Reporter
November 17, 2016 • The Essex Reporter •1
THE ESSEX
November 17, 2016
vol. 36, No. 46
Prsrt Std ECRWSS U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 266 Burlington, VT 05401 Postal Patron-Residential
NO FRACKIN' WAY
Police: Essex man fired gun in apartment By COLIN FLANDERS Police arrested an Essex man after he fired at least 17 rounds of ammunition in Franklin Square, a multi-building apartment complex on Tuesday evening, a news release said. See SHOOTING, page 4
Train vs. car crash halts traffic By TOM MARBLE Police and emergency services responded to an accident involving a train and a car in the Village of Essex Jct. last Thursday just after 11 a.m. The train made contact with the car, a tan See TRAIN, page 3
Photo by COLIN FLANDERS Demonstrators play music in Essex Jct. during a protest Tuesday morning, one of more than 200 around the country to show solidarity with protestors at the North Dakota pipeline access.
Demonstrators protest N.D. pipeline in Essex Jct. By COLIN FLANDERS
D
emonstrators lined Lincoln Street on Tuesday morning to show support for protestors at the North Dakota pipeline access, the center of a brewing controversy over indigenous rights and environmental impact. The event coincided with a national day
of action, answering calls from tribal leaders to stand in solidarity against the pipeline, according to Keri Ellis, volunteer with Burlington’s chapter of 350 Vermont, a group working to reverse climate change. Essex’s was one of five protests held around the state and one of more then 200 planned across the country on Tuesday, all in opposition to a 1,172-mile pipeline to carry crude oil from North Dakota’s Bakken oil
fields to a refinery in Illinois. The $3.8 billion project is more than 70 percent complete. Detractors say it will destroy ancient Native American burial grounds. “We took our cue from many of the events and actions that have happened in North Dakota, which are very prayerful, very respectful, very much focused on spirituality and protection, calling for respect for the sacred, calling for respect for the water,” Ellis said.
Route 117 construction, paving still underway By TOM MARBLE A construction and paving project planned for Vermont Route 117 in Essex Jct. is set to continue through this week. The project, which will span approximately one mile of Route 117, includes grinding down existing
See PIPELINE, page 4
Man's best friend
Vets honored with ceremony, luncheon
Service dog aids Essex veteran By COLIN FLANDERS
T
he processing room at Hinesburg’s police station isn’t particularly welcoming. During an unseasonably warm April evening, however, Misha PembleBelkin sat there hoping to find a new best friend. Outside the room, six dogs waited to meet him. The first two passed by, unamused. Then the next two. The fifth showed interest, but the connection wasn’t there. Pemble-Belkin, a 31-year-old veteran whose excitement piqued at the prospect of a new companion, started to wonder if he’d return to his Essex home alone. Finally, a black dog named
Meadow, a rescue from the state of Georgia, took one look at Pemble-Belkin before jumping into his lap. It was a sign. He’d been chosen. The ritual is the first step toward a lifelong bond between owner and service dog, according to Vermont State Police Cpl. Michelle LeBlanc, founder of the Vermont Paws program, which provides service dogs to veterans and first responders. LeBlanc would know: She endured a similar wait among 27 candidates for her K9 partner. “The one that really clicks to you — that can sense your vibes, sense your feelings — will stay with you,” she said.
By TOM MARBLE
T
he idea came to Bonnie Szarkowski last year when she was planning the Essex Middle School November lunch menu. Szarkowski, the Essex Town School District’s child nutrition coordinator, remembered how grateful her father, a Korean War veteran who served as a military police officer, was to businesses that accommodate vets – especially on November 11. “He would just go on and on about how he felt so proud that all of these merchants honored him,” Szarkowski said. With help from her fellow faculty, she decided to help bring that feeling to local veterans. In collaboration with the Essex Jct. VFW Post 6689, the middle school hosted a Veterans Day luncheon last Friday
See DOG, page 10
Photo by COLIN FLANDERS RIGHT: Misha Pemble-Belkin is pictured with his two daughters and service dog, Meadow, in the backyard of his Essex home Monday afternoon.
CLOSE to
HOME A monthlong series for Hospice and Home Care Month
See PAVING, page 3
See VETS, page 13
VNA: Home away from home By MICHAELA HALNON
Y
vonne Bourque has spent several years with the Visiting Nurse Association’s Adult Day program. The 85-year-old first worked as a cook at the former Williston site, preparing daytime meals
for adults of all ages and cognitive abilities. When Bourque’s aging sister needed some extra help, she took her to the program. She often stopped in to visit during the day, perhaps pausing to playing a board game or take a walk around the building. After she had a stroke last
year, just months after her husband died, Bourque knew it was her time to become a client. Last Thursday afternoon, See VNA, page 2
Photo by MICHAELA HALNON LEFT: Yvonne Bourque admires an autumnal collage she created at the VNA's Adult Day program in Essex.