Farm Show
Champlain Valley Fairgrounds
Tuesday, January 29: 9 am – 5 pm Wednesday, January 30: 8:30 am – 7:30 pm Thursday, January 31: 9 am – 4 pm
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Champlain Valley Expo, Essex Jct., VT
207277
Jan. 29 – Feb. • 31, 2019 vtfarmshow.com • #vtfarmshow19
VERMONT
January 26, 2019
Published by Denton Publications, Inc.
Serving Addison, Rutland & Chittenden Counties
Rep. Welch declines pay, but not senators By Guy Page
STATE HEA DLINERS
MONTPELIER | Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vermont) is among the estimated 70 members of Congress who have declined pay during the shutdown of the U.S. government, according to a Jan. 10 CNN story and a recent email exchange between Rep. Welch and a Chelsea, Vermont, constituent. Neither Sen. Bernie Sanders nor Sen. Patrick Leahy are listed by CNN as having declined payment. Press statements by Leahy and Sanders both protest the furloughing of federal workers in Vermont but do not indicate an intention to decline their own pay. The 70 who have done so are split fairly evenly along party lines. Rep. Elise Stefanik, a Republican representing a New York district across Lake Champlain, also is declining pay. “I have suspended my pay for the duration of the shutdown,” Welch wrote constituent Vaughn Hadley Jan. 10 in a detailed letter about the shutdown, in response to an inquiry from the Chelsea resident. Welch’s letter in its entirety reads: When many U.S. House and Senate Democrats, including Chuck Schumer of New York, voted for the Secure Fences Act of 2006, both Sens. Leahy and James Jeffords of Vermont voted no, as did Rep. Bernie Sanders. Rep. Welch’s first term began in 2007. ■
RETIRING IN VERMONT? WHAT’S GOOD, BAD
According to the popular, personal finance website WalletHub’s 2019 Best States to Retire survey, the Green Mountain State has one the highest annual cost of in-home nursing and senior-care services in the nation; it also has among the highest percentage of working folks age 65 and older. Public domain photo By Lou Varricchio EDITOR
MIDDLEBURY | Are you planning on retiring in Vermont? You might want to revisit your geographic and financial plans for those so-called Golden Years. According to the popular, personal finance website WalletHub’s 2019 Best States to Retire survey, the Green Mountain State has one the highest annual cost of in-home nursing and senior-care services in the nation; it also has among the highest percentage
of working folks age 65 and older. But on the flip side, Vermont has among the lowest property-crime rates in the nation, which may put many seniors at ease. WalletHub’s Diana Polk, who has become the Eagle’s point person when it comes to clarifying her website’s frequent, 50-state reports, said that while retirement might be the end of your career, it doesn’t have to be the end of financial security or life satisfaction. “Retirement generally coincides with the age at which we may receive Social Security or pension benefits,” according to Polk. » Retiring in Vermont Cont. on pg. 7
Option taxes: funding projects with a twist By Lou Varricchio EDITOR
GAZEBO IN THE SNOW: A significant storm with snow and winds was expected to create driving difficulties in Vermont Jan. 19-20. While public schools were scheduled to close for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday on Jan. 21, some meteorologists were predicting lingering effects suggesting weather-related closings were possible. Pictured: A snowcovered gazebo along Halladay Road in Middlebury. Photo by Lou Varricchio
MIDDLEBURY | In the 1989 movie “Field of Dreams,” actor Kevin Costner uttered one of Hollywood’s most famous lines: “If you build it, he will come.” Costner’s baseball-fan character was referring to constructing a ball diamond for his dead father. Popular culture has since altered the line to “If you build it, they will come.” The abridged quote seems to be the epithet of the moment for stakeholders spearheading the proposed South Burlington City Center for the Arts and recreation center construction projects. Stakeholders of proposed arts and recre-
ation centers in South Burlington would like non-South Burlingtonians to share some of the financial burdens. Some of those stakeholders would like non-South Burlingtonians to share some of the financial burdens through an increase in the local option tax. The option tax is are the latest tool in municipal tool boxes to help fund “must have” projects. An example, in Middlebury, is the Cross Street Bridge which is being funded by a local option tax. “The town of Middlebury instituted the 1 percent local option tax to pay the debt service on the Cross Street Bridge,” according to Town Manager Kathleen Ramsay. » Option taxes Cont. on pg. 2
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