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August 9, 2018 • The Essex Reporter • 1
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Judge rules on subpoenas in hockey hazing lawsuit By COLIN FLANDERS with additional reporting by COURTNEY LAMDIN A recent ruling in the negligence lawsuit against Essex High School says it must provide copies of all discipline records on the boys hockey team over a four-year period. But the judge in the case will allow school officials to redact student names and
ordered the two parties to keep the documents confidential. The ruling gives the plaintiffs access to previously-confidential documents that their attorney, Jerome O’Neill, said were vital to proving their case. But Judge Robert A. Mello’s decision to allow redactions is a compromise from the initial request, and his order to effectively seal the records from public disclosure went beyond what the dis-
trict had asked. In his July 30 ruling, Mello said the conditions balance the “privacy interests of students with the plaintiffs’ interest in the requested documents.” Mello’s orders come just over a month after a hearing that featured arguments on two subpoenas issued in the suit, which alleges the school failed to protect the plaintiff ’s son from assault, hazing and ha-
rassment while he was a freshman on the hockey team. O’Neill had said in court filings that redacting documents obtained in discovery made it impossible for his clients to further investigate the claims or locate witnesses. O’Neill said his clients are “pleased” that they will receive the documents and “look forward to using them for purposes of See RECORDS, page 10
Dogs don’t bring yogis down
KYLE ST. PETER FOR THE ESSEX REPORTER
A black Labrador puppy helps a participant in a puppy yoga event at Yoga with Penny at the Studio on Chapin Road in Essex on Saturday, July 28. The event was a fundraiser for Potter's Angels Rescue, which places unwanted and neglected animals in adopters' homes. The puppies at Penny Klein's event were from Potter's Angels, and though they didn't help with the maneuvers, they were an adorable distraction. See page 2 for more photos.
Business, with a dash of nostalgia Duo opens card collector storefront By COLIN FLANDERS
AMANDA BROOKS | ESSEX REPORTER
Jon Lang of Lang Farm has a three-acre hemp operation. The plant contains less of the psychoactive chemical found in marijuana.
Lang Farm diversifies with hemp operation
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By AMANDA BROOKS
ucked away in a small, three-acre field behind his barns, Jon Lang’s hemp crop is flourishing. Lang has always been in the horticulture business, previously operating a garden shop on the property, as well as a tree nursery with over 21,000 trees. The two restored barns at Lang Farm are also known as a gorgeous backdrop for local weddings. This spring, with his already-established agricultural knowledge and research done in Colorado and at national conferences, Lang entered the hemp business with his son. Together they planted three acres of hemp, See HEMP, page 4
To make money off sports cards, a few rules reign supreme. Just ask Chris Heck and Mike Pap. Beyond names built for a talk show, the two are using their decades of experience in card collecting to kickstart a brand new business venture, Green Mountain Sportscards & Gaming. The shop opened in April and held a wellattended grand opening last month. Standing behind glass cases filled with the mugs an uncounted number of hall-of-famers, Heck and Pap gave The Reporter a quick crash course on how to not go broke buying and selling cards. Top of the list: Do your research. “You can lose a lot of money quickly if you don't know what you're doing,” Heck said. “If you buy dumb, or if you sell dumb, or you don't price right.” See, card collecting is a lot like the stock market – it’s volatile. You need to know not only when to weather the storm, but when to cash out. Think that rookie is the next Pedro Martinez? Get his card, and hold on tight. But not too tight: Nothing plummets a $1,000-investment quite like a midseason injury. Heck and Pap know the rules well. They met at a card shop in Winooski and soon came up with the plan to
COLIN FLANDERS | ESSEX REPORTER
Mike Pap shows off a one-of-a-kind Bill Russell autographed card that's on sale at Green Mountain Sportscard & Gaming earlier this month. open their own store. Heck comes with experience in e-commerce thanks to his other business, Quick Consignment 802. For Pap, the venture is his second time in the game. He graduated from the University of Vermont in the late ’80s and opened a shop on Burlington’s Church Street, running it for six years amid intense competition as one of a dozen sellers in the area. He later entered the military and has since rejoined the civilian ranks. Twenty years later, much has changed in the card business starting,
as always, with the internet. The web vacillates between a card seller’s biggest foe and most useful tool. On one hand, it forces them to compete on a global scale. But it has also blasted open the market for sellers like Heck and Pap who can now reach customers around the world. Online sales help supplement their slower weeks, but they say that only accounts for about half their business. The rest comes from a growing clientele gradually finding its way into their nondescript suite hidden in See CARDS, page 3