Reporter
October 20, 2016 • The Essex Reporter •1
THE ESSEX
OctOber 20, 2016
Vol. 36, No. 42
Prsrt Std ECRWSS U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 266 Burlington, VT 05401 Postal Patron-Residential
House contenders share views at forum By COLIN FLANDERS
E
ssex voters received one final look at their nine House hopefuls during Channel 17’s candidate forums last week, sharing views on topics ranging from Vermont’s healthcare future to last year’s polarizing debate over marijuana legalization. Town residents in District 8-1 will vote in the gym at Essex Middle School
Photo by COLIN FLANDERS
gym, while residents in District 8-3, the shared district with Westford, will vote across the hall. Village residents in District 8-2 will vote at Essex High School. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The following is a look at some of their exchanges. See FORUM, page 11
Left: V. Chase and Betsy Dunn discuss policies at last week's Channel 17 candidate forum.
GROWING PAINS Providers struggle with state’s new childcare regs
By MICHAELA HALNON
L Photo by JASON STARR Essex Fire Chief Charles Cole shows off the department’s fire truck during an open house last Saturday.
Essex Fire Dept. receives $180K federal grant By JASON STARR Essex firefighters can breathe easier thanks to a federal grant funding the purchase of 27 new selfcontained breathing apparatus units. The Federal Emergency Management Agency recently awarded $180,000 to the department to replace its exist-
ing SCBA units, which are reaching the end of their 15-year life, fire Chief Charles Cole said. The units are bottles of compressed air that firefighters wear on their backs when entering a burning structure. The town is pitching in $32,000 from its capital equipment fund to augment the grant and fully fund the See GRANT, page 2
Car break-in, pursuit leads to arrest in Essex Jct. By ABBY LEDOUX Essex police arrested a Winooski man Sunday night after he broke into a car and fled upon officers’ arrival. Police responded to a call of an ongoing car break-in on Gentes Road at 11 p.m. to find the sus-
pect, Michael C. Francis, 30, fleeing the scene in a silver sedan, a press release said. Francis abandoned the vehicle near Paya’s Auto on Colchester Road and ran into the woods, pursued by officers who apprehended him after a See FRANCIS, page 3
orrie Ploof has big plans for the playroom in her Essex homebased childcare program. The “Curious George” theme was fun for a while, she said, but the four kiddos in her care far prefer pirates now. During naptime, Ploof walked through the bottom floor of her splitlevel. Across from a miniature ball pit was a wooden climbing structure, transformed into a massive ship with a little imagination. She planned to pick out paint samples that weekend. “You’re always doing this job. It never stops,” she said with a sigh. “I love it, but I think now that there’s more pressure on everything, it burns you out.” A caregiver for 15 years, Ploof holds multiple accreditations, but she’s become financially and mentally overwhelmed by new regulations from the state’s Child Development Division for home-based providers like herself – and she knows she’s not alone. See CHILDCARE, page 4
Photo by MICHAELA HALNON Right: Essex home-based childcare provider Lorrie Ploof purchased bark mulch for her playground last weekend in order to comply with a new state regulation.
Developer offers 160 acres to expand Indian Brook Park By JASON STARR
Photo by JASON STARR The town-owned acreage around Indian Brook reservoir could expand by 160 acres if a residential subdivision clears Act 250.
Indian Brook Park is poised to grow by 160 acres if the Vermont Natural Resources Board approves a nine-lot residential subdivision on Indian Brook Road. Property owner James
Unsworth is offering the land, which is adjacent to the existing park, to the town of Essex to overcome the board’s concerns with the subdivision’s effect on prime agricultural soils. The Essex Planning Commission approved the subdivision See INDIAN BROOK, page 3
Let’s talk about sexual safety Justice center helps parents talk to kids
By KAYLEE SULLIVAN
A
panel discussion last week to help parents talk to their kids about sexual safety was light on attendees but heavy in conversation. Held in the Albert D. Lawton school cafeteria, the panel was organized in response to concerns parents aired at an August forum addressing the release of Sean Guillette, a convicted sex offender. After serving 17 years for multiple convictions of lewd and las-
civious conduct with a child in 1999, Guillette was released from Northwest State Correctional Facility on August 2. The now 51-year-old man now resides in Essex. Toward the end of the August meeting, which attracted around 70 community members, village resident Tina Bleau expressed her hopes for further discussion on how parents can talk to children about taking care of their bodies. Bleau, a psychologist who specializes in trauma, was one of three panelists last Wednesday who
shared her professional insights with the four attendees, all mothers. Panelists Tammy Leombruno, a specialized clinician in assessing and treating sexual abuse, and Kate Rohdenburg, the program director at WISE, an organization aimed at ending gender-based violence, also filled in the small circle discussion. HopeWorks' Fredrika VeluntiHoffmann and Student Resource Officer Kurt Miglinas of Essex Police also provided input on the panel, which focused on starting a conversation without scaring children. See SAFETY, page 2
Photo by KAYLEE SULLIVAN Panelist Tammy Leombruno talks to parents during during last Wednesday's discussion on how to warn kids about sexual safety.