Local students win state 4-H awards pg. 3
ECRWSS PRESORTED STANDARD U.S. POSTAGE PAID DENTON PUBLICATIONS PO Box 338 Elizabethtown NY 12932 Postal Patron
A look at the competition and award winners.
VERMONT
November 23, 2019
Published by Denton Publications, Inc.
Serving Addison, Rutland & Chittenden Counties
New rules for local industrial hemp farmers
Task Force: ‘Open Creek Road immediately’
Series: USDA releases interim final ruling
But Middlebury Selectboard delays yet again; road still closed
By Lou Varricchio EDITOR
From News Reports
MIDDLEBURY | According to hemp farmer and Vermont Sen. John Rodgers, D-Essex-Orleans “The 0.3% (USDA rule on THC) is a totally arbitrary number that was established testing biomass from the lower branches of a hemp plant.” Rodgers was interviewed by True North Reports about the U.S. government’s new interim final rule on growing commercial hemp, establishing the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program. “The proposed rule would have us test the top flower of the plant which is the strongest part of the plant. If the proposal was 0.3% delta 9 it would probably work fine, but they want to figure delta 9 plus total THCA (non-psychoactive cannabinoid) times 0.877, which will put most good hemp strains over the limit, even though no one that wanted to get high would ever want to smoke it, as it is still very low in THC. All cannabis should be treated as the agricultural product that it is,” he said. Rodgers acknowledges that the 0.3% rule was a lready k now n to both Vermont law makers a nd hemp farmers as the
Sto
ck
ph
oto
likely future federal standard since the 2014 farm bill. “The (0.3%) labels are for compliance with the law,” Rodgers said.” If tests were run on every pre-roll (hemp reefer), you may find that many do not comply.” Rodgers is convinced that Vermont’s state laws regarding growing industrial hemp make more sense locally than the federal “top-down” guidelines. “We are leading the nation in developing hemp rules and laws that work,” he said. “The feds have to approve our hemp program, and if they do we live by our rules. Some discretion has been given to the states. In my view, the states should be left alone to run their out programs without federal interference.” In an Oct. 31 news release from the Vermont
TOW N OF MIDDLEBURY
Horsing around
Two Addison County 4-H Club members, Serena Welch, of Shoreham (left , and McKenna White, of Whiting, earned a spot on the 16-member Vermont delegation that participated in the Eastern National 4-H Horse Roundup, Nov. 8-10, in Louisville, Kentucky. Photo by Amanda Turgeon Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM), Stephanie Smith, chief policy enforcement officer, stressed that the agency will consider implications of the federal hemp plan on local farmers. “VAAFM notes that the interim final rule focuses on preventing diversion of THC and destruction of ‘hot’ crops but not the opportunity this new crop brings in supporting small scale agriculture common in Vermont,” Smith said. “And while the VAAFM supports consumer protection and quality control, it also supports defensible and sensible regulation that allows Vermont’s small, craft growers to take advantage of the economic opportunity and the continued development of supporting infrastructure, such as facilities that process grain, fiber and resinous hemp, and laboratories, which have drawn high paying jobs to the state.” According to Rogers, “If the feds would follow... (Vermont’s) lead, you would see rural America get new life breathed into it,” he said. “Millions of dollars have been invested in Vermont in a very short time because of our hemp program. This is the largest economic development that has happened in Vermont in generations and could be the same kind of economic driver throughout rural America.” ■ — This is part 2 of a 3 part series.
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott made Addison County the state’s “Capitol for a Day” on Nov. 18. Pictured: Gov. Scott at a MUHS event. Photo by Lou Varricchio
MIDDLEBURY | Middlebury Selectboard members recently discussed a recommendation from the Creek Road Task Force that the town should install guardrails along eroded sections on the southern end of Creek Road, which has been closed since 2015 due safety concerns, and reopen the road to through-traffic immediately. The task force made its recommendation in response to concerns about the legal status of the road. In 2015 the town funded an engineering study to identify alternatives for repairing and reopening some or all of the road. The selectboard formed the Middlebury Creek Road Task Force last spring to work with local consulting engineer Peter Degraff to evaluate and cost out options, based on his analysis of the engineering study, for making repairs to the roadway sufficient enough to open it again. Having heard the task force’s recommendation, and after a lengthy discussion, the board voted 4 to 3 in favor of taking no action on the recommendation to reopen the road immediately, pending the completion of the Task Force’s alternatives analysis, which should be ready for the Board’s review in the first quarter of 2020. ■
After a long delay, Creek Road in Middlebury may finally reopen.
Photo by Lou Varricchio
ADDISON COUNTY IS ‘CAPITOL FOR A DAY’
County is capitol building for a day By Lou Varricchio EDITOR
MIDDLEBURY | Gov. Phil Scott and some members of his administration visited Addison County on Nov, 18, for its “Capitol for a Day“ initiative, a 14-county tour launched by the Governor in 2018. Capitol for a Day gave local constituents, municipal government leaders and other partners the opportunity to connect directly with state leadership and staff. Scott’s capitol activities and visits included the following: A cabinet meeting was held at Bristol Works!, in Bristol with Governor Scott, cabinet, and extended cabinet, and legislators. A Youth Roundtable on Substance Use Prevention was held at the the Bristol Hub
Infant, kids & adult sizes!
Teen Center & Skate Park in Bristol. It included Scott, Health Commissioner Mark Levine, Middlebury Office of Local Health Director Moira Cook, Addison County Substance Use Prevention Consultant Alan Saltis, and community partners. A Biological Check Station visit was made to Rack ‘N Reel Sporting Goods in New Haven. A Lunch and Small Business Roundtable was held at the Stone Mill in Middlebury. Also, a Tour of Addison County Solid Waste District Transfer Station included Scott, Natural Resources Secretary Julie Moore; Environmental Conservation Commissioner Emily Boedecker; Solid Waste District Manager Teri Kuczynski; and Materials Management Section Chief Josh Kelly. A Tour and Visit Boundbrook Farm in Vergennes included Scott, Agriculture, Food & Markets Secretary Anson Tebbetts, and Agriculture, Food & Markets Deputy Secretary Alyson Eastman. Other related cabinet and touring events were held throughout the county. ■
BOGS BOOT BLOWOUT!
25% OFF BOGS O
•Friday, November 22nd in Barre 9am - 8pm •Saturday, November 23rd in Williston 9am - 6pm •Sunday, November 24th in Plattsburgh 10am - 5pm •Friday through Sunday in St. Albans hours above Sale on dates and stores as listed. Not valid online. Styles vary by store.
233532