Addison County considered for storm funds pg. 3
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December 7, 2019
Serving Addison, Rutland & Chittenden Counties
J. Kirk Edwards remembered Former Eagle photographer won numerous news awards By Lou Varricchio EDITOR
MIDDLEBURY | J. Kirk Edwards, formerly of Ferrisburgh, passed away earlier this month at his retirement residence in South Carolina. Edwards served as the Vermont Eagle’s news photographer J. Kirk Edwards. File photo from 2002 to 2011. Edwards was born in Clarence, New York, on Feb. 23, 1943. As a child, Edwards was sent to France while his father served in the U.S. Navy. He spent his later youth in Mt. Kisco, New York, Grey, Maine, and in Salisbury, Vermont, where his father ran a bungalow colony for summer rentals along the north end of Lake Dunmore. He later lived in Plainfield, Waterbury and Ferrisburgh. At the start of the Vietnam War in 1964, Edwards volunteered as a U.S. Army aviator. He flew dangerous Army Intelligence reconnaissance missions aboard a small observer aircraft, often operating low over jungle treetops near the border of the former South Vietnam and North Vietnam. A graduate of the State University of New York, Purchase with a B.A. degree in fine arts and a minor in botany, he worked for several years as a photojournalist with newspapers in the Hudson Valley region. During Edwards’ stint with the Vermont Eagle, he won numerous news awards for his photography from the National Newspaper Association and Association of Free Community Papers, among others. In addition to being a photographer, Edwards found work as a salesman, cook, carpenter, an automobile “repo man”, and arts teacher. He loved steam trains as well as hunting, fishing, painting, drawing, cooking, and astronomy. He was an accomplished musician and played the drums, stride piano, and Spanish guitar. During his retirement years, he managed the popular, and often controversial, Vermont Woodchuck political blog online. He is survived by Nancy, a beloved domestic companion of many years, and brothers Kevin and John, as well as sisters Missy, Deborah, Gina, Laura, and a pet cat named MnaMna.■
Trainspotting in miniature
On Saturday, Dec. 7, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., everyone is invited to the Sheldon Museum’s annual Holiday Open House to enjoy the elaborate model train layout, carols played on an 1831 piano, and a Miniature Christmas Tree Raffle. The raffle features 16 creative trees decorated by local artists. The historic Judd-Harris House is festooned with traditional greenery by the Middlebury Garden Club. Admission to the event is by donation. For more information or the complete holiday train schedule, call the Henry Sheldon Museum, 1 Park St., Middlebury at 802-388-2117 or visit HenrySheldonMuseum.org. Photo by Trent Campbell
VIGIL ON MIDDLEBURY GREEN WILL RAISE AWARENESS John Graham Housing & Services candlelight vigil for the homeless By Lou Varricchio EDITOR
VERGENNES | When you ask Elizabeth Ready, former director of the John Graham Shelter in Vergennes, about the holidays and homelessness, you might think her reaction would reflect an overwhelming sense of so much work to be done with so little done. Not so. Despite the increase in homeless around Vermont, Ready remains optimistic. Having served as both state senator and state auditor, Ready appeared pleased to exit politics and return to Addison County
where she could work and do the most good. She now serves as the shelter’s chief financial officer and fundraising director. “I am a fifth generation Vermonter and my father talked about the work farms here,” Ready said. “Homelessness has been a part of our state, perhaps not always so visible or as much discussed as today.” Ready said that there are no loafers at the Vergennes shelter. The staff work hard to help able adults who need their services find employment. It may not always be full-time or well paid employment, but it’s a start to get people back on their own feet. “Nearly all parents (here) are working, but wages are low and the cost of rent is high. The vacancy rate here in Addison County hovers around 1%. So, to afford an average two bedroom apartment… with rent at $1,009, a person would need to earn $19.35 an hour and work 40 hours a week bringing home $40,240. That’s according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition who does an annual study on housing wages.” See VIGIL » pg. 2
What lies beneath? Champlain Valley gas will remain untapped By Lou Varricchio EDITOR
The iconic Yandow Oil Well in St. Albans was drilled to a depth of 4,500 feet in 1957. The well tower is still visible today. Photo by the Vermont Geological Survey
Correction MIDDLEBURY | The time for the Middlebury College Lessons and Carols program featured on the front page of the Nov. 30 edition was incorrect. The correct times for the two services are 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. (not 8 p.m.). We regret this oversight. ■
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MIDDLEBURY | Mention the phrase “fracked gas” around Addison County and you may find yourself getting into a lively discussion. With strong opposition to fracking and fossil fuels hereabouts, any serious talk about drilling for Vermont natural gas may invoke the always chilling Malocchio. Vermont’s 2012 decision to forbid fracking within state lines may not be good for our long-term economic well being. How so? Other states—such as Pennsylvania, Texas, Colorado and North Dakota—have done fracking and their home-grown energy work has produced bigbudget surpluses that help support expensive social programs, health care and schools. Admittedly, only a small portion of Vermont’s northwestern extreme sits atop natural gas
deposits, but it has been known to geologists since the 1940s. And while fracking in Vermont is banned (at least until the law is changed), drilling the old-fashioned way remains legal with the proper local and state permits. “Dreams of oil and natural gas in the sedimentary rocks of the Champlain lowlands have brought about surges of optimism over many years that Vermont would become an energy producer,” according to geologist Harold Meeks who wrote a book surveying the state’s resources, titled “Vermont’s Land and Resources”. Meeks’ book includes technical details about fossil-fuel reserves here; it has fueled interest in using new technologies to explore the alleged deposits. According to the University of Vermont, the Champlain Valley was formed by a deep sedimentary basin, a typical feature where biogenic oil and gas is typically found. As early as the mid 1950s, the American Gas Association had mapped the lake region in detail and designated it as a promising source for future oil and gas development. See BENEATH » pg. 3
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