Issue 4
Fall 2011
Cover photo by Marc Samson
NewsINK Staff: Editor: Sarah Aube Dana Berlin Peter Nute Robert Patton Marc Samson Brittany Valentine Adviser: Dan Williams
Cover: Parts of Burke Mountain’s new, faster lift await assembly. Story Page 20.
INSIDE
4...
Kissing a goat
8...
Concussions
Hockey rivalry ...
6
Racing horse injured ...
10
16...
Magic Spoon Bakery
22...
The Pizza Man’s bar
87-year-old author ...
18
NewsINK is a publication of the Vermont Center for Community Journalism at Lyndon State College. Find us online at Issuu.com/newsink. Address queries to: NewsINK, Department of Electronic Journalism Arts, Lyndon State College, P.O. Box 919, Lyndonville, Vt. 05849.
Kissing the goat
Thi s wa s the d e al of-
fer ed to stud en ts at St.
John sb ur y Scho ol : Rea d
2,50 0 boo ks by the e n d o f Octobe r, an d Pr in ci p al
M ar tha Du bu q u e wo ul d kis s a farm ani m al .
“ We wan ted to pr o -
m ote l i ter ac y a nd in d e -
pe nd ent re a di ng , lo ve of r ea di ng an d a h ab it of l i fel o ng r ead i ng, ” D ub uqu e sa id .
The stude n ts re a d that
St. Johnsbury School Principal Martha Dubuque makes good on a promise to kiss a goat if students read 2,500 books.
m an y and then som e, so
r i ght befo r e Th a nks g iv in g , D ub uqu e ki sse d a go at. Sh e l a id do w n the
chal l en ge in th e run - u p to the scho ol ’s bi - a n n ua l
bo ok fa i r, “To the Boo ks an d Bey o n d.”
D ur i ng the w e ek l o ng
fai r, stu d ent s co ul d com e
i n and buy bo ok s for a ny on e fr om ki nd e r g a rtne r s
to ad ul ts. Th ey co u l d al so pu r ch as e o d d bal l scho o l supp l ie s. Pri ces ra ng ed fro m $2 to $30.
“ We ha ve par en ts to
Artwork lines the walls at the weeklong book fair.
Page 4
com e hel p run th e bo o k fai r,” sa id Beth Mal l on ,
Fall 2011
the h ead librarian. “Then
b e fore and after sc hool
we ha ve our librarian as -
si stan ts help.”
The school turned a
pro fit of $1,500 on sal es of $5 ,700.
Mal lon said St.
Jo h n sb ury School’s li -
bra ry wants to buy s ome thi ng special with the mo n ey.
“This year we are
go in g to buy ‘Book-
fli cks,’“ she said. “‘Bookfli cks’ is a Scholastic
on li n e library with inter ac tive books for many
ag es. It can be ac cess ed
an ywh ere, school or at ho me.”
In ad d ition to fic tion,
the o nl ine library offer s “i n tera ctive non-fiction sto rie s as well to help
me e t state standards ," sa i d Mallon.
Right: Principal Martha Dubuque said she offered the goat-kissing challenge to promote a love of reading among students at St. Johnsbury School. Below: Leftover posters in the library from the book fair.
Photos and Story by Marc Samson NewsINK Additional reporting by Aaron Kormos
Fall 2011
Page 5
Hockey rivalry thriving between SJA and LI
Story and Photos by Dana Berlin NewsINK
High School rivalries can get pretty intense. Just look at the annual football game between St. Johnsbury Academy and Lyndon Institute. Football is not the only rivalry between the two schools. Fenton Chester Ice Arena in Lyndon Center is home to both St. Johnsbury Academy and Lyndon Institute, and the yearly game between the two teams can get pretty big. “Every bleacher is filled, and there is no standing room around the glass,” said Christian
Page 6
Henault, a former SJA player. There is something about a rival
“You know everyone from the other team, but during that forty-five minutes they’re complete strangers.” -Christian Henault
school that makes the game bigger than it actually is. Just like in football, hockey games become more than just a team rivalry. The game it-
self brings the schools, and towns into the mix. The magnitude of the game cshanges a person’s feelings towards the other town, school, and players. “You know everyone from the other team, but during that 45 minutes they’re complete strangers, they’re the enemy, the bad guys. All you want to do is ruin them,” said Henault. Pride is a big part of rivalry games as well. “There has to be pride in your school in order to consistently win during these types of games,” said Brian Hopkins, a former Lyndon Institute goalie. “You need to want it more than the other team and you need to want to beat them. You
Fall 2011
need your fans to want it too. Everyone needs to have pride in the school and yourself to be able to succeed in rivalry games.” “Lyndon was our biggest rivalry in hockey for sure,” said Henault. “I looked forward to that game from the beginning of the season.” Both Henault and Hopkins are now playing on the same team for Lyndon State College but never forget the games they played on opposite sides. “I hated them, but as soon as it is over all the hatred is gone,” Hopkins said. “I remember Henny (Christian Henault), he scored on me once but I robbed him a lot more.” The overall record between the two teams was unavailable, but former players from both sides say St. Johnsbury has the upper hand. Opposite Page: Christian Henault (left) and Brian Hopkins now play together on Lyndon State’s club hockey team, but they were bitter rivals in high school, Henault playing for St. Johnsbury Academy and Hopkins skating for Lyndon Institute.Top: Fenton Chester Arena is home to both schools’ hockey teams. Middle: LI’s banners hang above the ice. Bottom: SJA’s banners hang next to LI’s.
Fall 2011
Page 7
Concussions a hot topic among athletes
Dana Berlin NewsINK
His back planted on the boards waiting for the outlet pass, the defense struggling behind the net to get the puck out of the zone, time ticking down off the clock, 49…48…47. The pass from his defense comes towards him, his eyes focused on the puck rapidly approaching, his only thought: “Score.” As the puck makes contact with his stick, he turns his head to begin rushing up the ice. Black. “It was as if I just hit a brick wall,” said Brandon Logel, a freshman at Lyndon State College, while dis-
Page 8
cussing the play that resulted in his second concussion. “I turned my head quick and was immediately on the ground. My head hit the ice and I immediately had a headache.”
“It was as if I just hit a brick wall.” -Brandon Logel
Concussions have been a big issue among high school, college, and professional athletes alike. Within the past few years, more and more concussion testing and screen-
ing has been implemented for the benefit of these athletes. At LSC pre-season tests take place to give athletic trainers adequate information to assess the severity of all concussions and concussion symptoms. “Students are asked to count backwards, remember words, and perform balance examinations during the preseason, so that if there is thought of a possible concussion the trainers can repeat these exams to diagnose and treat any injuries that occur,” said Andrew Saltarella, a student in the Exercise Science Department at LSC and captain of the hockey team. The protocol for concussion test-
Fall 11
ing and evaluation is mandatory for today’s athletes but was a rare occurrence just a few years ago. “I was lucky to have the trainer that I did,” said Christian Henault a member of the LSC hockey team, who suffered a concussion while in high school. “I don’t think a lot of people would have treated me the same way I was treated. Now it’s the way you have to do it, but back then it was not as common.” Brandon Logel was not as lucky when it came to the resources available when he had his first concussion. “I got hit in a similar way to my most recent concussion, but it was unfortunate because it was during spring league so there were no trainers available. My coach just asked me if I was okay, asked if I had a headache and basically told me to suck it up.” There is no argument that hockey players hate it when they miss games because of concussions. “It sucks to sit out, obviously, not being able to help your team if they are losing, not having any control over the outcome of a game, but I would rather be able to play down the road than to play in that moment,” Henault said. “The possibility of severe damage to the brain with continued play while you have a concussion is a greater risk than to sit out for a few games.”
Fall 2011
Opposite page: A Lyndon State hockey player collides with a Coast Guard Academy opponent at a recent game at Fenton Chester Arena. Top: Another collision sends an LSC skater and a Coast Guard player to the ice. Above: A Coast Guard player suffers an injury and receives medical attention on the ice. Left: As a precaution, paramedics check the Coast Guard skater in the ambulance. Photos by Eric Blaisdell
Page 9
Horse battles injuries; racing future in doubt
Story and photos by Peter Nute
Christine Seymour of Lyndonville, Vermont, watches her horse Legacy step in place nervously about the barn, scars from more than 200 stitches clearly visible on the animal’s stomach and leg. “We don’t know what happened,” Seymour says. “Nobody really knows.” Seymour was racing Legacy in October at the National Barrel Horse Association World Championships in Perry, Georgia, when the horse decided to jump a 6-foot gate. “Her front feet cleared it,” Seymour recalls. “She caught the gate
Page 10
about chest level. I caught my foot on the rail.” Seymour somersaulted. She remembers hoping to avoid the saddle horn because riders have been killed catching the horn in the chest or head. “I rode her all the way to the ground, upside down. I remember hitting my shoulder and my hip. She came down sideways instead of completely on top of me and landed across my legs.” Incredibly, both horse and rider sprang to their feet. “All I saw was a trail of blood, and when I got over there, she was just ripped open,” Seymour says. When Legacy crashed the gate, the broken rail pierced the horse’s leg down to the
bone and tore into the membrane that protects her stomach. She had three rib fractures and a chip in her shoulder. She needs months of rehabilitation and takes antibiotics and pain killers. Doctors doubt she will race again. Seymour escaped with a broken foot. She has been racing since 1994 and has no plans to stop. In the spring she will start training Legacy’s sister, Vegas, as a barrel racer. Seymour says she has no clues to Legacy’s unusual behavior on that day in October, but she suspected something was a little off. L e g a c y needed no coaxing to approach the starting position before the run.
Fall 2011
“It was one of those unique times that she just walked right up to the gate,” Seymour said. “I thought, ‘This isn’t right. It’s cool, but it isn’t right.’” Legacy took off normally but “changed gears” at the first barrel. When Seymour tried to take her
around the second barrel, she spun and charged toward the gate. “I went to pull back on her and nothing happened. I could see the whites of her eyes and feel the stiffness of her neck.” Seymour had a second or two to brace for impact.
“Luck on my part” is how Seymour credits her survival. She looks over at Legacy, who is standing above a blue bucket eating noisily after receiving a round of medication. “My main focus is on her.” Legacy has been injured before. In 2008 she
broke the coffin bone, the largest bone in the hoof, and doctors doubted she would come back from the accident. But Legacy prevailed, and Seymour hopes that with the medication and rehabilitation, she will be able to race again.
Opposite page: American quarterhorse Legacy at the barn. Above: Owner Christine Seymour injecting Legacy with a round of antibiotics. Left: A veterinarian dresses Legacy’s wounds after the crash. Right: Legacy after her wounds had been cleaned. Below:Legacy’s leg after stitches.
NewsINK is a publication of the Vermont Center for Community Journalism at Lyndon State College. Find us online at Issuu.com (search for “NewsINK”). Address queries to: NewsINK, Deptartment of Electronic Journalism Arts, Lyndon State College, P.O. Box 919, Lyndonville, Vt. 05851
Fall 2011
Page 11
Farm bill to help economy, allies say
A view from Meadow View Farm in Lyndonville, Vermont.
Page 12
The Local Farms, Food and Jobs Act could shift the balance of where Vermonters buy their food. Vermonters buy about 95 percent of their food from out of state. Supporters of the legislation say a 5-percent shift could generate $88 million dollars and create more than 1,500 jobs. Paul Downing of Meadow View Farm in Lyndonville supports the act. “Basically it’s going to allow us to easily, or more easily, distribute our products through the farmers markets and the programs where they are giving out coupons to needy families that need to have some kind of subsidies in order to pay for these foods,” said Downing of the act. Downing believes that the 5-percent target will not be difficult to hit and believes that the number can be taken even higher if it will help Vermonters, the economy, and people’s health. “Local food is not necessarily cheaper than stuff that’s brought in from the other side of the country, but it is a healthier product and it’s bet-
Photo by Peter Nute
ter for you. Plus, building the local economy is certainly the way to go,” said Downing. Senator Patrick Leahy is co-sponsoring the act. The bill was designed as an addition to the 2012 farm bill. Should the act go into effect, supporters say it will help small family farms get better crop insurance, build infrastructure to allow farmers and food businesses to handle more products, and increase food safety training. “I think the act is a step in the right direction,” said Downing. “I certainly support it. Most of the farmers that I know are very interested in it; they feel it’s going to be beneficial for them. It’s a win-win situation.”
Reporting by David Carmichael Editing by Peter Nute
Fall 2011
Left: The entrance to Meadow View Farm. Below: Cattle grazing in the pasture at Meadow View. The new act could potentially assist farmers, such as Paul Downing from Meadow View, in distributing goods across Vermont. Photos by Peter Nute
Supporters say the act will
* Eliminate penalties for production of fruits and vegetables on land previously dedicated to row crops. * Support organic farming by authorizing the Risk Management Agency to eliminate the organic premium surcharge and by funding the National Organic Certification Cost Share Program. * Reduce barriers to institutional purchasing, better linking Vermont farms with Vermont schools, hospitals and other institutions. * Help farmers sell products directly to needy people through their electronic food benefit accounts.
Fall 2011
Page 13
Seniors share memories
When residents at the Good Living Senior Center in St. Johnsbury started meeting and sharing stories four years ago, nobody expected they would become authors one day. Now they are. “The Good Living Review” is a collection of memoirs written by 20 members of the group. They take readers back to times when things were very different. Some of the stories go back 75 years, and many take place in the Northeast Kingdom.
Page 14
"We were all brought up in about
the Depression era,” says one au-
thor, Betty Blake. “I was a child of the Depression too. I lived out on the
farm in Lyndonville... and we were poor people."
Group members come from Lyn-
donville, Sutton, St. Johnsbury,
Sheffield and Westmore. They have
been writing for almost three years. One piece in the book was written by Clara Fisher, who remembers
growing up in Germany during World War Two: “There were big placards of threatening ‘Jews’ in public places, but I never connected these with people who lived in our neighborhood: Our kindly dentist, about whom my mother worried when he suddenly disappeared, and my older sister’s school friend who had to move to a ghetto in the city.” Another author in the book, Rosalie Vear, also reminisces about the war.
Clockwise from left: Rosalie Vear designed the cover of the memoir from the Good Living Senior Center. Harman Clark reads an excerpt he wrote. The book is opened to an excerpt titled “Over The Store” by Ruth Allard.
Fall 2011
Photo courtesy of Good Living Review .Residents of the Good Living Center in St. Johnsbury work on their memoirs with Reeve Lindbergh.
By the time of my graduation [at St. Johnsbury Academy] more than half of the boys in my class were in the service and one, who had lied about his age, was killed in action at seventeen. The boys didn’t think about dying, they wanted to win thewar and win it fast.” Other sections of the book are lighter, such as Jean Ashley’s story about milking cows: “Milking was usually peaceful and rewarding. With my head up against her warm side, talking soothingly to Big Lady or Blackie, I squeezed and pulled rhyth-
Fall 2011
mically and the warm milk flowed into a pail with a pleasing sound.” As the group continues to meet, their bond continues to become stronger. “We've gotten to know each other and to open up and learn things that you wouldn't publish or even talk about with others," says Harman Clark, another author featured in the book. A Northeast Kingdom author, Reeve Lindbergh, selected the stories for the book and managed the publishing process.
“I found myself so fascinated by the stories that came out of this group and really I enjoyed so much being with the people,” says Lindbergh. ““This is a group that just wants to tell their own story and the stories are fantastic.” The book is for sale for $10 at Boxcar and Caboose on Railroad Street in St. Johnsbury, and all profits go to the Good Living Senior Center. Reporting by Joseph Peters and Jessica Walsh. Photography by Bryan White and Ryan Holmes. Editing by Sarah Aube.
Page 15
Taste the Magic at the Magic Spoon Bakery
the only baker in Vermont who makes the filled pastries High hopes and a strong support system turned known as rugelach, or Linzer Tortes with their trademark Carmela Ram’s bakery dream into a reality; that and a lattice tops. crooked back. Ram moved to the United States in 1984. “A spiritual Ram found herself unemployed after a bakery where teacher that I knew lived in New York City at the time. she worked was sold. That’s who really convinced me to come to America.” “I knew that nobody will hire me,” she recalls. “My body is all bent and crooked – like a pretHardwick became Ram’s home in zel. Somebody would look at me and say, “I try to always add 2007, and she says the community ‘Hell, no, I don’t hire this woman..’ I knew something that nomade her feel welcome. She tries to give back now by using as many local I had to start something for myself.” ingredients as she can. “I’ve decided In January 2010, Ram started Magic body else is doing.” that even though I’m expanding, I want Spoon Bakery in her home in Hardwick. to stick to local goods. This way I supShe learned many of the recipes from her port my community as they supported grandmother while growing up in Israel. me.” “Everything I do I try to make with a little twist,” she One of her favorite menu items is pita bread. “It’s a says. “I try to always add something that nobody else is simple bread, but very particular. You have to do it a spedoing.” For example, Ram uses extra virgin olive oil and cial way and cover it all the time. When we do pita bread sea salt in her granola bars. She says she thinks she is
-Carmela Ram
Photos courtesy of Carmela Ram.
Page 16
Fall 2011
we take over the whole bakery. I call it a labor of love because we don’t do much money on them. The ingredients aren’t expensive but the labor is expensive.” Don’t expect Ram to share her recipes. “Rugelach is from my grandmother,” Ram says. “Me and three sons know how to do the dough. It’s really a family secret. I actually don’t want anybody to know how to do the dough.“ Editing by Brittany Valentine NewsINK
Photos clockwise from top right: One of Carmela Ram’s favortie menu items, pita bread; chocolate chip cookies from the Magic Spoon Bakery; rugelach from a secret family recipe; Ram hard at work making rugelach.
Fall 2011
Page 17
Long, hard road for Peacham author, 87 Robert Patton NewsINK
What does it take to write a 500-page novel that spans two continents and more than 60 years of history—a book that tells the story of love and war, of life and death and rebirth? For an 87year-old resident of Peacham, Vermont, it took eight years of effort with the support of a wife who retyped his manuscript eight times before throwing up her arms in frustration. “Wildwood,” Stuart O’Brien’s epic story, is set largely on the islands of the Pacific where U.S. Marines are locked in a life-anddeath struggle with Japanese soldiers during World War Two. Page 18
Thousands of Marines died,and families back home were faced with the need to make peace with memories once peace was restored. O’Brien now spends summers in Vermont and winters in Florida, but he grew up in New Jersey,
and Wildwood Avenue in Montclair is where his characters reside until the world goes to war. The project started at a high school reunion in Montclair. Reminiscing with his aging classmates, Stuart agreed to research and write about the life of a highFall 2011
school buddy who died fighting the Japanese in the Pacific. Stuart himself served in Italy with the U.S. Army Air Corps, so his research into the Pacific War opened up a new world for him. He was fascinated with what he learned, especially when his investigation uncovered the fact that his deceased friend had left behind a lover in Montclair, who was so committed that she spent the decades that followed without a mate, remembering only the young man she had hoped to marry. The true story he uncovered was so powerful that he determined to write the story as a novel that blended truth with fiction but preserved the adventure, the conflict and the passion of real-life drama. But there was a problem—a very big problem. O’Brien had to learn to write. Never before had he written anything beyond business reports, correspondence, and school compositions. Most writers today use word processing programs on computers. Not O’Brien. Every word of his magFall 2011
Photo by Robert Patton
Stuart O’Brien peruses his epic World War II novel, “Wildwood.”
num opus was set down with pen on paper. Aside from writing, he had much to learn about the years that stretched from December 7, 1941, to the day the Japanese signed the “instrument of surrender.” But O’Brien didn’t do Internet research either. He learned about the key events of the war from books. To make those events come to life, O’Brien relied on others who had fought in the Pacific. He spent many hours with Fred Fortin, a Peacham neighbor who, like the hero of “Wildwood,” fought in the Pacific with the 2nd Marine Division. O’Brien has captured the feeling of that life and death struggle in
places like Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and Saipan. To do that successfully, he needed to learn to paint pictures with words. Enter Bill and Sharon Biddle who have led a writers’ group in St. Johnsbury for many years. Biddle teaches freshman English at Lyndon State College, and O’Brien credits his criticism and advice for turning him from neophyte to novelist. Twice a month in the warmer parts of the year, O’Brien would read pages of the work in progress to his fellow writers. They knew, of course, that these pages were intended to be parts of a novel, but like the fabled blind men and the elephant, the big picture was never
fully revealed to them. One member of the group privately opined that this book might be interesting to the few surviving members of the generation that remembered Pearl Harbor. But Stuart’s vision went far beyond that limited idea. “Wildwood” is a powerful story about life-and-death struggle and undying love and devotion. His war scenes are so gripping and graphic that this reader felt engaged in the struggle. His characters, many of whom are drawn from life, are fleshed out by the novelist’s art. At the same time his description of life in a New Jersey suburb takes us back to a time when life seemed simpler. Pearl Harbor brings that idyllic life to a close as young American men go off to war, often leaving young women that care about them behind. The Boxcar and Caboose bookstore in St. Johnsbury printed a small number of copies of the novel. They are circulating among O’Brien’s circle of friends in the Northeast Kingdom and in Vero Beach, Florida, his winter home. Page 19
Green and True in the North
As winter approaches, Burke Mountain is launching a new marketing campaign as well as other attractions. The new slogan is True North. Ads call it "Less a point on a compass, more a way of life. A way of life we're fighting to preserve for skiers and riders everywhere,” Burke hopes to attract more skiers, but the slogan is only one of the newer additions. Burke Mountain hopes to finish construction on a new lift by the end of December. The lift goes from the middle of the mountain to the summit in half the time that the “Willoughby Lift” did.
Page 20
Its new name as of now is the “Mid-Burke Express.” Manufactured by Leitner-Poma, it will carry riders up the mountain at 11 miles per hour. With the new lift, five newer trails are also being opened: Upper Lift Line, an intermediate trail; Rerun, Upper Power Line, and Lower Power Line, all expert trails; and Jester, a terrain park trail. Burke will use its mountain biking trail to serve as a terrain park. "Hopefully some of the marketing efforts we do will increase visitors to Burke itself and that obviously flows right into the community," Tim McGuire, Burke’s vice
president and general manager. But it doesn’t stop there. Burke has constructed a turbine that will produce 20 percent of the mountain’s energy. “It obviously reduces our energy impact and is really a sensible project for us, and it really pushes us towards our sustainable energy effort,” said McGuire. Opening anywhere from the end of November to mid-December, Burke is also going to be marketing to metropolitan areas such as New York and Boston to increase its business.
Reporting by Rene Thibault and Michael Henessey Editing by Marc Samson
Fall 2011
Photos document the progress of construction on the Mid-Burke Express, the new lift at Burke Mountain. The quad lift will carry skiers up the mountain at 11 miles per hour.
Photos by Marc Samson
Fall 2011
Page 21
Not all beer and pizza
If you’d rather have a rum and Coke than a beer while eating at The Pizza Man, you’re now in luck.
The owner of The Pizza Man is remodeling the restaurant for the addition of a full sports bar, where liquor will now be served, multiple additional TVs will be put in, and the bar itself will be moved and expanded. “We have a small area now,” said owner Shane Switser of the expansion. “When there are bigger sports events, we have more than five people who want to watch the game.” Switser says that this is something that he has wanted to do with the restaurant for a while. The remodeling is happening little by little, and they are hoping to finish it soon. When the bar is all set up, it will be open until 11 p.m. during the week and midnight on Friday and Saturday. Currently, the restaurant is open until 9 on weeknights, and 10 on weekends. However, the restaurant has received a license
Page 22
Photos and Story by Sarah Aube
from the town that permits Switser to serve alcohol until 1:30 if he ever chooses to. “We’ll see how it goes,” said Switser. “If there’s a need for it, we’ll stay open till 1:30.”
Fall 2011
During the additional hours after the restaurant itself closes, the bar will still serve food, but from a more limited bar menu. As for being competition with other local bars, Phat Kats and The Packing House, Switser says that’s not his aim. “The goal is not to create a nightclub. We’re trying to be a restaurant with a full service bar,” said Switser. “I think that we’re filling some sort of a need in the area.” Owner Chad Pilotte of Phat
Kat’s says that he does not think that this addition to The Pizza
Man will affect him adversely because they serve different customers. He said it is actually a good idea.
“It’s good to have a couple
more places around here,” says Pilopte. “It gets people out and
doing things.” The remodeling of The Pizza Man is giving the restaurant a new entrance, so customers won’t have to walk through the bar to get to the dining area. “We’re hoping to keep a family-friendly environment,” says Switser. Photos on opposite page, clockwise from top left: Beer on tap behind the new bar. The dining room, which will have a separate entrance when the bar opens. The new entrance. Right: The old entrance is closed off.
Fall 2011
Page 23