TV survival expert coming to Ferrisburgh area pg. 3
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‘Climate strike’ planned in Middlebury Protest on Friday, Sept. 20 By Lou Varricchio EDITOR
MIDDLEBURY | Global environmental activists, involving several In Middlebury, we stand Vermont groups, are gearin solidarity with students and ing up for the so-called workers around the world in Global Climate Strike halting business as usual.” starting on Friday, Sept. 20. The strike, actually a — Dr. Jonathan Isham series of public protests, Professor, Middlebury College will include attempts to close businesses, civil rights-style sit-ins, street marches, as well as traffic and other municipal disruptions. Several actions are planned in Vermont, including campus actions by Middlebury College students.
Bristol’s Main Street sidewalk will be improved with funds from state and local taxpayers. Pictured: Construction work in Bristol last year. Photo by Lou Varricchio
Bristol to improve Main Street sidewalk By Lou Varricchio EDITOR
Dr. Jonathan Isham of Middlebury College.
CSE Liberal Arts photo
According to Dr. Jonathan Isham, a professor of economics and environmental studies at Middlebury College, “In Middlebury, we stand in solidarity with students and workers around the world in halting business as usual. At the college, we will be walking out of class at 9:45 a.m. to all come together on the green at College Park at 10 a.m., where we will be joined by high school students and community members. After we break, we’ll carpool up to Burlington to join in the Vermont Climate Strike Rally at noon.” Last month Isham and Lee Smithey, a professor of peace and conflict studies and sociology at Swarthmore College, co-authored a commentary which appears on the U.K. Guardian’s news website. “As college professors,” according to Isham and Smithey, “we’ve learned much over the past 15 years from our Middlebury and Swarthmore students about standing up for climate justice. On the forefront of the climate movement, they’ve launched the worldwide fossil-fuel divestment campaign and gone on to found 350.org and the Sunrise Movement. Young brown, black and indigenous activists who have courageously stood up to powerful fossil fuel companies have taught us how all fights for justice intersect.” Coordinating the climate strikers in Middlebury has mostly taken place on campus as well as on via social media. Isham said that the Middlebury campus strike will attempt to accomplish several objectives but primarily to focus attention on creating what amounts to an utopian, fossil-free world. “All are welcome—to join us in imagining a better world, together. (We want) to accelerate the world’s transition to a better, clean economy,” Isham said. “Yes, many student groups and two dozen or so (and growing) faculty will participate.” Isham also noted that Like-minded Vermonters are also involved with a local radical-leftist environmental group known as Extinction Rebellion Champlain Valley (ERCV). In a public letter appearing on the Action Network website, and signed by Middlebury’s Isham plus eight other college and university professors, it looks like a professor’s prime focus of learning and research be damned: “Don’t teach: strike. That’s our message to fellow educators who may be asking: ‘How can I contribute to the fight for climate justice?’” ■
BRISTOL | Downtown Bristol will benefit next year as part of a Vermont Agency of Transportation (AOT) program which will provide a total of $300,000 in state taxpayer funds to be spent among 10 small improvement projects including Bristol. The total cost of the Bristol project is $84,000 with $42,000 from state taxpayers and an additional $42,000 from bristol taxpayers. According to Gov. Phil Scott, the combination of construction projects and planning grants will benefit cities and towns statewide by improving connectivity and safety for the traveling public as well as providing purported economic benefits. The Bristol project will address safety needs for pedestrian
crossings and filling sidewalk gaps. In a 2016 AOT long-range transportation plan survey, 42% of Vermonters were dissatisfied with the availability of bicycling facilities and 31% were dissatisfied with the availability of sidewalks. The survey included comments from Bristol residents. AOT annually awards funding to municipalities through the Bicycle and Pedestrian Program, with the goal of providing safe and convenient facilities for alternative transportation opportunities. Interest in bicycling and walking has steadily increased in Vermont. “Improvements to the bike and pedestrian infrastructure around the state help communities modernize, and become more livable and affordable,” Scott said last week. “The positive effects of these projects are widespread, including benefits to property values, tourism, business and the environment.” ■
Fire destroys Brandon house By Lou Varricchio EDITOR
BRANDON | A house fire on Sept. 8 involved members of the Department of Vermont Public Safety Fire and Explosion. The fire, which occurred at 2049 Wheeler Rd. in Brandon, was in a house owned by Sandy Cram of Wallingford. Cram’s son Eugene Cram was an occupant at the time of the fire. According to a report by Joshua Maxham, an assistant state fire marshal based in Rutland, “Eugene was outside working on Sunday Sept. 8. He came back to his home at approximately 7:45 p.m. and when he was walking up the ramp to the home, he could see fire through a window. The fire was coming from an area that housed the electric water heater. Eugene attempted to extinguish the fire with a fire extinguisher. Eugene was unable to extinguish the
A view of the aftermath of a Sept. 8 fire which destroyed a house located on Wheeler Road in Brandon involved firefighters from Brandon, Salisbury and Pittsford.
Photo by Lou Varricchio
fire, he then got out of the house with his dogs and called 911.” Firefighters of the Brandon Fire Department arrived at the house by 8 p.m. According to the fire marshal’s report, the house could not been seen from the road due to thick smoke billowing from the structure. Joining the Brandon Fire Department were Salisbury and Pittsford firefighters. The fire advanced to a point where the structure was considered a total loss. “Our investigation determined that the fire originated in the closet that
housed the water heater,” Maxham said. “This fire is listed as accidental and is not considered suspicious. No injuries were reported as a result of the fire. The Division of Fire Safety wants to remind everyone of the importance of maintaining their appliances and reading the manufacturer’s instructions to ensure that you have proper clearance from combustibles.” Maxham noted that Rutland Town and Rutland crews helped with Brandon stationkeeping coverage during the incident. ■
’60s British Invasion discovers Brandon Studio 2 + Fab 4 = superb British sound By Lou Varricchio EDITOR
Beatles tribute band Studio Two is based in New Hampshire. The boys will play Brandon Town Hall on Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. Photo provided
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BRANDON | Hailed as “New England’s Best Beatles Tribute Band” by The British Beer Company, Beatles tribute band, Studio Two, continues its tour in celebration of the Beatles with a special concert in Brandon Town Hall on Saturday, Sept 28. Studio Two, which will perform at Town Hall, 7-9 p.m., is a headlining Beatles band that pays tribute to the early Beatles years, choosing songs from the pre-Sgt. Pepper era.
The event is a non-profit fundraiser for the Brandon-Forest Dale Lions Club. “This regional band features graduates from Berklee College of Music and a new generation of Beatles devotees,” according to Lions Club member Fred Pockette of Forest Dale. “Studio Two band mates met in a ‘cellar full of noise’ in a town slightly west of Liverpool (well, actually Milford, New Hampshire) to pay homage to the greatest rock band of all time. Band members are experienced musicians of today’s generation but they’re dedicated to preserving the memory and fan culture of the Beatles generation.” Pockette said that by recreating the Fab Four’s music, appearance, instruments, and onstage banter, Studio Two will perform your most favorite hits that will bring people to the dance floor.