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The Essex
June 22, 2017 • The Essex Reporter • 1
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{ Thursday, June 22, 2017 }
A CLASS ACT
Essex High School seniors are pictured on graduation day, Saturday, June 17. See page 11 for more photographs and information on the class' senior gift.
PHOTO BY BELTRAMI STUDIOS
The swing of things Andrews looks ahead to retirement, next chapter By COLIN FLANDERS A calendar designed by a boy with autism hangs near Mark Andrews’ desk, an annual purchase that reminds him of all the talent that exists in our world, regardless of one’s label. There’s also a clock that’s seven minutes fast and a framed illustration of a motorcyclist popping a wheelie — something Andrews, soon to be 63, said he can still do. And there’s a painting of a jazz band that forms a snapshot into Andrews’ younger days. It partly represents his love for the genre, though he admits he mostly liked the colors. But when prompted, he offers an explanation that could easily describe his entire career working with a team of educators. “Put a bunch of talented musicians together, and some really amazing things happen,” he said. Born in Connecticut, Andrews
PHOTO BY COLIN FLANDERS
Essex Town School District Superintendent Mark Andrews is pictured in his office June 7. He will be retiring later this month after leading the district over the past seven years. and his family moved to Vermont in 1971. He graduated high school in southern Vermont before attending Johnson State College. During his sophomore year, he
volunteered for a mentoring program, where he learned the power of human connection and the influence he could have in someone’s life. He also found an affinity for working with the disadvantaged, prompting him to focus on special education during his final college years. There, he spent a year helping to decommission a school within the Waterbury State Hospital, where state law had allowed children with significant disabilities to live. “It was just one of the most horrific, scariest places that I've ever been in to this day,” Andrews said. It was his first exposure to how some children live under unfair treatment, and it inspired him to consider how he could make a difference. He earned a master’s in special education before moving to Boston to work in private schools for two years. Moving back to Vermont, he got a job with Howard Community Services, overseeing all residential programs See ANDREWS, page 4
PHOTO BY COLIN FLANDERS
From left, Julie Miller-Johnson, Kristin Humbargar and Elissa Koop are pictured at the Essex Hub for Women in Business earlier this month.
SteAmfest hopes to celebrate innovation By COLIN FLANDERS Organizers planning a two-day festival in Essex Jct. this fall hope to summon “art of disruption” and shift expectations of both outsiders and those who call the village
home. The festival is aptly named “steAmFest,” infusing art into STEM — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — to think of these conventional fields differently. See FEST, page 3
Checkmate Tupaj, Vt. chess champ, trounces Flanders in showdown By COLIN FLANDERS
T
hough I’m no Bobby Fischer, I consider myself a capable opponent when it comes to chess. I went to a weeklong camp in fifth grade. I beat some friends in college. Elizabeth Tupaj’s track record is a bit more impressive. Earlier this year, the Albert D. Lawton seventh-grader won four straight games to take the Vermont State Scholastic Chess Championship in her age group. When Elizabeth accepted my request for an interview over a game, I was prepared for battle. I led with my Queen’s pawn. We were off. I figured I was catching Elizabeth at a good time. Though she was riding high off her recent tournament victory, her last game was against her mom, Melanie, in what turned out to be a heavily onesided affair (“it was a disaster,” Melanie said.) Perhaps she was rusty. The game sputtered ahead as I tried to distract Elizabeth with See CHESS, page 3
PHOTO BY COLIN FLANDERS
Elizabeth Tupaj has been playing chess since Kindergarten at Summit Street School. This year, she took the Vermont state title. Here, she snatches a piece off the board during her showdown with reporter Colin Flanders, which she easily won.