, DEC. 18: Tourtiere (meat pie), pineapple salsa, tossed salad, white chocolate cranberry bars

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.

The CVU Madrigal Singers entertain revelers at the Senior Center. The group will be back again Dec. 18.

favorite plants to consider for winter interest when designing beds and borders. Registration required. Minimum: five. Fee: $20.

Events following the Wednesday luncheon. Those who do not share lunch with us are welcome to drop in around 1 p.m. to enjoy the following after-lunch offerings: Dec. 11: A cello choir for the holidays with Judy Chaves. You will delight in the three-part harmonies of this small cello choir as they play an assortment of traditional holiday carols—some dating back to early England— as well as French, Catalan and southern Appalachian carols. And there’ll definitely be at least one singalong to “Jingle Bells.”

Dec. 18: CVU Madrigral Singers.

The CVU Madrigal Singers bring a repertoire filled with the joys of the season to one of their favorite venues and welcome the opportunity to be among

New reason to smile:

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friends, sharing the gift of song. Come witness the fruits of the group’s fall labors and join them for a few seasonal sing-along tunes as we raise the Great Room roof even higher, together.

Red Cross Blood Drive Dec. 12 This holiday season, give the gift of life with a donation of blood to the American Red Cross.

The Charlotte Senior Center will host a blood drive on Thursday, Dec. 12, from 2–7 p.m. All presenting donors will receive a buy-one-getone-free ski pass voucher for Jay Peak Resort.

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always got a few select titles to share with fellow book lovers, and we are always eager to hear about titles we may have missed.

This year we hope to create a “Charlotte Best Books” list and we need your help. Please tell us about your favorite children, adult, fiction or nonfiction books of 2013. You can use our contact form on the Charlotte Library website (charlottepubliclibrary.org), email us (charlottelibraryvt@gmail.com) or drop in to let us know your top choices and recommendations.

The compilation will appear on our website and here in the Charlotte News just in time for the new year.

by Margaret Woodruff

Charlotte library best books of 2013 Here at the library we welcome the opportunity to catch up on reading and look over the “Best Book” lists that appear at this time of year. We’ve

Have a book lover on your gift list?

Why not include a brand new Charlotte Library T-shirt in a stocking or fill a Charlotte Library tote bag with favorite books? T-shirts and totes with our new logo are available for purchase at the library circulation desk or at Spear’s Corner Store for $12 each or $22 for two of any combination. Proceeds from the sales will help fund a library book dropbox in East Charlotte.

UpComing at the library Mitten Tree Day, Friday, Dec. 6: Join us for “mitten” cookies and cocoa as we start the mitten tree season. You can pick up a pattern while you’re here!

Library Mitten Tree: This will be our third Mitten Tree season. Help us fill our “tree” with mittens, hats, scarves and other warm accessories for the winter months to come. We donate the items to help our neighbors in need around the community. If you’d like to knit mittens or a hat, drop by the library for a look at our knitting how-to books and magazines.

Winter accessories can be dropped off at the library during open hours from Dec. 6 through Dec. 31.

Afterschool programs: holiday gift making. A season of gift giving and great stories awaits us. Make it easier by creating a few of those treasures and listen to some winter stories at the library.

Wednesday, Dec. 11 3:15–4:15 p.m.: Kindergarten-2nd grade Wednesday, Dec. 18 3:15 to 4:15 p.m.: 3rd grade and up

Library Board meeting, Thursday, Dec. 19, 5:30 p.m. Board members: Bonnie Christie (chair), Vince Crockenberg (treasurer), Emily Ferris (vicechair), Dorrice Hammer, (secretary) and Bonnie Ayer (member-at-large)

Winter holiday sChedUle The Charlotte Library will be closed Dec. 24 and 25 and Dec. 31.

Library 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 Library will be closed Dec. 24 and 25 and Dec. 31.

Swap your old incandescent bulbs for CFLs and use 75% less energy.

Visit your local retailer or www.efficiencyvermont.com/stores Find a retailer:

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The Charlotte News

SPORTS

SportsShorts

by Edd Merritt

TJ Mead calls it a 'game' as Redhawk soccer coach From player in the late 90s to coach for the last eight seasons, CVU soccer’s TJ Mead announced at the team’s recent banquet that he would be stepping down immediately. He will maintain his teaching post at CVU, but he wants to devote more time to his young son and daughter. Mead’s record is impressive since taking over the team from Dan Shepardson in 2006. He shows 115 wins, 15 losses, six ties and four Division I titles with two runner-up berths. TJ graduated from the University of Vermont, where he was a member of the Catamount soccer squad.

by Edd Merritt

Speaking of soccer, how about the all-stars?

It may be a bit presumptuous to say that, without Charlotte, the CVU women’s soccer team may have had a tougher time winning the state championship.

On the other hand, when one looks at the state all- Stiles Alpeter (left) of Charlotte and Jacob Lloyd stars, Haliana Burhans and Mackenzie Kingston of Colchester, UK, are Proctor Academy's New immediately stand out, along with their teammates Englad all stars.

Paige DuBrul and Kaelyn Kohlasch, giving the linebacker Jason Cora, both from Charlotte, along statewide lineup a definite Redhawk hue. With with senior defensive back Alex Bulla, were named midfielder Emma Davitt and Charlotte goalkeeper first-team all-stars by the Burlington Free Press.

Maddie Turnau on the second all-star team plus Halvorson anchored the offensive line for three Audrey Morehouse as honorable mention, CVU years, while Cora spearheaded a defense that limited placed seven players in the top three categories in opponents to less than 10 points in six games. Bulla Vermont. The coaches seem to agree with the Free made 86 tackles over the course of the season, Press sports writers, adding Burhans as the top six of them for losses. Pierce Farrington received offensive player in the conference and Kohlasch the second-team honors as a defensive lineman. The top defensive player. coaches added tight end Lucas Aube to their first On the men’s side of the ledger, the state runnersteam and Steele DuBrul as a quarterback on their up from CVU had defenseman Zack Evans and second. They placed lineman Brandon Murakami midfielder Joe Castano on the Free Press first and place-kicker Max Whitcomb on the all-state team, with Charlotte goaltender Brandon O’Connell second team. The coaches also recognized linebacker mentioned honorably. The coaches bumped Matt Goldsborough and lineman Nick Fecteau.

O’Connell up to their top roster for both all-state and metro division squads and added Charlotte’s Tucker Shelly and his teammate Richard Baccei to Redhawk runner Eastman headed for nationals Cross-country runner Autumn Eastman will be the second-team metro. in Portland, Ore., on Dec. 7 for the Nike Cross Charlotte solidifies offense and defense for state Country National race. She qualified by finishing third in the Nike-sponsored Northeast Regional all-star football team race last Saturday in Wappingers Falls, N.Y. Senior offensive lineman Tim Halvorson and

Two Charlotte women carry Middlebury College to the soccer final four Tri-captain Lindsay Kingston, a senior defensive back, and freshman midfield Kate Raszka, both CVU graduates, will be playing against Trinity College of Texas in the final four of the NCAA Division III soccer championships on Dec. 6. The Panthers, ranked 13th in the country with a record of 17 wins, 1 loss and 3 ties, defeated Johns Hopkins 1-0 in a quarterfinal match played in brutal weather last week at Middlebury.

Hopkins was ranked sixth in the country, having won 21, lost 2 and tied 1. The winning score came with just 17 seconds left in the game. Kingston was quoted in the Free Press, saying that their “goal is to be a nationally competitive team and we’re doing it . . .”

Stiles Alpeter named a New England Prep all-star in soccer Charlotte’s Stiles Alpeter, a junior at Proctor Academy in Andover, N.H., earned placement on the New England All-Stars selected by the New England Prep School Soccer Association. A defenseman with exceptional speed, Alpeter has been crucial to the team’s success over the past two seasons and served as a captain of this year’s squad. Stiles played well in the recent East/West all-star game, which ended in a 1-1 tie.

Andrew Blake leads Skidmore soccer A senior from Charlotte, Andrew Blake led the Skidmore College soccer team into its first Liberty League championship game in the last seven years. Blake was named honorable mention as an all-league player and was selected for the allacademic team for the second year in a row. He also has earned selection into the prestigious Thoroughbred Society for the past two years, a group at the college that honors student athletes.

Machavern signs on for the 2014 racing season.

Mitchum Motorsports has inked Dillon Machavern to drive in the Street Tuner Class of the IMSA Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge for 2014. Dillon says that he is excited about making his full-time pro-racing debut through this opportunity. He recently ran to a top-ten finish at Road America in Wisconsin, followed by an overall win at Virginia International Raceway, the first driving a BMW, the second an Aston Martin.

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Congregational Church Offers Hour of Sanctuary Jed Pauls Contributor Christmas is a very busy time. In fact, it can be downright crazy-making. For many, December has come to mean a month of frantic trips to the mall and back-to-back travel plans. Hours are lost to online shopping in front of computer screens. Will you click “check out now” so many times that you’ll end up memorizing your credit card numbers (and the security codes...)?

Every year there is a drive to spend more: more money and more time, but mostly more money. This year “Black Friday” crept a day earlier and became “Black Thanksgiving,” casting a dark cloud of materialism over our traditional time of gratitude and family.

In this drive to consume, we are bombarded with messages that reinforce the faulty notion that we can purchase the “perfect” gift— another object that will ease the pressures or

salve the distractions of the recipient. Is this really how we want the holidays to feel?

The celebration of Christ’s birth is a high holy day for Christians, and Advent is a sacred time of preparation. But both can be suffocated by the clutter, noise and pace of the American version of the holiday. This condition we relive each winter can be a burdensome and depressing contrast to the expectation of renewal and celebration we await in the coming Christ child.

As an alternative to this tide of demand, the Charlotte Congregational Church will be offering a very special gift this holiday season: a warm, peaceful, candlelit space for silent prayer and contemplation. It will be a time for us to be present to expectation but not beholden to expectations.

All it takes is a few minutes in a quiet sacred place to change our perspective, to slow down our heart rates and to remind us of God’s presence among us. Please come to these hours of sanctuary for as little or as long as you like.

Leading up to Christmas day, the space will be held every Monday night from 7:30–8:30 and every Wednesday morning from 5:30 –6:30.

Please call 425-3167 for more information.

OutDoors

by Elizabeth Bassett

Gifts of the Out-Doors The best things in life are not things.

As the holidays roll around and pass, some will scratch their heads for gift ideas. Consider gifts of experience—specifically, outdoor experiences.

Skating If you’re still straining your ankles in mother’s hand-me-downs,

you may be surprised to learn that ice skates have changed. New models are warmer and offer more support. Consider new and used skates a passport to winter.

Cairns Arena, a two-rink complex in South Burlington, offers public skating. Punch cards for ten sessions are $30 for adults and $20 for students, ages 6-17. Seniors 62 and older and skaters five years and younger skate for only $1. Cairns rents skates for $3. More information, including schedules, at cairnsarena.com.

Leddy Arena in Burlington offers skating programs for all ages, from preschoolers through adult. School vacation skating camps, theme skate nights and a year-end ice show dot the schedule. For more information call Leddy Arena at 865-7558 or enjoyburlington.com/LeddyPark/ SkatingPrograms.

While there is certainty in indoor rinks, the joy of gliding over a lake or river on sunny days knows few equals. Nordic skating, a bit like cross-country skiing on ice, is a

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The Charlotte News growing sport. Nordic skating requires vast expanses of ice (unlike pond skating). For current ice conditions and everything you need to know (especially safety and equipment) go to groups.yahoo.com/ group/VTNordicSkating.

Curling Green Mountain Curling Club, a nonprofit group of curlers and fans, promotes the sport and prepares curlers for competitions.

The club schedules a monthly Learn to Curl clinic for $35. All equipment is provided, and beginners learn to throw and sweep the stone. The clinic ends with a mini-game.

The venue for the 2013-14 season is the Bedford Curling Club in Bedford, Quebec, ten minutes from the I-89 border crossing. More information is at greenmountaincurlingclub. org.

Skiing Nordic (cross-country) and alpine (downhill) day tickets or season passes make great gifts. Alpine tickets are pricey, so be on the lookout for supermarket purchases, Vermonter days and cards that afford discounts on day tickets (Sugar Cards, Bash Badges).

Nordic season passes start at $60 at Middlebury College’s Rikert Ski Touring Center, $160 at Bolton, $165 at Sleepy

Hollow (or ten-visit punch card at $115), and $200 at Trapp’s. The best deals for ski passes of all types may be in the spring.

Here are a few more ideas for the cross-country skiers in your life: Women’s cross-country ski clinic.

Now this is a gift I would love to receive.

Check out the New England Women’s XC Ski Day on Feb. 9, 2014, in Bethel, Maine.

Outstanding instructors teach cross-country ski clinics at every level for both classic and skating. Vendors will have equipment to demo and clothes to buy, and there will be a wax demonstration.

It’s a great excuse for a group of friends to ski and enjoy special rates at the Bethel Inn Ski Resort with its groomed ski trails, heated outdoor pool, sauna, health club with spa services, and yoga. This event sells out early. Find more info at nensa.net/women.

Hiking Catamount Trail Association membership. The Catamount Trail Association is the nonprofit guardian of Vermont’s long-distance cross-country ski trail that extends the length of the state.

Members receive discount coupons for retailers, both alpine and cross-country day tickets (you can easily recoup your membership cost) and mountain bike venues. More info at catamounttrail.org.

Green Mountain Club membership. Hikers in Vermont know the Green Mountain Club, the nonprofit steward of the Long Trail. Membership is a yearround gateway to the outdoors; GMC offers classes and clinics, and its volunteers organize hikes year-round. Other tangible benefits include notification of hikes, member rates for GMC workshops (learn winter hiking or how to be safe in the woods) and discounts at some inns and outdoors stores.

The GMC’s Young Adventurers Club features monthly outings in the Burlington area for parents and their children, from infancy to age five, from 9 to 11 a.m. on the first Saturday of each month.

The focus is on families getting outdoors, not on going far or fast. More information about all Green Mountain Club activities is at greenmountainclub.org.

SnowSHoeing When there’s almost no snow or a fresh dump that’s too deep to navigate on skis, snowshoes are a salvation. Shoe from your back door or on many of the preserved open lands in Charlotte.

Snowshoes are available in many shapes and sizes and can last for decades (mine have). Variables include bindings, materials, size and crampons. The most basic plastic models for kids start at $30, and new adult snowshoes can be found for

about $100. Look for used ones at swaps.

walking Two regional walking books are good investments in year-round outdoor activity: the Green Mountain Club’s The Walker’s Guide to Vermont ($14.95) and Nature Walks in Northwest Vermont and the Champlain Valley ($16.95), by this writer. Each serves a different purpose and has a place on my bookshelf.

The Walker’s Guide is a statewide, encyclopedic listing of 131 walks compiled by Green Mountain Club volunteers. Each listing includes driving and walking directions and a short description. A handful of walks have maps.

Nature Walks details natural and human history on 42 family-friendly outings, all within about an hour of Burlington. Each walk has driving and walking directions, a lengthy description, map and photos.

One or both are available at Flying Pig Books, Common Deer and Shelburne Farms in Shelburne, Brown Dog Books and Gifts in Hinesburg, and the Little Garden Market and the Old Brick Store in Charlotte.

Go shopping if you must, but get outdoors too!

Elizabeth Bassett is the author of Nature Walks in Northwest Vermont and the Champlain Valley, available at area businesses.

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Places To Go & Things To Do THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5 Planning Commission Meeting, 7 p.m., Town Hall.

Warren Miller’s Ticket to Ride, 7 p.m., Middlebury.

The Town Hall Theater will screen Ticket to Ride, a ski movie that features excursions by world-class skiers to Kazakhstan, Greenland, Iceland’s Troll Peninsula, the Alaskan Tordrillos and Montana’s Big Sky country. Everyone attending will receive a voucher for a free day of skiing at both Sugarbush Resorts and Smugglers Notch. Cash bar, vendors, prizes. Tickets: $18. Doors: 7 p.m.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6 Charlotte News Holiday Party and Raffle, 5 p.m., Ferry Road. Come celebrate the holiday season with the News staff. Free food and drink, drawings for iPad and beautiful antique quilt. For more info, see front page.

Lake Champlain Waldorf School Evening Artisan Market and Creperie, 6:30–9 p.m., Shelburne. Kick off 29th Annual Holiday Fair with Artisan Market for adults and older teens. Find holiday gifts from over 60 artisans, and enjoy crepes, savory treats and live music. Event continues Saturday from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. with huge artisan market, holiday singing, children’s craft making, storytelling, magical activities, games, African drumming, jumprope making, face painting, homemade bistro food and more. More info: lakechamplainwaldorfschool.org.

First Friday Art Walk, 5–8 p.m., Burlington. An excellent time to shop for gifts of art at the over 40 venues staying open late to welcome art walkers in Burlington, including holiday shops at Frog Hollow, the South End Holiday sHOP, and the Pop-up Art Market at Burlington Town Center. More info: artmapburlington.com.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7 13th Annual Holiday Craft Fair, 9 a.m.–3:30 p.m., Vergennes. The VUES After School Enrichment Program will host annual craft fair at Vergennes Union Elementary School, 43 East St. Cost of admission is a donation to the Vergennes Food Shelf. $60+ vendors.

Christmas Bazaar and Luncheon, 9 a.m.–2 p.m., Shelburne United Methodist Church. Annual sale will feature handcrafted merchandise for sale from local craftspeople: quilts, lotions and soaps, hand towels, jewelry, pottery, redneck ornaments, and much, much more. Begin shopping with coffee and donuts, then a luncheon of soup, sandwich’s and drinks starting at 11 am. More info: BettyJean Bogue, 9853981.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 8 Handel’s Messiah, 4 p.m., Charlotte Congregational Church. See story on page 5.

Charlotte Museum's 35th Annual Christmas Party, 1–4 p.m. Free and open to the public, refreshments served.

Quinlan Holiday Open Schoolhouse, 1–3 p.m., Town Green.

Santa Visits CVFRS, 1–3 p.m., Fire Station. See story on page 5.

“Unto Us A Child,” The Vermont Choral Union, 3 p.m., Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Episcopal, Burlington. The Choral Union’s 40 singers tell of light that shines in the darkness and of a child to be born of a virgin mother. The chorus presents a soaring medieval song by Hildegard von Bingen; a cappella Renaissance polyphonic works that include a motet

by John Sheppard, and more. Admission: $17/$12.

Free parking. More info: 864-0471.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 9 Selectboard meeting, 7 p.m., Town Hall.

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10 Proposal for a Clean Lake Champlain Forum, 2–4 p.m., Burlington. The EPA and the state are holding a series of six public meetings in December to discuss the draft “Proposal for a Clean Lake Champlain,” the state’s proposal for reducing water pollution that is degrading Lake Champlain and its tributaries. The meeting will be moderated by the Lake Champlain Basin Program and held in various communities around the region, with morning, afternoon and evening sessions in an attempt to accommodate and encourage all interested persons to participate. Event takes place at ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center. More info: www.watershedmanagement.vt.gov/erp/champlain/ “Guantanamo, Vermont and the Constitution,” 7 p.m., Burlington. Well-known Vermont constitutional and criminal defense attorney David Sleigh will speak on Human Right’s Day at Contois Auditorium.

Sleigh’s speech is the final event in the Peace & Justice Center’s 2013 Cost of War Speaker and Film Series. More info: www.pjcvt.org.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11 Secrets of Mt. Philo, 7 p.m., Ferrisburgh. Judy Chaves will present an illustrated history of the past 100-plus years on Mt. Philo for the Ferrisburgh Historical Society. Her focus will be on the early decades of the 20th century and the lingering evidence in the park of that era. The Ferrisburgh Historical Society is located on the corner of Rte. 7 and Little Chicago Road.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12 Red Cross Blood Drive, 2–7 p.m., Charlotte Senior Center. See story on page 13.

Awesome Tree Contest Award Ceremony, 6 p.m., Burlington. Winners of the five categories of September’s Awesome Tree Contest pick up their prizes, with fanfare. Watch the slide show of the winning trees. Free pizza and desserts. Department of Parks and Rec, 645 Pine Street. More info: Margaret Skinner at 656-5440, mskinner@uvm.edu.

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13 Live nativity scene, 7:30 p.m., Shelburne. Take a short break in the hustle and bustle of shopping and running around to bring the family to the First Baptist Church of Shelburne and experience a live 20-minute dramatization. Another performance will take place Saturday, Dec. 14, at 7:30 p.m.

Complimentary homemade donuts and hot chocolate or coffee following each performance SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14 3rd Annual Holiday Figure Skating Show, 3 p.m., Burlington. Show at Leddy Park Arena will feature local skaters at all levels showcasing holiday themed routines. Admission is free but donations will be accepted and all proceeds will go to the COTS foundation. More info: izettekelly@cvuhs.org Christmas and Cookie Sale, 10 a.m.–2 p.m., Vergennes. Fancy cookies, candies, Dutch goodies, and other treats will be sold by the pound at

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: 4822132.

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

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

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

St. Jude, Mass, Hinesburg, 9:30 a.m.

Information: 482-2290.

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

Cross Roads Chapel, Relocated to the Brown Church on Route 7, Ferrisburgh. Worship, 11 a.m. Information: 425-3625.

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

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

United Church of Hinesburg, 10570 Route 116.

Sunday service 10 a.m. September through June; 9 a.m. July through August. Sunday School during services. 482-3352

Congregational Church to Hold Sandy Hook Vigil Dec. 14 On Dec. 14, the Charlotte Congregational Church will hold a candlelight vigil to commemorate the first anniversary of the tragedy of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown, Conn.

The vigil will consist of prayers and readings intended to support those who were personally affected by the shootings and to promote meaningful discussion within the greater community on ways to decrease gun deaths and the presence of violence in our culture.

During the vigil, the church bell will ring 26 times to commemorate the 26 lives lost at the school. the Champlain Valley Christian Reformed Church.

Choose and package your favorites. Enjoy hot cider and festive music while you shop. More info: Martha at 877-9986.

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15 Festival of Gregorian Chant, 3 p.m. Colchester.

Saint Michael’s College presents concert featuring Gregorian chants and seasonal music in the Saint Michael’s College Chapel. The Vermont Gregorian Chant Scholar is in residence at Saint Michael’s College, under the direction of Dr. William Tortolano.

ONGOING EVENTS MONDAYS Senior Center Café, 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m. Featuring soup, salads, homemade 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.

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 programs, 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 stu-

dents welcome. Call 425-3997 for information.

THURSDAYS Food Shelf, open from 7:30-9:30 a.m. Dec. 5 and 19.

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.

The Charlotte News

Around Town Congratulations to the following Charlotte students at the Vermont Commons School in South Burlington who earned placement on the honor roll for the first quarter 2013: Sevi Burget Foster, Oliver Bijur, Alex Duchac, Amira Silverman, Jordan Cannon and Bella Cararra.

to Will Kiernan and his bandmates in Dyonisia.

The band will release its first album, entitled Antics, in January. Will plays bass with fellow CVU grads Garrett Brown on guitar and vocals, Alex Myers on drums and Julien Vandal on sax, keyboards and vocals. All first-year college students, the band gathered over Thanksgiving break. According to an article in Sunday’s Free Press, it was a three-song demo released as part of Myers’ Graduation Challenge project at CVU that brought the producer’s call. Dyonisia will play at the Monkey House in Winooski on Dec. 14 and at Nectar’s on Dec. 26.

TexT and phoTo by STephen brookS

to Kendra Haven, a senior majoring in international studies and English at Dickinson College, Carlisle, Penn. Kendra was named a Baird Sustainability Fellow for advancing sustainability goals on and beyond the Dickinson campus. For her senior thesis, she studied Sub-Saharan Africa with a focus on South Africa and the ways in which regional trends have impacted local perceptions of sustainable development. Kendra studied abroad in Cameroon, where she became interested in the intersection of human rights and environmental degradation and particularly how a change in women’s land rights would increase the prevalence of sustainable agricultural methods.

to Dick Hess, owner of Archie’s Grill in Shelburne, and to Ken and Julie Cartularo of Buono Appetito, also in Shelburne, who were cited by Melissa Pasanen in Seven Days’ search for the “Best Burger in Vermont.”

Pasanen, the food editor of Vermont Life magazine whose freelance work also appears in the Burlington Free Press, recommends the Archie Burger along with the standard side of house-fried potato chips. The burger at Buono’s, she says, is really juicy and “has a lot of inherent flavor without a lot of stuff in it.”

Chase Weaver Builds Sitting Wall at Sherman-Quinlan Cemetery A year ago, for his CVU Senior Grad Challenge project, Chase Weaver built a stone wall for the Charlotte Cemetery Commission at the Sherman-Quinlan Cemetery at the foot of Spear Street. This autumn, to make the wall more suitable for sitting, David Nichols donated slate, which was then trucked to the site for free by Peter Mack and Zachary Trono. East Charlotte mason Matthew Hough donated his services, creating an artful finish to the top. In Charlotte, problems become opportunities when the right people come together.

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.

BRUSH HOGGING: Reasonable rates. Call Adam 802-578-8347. (56-09)

NEW AT THE MT. PHILO INN: Overnight Accommodations Spacious 2-3 bedroom suites available by the day, week or month. Adjacent to Mt. Philo State Park, with panoramic views of Lake Champlain. Each "wing" in the historic inn has a private entrance, full kitchen, laundry, and porch. MtPhiloInn.com 802-425-3335 Give yourself a gift by refreshing your interior space. Lafayette Painting has the skills and knowledge to bring a new look to your home or business quickly. Call 863-5397 and

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Sympathy is extended to family and friends of Sandra Jean Enos of Hinesburg who passed away Nov. 21 at the age of 78. Her surviving family includes her daughter Susan Delisle of Charlotte and Susan’s daughter, Grace, and son, John. is extended to family and friends of Merton Lamden of Shelburne who passed away Nov. 23 at the age of 94. His surviving family includes his daughter Deborah Lamden, her husband, Enzo DiMaio, and their son, Ari, of Charlotte. The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, donations in his honor be made to Partners in Adventure, a nonprofit organization serving northern Vermont started by his daughter to create camps and social programs for children with disabilities.

Its address is Partners in Adventure, P.O. Box 867, Shelburne, VT 05482.