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February 22, 2020
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DAR honors local Vietnam veterans By Lou Varricchio EDITOR
irnerVERGENNES | Members of the Seth WarnerRhoda Farrand Chapter of the Daughters c>rsof of the American Revolution (DAR) held their their annual lunch to thank and honor Vietnam m veterans of Addison County on Feb. 8.
Assembly of God Christian Center, and at for immediate family members.” Middlebury College Reunion weekends.” Minns told the Eagle that many of the In 2017 the Vergennes women dedicated a veterans who attend the lunches have bench to honor local Vietnam stated that this is first time they, have ...,.._...... ._ .................... ...,.................................... ,. ...._....................... ...,....................................................... _._...,the ......... ................................................ ............. .... veterans at MacDonough been thanked thanked for their service. service . veterans at MacDonough been for their
Major primary win: Vermont’s independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders won the Democratic 2020 New Hampshire Primary.
Photo courtesy of Bernie 2020
Sanders dominates N.H. Primary
Local DAR chapter members honored Addison County Vietnam veterans with a special lunch at cake event held at the Vergennes Legion Post last week. Photos by Janet Weaver
Democrats approve of socialist agenda By Lou Varricchio EDITOR
MIDDLEBURY | The Democrats of New Hampshire have spoken and “Bernie 2020” is their resounding new mantra. On Feb. 11, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), a 2020 Democratic nominee for U.S. President, won the New Hampshire Primary, the first primary in the nation of the 2020 election year. The primary followed last week’s Democratic Iowa Caucus debacle in which Sanders appeared to have won as well. “Tonight New Hampshire sent a message that working people are ready for a political revolution in this country. This is what it will take to defeat Donald Trump,” said Sanders last Tuesday evening. “This victory isn’t about me; it’s about us. Tonight is about what our supporters, volunteers and grassroots donors built in New Hampshire.” In the weeks leading up to the primary, Sanders spoke to more than 40,000 Granite State residents at 70 campaign gatherings around the state’s 10 counties. “He garnered unprecedented grassroots support in New Hampshire, inspiring a broad coalition of volunteers that powered record-breaking organizing efforts,” according to Roya Hegdahl of Sanders’ campaign headquarters in Burlington. “On his path to victory, Senator Sanders mobilized 25,000 volunteers in New Hampshire, who put in over 100,000 hours and knocked 850,000 doors since the start of the campaign.” Volunteers from Vermont and elsewhere crossed the Connecticut River to get out the vote. Meanwhile, Sanders campaign is being generously funded by many small donations from loyal Bernie fans to new converts to the candidate’s socialist message. According to Hegdahl, “Looking ahead to the Feb. 22 Nevada caucuses, the ‘Bernie 2020’ campaign has built the largest operation of any presidential candidate on the ground, with more than 200 staffers and thousands of active volunteers.” Hegdahl noted that as the primary season battle now turns to Nevada, South Carolina and Super Tuesday. Sanders’ self-proclaimed multi-racial, working class coalition “is powered by the most diverse coalition of any candidate in the race, with polling consistently showing Sanders’ strong base of support with Black and Latino voters in Nevada, particularly among women of color.” A new Quinnipiac College poll indicates Sanders is in the Democratic lead nationally where his “Bernie 2020” ground strategy has already made a whopping $5.5 million in multimedia advertising buys. Hegdahl added that Sanders is already deploying new staff to “direct and mobilize a huge base of grassroots supporters.” ■
The lunch was hosted in recognition of the U.S. Vietnam War Commemoration which officially authorized in 2012. “The Seth Warner-Rhoda Farrand Chapter of the DAR became a commemorative partner in 2014 and we held our first lunch to thank and honor local Vietnam Veterans in 2015,” according the DAR member Joy Minns. “We committed to do two programs each year for three years, but have continued our affiliation with this committee after our initial promise was met. We’ve held ceremonies at Addison Baptist Church, Champlain Valley Christian School, the Vergennes American Legion Post, the
Park in Vergennes, according to Minns. Chapter members also added a bench in honor of Korean War veterans in 2018. At last week’s lunch, vets enjoyed the food pas well as a decorated cake donated by Shaw’s Supermarket in Vergennes. “Any veteran who served between November 1, 1955 and May 15, 1975 is eligible to receive a lapel pin,” Minns said. “If the veteran has passed away since 1975 his or her spouse can receive a deceased Vietnam veteran’s “surviving-spouse” lapel pin. There are also special pins for former, living American Military POWs, an “unaccounted for” pin and an “in memory of” pin
“The American Legion Post in Vergennes wanted to thank our group for holding these lunches and voted last fall to donate $1,000 to help defray our costs in future years,” she noted. “We hold a fundraiser at the Williston North rest area each fall to raise funds for this event and for the other donations we make to veterans’ causes (transitional housing and the Vermont Honor Flight, for example) but the extra money has eased our concerns about financing the lunch.” Minns added that most of the local DAR members who are healthy enough to help out, do so. “About a dozen of us participated this year,” she said. ■
What’s happening to solar in Vermont?
Solar sunset? A Vermont Solar Pathways updated report shows that solar progress in Vermont has declined steadily since 2016. Pictured: Workers service a solar array along U.S. Route 7 in Ferrisburgh. Photo by Lou Varricchio
Decline in solar projects blamed, in part, on policy changes By Lou Varricchio EDITOR
MIDDLEBURY | A Vermont Solar Pathways updated report shows that solar progress in Vermont has declined steadily since 2016. The report indicates a marked decline in Vermont’s solar capacity which seems hard to reverse in time for Montpelier’s magical “20%” year of 2025. The study indicates that, based on the current slowdown in annual installation rates, the state will likely not meet its “20% by 2025” renewable energy target. “The update (report) sends a mixed message,” said the study’s lead author, David Hill, PhD in a recent news release. “On one hand the growth rates required to meet the target are attainable, and have been demonstrated in the period from 2014 to 2019 in both Vermont and national markets. During the last three years Vermont’s solar market has seen declines that if not corrected will fall well short of the solar pathway potential.”
Solar proponents like Hill continue to claim that solar can provide 20% of Vermont’s electricity by 2025 and can do so with costs that are less than 1 percent of total annual energy expenditures. Despite solar advocates like Hill, which tend dominate the conversation in Montpelier, the limitations of solar power are known but rarely discussed—namely, costs of hardware, space needs, and “intermittency of energy generation.” According to Columbia University’s Earth Institute, the Institute for Energy Research claims that “an increasing share of solar power will harm the electricity grid’s reliability and impose additional costs on the system. It also argues that tax subsidies for wind power should end, since the cost of that energy is now competitive with natural gas.” Regardless, key findings from the Vermont report demonstrate that there is still a future for solar in Vermont although the year 2025 goal of 20% seems tough to achieve: Vermont’s electric grid can handle 20% solar. Generating 20% of the projected electricity consumption in Vermont by 2025 will require an estimated 1,000 MW (1 gigawatt) of installed solar capacity. Smart grid optimization and planning will help lower costs. Vermont has enough land and sunlight across the state, however, it would require approximately 0.1% of Vermont’s land area to meet the 2025 goal (an area approximately the size of the city of Montpelier). “Policy changes detrimentally slowed solar progress over the last three years, resulting in lost opportunity for our climate, economy, and all Vermonters,” said Olivia Campbell Andersen, Renewable Energy Vermont’s executive director. “The legislature has the opportunity now to create a more renewable and climate resilient Vermont by enacting a 100% Renewable Electricity Standard (S.267).” The full report is available online at www.veic.org/vermontsolar-pathways. ■
IArea students receive CCV honors
MIDDLEBURY | The following students at the Community College of Vermont (CCV) were named to the fall 2019 dean’s list. The honor recognizes full-time students with a grade point average between 3.5 and 3.99. Bristol: Scott Gordon, Cornwall: Yvonne Harrison, Granville: Olivia Shonio, Hinesburg: Rachel Atherly and Spencer Clark, Lincoln: Elizabeth Nault and Samantha Trombly, New Haven: Mariah Malloy, Shoreham: Ryan Fitzsimmons, Vergennes: Elias Maldonado, Ronald Stearns and Jade Sutton. ■
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