The Charlotte News | January 10, 2018

The

VOLUME LX NUMBER 13 | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 10, 2018

Charlotte News Charlotte’s award-winning community newspaper

FreezE in the new year!

2018 Kicks off with record low temperatures

Legislator Preview High School Sports Senior Center Highlights Announces New Director for 2018 page 1 page 2 page 10

CharlotteNewsVT.org

Vol. 60, no. 13 January 10, 2018

Charlotte News

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Selectboard Meeting Covered an Array of Issues Gail Callahan CONTRIBUTOR

The Jan. 8 Selectboard meeting saw an array of issues discussed, including the next step in jumpstarting the search for a new Zoning Administrator.

Board members reviewed a job description contained in their packets, which was written after receiving input from a Planning Commissioner and a representative from the Zoning Board.

Following a review by the board, a new employment description was refined. Former Zoning Administrator Joe Rheaume left his position about a month ago for a new job at Norwich University. Just over a year ago, the Selectboard voted to increase Rheaume’s hours from 25 to 28. In October 2016, Rheaume was appointed health officer by the board. Then, Cali Griswold became the deputy health officer.

Rheaume was hired by the town nearly two years ago. He and Daryl Benoit filled positions formerly held

by Jeanine McCrumb. She left in early 2016 to pursue other employment opportunities, she said at the time.

The Planning Commission entered into an executive or private session during its Dec. 7, 2017, meeting to “discuss personnel matters.” According to minutes from that gathering, the talk involved zoning administrator applicants. The Commission decided to hold the discussion in secret session since “premature knowledge (of the matter) might place the town at a disadvantage.” The talk last nearly 10 minutes and the regular Planning Commission hearing resumed, according to the Dec. 7, 2017, minutes.

As the Selectboard reviewed the job description, members discussed the composition of the search committee.

Following the meeting, Selectboard

member Carrie Spear said salary and hours for the position are slated to be based on experience.

A committee comprised of Five Planning Commissioners, two zoning board members and Town Administrator Dean Bloch, is expected to help search for a new Charlotte zoning administrator.

Applications for the position are due at the end of January. Because the search committee contains a quorum of Planning Commission members, the full seven-member body won’t be required to recommend a candidate to the Selectboard, Bloch added.

The Selectboard will hire a candidate to fill the position. The job is slated to be advertised in the local media as well as on the town web site.

In other business the Selectboard also discussed: The Selectboard hopes to finalize the proposed FY 2019 municipal budget

during its Jan. 16 meeting. At the same time, town officials also hope to finalize the town warning for March Town Meeting.

Bloch told the board that the proposal includes an anticipated cost of living is that is projected to rise 1.9 percent. The budgeting process started in early fall.

During Town Meeting, Charlotte residents will gather to discuss an array of issues. Town races and the proposed Champlain Valley unified School District budget are also slated to be considered by voters using Australian balloting at March Town Meeting. This is the first time the towns that comprise the new school region will vote on a school- spending plan.

The proposed FY 2019 municipal budget is slated to be voted on by Australian ballot in April, according to Charlotte Assistant Town Clerk and Assistant Treasurer Christina Booher.

Senior Center Welcomes New Director Carolyn Kulik, the new Director of the Charlotte Senior Center, has many interests. She worked in Asia for eight years and has 20 years of experience in cross-cultural training and English as a second language.

While she predominantly taught adults, her youngest students were prekindergarteners.

She lived for 14 years in Seattle, working for a fishing company and as the director of a refugee resettlement program. But she is most proud of learning how to drive a 40-foot tour bus and simultaneously narrate four-hour city tours while navigating downtown Seattle traffic over two summer vacations.

After initially moving to Vermont in the early 1970s to teach at the School for International Training, on her return she was the director of the Apple Tree Gallery in Brattleboro. In Burlington, she taught at UVM for five years and at St. Michael’s College for three summers. She rarely tells anyone that she still holds a Thoroughbred Mutuel (betting) Clerk License that she utilized one summer at Saratoga Race Track and later at the Belmont Stakes.

Carolyn enjoys museums and art, listening to Irish music, singing shape-note music, the friendliness of Vermonters and the beauty of our countryside. Currently living in Essex,

Carolyn Kulik she would welcome a move to Charlotte or Shelburne, possibly in a home share situation. She looks forward to meeting as many Charlotters as possible as she settles into her new position. Come to the Senior Center and meet its creative, friendly and well-traveled new Director!

Super moon over Charlotte.

Commentary 2 • Around Town 7 • Senior Center News 14

Photo by Lee Krohn

2 • January 10, 2018 • The Charlotte News

Report from the Legislature 2018 Session Preview Patience and persistence: these are two qualities that I learned are essential to working in the Legislature.

The issues that the Legislature has to address are often Mike Yantachka very complex CONTRIBUTOR and do not lend themselves to simple solutions. Measures that are enacted sometimes fail to have the desired effect and have to be tweaked by subsequent legislation.

Governor Peter Shumlin in his 2014 State of the State speech to the Legislature identified opiate abuse as a major crisis in Vermont. While Vermont stood alone at the time in putting a spotlight on this problem, opioid abuse is now acknowledged to be a national epidemic. Since that time much attention and money have been focused on the problem in Vermont. Yet it persists and continues to grow. Vermont is still one of the top five states for heroin use as a percentage of adult population. This has resulted in a 38-percent increase in caseload for the Department of Children and Families, due largely to children of opiate-addicted parents. One piece of good news is that Vermont has the lowest rate of drug overdose deaths in New England.

The opioid problem is one of several major issues the Legislature will continue dealing

with as we begin the 2018 session.

Another issue that will require many more years of attention is the condition of our lakes and streams. This is not only an environmental problem but an economic one as well. Tourism is a major part of Vermont’s economy. Algae blooms not only detract from the appeal of Vermont to tourists, but they lower property values and impact health. Treasurer Beth Pearce identified enough financial resources to fund a $25 million per year mitigation program for two years. We’re already through the first year, so we need to come up with a sustainable source of funds for this decades-long task. Governor Scott is advocating bonding or raiding the capital budget to solve the problem, but this just pushes the cost of the cleanup into the future. We need to be courageous enough to deal with this problem in the present.

Another persistent problem that will take courage and foresight to address adequately is climate change. We have to reduce our use of fossil fuels. Vermont’s Comprehensive Energy Plan calls for a 25-percent decrease in greenhouse gas (GHG) levels by 2050.

However, while we have made healthy strides in reducing the carbon footprint of our electricity generation, the amount of GHG emissions in Vermont has increased by 4 percent over 1990 levels. Our transportation and heating requirements have driven this increase. Governor Scott’s Climate Change Commission has worked during the summer to suggest steps that can

be taken to reverse this trend. A group of legislators, including myself, has also been working on a strategy that will be rolled out in January. We look forward to working with the Scott administration to adopt a plan that will be good for Vermonters and Vermont’s economy.

I can’t end without mentioning the challenges that the recently passed Trump Tax Act will cause for Vermont. The Green Mountain Care Board has already projected health insurance costs to increase because of the repeal of the individual mandate that requires everyone to have health insurance.

The response of many Vermonters to prepay their 2018 property taxes to take advantage of the disappearing deduction for state and local taxes will impact revenues for 2018 and beyond unless we modify our own income tax formula. Federal budget reductions that will be required to balance the tax cuts will put further pressure on states to compensate for programs that will suffer, thereby putting at risk many lowincome Vermonters, our efforts to clean up our waters, and our state budget.

I wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous 2018 and look forward once again to keeping you informed about the Legislature while we are in session.

I encourage you to let me know your concerns and opinions. I can be reached by phone (802-233-5238) or by email (myantachka.dfa@gmail.com), and you can find this article and past articles on my website, MikeYantachka.com.

Commentary Until that changes…

Rev. Kevin Goldenbogen On Monday, Dec.11, 2017, the Social Justice Ministry of Charlotte Congregational Church (United Church of Christ) joined at least nine other faith communities in Vermont in hosting vigils called #endgunviolence. These vigils were held on or around the 5th anniversary of the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, with the awareness that since Newtown there have been many more mass shootings in the United States. We began our vigil by lighting candles and praying in silence for 45 minutes. We then gathered for a group conversation where we: · lamented the violence, · wondered together how we came to this pattern of violence in our country, · observed how seldom we manage to actually listen to one another about the topic of guns and gun violence, · named how hard it is in conversations about gun violence to move beyond binary talking points, · named the strong resistance by many

· · ·

· · ·

to even consider new gun laws, expressed outrage, fear, anger and sadness, questioned the usefulness of vigils, celebrated how our faith as followers of Jesus Christ provides us with the community, the energy and the vision we need to work for change over the long-term, called one another to connect, contact our legislators, and to act, longed for the end of violence in general and gun violence in particular, and ended our time in group prayer and by lighting the night outside the church as our witness to both the reality of gun violence and our resistance to it.

I am proud to have been part of this vigil. I am proud to be part of both a church community and a wider community that are willing to host such an event. At the same time, though, I am mindful that we need more than vigils. How many vigils were held after Newtown? How many were held before? Still… still…still… mass shooting after mass shooting occurs

in this country.

As a country boy who learned to shoot when I was five and whose first job was setting trap at a gun club, I am not OK with that. Whoever you are, whatever your background and however you vote, you are not OK with that. Those in favor of more gun regulation and those who adamantly oppose it are not OK with that.

And yet, at the risk of sounding preachy, I will observe that after each shooting we seem content to mourn, weep, and be outraged and to give into the feeling that it’s all beyond our control.

The truth is, gun violence is not beyond our control; it’s just beyond our current will to end it. Until that changes, I will attend vigils. Until that changes, I will pray, talk and lament. Until that changes, I will use my ears and my voice to help change the violence that is, into the just peace that can be. Until that changes, I will work to #endgunviolence, and I invite you to do the same.

Kevin Goldenbogen is the senior pastor at the Charlotte Congregational Church, United Church of Christ.

The Charlotte News The Charlotte News is a nonprofit community-based newspaper dedicated to informing townspeople of current events and issues. It serves as a forum for the free exchange of views of town residents and celebrates the people, places and happenings that make the Town of Charlotte unique.

Contributions in the form of articles, press releases and photographs pertaining to Charlotte-related people and events are accepted and encouraged. For submission guidelines and deadlines, please visit our website or contact the editor at news@thecharlottenews.org.

The Charlotte News is published in Charlotte by The Charlotte News, Inc., a Vermont domestic 501(c)(4) nonprofit corporation. Distribution is made every other Wednesday to all households and businesses in Charlotte and to more than 50 outlets in Shelburne, Hinesburg, North Ferrisburgh, Ferrisburgh, Vergennes and Burlington. The Charlotte News relies on the generous financial contributions of its readers, subscriptions and advertising revenue to sustain its operations.

Editorial Staff news@thecharlottenews.org Contributing Editor: Edd Merritt Copy editors: Beth Merritt, Vince Crockenberg, Edd Merritt, Mike & Janet Yantachka Layout Manager: Anna Cyr Staff writer: Keith Morrill Archives: Liz Fotouhi Business Staff ads@thecharlottenews.org / 343-0279 Ad manager: Monica Marshall Business manager: Jessica Lucia Board Members President: Vince Crockenberg Secretaries: Rick Detwiler, Carol Hanley Treasurer: Patrice Machavern Board members: Rachel Allard, Bob Bloch, Gay Regan, Louisa Schibli Subscription Information The Charlotte News is delivered at no cost to all Charlotte residences. Subscriptions are available for first-class delivery at $40 per calendar year. Want a subscription?

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Copyright © 2018 The Charlotte News, Inc. Printed in Burlington, Vermont, by Gannet Publishing Services Member of the New England Newspaper and Press Association and the Vermont Press Association.

The Charlotte News • January 10, 2018 • 3

Letters What are the practicalities of the carbon tax bill?

It would be difficult to disagree with the words of Rep. Mike Yantachka in accepting an award for supporting passage of the “carbon tax” bill in the Legislature.

No question, there is a need to reduce human consumption of fossil fuels.

But what are the practicalities in Vermont of putting a 40-cents per gallon tax on heating oil, a 24-cents per gallon tax on propane and a 32-cents per gallon tax on gasoline? Under the newest version of the legislation, 50 percent of the proceeds will go to electric utilities to reduce rates and help pay for renewable energy initiatives, and 50 percent will go to for rebates to low-income Vermonters.

The problem is that Vermont is a cold and rural state. Substantial reduction in driving and home heating are not optional for most people even if they are reimbursed for the tax at a later date. Unlike urban areas, we have a very limited public transportation system. Will people stop driving to work unless they can afford an electric car? Will people switch to electric heat on the assumption that rates will go down enough to pay the bill?

More problematical is that, once the Legislature gets this new pot of money, it will behave as it always has and use some of it or eventually even all of it for current budget needs.

Ed Amidon Popple Dungeon Rd.

Stop the new energy plan The proposed 2018 Town Plan includes an Energy Plan crafted by our Energy Committee. For this, our Committee relied on guidance, training, assistance, and review by the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission (CCRPC), whose energy model our Committee accepted with blind enthusiasm, unaware of various mistakes, such as the following. A gross arithmetic mistake is found on p. 19 of the CCRPCVT. org plan document MunicipalEnergy-Data-Assumptions-andMethodology-2017-06-09.pdf.

As an example of a proposed formula for regional solar PV goals, this document offers an equation for the required solar goal (in MW) of a typical region: ½ (5.8 + 4.0) × 1,742 – 3.6667 = 85.

Any sixth-grader can tell you that the combination of numbers on the left side of this equation does not give anything near 85. I invite the Energy Committee to dissect and fix this daft mistake, and to check all the numerical tables in the CCRPC documents for similar mistakes— if you find one flea on your cat, you should expect to find many more.

And there is a fundamental mistake in the design of the proposed formula. The numbers 5.8 and 4.0 are, respectively, the region’s percentages of Vermont’s population and available land area for solar installations. The proposed formula leads to the absurdity that for a hypothetical region with zero area (so 4.0 is changed to 0) there is still a nonzero solar goal. In contrast, for a region with zero population, the formula dictates that only half of the area is to be used—another absurdity, because in any unpopulated region we might as well fill the entire area with those ugly solar panels, and no harm done. I invite the Energy Committee to contrive a better formula. (Hint: How about a goal directly proportional to available area and inversely proportional to population?)

Furthermore, there is another mistake in the CCRPC plan in that it misconstrues the meaning of the State-average goal of 90% renewables by 2050. This goal was never intended to be applied uniformly to all counties. It was always obvious that some counties have better wind and solar resources than others. To impose on all counties the same goal is an unwarranted overreach.

I recommend that the Energy Committee be instructed to do some serious thinking instead of playing follow-the-leader.

And meanwhile let’s leave the Town’s Energy Plan blank, to be filled in later, when we have a better understanding of the consequences of the CCRPC plan, especially the financial consequences, about which CCRPC says nothing whatsoever. Is it wooden-headedness or corruption that causes our renewables enthusiasts to ignore the obvious possibility of buying cheap, very clean electric energy from HydroQuebec?

Hans Ohanian Charlotte

Tax rates, merger tax incentives and budgets Mary Mead TOWN CLERK/TREASURER

An article on page 14 in the Dec. 13 issue of The Charlotte News, “Commissioner of Taxes Releases FY2019 Education Yield Letter,” quoted Jeanne Jensen, the chief operating officer of the Champlain Valley School District, as saying, “Finally, taxpayers should remember that we will be receiving the second year of our district consolidation tax incentive, which will provide CVSD tax payers with an 8 cent reduction on their tax bill.” That is not quite correct. We will be receiving an eight-cent merger tax incentive, but that does not mean that the tax rate on your tax bill will be eight cents lower.

The merger tax incentive is only part of the equation to arrive at the final homestead education tax rate.

A crucial component of that equation is per-pupil spending for the Champlain Valley School District. That number is affected by expenditures, revenues and the number of equalized pupils.

If expenditures increase more than revenues increase, then per-pupil spending increases. If the number of equalized pupils decreases, per-pupil spending also increases. To date, perpupil spending in the CVSD is unknown.

The state has projected per-pupil spending for next year at $9,842. This is not finalized yet, but last year that number was $10,160. How does this affect the tax rate? Last year per-pupil spending for our consolidated district was $15,400.95. That amount divided by $10,160 is $1.5158. Last year the merger tax incentive was 10 cents, which when applied to the homestead equalized tax rate of $1.5158 reduced the rate to $1.4158. The CLA (Common Level of Appraisal) for Charlotte last year was 99 percent, which yielded a FY17/18 homestead education tax rate of $1.4301

($1.4158/.99).

So, let’s say per-pupil spending next year in the CVSD is the same as this year, $15,400.95, and the state’s perpupil spending is reduced to $9,842. $15,400.95 divided by $9,842 yields a tax rate of $1.5648. The eight-cent merger incentive reduces that rate to $1.4848. However, Charlotte’s CLA is now 98.2 percent, and dividing $1.4848 by 0.982 yields a tax rate of $1.512— eight cents higher than last year’s rate of $1.4158, even after applying the eightcent merger incentive.

If equations are too confusing to follow, consider just this: perpupil spending remains the primary determinant of a town’s tax rate. Perpupil spending is further negatively affected by the state decreasing the base per-pupil spending from $10,160 to $9,842—the state refers to this number as the “homestead yield.” A decrease in the CLA from 100 percent increases the resulting tax rate.

Yes, we are receiving an eight-cent tax incentive for consolidating. But, no, that does not necessarily mean an eight-cent reduction on your tax bill.

The homestead yield decreasing from $10,160 to possibly $9,842 is costly to taxpayers.

PUBLICATION DATES January 24 Columns/features deadline: January 14 Letters due: January 21 Ads deadline: January 18 February 7, 2018 Columns/features deadline: January 28 Letters due: February 4 Ads deadline: February 1

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4 • January 10, 2018 • The Charlotte News

News from The News Fundraising. Thank you to everyone who responded to our 2017 fundraising appeals. We finished the year having met our fundraising goal, and because of the support of both our donors and our loyal advertisers we enter 2018 in good shape financially. We look forward to your continued support in the new year.

Editor search. At its December 13 meeting, the News Board decided to extend the search for a new editor into late January. We placed ads in the January 10 print issue of Seven Days as well as on sevendaysvt.com, Front Porch Forum and Craig’s List. We’ll be interviewing finalists for the position during the week of January 22. Here’s who we’re searching for: The Charlotte News, Charlotte’s biweekly nonprofit community newspaper, is looking for a new editor. The editor works with a layout manager, an ad manager, and a team of volunteer writers, copyeditors, proof readers and photographers to produce multimedia stories of interest to Charlotters.

Strong writing and organizational skills are a must, as is newspaper or other publishing experience. A good eye for photography, as well as familiarity with the Town of Charlotte, would be helpful.

The paper is published 25 times a year, and the position requires about 40 hours per issue. Pay is commensurate with experience.

The News, founded in 1958, is Vermont’s oldest nonprofit community newspaper. If you’re interested in taking the paper into its seventh decade as the Voice of the Town and would like more information about the position and the search process, please contact Rick Detwiler at rickdetwiler2@gmail.comby January 21.

Town

Notice of 2nd Public Hearing For Proposed Town Plan Town Of Charlotte Selectboard Pursuant to 24 V.S.A. Section 4385, the Charlotte Selectboard will hold its second public hearing to receive public comments on a proposed amended Charlotte Town Plan on Monday, January 22, 2018, at 6:30 p.m. at the Charlotte Town Hall, 159 Ferry Road. Public comments may also be submitted in writing in advance of the public hearing.

The Town Plan includes development policies for the town and also provides a basis for bylaws and other municipal ordinances which implement the policies in the Town Plan. The proposed Town Plan affects all land within the town.

The table of contents for the proposed

Town Plan contains the following major topic headings: 1. Charlotte Tomorrow 1.1 Vision and Goals 1.2 Future Land Use 1.3 Regional Context 1.4 Natural Resources 1.5 Lake & Shoreline 1.6 Agriculture & Forestry 1.7 Historical & Cultural Resources 1.8 Demographics & Housing 1.9 Economic Development 1.10 Utilities, Facilities, & Services 1.11 Transportation 1.12 Energy 1.13 Implementation 2. Charlotte Today / Community Profile 2.1 Natural Resources & Physical

Conditions 2.2 Historic & Cultural Resources 2.3 Demographics 2.4 Housing 2.5 Economic Conditions 2.6 Utilities, Facilities & Services 2.7 Transportation 2.8 Energy 2.9 Existing Land Use 3. Charlotte Yesterday The full text of the proposed Town Plan will be available for review beginning January 5, 2018, at the Charlotte Town Office during regular business hours (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) and on the town’s website, charlottevt.org.

Selectboard continues to review budget proposals

Susan Crockenberg CONTRIBUTOR

As is typical when the Selectboard entertains budgets requests from town commissions and departments, the meeting on December 18, 2017, was chock full of agenda items. It began at 6 p.m. with an informational meeting with the Charlotte Library expansion committee on a proposed library expansion. A feasibility study will be undertaken in January to assess community support of the project and whether funding can be raised privately or if a bond is needed. If the response is positive, expansion plans will go forward with a goal of building in

The Vermont Department of Liquor Control (VDLC) is seeking interested parties in or near the town of Charlotte who may have an interest in and a suitable location to operate a State Liquor Agency.

The VDLC requires at least 200 square feet of retail space, and 50 square feet of storage space, all devoted to retailing liquor, plus adequate parking, signage, loading and unloading facilities. Interested parties should apply by letter to: Kim Walker, Director of Retail Operations Department of Liquor Control 13 Green Mountain Drive Montpelier, VT 05620-4501 Applications can be found on: http://liquorcontrol.vermont.gov/ Please send a LETTER OF INTEREST to Ms. Walker before 4pm on January 5, 2018.

FORMAL APPLICATIONS must be received Before 2pm On January 19, 2018.

The Department of Liquor Control and The Liquor Control Board reserve the right to reject any and all applications and to change the terms of the request for applications without notice to any person.

Further information can be obtained by calling 800-642-3134 (In VT) or 802-828-2345 and ask For Kim Walker, Director of Retail Operations or email kim.walker@vermont.gov

the spring of 2019.

In addition to outlining the Recreation Commission’s FY2018/2019 proposed budget, Chairman Bill Fraser-Harris and Director Nicole Conley recommended creating a Recreation Capital Projects Fund to cover facility improvements: replacing or upgrading the tennis courts, expanding the northeast section of the beach parking lot, upgrading the beach playground and constructing a bocce sand court. Deb Stone is working on cost estimates for the playground design. Matt Krasnow proposed bonding $140,000 for 20 years to cover the improvement costs, to be discussed at the next meeting.

The Recreation Commission is also looking for other ways to raise funds.

One idea is to hold fee-paying events at the recreation facilities. Another is to charge event sponsors fees for the time the commission puts into signing forms and presenting at Selectboard meetings.

Mary Mead indicated that donations to the Recreation Commission are tax

MEETING CALENDAR Wednesday, Jan. 10 Zoning Board of Adjustment 7 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 16 Selectboard, 6 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 18 Planning Commission, 7 p.m.

Monday, Jan. 22 Selectboard, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Jan. 24 Zoning Board of Adjustment 7 p.m.

Department of Liquor Control

deductible.

Dean Bloch reviewed a draft Selectboard FY2018/2019 budget that included $45,000 for legal expenses; research costs for installing signage at North Shore Road/Thompson’s Point Road that dog owners carry out dogwaste bags or providing a year-round receptacle on site; adding $5,000 to the Improvement and Repair Fund for standing-seam metal roofing on Town Hall and $40,000 for generators for the Senior Center and Town Hall emergency shelters; and the town appropriation for the CVFRS operating budget increase.

At the 6 p.m. January 8 Selectboard meeting Mary Mead will update the draft FY2018/2019 town budget as the basis for what will likely be a lively budget discussion.

In other town business, the Selectboard voted unanimously to extend eligibility for health benefits to town employees on Medicare, with costs covered in the same proportion as other full or part-time town employees. As the town cannot pay for Medicare directly, employees on Medicare will be reimbursed.

Selectboard members also spoke in favor of the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission conducting studies of parking lots in the East and West villages. And in another unanimous action, the board appointed Dean Bloch as deputy health director.

The Planning Commission is revising the Town Plan based on comments received at and since the December 11 Selectboard meeting and will complete a draft by January 8. In hopes that this will be the final revision, the Selectboard warned a second public meeting on the Town Plan to be held on Monday, January 22. At that time the board will determine if the Town Plan will be warned as an article for Town Meeting in March and voted on by Australian ballot in April 2018.

The Charlotte News • January 10, 2018 • 5

Town This Month’s Blood Pressure Clinics

As part of the HeartSafe Community CVFRS will be offering multiple blood pressure clinics every month at Charlotte Town Hall.

This month’s clinics scheduled for January 8 and January 26 from 11 a.m. to noon.

Please stop by, speak with the EMS crew and get your blood pressure taken.

It could save your life.

Goals of Charlotte Town Plan Peter Joslin On Jan. 22 at 7 p.m., the Selectboard will hold its second hearing on the new rewrite of the Charlotte Town Plan. Prior to July 2015, state statute required town plans to be updated or re-adopted every five years. Act 90 extended this to eight years; however, the extension applies only to plans adopted or readopted on or after July 1, 2015.

Therefore, the current Charlotte Town Plan will expire March 5, 2018.

Work began in earnest on this comprehensive rewrite in 2012, but with the five-year deadline looming in 2013 and knowing that the rewrite could not be completed that quickly, the 2008 Plan was re-adopted.

This new plan, then, is a rewrite of the 2008 plan and is the culmination of years of work by the Planning Commission, with considerable assistance from the Energy Committee, the Conservation Commission, the Trails Committee, the Selectboard and the general public.

Numerous meetings, workshops and work sessions have been held since 2012. The goal has been to complete the rewrite in time for a vote on Town Meeting Day, 2018.

The Planning Commission held its first hearing on September 29, 2016, and a second on October 12, 2017.

A Town Responsiveness Summary spreadsheet was created to record

and document public comment.

This—along with drafts and any other information pertaining to the plan— has been available on the town website.

A number of meetings were held with the Energy Committee in 2017 to ensure the plan was consistent with the Vermont State Comprehensive Energy Plan (CEP), and in the fall discussions included changes that will be necessary in the coming year to be consistent with Act 174. This act establishes new planning standards, which, if met, allow such plans to carry greater weight, or “substantial deference,” in the siting process for alternative energy. The intent is to work on this after the new plan is adopted and amend it at a later date.

One of the main objectives of the rewrite, and often cited by the public, was to make the plan more concise and streamlined, in addition to adhering to state statutes where necessary. The most obvious difference is the physical layout.

Whereas the current plan begins with Charlotte Yesterday and progresses to Charlotte Today and Tomorrow, the new plan is reversed. The reason for this is that Charlotte Tomorrow is the core: It speaks to the goals for the future and should be front and center. Charlotte Today and Yesterday act more as an appendix.

Beyond this physical change, the core principles from the 2008 plan remain, preserving the attributes that make Charlotte special but with more emphasis on working toward a prosperous, healthy and dynamic future. There may be things that have been missed or need some tweaking or issues that some find objectionable.

It is, after all, the culmination of many points of view.

It has been the Planning Commission’s responsibility to ensure that the goals and objectives in the Town Plan incorporate where we have been, where we are and where we want to be in the future.

Bear in mind that town plans are living documents and are meant to be amended or updated as needed. Many factors may prompt an amendment, such as a change in state statute (Act 174) or a desired change by the town.

After the Jan. 22 hearing, the Selectboard can either send the plan back to the Planning Commission for further work or approve it for a vote on Town Meeting Day. It is the recommendation and hope of the Planning Commission to bring it to a vote.

Peter Joslin is the chairman of the Charlotte Planning Commission.

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6 • January 10, 2018 • The Charlotte News

Town

The Clemmons Family Farm Moves Onward And Upward Susan Crockenberg CONTRIBUTOR

With the receipt of a prestigious $350,000 grant from ArtPlace America’s National Placemaking Fund, the Clemmons Family Farm makes a huge leap forward toward the family’s goal of creating a multicultural center in Charlotte devoted to celebrating African American history, art and culture. Funds for the project, titled “A Sense of Place,” will be used to host African and AfricanAmerican artists from many disciplines at the historic Barn House, designed and built by Jackson Clemmons from two 200-year-old farm buildings, and to bring the architects of the new Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History & Culture in Washington, D.C. to Charlotte to work with local partners to design additional indoor and outdoor spaces for the arts. One vision is for the creation of a walking trail around the 148-acre property that will allow visitors to experience the full scope and beauty of the farm. Through additional funding

sources, the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps, the Rokeby Museum and Champlain College will collaborate in creating the trail that will also highlight African-American history, literature and art.

The first grant-supported Sense of Place event of 2018 takes place on January 15 at the Echo Center as part of the City of Burlington’s Martin Luther King (MLK) Day celebration, which this year focuses on “immigration,” a theme that includes the Great Migration of nearly six million African-Americans from the rural South primarily to cities in the North, Midwest and West between 1916 and 1970. The ancestors of the Charlotte Clemmons family, headed

by Jack and Lydia Clemmons who moved here in 1962, were part of that migration, and the Sense of Place display at the MLK event features the Clemmons family stories about why and how they migrated and, in the case of our Charlotte Clemmons family, how they ended up in rural Vermont.

The Sense of Place display at the MLK

Photo contributed

Clemmons Family Farm celebration offers interactive activities about the Great Migration, as well materials for kids to take home. Visitors can stop by a storytelling booth and relate their own stories about where their families are from originally and how they wound up in Vermont. According to Lydia Clemmons, daughter of Lydia and Jackson and executive director of the Sense of Place project, volunteers will record the storytelling, and families who sign a waiver may see their stories uploaded on the Sense of Place website, clemmonsfamilyfarm.org, or at facebook. com/ClemmonsFarm. You can also check these media sites for the specific hours of this half-day event at the Echo Center as well as for information about future

events.

By February 2018 project leaders plan to have a regular monthly email newsletter that people can sign up for, and

by March they expect to have a schedule of programs and events through the first half of the year. Of course, Executive Director Lydia points out, “There are always pop-ups that take advantage of unplanned but too-good-to-turn-down opportunities that just arise. The Maasai event last January was an example: it came up very suddenly just by luck.”

For a review of some of last year’s highlights of arts and culture programs, check the Clemmons Family Farm’s 2017 report online at tinyurl.com/yagtrrwq.

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The Charlotte News • January 10, 2018 • 7

Around Town Congratulations:

to Jim Hyde who was nominated as one of ten finalists for “Mentor of the Year” through the Comcast /Mobius student mentoring program. Jim mentors two students through Connecting Youth (CY) at CCS and CVU. Wendy Bratt, CY mentoring coordinator at Charlotte Central, nominated him for the award. She says “he is a mentor who any coordinator would love to have” and that he “goes the extra mile in all that he does.” Jim began four years ago in CY and moved with his first mentee up to CVU High School while taking on a second at CCS. Coordinators of the programs nominated all Mentor-of-the-Year candidates. Wendy noticed his interest and desire to remain in education, which led her to Jim’s nomination. The award is part of Mobius’ celebration of January as Annual Mentoring Month.

Speaking as a person who has been involved in education much of his working life – Jim taught medical students and retired from Tufts Medical School faculty before moving to Charlotte five years ago – he saw the mentoring program as an opportunity to continue working with students in an interesting and different way than he had previously. He also did not want to retire completely. Fortunately, the CCS program was looking for a community person to contribute several hours a week.

Jim grew to enjoy the nature of the program.

Although it still focuses on learning, much of it occurs outside a classroom setting: hands-on, material building that uses atypical items from which to learn. For him this requires developing ways to teach and learn that do not fall into the standard school setting. to Whit Smith, attorney with Mickenberg, Dunn, Lachs and Smith, who was awarded the “Help is Here Award” for 2017 by the Howard Center. The annual award recognizes individuals “whose contributions personify Howard Center’s mission.” Whit received the honor for his significant legal support of organizations that serve people with disabilities and their families – particularly those with limited resources. Howard Center CEO Bob Bick said that not only has Whit provided legal guidance, but he has also served as “a moral compass of honor and compassion.” Smith received the award last November during the Howard Center’s annual meeting in the Pizzagalli Center for Art and Education at the Shelburne Museum. to Kathleen McKinley Harris, a Charlotte poet who has published through Finishing Line Press a book of her works titled Earth Striders. Most of the poems are set in Vermont and center on horses. Their pastoral settings are reminiscent of Robert Frost and come from Kathleen’s youth, so much of the vernacular arises from yesterday’s farm life. Kathleen is a Middlebury College graduate with a master’s degree from Case Western Reserve University. Her poem “Bear Fear” won the Ralph Nading Hill, Jr. Literary Award in 1999, and her children’s

book The Wonderful Hay Tumble came out in 1988. Many of her pieces are set in Lamoille County, in or near Hyde Park and Stowe. Her interest in nature may have a genetic basis with her father being a hiker and skier, her mother, a birder, and her grandfather, an orchardist. to Charlotte artist Elizabeth Bunsen whose work was featured in the December 20 issue of Seven Days in an article titled “Thinking Pink.” She makes books that are less texts than they are pieces of art. Elizabeth makes her small tomes from textiles, and they are collages of various artistic mediums. She is quoted as saying that her pink exhibit originated from memories going as far back as when she was eight years old. “Pink,” she says, “is all about compassion and self-love and tenderness.” She says it is a complicated color. to Andrew Gay and Daphne Plante, Champlain College students from Charlotte who earned placement on the college’s Dean’s List for the fall 2017 semester. In order to earn the honor, they had to achieve a grade-point average of 3.5 or higher for the semester. to the following Rice Memorial High School students from Charlotte who earned placement on the First Quarter Honor Roll: First Honors: Alexa Pughe, Cooper Harvey, Hadley Murphy, Moira Brown.

Second Honors: Andrew Slauterbeck, Elizabeth Breen, Grace Slauterbeck, Hana Couture, Mahntra Hennessey, Santiago Vazquez, Walter Biggs.

Honorable Mention: John Merrill to our former down-the-street neighbor Greg Pierce, now a New York-based playwright who has a new play opening January 30 at the Tony Kiser Second Stage Theater in the city. It is titled Cardinal and stars Anna Chlumsky, Adam Pally, Becky Ann Baker and Stephen Park. It is about a woman who returns to her rust-belt hometown with plans for urban renewal and restorations. to another theater troop, this one the

Providing Repair, Refinishing, Restoration and Transport

George & Pam Darling P.O. Box 32 Ferry Road, Charlotte, VT gdarling@gmavt.net

Vermont Stage Company and its production of Bolton playwright Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home. The play ran to critical acclaim in New York, winning the Tony Award for the Best Musical, and the cast included 11-year-old Charlotte actor Oscar Williams who played one of the author’s younger brothers in this autobiographical play. Oscar eventually outgrew the part, but in the Vermont Stage production his brother Rowan has stepped in. The Burlington Free Press selected Fun Home as one of the top art events of 2017 in its December 28 issue.

Sympathy:

is extended to family and friends of Dick Weed of Charlotte who passed away December 17 at the age of 80. Originally from Connecticut, Dick and his wife, Joan, moved to Charlotte in 1996. He was active in the Congregational Church, first in Middlebury and later in Charlotte, and also in the Charlotte Senior Center. Dick was always a lover of music, and in respect of that love the combined choirs of the Charlotte and Middlebury congregations sang at his funeral service here. The family asks that those wishing to make donations in his memory consider giving to COTS, 94 North Avenue, Burlington, VT 05401 or to the Music Fund of the Charlotte Congregational Church, 403 Church Hill Road, Charlotte 05445. is extended to family and friends of C. Edward Porter of Burlington who passed away December 10 at the age of 89. The Porter family lived in Charlotte for a number of years as Howard’s father operated Porter Fuels out of their home on Route 7. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be considered for the Faith United Methodist Church, 899 Dorset Street. South Burlington, VT 05403. is extended to family and friends of Donald T. Haman of Burlington who passed away December 23 at the age of 90. His surviving family includes his daughter Eileen Curtis and Eileen’s husband, Ray, of Charlotte.

The family asks that those wishing to make memorial donations consider doing so to the Converse Home Staff Education Fund

or to the Alzheimer’s Association. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Charlotte on January 13. is extended to family and friends of Anne (Drye) Hurlburt of Shelburne who passed away December 16 at the age of 86. Her family summered for many years on Thompson’s Point in Charlotte. Anne developed a love for tennis and competed at a high level, ranking fifth nationally and winning the Vermont State Championship in 1951 and 1952. She and her family moved to Charlotte in 1982. Her first husband, Ted Paul, died in 1984, and she went into business with Dick Hurlburt, whom she married, and they continued to live in Charlotte. The family asks that those wishing to recognize her life through donations to a charity consider giving to a Humane Society of their choice. is extended to family and friends of Jason Wark, DDS, a longtime resident of Charlotte, who passed away December 17 in Florida. An orthodontist, Dr. Wark was recognized particularly for his innovative treatment of children with orthodontic issues. He was an active member and a past president of the Charlotte/Shelburne Rotary. His wife Donna remains living in Charlotte. In recognition of Jason’s passion for literature, the family asks that those wishing to donate do so to the Charlotte Library, P.O. Box 120, Charlotte 05445. is extended to family and friends of Huntington (Skip) Sheldon, M.D. of Shelburne who passed away December 29 at the age of 86. A pathologist, he was a pioneer in the study of electron microscopy in Sweden. He returned to his alma mater, McGill University and stayed there as professor and researcher for 25 years. An avid skier, he helped coach the Canadian Olympic teams in the 1976 and 1980 games. He moved to Shelburne in 1985 and shortly thereafter helped form the Charlotte Land Trust. The family asks that in lieu of flowers donations be made to the Land Trust in Charlotte.

8 • January 10, 2018 • The Charlotte News your card at other Homecard Libraries, it must have an up-to-date sticker. Please bring in your card for a new sticker and you’ll be good until January 31, 2021!

TOWN BITES Charlotte heads the state in median wealth

UVM economics professor, Art Woolf wrote a column recently that appeared in the Burlington Free Press on December 20 in which he analyzed the various types of households and their median incomes for 2016. Low and behold, Charlotte led the state in terms of household income as well as that for families and marriedcouple families. Seven of the towns with the highest median household incomes are in Chittenden County with only Norwich outside this region. Shelburne, Underhill and Jericho follow Norwich and Charlotte.

Williston, Essex, South Burlington and Hinesburg all have median incomes for married-couple families exceeding $100,000. Charlotte’s median household income is $123,783. A household may consist of a variety of living arrangements, beginning with a single person or a group of people who share a home. It may be a single parent or a married couple with or without children. Seventy-five percent of Vermonters live in a family situation, and their median income comes from all workers in their settings.

McClure Foundation announces funding for college access and career education

The Warren and Lois McClure Foundation has long been a benefactor of projects that have an impact on Vermont.

It has announced that funding is now available for the 2018-19 school year for “efforts that improve equitable access to the postsecondary and career education that leads to Vermont’s most promising jobs.” For more information about the offerings, contact online mcclurevt.org or go to the Vermont Community Foundation at vemontcf.org.

Circulation: As we all enjoy library materials, please keep due dates in mind. You are welcome to renew materials as long as no one else is waiting for them. We ask that you respect this policy and return items in a timely fashion if others are waiting for them.

NEWS Margaret Woodruff Happy New Year from the Library!

If you’re resolving to read more in the New Year, here are a few ways to get started: Adopt an Author: We are launching our Adopt-an-Author program this month. If you have a favorite writer and want to be first on the list to read latest titles, consider adopting this author. You will pay the library discount price (usually 45 percent off of cover price) and be guaranteed first checkout. Ask at the the circulation desk for more information.

Book Riot 2018 Tournament of Books: Join our Cozy Couch Book Group and select one of these great titles to read. We’ll make sure copies are available; all you need to do is get cozy and read!

Goodreads Reading Challenge: The 52 topics for the 2018 Reading Challenge— another option for cozy couch readers! Pick one topic a week and find a book that meets the criteria, like “a book with the letters A, T & Y in the title” or “a book set in a country you’d like to visit but have never been to.”

Check out the complete list here: https:// www.goodreads.com/topic/show/18955648the-52-topics-for-the-2018-reading-challenge or sign up on the library Facebook page, or stop by for a paper copy from the circulation desk.

CIRCULATION NOTES Library cards: All Charlotte Library cards expire on January 31, 2018. In order to use

KIDS’ PROGRAMS & ACTIVITIES Mondays, Jan. 8 to Feb 12, 3:15 p.m.

TinkerBelles. A new season of STEAM activities! Create a movie, learn sign language, visit with a vet. Grades 3 to 5. No session January 15.

Tuesdays, Jan. 9 to Feb. 6, 12:30 p.m. Cabin Fever Book Club. Love to read? Here’s your chance to read and discuss The Great Wide Sea. Co-sponsored with the CCS Library, this program takes place at CCS. Tuesdays, Jan. 9 to Feb. 20, 2:15 p.m.

Story Explorations. Stories and crafts for kindergartners & 1st graders.

Wednesdays, beginning Jan. 10, 3:15 p.m.

Junior Chess Club. For students grades 2 to 12, with any skill level. Learn the game and improve your strategies with help from mentor Ajat Teriyal.

Thursdays, Jan. 11 to Feb. 22: T.H.I.N.K. Tank, 3:15 p.m. Tinker, Hatch (your plan), Investigate, E(N)vision & Know—from Altoid flashlights to pasta bridges, take on a new tech challenge each week. For 4th grade and up.

Fridays, Jan. 12 to Feb. 23, 10:30 a.m.

Preschool Story Time. A weekly adventure with stories, experiments and snacks. For ages 3 to 5.

Register for programs at the library or by calling 425-3864.

INFO & INTEREST FOR ADULTS Thursdays, Jan. 11, 18 & 25, 2:45 p.m. A Taste of Mindfulness. Theresa Hudziak leads this accessible introduction to mindfulness, informed by traditional wisdom and current evidence-based science. Co-sponsored with

and taking place at Charlotte Senior Center.

Please call the Senior Center at 425-6345 to register.

Monday, Jan. 15, 10 a.m. Mystery Book Group: Finding Nouf, by Zoe Ferraris. A novel of taut psychological suspense, offering an unprecedented window into life in Saudi Arabia. Copies at the desk.

Monday, Jan. 15: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Recognition. A look at the legacy of civil discourse and civic engagement. View our video montage and create your own “I Have a Dream” reflection.

Sunday, Jan. 21, Noon: Story of Stuff, movie & discussion. Start the New Year with a new look at “stuff”—if we have too much and, if so, what to do about it. Co-sponsored with Charlotte Congregational Church, UCC, and Transition Town Charlotte, this program takes place at the Charlotte Congregational Church.

Sunday, Jan. 28, 5:30 p.m. Soup Supper at the Library. January is National Soup Month.

Celebrate with a potluck soup supper. Bring your favorite soup to share; we’ll provide the bread, salad and dessert. Co-sponsored with the Charlotte Grange. Donation basket to benefit the Charlotte Food Shelf. Please register at the library.

Charlotte Library Board of Trustees: Emily Ferris, Nan Mason, Danielle Conlon Menk, Jonathan Silverman and Robert Smith.

Next Library Board meeting: Thursday, Jan. 11, 6 p.m.

Charlotte Library Information Margaret Woodruff, director Cheryl Sloan, youth services librarian Susanna Kahn, tech services librarian Hours Mondays & Wednesdays: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Tuesdays, Thursdays & Fridays: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Please Note: The Library will be open on Monday, Jan. 15. Join us for a look at the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. through video and print.

South Starksboro, VT Homeowner Recommends Bristol Electronics Bristol Electronics installed our 20 panels quickly, efficiently, courteously and just the way we wanted them. Our roof is a difficult one due to our post-andbeam construction, but nevertheless, the crew was friendly, informative and just great people. Then even in the cloud cover, we began immediately to generate electricity! Furthermore (and most importantly for others deciding to install solar), the price was fair, competitive and honest. If we had another home, I’d want them to put the solar panels on that one, too! We recommend solar and Bristol Electronics without reservation!

Lawrence & Cynthia Jones ~ South Starksboro

802 . 453 . 2500 BristolElectronicsVT.com FREE SITE EVALUATIONS

The Charlotte News • January 10, 2018 • 9

Food Shelf News Kerrie Pughe

CONTRIBUTOR

Thank you Boxes overflowing with food, gifts and extras were distributed to 26 Charlotte families (including 31 children) for the holidays! Thank you to the volunteers who helped us to assemble the baskets: Jon Davis, Wolfie Davis, Laura Iglehart, Licia Brown, Carol Chenevert, Stephanie Wells, Sage Bagnato, Pam Dawson, Cindi Robinson, John Lavigne, Kerrie Pughe, Holly Rochefort, Sandy Armell, Jim and Susan Hyde, Susan Ohanian, Victoria Rosen, Liz DesLauriers, Katharine Cohen, Ronald Purdum, Diane Cote, Pat Rodan, Libby Manning, Dicey Manning, Bill and Karen Doris, Tara Mullen, Renny Manning, Sue Hall and Nancy Bloch.

Thank you to Dicey Manning and Coco Eyre for setting up baking and snack bags.

A special thank you to Laura Iglehart for organizing the children’s gifts. And thank you to those who contributed gifts from the Wishing Trees. The boxes were overflowing with wishes come true. Thank you to the Frank Beck family and Wow Toyzs for the toy donations. Thank you to The Flying Pig Bookstore for sponsoring the Snowflake Book program again this year to include children’s books in the holiday baskets.

We’d like to thank Tracey Beaudin for the hand-decorated Christmas cookies and Mrs. Gerson’s 2nd graders for pumpkincranberry bread. Secret Santa provided movie tickets again this year! We appreciate the apple donations from Steve and Jane Anne Kantor and the turkey donation from Valerie Graham. Thank you to Dalu Acres Farm of Charlotte for donating 20 bars of Cabot cheese and to Bud Lawrence for donating potatoes. Thanks to Steve Epstein for the quinoa and mung beans and to Jason and Henry Bushey for the baked goods and juice. And thank you to EatingWell for its food drive, which collected 12 large boxes

of kids’ snacks, cereal and nonperishable items for January distribution. Thank you to Jason and Andrea Harvey for donating a deer dressed and packaged, always well received by families.

It’s Girl Scout cookie time!

Boy Scout Stuart Robinson came on Saturday along with Zack Aubin, Keagan Bothwell and Seth Zimmerman to help distribute the boxes. Cindy Tyler, Pat Rodar, Nina Falsen, Ken Oboz, John Lavigne, Ron Purdum, Cindi Robinson and Bill Doris assisted as well. They greeted the families with coffee and cider on a cold morning warmed by lots of smiles. There were plenty of grateful parents who sent many thank yous to all the community members who supported this great effort to provide generous gifts of food and gifts to our neighbors in need.

We appreciate the donations from Carleen Tufo, Beth and Edd Merritt, Birgit and Andy Deeds, Global Marine Transportation Services Inc., Robert and Toni Monsey, Diane and Peter Rosenfeld, Jr. and Leslie Lewis (in memory of Cowboy and Arline Lewis, as well as Father Gerald Ragis, Nancy and Jack Barnes, Joseph and Jennifer Dickerman, Trudy Gecewicz Jordan, Marie Luhr, Charlotte Congregational Mission Committee and Congregation members, Donna and Remo Pizzagalli (in honor Roberta Wood), Nora Wright (in memory of Joan Cawley), Peter and Meredith Moses, Julian Kulski, Linda Hamilton, Erin and Andrew Ross, Helen Toor, Walter and Joan Gates, Chris and Suzanne Davis, ShelburneCharlotte Garden Club, Jeffrey Horbar, James and Kathleen Manchester, David Perrin, Larry Sommers and the matching funds from EatingWell.

Thank you to Carrie Spear and Spear Corner Store customers for the donations!

A big thank you to our generous anonymous donor who donated cash to be included in each family holiday basket as well as a donation to help us keep our shelves filled!

Baking for the Food Shelf Holly Rochefort has started a local chapter of “Hunger is Hard, Baking is Easy” and hopes to provide fresh baked goods yearround for our twice monthly distributions.

Please contact her at 802-238-8035 if you are interested in baking for Food Shelf families this year. Thank you to Holly and the volunteer bakers for providing the beautiful

It’s January and that means the Girl Scouts will be going door to door selling cookies. If you are planning to buy Girl Scout Cookies, won’t you please consider purchasing them from your local Charlotte Girl Scout Troop 30066? This is our major fund raiser for the year and helps to offset the expense of many of our exciting adventures. If we have missed you in yearspast,pleasesendane-mailtoCindyBradleyat cahbradley@yahoo.com soIcanmake certain that one of our girls connects with you. Thank you.

Photo contributed

baked goods for the holiday baskets.

Will you volunteer?

We are looking for volunteers who can act as substitutes on our distribution days as well as volunteers to help us stack shelves once a month. Please call Karen Doris at 4253252 if you can help. This is a wonderful opportunity to work with a small group of committed individuals who are making a difference at a local level.

Welcome new volunteers Tara Mullen and Ronald Purdum!

Wish list We appreciate donations of healthy afterschool snacks for children such as dried fruit, granola bars, instant oatmeal packs, butterfree popcorn, salt-free nuts, canned fruit in juice, peanut butter, juice boxes (no sugar added), and low-sodium soups. In addition we need spaghetti sauce, crackers, Cheerios and Rice Krispies cereals, pancake mix and tea.

Donations We are a volunteer organization, so all donations you make to the Food Shelf go directly for food and assistance to our local

neighbors in need. Thank you so much for considering donating today. Checks may be mailed to Charlotte Food Shelf & Assistance, P.O. Box 83, Charlotte, VT 05445.

Donated food drop-off locations All nonperishable food donations may be dropped off at the Charlotte Library, the Charlotte Congregational Church vestry, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church (main entrance) or at the Food Shelf during the distribution mornings. We request that all fresh foods be dropped off at the Food Shelf before the Wednesday distribution hours or before 7:30 a.m. on the Thursday distribution mornings.

The Charlotte Food Shelf is located on the lower level of the Charlotte Congregational Church vestry. Distribution days/times are posted in this newspaper and on the bulletin board in the Charlotte Congregational Church Hall. You may also call the Food Shelf number (425-3252) for a recording of the distribution times.

We are open to all community residents.

Privacy is very important and respected in our mission of neighbor helping neighbor.

For emergency food call John 425-3130.

For emergency assistance (electricity, fuel) call Cindi at 425-3234.

Stone Foundation Repair Restoration

Dry Stone Walls Beautiful Seawall Construction Gorgeous cookies baked for the Christmas baskets.

Photo contributed

10 • January 10, 2018 • The Charlotte News

Edd’s Sports Report Edd Merritt EDITOR IN CHIEF

Sports and education often go hand in hand

A couple of items in the recent high school sporting scene reminded this writer of colleagues of his sons who tied their sports activity to their educational settings. In my sons days, to a number of families, CVU, Rice Memorial and South Burlington were all choices of places to continue after middle school, largely on the basis of their strength in sports. Remember CVU as “Soccer Central?” Sometimes, it meant finagling the family’s living setting, because you either had to pay tuition or demonstrate that you owned property in the town that fed into the high school. I do happen to know a couple of cases in which that worked, sending sons to what was then Rebel territory when their family’s primary home was in Charlotte. Rice, of course, always grabbed a couple of key players, and there was a time when CVU men’s hockey team (before women had a program) nearly collapsed for lack of players. Then bring on

the Finnish exchange students who could skate like the wind!

The CSB Cup that CVU won recently formed another mix of competition between youth hockey and high school teams. CSB had players from southern Chittenden County (and in my sons’ days, some from a ways beyond, such as Waterbury). When it came time for high school, those who had been teammates now became enemies, and the cup became the war prize; particularly for freshmen and sophomores who faced off against former teammates or checked into the boards the person who had been a defensive partner ten months ago.

This season, just before Christmas, CVU retained the CSB Cup by topping many of their former mates from South Burlington, 6-3. This was the Cup’s 17 th running, and CVU now holds a 9-8 edge. Jake Schaefer and Quinn Francis both scored twice for the Redhawks to lead the way. Charlotte’s Jennings Lobel also scored early in the game to get CVU off and skating hard.

The Kevin Riell Basketball Tournament this winter went CVU’s way on both men’s and women’s courts. Late Redhawk Sports and Activities Director Kevin Riell would have enjoyed the results of the games in the tournament named in his honor. Both men’s and women’s basketball teams took trophies by defeating Burr and Burton Academy. Through a strong defense, particularly in the fourth quarter, CVU

CVU men’s hockey and the CSB Cup which they won by beating South Burlington.

Photo by Al Frey men won by 15 points, 55-40 behind the shooting of the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, Will Burroughs who, himself, hit for the margin of victory. Graham Walker, another all-tournament player added nine, and Charlotte’s Cole Otley contributed seven.

On the women’s side, CVU’s undefeated hoopsters blanked B&B for the first quarter and ended up with a 40-point win, 64-24.

As has been the case over the past few years of Redhawk hoop superiority, scoring has spread throughout the team, making it impossible for opposing teams to focus on an individual scorer. In this game, Megan Gilwee led with ten points, tournament MVP Lindsey Albertelli contributed nine, and Shannon Loiseau (all tournament) and Catherine Gilwee added eight apiece.

Arielle DeSmet destined for Division I college hockey next year

Photo contributed

Arielle DeSmet

Accepting New Patients

Patrick Kearney, PA-C

Patrick Kearney, MS, PA-C is an experienced provider of primary care for adults and children. He is accepting new patients at Charlotte Family Health Center, a partner

practice of Evergreen Family Same DayHealth.

Appointments Available Along with Andrea Regan, Call 425-5121 to schedule an appointment

Evergreen Family Health

Charlotte Family Health Center

28 Park Avenue

527 Ferry Road Charlotte, VT 05445

Williston, VT 05495 878-1008

425-2781

www.evergreenhealth.org

www.charlottefamilyhealth.com

Comprehensive family care as it should be

Charlotte’s Arielle DeSmet, technically a senior at CVU, although she attends the North American Hockey Academy (NAHA) in Stowe from October through March, has been recruited to play goalie for Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Arielle has played for NAHA for her four years of high school.

The academy plays in the Junior Women’s Hockey League against teams from this country and Canada. It is a highly competitive program. Teammates come to NAHA from all over the country. One, Amanda Pelkey from nearby Barre, skated there before going to UVM and then professionally to the Boston Blades last year. She is now part of the U.S. Women’s Olympic team.

Arielle also attended the U.S.A. Hockey National Development Camp in St. Cloud, MN where she led the program with a .967 save percentage. Arielle met Brianne McLaughlin a year ago. Brianne was an Olympic Silver Medallist in 2011 and had attended Robert Morris. Part of College Hockey America (CHA) League, Morris won the league’s championship and finished eighth in the NCAA. It ranks highly in national women’s hockey programs and is a selective school for that sport.

CVU figures into a couple of “Top Ten” sports stories for 2017 by the Free Press

One, of course, had to do with the Redhawk women’s basketball team which,

At the Kevin Riell BasketballTournament, Charlotter Maryn Askew scoring against Burr and Burton.

Photo by Al Frey although it had its unbeaten streak broken in late 2016, still won the Division I state championship for the fifth straight year, and Ute Otley again was named Coach of the Year.

As an “Honorable Mention” article, the Free Press ran a story on CVU grad Kasie Enman who ran the full Vermont City Marathon for a third time and who remains undefeated, topping another elite field.

Congratulations to Redhawk football’s Jake Bortnick

CVU linebacker, Jake Bortnick received “Honorable Mention” by the Free Press in this year’s All-State lineup. Jake was the only Redhawk to earn notice on an offensive and defensive all-state teams.

Check the slopes, it’s winter

Last Wednesday saw the CVU Alpine skiers take both men’s and women’s team titles at Smuggler’s Notch. The women topped eight other high schools with Olivia Zubarik and Charlotte’s Binney Patton finishing in the top-ten individuals.

For the men, Briggs Francis, Nate Coffin and Charlotte’s Seth Boffa completed among the top-ten. As a team, CVU finished well ahead of second-place Rice, 28-56; (In Alpine racing the low score wins.)

The Charlotte News • January 10, 2018 • 11

Education Registration Opens for Governor’s Institutes Winter Weekends The Governor’s Institutes of Vermont invites applications for two Winter Weekends for motivated high school students taking place February 9 to 11 and February 23 to 25 at Goddard College. All Vermont high school and technical center students are invited to attend. These two-day academic and arts programs are designed to provide fun and intensive study opportunities on topics that promote a passion for learning in a great community environment. Weekend tuition is $10 to $295 depending on a family’s ability to pay.

Offerings during the two February weekends include Disaster Health and Epidemiology, Global Education and Youth Voice, Creative Writing, Design/Build Engineering, Social Entrepreneurship, Astrophotography, Debate and National Issues, Directing Theater, World Musicology, and Intermediate Robotics.

The Governor’s Institutes is a 34-yearold nonprofit known for immersive summer and winter learning opportunities that change students’ lives. Eleven institutes are scheduled for summer 2018, and students will be able to apply for those beginning Feb 1. If your business or organization would like to donate scholarships to help students with financial need attend, please let us know!

More information is available at giv. org/winter or by calling 802-865-4448.

I Wonder Why…

Cessie Ferero I wonder why we aren’t happy with ourselves.

When we look in the mirror, we don’t see something we like. We see something we need to fix. Something that isn’t perfect. We try to make ourselves perfect.

But the more we try, the less we see ourselves as. We try to be better.

We try to fix the change we made. All the time spent in an effort to make ourselves perfect will not let us live life the way we wish. The way we were made is the way we were made. The way we will become is the way we will become. We shouldn’t worry about looking different. If we all looked the same, then no one would be happy. Be proud of who you are; be proud of what you are. Don’t try to be perfect, be something that you want to see, not what the world wants to see. Perfect is the enemy of good. Good is the enemy of

perfect. We come as we come. Be proud of that. We aren’t meant to look like someone else; we are meant to look like ourselves.

Why do we want to be the same? Can’t we express who we are? When we look in the mirror, we see something, something that isn’t perfect. I wonder why we aren’t happy with ourselves.

I Wonder

Ella Lisle I wonder: why life has to end the way it does.

Saying goodbye to those you love, people say things like “They’re in a better place now.”

But are they really?

Life is too short to do all the things you would like to do with the ones you love before you have to see them go.

Be the one who cares for all your loved ones for who they really are and when they go you won’t regret the time you had with them.

The Bell

Tabitha Bastress It was one of those never-ending nights for me. The air was humid; everything outside was pretty quiet, and nothing, not one thing, was moving. I was restless.

So without really thinking much of it, I got up and went for a walk, hands in my pockets. I was walking down a dirt road next to a large field when suddenly, bong, bong, bong! It was coming from the field.

I walked slowly towards the center of the field where a small shed stood. The closer I got, the louder the noise became. I had just reached the door when suddenly it stopped.

I knocked on the old wooden door. Nobody answered. I opened the door.

“Creak.” I entered the shed. All that was inside was a big metal bell, about the size of a large house plant.

“Bong!” That one was so sudden I jumped and hit my head. The door closed and locked.

So here I am, and this is where I’ve been for the last three years.

Church Youth Group Distributes Care Packages On Church Street Abernathy Bunting On December 17 six members of the junior youth group at the Charlotte Congregational Church packed care packages and distributed them on Church Street in Burlington. The care packages consisted of socks, hats, food and first aid kits. For us, it was an experience to expand our comfort zones and give some love to people who needed it.

At first when one man in a small group asked us to sing a Christmas carol, I

What’s Your Goal?

What’s Your Goal?

wondered, “Can we really do this?” But we finally decided to sing “Away in a Manger,” a song that we had just done in our Christmas pageant. The reaction was immediate and amazing. Even after singing one verse, the men were either joining in with us, or closing their eyes, lifting their faces toward the sun. I think it really showed that even if you’re uncomfortable doing it at first, a little love can go a long way—not only to the person you’re giving it to, but to yourself as well.

We are planning to do it again later this month, and if you have any donations we would love if you could drop them off in Pastor Kevin Goldenbogen’s office at Charlotte Congregational Church (hats, scarves or donated money so we can buy food and other necessities), and we also encourage you to do it on your own. If you do decide to do it, we would love to hear from you.

Abernathy Bunting is in the 5th grade and a member of the junior youth group.

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12 • January 10, 2018 • The Charlotte News

Freezing temps bring joy to some of us Bradley Carleton CONTRIBUTOR

Some people say we’re due for a January thaw. As I write this, the temperature outside is -3 and the wind chill is -20. The night sky has finally opened up after a snowstorm blanketed the valley, and the stars are shimmering brightly. It’s the kind of cold that when you breathe in, the hairs inside your nose clang together like fragile glass tendrils daring to shatter. All around us people are hibernating in their dens, huddled against the woodstove or heater. But the hardiest of us are enjoying the arctic blast, knowing that the lake is “making ice.” If I were a betting man, I’d put money on the whole lake freezing over this year and lots of truck traffic in the bays.

When the ice is clear and black and it reaches down 16 inches or more, I will venture out onto the frozen bays in search

of panfish. I love driving my four-wheeldrive truck out onto the ice and parking it over an underwater drop-off where a myriad of fish—yellow and white perch (which really aren’t perch at all but an invasive species of bass that locals like to call “white perch” just to irritate the gentry), smelt, landlocked salmon and lake trout—swim happily under the solid canopy of glistening ice. They are in search of food or mates, depending on the species, and, if our equipment is properly rigged, are vulnerable to our attempts at angling. Lakers and salmon prefer to cruise just under the surface of the ice, preying on crippled or otherwise compromised minnows, while deeper down, white and yellow perch are nudging small, weighted lures, called bibbits, with spikes (a more palatable term for maggots) threaded on the small sharp hooks.

We “jig” the miniature rods, called “micro rods” or “jigging rods,” by gently bouncing the rod tips up and down to

Bradley Carleton’s catch from last year’s ice fishing season.

Photo contributed create action on the lure that attracts their attention. From there, the fragrance of a milky liquid secreted from the impaled spike inspires fish to nibble on the lure.

Pretty gross, huh? Well, that is what keeps the lure of ice fishing to a minimum. Too many fishermen/women means the spot is probably getting burned out.

So, as the nibbles continue, we might let them take two or three gentle bites testing the tasty morsel before setting the hook in a rapid upward sweep. The rod tip bends toward the ice and the tip of the rod throbs so that the fight can be felt all the way through the grip of the handle.

Thwump. Thwump. The rod vibrates powerfully as we begin to reel up the monofilament line. The excitement builds as the fish nears the icy cylinder of water that is the hole. Finally, a big head appears and shakes viciously as it is tugged to the air above.

Sometimes we have wondered what it must be like for a fish to get caught and be reeled up into a shaft of light and be hauled into a world devoid of water. Just air and sunlight. And some big dude who is looking at you with admiration. He calls you a “slabber” and deftly unhooks you and kisses your perch-y lips— then, with a big toothy grin, releases you back down the icy cylinder to your friends waiting below the surface. If perch communicate, how do you think they relate their extraterrestrial experience to their peers?

It’s an odd thing to ponder, but when you spend a lot of time sitting on your bucket waiting for that bite in the frigid air, you begin to think strange thoughts.

And sometimes it all seems to make sense. Our lives and theirs are in some ways intertwined.

Bradley Carleton is executive director of Sacred Hunter.org, a nonprofit that seeks to educate the public on the spiritual connection of man to nature and raises funds for Traditions Outdoor Mentoring.org, which mentors at-risk young men in outdoor pursuits.

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The Charlotte News • January 10, 2018 • 13

Into the Woods: What is Silviculture?

J. Ethan Tapper CHITTENDEN COUNTY FORESTER

When I tell someone that I am a forester, their response is usually “great!” This is generally followed by a brief pause, and then, “What does that mean?”

We foresters are confused with loggers, park rangers and arborists, in addition to many other professions. What defines a forester is that we practice “forestry,” the management of forested ecosystems. This often boils down to figuring out how and when to harvest trees to create specific conditions while balancing an array of objectives and maintaining or improving the health of the forest. Determining when and how to cut trees is done through practice of something called “silviculture.”

The standard, textbook definition of silviculture is “the art and science of tending the forested stand.” This definition is apt. Forestry is informed by the scientific research that exists on how trees and forests grow and develop over time and how we can best manage them for a variety of objectives. In addition to being based in sound science, silviculture must respond

to the complicated situations that arise in the woods, from the unique set of subtle environmental conditions that each forest offers to the complex desires and values of landowners. As a result, the implementation of science in the practice of silviculture ends up being somewhat subjective, an “art.” Foresters bring years of experience, a developed understanding of forests, and their management philosophy into the woods with them, which leads to many distinct management styles and techniques.

I often say that 100 foresters would manage the same forest in 100 different ways.

“Silviculture” is the name we give to the way we address current conditions in a forest and aspire to some desired result, usually using timber harvesting as a tool and generating forest products in the process. A large part of the actualization of silviculture is done by foresters with paint guns in their hands, walking through the woods, marking each individual tree to be cut. In the process, they look critically at each tree to see how it fits with the landowner’s goals and values, the current conditions in the woodlot, the application of the available science and the long-term goals for the forest.

Using silviculture, foresters must strike a tricky balance, simultaneously managing forests for a variety of objectives. A landowner’s goals for their forest may be to produce firewood or maple syrup, to grow high-value sawtimber, to create great wildlife habitat or (as is usually the case) a combination of these and other objectives. Navigating these values on behalf of a landowner requires a developed understanding of how different uses and values interact and how the harvesting of a tree can satisfy multiple objectives. All the while, the forester must balance the desires of the landowner with the health of the forest, never compromising the latter in the name of the former.

I have said in previous articles that the forest generally doesn’t need human intervention to be healthy. However, forest products provide local, renewable sources of heat, paper, building materials and electricity, and so it is important, if we wish to use these resources, to harvest them sustainably.

Silviculture is the way we extract these amazing resources while managing our forest for its utmost health, productivity and value. In this effort, forest products can be

both a by-product of our management and the goal of the management.

In the case of landowners primarily interested in growing high-value sawtimber, firewood and lower-grade sawlogs will be periodically produced as the forest is tended to favor the most valuable sawtimber trees.

When managing primarily for wildlife, the removal of firewood, pulp, chips and some logs can create conditions for improved wildlife habitat, while providing an economic basis for a logger to do this important work.

In the case of the majority of landowners, who are interested in periodic income while keeping their forest healthy and creating good wildlife habitat, timber harvesting will remove some larger trees for sawlogs and many smaller and lower-quality trees for pulp, firewood and chips, and will do so in such a way as to optimize opportunities for wildlife, the growth of high-value trees and the health of the forest in general. A forester can help you achieve this delicate balance, using the practice of silviculture.

J. Ethan Tapper is the Chittenden County forester. He can be reached by phone at (802)585-9099, at ethan.tapper@vermont.gov, or at his office at 111 West Street in Essex Junction.

Out-Doors: Fun at Ten Below Elizabeth Bassett CONTRIBUTOR

Let’s call this the armchair edition of Out-Doors. Despite frigid temperatures and biting winds, I have managed to cross-country ski nearly every day. But an hour or two of exercise in temperatures either side of zero does not fill these brief winter days. So I’ve been reading about the outdoors and have some ideas for your fireside hours.

A beautiful volume with gold-edged pages and lovely illustrations, the Naturalist’s Notebook is a journal for recording observations of the natural world over five years.

Bernd Heinrich, emeritus professor of biology at UVM, illustrated and coauthored the book with Nathaniel Wheelwright, professor of biology at Bowdoin College.

Heinrich now lives in the wilds of Maine but was a local for many years, sometimes sharing his home with ravens or a baby owl.

Heinrich began keeping nature journals as a youth, filling them with observations, dates and sketches. Heinrich’s pen-andink drawings and watercolors of pine cones—open and closed—bird beaks and eggs, insects, fruits and seedpods enrich the pages of the Naturalist’s Notebook.

They are beautiful in addition to being accurate.

In this era of climate change, data collected by citizen scientists is valuable for tracking patterns over time: dates of first and last frost or snowfall, leaf-out and flowering of trees, return of migrating birds, nest building and laying of eggs, and the first songs of peepers and wood frogs.

us.

Heinrich and Wheelwright takes turns writing chapters.

Each describes how years of journal keeping have revealed patterns of change. Enjoy these pages by the woodstove now, then head out on warmer days with fresh eyes and a better process for observing and recording the natural wonders around

During the recent deep freeze I ventured to the Charlotte Library to borrow Heinrich’s book, One Man’s Owl. Decades ago Heinrich surreptitiously watched a family of great horned owls in its nest. (It can be dangerous if a parent owl knows you are watching.) When a wet snowfall plunged the nest to earth, Heinrich rescued the smallest owlet, the only one not capable

of escaping with its parents. Having legally adopted orphaned animals in the past, Heinrich knew the required steps necessary to adopt three-week-old Bubo, named for the species of great horned owls: Bubo virginianus. Over the next three years, with tenderness, wisdom, humor and endless patience, Heinrich raised and nurtured Bubo, doing his human best to prepare him/her (he is not sure) to survive in the wild. Sketches of the baby owl will melt your heart.

Thinking of warmer days ahead, the Lake Champlain Land Trust (LCLT) recently conserved a stunning property directly across Lake Champlain from Burlington: Trembleau Mountain. The once-in-a-generation acquisition includes three peaks, 618 acres and over 4,000 feet of shoreline. One of Lake Champlain’s largest remaining undeveloped parcels, Trembleau includes nearly one mile of cobble beach and stunning panoramic views. In addition there is a rare example of the threatened pitch-pine habitat. Sunny Hollow in Colchester hosts one of the few examples of the habitat in northern

Vermont.

Fire is the sine qua non of the pitch-pine forest. Pitch pines are uniquely adapted to withstand fire. Mature trees will survive a burn and pitch-pine seeds open only with the heat of a conflagration. When fire is suppressed, faster growing white pines out-compete the slow-growing pitch pines, thus threatening the entire habitat.

LCLT is working with the Open Space Institute to restore the habitat to its natural balance.

Views from Trembleau encompass Vermont’s Champlain Valley and, on a clear day, the entire 90-mile Northern Green Mountain range, from Killington to Jay Peak. With the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, LCLT and the Open Space Institute will create a trail network that is sensitive to the ecology of the property.

A local food and craft beer scene is emerging in Essex County, New York.

Start dreaming of a summer adventure that includes ferry rides, hikes with great views and a dining adventure to round out the day!

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14 • January 10, 2018 • The Charlotte News

Join us at the Senior Center for a meet and greet with Carolyn Kulik, our new Center director, on Wednesday, Jan. 10, at 1 p.m.

Take the opportunity to say hello and share some refreshments.

Travelog postponed: Unfortunately Mike Lynch has postponed his travelog, Alaska by Small Ship, originally scheduled for Jan. 10.

Look for his presentation to be rescheduled in the Spring Program (March to May).

Seniors prepare great meals Senior Luncheons: Special luncheons are held on Wednesdays at noon. Make your reservations by calling the Senior Center at 425-6345. Suggested donation: $5.

Monday Munch: Mondays from 11:30 a.m.–12:45 p.m. Local cooks vary menus that feature homemade soup (or chef’s choice), salad, bread and dessert.

Reservations not required. Suggested donation: $5.

Senior Center News

The next meeting of the Men’s Breakfast is Thursday, Jan. 11, from 7:30–9 a.m. This group shares planning and preparing breakfast, and all enjoy an early morning of camaraderie and conversation.

Please call the Center to reserve your place.

Suggested donation: $5.

Upcoming programs A Taste Of Mindfulness: The word “mindfulness” seems to be popping up all over. Join Theresa Hudziak on Thursday, Jan. 11, at 2:45 p.m. to begin a threesession tour of mindfulness practices. The class will open with gentle movement and centering and transition to a stretch of silence to experience one of the practices.

Wear comfortable clothing and your favorite socks/slippers and bring a yoga mat or a small blanket. Refreshments served. Call the Center to sign up for the class.

Don’t miss the Watercolor Video and Discussion session led by our dedicated art instructor Lynn Cummings on Wednesday,

Jan. 17, from 10–11:30 a.m. Amazing Ways with Watercolour focuses on the work of Jean Haines, an internationally known British artist, and is made available through Lynn’s membership in the Vermont Watercolor Society. A Q&A will follow the video. This presentation is open to everyone, whether you’re an artist or just interested in joining the viewing and discussion. Please let us know you’re coming by calling the Center to register.

Fraud, Scams & Con Artists: Check your vulnerability to internet scams that seem to multiply daily. On Wednesday, Jan. 24, at 10:30 a.m. Elliott Greenblott, our Vermont AARP Fraud Watch Network presenter, will explain the ins and outs of defending ourselves from these cyber threats, including WiFi issues with our increasing use of tablets and smart phones. Please sign up for this free discussion.

Wednesday After-lunch Travelogs Jan. 17: Hiking and Other Adventures in Southern Patagonia with Sheri and Rich Larsen. In January 2016, the Larsens traveled to southern Patagonia, a region that includes southern Chile and Argentina. Their trip included hiking the famous “W” trek in Torres del Paine National Park in Chile, hiking in the Fitzroy Range in Glacier National Park in Argentina, walking on a glacier and searching for wildlife. Spend the afternoon enjoying their photos and their description of their adventures in the south of South America.

Jan. 24: Croatia, Jewel of the Adriatic with John Hammer. There’s a reason why Croatia is crowded every summer by northern Europeans and movie stars—the beautiful beaches are backed by a history of the Greeks, Romans and Venetians, the architecture is exquisite, and the people very friendly. This fall trip avoided the On Dec. 10 an energetic group of Charlotte Central School 5th graders, directed crowds. John’s presentation will focus on the

by CCS music teacher Monica Littlefield, entertained the Senior Center audience coastline of Dalmatia, with two short trips with seasonal songs.

Photo contributed inland to the world-famous Plitvice Falls

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SENIOR CENTER MENU Monday Menus (served from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.)

Monday, Jan. 15 Quiches, Green salad, Dessert Monday, Jan. 22 Corn chowder, Green salad, Dessert Wednesday Menus (All diners eat at noon) Wednesday, Jan. 17 Old-fashioned meat loaf with mushroom gravy, Mashed potatoes in phyllo bundles Steamed carrots, Homemade dessert Wednesday, Jan. 24 Spinach & ricotta stuffed shells Garlic bread, Tossed salad, Homemade dessert and to Mostar, Bosnia.

Ongoing classes: Take your pick from Bridge, Mah Jong, Spanish Conversation, Strength Maintenance, T’ai Chi Practice and Friday morning Art Group—class information is available on the town website, charlottevt.org, or at the Senior Center.

Check at the Center for enrolling in Gentle Yoga, Chair Yoga, Yuan T’ai Chi Chuan, Fitness at Any Age, Pilates and Moving Better/ Living Better through Dance.

Snow days reminder: If you’re unsure if the Senior Center is closed due to weather, we follow the Champlain Valley School District (CVSD) school closings. You will find these posted on local TV and radio stations as well as at cvsd.org.

The Charlotte News • January 10, 2018 • 15

Community Events Jan 10

Webby’s Art Studio @ Shelburne Museum. Every Saturday in January, starting Jan. 13, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Come create! Specialized art activities for all ages, inspired by temporary and permanent exhibitions. Webby’s Art Studio activities are offered in the Pizzagalli Center for Art and Education classroom. Free with admission.

6000 Shelburne Road. 9853346; info@shelburnemuseum. org, shelburnemuseum.org.

Jan 27

The League of Vermont Writer’s (LVW) winter program will feature talks on

mystery and comic book writing along with a panel on Vermont writing resources in keeping with the theme, New Directions, New Journeys. The program will be held at Trader Duke’s Hotel (formerly the DoubleTree), 1117 Williston Rd., South Burlington. It will run from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. with registration beginning at 8:30 a.m. The registration deadline is Jan. 23.

The fee, which includes lunch and morning refreshments, is $45 for LVW members, $55 for nonmembers and $22.50 for students (with valid student ID). To register online or for details about the program, go to https://leagueofvermontwriters.org.

Krista Hoffsis We often hear about climate change and its implications, but what does it actually mean for Lake Champlain and the communities around it?

Lake Champlain has already seen drastic increases in lake temperature.

According to the Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP), the main lake adjacent to Charlotte has seen a 6.8 degrees Fahrenheit increase in temperature since 1964. Higher surface temperatures have

Pickleball: Step forward and whack the pickleball with purpose on Wednesdays from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Charlotte Central School’s multi-purpose room. Jugballs (the indoor version of the pickleball) and racquets will be provided to newcomers to the game.

For more information call 425-6129 ext. 204 or email Recreation@townofcharlotte.com.

ONGOING

Charlotte Playgroup: All children up to 5 years old, with a caregiver, are welcome

Changing Champlain: Lake Champlain and Climate Change CONTRIBUTOR

for free play, stories and fun. Please bring a snack and water. Mondays from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at the Charlotte Central School. Follows the school calendar. Email bbfcharlotteplaygroup@gmail.com for more information.

had a substantial effect on lake ice. In fact, Lake Champlain froze over only 26 times in the last 50 years, while it froze over 39 times in the 50 years prior. Even when it does freeze over, data from the LCBP 2015 State of the Lake report shows it freezes later in the year and thaws earlier.

In addition, there has been an increase in precipitation of 45.8mm (1.8 inches) per decade on the Vermont side of the Champlain Basin since 1941. The additional precipitation along with more energy from warming temperatures yields

An unfrozen Lake Champlain in February 2017 near Burlington.

Photo by Krista Hoffsis.

stronger storms and flash floods, which increases erosion, releases sediments and nutrients, and threatens infrastructure.

Warmer and wetter conditions affect lake ecology and human uses. The species profile of fish in the lake is expected to change. Cold water species like trout and salmon may not be able to survive due to decreasing surface water temperatures.

Warmer surface temperatures could affect spawning times of cool water species like walleye and therefore affect reproductive success. We may see an increase in warm water species like perch and bass.

Beyond fish, warmer lake temperatures are an open invitation to invasive species, many of which are on our doorstep in the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River, both connected to Lake Champlain through rivers and canals. Species that may not have been able to survive winter temperatures and freeze-over are now starting to be able to thrive here. Invasive species outcompete native species for resources and have no natural predators, so are able to thrive. Besides the intrinsic value of a natural, balanced ecosystem, this could have implications for anglers and boaters.

Blue-green algae has been a hot topic in recent years as a threat to health and scenic beauty, but climate change could enhance growing conditions. More stormwater runoff (carrying nutrients that the algae need) plus hotter conditions will likely lead to an increase in blooms.

Algae blooms reduce dissolved oxygen in the lake and deprive fish and aquatic life of oxygen. Blue-green algae can be toxic, and some studies suggest these algae are associated with higher instances of neurodegenerative diseases.

And according to the Gund Institute at the University of Vermont, blue-green algae on lake-front property is causing a drop in property values.

It is critical that we take steps to manage stormwater and prevent the spread of invasive species to the extent possible.

The Conservation Commission meets the fourth Tuesday of the month. All are welcome.

Krista Hoffsis is a member of the Charlotte Conservation Commission

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