The Charlotte News | August 8, 2018

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Charlotte News Wednesday, august 8, 2018 | Volume lXI number 3

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Charlotte News

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Vol. 61, no.3

August 8, 2018

Vermont’s oldest nonprofit community newspaper, bringing you local news and views since 1958

Charlotte Democrats nominate JP slate for November

A very hungry caterpillar

Left to right: Assistant Judge Connie Ramsey, Asst. Judge Charles Delaney, Sheriff Kevin McLaughlin, Willian Norful, Rep. Mike Yantachka, JP Seth Zimmerman, JP Leo Laberge, Probate Judge Greg Glennon and Ed Cafferty.

Photo Braxton Robbason

Charlotte Democrats met on July 26 to nominate candidates for Justice of the Peace in Charlotte. The nominees will appear on the ballot for the November general election. Charlotte has 12 JPs, and each party can nominate a slate.

Candidates can also run as Independents but have to be nominated by petition. The six candidates who will run as Democrats are Jill Abilock, Greg Cluff, Lorna Jimerson, Leo Laberge, Michael Krasnow and Seth Zimmerman, all of whom currently serve as JPs. The duties of a JP include working with the town clerk to oversee elections and serving on the Board of Civil Authority and on the Board of Tax Abatement. JPs also are authorized to

perform weddings and to act as notaries.

Democratic candidates running for county-level offices were invited to attend the caucus. Those who accepted the invitation included the two candidates for probate judge, Judge Greg Glennon and former mayor of Winooski Bill Norful; two of the four candidates for assistant judge, Connie Ramsey and Charles Delaney; and one of two candidates for sheriff, Sheriff Kevin McLaughlin. They spoke about why they are running and their qualifications, and described the responsibilities of the offices they are running for, which provided a rare insight to the workings of county government.

Photo by Lee Krohn

Affordable housing issues discussed at July Selectboard meeting Meghan Neely The July 23 Selectboard meeting was a lengthy one, with over an hour of discussion dedicated to the issue of affordable housing.

The town agreement with Volunteer Fire and Rescue Services, as well as the town’s hazardous waste ordinance, were also bigticket items.

Members of the Affordable Housing Trust Fund Grant Program presented the Selectboard with updates to their policies and procedures, which Selectmen Lane Morrison said had improved greatly.

Major questions of the night revolved around how to determine the number of affordable housing units in Charlotte as well as whether senior housing could be included in the scope of the grant. The standards for affordable housing in a given area are determined each year by the federal government.

Selectwoman Carrie Spear was unusually

outspoken during this portion of the meeting, sharing a wide variety of ideas to help create affordable housing solutions in both East and West Charlotte.

“We want to inspire people to move up,” Spear said, pointing out that Charlotte is expected to grow by 1,000 residents by 2050. “That’s 31 people per year.”

Spear expressed her hopes for the grant program to set up 10-, 20- and 30-year plans for the town to achieve. Among Spear’s list of ideas were a 6.75-acre trailer park to accommodate seven to 10 mobile homes in East Charlotte and additional senior housing behind the Grange. Spear also said she would like to see a daycare built in East Charlotte, along with several solar fields.

According to members of the grant program, the town cannot dictate that certain number of units be built per year unless it wants to actively invest in creating affordable properties itself.

The decision to approve the program’s

updated policies was ultimately postponed pending further discussion and questions from the board.

Public comment for the evening implored the Selectboard to look for solutions concerning off-leash dogs at Whiskey Bay. Under the current town ordinance, dogs at Whiskey Bay beach do not have to be leashed on land as long as they are “under control.” Without changes made to the actual ordinance, there is very little for Canine Control Officer Cali Griswold to enforce.

Ajat Tariyal and Jeff Giknis were approved by the Selectboard to the Trails Committee and Recreation Committee respectively. Both of their terms will end in April 2020. The Selectboard also approved the Bike for Multiple Sclerosis event on August 4.

A contract from Tech Group Incorporated of South Burlington was approved by the Selectboard for computer network services

at the Charlotte Town Office. Tech Group Inc. will also replace the town office server.

Amendments to the Selectboard agreement with CVFRS, as well as the hazardous waste material ordinance, took up the remainder of the meeting.

Certain aspects of the Fire and Rescue Services agreement, such as surplus cost, will be revisited at the next Selectboard meeting. The hazardous waste material ordinance was amended for changes in language that will allow the fire department to fine responsible parties for hazardous waste issues that they respond to.

The Selectboard approved $9,335.25 from the Capital Reserve Fund to for Fire and Rescue to purchase gas meters in fiscal year 2019. These gas meters will be used to determine dangerous levels of carbon dioxide at fires and similar situations. The board also approved the retirement of air packs and a 1982 tanker truck.

2 • August 8, 2018 • The Charlotte News

Editorial

Nothing more

Don’t forget to vote!

The Primary Election will take place on Tuesday, August 14 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Multi-purpose Room at Charlotte Central School. Voters will pick candidates who will represent their party in the U.S. and State Senates, gubernatorial and U.S. and State House of Representatives races as well as the offices of Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, etc. VOTE!

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Charlotte News

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I know I have mentioned this in several different ways since I arrived back here a few months ago, but I wanted to make Melissa O’Brien some things clear, believing that NEWS EDITOR there are readers who harbor misconceptions about the nature of the operations of The News.

As has been made abundantly clear by our recent celebratory “ads,” the paper was founded 60 years ago in the basement of the Congregational Church by several enterprising teenagers and the indefatigable Nancy Wood. This newspaper is a nonprofit enterprise, relying on advertising dollars and fundraising efforts to keep the presses rolling. Almost all of the contributors— writers and photographers—do so without compensation, and the staff members receive salaries that would probably make you laugh.

In other words, we are all engaged in this endeavor because we care about this newspaper.

We are also facing a swiftly changing journalism landscape. Most business owners know that they can advertise for free using social media platforms, and though it is indeed true that Charlotte is one of Vermont’s wealthiest communities, most of that wealth remains in the pockets of folks who are choosing to use it in other ways and not in support of our community newspaper.

We face an uncertain future and we (staff and board members) are trying to figure out what to do about that.

We have been working to construct a survey to find out what our readers are reading, not reading, interested in seeing more of, less of, and think we should do to keep The Charlotte News a viable part of our community’s infrastructure. Keep an eye out for that.

In the meantime, consider participating in some way. Send photos to us, write a story, cover an event, tell us about something that’s happening that we should be aware of...be a part of this paper. Make a donation if you’ve got more than you need.

We want nothing more than to hear from you.

Carbs are not the bad guy. Really!

Carbs get a bad rap these days.

Carbohydrates are our energy source. Not all carbs are created equally.

Ginger Lambert When you eat whole grain carbohydrates, such as bulgur, brown rice, quinoa and kasha (also known as buckwheat groats), you stay satisfied much longer because whole grains take longer to break down in the body and thus provide energy longer.

Other than tasting good, white flour products do not have a lot going for them.

Refined carbohydrates metabolize almost immediately, leaving you hungry as your blood sugar and insulin levels shoot through the roof and then back to ground zero. Hearty breads are tasty and often include barley, millet, flax, rye and whole wheat flours. When you eat these heartier breads you need less to feel full, and the taste is delicious. Add a little hummus and tomato slices atop the bread and you have a nutritious and healthy lunch.

It’s important to maintain a balance of carbs and protein. There are different guidelines for the carb-to-protein ration depending on whether you are an endurance athlete or a body builder or you want to lose weight. Avoid chips and cereals that have a 10-to-one carbto-protein ratio. Stock your fridge with

healthy sources of calories, both carbs and proteins. Lean meats like fish, poultry, eggs, cottage cheese and tofu are good options for protein. Nuts, seeds, grains and yogurts are foods that will help you in reaching your weight goals.

And remember that moderation is always the key!

The Charlotte News Mission Statement The mission of The Charlotte News is to inform our readers about current events, issues and topics, and to serve as a forum for the free exchange of views of town residents and community volunteer organizations on matters related to Charlotte and the experiences of its residents.

Letters and Commentaries Consistent with our mission The Charlotte News publishes letters to the editor and commentaries from our readers. All letters and commentaries are subject to review and approval by the news editor of the paper and to the following rules and standards: • Letters to the editor and commentaries should be emailed to news@thecharlottenews.org as attachments in .doc format. All letters and commentaries must contain the writer’s full name and town of residence and, for proofing purposes only, include the writer’s phone number.

• Letters should not exceed 300 words, commentaries 750 words.

• All published letters and commentaries will include the writer’s name and town of residence.

• All submissions are subject to editing for clarity, factual accuracy, tone and length.

• The news editor makes the final determination whether a letter or commentary will be published as submitted, returned for rewriting, or rejected.

Publisher: Vince Crockenberg Editorial Staff Managing Editor: Anna Cyr (anna@thecharlottenews.org) News Editor: Melissa O’Brien (melissa@thecharlottenews.org) Contributing Editor: Edd Merritt Interns: Jacqueline Flynn and Morgan Magoon Copy editors: Beth Merritt, Vince Crockenberg Proofreaders: Edd Merritt, Mike & Janet Yantachka Archives: Liz Fotouhi Contributing Photographers: Lee Krohn and Ramiro Garay Business Staff Ad manager: Jennifer Bora ads@thecharlottenews.org Bookkeeper: Jessica Lucia Board Members President: Vince Crockenberg (vince@thecharlottenews.org) Secretaries: Rick Detwiler, Carol Hanley Treasurer: Patrice Machavern (treasurer@thecharlottenews.org) Board members: Rachel Allard, Bob Bloch, Gay Regan, Louisa Schibli, Tom Tiller Website: thecharlottenews.org 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? Please send a check payable to The Charlotte News, P.O. Box 251, Charlotte, VT 05445.

Join me at Poetry by Heart, 10:15–11:15 a.m., on Tuesday 8/14 and 8/21 at the Charlotte Senior Center. I will share my tips and memorization methods, as well as the reasons to learn poetry.

Just like your body, you brain can benefit from a workout as well.

Some poems will be provided, or you can bring your own favorites.

Registration required before class; fee is $10 for each.

Postmaster/Send address changes to: The Charlotte News P.O. Box 251, Charlotte, VT 05445 Telephone: 425-4949 Circulation: 3,000 copies per issue.

Copyright © 2018 The Charlotte News, Inc. Member of the New England Newspaper and Press Association and the Vermont Press Association.

ON THE COVER: Summers On The Lake

By Ramiro Garay

The Charlotte News • August 8, 2018 • 3

Around Town Congratulations: to Deb Smith of Charlotte who participated in a workshop at Dartmouth College titled “The School of Ice: Ice Cores and Climate Change” that ran from July 29 through August 2. The program was Deb Smith developed by the U.S. Ice Drilling Program Office, a part of the National Science Foundation, which provides oversight of U.S. scientific drilling efforts in both the Arctic and Antarctic. Deb spent two summers in Antarctica in the early 2000s.

The four-day residential course focused on the role of proxy records to help expand current understanding of Earth’s climate, with a special focus on ice-core data. to Charlotte’s Mount Philo State Park, which was voted by readers of Seven Days as the “Best State Park.” People said it was the perfect locale for picnics with friends. to The Old Lantern Inn & Bar of Charlotte that Seven Days’ readers voted as a finalist among “Best Wedding Venues.”

The top pick happened to be our neighbor, Shelburne Farms, for its variety of sites that make it a “gorgeous place to get hitched.”

before moving to Burlington.

to Recreation Commission Chair Bill Fraser-Harris and to Fat Cow Farm, Misty Knoll Farm, Stoney Loam Farm, Adams Berry Farm and Mow Mow Mow who sponsored a very successful beach party at the Charlotte Town Beach. Ten tables of food plus tunes by the Mystic Party Band and a solar-powered bouncy house from Suncommon kept kids hopping all afternoon. Harrison Grubs, Paige and Deirdre Holmes and Chris and Tess won beach passes for next year.

“Stuff the Truck” comes to Charlotte Congregational Church August 18

Sympathy: is extended to family and friends of Elizabeth Gilroy of Bedford, New Hampshire, and Marco Island, Florida, who passed away July 31 at the age of 88. She and her husband, Gordon, who survives her, and her family spent many summers on Thompson’s Point in Charlotte. A memorial service in her memory will be held at the Thompson’s Point clubhouse August 11. is extended to family and friends of Carole Ann Scott of South Burlington who passed away July 24 at the age of 75. She was the daughter of the late Gordon and Vera Sprigg of Charlotte, where she grew up

Town Bite

How often do you have a chance to do three great things at once? On Saturday, August 18, Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore truck will be at Charlotte’s Congregational Church accepting tax-deductible donations of household items. Items, which must be in good condition, include furniture, area rugs, lamps, small appliances and tools to name just a few. No mattresses, baby equipment or large CRT TVs can be accepted.

Here’s a chance to: get rid of all those items that have been lying around attics and basements for months or maybe longer; provide others with an opportunity to benefit from things that otherwise might end up in the landfill; help address the need for affordable, quality housing for working families in our area.

Simply bring items you wish to donate to the Charlotte Congregational Church at 403 Church Hill Road on Saturday, August 18, between 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., where

they will be gladly accepted. You will receive a receipt for your tax-deductible donation, and, equally important, you will know that you have spared the environment and helped address a serious affordable housing shortage in Chittenden County.

If you have a question about whether an item can be accepted, go to vermonthabitat. org/donate-items-to-the-restore. Or you may contact Jim Hyde at james.hyde@ tufts.edu or by phone at (802) 425-5263.

Hope to see you August 18!

Maybe you could stuff the tank while you’re at it

Have you seen it sitting in Derek Chace’s yard or headed to the Creemee Depot last week? The 1974 British Sabre tank is one of several vehicles in his collection that can be seen as you drive past his house on Thompson’s Point Road. Partly because of its red cross, a 1978 ambulance stands out.

Besides importing cars as a business, Derek and his wife, Cate, collect classics.

They have shown the tank at the Classic Auto Festival at Shelburne Museum, and it is currently on display through Saturday at the Vermont Antique and Classic Car Show in Waterbury. One is not likely to think of Charlotte, Vermont, as a tank base.

But, then again, in addition to carrying creemees, it may have its muzzle directed at Snow Geese.

Letters to the Editor My fellow Charlotters, It has been my privilege to have served as your representative in the Vermont House for the past eight years. I am asking for your support to serve you for another two years.

During my years of service, my committee work has focused primarily on environmental issues, including renewable energy development, protection of our natural resources and sustainable land use. I have also worked with my colleagues across party lines for economic development programs, consumer and small business protections, criminal justice reform, and accessible and affordable physical and mental health care. I have been proud to co-sponsor bills that support working families while strengthening Vermont’s economy for all Vermonters.

While respecting the right of responsible citizens to own guns, I also have worked to make Vermonters safer through commonsense gun regulations that make it harder for criminals to buy guns and easier for guns to be confiscated from individuals who pose a danger to themselves or others.

Over the years many changes have been made with respect to our public education system, from providing pre-K services to dual enrollment opportunities for high school seniors. School district consolidation has begun to generate savings statewide in education costs and allowed school districts to hold budget increases to 1.5 percent this year, beating the Governor’s challenge by 1 percent.

Likewise, strong tri-partisan efforts have held overall state budget increases to less than 1 percent for the last two years.

If you choose to re-elect me in the August primary and the November general elections, I will continue to work for policies that are fiscally responsible, that maintain and improve our environment, that ensure we have a strong and sustainable public education system and that demonstrate respect and concern for and improve the well-being of all Vermonters.

Thank you for your consideration.

Thank you Shelburne Athletic Club!

I wanted to give a public shout-out “thank you!” to Rayne Herzog and the Shelburne Athletic Club folks for many years of fun triathlons here in Vermont. I am saddened that they have determined that they won’t be doing them anymore.

From the Shelburne series to the National Championships, to the Basin Harbor ones and others, they made this area a place one could find a great triathlon at a great price, near home. I will miss them. Though Steve Hare and the Vermont Sun folks, and Donna Smyers and the Elmore crew, also have great events, triathlons in the area seem to be diminishing in number and in participation. This is a real shame, as swimming, cycling and running are all lifetime sports, and the balance triathlon training forces upon oneself helps avoid injuries and enhances overall body health,

unlike many individual and team sports.

My wife and I are into our fourth decade of triathlon and have no intention of stopping!

Heartfelt thanks to Rayne et al. for bringing triathlon to many. I am sad to see these races end, but wish them continued good luck with all the other races and events racevermont puts on!

Terry Ryan Huntington

Email your news & photos to

news@thecharlottenews.org

Rep. Mike Yantachka Charlotte, VT

Charlotte News From Gilfeather’s Fine Foods

3177 Rte 7, Ferrisburgh | 802-870-7315 www.facebook.com/gilfeathersfineprovisions/

4 • August 8, 2018 • The Charlotte News

Mt. Philo

Mt. Philo State Park welcomes its newest intern!

Harriet Anderson, one of several outstanding candidates, was selected to be the next intern through the Will Hagedorn Mt. Philo Forever Fund internship program.

Harriet is from North Ferrisburgh, has a twin sister named Kate, a brother named Henry and a springer spaniel named Parker.

Harriet ​is 15 and ​will be a sophomore at Vergennes Union High School in the fall. She plays lacrosse and enjoys art, hiking and photography and has a great appreciation of the natural sciences. She see​s​ Mt. Philo from her front yard​.​ She comes with a great attitude and will be a welcome addition to the Philo Team​this summer​.

Please join us in welcoming Harriet and introduce yourself to her next time you’re at the park!​ About Will’s Mt. Philo Forever Fund: Every year, with help from our loyal donors, we are able to offer an opportunity for a local youth​ to connect with nature, practice environmental stewardship, develop teamwork and collaboration skills and experience working with the public, just as Will did in 2013. Th​e park

All in a days work

Harriet Anderson attendant internship is both demanding and rewarding. As Ranger John says, “We collectively ignite a spark for future independence, personal growth and community service for our interns.”

To learn more about the fund, go to mightycause.com/story/Mtphiloforeverfund.

Tax-deductible donations can be mailed to MP Forever Fund, 7440 Spear Street, Charlotte, VT 05445.

Alex Duchac of Charlotte has worked the past five seasons at Mt. Philo, diligently serving the public, maintaining infrastructure and striving to be the best possible steward to our natural resources.

Alex was returning from working in the field at Mt. Philo on Saturday, July 30 when this photo was taken. It gives a little insight into the dedication and appreciation all our staff have for our community and our little “mountain in the sky.”

Photo by John Frigault, CPRP, Park Manager, Mt. Philo State Park

Author Judy Chaves shares secrets of Mt. Philo

Trina Bianchi

A full house welcomed local author Judy Chaves to the Charlotte Grange Hall on Friday evening for a presentation about her new book and book signing. Judy, the author of Secrets of Mount Philo, A Guide to the History of Vermont’s First State Park, held the attention of her audience as she related the history of the park and talked about the principles responsible for its creation and the now well-traveled road up the mountain.

Judy has obviously done a lot of research, along with hiking the mountain itself, and she talked at length about the changing landscape and land-use history of the mountain. Multiple slides showed the changes in the landscape of Philo over the years, which, as she noted, corresponded to the changes in how land was used throughout Vermont during the same time period. The audience was enthralled seeing early photos of Mt. Philo when the mountain and surrounding countryside was home to sheep farms, a time period when much of Vermont, including Mt. Philo, was cleared. Slides of Mt. Philo during this period showed a “naked” mountain compared to what we see today. Our local mountain, in conjunction with the Mt. Philo Inn, was later a tourist destination complete with gazebos. The familiar western view of Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks has always been a draw for hikers and visitors. Although the land between Philo and the lake has changed over the years, today’s visitors see the same view as did the visitors in the early 20th century.

Judy piqued the interest of the audience,

showing slides of trees, boulders and remnants still to be seen on Philo, which can let us then imagine the mountain in another age. Her book, published by the Vermont Historical Society, could be purchased at the presentation, with Judy offering to autograph each copy. She challenged listeners to use her guide to locate the various places she photographed showing pieces of the history of Mt. Philo.

Judy will be leading a guided hike up Mt. Philo on Saturday, Aug. 18. The hike is free, although limited to 20 people; hikers will need to pay the entrance fee to the park. Registration for the hike (9 a.m. or 12:30 p.m.) can be done online through the website for the Vermont Historical Society.

Note: This was the first “Monthly Event at the Grange,” designed to bring the community together in the historic Charlotte Grange Hall by offering various events that will appeal to a wide range of folks. This event was organized and hosted

by Bill Stuono and Grange member Heather Manning. Our next “Monthly Event” will be Wednesday evening, Sept.

12, and will be an “open mic” event.

The evening is being organized

by Mike Walker, and anyone interested in more information can email Mike at mjwalker@gmavt.net.

On Sunday, Sept.

16, there will be a craft and farm market again at the Grange Hall. The organizer for this event is Jenny Cole. To participate as a vendor, contact Jenny at colelogcabin@ gmavt.net. Watch the “News from the

Photos contributed Charlotte Grange” column in this paper for further information on both these and future events. If you have an idea about an event you’d like to see hosted at the Grange Hall, please contact Heather Manning at heatherlgmanning@gmail.com.

The Charlotte News • August 8, 2018 • 5

Town

Governor Phil Scott signs sister state agreement with Tottori Prefecture, Japan

A moment two decades in the making. Left to right: GATW Executive Director Peter Lynch, Consul General of Japan in Boston Rokuichiro Michii, Governor Scott, Governor Hirai, GATW board member Michael Krasnow, board member Reiko Kida, former board member Adama Ndiaye, and GATW Director of International Outreach Masatoshi Kida.

Photo contributed On July 18, Vermont Governor Phil Scott welcomed Governor Shinji Hirai of Tottori Prefecture, Japan, to sign a sister state agreement between Vermont and Tottori Prefecture, Japan’s smallest prefecture.

The relationship between Vermont and Tottori began two decades ago when then-Vice Governor Hirai met with then-Governor Howard Dean and signed a Sister Organization Agreement that fostered educational and cultural exchanges between adults and students in both regions, including exchanges between students at Tottori University’s Medical School and University of Vermont’s College of Medicine.

In 2008, Governor Hirai returned to Vermont to sign a Friendship Agreement with Governor Jim Douglas. Over the next decade, the Tottori Prefectural International Exchange Foundation (TPIEF) and Green Across the World (GATW), a Shorehambased nonprofit dedicated to cultural and environmental awareness and cooperation, facilitated annual reciprocal exchanges for high school students in Tottori and Vermont.

Approximately one quarter the size of Vermont, the Tottori prefecture lies in

Western Japan on the north coast along the Sea of Japan and is known for its coastal mountains and sand dunes. Tottori and Vermont share similar small populations, natural beauty and dedication to rural economic development. With an aging population, Tottori experiences some of the same challenges that Vermont faces. The exchange of ideas will foster commerce and tourism between the regions.

During an event hosted by GATW on July 17, TPIEF and GATW renewed a sister organization agreement that will continue to support youth exchanges between Vermont and Tottori. Charlotte’s Michael Krasnow is a member of GATW’s board of directors. Over the past two decades, the organization has facilitated sister school relationships and student visits between several Vermont high schools and schools in Senegal, Bhutan, Puerto Rico, Japan, China and Taiwan. It is currently planning next year’s trips to Senegal and Japan, which are open to all Vermont high school students.

For more information, visit greenacrosstheworld.org or contact GATW’s director, Peter Lynch, by phone at 802-8975232 or by email at peter@gatp.org.

The buzzing of the bees

After 10 years of keeping bees in Langstroth and having to deal with hive death on a regular basis from the cold, Peter Demick built a Slovenian hive that currently houses about half a million bees and is growing.

Photo by Peter Demick

Send us your news and photos!

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6 • August 8, 2018 • The Charlotte News

Town

Nicole Conley Fall Soccer: The soccer registration fee is $45 until August 10. After Aug. 10 you will be charged a $25 late fee in addition to your registration. If your athlete has a Charlotte rec T-shirt you can subtract five dollars. The season will start Saturday, Sept. 8, and run through Saturday, Oct. 13.

Final registration deadline: Friday, Aug. 31.

Afterschool Piano Lessons: The Recreation Department is pleased to offer after-school piano lessons at Charlotte Central School this fall for students in grades two and up. Lessons will be taught

by Julie Holmes on Tuesdays and by Mary Beth Bowman on Wednesdays after school.

Tuesdays, Sept. 4 through Dec. 18. Time blocks: (1) 2-2:45, (2) 2:45-3:30,

2: Oct. 9 to Nov. 6. Session 3: Nov. 13 to Dec. 18. Cost: $250 per session.

(3) 3:30-4:15, (4) 4:15-5.

Fee: Semiprivate lessons, $338.

Wednesdays, Sept. 5 through Dec. 19: Time blocks: (1) 3:00-3:45, (2) 3:45-4:30. Fee: Group lessons, $221.

After-school Horseback Riding Lessons: Steeple Ridge Farm will be hosting weekly horseback riding lessons after school. Students will learn the basic care of the horse, including grooming, bathing, feeding and upkeep. Students will also learn the nutrition side and anatomy side of the horse and the tack we use on our horses. Tuesdays after school from 2:30 to 5:30. Session 1: Sept. 4 to Oct. 5. Session

After-school Tennis Lessons: The tennis program is open to grades 1–8; age groups will be split into different time slots listed below. Tennis lessons will be held at the tennis courts at the Charlotte Town beach. Please note: Depending on roster sizes, those in 4th and 5th grades may be assigned to either group. Cost: $75.

Mondays and Wednesdays, Sept. 5–24: Grades 1-5 3:30–4:30 p.m.

Grades 4-8 4:30-–5:30 p.m.

Driver’s Education: The department will be offering a driver’s education program this fall by the 802 Driving School. The program, which will be held from 6:15 to 8:15 p.m. at Charlotte Central School, will be taught by Joe Barch, who has over 15 years of experience teaching in the public schools. The registration fee is $690.

Dates: Sept. 6, 11, 12, 13, 18, 20, 25, 27; Oct. 2, 4, 9, 11, 16, 18, 23.

Make-up classes: 9/19, 9/26, 10/10, 10/25.

Full and partial scholarships are available for all youth recreation activities. You can find additional information on all of our programs as well as registration forms on our town website at charlottevt. org under the “Recreation” tab, or contact Nicole Conley by email at Recreation@ townofcharlotte.com or by phone at 4256129 ext. 204.

Kids Cook VT runs a pop-up café in Charlotte Morgan Magoon On the first day of August, campers from Kids Cook VT ran a Kids Cook popup cafe at the Charlotte Congregational Church. Kids Cook VT is a summer camp where kids donate what they cook to various service organizations that support people who are food insecure. The kids ran the whole event, and they did so in a professional way. The campers donned aprons that they had decorated themselves with phrases like “I love cooking” and “bake.” They wrote the menu and all the labels for the food. All the food items were priced at “pay as you wish” because the proceeds are to be used to purchase ingredients for the food donations the kids will be making for the Charlotte Food Shelf as well as the meals they will cook for service organizations.

The foods in the pop-up cafe included desserts (blueberry muffins, brownies, chocolate chip cookies and watermelon pops) and different types of sandwiches (almond butter and jelly; cucumber and cream cheese). In addition to the food

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items on tables, there was also a window where the campers served coleslaw, succotash and cornbread. There were vegan and gluten-free options available.

Drinks included coffee and water as well as the classic Vermont beverage, switchel.

All of the food was prepared with fresh, garden-grown ingredients.

The café was set up with tables where people could sit and enjoy the food they got, or customers could take their items to-go.

The kids were excited about raising money and were proud of the food they had made. “I decided to do this camp because I like that it supports the food shelf,” said a camper named Meredith.

The campers raised over $350.

The previous day, the campers had gone to the Ethan Allen Homestead in Burlington. There they explored the community gardens and met the families who come to the Janet Munt Family Room, also located in Burlington. Two mornings a week in the summer, the families go to the community gardens where many of them have a garden plot.

On that day the campers brought colonialinspired dishes for the families. They had made coleslaw, succotash, salad and cornbread.

There will be a second pop-up cafe on Aug. 8 from 12 to 2 p.m. at the Charlotte Congregational Church. According to Rachel Stein and Deirdre Holmes, the women running Kids Cook VT, the second pop-up cafe may have some different foods, but it will be very similar to the first.

The Kids Cook Vt pop-up cafe at the Charlotte Congregational Church (above) and the menus from the event (below).

Photos by Morgan Magoon

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The Charlotte News • August 8, 2018 • 7

A great day at The Market On The Green Started by friends Emily Adsit of Charlotte and Carolyn Little of Shelburne, The Market On The Green took place Saturday, August 4, at Carrie’s Green at Spear’s Corner Store. The event happens once each summer and is open to anyone selling arts, crafts or food. This was the second year for the market, and vendors sold a variety of items like homemade jewelry, LuLaRoe clothing, antiques, art, and baked goods. It’s a great opportunity for everyone who may not be committed to weekly farmers markets to reach out to the community and share their goods and the green space has been the perfect place for that. Emily is looking forward to running the market again next year!

Photos by Emily Adsit

Vendor Caity Prendergast (left) displays her crafts for sale at the second annual Market on the Green.

Carolyn Little (left) and Emily Adsit (right)

Photo by Emily Adsit

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8 • August 8, 2018 • The Charlotte News

Persisting through the pain—a struggle with CRPS Jacqueline Flynn “You’re probably never going to walk normally again.”

These were the words told to 19-yearold Charlotter Kyle Jaunich by his doctors a few weeks after what was supposed to be a simple foot surgery in January 2017. A few days later, Jaunich walked out of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center with a cane and several teary-eyed doctors.

In October of 2016, Jaunich was an aspiring Navy SEAL and a freshman at the United States Naval Academy.

He began to notice pain in his foot and went to the doctor who suggested he get a simple surgery to remove some bone from his foot. He woke up from surgery in extreme pain and was diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome.

CRPS is an unknown condition where the person suffering experiences extreme pain in a part of their body that recently suffered a trauma. There is no known cause or cure, and little is being done about it since it is so rare.

“My doctors told me don’t be surprised if you never walk normally again,” Jaunich said, adding, “There are really only two options for people suffering from CRPS: commit suicide or turn into a vegetable because the pain is just that brutal.”

But those weren’t options for Jaunich.

He instead looked at how he could get through the pain and continue his schooling at the Naval Academy.

Jaunich read a book by Viktor Frankl called Man’s Search for Meaning, which illustrates Frankl’s experience being a Holocaust prisoner in Auschwitz. “I remember reading it the first time and thinking, “Wow, there are definitely some parallels here,” he said. “Fate just has you now and you’re trapped in pain. How do you find meaning in that?”

Next to his hospital bed he hung a Post-It note that had the words “Attitude” and “Effort” written on it. “It would be the first thing I saw when I woke up and the last thing I saw when I went to bed,

“

“There’s absolutely no way I could’ve done everything I did without the support of the Navy, my friends, family and doctors. There were definitely a lot of dark days and hard times, and without their support to make sure I wasn’t fighting alone, things could’ve turned out very differently.”

”

and it just reminded me that even when I can’t control anything else, I can still work on those two things,” Jaunich said.

He and his doctors and family began to look for options to help suppress the pain.

He had spine shots to try to numb the nerve and was treated for certain types of brain damage, but nothing was working.

Jaunich was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in February of 2017 for his first extended stay to try ketamine treatments. Ketamine is one of the strongest painkillers in existence and is meant to block out certain pain receptors in the brain. This allowed

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Kyle, in February of 2017, during his first extended stay at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center with Lt. Col. Goldie.

Jaunich to try walking for the first time since his surgery, and 36 hours after he started moving his foot, he walked out of the hospital with a cane.

“Walking was just the most not-normal thing,” Jaunich said. “I had to tell myself left, right, left, right.”

After the first set of ketamine treatments, he was pain-free for a month and a half, and then his symptoms started to flare up again. He was supposed to be in school and training every day, but by the end of his freshman year at the Naval Academy, he had been to only 29 days of classes.

He spent more time in the hospital than at school but said that, when he was at the Academy, even someone coming to check on him and smiling at him could turn his whole day around, no matter how bad the pain was.

Regardless of the absence, he ended up passing all his exams, including sea trials—a rigorous fitness test at the end of the semester.

“I had a bunch of kids come up to me at the end of sea trials and say things like, ‘I never would’ve finished without seeing you out there!’ And hearing that totally made it worth it,” he said.

But the Naval Academy wanted him to be fully recovered by his sophomore year, even though his condition has no cure.

Over the summer of 2017, Jaunich

Photo by Lynne Jaunich

went in for two more rounds of ketamine treatments that failed to suppress his pain.

He asked the school to let him take the semester off and give him until December to try other options, and luckily, thanks to Jaunich’s persistence, the Academy agreed to give him the time off.

Jaunich then went to a clinic in Cleveland, Ohio, in November of 2017 for physical therapy, and while he was going through treatments, he was also putting in four hours a day of his own physical training so he could continue to pass the physical tests at the Academy. By December, he was able to run for 10-20 seconds at a time before falling down.

“It’s like when your foot falls asleep, but you’re running and your whole leg feels like that, but at the same time it’s being bit all over by fire ants and covered in lava,” Jaunich said.

And the ketamine treatments were taking their toll. Jaunich said he was on 25 to 30 different painkillers a day. “I hated feeling like a zombie and just quit cold turkey.”

Despite the pain, Jaunich pushed through, and one week after being discharged from the clinic in Cleveland, he passed his physical training test and was allowed back into the Academy.

But it wasn’t over yet. During his see

CRPS page 9

The Charlotte News • August 8, 2018 • 9

Ospreys in residence

Kyle and his company during the final march of their sea trials.

Photo contributed

CRPS

continued from page 8

spring semester, Jaunich had another flare up of his symptoms that was so painful, it left him unconscious on the floor in his dorm room. He turned toward an experimental spinal surgery that he went through this time without painkillers. He ended up with a hematoma on his spine and an immense amount of pain.

Still, he kept going. He said that there were some Green Berets on his floor who had come back from overseas fighting ISIS. One was in a coma, another had lost his leg, and another one had been shot several times.

“Every time I wheeled past their room, they had the biggest smiles on their faces.

I would see them in the PT gym learning how to walk on prosthetics, and I would think, if he could be happy, I could be happy. At least I still have my legs!” he said.

Yet again, he persevered and passed his exams. But the Academy had had enough. He was missing too much school, and finally this past spring he began the process of being medically discharged from the Navy. He was devastated but still had a lot to look forward to.

Though his struggle with CRPS isn’t over, and maybe never will be, perhaps the most important thing Jaunich said was the support he got from the people around him.

“There’s absolutely no way I could’ve done everything I did without the support of Navy, my friends, family and doctors, he said. “There were definitely a lot of dark days and hard times, and without their support to make sure I wasn’t fighting alone, things could’ve turned out very differently.”

Ospreys have been checking out the new platform erected on Thompson’s Point. Fingers crossed they will arrive early enough next spring to begin building a nest and raising young.

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10 • August 8, 2018 • The Charlotte News

Cannabis potency: “The cart is before the horse, and the horse hasn’t even been born yet” John Hammer The Rotary Club of CharlotteShelburne-Hinesburg was recently entertained and informed by its own small version of a TED Talk. The talk was given

by Dr. John MacKay, a consulting chemist, who helps cannabis extraction companies test and optimize their product. This report is based on his 30-minute presentation and subsequent correspondence.

He began with a dog-and-pony show in which he showed how he tests cannabis plants or products for their potency using a portable liquid chromatograph made

by Orange Photonics, Inc. located in New Hampshire. He emphasized that “Good is not a number.” Potency should be calculated as a specific percentage of product or in milligrams per milliliter, not as subjective boundary for a range.

However, it was not long before he had issued a cautionary warning concerning the recent relaxation of cannabis restrictions in Vermont. He cautioned that the “cart is before the horse, and the horse hasn’t even been born yet.” He warned that government understanding of the products and the risks they present is way behind that of the rest of the world. The current federal policies that restrict funding for our public and private research institutions are hindering progress. The government of Canada provides tax relief for companies that are doing research as well as funds grants for research. Some of the Western states are following suit and are beginning to take on the challenges of research, and their initial attempts at regulating are being tightened to ensure that their citizens are provided with safe products.

MacKay has seen his specialty of cannabis testing and science grow in importance as more and more states have

“

Broad federal regulations regarding potency and testing standards are sorely needed, and better research collaboration is needed between scientific and government policy experts.

”

loosened their cannabis laws. Nevertheless, broad federal regulations regarding potency and testing standards are sorely needed, and better research collaboration is needed between scientific and government policy experts.

In his five years of concentrating on cannabis and the extractive processes that producers have developed, he has found that producers—or what he calls extractors—have little actual knowledge of the actual composition and potency of their product. What he has found is that extractors were initially often unaware of the different chemical properties and potencies of the different varieties of the cannabis plants they are using for sourcing.

Some are now willingly implementing

Dr. John MacKay, a consulting chemist, spoke to Rotary members about cannabis extraction companies and his concern for the relaxation of cannabis restrictions.

Photo by John Hammer Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) to assure they exceed the levels normally set for natural products on over-the-counter shelves of stores.

Parenthetically, he issued another warning: Federal prohibitions on the testing of cannabis products have also resulted in failure to test for any pesticides that may be present in cannabis sources.

When the components of the cannabis plants are extracted, they are increased and concentrated. So too are the pesticides that might be present.

After a complex few minutes describing the molecular components of the cannabis sativa plant he entertained the audience with stories of extractors who had little idea of how potent their products were as well as those that now have highly advanced products. These latter companies are selfregulating and self-funding to ensure the highest levels of accuracy.

His boutique firm, Synergistic Technologies Associates, travels the country helping the extractors maximize productivity, exercise quality control and content uniformity, and optimize yields. As a result of his travels, he is very troubled because the potency of current marijuana now has become so high that users will not know precisely what the effects of the new products will be. As an example, he passed around an empty box that had contained four marijuana lozenges each containing 60 mg of cannabidiol (CBD). These candies are openly sold in California. The recommended beginning dosage of CBD for use as a sleeping aid is five mg. What, might one then ask, would be the result from ingesting only one lozenge, or even

all four at one sitting?

So the need for standards and regulations governing the potency of different products, whether they be CBD for medical usage or THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the principal psychoactive constituent of cannabis) for recreational use, are sorely needed.

Unfortunately, federal regulations have stymied testing, and national policies seem to be pointing toward the states to handle the problem. But even with the Western states displaying some experience in the effects of cannabis plants, some of the Eastern states have yet to understand that this is a significant problem. The states need the federal funding that was promised in late summer of 2016.

As a prime example, there is currently no way to test how impaired a person is after ingesting edible marijuana. Even more important to deal with are the increased dangers arising from the new vaping craze. As Dr. MacKay pointed out, a vape pen contains upward of 80 percent THC per inhale. How does that compare to the marijuana cigarette of the past with its comparatively low percentage?

With all these new cannabis products becoming available, he left the meeting with a plea for more aggressive testing and the development of standards. The risks are high and “the horse has not even been born.”

The Rotary Club of CharlotteShelburne-Hinesburg holds a breakfast meeting every Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall behind the Trinity Church in Shelburne. Visitors are always welcome.

The Charlotte News • August 8, 2018 • 11

Charlotte Library News

Property transfers June 22

Margaret Woodruff LIBRARY DIRECTOR

UPCOMING AT THE LIBRARY Summer of Numbers: Can doing math in the summer be fun? Yes, with the Summer of Numbers and a daily math problem. Just pick up a constellation chart and star stickers to track your progress. For all ages.

Popcorn & a Movie: Tuesdays, Aug. 14 & 21 at 10:30 a.m. Cool off on Tuesdays in August with a movie favorite.

Kindergarten Library Card Party!

Wednesday, Aug. 22, @ at 5:30 p.m. Drop by to pick up your very own library card, check out some new books, meet some new friends and enjoy some new treats!

ADULT INTEREST Summer Book Group at the Senior Center: Mondays, Aug. 13 & 20, 10:30 a.m. The Handmaid’s Tale became a dystopian TV hit last fall. Join us to read the novel by Margaret Atwood on which it was based. The story is set in a near-future New England, in a totalitarian, Christian theonomy that has overthrown the United States government. The novel focuses on the journey of the handmaid Offred and her role in a Commander’s house as servant and surrogate.

Hammock-Nappers Book Club: A Book a Month!

Hop in your hammock for the second year of our laidback book group! You can pick up copies of our monthly selections and then settle in for a leisurely read. August: As Lie is to Grin by Simeon Marsalis. Join us on Facebook at Charlotte Library Hammock Nappers Book Group!

Mystery Book Group, Tuesday, Aug. 21, at 10 a.m., The Various Haunts of Men. Having transferred to a small cathedral town from London’s “Met,” police detective Freya Graffham explores her new com-

June 25

June 29 munity and becomes fascinated by Chief Inspector Simon Serrailler, her enigmatic superior. She finds herself unable to let go what seems like a routine missing persons report on a middle-aged spinster and when yet more townspeople turn up missing, her hunch is verified and a serious police search begins. Copies are available at the circulation desk.

Charlotte Library Board of Trustees: Katharine Cohen, Nan Mason, Danielle Conlon Menk, Jonathan Silverman and Robert Smith. Next board meeting: Thursday, Sept. 13, at 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.

Saturdays: 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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12 • August 8, 2018 • The Charlotte News

Sixth annual Diamond Island Regatta goes “clean” and benefits Lake Champlain Maritime Museum Now in its sixth season, the Diamond Island Regatta, hosted by the Royal Savage Yacht Club (RSYC) and Point Bay Marina, will for the first time be a certified Clean Regatta, helping educate and mobilize sailors to protect the world’s lakes and oceans.

The sailboat race on Aug. 18 and the annual RSYC Lobster Fest dinner, which serves as the awards ceremony, will use a sustainability plan developed with the help of Sailors for the Sea, an organization promoting ways to improve the health of the planet’s waters. RSYC will run a paperless registration system and use only post-consumer recycled paper for other purposes.

Worldwide more than 1,000 boating events have registered with Sailors for the Sea as Clean Regattas. The program unites and mobilizes sailors by offering support and resources to help conserve and protect the world’s waters.

“As sailors we have the unique opportunity and privilege to experience both the beauty and fragility of our environment,” said Wendy Friant, race director for RSYC. “By striving to be certified as a Clean Regatta, not only do we personally commit to implementing the best environmental practices, we also commit as a group to educating the public.”

Said RSYC Commodore Susan DeSimone, “The Diamond Island Regatta, including the awards ceremony and Lobster Fest dinner, will have no single-use plastic items. We’ll provide water filling stations and individual reusable water bottles, thanks to Point Bay Marina. We’ll have recycling stations, and in addition to recycling, we will also be using compostable dinnerware and utensils. These are simple changes that can make a huge difference if universally embraced.”

Point Bay Marina, the event’s co-sponsor, has been for many years a Vermont Clean Marina, meaning that it has adopted environmentally sound operating and maintenance procedures and meets a stringent set of state and federal environmental targets regarding fuel storage, waste management and pollution control.

Again this year, the event will be run as a benefit for the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum (LCMM) in Ferrisburgh. LCMM is dedicated to maritime education and the preservation and management of the lake’s historical shipwrecks and underwater cultural resources.

As always, entry for the Diamond Island Regatta will be free; money will be raised instead through the sale of race-themed merchandise, including T-shirts, to sailors and racing fans, and the sale of professional photographs of the boats taking part in the race. The proceeds are used to offset an annual RSYC donation of $1,000 to the museum.

RSYC’s Diamond Island Regatta has become one of the biggest sailing regattas on the Lake Champlain summer schedule; last year, the event attracted 30 boats. The race is part of the Lake Champlain Championship Series (LCCS), a series of races featuring boats from clubs in Vermont, New York and Quebec. Regatta results will count toward both the LCCS Cannon Series and the Champlain Series. Details and registration info for the regatta can be found at the Diamond Island Regatta website, rsyc. org/diamond-island-regatta/. You can learn more about the LCCS at lcchampionshipseries.org/.

Racers are invited to a breakfast (free for RSYC members and $5 for visiting sailors) the day of the race at the RSYC tent at Point Bay Marina.

Breakfast begins at 8:30 a.m., with registration from 8:30-9:30 and a skippers meeting at 9:30. The race gets under way at 11. The awards ceremony will take place at the Lobster Fest, also under the tent, at 6 p.m. This year’s event will feature a presentation on Lake Champlain’s maritime history by a representative of the LCMM. Visiting sailors are invited to join the evening festivities, paying the RSYC member price for the lobster dinner.

The race is scored using the Lake Champlain PHRF ratings, which allow sailboats of all sizes and speeds to compete against one another.

RSYC and Point Bay invite sailors to spend a day on beautiful Lake Champlain and experience the thrill of pitting your sailing skills against top competitors, all while helping a great cause.

The event will include separate classes for boats flying spinnakers and those using just mainsail and jib, but all boats will sail the same course, chosen from among several options on the day of the race based on the wind direction and speed. The courses, all starting in Town Farm Bay, which sits between Charlotte and Ferrisburgh, range in length from 6.6 to 13.8 nautical miles and can run from Charlotte and Essex, N.Y., in the north to Basin Harbor in the south.

Host Royal Savage Yacht Club (rsyc.org) is named for the schooner Royal Savage, which served as Benedict Arnold’s flagship during Revolutionary War battles with the British on Lake Champlain. Point Bay Marina is a full-service marina on Thompson’s Point Road in Charlotte (pointbaymarina.com).

Competitors with the Adirondacks in the background sail the waters of Lake Champlain during the 2017 Diamond Island Regatta.

Heading downwind under spinnaker, with the Vermont shore in the background, during the 2017 Diamond Island Regatta.

Northbound on the downwind leg during the 2017 Diamond Island Regatta, with New York’s Split Rock Mountain to the right and the Vermont shore to the left.

Photos contributed

The Charlotte News • August 8,2018 • 13

“The world is mine oyster” Or the prospect of an overwhelming number of options

MaryAnne Gatos William Shakespeare captured the combined feeling of opportunity and gumption when Pistol, in Act 2 of The Merry Wives of Windsor, declared “The world is mine oyster!” Opportunity and gumption are just what it takes for a student to alter the predetermined plan to go straight from high school to college and instead add a self-designed gap year.

A significant amount of time is spent in high school thinking about what to do after high school. It is assumed to be a direct path. However, in addition to the question of where to go to college, one could appropriately ask when to go to college. More and more students take a gap year before going to college so they can experience something different, learn experientially, challenge themselves, or figure out what they are going to college to study. Stepping away from the academic stream to independently create a personally meaningful year will cue up their readiness, curiosity and ambition for college.

What is the motivation of a taking a gap year? Research into gap year motivation found that the top three cited reasons for taking a gap year are wanting to gain life experiences and experience personal growth (92 percent), wanting to travel, see the world, and experience other cultures (85 percent) and wanting a break from the traditional academic track (81 percent).

Contrary to popular belief, not going to college is less about not going to college and more about getting out into world.

Three myths about gap year come up often in conversation: gap year is a trip, gap year is expensive, gap year is just slacking off.

Gap year plans nearly always include a mix of work, travel and courses. Travel is often a big part of the equation. Some students prefer designing their own travel experience, sometimes with a friend, such as, biking cross-country, farming in Europe, working at a retreat in Italy or a wildlife refuge in Kenya. Many other students want to venture forth with a group. Finding verifiable programs that ensure safety and responsiveness can feel

“

More and more students take a gap year before going to college so they can experience something different, learn experientially, challenge themselves, or figure out what they are going to college to study.

”

daunting. The American Gap Association vets programs that offer international travel, college credit, work and learning opportunities. Safety is a critical concern whether participating in overseas travel programs or undertaking your own selfdesigned trip.

Work is also part of the gap year equation. A significant part of the gap year experience is to figure out what you are looking for, what is out there and how you are going to pay for it. Understanding finances and value is a good skill to have before paying college tuition. One student traveled cross country visiting friends and relatives, worked back home for two months before embarking to Spain to take an au pair position. Some creative endeavors combine both work and travel in one experience—for example, volunteering at school in Sikkim or doing farm work in Denmark in exchange for room and board.

Research and planning fill the gap between whim and reality. Considerations such as safety, cost, goals, preferences and interests help narrow the options. The No Crap Gap Guide is a website published by two Stanford students full of gap year stories, each uniquely tailored by gap year students. Taking ownership of the experience yields a sense of confidence, resourcefulness and self-advocacy, all traits important to getting the most out of college.

Some parents worry that their student will lose academic momentum. One Wall Street Journal article stated that 90 percent of gap year students go to college within 16 months of high school. And then when

they do go to college, they do better. More focused, more resourceful and not wasting time studying something they don’t like!

Bob Clagett’s work at Middlebury College studied the impact of gap year experiences on academic performance and found that students who took a gap year almost always over-performed academically in college, usually to a statistically significant degree, and more important, this positive effect endured over all four years.

Fewer gap year students transfer or change majors, and, according to one survey, they graduate on average in 3.75 years. This is compared to 59 percent of the general population who graduate in six years. There is no sense of “being behind.” They actually feel “ahead” in that they know what they want to learn about. As many as 88 percent of gap year students said that gap year experiences added to their employability. Better focused ambition when starting college often leads to seeking out relevant courses and internships, thereby increasing the return on their tuition investment.

Another obstacle is the myth that it is expensive. It can be. Pistol, in that Shakespeare play, made his declaration about the world and his oyster after Falstaff pronounced “I will not lend thee a penny!” Now this seems fitting, in that many parents feel that a gap year just elongates the time they need to support their student. A four-month trip to Africa to work at a wildlife sanctuary followed by another four-month stint on board a sailing vessel assisting in coastal reef research can add up. There are endless

ways to decrease expenses. Scholarships, volunteering, working for room and board, finding a credit-bearing program, using 529 tax savings account, and calculating the impact on future financial aid can all contribute to taming expenses.

A third assumption is that taking a gap year is just slacking off. Designing a meaningful year and then making it happen takes courage, skill, patience and some financial management. Slacking off? This is work! As much as 98 percent of gap year students surveyed stated that taking a gap year was important to their personal development, maturity, communication skills and self-confidence.

Figuring out the goal and purpose of each endeavor, planning the logistics, handling the money management and applications, dealing with unexpected events all require resourcefulness and resilience.

In the Shakespeare play, Pistol captured the feeling of worldliness and took possession of (some would say, responsibility for) the freedom to choose from an endless array of opportunities.

Gap year is more than a trip, has a high ROI (return on investment) and takes work. Unlike Pistol in Shakespearean times, one needn’t brandish one’s sword to violently open an oyster to free a pearl; one can simply google gap year options and wade through possibilities. Finding the right ones is key, and then making it happen takes work and gumption to pluck the pearl out of the oyster!

MaryAnne Gatos, ROI Education Associates, consults with students and parents to create meaningful and relevant gap year plans. Her approach is to intertwine gap year, college and career to get the best return on investment. roieducation.com.

Have you taken a gap year?

Please consider sharing your story and experiences. Contact MaryAnne Gatos for a café chat.

Your experience can inspire others.

802.734.6509 magatos@roieducation.com

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14 • August 8, 2018 • The Charlotte News

Accidental Pastor

In The Garden

A dime story Melissa O’Brien The backstory is rich and complicated, but suffice it to say this: Matt Dibley died two years ago in a hiking accident in Middlebury. Not long after, people started finding dimes, as can be the case when someone dies and the living are more tuned in to spiritual activity. Sometimes the dead leave feathers, sometimes they present as a bird or a butterfly.

I have no proof of these things, of course, though I speak as an authority. I trust. It’s enough. If you start looking at the world more slowly, more carefully, with the open heart of a person who believes there is more to this life than you can see with your eyes, you will find dimes and feathers, too.

The dimes started showing up in my life, though I had not known Matt and had only connected with his Mamma Bear after his death. Life is very funny and terrific that way: Not only can the disembodied dead move threedimensional objects, they also help us connect with people we need to know.

Coco started finding dimes, too. We found them in the car, on the floor, in the bed, on the kitchen counter. Not in groupings of change but in ways that made us ask, “What is that dime doing there?” So clever, the dead.

Last week, before we started our Faith on Foot walk in Rutland, during which we spend a couple of hours walking all over the city dispensing basic supplies and kindness, one of the pastors shared that she was feeling not great, that she had a sense that something was going

to happen that day, that we needed to really be cautious — the world had an unwelcoming feeling for her; she had that gut thing going on. The weather was wet and heavy, and there did seem to be a kind of pall over the city. So we walked carefully, took our time. When we got to the really bad area near the bridge we went slowly, found some evidence we needed to report, stepped with caution.

There was debris everywhere. Use your imagination and conjure up a place where people with no room of their own sleep, do drugs, leave trash. It was that.

We walked on after talking with one of the city cops about finding discarded needles, about gang activity, and a few feet down the hill I looked down and saw a dime, smack in the middle of the pathway.

“This is a good omen,” I said, “I have a guardian angel who sends me dimes to let me know he’s near.”

I picked up the dime and walked on, feeling pretty confident that other pastors wouldn’t think I was nuts. I mean I am nuts, but I’d like to think in a good way and usually God-people get this stuff; I was in good company.

We finished our walk, felt grateful, parted company. Nothing bad had happened.

The next morning I got a text from my friend with the bad feeling: “My partner and his son were in a five car pile-up last night. They’re OK, the truck is totaled.

I wanted you to know that when we stopped at McDonald’s on the way to the hospital, I found a dime in the bathroom.”

Amen.

Never quite finished Having just completed the efforts of preparing the garden for hundreds of visitors (that is not a typo; we, along with other local gardeners, Joan Weed hosted hundreds of visitors for the recent Flynn Garden Tour), I am painfully aware of all that can go wrong, even when we are responsible and diligent planners. Having a year’s notice helps, and one would think that gives one a wide window to prepare. Well, stuff happens.

Yes, we agreed to participate back in the fall of ’17, giving us lots of time for dreaming and actual effort. First of all, a life-changing event happened as my husband, Dick, passed away in December. Though this brought new responsibilities for me, I was still good to go, with all winter and early spring to prepare.

Our tree trimmers were notified in the fall that we’d need some pruning and limbing-up once the snow was gone.

This was accomplished and beautifully completed, including the removal of a dead pine tree. What we didn’t plan on was the spindly saplings, which were being held up by said pine, falling over in the first serious wind. And not only falling over but falling

onto my vegetable garden, which had the best start it’s had in years. A two-week delay was now added to keeping the veggie beds weed-free and planted.

Then Mother Nature chimed in with 10 days of the hottest, driest weather in years.

Some necessary outside watering had to be delayed because we needed a repair to irrigator lines due to extreme freezes last winter. Remember? This was finally accomplished. Those freezes also meant a few hardy stand-by plants didn’t make it through the winter. Holes would need fill-in—and a newly bought plant, though offering hope for future seasons, isn’t the same as an established perennial greeting us each summer.

Some disease symptoms showed up on the magnolias. A very pregnant chipmunk has devoured just about every tulip bulb I planted last fall.

I am not complaining, as these are definitely First World problems. I assumed other gardeners would understand the obstacles that are tossed in every gardener’s path.

Having had gardens of different sizes and ambitions for about 60 years, one learns how little control we actually have over the finished product. Did I say “finished”? Forget about that. The garden is never finished. I have already saved a few catalogs to peruse and order from… Wait ‘til you see next year’s garden!

Email your news and photos! news@ thecharlottenews.org

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The Charlotte News • August 8, 2018 • 15

Into the Woods

The recreation compromise

J. Ethan Tapper CHITTENDEN COUNTY FORESTER

In Vermont we are blessed to have amazing forests and many people that value them. For most Vermonters, hiking, mountain biking, hunting, fishing, rock climbing and other forms of recreation are the primary ways that they appreciate these resources.

While our forests can support these uses, the interactions between them and forest ecology can sometimes get complicated.

Recreation is incredibly important.

Vermont’s forested lands are about 80 percent privately owned. People own forested land for many reasons—usually some combination of recreation, conservation, hunting access and income from forest products. Many forest landowners place value on just knowing that their land exists, providing wildlife habitat, clean air, clean water, carbon sequestration and other benefits, but some form of recreation is almost always how landowners interact and connect with their land. Whether it is a short walking loop or a system of mountain bike trails, recreation fuels a conservation ethic that helps protect forests and promote good forest stewardship. On public lands, recreation is part of how we enjoy our public resources, and how those without access to their own land can get out and spend time in the woods.

Recreation has an impact. While recreation is an important part of the conservation and protection of forestland, it is also important that we recognize that it is not without adverse impacts; poorly planned and/or executed recreation can negatively affect soils, water quality, forest health and wildlife.

Poorly constructed and/or maintained trails can cause erosion (the loss of soil), which pollutes our waterways. In addition, trails cause localized soil compaction, impacting tree roots and vegetation. Finally, trail construction can impact sensitive sites, such as wetlands, lowering their health and functionality. While these issues, in my experience, are not prominent in Chittenden County, they are serious. The good news

“

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While recreation is an important part of the conservation and protection of forestland, it is also important that we recognize that it is not without adverse impacts.

is that they can be mitigated by thoughtful trail construction: making sure that trails are built with water diversion structures like water bars, identifying and avoiding sensitive sites, keeping users “on-trail” to concentrate impacts on as small an area as possible, staying off trails when they are wet or unstable, and actively monitoring and maintaining trails.

The effect of recreation on wildlife is harder to mitigate. Research has made it clear that wildlife are impacted by recreation.

There are essentially two results of recreation on wildlife: habituation (wildlife becoming accustomed to recreation) and avoidance (wildlife fleeing from recreation), both of which are problematic. Research suggests that larger animals are more likely to show avoidance behavior, which heightens their

”

stress levels, taxes energy reserves and can change their habitat use and forage patterns, sometimes forcing them to utilize inferior habitat.

So, what can we do? We need to balance recreating in our forests with protecting their ecology and function. I think about this as “sustainable recreation,” protecting the health of our forests holistically, rather than focusing for a single resource (like recreation) as we so commonly do. We need to recognize that recreation in our forests is

Re-Elect

Mike Yantachka

State Representative

for Charlotte-Hinesburg

dependent on responsible forest stewardship and does not exist in a vacuum. Broadening our perspective in this way will help to ensure that future generations can have the same positive recreational experience in healthy, productive forests, as we do.

Thinking carefully about the construction and location of trails goes a long way toward this goal. Before building a trail, look at Biofinder, a map service provided

by Vermont’s Agency of Natural Resources, to see if there are any sensitive sites or rare, threatened or endangered (RTE) species present. Consider dividing your land into “zones,” where management goals— harvesting forest products, maximizing wildlife habitat, creating a network of trails, protection of an ecologically sensitive site—determine the primary use. Each zone can have different rules; a simple balance is allowing more trails near developed areas and allowing more remote areas, which connect to larger habitat blocks, to feature fewer or no trails. This allows us to have our trails and allows wildlife a large area where they can move freely without being disturbed. Finally, for tips on trail construction, you can look at Vermont Forests, Parks and Recreation’s “Recommended Trail Standards” on its website.

As is often the case in the woods, humans’ biggest challenge is managing ourselves— and it starts with compromise. Forest recreation is vital to Vermont’s forests, and it is worth the effort of thinking a little bit harder about how we manage it.

Ethan Tapper is the Chittenden County forester. He can be reached at (802)-5859099, at ethan.tapper@vermont.gov, or at his office at 111 West Street, Essex Junction.

VOTE August 14, 2018

This is an important primary election for many state offices.

Your vote counts!

Early ballots are available.

Call or visit your Town Clerk.

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Thank you for the opportunity to serve as your Representative for the past eight years.

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e-mail: myantachka.dfa@gmail.com

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I am working for a Vermont that works for all of us.

Vermont families deserve a healthy environment, an excellent public education system, safe communities, and economic opportunity.

I would appreciate your support for another term.

16 • august 8, 2018 • The Charlotte News

Young Charlotters Becca Von Trapp Morgan Magoon Full Belly Farm is a very important place to Becca Von Trapp. She has been farming there for the past seven years. Full Belly is a 400-acre, certified organic farm in the Capay Valley in Northern California (not to be confused with a farm with the same name in Hinesburg) that has produced organic fruits, vegetables, nuts and a variety of meats for over 30 years. Becca was an intern on the farm for two years, and she has been the co-manager of the animal husbandry program for the past five years. In this program, she works with cows, sheep, chickens and pigs, using them in the crop rotation as recyclers and fertilizers. She also harvests eggs to sell at farmers markets and to their CSA members.

In the CSA (community supported agriculture) model, members pay in advance for a weekly box of vegetables. The vegetables are picked and packed on the farm, and the boxes are delivered to a site located near the membership. It is an affordable and more convenient way for members to eat good food from Full Belly Farm. Becca says, “Aside from the convenience of not having to personally shop for veggies every week, people feel a much stronger connection to the farm through their membership. It’s nice to know

exactly where your food comes from!”

Becca was inspired to farm after graduating from Colorado College and living in San Francisco for a year. Growing up in the Charlotte community made living in a city difficult for her. So in the summer of 2010, she left San Francisco and moved to Waltham to help her stepmother tend to her vegetable garden. She loved it and came to understand that farming was a good match for her. During that time she learned about Full Belly Farm from a close friend who was interning there, applied and was eventually accepted to the program.

Becca met her husband, Rye, at Full Belly. He is the son of two of the farm founders, and he had returned from college to work on the farm about six months before Becca’s first time visiting there. They are now married, have a two-year old-son, Waylon, and are expecting a second child.

Farming is a very demanding area of work, but Becca finds it rewarding. She feels that organic farming is a noble profession, and she loves that she is able to grow high-quality foods for her community. According to Becca, “None of us can do any of what we do without food, and I believe we perform at our absolute best when fueling our bodies with organic food that grows in healthy soil or freely grazes on fertile, green pastures.”

Becca, Waylon and Rye

Photo contributed

GMBC day touring rides Sunday, Aug. 26: Not Quite Quebec.

51-mile (M) and 64-mil (M/S) rides on low traffic roads near the Canadian border. The route crosses the Missisquoi River twice and travels along the shore of Lake Carmi.

Meet at 8:45 at Tractor Supply Company at exit 20 off I-89. Leader: Dave Merchant – 825-3808, dpierchand@comcast.net.

Co-leader: Joyce McCutcheon – 893-1690, mellowmiti@aol.com.

Sunday, Sept. 2: Covered Bridges of Franklin and Lamoille counties. The hilly, 41-mile loop (M) goes through Eden and Johnson, while the 55-mile ride (M/S) passes more covered bridges in Montgomery Center, returning through Bakersfield. Meet at 8:45 at Jeffersonville Fish and Wildlife Access (3/10th mile north of Route 15 and Route 108 intersection, across the bridge). Leader: George Thabault – 598-3409, gthabault@gmail. com. Co-leader: Phyl Newbeck – 8992908, phyl@together.net.

Saturday, Sept. 8: NEK weekend. Day 1: Moose Country Meandering, a 67-mile (S) loop up through Norton and Canaan on routes 114, 102 and 105 with (hopefully) more moose than cars. For the short ride we will do the new Kingdom Lakeview Loop, a 50-mile ride that passes three lakes, one pond and one river. Meet at 9:30 at Island Pond fishing access or along Route 105 in front of the Irving store. Leaders: Pat Stabler and Tom Evers - 781-929-9085, everstab@ verizon.net.

Camping is available at Pat and Tom’s house just outside East Burke; early birds get beds or floor space in the house.

BYOB drinks and/or potluck BBQ on

Saturday afternoon/evening for anyone who is interested. There is also the Tiki Bar in East Burke that is not to be missed.

Sunday, Sept. 9: NEK weekend. Day 2: Willoughby Wanderings, a 47-mile (M/S) ride up through Sutton and Barton, along the shore of Lake Willoughby and through part of Willoughby State Forest. A 30-mile (M) version of the ride returns to Burke via Route 5. Meet at 9:15 at Kingdom Trails parking area. Leaders: Pat Stabler and Tom Evers - 781-929-9085, everstab@verizon. net.

Sunday, Sept. 9: Pleasant Valley Pedaling. The 50-mile route (M/S) travels through Jericho into Underhill and then via Pleasant Valley Road into Cambridge.

This ride is an extension of the old Pleasant Valley Voyager. Meet at 8:45 at Williston Central School. Leader: Matt Kuivinen - 881-9045, mattkui@earthlink. net. Co-leader: Brian Howard – 5051148, bjhowd@gmail.com.

Sunday, Sept. 16: Century Day. Three rides, all following the same route for the first 25 miles with a food stop in Bristol.

The metric century is 62 miles (M) via Bristol and Vergennes. The full century is 100 miles (S) traveling down to the Crown Point Bridge and returning through the Champlain Valley. Those looking for an extra challenge can do the double-gap century, which is 113 miles and includes the Middlebury and Appalachian gaps. Meet at 7:30 at the Wheeler lot, Veterans Memorial Park, South Burlington. Leader: Kevin Batson – 825-2618, kevbvt@gmail.com.

Metric century leader: Lou Bresee – 6580597, lakelou@comcast.net Sunday, Sept. 23: East of Eden. Ride 50 or 60 (M/S) miles through the rolling hills around Eden with your choice of a long, gradual climb up Route 105 or a shorter, steeper route on Route 242 up to Jay Peak.

Last year we reversed the direction of this ride, and we will be repeating that direction this year. Meet at 9:45 at Eden Elementary School on Route 100, about half-mile south of Route 118. Leader: Matt Kuivinen - 8819045, mattkui@earthlink.net. Co-leader: Brian Howard – 505-1148, bjhowd@gmail. com.

Sunday, Sept. 30: Meandres et Beaux Villages. A 60-mile (M/S) tour of pretty villages across the Canadian border. Bring your passport or the required customs documents. We’ll stop in Mystic for brunch and pass many farms along the way. There is some dirt—about four miles total—and a couple of hills. Meet at 9:15 at Highgate Elementary School: I-89 north to exit 21 in Swanton, take 78 east to Highgate Center,

then left on 207 North, Elementary School is on the left. Leader: John Bertelsen - 8640101, jo.bertel@gmail.com. Co-leader: Karla Ferrelli - 864-0101 / karla.ferrelli@ gmail.com.

• All riders must wear helmets and obey the rules of the road. Please do not ride two abreast if there is traffic in either direction.

• For mornings with questionable weather, please call the ride leader to make sure the ride is still taking place.

Ride leaders are obligated to go to the starting point and provide maps but may choose not to ride if the weather is miserable.

• Riders under the age of 18 must have a signed waiver from a parent.

• E indicates an easy ride, M is for moderate, and S is for strenuous.

• Rides begin promptly 15 minutes after the meeting time.

• Social rides are more leisurely versions of the mapped ride—usually the shorter route—with longer food breaks. Always contact the social ride leader before the ride to make sure those versions of the ride are taking place.

• Additional local social rides will be scheduled as weather permits in the Champlain Valley.

Please email lightspd@comcast. net to be added to the social riders email contact list, which is the only guaranteed notification for these rides.

Weekend social rides are usually announced by Thursday.

The Charlotte News • August 8, 2018 • 17

Out Takes

Where did all the hot shots come from?

Happiness is a warm gun (bang bang, shoot shoot) When I hold you in my arms (oh yeah) And I feel my Edd Merritt finger on your trigger (oh yeah) I know nobody can do me no harm (oh yeah)

Happiness is a Warm Gun – The Beatles Strange memories drive your mind, don’t they? My wife, Beth, has been going through items from my parents’ house in order to figure out what she might want to sell in her antique booth in Burlington. Today’s items are pictures that covered the walls of many rooms there.

A good number of them are pictures of ducks and other game. They are usually groups of fowl setting their wings to land or flying over a blind, settling in a marsh, reminding me once again that my dad’s major sideline was hunting and our neighbor was a duck-stamp artist. When the duck, goose and pheasant seasons ended, Dad turned to trap and skeet. Guns ended up being year-round features in our house.

The gun cabinet was next to our main living room. It was locked but had glass windows that showed the world an array of shotguns, a twenty-two rifle and a German Mauser my uncle brought back from World War II. It was a prominent part of our first floor. A seldom-used broom closet stood across from it, but the closet door seldom opened. Most of the action in that area went through the gun cabinet—guns above, boxes of shells in drawers below. Pick them out as you needed them, making sure they were clean and in good operating condition, or, in the shell’s case, they had not deteriorated

“

I am not against individuals owning shotguns and hunting rifles. It’s the easy access to people-hunting rifles that I want to curtail.

”

from disuse.

Periodically, we had out-of-towners for dinner, and Dad always had to show off his guns. My Browning 20-gauge overand-under shotgun that my grandfather gave me as a high school graduation present stood right in middle of the case, its finely finished wooden (probably walnut) stock and its polished brass above the trigger with two shiny barrels made it look like something other than simply a hunting gun. It was a work of art.

These items make me think of the prominent place guns and hunting have played in our society. At least they certainly did (and probably still do) in the Upper Midwest where I come from and in northern New England as well.

We continue to be hunters and gatherers, similar to our Native American forebears, a primary difference being that we don’t follow herds or flocks across miles of landscape.

Guns, however, have come under closer scrutiny in recent years with mass killings using weapons that have nothing to do with providing food—weapons only for human destruction, weapons of war.

How do we rid ourselves of them? One way is to do as Dick’s Sporting Goods has, quit selling them. I hope other stores

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will follow suit. Assault rifles don’t belong in the hands of the general public. Yet how an individual gets more than 20 of them up to the top floor of a hotel without being noticed says as much about the shortcomings of our surveillance systems as it does about the warped mind of the individual moving them.

It does appear, however, that a major industry is taking some positive steps forward. The steel industry is starting to collect guns and harvest their steel for commercial use, according to an article in the July 25 New York Times. A plant in St. Paul, Minnesota, will melt the weapons for free in exchange for the steel in them. For the steel company it is free metal, even though it does not contribute a large portion of the company’s yearly production. The furnace that turns the weapons into steel rods burns efficiently

Stock image as well, using less electricity in an hour than houses do over a year.

Turning guns into steel sounds like a positive step. The human mind, however, that uses them to kill others is less easy to discern and often harder to identify before it perpetrates its evil.

I am also not a proponent of allowing people to keep guns individually in order to protect themselves as they see fit. Call me an anti “Second Amendmentist,” but I believe we should still turn to agencies such as state and local police to protect us.

Otherwise, the danger for disaster comes at too high a risk.

Let my dad’s descendants hunt ducks and clay pigeons. I am not against individuals owning shotguns and hunting rifles. It’s the easy access to peoplehunting rifles that I want to curtail.

18 • August 8, 2018 • The Charlotte News

From the Archives August 13, 1987

The Charlotte News • August 8, 2018 • 19

Sports Report Edd Merritt

S.D. Ireland falls just short of American Legion Baseball finals

For a team that struggled to make it to the tournament altogether, S.D. Ireland (made up mostly of CVU players) went down 4-3 in the semifinals to the Colchester Cannons on a late-inning run.

They had reached the second game of a doubleheader by knocking off Franklin County Post 01, 7-2, and at the end of July removed Rutland from the tournament, 5-2, behind Liam Reiner and Ian Parent’s pitching.

Collin Vincent led Ireland hitters with five hits over the two semifinal games.

Hunter Anderson and Jacob Murphy each drove in two runs in the win over Franklin County. Collin Vincent’s RBI and Liam Reiner and Kyle Rivers two hits apiece kept the Colchester game close.

The All-Tournament Team included three players from Ireland: Collin Vincent, Jacob Murphy and Liam Reiner.

Youth track team displays its prowess at the Vermont Parks and Recreation state meet

The team members come from towns in the upper Champlain Valley, this year with three members from Charlotte, each of whom participated in several events. April Tuiqere won the softball throw among

nine- and 10-year-olds with a personal best of 100 meters. She also did another personal best in the long jump, placing 4th and was a member of the third-place relay team. Veronica Weston finished 5th in the 400-meter run, 2nd at 800 meters, a personal best in the long jump and was a member of the 3rd-place relay team for nine- and 10-year-olds. Max Zinner had personal bests in the 100-meter dash and the long jump while being a member of the 11- and 12-year-old relay team.

In addition to Charlotte, team members came also from Hinesburg, Williston, Shelburne, South Burlington, St. George and Starksboro.

The 65th annual Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl goes green

Castleton University was the site of the 65th Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl football game between teams from Vermont and New Hampshire. Vermont’s defensive unit proved to be the determining factor as the Green Mountain state came out on top, 2413, for its third straight win. Although the “Granite Staters” took the lead with a firstquarter touchdown, Vermont came back on an interception by Burr & Burton’s Jay McCoy. It was not until the third quarter when Vermont scored again to go up on New Hampshire. It was a lead they never relinquished. New Hampshire got close in the final quarter, but Vermont sealed the victory with a six-yard touchdown run by Windsor High’s Seth Balch. New Hampshire still leads the series overall by a

Apryl Tuiqere (in red) running relay.

47-16 margin with two ties.

CVU’s Jacob Bortnick played for Vermont, and Redhawk coach Jeffrey Stein

Veronica Weston at 800 meter race.

S.D. Ireland’s Hunter Anderson kicks high on the mound.

Photo by Al Frey

Dr. Katie Sarah Manges Smets

Photo by Amy Shore coached the linebackers. Bortnick led his team’s defense with eight tackles.

Photo by Amy Shore

20 • August 8, 2018 • The Charlotte News

On Books I just returned from a week in London where I visited my daughter, who had a summer internship there.

We got around Katherine Arthaud quite a bit in seven days: saw two plays, went to the Tate, the National Gallery, took a boat trip up the Thames and, a few days later, a train out to Brighton Beach, which doesn’t have sand but, rather, small round stones. After dinner the first night, we strolled along a still green canal, where we happened upon a floating used bookshop with a rather eccentric, ruddy-cheeked proprietor, who I believe was wearing a top hat. (Am I dreaming this?)

I didn’t buy any books that evening, but my daughter’s friend did. She got Slapstick

by Kurt Vonnegut and said, upon finishing it, that she would highly recommend it.

I almost took it on the plane with me but opted for Ann Tyler’s newest, Clock Dance, instead.

But before I talk about Clock Dance, the main reason I bring up London is that as I walked along the city streets—through Covent Garden and Regent Square…along the Thames—I found myself thinking of an earlier trip to London back when I was 11 or 12 years old, traveling with my parents and two sisters. But I wasn’t so

“

I remember once hearing that no one can play guitar like James Taylor, no matter how much they study, how much they try. I think I would say the same about Ann Tyler.

”

much thinking about my family this time around as I was thinking about the book I was reading back on that trip, Oliver Twist.

Back in London this July, I found myself remembering that book and how much it haunted and affected me that first time I read it, and realized that there are echoes of that haunting still.

I remembered reading it in the flickering, uncertain light of the Tube, rattling through dark tunnels beneath the city. I remembered reading it in my bed at night at the Browns Hotel where we stayed. And this time around, I found that, for me, the city is still subtly tinted or underlaid by my memories

of Oliver Twist, filtered through a child’s lens, enriched and darkened by it, like one of those paintings underneath a painting.

I found myself thinking, as I walked around with my daughter and her friend, of Fagin—miser, “receiver of stolen goods,” sinister mentor of lost children. I thought of Fagin’s secret, seedy lair, and of Nancy, one of Fagin’s pupils, all grown up and wrapped up in the scary Bill Sikes, who had a violent temper and a dog named Bull’s-Eye, who one could almost pity if he weren’t so much like his owner.

Even as a child, I picked up that there was something dark and layered about this novel, and this time in London, even all these years later, despite the sun, the joy and the blue skies, there were still rich echoes of the book for me in the bustling streets and along the Thames and all over the city. Again, haunting is the best word for its affect on me. Then, and still.

So, Clock Dance is the book I brought back with me on the airplane and which I read voraciously and finished somewhere over the Atlantic well before landing. I remember once hearing that no one can play guitar like James Taylor, no matter how much they study, how much they try.

I think I would say the same about Ann Tyler and writing. What is it about her? Her prose is so simple and magic, luminous and utterly unique.

Clock Dance is about a woman’s life, broken up (more or less) into decades.

Willa Drake, the heroine, lost her mother young and has gotten into the habit of living a life largely determined by

other people. Despite her agreeable and unassuming presence in her own life, there are these quite unpredictable, unusual things that happen to her and some quirky plot twists that occur. I found this book to be delightful and so beautifully written. I couldn’t have picked a better companion for my long trip home. Nobody writes like Ann Tyler. And by the way, if you have never read Vinegar Girl, I recommend you try it also. I actually listened to it a few years ago. It is based on Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew, but I don’t think I was aware of that until recently. Vinegar Girl is sweet, funny, charming—a romantic comedy, really. Excellent. And I loved the audible version narrated by Kirsten Potter.

On a very different note, another book that kept me company during my trip was My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Otessa Moshfegh. I mentioned Eileen, Moshfegh’s debut novel, a few weeks ago. Eileen was wonderful, and weird, funny, surprising and dark. My Year of Rest and Relaxation is almost more bizarre, also dark, also, strangely and unexpectedly, sickly funny. I really, really liked it.

The narrator seems on the surface to have it all. Young, thin, attractive, a graduate of Columbia, she has landed herself a job in a hip New York City gallery where she doesn’t have to do a whole lot and is actually expected to be rude and aloof. Her apartment is paid for, she has money, so what’s the problem? Well, plenty, it would seem. Or enough that see

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Caroline Arthaud perusing the books on the floating used bookshop.

Photo by Katherine Arthaud

The Charlotte News • August 8, 2018 • 21

Food & Farm

The fickle face of farming Dave Quickel

The scene on the Thames River.

Photo by Katherine Arthaud

BOOKS

continued from page 20

she decides to spend a year sleeping as much as possible under the influence of multiple pharmaceuticals conveniently and abundantly prescribed by a psychotherapist who thinks and operates way, way outside of the box.

This book is outside of the box. And though we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, I really like this one. Check it out, but don’t stop at the cover. Very unusual, very well written, very interesting writer.

In a New York Times Book Review interview, Moshfegh said, when asked what authors (past or present) she would invite to dinner, “Edith Wharton, Ralph Ellison and Charles Bukowski.” After reading two of her books, this makes

perfect sense. When asked why, she answered that she would like to see how they got along and would “want to know what it’s like to be dead, and whether writing great books has earned them any merit in the afterlife.”

Another excellent book, which took me a few pages to get into since I wasn’t sure I was in the mood for another darkish book, is The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry. This one really sucks you into a whole other world, or so it did for me.

Very good read. But in the interest of time and word count, I will have to save my comments on this one til the next time.

I hope you are enjoying your summer, reading good books, and having lots of fun. Vermont is so beautiful this time of year. I don’t want summer to end. Ever.

Till next time!

Saturday I came back to the farm after the farmers market feeling pretty whooped.

It had been unexpectedly hot, and standing behind a grill for four hours had made it even more so. It’s been a hot stretch of weather (hottest July on record, in fact), and rain has been hard to come by. August had started off similarly. And while the forecast has been regularly calling for rain, we have regularly been left high and dry.

This has been a theme of late, and, while frustrating, it was not surprising. I have memories of dry spells going way back, and there is a familiar pattern. Radar shows rain heading our way, and then magically it splits as it crosses the Adirondacks, giving us barely a taste. Meanwhile southern and central Vermont have had flood warnings and excessive rain. That’s the way it goes sometimes. I definitely prefer dry to excessive, and despite the lack of rain our crops are looking great. It’s been California-style farming. Hot and dry, we supply the water, and things grow like crazy.

There’s a problem with that system for us, however. California has a massive aquifer underneath it and industrial pumps capable of pumping 5,000 gallons a minute.

They pump so much water, in fact, that the land has actually subsided drastically for extended areas around these pumps.

Google “land subsidence California.”

Totally fascinating. Eventually they’ll likely pump the aquifer dry, and that’ll mean trouble. But for now they pump and pump and take advantage of the endless sun and grow most of the food for our country.

The problem for us is we don’t have those massive wells. We pump our water out of two ponds that fill up over the winter when the water table is high. Our ponds

are limited in size, so when we need to irrigate all the time, as we have of late, we drain the pond. Obviously, the solution is bigger ponds, which we’ll certainly dig this fall. But for now we’re kind of stuck with what we’ve got. And what we’ve got is a big hole that’s 80 percent empty. It looks more like it does typically by the end of September. And we’re just coming in to what is usually the hot and dry part of the summer.

So anyway, back to Saturday. I’m hot and a little cranky. I’m not too psyched to have to water crops all afternoon, but it looks like that is what’s in store. According to the Weather Service, there is a zero percent chance of rain, and Sunday and Monday are supposed to be dry and in the 90s. So time to buck up and get after it.

Just then a big wind gust came through. I could hear it coming a ways off in the trees, which was odd because it had been dead calm. It felt sort of cool and was coming from the northwest. So I clicked on my phone and saw that suddenly Charlotte was under a severe thunderstorm warning.

“Warning” in Weather Service speak means the storm is on the radar and is about to move over that particular area. Maybe, just maybe, we were going to catch a break. I raced out into the field to take a better look, and sure enough there was a black line of clouds closing in.

I went back to the pole barn, pulled out a chair, grabbed a beer and put on some Jimi Hendrix. And then it started to rain. A nice heavy, steady rain. It was raining so hard on the metal roof I had to crank Jimi up.

Just like that I’d been delivered a reprieve for the afternoon. Watering was going to be a freebie today, and that was a break I was thankful for. I stood out in the driveway until I was absolutely soaked. Nice to finally catch a break.

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22 • August 8, 2018 • The Charlotte News

Charlotte Senior Center News SENIOR CENTER MENUS Monday Munch

Wednesday Lunch

11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.

No reservations required.

All diners eat at noon.

Reservations required.

August 8 Taco salad Tres leche cake

August 13 Corn & squash soup Couscous salad Key lime pie August 20 Tomato, corn & mozzarella greens Ice cream w/blueberry sauce

Carolyn Kulik SENIOR CENTER DIRECTOR

Gandalf, Dumbledore, Obi-Wan Kenobi—all old men with wrinkles—and magical powers. So, the magic makes the wrinkles acceptable? Interesting that the magic does not make them go away. Hmm. Perhaps they are (rightly) seen as a badge of honor.

And then there is Shakespeare, more than 450 years old and still going strong.

On July 27, the Hour-Glass Youth Theatre staged his play As You Like It in the Senior Center’s Great Room. It was a wonderful example of what teenaged actors and actresses can do and a marvel of invention. Founded and directed by Lauren Palmer, the production included basic—but very effective—costumes, with females often playing males and everyone playing multiple roles. Also on hand were six instrumentalists performing music written for the show by Aya Yuasa, pianist.

Their amazing 8-foot-tall, constructed tree (representing a forest) and three tree stumps have found a new home in the Charlotte Children’s Center. So nice to keep it all in the neighborhood! And now, Lauren is looking to publish her first novel, A Sharper Sword. Someday, we may proudly say we saw her first…

The summer may be starting to wind down, but there is still much to choose from at the Senior Center.

The August Book Group continues discussion of The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, meeting at the Senior Center with Library Director Margaret Woodruff. Meetings are Monday mornings, 10:30–11:30, on 8/13 and 8/20. The story is set in a near-future New England, in a totalitarian, Christian theonomy

“Those who love deeply never grow old; they may die of old age, but they die young.”

~ Dorothy Canfield Fisher

that has overthrown the United States government. Copies of the book are at the Charlotte Library and Charlotte Senior Center. Discussion takes place at the Senior Center. There is no fee. Call the Senior Center to register. There is a space for you.

There will be two more classes of Poetry by Heart, 10:15–11:15 a.m., on Tuesday 8/14 and 8/21. Coach Ginger Lambert will share her tips and memorization methods, as well as the reasons to learn poetry. Just like your body, you brain can benefit from a workout as well. Some poems will be provided, or you can bring your own favorites. Registration required before class; fee is $10 for each.

Collage Experiences continue on Thursdays, Aug. 16, 24 & 30, 9:30–11 a.m. (The class for 8/9 has been rescheduled to 8/30.) Enjoy playing (literally) with small pieces of paper and letting your creativity take flight. Collage artist Linda Finkelstein provides direction and teaches the basics of how to juxtapose, overlap, organize and consider the interplay of negative and positive space. Some materials are provided, and you may also bring your own treasures of memorabilia, papers and artifacts. Registration is required. Each class is $10. It’s not too late to join.

On Sunday, Aug. 19, from 1–3 p.m. the Charlotte VT Shape-Noters are back at the Senior Center, as well as monthly on every third Sunday. This new group, singing the traditional, four-part, acapella style known as shape-note singing, welcome newcomers and those with experience. Rest assured, there are no auditions! Song books (1991 Dennison) are supplied, and there is no charge. Come and “find your voice”— or just listen. No need to register—just stop in and leave

August 15 Bacon, lettuce & tomato salad Lemon bars August 22 Hearty chopped ham Cantaloupe salad Lemon bars

Thursday - Gents' Breakfast 7:30–9 a.m. Reservations required.

August 9: Eggs, cornbread and fruit. Topic – TBA

Suggested donation for all meals: $5

whenever you wish. It is worth mentioning that this style of singing is sometimes called “sacred harp,” which refers to the sound resonating through the body as an instrument.

On Friday, Aug. 17, the Senior Center’s Annual BBQ celebrates summer. Curious about the menu? Appetizers: artichoke dip, bacon/chicken sausages, shrimp cocktail, fresh fruit bowl. Main course: steak, chicken, baked beans, corn on the cob, coleslaw, fresh tomatoes and cukes, zucchini bread. Dessert: blueberry crisp with ice cream. Drinks: lemonade, iced tea, coffee, hot tea. BYOB. Bring your family and friends—and rain or shine—begin with appetizers at 5 p.m. and dinner “hot off the grill” at 6 p.m.

Registration is necessary. Fee: $12 per person, at the door. Be sure to sign up by Aug. 15, so we can plan quantities.

Ongoing Classes Keep in mind that there are our ongoing exercise classes for all ability levels—as well as mindfulness, arts and writers groups, and other activities—which can be joined at any time. Many are free; for those that do have a fee, there is the choice of paying for each class when you come or for the remainder of the multi-class session.

This means you can come and check something out without needing to make a commitment. Access the schedule online at CharlotteVT.org, or call 425-6345 if you have any questions.

Cooling Off In a Heat Wave The Senior Center plans to be open as a cooling center in the late afternoon and evenings if we experience another heat wave as we did in early July. In the event of multiple days of 90+ temperatures, please call 425-6345 to let us know you want to come.

About art The August Art Exhibit of Kay George’s pastels is up until the end of the month. She says she finds painting in pastels a wonderful way to relax and express herself. Kay is a prolific artist and has more than three dozen of her works here. She says she is thrilled to have them out from being stored behind her living room sofas. Her artist’s reception is being rescheduled. Check FPF for details or call the Senior Center for the new date.

Viewing Art Shows: Since the Center is utilized for many classes and events, the best times to see art shows in the summer are: Tuesdays & Wednesdays after 3 p.m., Thursdays & Fridays after 12:30 p.m. Call the Center to check on Sunday availability.

See you soon. ______________________

Charlotte Center (802)425-6345 Visit us at CHARLOTTEVT.org

“I’m pretty sure that eating chocolate keeps wrinkles away because I have never seen a 10-year-old with a Hershey bar and crows’ feet.”

~ Amy Neftzger

The Charlotte News • August 8, 2018 • 23

Calendar August 12

Rokeby museum pie and ice cream social. Having a great day is as easy as pie at Rokeby Museum’s annual Pie & Ice Cream Social from 1 to 4 pm. Rokeby Museum’s corps of pie-baking volunteers has been perfecting the art of pie making for more than 30 years. Peach, apple, berry pies of every kind—and in every combination possible—await visitors who love the taste of summer. And you can justify topping your slice with ice cream from Vermont’s own Wilcox Dairy, or helping yourself to a second serving. All proceeds support the museum’s mission. Abby’s Agenda, an electric bass, drums and vocal trio devoted to a lively range of jazz standards will provide music, and lawn games including croquet, badminton and horseshoes will be set up for all to enjoy. A scavenger hunt designed for young children takes them on a lively investigation of the museum’s farm buildings. “All this and plenty of towering shade trees makes for a relaxing summer afternoon,” says board member and Ferrisburgh resident Marty Dewees.

“It’s one of our favorite Rokeby events.” Admission to Pie Day music and games is free; pie and ice-cream is $6 per serving. Admission to museum exhibits and tours of the historic Robinson family home is $10/adult and $8/child. Rokeby Museum is a 90-acre historic site and National Historic Landmark designated for its exceptional Underground Railroad history. Rokeby was home to four generations of the Robinson family, from 1793 to 1961. The Museum is located on Route 7 in Ferrisburgh. rokeby.org.

Friday, August 17

Trinity Episcopal Church, 5171 Shelburne Road in Shelburne, is hosting a Family Movie Night. The event is free. There will be a simple dinner starting at 6 p.m., and the movie Hidden Figures will be shown starting around 6:30. Come with your family and enjoy dinner, a great movie and all the popcorn you can eat. Please RSVP at EventBrite so we have plenty of food: eventbrite.

com/e/family-movie-night-attrinity-episcopal-church-shelburnetickets-48179123054.

August 21

Nature Journaling: Fun ways to keep records of seasonal changes on your property, 6–7:30 p.m.,164 Mitchell Drive, Vergennes. In the tradition of British garden journals, the journals of Henry David Thoreau, the Voyage of Discovery and other property record keepers, come enjoy a little time outdoors learning specific ways to record data on our own property that can help you in future land planning and management.

What is important to document? What are some very simple methods using both writing and simple illustration?

What will help you see how both subtle and obvious changes are happening to the nature of where you live? Join naturalist/artist/educator Clare Walker Leslie to explore the art and science of journaling. To register and get directions contact Lisa Sausville at 877-2777 or lisa@ vtcoverts.org. For more information on Clare visit clarewalkerleslie.com.

Participants should bring a pencil, notebook, binoculars, water bottle, bug spray and a few field guides if you have them. There will be some on hand to share.

August 25

The 37th annual Vergennes Day at City Park in Vergennes from 10 a.m.–3 p.m., with a street dance the night before from 7 to 10 p.m. featuring The Hitmen. Check out 60+ vendor booths in City Park, live music on the bandstand, pancake breakfast at the fire station, horse and wagon rides, Little City Road Race, Lions Club chicken BBQ and merchant sales throughout downtown.

Classifieds Reach your friends and neighbors for only $7 per issue.

(Payment must be sent before issue date.) Please limit your ad to 35 words or fewer and send it to The Charlotte News Classifieds, P.O. Box 251, Charlotte, VT 05445 or email ads@thecharlottenews.org.

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Child’s Chicken Dinner (children under 12) Tickets available at the door or reserve your meal by calling 434-4583 or 434-2690. Take-outs are available. Half chickens for the freezer will be available for $7; whole pies will be available for $15, beginning at 12:30. The proceeds benefit the Huntington Public Library. It is the library’s largest fundraiser, and the money is used to support the purchase of books, presentation of programs and other operating expenses. Contact: Heidi Racht, 434-2690 or 434-2032.

September 9

Huntington Chicken BBQ. The outstanding meal features a slowroasted half chicken, baked beans, dinner roll, homemade pie, beverage and a choice of seven salads made with local vegetables and fresh herbs.

A variety of choices will suit the needs of all diets; a vegetarian option is also available. The BBQ will be held at Brewster-Pierce School from 11 a.m. and continues until 2 p.m. or all are served. $12 Half Chicken Dinner; $9 Salads Dinner; $6.50

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September 22

The 20th annual Bristol Harvest Festival at the Bristol Town Green, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Co-hosted by the Addison County Chamber and the Bristol Recreation Department.

Activities begin at 10 a.m. when the Town Green will come alive with 65+ crafters and vendors, demonstrations and live musical entertainment on the bandstand throughout the day.

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