The Charlotte News | October 17, 2019

The

The nonprofit community news source since 1958

Charlotte News Thursday, October 17, 2019 | Volume LXII Number 08

U.S. POSTAGE PAID MAILED FROM

CharlotteNewsVT.org

Charlotte News

The

Vol. 62, no.08

October 17, 2019

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

State police ride-along yields little adventure but lots of information Chea Waters Evans NEWS EDITOR

The promise of adventure was there from the start: I had to sign a waiver. Lieutenant Matt Daley, head of the New Haven barracks of the Vermont State Police and fellow Charlotter, kindly offered to take me with him on directed patrol on a drizzly October day when the leaves were just starting to show their full fall potential. My mission was to find out what exactly a VSP patrol around town entails.

The waiver I signed read, “I understand that by way of example, but not intended as an exhaustive list, the activities will consist of travel in patrol cars which may become involved in high speed chases, and that I may be exposed to violent and unruly behavior from individuals.” The idea of it seemed exciting, but Lieutenant Daley wasn’t optimistic that we’d meet any unruly individuals and definitely wasn’t anticipating a car chase of any kind. He was correct. We didn’t even get to pull over a speeder.

“It’s raining,” Daley said, “and people are driving more carefully.” Also, he said, despite the uptick in property crimes lately like home burglaries and a couple stolen cars, this town is blessed with the facts that “there isn’t a lot of crime, and there isn’t a lot of traffic.”

Though we don’t have our own police force, the VSP presence in town is a big reason why those two things are true.

Daley said that troopers who work a shift in Charlotte can be assigned—the town is contracted for 32 hours per month— or they can sign up for extra hours and

request a Charlotte placement if desired.

The Vermont State Police are in charge of patrolling state roads, like Route 7, so those hours spent on that road don’t count toward the contracted 32.

“Our goal is to keep people safe,” Daley said, “and part of that is pulling over speeders, and part of that is making our presence known.” He said the mere fact that a trooper is driving through town or sitting on a roadside or parked as part of a directed patrol in a highly visible part of town helps to accomplish that goal.

As we drove around town, covering dirt back roads and main arteries like Spear Street and Mt. Philo Road, Daley said that he was recently promoted to lieutenant in New Haven, and because of his additional responsibilities he’ll be turning over most of his duties to Trooper Nathaniel Quealy.

Daley has run the data and attended Selectboard meetings as one of the VSP liaisons, along with Lieutenant Bob Lucas, for the past five years. He said that though he’s mostly moving on, he’ll keep an eye on Charlotte—he’s the only state police officer who lives in town.

When I informed Daley that up until a few weeks ago I didn’t lock my car at night, or bring the keys inside, or take my wallet out of the car, he frowned at me.

Burglars, pay attention: I’ve mended my ways. He said that due to a recent rash of thefts in the area, many local homes and businesses have installed cameras and have been more diligent about locking up.

Aside from battening down the hatches, though, he said that an increased police see RIDE-ALONG page 6

Trotting into fall

Sandy Scofield, longtime Charlotte resident on Roscoe Road, drove MoJo on a spectacular fall day last week.

Photo by Melanie Goodman

Selectboard: Paths, poles and lots of pink Juliann Phelps

The agenda for the Oct. 14 meeting of the Selectboard included discussion with Trails Committee members on the proposed construction of the State Park Road path and budget reviews of several groups.

Routine procedural agenda items such as approval of repairs to the Thorpe Barn and contract with P&P Septic for maintenance of the town wastewater disposal were dealt with quickly as the night progressed.

Proposed State Park Road path Laurie Thompson, co-chair of the Trails Committee, and John Limanek were present to discuss the results of their Front Porch Forum trails survey and take questions from the Selectboard on the proposed construction of the State Park Road path. Their request is to release $30,000 of available funds for materials and construction of the path, using volunteer labor. From a previous meeting, the committee indicated they hope to complete the project by November. The

Selectboard members wore pink this week to support CVFRS’s breast cancer awareness campaign.

Photo by Juliann Phelps Selectboard asked committee members to provide more information about the project, including a project manager and a list of volunteers, and to meet with interested landowners affected by the project.

Residents Josh Golda of State Park Road and Jonathan Couture of Vineyard View Drive raised separate concerns about the

project. Golda purchased his property in June and requested more time to review information, saying he only learned about the project on Front Porch Forum a few days ago. “I was under the assumption we’d be contacted as landowners,” he said.

“I am not saying I am against the plan, I feel like a postponement is necessary

given, as a landowner, I haven’t been formally notified.” Couture asked if there was any budget for trails maintenance and asked about signage. After a bit more discussion, Selectboard Chair Matt Krasnow said, “It’s not realistic for the town to rush into this big of a project this quickly.” No action was taken and the item will be on the October 28 agenda.

Other business Co-chairs Jenny Cole and Susan Smith of the Charlotte Park and Wildlife Refuge Oversight Committee presented several items to the Selectboard. The board approved the committee’s five-year agricultural lease request-for-proposal, approved $600 of repairs to the Thorpe Barn and appointed Braxton Robbason to a three-year term on the committee.

Fiscal Year 2021 budget requests from six groups followed, with representatives of each group asking for level funding or slight increases from the previous year. see SELECTBOARD page 10

2 • October 17, 2019 • The Charlotte News

Town Planning Commission continues discussion of East Charlotte Village boundaries Act 143 and land use regulations also considered Juliann Phelps The Oct. 3 Planning Commission meeting continued discussions on the East Charlotte Village (ECV) district boundary and how Act 143 could be applied to the Charlotte Land Use Regulations. With the minute taker and town planner both out sick, commissioners were left to their own visual presentations on the topics.

Vice Chair Charlie Pughe walked commission members through his proposed ECV commercial district boundaries as well as through a draft analysis of potential buildouts (i.e., houses) based on current zoning regulations. Pughe explained he drew

The

Charlotte News

the proposed boundary lines based on parcel lines and land contours, when applicable.

Planning Commission member Marty Illick agreed. “Planning-wise, it’s better to follow a parcel line. It does make the map easier— you don’t have to survey.” Chair Peter Joslin and Pughe both spoke of making progress on the map, with Joslin noting, “We can come to some level of conclusion, so it would be easier to get feedback on.”

Pughe’s spreadsheet garnered a myriad of questions from the commission, as well as a request from Illick to add additional scenarios of density based on senior and affordable housing. Pughe said, based on his analysis, “It’s very complicated to figure out how many houses you can build.”

Selectboard member Carrie Spear, the only member of the public to attend the meeting, said, “I think of two groups: young families and seniors. Especially seniors that want to downsize but not leave their town. I think

PUBLICATION DATES October 31, 2019 Copy Deadline: Friday, Oct. 25 Ads Deadline: Friday, Oct. 25 November 14, 2019 Copy Deadline: Friday, Nov. 8 Ads Deadline: Friday, Nov. 8

TO ADVERTISE CONTACT ads@thecharlottenews.org

October 27 10 a.m.–1 p.m.

AT S H E L B U R N E M U S E U M

Games, trick-or-treating, and fun! $7 admission from 10–1.

Members and children 2 and under free.

Bring a non-perishable food item to support the Shelburne Food Shelf and help our neighbors.

that would be important in the village and would like to encourage that.”

When Planning Commission chairman Peter Joslin raised the idea of investigating potential septic and water in the village, Spear responded that the costs of infrastructure should be borne by the developer, saying, “I don’t see it as town water and wastewater—that has nothing to do with the town.” Planning Commission member Gerald Bouchard concurred. “To me the people using it should be paying for it.”

As the topic wrapped up, Pughe agreed to revise the potential buildouts analysis and the proposed boundary map for the next meeting.

Act 143 The Planning Commission then, once again, took up the topic of Act 143, which relates to the land-use regulation of accessory on-farm businesses. Members expressed differing opinions and interpretations of the law. Joslin questioned the language of the law that states that municipalities may not prohibit accessory on-farm businesses if more than 50 percent of the business’s annual sales are from products “principally produced on the farm at which the business is located.”

“What does that 51 percent mean?” asked Joslin. “Is it a state requirement or not?”

Planning Commission member James Faulkner said that at the commission’s previous meeting, “State Representative Mike Yantachka said the 51 percent was not a requirement, it was a criterion. … In my mind, it completely threw it off.”

Illick, citing the vagueness of the law, asked, “What do we do until the language is more explicit?” She said she would like the process to include updating the Town Plan first and then updating land use regulations.

Planning Commission member Shawn Coyle suggested the commission “do nothing until they shore up the language,” saying, “It’s going to get changed.”

Pughe expressed concern that the current interpretation of Act 143 “seems to be circling around opening a business on a farm that is a retail business distinct from traditional farming.” He discussed the idea of using criteria similar to the current land use regulations for home occupations, noting they could be used in a similar approach for accessory agricultural businesses.

Commission members discussed the idea of a registry of all Charlotte farms with members again offering differing opinions on what kind of data should be collected and the overall goal of the exercise. Faulkner noted, “We don’t have the scope of (the number of farms) we are trying to make regulations for.”

The commission agreed to continue the discussion. Joslin offered to contact Representative Yantachka and the Vermont State Department of Agriculture for more information.

Send Us Your Charlotte News & Photos Send it to:

news@thecharlottenews.org

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 lives of its residents.

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

• Letters may not exceed 300 words, obituaries 500 words and commentaries 750 words.

• The opinions expressed in commentaries and letters to the editor belong solely to the author and are not to be understood as endorsed by either the Board of Directors or the editorial staff of the paper.

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

• Before publishing any obituary, we will need proper verification of death.

• All submissions are subject to editing for clarity, factual accuracy, tone, length and consistency with our house publishing style.

• Whenever editing is necessary we will make every effort to publish each submission in its entirety and to preserve the original intent and wording. We will confer with writers before publishing any submitted material that in our judgment requires significant editing before it can be published.

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

Publisher: Vince Crockenberg Editorial Staff Managing Editor: Anna Cyr (anna@thecharlottenews.org) News Editor: Chea Waters Evans (chea@thecharlottenews.org) Contributing Editor: Edd Merritt Copy editors: Beth Merritt, Vince Crockenberg Proofreaders: Edd Merritt, Mike & Janet Yantachka Business Staff Ad manager: Elizabeth Langfeldt (ads@thecharlottenews.org) Bookkeeper: Susan Jones (billing@thecharlottenews.org) Board Members President: Vince Crockenberg (vince@thecharlottenews.org) Treasurer: Ted leBlanc (treasurer@thecharlottenews.org) Board members: Bob Bloch, Gay Regan, Louisa Schibli, Tom Tiller, Dave Quickel, John Quinney, Lane Morrison, Jack Fairweather, Christina Asquith, Claudia Marshall, John Hammer (emeritus) 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.

Postmaster/Send address changes to: The Charlotte News P.O. Box 251, Charlotte, VT 05445 Telephone: 425-4949 Circulation: 3,000 Copyright © 2019 The Charlotte News, Inc. Member of the New England Newspaper and Press Association and the Vermont Press Association.

ON THE COVER

Firefighter Derrick St. George on the nozzle at the Oct. 5 trolled burn of the former Waldorf School on Ferry Road in Charlotte. See more photos on pages 12 and 13.

Photo by Vince Crockenberg

The Charlotte News • October 17, 2019 • 3

Around Town Edd Merritt

Achievements Courtney McDermott’s sunset photograph looking west across Lake Champlain was selected as the “Photo of the Week” in the “Young Writers Project” of the October 11 Burlington Free Press.

CCS students Owen Deale, Sawyer Carr and Taryn Martin-Smith were chosen to represent their school in the District III Jazz Festival Band. The band will play on Nov. 8 at the Camel’s Hump Middle School, Richmond.

Rowan Bauman Swain of Charlotte is performing as a featured violist with the Vermont Youth Orchestra, whose season began Oct. 13 at the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts. A senior at CVU High School, Rowan made her concert debut with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra five years ago.

Rowan Bauman Swain

After beginning on the violin at age 4, she picked up the viola seven years later, and it became her instrument of choice.

She has studied it at a number of schools in America and abroad, including the pre-college division of Julliard since 2013. She was a semi-finalist in the 2018 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition.

Sympathy Carolyn (Kay) Greene, a longtime Charlotte resident, passed away Oct. 5 at the Respite House at the age of 76.

She and her husband, Jim, moved to Charlotte in 1971 where Kay, a nurse, worked at the Pillars, then for Drs. Fink, Dean and Steinberg in Shelburne, and later for the VNA. Her sons, Richard and Wes, and her daughter, Cynthia, attended CVU High School. She was an avid gardener and birdwatcher who could name most of the species that fed from her feeder. The family asks that those wishing to honor Kay do so with donations to the Audubon Vermont: Green Mountain Audubon Center, 255 Sherman Hollow Road, Huntington, VT 05462, or to the UVM Extension Master Gardeners program, UVM Foundation, 411 Main St., Burlington, VT 05401 or through a personal donation link at go.uvm.edu/kgreene.

Verne A. Bronson of Burlington passed away Sept. 28 at the age of 79. Growing up in North Ferrisburgh, he served in the Army during the Vietnam War. Following his discharge, he worked as a production-line supervisor at Garden

Way in Charlotte, where he remained until 1984 when the plant closed. A graveside service will be announced at a later date.

Regional Bite Recently, a Burlington-based women’s magazine called Reach started publication. Publisher Sara Clark felt that a journal that focuses on new motherhood was missing from bookshelves and news racks.

Appropriately, she and a college friend living in Maine chose International Women’s Day (March 8) to start their magazine, deciding to focus its content on women’s issues, shared through women’s voices. The publishers held a gathering to celebrate the new journal on Oct. 3 at “Soapbox Arts” in Burlington.

A couple of local comedians, one being former Charlotter Josie Leavitt, performed for the gathering.

Commentary

Pet owners beware: Hidden traps pose a threat Kristen Cameron Hiking, especially in the fall, is a great way to enjoy the beauty of our state. It is also a chance to spend time with our dogs.

What some Vermonters do not know is that there are hidden dangers in the woods: baited leghold and body-crushing kill traps.

Hikers with dogs need to know that a lot of public lands allow trapping. Unlike other states, there is no regulation for how far a trap must be set off a trail or recreation area.

Trappers don’t need to put up any signs so people know traps are there. Traps are indiscriminate. Traps can catch your dog just as easily as it can get a coyote. Protected eagles, endangered pine martin, owls and even black bears are unintentionally trapped in Vermont. Animals, including dogs and cats, can have painful and debilitating injuries from being trapped.

Despite Fish & Wildlife Department claims, animals that are trapped accidentally are not simply released “unharmed.” Many

injuries aren’t readily visible to the trapper.

Some trappers admit to releasing an animal that will probably die because of its injuries.

Last year, nine dogs and two cats were reported trapped. The number is likely higher since reporting was not required.

Two of the dog owners were bitten while trying to release their frantic dogs. One dog was trapped at a popular dog walking spot in Waterford. In Shaftsbury, one dog was trapped just beyond the owner’s driveway.

Thanks to legislation passed last year (but opposed by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department Commissioner), trappers will soon have to report when they trap a dog or cat.

If you want to protect your pet, here are some things you can do: • Keep cats inside, for their safety and to protect wildlife from your cat.

• Keep your dog on a leash. Having your dog close protects them and wildlife too.

• Check the area before you let your

dog swim or wade. Body crushing kill traps set for beavers and other wildlife in the water can trap and kill your dog.

• Learn how to release your pet from a trap at protectourwildlifevt.org/ trapping-and-pets.

• Join Protect Our Wildlife and be a wildlife advocate.

Kristen Cameron is a member of the Board of Directors of Protect Our Wildlife, a nonprofit 501c3 organization based in Stowe.

“We help clients financially succeed by partnering with them to grow and protect their assets while managing through all their life transitions.”

- Ben Nostrand, CFP ® Call us for a free consultation to discuss the benefits of working with an independent, fee-only Registered Investment Advisor!

Burlington,Vermont | 802-489-5342 | www.westviewinvest.com

4 • October 17, 2019 • The Charlotte News

Tractors, tractors and more tractors!

Smiles from ear to ear at the 19th annual Charlotte Tractor Parade

Tom Tiller

O

ne of the great parts of autumn in Charlotte is being a part of the annual East Charlotte Tractor Parade. This year’s 19th annual event, which celebrates farming in our community, was another wonderful time for all.

It was a perfect fall day, and smiles went from ear to ear for folks of all ages and backgrounds. As the spectators gathered along Spear Street under brilliant sunshine, 125 tractors mustered at the Nichols family farm. All the drivers were treated to a great lunch put on by the Charlotte Grange.

Participants got the chance to check out the older machines and learn about the TLC that went into getting them ready for the parade. There seemed to be an endless array of brands—John Deere, Massey Ferguson, McCormick, Ford, International Harvester and on and on.

As the clock struck 1 p.m., the engines rumbled to life, the smell of diesel filled the air, and the parade began. The machines ranged from large, modern working tractors to small riding lawn mowers and everything in between. Included in this year’s parade were a sprinkling of antique cars and even an old 1949 Jeep carrying a replica of General Douglas MacArthur, aka Lane Morrison!

We towed a trailer behind our 1953 Ford Golden Jubilee, and it was filled with kids of all ages, from my 80-year old dad to young kids. Stihl Kilborn, 5, had a blast! He said the best part was “waving to the people.” But he was disappointed that the parade was over way too quickly.

For the spectators, it was a great chance to enjoy a fall day, play some games, have some food and meet their friends and family. Everyone I saw was smiling, laughing and having a great time.

There are many people to thank for the parade: Carrie Spear, June Bean, the Nichols family, the Grange, the dozens of volunteers and the many participants. It takes a lot of work to put on this event, but it is just wonderful to see the entire community come together in a great setting.

Some people don’t watch the Super Bowl; they have no interest. And a few Charlotters don’t come to the Tractor Parade. If you are one of those people and didn’t make it this year, fear not. Next year will be even bigger! The 20th anniversary parade will undoubtedly be one for the record books. Come out, join in the fun, meet your neighbors, and see what a great community we have!

The Charlotte News • October 17, 2019 • 5

Photos by Tom Tiller, Chea Waters Evans, Dale Hyerstay and Louisa Schibli

6 • October 17, 2019 • The Charlotte News

Calendar Events

We welcome appropriate community event listings with a maximum of 100 words. Print fees may apply to community events outside of Charlotte.

Email your events to ads@thecharlottenews.org.

Thursday, Oct. 24

Transition Town Charlotte presents a viewing of the incredibly inspiring and entertaining film The Biggest Little Farm at the Charlotte Senior Center at 7 p.m. The film follows a couple through their successes and failures as they work to develop a sustainable farm on 200 acres outside of Los Angeles. Over the years, the desolate farm they purchase begins to thrive and is transformed. Popcorn and cider provided. A $5 donation appreciated.

Saturday, Oct. 26

Addison County Eagles Halloween Dance from 7-10 p.m. at 67 New Haven Road, Vergennes. Doors open at 6:00. Music

by Duces Wild.

Costume prizes for: scariest, most original and funniest as well as a 50/50 raffle.

Tickets on sale at the Eagles Club or at the door for $10/person.

Proceeds benefit the scholarship fund. Open to the public.

RIDE-ALONG continued from page

1

presence in town can be an effective deterrent. Just driving around and hanging out helps, he said. “We like to, and what the town wants is stopping into stores, grabbing a coffee, and talking to people… because people tell you the strangest stuff, and it might help with an investigation.”

He also said it can be useful to “just show people that you’re around,” although lately they’ve done their fair share of sitting in blacked out cars waiting for something to go down.

Pulling cars over for speeding is only a fraction of the responsibilities for state police, and Daley said there’s no minimum number of traffic tickets that troopers must issue and that, sometimes, he’d rather they did other stuff, anyway.

“What I’m looking at is, are these guys doing their job?” he said. “Are their traffic numbers low, but they’ve solved three burglaries in a month? Solving a burglary is like 100 car stops; that’s the greatest thing, because you actually help people that need to be helped.”

Traffic stops also serve another purpose, he said. Sometimes, a traffic stop can result in finding someone who’s a person of interest in another investigation, or they can point you in the right direction if they have some information.

Daley also said that the people skills involved in traffic stops and interacting with Charlotte townspeople can help officers develop the tools they need if they eventually want to be detectives or move on to bigger police departments in other states.

I tried to nab a speeder on the short two-lane section heading north on Route 7 between the stop light and Shelburne, but Daley said the guy I was certain was going too fast was just fine. “The majority of the time, people are following the speed limit, and they’re even going below it a lot of the time,” he said. Pedestrians can perceive vehicle speeds as much higher, and officers who are trained in radar are required to develop the skills to eyeball it.

He said that in order to be certified with a radar, troopers need to be able to estimate the speed of a vehicle within two or three miles per hour just by watching it—and

they need to be able to do it successfully 10 times in a row.

Daley said that his people skills are constantly developing and that he recently added hugging to his resume. He said an elderly woman stopped by his house after getting her first-ever speeding ticket, and he wasn’t sure how to proceed. He gave her an extra envelope from his cruiser and explained how to pay the ticket—and then went above and beyond his duties. “She started crying, and I gave her a hug,” he said.

Whether it’s shooing cows off of State Park Road, responding to complaints from the school that people are driving too fast in the school zone, keeping tabs on houses that are known to be potential places for criminal activity or just giving a squeeze to a sad lady, the Vermont State Police presence in Charlotte does a lot more than state police departments in other states, Daley said. “In some states, troopers are mainly on the interstate—they’re not taking calls in rural towns, so we’re an interesting state—we do everything, and we follow calls until the end.”

Monster Bash: A great time for a great cause Chea Waters Evans It’s the social event of the season—the costumes are elaborate, the dance floor is jumping, and some have been known to have a cocktail or two as the evening goes on. It’s the Mahana Magic Monster Ball, held at the Old Lantern every year the week before Halloween, and this year’s party (for revelers 21 and older) promises to be just as ghoulishly grand as the last. The party takes place on Oct. 25 from 7 to 11 p.m.

It’s the event’s 10-year anniversary, and it coincides with the 10-year anniversary of the Mahana Magic Foundation, a nonprofit organization that emotionally and

financially supports children whose parents have or had cancer.

Sara Wool, who grew up in Charlotte and whose parents still live here, attended the party for years with her husband, Gabe Rodriguez, recognizing Mahana Magic’s importance, but never anticipating how much it would come to mean to her children and her family. Rodriguez was diagnosed with rectal cancer in 2017, and over the years, he and their children benefited immensely from the activities and support provided by the foundation.

“Mahana Magic provided engaging

activities for my kids, with other kids who were going through a similar situation with their parents,” Wool said. The children’s counselor at UVM Medical Center, who was funded by Mahana Magic, was crucial for them, she said. “Ali Waltien has been working with them for three years to help them navigate going through this difficult process.”

Rodriguez’s passed away in June, and Wool plans to attend the Monster Bash with a bit of a different mindset. “I’ve been to many of these parties in the past, with Gabe, and it really hits home now that he’s no longer here,” she said, “that I was able to benefit from it directly, and so were my kids.”

All funds raised at the Monster Bash go to services for children impacted by a parent or caregiver’s cancer. Tickets can be purchased at Mahanamagic.org or through Eventbrite. Contact Monica Marshall at monica@mahanamagic.org or call 802540-0077 with any questions.

IS THERE ROOM

FOR IMPROVEMENT IN YOUR WI-FI?

Are there rooms in your home that get a weak Wi-Fi signal — or no coverage at all? You need Whole Home Wi-Fi. Our Whole Home Wi-Fi uses multiple Access Points placed at strategic locations around your home to expand coverage, eliminate dead spots, and provide great performance for all of your streaming devices. Starting as low as $10.90* per month, plus installation.

CALL 800-496-3391 TODAY TO LEARN MORE! *Whole Home Wi-Fi requires Green Mountain Access high-speed Internet service and a modem/router.

Installation fee apply.

3898 Main Street • 800-496-3391 www.greenmountainaccess.net

Cornerstone Group © 2018

The Charlotte News • October 17, 2019 • 7

Town

Halloween ghosting—A tutorial This bit of breaking news is the first piece written by members of the Junior Reporters Club. The club meets weekly after school on Tuesdays.

Soccer stars of the future

Amelie Fairweather and Florence Eagan Who’s in my yard? If someone is running away from your front door in October, don’t panic and call the police. Instead, take a second to look and see if there’s a bag on the doorstep. If there is, you just got ghosted!

Ghosting is when people ring a doorbell and leave bags of candy on the doorstep at night. It is a Charlotte tradition that is carried out every October. Those who have been ghosted should chase the ghosters. Otherwise, they won’t have fun.

Trust us, we know. Read on for top tips on how to ghost.

Advice for ghosters It’s nighttime, you and a couple of your friends sneak toward a house, you drop the candy, knock, and run. Unfortunately, they have either seen your car or have spotted you sneaking up their driveway!

So, what do you do to avoid getting caught? Here are five tips for your mom, dad and you: Park the car out of view of the house, wait at the end of the road, or at an easily recognizable spot a ways away, like at a sign so that your children will not lose you.

When you are approaching a house, stay near the tree line and do your best to stay away from walls to avoid being caught by a motion light.

If there’s a hill, when you knock on someone’s door try to go around the house and not straight up the hill. They will see you clearly with a flashlight.

If the person you’re ghosting has a dog, it’s okay: don’t hide, don’t circle around the house, even if there’s a hill, run up it.

They have less of a chance of catching you that way.

Found this on your doorstep? You’ve been ghosted!

Advice for the ghosted Imagine you are sitting on your couch, reading a book or writing a story, and suddenly you hear a knock on your door. Ghosters! You run out and chase the ghosters. They escape! Even though you have candy, it’s frustrating to know that your efforts have been wasted. Here are five things you can do that would help catch those ghosters.

Leave supplies like sneakers, a flashlight, and anything else that will help you get ghosted, near a doorway.

You have two choices. Either chase those ghosters or run straight to their getaway car. At the car you have a better chance of intercepting and catching them.

Sometimes making running noises or wearing a mask can make your ghosters have a more enjoyable time and also make them want to come back!

If you see a car slow down when passing your house in October, get ready for ghosters. If you see a car stop and turn off headlights, ready yourself! Candy is coming!

Don’t forget to grab the candy!

Charlotte Rec fourth and fifth-graders showed their skills during halftime at a UVM men’s game last week.

Photos by Elizabeth Hunt

8 • October 17, 2019 • The Charlotte News

Library News Margaret Woodruff DIRECTOR Library expansion updates • The library driveway is permanently closed.

• Patrons may access the library through the current entrance until construction begins.

• Once construction begins, all visitors may enter the library via the library porch door, either from the north entrance (sidewalk under construction) or across the Town Green.

• The book drop box is now located in front of Town Hall. Please stop there to return all materials when library is closed for the day.

• A pick-up table has been set up inside Town Hall. We are happy to put books and other items there for you to pick up. Just call to let us know what you are looking for and we will have it ready for you.

Please contact the library with any questions!

Town Plan vote Wondering about the Town Plan? Stop by the Library to check out the draft so you’re ready to vote on Nov. 5.

Library activities for children Story time begins October 1!

Baby & family time Tuesdays at 9 a.m. Join us for music, stories and play time with babies and toddlers.

Preschool story time. Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. Stories, songs and crafts for children ages 3 to 5.

Kindergarten-first grade after school story time Tuesdays at 2:15 p.m. Registration required. Program is full. Contact the library to get on the waitlist.

Coding Club is back!

Thursdays at 4:15 p.m., beginning Nov. 7.

Create your own video games! Design and program your own video games using code and computer science.

Learn important gaming concepts while building racing games, mazes and other fun games. Some previous experience with Scratch is helpful, but not required. 4th grade & up. Space is limited, sign up today!

Programs for Adults & Families

Building minds AND a library.

Photo contributed

Frog Hollow Artist’s workshop: Linoleum block printing Thursday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m.

Frog Hollow artist Carol MacDonald leads a linoleum block printing workshop.

Linoleum block is a basic relief printing process. Participants design, cut and print a one-color linoleum print. Discussion and demonstration of materials, methods and process included. Space limited. Please call the library to register.

Mystery Book Group: Norwegian By Night Monday, Oct. 21, at 10 a.m.

Norwegian by Night is the last adventure of a man still trying to come to terms with the tragedies of his life. Compelling and sophisticated, it is both a chase-throughthe-woods thriller and an emotionally haunting novel about aging and regret.

Copies available at the circulation desk.

KidPower Everyday Safety Workshop Tuesday, Oct. 22, at 6 p.m.

In this workshop, children, ages 6-10, learn Kidpower’s everyday safety skills, and parents are guided in practicing the skills together with their children. At home, families can continue to practice and integrate the concepts into their everyday lives. These are social skills people of all ages use to build safe, positive experiences with other people everywhere they go. This workshop is funded in part by the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Cooperative Agreement UG4LM012347 with the University of

Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester.

Co-sponsored by the Charlotte Library & Carpenter-Carse Library.

Great Decisions: State of the State Department Tuesday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m.

During the Trump administration, the usual ways of conducting diplomacy have been upended. Many positions in the State Department have never been filled, and meetings with foreign leaders such as Kim Jong-un and Vladimir Putin have been undertaken with little advance planning.

What effect are these changes having now, and how will they affect ongoing relationships between the United States and its allies and adversaries?

Library Book Discussion: The Feather Thief Thursday, Oct. 24, at 7:30 p.m.

A rollicking true-crime adventure and a captivating journey into an underground world of fanatical fly-tyers and plume peddlers. Copies available at the circulation desk.

Film Showing: One Town at a Time Friday, Oct. 25, at 6:30 p.m.

Join us for a screening of this picture into Vermont, past and present. In 2006, during a summer between semesters at college, director Mike Leonard took on the challenge of visiting every town in the state by joining the 251 Club, a unique organization dedicated to exploring the Green Mountain State. After living outside Vermont for over a decade, Mike moved

back home and has chosen to revisit the 251 Club, returning to some of the same places and re-interviewing some of the same people he met 12 years ago, to learn about how Vermont has changed, how it has stayed the same, and how a humble wayfarer’s club has shaped his identity forever. Co-sponsored with the Charlotte Grange, this program takes place at the Charlotte Grange, 2858 Spear Street, Charlotte.

For more information about these and all our library programs and activities, visit our website, charlottepubliclibrary.org.

Charlotte Library contact 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.

Reach us on the web at charlottepubliclibrary.org.

Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/charlottelibraryvt.

Follow us on Twitter & Instagram: @CharlotteVTLib. The Charlotte Library Board of Trustees meets the second Thursday of each month at 6 p.m. Library minutes and agendas are available on the library website.

Likeness Only

Contemporary Farmhouse

Chris von Trapp, REALTOR®

(802) 343-4591 ChrisvonTrapp.com

Wonderfully situated in the Claybrook Community, this 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath home, new in 2017 is your best option in Vergennes today. $379,000 | MLS# 4776643

State of the Art Construction

New Converted Lofts Available!

Year-Round Home on Metcalf Pond

Rustic & fully furnished 2 bedroom, 3 bath home complete with a dock, boats & 25 feet of owned frontage on Metcalf Pond.

This striking Contemporary with European Flair and lake & mountain views was constructed using the latest energy-efficient technology.

$289,500 | MLS# 4769724

$237,500 | MLS# 4750579

$1,264,900 | MLS# 4736704

Formerly commercial space, these sleek, modern condos feature industrial-style finishes, high ceilings & smart home technology!

Chris is an award-winning Realtor® and a proud member of the von Trapp family, depicted in the movie, The Sound of Music.

The Charlotte News • October 17, 2019 • 9

Food Shelf News Susan Ohanian

Christmas cards appearing in stores in August, please take note that the holidays are coming.

Families will be registering for holiday baskets during distribution dates Oct. 23/24 and Nov. 13/14.

Gratitude A big thank you to all those who donated gently used children’s winter outerwear to the Charlotte Grange rummage sale. Cindi Important distribution dates at the Robinson reported on the great quality of Charlotte Congregational Church this clothing, including several pairs of boots Wednesdays, Oct. 23, Nov. 13: 5–7 p.m. that were brand new. As a great example Thursdays, Oct. 24, Nov. 14: 7:30–9 a.m. of community units working together, the Grange, instead of selling any of this clothing to fund their own needs, donated it to the Food Thanksgiving basket schedule Thursday, Nov. 21, 9–10 a.m. Table setup Shelf. On behalf of the children, we extend a Friday, Nov. 22, 7–10 a.m. Basket setup big thank you to the Grange and to the people Saturday, Nov. 23, Thanksgiving basket who donated the clothing. pickup, 10 a.m.–noon Thank you to Bill Doris who was at the Food Shelf to receive the generous donation of Birgit Deeds, who offered a large box of assorted meat and frozen vegetables.

More expressions of gratitude are in order: Valerie Graham provided lots of fresh squash, eggplant and cucumbers, and Patricia O’Donnell and Jim Donovan gave five bushels of beautiful Macoun and golden delicious apples.

Thank you to the gardeners young and not-quite-as-young at Winter is coming—thanks to Charlotte Grange #398, our the library and Charlotte Central children are ready.

School for their contribution of Financial assistance healthy vegetables.

As a reminder, the Food Shelf has some Thank you to Ascension Lutheran Church funds available for emergency assistance with for five cases of Reach Out Meals, easy-tofuel and electric bills. You may contact Pat prepare food for working families.

Rodar at 425-3083 if you need assistance.

We extend a thank you for the gift of We are available to all community financial contributions from Anne Castle, residents. Privacy is very important and Ron Manganiello and Ellen Bernstein, Joseph respected in our mission of neighbor helping Dickerman, Janet Morrison, Beth and Edd neighbor.

Merritt.

For emergency food call John at 425-3130.

Thank you to the Charlotte Senior Center For emergency assistance (electricity, fuel) for offering space for the Food Self annual call Pat at 425-3083. meeting. This meeting offers a joyous annual For more information call Karen at meet-up for the many volunteers who make 425-3252. things happen throughout the year. For starters, we were reminded of the official Donations reorganization of the Food Shelf. Since the We are a volunteer organization, so all end of last year Charlotte Food Shelf Inc. is donations you make to the Food Shelf go a nonprofit membership organization, and all donations are still tax deductible. Membership directly for food and/or assistance to our local neighbors in need. Should you wish to includes people interested in the objectives honor someone with a donation, a special and purposes for which the corporation was acknowledgement will be sent to that person. formed. Our mission statement is simple and Yes, donations are tax-deductible. direct: Charlotte Food Shelf Inc. is a non Checks may be mailed to Charlotte Food profit striving to provide nutritious food to Shelf & Assistance, P.O. Box 83, Charlotte, those in need residing in Charlotte, Vermont, VT 05445. or North Ferrisburgh, Vermont. Current Thank you. officers are Nancy Bloch, Karen Doris, Peter Richardson, Cindi Robinson, Michael Russell, Donated food drop-off locations Peggy Sharpe and Cindy Tyler.

All nonperishable food donations may This team heads up the activities of several be dropped off at the Charlotte Library, the dozen volunteers: people who figure out what Charlotte Congregational Church vestry, Our supplies are needed, people who travel to Lady of Mt. Carmel Church (main entrance) various venues to get these supplies, people or at the Food Shelf during the distribution who distribute supplies on four days each mornings. Please check expiration dates. We month, people who keep supplies in order request that all fresh foods be dropped off on the shelves and in the freezer, a baking at the Food Shelf before the Wednesday coordinator, someone to write thank you distribution hours or before 7:30 a.m. on the notes, two church pastors and assistants—not Thursday distribution mornings. to mention people who respond to emergency needs. It takes a lot of people of good will and The Charlotte Food Shelf is located on the lower level of the Charlotte Congregational helping hands to keep the wheels on the bus Church vestry. Distribution days/times are rolling, and it was gratifying to get together posted on bulletin boards in the Charlotte and hold hands—quite literally—with so Congregational Church Hall, at the Charlotte many at this annual event. Thank you, Rev. Library and at the Charlotte Senior Center.

Goldenbogen, for the warm launch of our You may also call the Food Shelf number meeting.

(425-3252) for a recording of the distribution times.

Holidays Yes, if you hadn’t already noticed the

7133 SPEAR STREET

The magnificence of this house lies not only in the size, scope, and setting, but also in its complex history.

Originally built in Randolph, the structure was carefully dismantled and transported to its new home on Spear St., where it was reassembled so that it retains its authenticity.

CHARLOTTE | $1,695,000 | MLS#4707180

715 CEDAR BEACH ROAD

Beautiful Southeast facing parcel with 287 feet of lakeshore and lake access. Excellent opportunity to build your year round dream home on Lake Champlain. 1970’s camp on property with existing detached garage. Dave Marshall from Civil Engineering Associates did the site work and it’s approved for two bedroom septic.

CHARLOTTE | $425,000 | MLS#4754955

520 DAKIN ROAD

Sited on 6.98 acres, this large parcel has a bit of everything with pond, an old apple orchard and a nice wooded area. Electric is installed on site and driveway is in place. Ready to build your dream home?

Look no further than Dakin Road with easy to get to artery roads leading north, south, east and west.

Large barn included!

FERRISBURGH | $134,000 | MLS#4754937

Find and follow us on social media for new listings and updates! @WarrenStrausserGroup

JAY STRAUSSER Jay.Strausser@FourSeasonsSIR.com 802.578.2094

NANCY WARREN Nancy.Warren@FourSeasonsSIR.com 802.734.5024

550 HINESBURG ROAD | SOUTH BURLINGTON, VERMONT

FourSeasonsSIR.com | WarrenStrausser.com Each Office is Independently Owned and Operated.

10 • October 17, 2019 • The Charlotte News

Town Women entrepreneurs have local roots but a far reach best...for this product [Vermont] has been amazing.” She credits the in-state success to the openness of Vermonters, as well as their Vermont is full of entrepreneurs. love for health and wellness.

According to Jeff Barett of the business Grubbs said she experiences difficulties magazine Inc.com, “It’s a state with fewer working on her own schedule. “There are people than Oklahoma City, yet it has a days that I feel like everything is really, 40-year track record of creating billiondollar exits.” Charlotte, despite its small size really great, and then there are days that I just feel like I have no idea what I’m doing. and population, is home to many of those But other days it’s the greatest feeling businesswomen. Here are just two of them. ever.” Owning your own business can be Michaela Grubbs is the owner and challenging, but Grubbs said that flexible founder of The Yerbary hours allow her to be with her family when Master Tonic, a wellness she needs to be. “First and foremost, I care company that features a about being a mom. That’s why I did this.” variety of health tonics Her personal mantra, a reminder for anyone designated to aid with looking to start a business, is, “People have digestion, detoxification, done it, so I can do it too.” metabolism and many Sage Bagnato is the founder and head of other benefits. She said, the Vermont Day School, a small private “A tonic by definition is Michaela Grubbs school located off Route 7 in Shelburne. a drink that restores and The institution is the second to be located in revitalizes the body.... I’ve that building, following the small preschool always loved natural medicine since I was Heartworks. “Vermont Day School started a little girl,” and got inspiration for her in 2015 and we had just 12 students,” said tonic from a mentor who created something similar. Since starting her company officially Bagnato. “We have grown and added a grade each year, and we currently have 63 in 2017, Grubbs has seen an outpouring students in grades K-8.” In just four years, of support, especially in her home state. the school has expanded to fit four more “It’s Vermont that knows this product the

Lily Menk

grades and 51 new students. struggles, Bagnato said, “Seeing the “I think what Vermont Day School school be so successful and how much focuses on,” Bagnato said, “is fostering we have accomplished in just five years 21st-century competencies in students, is very rewarding. On a more day-to-day so they are really learning skills that are basis, I love seeing the excitement and the important for today’s world.” The school enthusiasm that the children have when incorporates education centered around they’re engaged in learning and they’re STEM—science, technology, engineering excited to come to school every day.” and math—and sustainability to help prepare When I asked her how being an their students “to be creative and innovative entrepreneur is personally rewarding, and able to address and solve real-world Bagnato said, “It is a really enriching problems.” experience to have a vision and take Bagnato mentioned that, the next step and act on that vision to with the goal of increasing see it become a reality.” But starting a their enrollment, plans for a business is no quick decision, she said. “I new addition are underway. thought about and planned for many years “It will allow us to grow our before actually taking the step to move student enrollment, and with forward.” At the end of the day, Bagnato the new addition, we should is more than just the one in charge. “I do be able to grow the school everything from subbing in classrooms to Sage Bagnato driving the bus, to addressing maintenance to 100 students.”

Despite the school’s issues.” As both entrepreneurs seemed to positive growth, Bagnato revealed that “one agree, Vermont has served as an amazing of the biggest challenges with starting the host for their budding ideas. school was overcoming the challenge of Lily Menk is a senior at Champlain Valley being new and being small and encouraging Union High School. She is working with our inaugural families and teachers to sign The Charlotte News as part of her Grad on to something that was just a mission Challenge project. statement on a page.” Despite the initial

SELECTBOARD continued from page 1

Purchase with your local mortgage professional!

Sharon Brown

Community Lender NMLS #491713

140 Commerce Street, Hinesburg 29 Green Street, Vergennes 1-802-877-2721

nbmvt.com 1-877-508-8455 NMLS #403372

These groups asking for support included The Charlotte News, the Charlotte Little League, the Lewis Creek Association, the Conservation Commission, town constable and canine control officer.

The Selectboard heard from Erich Finley, project manager of the Pipestrelle Trust property located at 1030 Hinesburg Road. The owners have moved the house to a new location on the property and are converting their secondary power (landowner maintained) to primary (maintained by GMP). They asked for the town’s input on the location of a new pole. After a bit of discussion, Krasnow said while the location of the pole is not within the town’s jurisdiction the preference is to have fewer poles and overhead power lines, which is supported by the town plan.

The Selectboard authorized the town attorney to enter an appearance in the

appeal by Andrew Zins of a denial of a two-lot subdivision, designated Vice Chair Frank Tenney as the Selectboard liaison for mediation and authorized the Planning Commission to select a designee to participate in mediation. Planning Commission member Marty Illick asked the Selectboard for a representative who is familiar with town regulations and for the Planning Commission to be involved in the decision.

The Selectboard authorized the drilling of a well at Thompson’s Point Lot 151, 228 North Shore Road, and approved a contract with P&P Septic Service Inc. for maintenance of the Town wastewater disposal system.

After brief Selectboard updates, the board went into executive session to discuss a town zoning permit and attorney-client communications. Krasnow said no actions were expected.

The next Selectboard meeting is Monday, October 28, at 6 p.m.

STEPHENSDavidFStephens, AMILY DENTISTRY DMD • Winter Storage

(contracts available at the Ship’s Store)

• Decommissioning/Winterization by our factory trained technicians • Shrink Wrapping • Ship’s Store fully stocked for the “do-it-yourselfer” 1401 Thompsons Point Road, Charlotte | 802-425-2431 | PointBayMarina.com

• • • •

STEPHENS FAMILY DENTISTRY

Cleanings • Root Canals DMD • Extractions David Stephens, Fillings ••Dental Emergencies• Extractions • Teeth Whitening • Cleanings Root Canals Sealants ••Bridges • Dentures • Fillings Dental Emergencies • Teeth Whitening TEPHENS AMILY TEPHENS AMILY ENTISTRY ENTISTRY • Sealants Bridges • Dentures Dental Implants ••Crowns • Veneers

SS

• Dental Implants

F

D D

David Stephens, David Stephens,DMD DMD • Crowns

• Veneers

Cleanings • Root •• Extractions • •Cleanings • Root Canals Canals Extractions Serving Chittenden County andSurrounding Areas Fillings • Dental •Surrounding Teeth Whitening Serving Chittenden County and • •Fillings • Dental Emergencies Emergencies • Teeth WhiteningAreas • Sealants • Bridges • Dentures • New Sealants • Bridges • Dentures Patients Always Welcome New Patients Always Welcome • Dental Implants • Crowns • Veneers • Dental Implants • Crowns • Veneers Conveniently Located Most Insurances Accepted Serving Chittenden County and Surrounding Areas Conveniently Located Most Insurances Serving Chittenden County and Surrounding AreasAccepted

82

New Patients Always Welcome

New Patients Always Welcome VT 05461 82 Ballards Corner Road Conveniently Located - MostHinesburg, Insurances Accepted VT 05461 Ballards Corner Road Hinesburg, Conveniently Located Insurances Accepted PO Box 592 |Most 802-482-3155 82 Ballards Corner Road Hinesburg, VT 05461 82 Ballards Corner Hinesburg, VT 05461 PO Box 592Road | 802-482-3155 PO Box 592 | 802-482-3155 PO Box 592 | 802-482-3155

The Charlotte News • October 17, 2019 • 11

On Books

Fall brings fires to light and books to read Katherine Arthaud Today has been the most beautiful fall day. Orange, yellow and green leaves radiant with sunshine…blue sky…fields stretching out into the distance, dotted here and there with rolled up bales of hay…the occasional cow…a little chill in the air; sweater (not quite jacket) weather.

I just went for a stroll down the road and collected a handful of leaves to send to my oldest son, who has just relocated to a California beach town…and now here I am, thinking about books I have read recently.

Of course, my mind draws a total blank.

Why, I wonder, does my mind always stall when I am asked what I have been reading lately? I am happy to say I can usually recall with ease the book I am currently reading, but it often takes an act of real concentration to pull up titles of books I have read before that. Maybe it’s because the act of reading stimulates a very different part of my brain than my day-to-day activities, plans and thoughts, and thus it takes a little effort to shift tracks and call up or jumpstart the part of my world and mind that has to do with reading. I really don’t know. I will have to consult a neurologist or expert on the brain. I do play tennis with the wife of a brain surgeon… But that is for another day.

Let’s talk about The Dutch House, for my consciousness has just coughed up this recently read gem. Many of you have read Ann Patchett in the past. Remember Bel Canto? About the fancy birthday party in South America given in honor of a powerful Japanese businessperson, at which the renowned opera singer Roxane Coss is singing, and all is hunky-dory and wonderful and luxurious and lovely until a bunch of terrorists interrupt the festivities and take the entire party hostage? (It’s been awhile since I read it; I think I may read it again.) Anyway, The Dutch House is Patchett’s newest, and I just loved it. It opens on the day

Andrea (and if you want to know who Andrea is, you have to read the book) is brought to the Dutch House, and Sandy, the housekeeper, comes into the room the narrator shares with his sister and tells them to come downstairs.

“Is it a work friend?” Maeve asked.

She was older and so had a more complex understanding of friendship.

Sandy considered the question. “I’d say not. Where’s your brother?”

“Window seat,” Maeve said. Sandy had to pull the draperies back to find me.

“Why do you have to close the drapes?”

I was reading.

“Privacy,” I said, though at eight I had no notion of privacy. I liked the word, and I liked the boxed-in feel the draperies gave when they were closed.

This book is mysterious, unusual, intriguing. The main characters, Danny and Maeve, are children when we first encounter them, but as the pages of the novel turn, they mature, eventually into young adults who are most comfortable, despite everything, when they are together. And though their lives follow very different trajectories, we often find them together, like a song’s refrain, smoking cigarettes in a car parked outside of the Dutch house, where they grew up but from which they are ultimately exiled.

The house itself is a constant centerpiece in the novel—brilliant, eccentric and not a little bizarre.

The Dutch House, as it came to be known … referred not to the house’s architecture but to its inhabitants. The Dutch House was the place where those Dutch people with the unpronounceable name lived.

Seen from certain vantage points of distance, it appeared to float several inches above the hill it sat on. The panes of glass that surrounded the glass front doors were as big as storefront windows and held in place by wrought-iron vines. The windows both took in the sun and reflected it back across

Send us your Charlotte news and photos!

Send it to: news@thecharlottenews.org

the wide lawn. Maybe it was neoclassical, though with a simplicity in the lines that came closer to Mediterranean or French, and while it was not Dutch, the blue delft mantels in the drawing room, library, and master bedroom were said to have been pried out of a castle in Utrecht and sold to the VanHoebeeks to pay a prince’s gambling debts. The house, complete with mantels, had been finished in 1922.

“They had seven good years before the bankers started jumping out of windows,” Maeve said, giving our predecessors their place in history.

A crazy good book. I loved the characters, the writing and the surprising ways the characters’ lives meander and connect, reconnect and in some cases dissolve. Highly recommend.

Another book I have read recently and would also recommend to anyone looking for something good is Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, by Lori Gottlieb.

Selected (I just noticed) as The Oprah Magazine’s Best Nonfiction Book of 2019, this book is also a winner in its own right. The book is subtitled “A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed,” which gives you some idea what it’s about. But I have to say nothing could have prepared me for the experience of delving into this (I assume fictional) memoir.

The narrator is Lori, a Los Angeles therapist who writes of her clients’ lives and struggles. We have a tough, selfabsorbed Hollywood producer, mystified by all the incompetents, idiots and that pepper his life. We have a young woman battling a terminal illness. We have an older woman who is ready to throw in the towel if something good doesn’t happen to her quick. And then we have the narrator herself, whose life suddenly becomes unmanageable due to a change in relationship status, who decides to seek

out therapy for herself. Enter Wendell, khaki- and cardigan-clad, balding and lanky, kind of a dweeb. And now our therapist has a therapist. And the book, kind of snappy and funny up to this point, takes on a new depth and complexity. I really, really liked this book and have passed it on to my good friend, a therapist. She really likes it too but says it hits a bit close to home. Which I suppose is probably a good sign.

I have more books to recommend, but have exceeded the allotted word count and therefore must bid you adieu. Enjoy the leaves and the sunshine and this incredible time of year.

Don’t be too sad about winter coming.

There are fires to light and books to read and summer will be back again. Be well, and happy reading!

Local Church Services Charlotte Congregational Church, UCC 403 Church Hill Road 425-3176 | charlotteucc.org Regular Sunday service: 10 a.m. _____________________

Providing Repair, Refinishing, Restoration and Transport

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

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church Spear Street, 425-2637 Sister parish: St. Jude’s Regular schedule of masses: Saturdays, 4:30 p.m., at St. Jude’s Sundays, 8 a.m. and 11 a.m., at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Sundays, 9:30 a.m., at St. Jude’s

12 • October 17, 2019 • The Charlotte News

BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE

By Rob Mullin DEPUTY CHIEF, CVFRS

Forty firefighters from Charlotte, Hinesburg, Ferrisburgh, Monkton and Shelburne honed their firefighting skills at a spectacular controlled burn of the former Waldorf School on Ferry Road in Charlotte on Saturday, Oct. 5.

Those fire departments plus South Burlington had been using the building for fire training since late August.

The building was used to train firefighters in all facets of firefighting, including use of a thermal imaging camera for fire attack and search and rescue, hose line advancement in a building with multiple floors, firefighter survival and firefighter rescue.

Before the building was allowed to go to the ground, a demonstration of controlled fire behavior was done for all new and inexperienced firefighters, who then participated in multiple live fire attack scenarios, including attacking a basement fire.

Live fire training is rarely available to firefighters. We have to follow standards established by the National Fire Protection Association, and a live fire setup requires a lot of work from the property owners and the fire departments. Preparation of the building itself, for example, included removing the asphalt singles and all traces of asbestos before it was ignited. We would like to thank the property owners, Charlotte Ferry Properties, LLC for the donation of their property.

We would also like to thank the Charlotte Fire and Rescue Auxiliary for providing the food and beverages for the day and the crew from Shelburne Rescue who assisted with firefighter rehab.

Photos By Vince Crockenberg, Lee Krohn, Juliann Phelps and Jennifer Bora. Drone photos by Devin St. George

5

The Charlotte News • October 17, 2019 • 13

3

2

The Charlotte Auxiliary provided a great spread for the firefighters working on this day.

Lunch and snacks kept them fueled and hydrated for the hard work on a long day.

Left to right: Jennifer Bora, Carol Blanshine, Dawn St. George, Denise Therrien, Mo Simonds, Brian Bora and Jessica Lucia.

14 • October 17, 2019 • The Charlotte News

Tunes to Tune In To

A sonic chicken soup for the soul Warm sounds, embracing melodies and the art of getting over a cold John Moses Greetings from Los Angeles.

I write to you while slowly escaping the grips of some sort of fluey virus. It seems to happen every time fall comes around the corner—one moment you’re in your office working in front of your computer, and the next moment you’re in your office working in front of your computer, coughing on your keyboard with a stuffy nose and a sore throat. Life can change in an instant, and in this moment I find a strong kinship with some of the great trailblazers throughout history who pushed through their hardships to achieve greatness.

Michael Jordan scored 38 points against the Utah Jazz in the 1997 NBA Finals with a scorching fever; Terry Fox ran for a whopping 143 days across 3,339 miles on one leg to promote cancer awareness; Vincent Van Gogh made a lot of wonderful art with only one ear in the name of… romance? The comparisons between myself and these heroes are crystal clear as I write about music for my hometown paper wrapped under blankets, cocoa in hand.

My predicament has me thinking a lot about comfort. What sets me at ease when I’m feeling like garbage? Warmth? Comfort?

A rich, eccentric dystopian narrative told across 22 chapters (this will make sense later)? My music picks for October all align with these qualities, assembling a sonic chicken soup for the soul—the perfect recipe to get us back to 100 percent.

For those of you who like a good oldfashioned jam, Nate Mercereau’s debut record, Joy Techniques, will satisfy your craving for kaleidoscopic guitar solos and infinite cyclical drumlines. Despite this being Nate’s first solo effort, there’s a good chance you’ve heard his musings on other records— he’s jumped on just about every instrument for mega-artists like Lizzo, Jay-Z and Leon Bridges. You name it, he’s played it; Nate’s a renaissance man.

At its most dynamic points, Joy Techniques hits notes at the same heights as Jimi Hendrix’s famous rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Woodstock, finding comfort being equal parts bright and cataclysmic. However, the most compelling moments of the record are its solitary songs of introspection, perhaps best materialized in the form of his single “The Trees Are Starting to Have Personality.”

Think the blue hues and fuzz of Boards of Canada meets the fusion musings of Return to Forever. Nate gives us something familiar wrapped up as something shiny and new. Allow your doctor to prescribe Joy Techniques with piping hot herbal tea and a slow-burning incense stick.

Now that we’ve got our liquids on deck, it’s time to regulate our temperature. What better music to cozy up with than Kaina’s full-length masterpiece Next to The Sun? On its face, the album feels like a bear hug: tight, soft and affectionate.

Kaina weaves jazzy, winding RnB tapestries, hitting similar wavelengths to Prince protégés King or to Beyonce discoveries Chloe x Halle. Upon a close listen with a keen ear, you may be struck with how personal her lyrics are. Songs about depression, self-worth, love and ultimately rising above it all, color the

Integrating compassion, expertise and service • Advanced surgical and Medical Care • Exotics and Companion Animals • Evening Hours Available

205 Commerce Street Hinesburg | 482-2955

entirety of Next to The Sun to great effect, making a listen from front to back feel like an intimate conversation with a close friend.

“Joei’s Secret,” a short and sweet interlude, has quickly become one of my favorite cuts on the record; it makes way for a wonderful feature by fellow Chicago-based artist Sen Morimoto on their collaborative effort about comfort and self-confidence, “Could Be A Curse.” Next to The Sun is strong, warm and will undoubtedly keep you shielded from the germs beyond your couch as we get this sickness out of our system.

We’ve almost got everything we need on our road to recovery, although one necessary ingredient for staying home with a cold or flu is good entertainment. It’s nice to be told a story in some form or fashion while being metaphorically parked on the side of the road for a few days. In this case, California-based space-crooner Salami Rose Joe Louis has what you need with her floating bokeh’d debut album Zdenka 2080: a conceptual scifi epic exploring a dying planet, government mismanagement and abandonment, and a hero who must travel through eight dimensions to reverse their damage and save the Earth. All of this—a story as intricate and consuming as it is outlandish—sounds birthed from a hit TV show on premium cable your co-workers might bug you about.

Narrative aside, Zdenka 2080 is aesthetically delicate in a way I haven’t heard before. Part jazz, part electronic, part spoken word, Salami Rose Joe Louis’s

record feels soothing and maternal across 22 vignettes. In a subtle and suggestive way, the structure of the album fights against the grain of our tendencies to digest music single by single, inviting you instead to pull up a front row seat to a strange universe of Salami Rose’s own creation. Dip your toe in the tub and check the temperature of “Cumulous Potion (For the Clouds to Sing)” or “Octagonal Room” to get a feel for Zdenka 2080, or just press play on track one and get ready to dive head first into a journey both unique and pure. This is a story you’ll want to be told over and over.

They say the best remedy for getting over a sickness is rest, so I plan on folding up my laptop and doing just that, taking a beat and going through endless tissue boxes.

A few final recommendations before I let you go: Put your ear to LA-based violinist Sudan Archives’ latest single “Confessions,” Adam Green’s newest Lee Hazelwoodesque Engine of Paradise, and Joyero’s fuzzy late-night, full-length Release the Dogs. Of course, once I get my voice back, you can catch me on the airwaves in the witching hours from 3 to 6 a.m. on KCRW.

Signing off, John Moses Listen to the music online. Go to the Charlotte News website, www.charlottenewsvt. org/2019/10/10/a-sonic-chicken-soup-for-thesoul.

The Charlotte News • October 17, 2019 • 15

In The Garden

Are we done yet?

Vera Moroney

No. In fact, you are just beginning.

Yes. Looking at the vegetable garden sends the clear message that the end is near.

Some late green beans, last of the tomatoes and the promise of Brussels sprouts. OK, OK, too much kale still hanging around.

But the urge just to rototill the whole thing under and be done with it is very strong, even though “no dig” gardeners would be aghast at the idea.

Speaking of tomatoes, late blight was a scourge this year. It devastates the plant, starting at the stems and then consuming the leaves and fruit. It is airborne spores that cause the problem. Any unharmed fruit can be harvested, either to ripen inside or, if the tomatoes are green, in green tomato pie or fried green tomatoes. You can compost the dead plants because the disease does not survive in dead plants and does not affect the seeds or fruit. Some gardeners prefer to bag the material and send it to the landfill, just in case.

Tomatoes, just like fresh local corn, you eat until you think you can’t and then, well, you can’t because it is over.

Now is the time to get down to the basics of cleanup. As long as the perennials are providing food for the roots, cleanup can wait a bit. However, most have sent the clear message that they are done for this year.

Annuals need to be pulled as soon as they stop flowering. An exception is if you want to have “self-seeding” for the next year. If so let them go to seed and see what they do next year.

When cleaning up peonies, irises, delphiniums, day lilies and hibiscus be sure to cut the plant to the ground and clean up

any dead litter to prevent disease. They do not need to be mulched to survive the winter, partially because of their deep root systems.

There is new thinking that this cleanup might not be necessary and that just leaving the plants until spring might be beneficial.

Another option is to cut them down and leave the cut material in place. Gardeners gamble.

Now is also a good time to do an inventory of what did well and what did not do well. Some green beans were a failure, while some cucumbers were bodacious, and the lunchbox peppers were (still are) spectacular. If you have time, make a sketch of the veggie garden so you will know how to rotate next year.

But the hard work lies ahead. Planting all those bulbs you purchased in a weak moment or the plants from a local nursery that are sitting in the driveway giving you the “evil eye” every time you go by, saying, “Plant me now!!!”

Narcissi and daffodils are varmint and deer resistant, so they just need a sunny location and they will naturalize year after year. Tulips, on the other hand, can be a pain, subject to moles, mice, bunnies and deer. Many gardeners report good luck (and yes, it is luck!) with a variety of methods to plant tulips, such as with dog hair (you did brush Fido and didn’t save the hair?), hot pepper flakes and fritillaries bulbs (they smell like skunk and deter the varmints) interspersed with the bulbs.

It is indeed a busy time, but the effort invested now will pay huge dividends next spring. Oh, yeah, we have winter in between.

It's time to get down to the basics of garden cleanup.

Gardeners gamble when they choose a fall cleanup strategy. Photos by Vera Moroney

Hinesburg, VT Homeowner Recommends Bristol Electronics Before we met the great folks at Bristol Electronics, we initially made contact with one of the ‘popular’ solar installers here in Vermont. You may know them. When we finally decided to move on, a recommendation from a neighbor to contact Bristol Electronics caught our attention.

From the moment the Bristol Electronics technician stepped foot on our property and then proceeded to spend three hours looking over our property and answering our questions, I knew these folks were different from the rest. The second site visit to review options sealed it for us. By the time the company owner left, nearly eight hours had been invested in us. No empty promises. No hard sell. Just straightforward, down-to-earth conversation about the best approach. It was really enjoyable to talk to the staff and everyone was so personally engaging. It is an added benefit that Bristol Electronics handles the entire installation from A to Z. No subcontractors to deal with. No multiple layers of staff to get lost among.

If you are looking for a local Vermont business that will treat you like a member of their family AND perform a professional installation, look no further than Bristol Electronics.

Shannon & Kate Kelly – Hinesburg, VT

802 . 453 . 2500 BristolElectronicsVT.com FREE SITE EVALUATIONS

16 • October 17, 2019 • The Charlotte News

Sports Edd Merritt

Tee up that trophy

CVU’s men’s golf team took their skills to the links for the second year running in the Division I state tournament with four out of five team members shooting in the seventies for 18 holes. Playing at the Quechee Club, where par for the course is 72, the Redhawwks shot a low team score of 304, beating second-place Rice by 10 strokes and third-place BFA St. Albans by 26. Nate Godbout led the Hawks with a two-over-par 74. In the qualifying round

the previous week, Nate led the field with a four-under-par 68 on the Stowe course.

Three CVU players followed Nate in the finals: Evan Forrest and Alex Leonard shot 76, Kyle Rexford 78 and Finn O’Brien 85.

Rice’s Michael Walsh medaled at even-par 72.

The week prior, the high school women played for their state championship on the Proctor – Pittsford Country Club course, like Quechee, a par 72 layout. CVU came in fifth place out of nine schools in the top division, 20 strokes behind the winner, Rutland.

Unlike the men, each women’s team had

only two players. For CVU, Taylor Hoar shot a 103, Courtney Vincent a 108.

Field hockey suffers third loss of the season

South Burlington was the site of only the third loss of the season for this year’s Redhawk field hockey team. They kept it close, losing to the Wolves by a 3-1 score.

Flynn Hall netted the lone CVU goal.

Before its loss to SBHS, the Hawks had defeated both Mount Abraham and Essex for five straight wins. As a result of her goal against Mt. Abe and her two assists against Essex, Hailey Chase was named “Varsity Insider Athlete of the Week.”

Both soccer teams continue unbeaten ways

Men’s and women’s soccer teams claimed shutouts last weekend as they both continued undefeated this fall. Redhawk men got goals from Jami Lashua, Jack Sinopoli, Sam Johnson and Riley Gauthier, and goal keeper Jett Barbic was called upon for only a single save. Earlier this month, the Free Press had named Lashua one of the year’s “breakout stars” in his sport.

Although the CVU men do have one tie, their female counterparts’ record remains unblemished, with the latest win a 2-0

Edie Wright, 16, dribbles past a Wolf defender.

shutout of South Burlington on two goals

by Josie Pecor, both coming in the second half of the game. Maryn Askew contributed four saves. Striker Pecor and her forward compatriot Olivia Zubarik were both named “breakout stars” by the Free Press.

Football falls to B&B

Twenty-eight points may seem like a rather large deficit in a score; however, CVU football was down by only two touchdowns in the third quarter of their game against Burr & Burton. The second score came on a run by Charlotte’s Seth Boffa who has led the team in rushing yards this season. With the defeat, however, CVU’s record drops to 2 wins, 5 losses. The next game will pit them against Essex on the South Burlington field Oct. 19.

New York City’s Van Cortlandt Park feels a breeze of Redhawks

Led by freshman Mathew Servin’s eighth place finish, CVU’s men’s cross-country team came in first in their division of 27 high schools from throughout the northeast in the prestigious Manhattan Invitational race on October 12. Manhattan’s Van Cortlandt Park in the northern end of the borough was the site of the race.

Photos by Al Frey

Tom’s marine Otter Creek • Lake ChampLain

IT’S THAT TIME . . .

WINTERIZATION & STORAGE

Break-out star Jami Lashua, 10, dribbles through South Burlington.

WE OFFER:

• FULL SERVICE DEPARTMENT • INSIDE/OUTSIDE STORAGE • SHRINK WRAPPING • SALES • LARGE PARTS INVENTORY FACTORY TRAINED AND AUTHORIZED DEALERS FOR HONDA, YAMAHA, MERCURY AND KEY WEST BOATS

END OFN SEASOORY INVENLTE SA ST WE ON KEYATS! BO

2200 BASIN HARBOR ROAD, WEST FERRISBURGH, VT 802-475-2465 • WWW.TOMS-MARINE.COM

Dillon Machavern, on the left, with his team with his team won the Petit Le Mans in Atlanta last week.

The Charlotte News • October 17, 2019 • 17

Region

Shutting down the Merrimack coal-fired power plant Catherine Bock The Merrimack power station in Bow, New Hampshire, is the last big coal plant in New England, and it doesn’t have a shutdown date. Instead it has huge heaps of fuel leaching into the banks of the Merrimack River.

Two years ago, on July 15, 2017, nine Quaker activists, including me, spent the night on the coal delivery tracks to bring attention to this problem. We left in the morning. The power company assumed we had given up.

Then, on August 17, 2019, a group of New Englanders grabbed white Tyvek suits, buckets and shovels and descended again on the Merrimack plant. Using buckets, they took as much fuel from the coal pile as they could, then dumped it on the statehouse steps in Concord as if to say, “We see that politicians and governments fail to act, but we won’t. We’ll take things into our own hands.”

On September 28, I joined over 400 people from all over New England in a mass action against the Merrimack plant.

The plan was for three groups of about 20 people to enter the grounds with buckets and Tyvek suits, collect as much coal as possible and take it away. I was asked if I wanted to be a scout. “What do I have to do?” I inquired. “Paddle a canoe across the river, then sneak through the woods to monitor and report back on the whereabouts of the police,” came the response.

In the headquarters room, I got to see the secret map with the action plan and downloaded a special app that allowed secret texting between me and the action leaders.

New Hampshire State Police.

Early the next morning, my partner and I drove to the bank of the Merrimack River opposite the power station. Equipped with binoculars, snacks and water, we launched our canoe and began paddling across the river. We soon noticed a suspicious-looking, non-fishing boat. As it came closer we saw it was the police.

We paddled as fast as we could to a creek on the other side and hid the canoe above a beaver dam. I discovered a sizeable hole covered with branches on the bank and squeezed in, my buddy next to me. We watched the police boat as it puttered up the creek searching for us. I’m sure they saw the canoe and must have discussed what to do next since it seemed like an hour before the boat reappeared and slowly headed down river.

Uncertain what to do, I sent a text reporting the police boat. “Do what you think is best,” came the response.

It seemed risky to return to the canoe.

Shaking from the cold and fear, I wanted to get to the planned lookout spot near the coal pile, half a mile through the woods from where we were, as quickly as possible. As we approached the tracks and road, however, we spotted police motorcycles passing every 10 minutes or so, then an ATV and a police van. A helicopter circled overhead.

Many times we threw ourselves to the ground to avoid being seen. We reached our assigned location on a steep slope below the tracks where the police couldn’t see us if we stayed flat on our stomachs. I started thinking of all the stories I could tell them if they found us. “We are bird watchers. A rare Rufus-sided towhee was spotted here. We are just looking for it.” But we were told not to lie to the police. Then I thought, “This is

Photo by NH State Police

Protesters dasended on the Merrimack Power Station in bow, N.H.

like being in an adventure movie. I’m glad I spent so much time playing hide-and-seek as a kid. The stakes weren’t quite this high back then, though.”

As vehicles continued driving past, I slid slowly down the steep bank until I came to a hole underneath some tree roots. I squeezed in, followed by my friend. There we were, stuck between marine police, land police and helicopter police. My friend was terrified. With tears in my eyes, I told him to remember why we were here…for our kids and grandkids.

What kind of a world am I living in when I, a 71-year-old woman, feel I must hide in a sandy foxhole to try to make a livable future for my children and grandchildren?

The next text I received suggested we bail out as soon as possible. By then the police boat was far downstream, but we didn’t dare move as long as we could hear the voices of the police above us. In the next message, the organizing team asked us to leave immediately.

We were relieved and disappointed as we squeezed out of the hole and slid down the bank, hanging on to tree trunks and other vegetation to get back to the canoe. “This is my favorite kind of hiking,” I said, referring to the challenge of the terrain, not the police.

“Mine too,” my buddy echoed.

Once into the forest, we moved quickly.

When we heard voices from the river, however, we again threw ourselves on the ground. Along came two rowing teams, with their trainer in a motorboat yelling instructions. We waited for them to pass, then ran the rest of the way to the canoe, launched it and quickly paddled back across the river.

On the other bank we met a couple who were supposed to film the action with their

Photo by David Shaw

drone. We waited together until they got a text telling them that the drone filming was impossible.

We all had to figure out what to do next.

A demonstration was taking place by the power plant that we wanted to join, so we hid the canoe in the woods and started off.

Once there, we joined 300 or so people listening to speakers, singing and chanting— and watched as the demonstrators decided to climb over the barricades en masse and head for the coal pile. They marched and sang, using the buckets for drums, until the police arrested 69 people for criminal trespassing.

No one got any coal, but they kept singing.

Once they were on their way to the jail, we organized support. People would need their keys and rides to their cars, as well as snacks and water, when they were released. Many people donated to pay for bail. I contributed the $50 I had in my pocket. Our fellow scout used his credit cards to cover what remained.

The Quakers offered to pay him back. In the end we gave the police a $2,760 subsidy, but the power plant had to pay for the helicopter and the boat and land police.

One of the organizers who was arrested wrote this about the experience: “When we were together, I felt our collective grief, our fear for the future, and a sense of determination born from our groundedness and principled action-taking. Even now, when I look back at the moment we decided together to climb over that concrete barricade, I feel tapped into something much larger than myself or even this one campaign. And that is the point—yes? We are not simply shutting down a coal plant here. We are modeling a world we want to see.”

RESIDENTIAL

COMMERCIAL

Featuring Environmentally Friendly Flooring Solutions

Hardwood • Bamboo • Cork • Marmoleum • Rubber • Wool Locally Owned & Operated

802-658-9336

257 PINE STREET, BURLINGTON • www.NEFCVT.COM

18 • October 17, 2019 • The Charlotte News

Into The Woods face painting.

Put your trees in perspective: See the forest, too

Towards the end, the Charlotte-Shelburne-Hinesburg Rotary invites folks to ll have a head to the Little League field next to may seem startling or sad, it is a natural Ethan Tapper Penar will the Fire Station for the annual and Rotary important part of how forests grow and develop—trees ood venGolf Ball Drop and a and chance to win prizes die, but the forest lives on.

While many forest landowners The landscape managers are superheroes in their own verything depending on where theright, numbered balls view allows you to see how seemingly insignificant issues or unpleasant working tirelessly to protect and support rgers and land.

Proceeds from ticket sales actions help fund on your property—the harvesting of healthy forests, a few forest stewards have g animals trees deer, controlling invasive plants— Rotary’s many through theand year. a special super-power, oneprojects that, thankfully, can contribute positively to the broader anyone can develop. I call it the “landscape ects, and

zen center yard sale 4x5

landscape. view,” the awareness of how a property fits While trees on your property may seem into our broader landscape. “just fine,” forests across our landscape are While your ownership may end at the recovering from wholesale land clearing old stone wall, the landscape extends far for agriculture in the 1800s. This created beyond these boundaries; while your forest a forested landscape lacking diversity may seem small, it is part of a forested in composition (number of tree species) landscape that provides habitat for all our wildlife, cleans the air we all breathe and the and structure (ages and sizes of trees) compared with how pre-settlement forests water we all drink, sequesters and stores the were likely to have been. Diversity is carbon we all produce and does much more. critical; more-diverse forests will be more As a landowner, it is normal to be protective resilient to the effects of climate change, of that tree you love or that special place on feature better wildlife habitat, and sequester your property, but it is also important to use : call 985-3091 and store more carbon than less-diverse the landscape view to understand how these Harvesting trees in a thoughtful features are part of something bigger. advertising@shelburnenews.comforests. way can help forests become more diverse The first step in cultivating your while also producing outside benefits: landscape view is zooming out from treelocal, renewable resources that decrease scale to forest-scale. Trees are individually our reliance on nonrenewable resources important, but are much more so as Landscape / part Lawncare produced under more adverse cultural, social of forests, dynamic systems that grow and and environmental conditions elsewhere change over time. While the death of trees in the country or the world. Periodically arconithrough natural disturbances or harvesting

herapist

sh Road helburne

85-8984 338-7001

985-2453 363-0590 985-8620

generating a little income from sawtimber, firewood and other forest products helps private landowners (who own 80 percent of Vermont’s forests) afford to own land, lowering development pressure and helping forests stay forested.

Use the landscape view to consider harvesting white-tailed deer; deer are overpopulated in much of Chittenden County due largely to increases in developed and posted land, in addition to decreasing numbers of hunters. We all love deer, but deer overpopulation is a serious threat to forest health; their browsing damages young trees and plants, lowering diversity and often increasing the abundance of invasive exotic plants. Deer overpopulations can also create problems for the deer themselves, making them smaller, less healthy, and decreasing the quality of their own habitat.

I’ve seen serious negative impacts of deer overpopulation on many properties and started recommending harvesting deer, especially antlerless deer, as part of a holistic forest management approach. So, while you may not notice deer or their impacts on your land, allowing hunters to harvest deer from your property is important from a landscape perspective.

Finally, take the landscape view when

RABIES BAIT

continued from page 2

Business Directory

The week-long bait drop is a cooperative effort between Vermont and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services to stop the spread of the potentially fatal To advertise your business disease. contact ads@TheCharlotteNews.org Landscape / Lawncare Rabies is a deadly viral disease of the brain that infects mammals. It is most often PLEASANT VALLEY, INC.

seen in raccoons, skunks, foxes, and bats, but unvaccinated pets and livestock can also Spring/Fall Clean Up get rabies. The virus is spread through the Lawn Care bite of an infected animal or contact with its

Landscape Design Stone Work 802-343-4820

www.pleasantvalleyvt.com 4281 Shelburne Rd. Shelburne, VT 05482 Office: 985-2453 titus@titusinsurance.net www. titusinsurance.net Insurance for: Home • Auto • Business • Motorcycle • Renters • Condo Farm • Boat • Recreational Vehicles

Could you use a helping hand?

considering the management of invasive exotic plants. Invasive plants pose a massive threat to forest health, outcompeting native species and diminishing the benefits that healthy forests provide, from wildlife habitat to water quality. They spread across property boundaries with ease, so while your buckthorn infestation may not bother you, it contributes to an extremely serious landscape-level problem. Taking active measures to control these plants, through (on a small scale) cutting or pulling them up or treating them with small amounts of carefully applied herbicide benefits the landscape immensely. You can learn more about invasive plants and their treatment at VTInvasives.org or at vtfishandwildlife.com/ node/299.

With all of these issues, taking the landscape view puts your property in perspective. While your forest may be small, take pride in knowing that it’s part of something far larger and in making the tough choices and putting in the hard work to make it healthy for all of us.

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

saliva. If left untreated, rabies is almost always fatal in humans and animals. However, treatment with the rabies vaccine is nearly 100 percent effective when given soon after a person is bitten by a rabid animal.

So far this year, 23 animals in Vermont have tested positive for rabies, and 14 of those have been raccoons.

According to wildlife officials, rabid animals often show a change in their normal behavior, but you cannot tell whether an animal has rabies simply by looking at it. People should not touch or pick up wild animals or strays – even baby animals.

SHEL

continue

Shelbur display a lead a c dors rou from co creemee from Sh

Armistead Senior Care provides premium, non-medical in-home care such as: companionship, transportation, personal care, meal preparation, medication reminders and more to seniors and those living with disabilities in a variety of settings.

Call today for a FREE Needs Assessment:

1-802-489-5682

rsak@gmavt.net • rvgelectric. www.armisteadinc.com com

Rick Gomez

Master Electrician for 35 years years for over over 25

service director RVG Electrical Services, LLC Bristol Road, Bristol, Fully3317 Licensed and Insured, noVT job05443 too small

rvgelectric@gmail.com Phone: 802-453-3245 rsak@gmavt.net Cell: 802-233-9462 rvgelectric.com Build / Remodel

PLEASANT VALLEY, INC.

Roofing Siding Renovations Painting Decks

802-343-4820

www.pleasantvalleyvt.com Funeral / Cremation

Health

BRUSHHOGGING

by Adam

● Backhoe

● FieLd

Mowing ● chain sawing ● deLivery/hauL away ● Lawn Mowing

(802) 578-8347 Health

Massa

Deep Ti & Swed

The Charlotte News • October 17, 2019 • 19

Sacred Hunter A speck in time: The miracle of our connection to nature Bradley Carleton A cold north wind blows through the curtains of the bedroom. I pull the duvet quilt up a little tighter around my shoulders and wiggle back into my warm cocoon.

Visions of red-legged mallards with their wings cupped and their feet dangling down fly through my dreams. As they begin their final descent into the decoys, my hunting partner John and I both switch off the safety mechanism on our shotguns. One low mallard whistle on the call, and they commit to the spread.

Just as we are rising out of the cattailcamouflaged duck blind a rude, raucous ringing penetrates the quiet. I roll over on my side and slam my half-open fist on top of the alarm clock. Five hours of sleep is not enough. I rise out of bed and dress in my fleece wader pants and my camo chamois shirt with the Ducks Unlimited logo. I turn on my headlamp with the red bulb so as not to awaken my beloved bride and slip quietly down the wooden steps to the kitchen, where the smell of French roast coffee caresses my nostrils. I breathe in deeply and pour the wonderful brew into the thermos. Moments later the truck roars to life and I depart the gravel driveway.

I arrive at the access—I am always a half hour earlier than the appointed hour because I enjoy being the first boat in the water. My partner John arrives, and after deploying our sneakboats and firing up the engines we depart from the dock. The smell of outboard exhaust is strangely welcoming. It seems that when we truly love an activity, we learn that otherwise unpleasant smells become a part of the experience and thus we begin to enjoy them. Of course, I love the non-petroleum smell of the lake and the quiet swishing of the canoe paddle as well, but it seems I’ve come to love it all.

The three-quarter waning moon shines brightly as we motor our way across to the far shore where the mouth of the stream meets the broad bay. We navigate through the channels, weaving around half-submerged logs and trying to avoid the thick, dying lily pads and weeds.

Arriving at the blind, we slog through

the foot-and-a-half deep mud, lugging our backpacks, guns, ammo and thermoses to the thickly covered 4-foot by 8-foot blind. It’s somewhat elaborate for a duck blind. It has a back rest on the bench seat and a shell and donut rack that accommodates three guns.

We set the decoys out in front of the blind in about 10 inches of water. Wood duck decoys at the head of the spread, greenwing teal in the middle and mallards and black ducks in the rear. The spinning wing decoy and the feeder with the motorized wobbling motion go in the landing zone.

Back at the blind we John Lesher of Burlington. huddle through the webbed door and take our seats on the bench. We pour our the ringtone on my phone coffee in the dark and listen. We can hear quacks loudly, signifying it is whistling wings overhead in the starry sky. now legal shooting—exactly An occasional distant “quack!” echoes one-half hour before sunrise. through the swamp. The smell of decaying “Ready?’ I ask. “Ready!” water plants mixes with the musty smell John replies. We stand in unison, and the of swamp gasses escaping from the mud. birds begin to flush upward into the pastel Remember that when you truly love sky, quacking and squeaking all the way. something, all these strange and normally Our guns echo through the swamp. unpleasant smells are now a part of the As we stand in our makeshift blind, activity that you love. we both recognize that this quest has been As we drain the remaining coffee from going on for hundreds of years and we are our mugs, the eastern sky ever so slightly but a speck in time. But with each passing begins to change to a dark purple with minute we are fully present for the miracle sage green highlights on the horizon. The pace of bird activity begins to pick up. The sound of tearing silk and the dark shadows of fast flying objects race across the barely discernable decoy spread. “Teal!” I whisper.

As the light continues to grow into a burnt orange above the sage green horizon, we are suddenly caught flat footed. A flock of wood ducks drop into the spread with wild abandon. “Wooo-Eeeek!” they scream. Splashing ensues. “In the decoys,” John whispers. “Got ‘em,” I reply under my breath. “Two more minutes to legal shooting,” I say.

What seems like mere seconds later,

Photos by Bradley Carleton

of our sacred connection to the water, the land and the wonder of migration.

Bradley Carleton is executive director of Sacred Hunter.org, a nonprofit that seeks to educate the public on the spiritual connection of man to nature.

20 • October 17, 2019 • The Charlotte News

Out Takes

We built the American Empire No time to play there’s work to do Dams to build, logs to chew Aspen wood tastes good you know Tree comin’ down, look out below!

“I’m Proud to Be a Beaver” – Banana Slug String Band Just as the Romans built their empire, we built ours. And who are we? We’re the beavers, of course. Well, I’m “Beaver” anyhow. My friends were “Moose,” “Elk,” “Horse,” Mouse and “Rat.” And that only covered the southwest section of my hometown in Minnesota. I had a friend named “Mule” (Actually, his full moniker was “Francis the Talking Mule,” and he lived in the southeast quadrant, which meant we were rivals when it came to sports.).

As kids, we figured we needed to be identified by animal names that somehow fit us as individuals. Little did I know that millions of beavers, in crossing the Bering Land Bridge, would be the first to shape North America and decidedly pre-date its human history. Was I being labeled as a descendent of these animal nomads? Sort of, perhaps. My friends chose “Beaver” because I always had a “Beaver story” after coming back from our summer camp on Isle Royale in Lake Superior.

If not “Beaver” I easily could have been “Loon.” They were also plentiful, and the two animals were, in many ways, dependent on each other. The beavers

dammed a pond near our camp on which a loon pair lived and fed. But when the beavers decided to move on, their dam disintegrated and the pond lost enough water to strand the loons until the park rangers could net them and deposit them in the open lake.

Wired magazine last December contained an article titled “Follow the Beaver: Trappers, Media Theory, and Our Warming Planet” that was taken from a study showing that pre-Columbian tribes had followed beavers to North America and built cultures around “beaver dams . . . harvested their meat, fur and glands, including the musky secretion of the castor anal sac, which is still used in perfume.”

So, believe it or not, we might not be here as North Americans had it not been

Puzzle on page 23

for my beaver relatives—and they should be noted for their exploratory incentives.

They were curious immigrants, not frightened ones.

We decedents, in turn, should look back with pride, recognizing that it was other than human migration that made North America a place where humanity was able to bring itself into existence. It was due, in many regards, to these engineers of the animal world. They maintained their existence through their constructive instincts. They built dams that created a natural world from which they could gain food and homes in which they hibernated through freezing winters.

According to the research, one part of that foundation came many centuries after their migration and, in fact, rested on top of man rather than in his stomach. This was the “beaver-skin hat.” Apparently, as a result of the hat’s vast popularity, beavers almost went extinct giving up their skins for chapeaus. My mother was convinced that we should bring a pelt back out of our National Park and over two international borders. She had done that before with young birch trees. Why not animal pelts?

The beaver trappers chased their prey northward onto the Precambrian shield that runs from Michigan to Greenland.

These trappers meant to weaken tribal bonds so they could profit from beaver pelt sales to corporate enterprises such as Hudson’s Bay Company.

The authors tie beaver migration to climate change, saying we may “soon follow the beavers and push north again, seeking not pelts but asylum from extreme heat and drought.” The beavers did beat us there, so, again, we would not be the trailblazers. My beaver relatives, “ever adaptable and enterprising, got to the tundra first.”

You don’t suppose they could look into the future, do you? Are there other galaxies for these creatures? Heavens to beavers, maybe so.

Now I don’t mean to demean my other animal friends. We grew up as a tribe.

They each had their place in our culture, and they certainly were looked upon as people whose mannerisms matched their animal nicknames. “Mouse” was the smallest of our group. “Moose” was solid and a very good football player.

“Horse” was fast. And “Elk” enjoyed the stateliness of his species. I think there was even a “Squirrel” who loved to climb trees and eat nuts.

Some things never leave the planet, however. Nearly 40 years after heading east from Minnesota, I came back to visit my parents in their new assisted-living quarters. I happened to poke my head into the manager’s office, and he looked up to greet me. “Hey, Beaver. How are you? It’s been a while.”

Aah, nicknames never die.

The Charlotte News • October 17, 2019 • 21

Send us your Charlotte news and photos Send it to: news@thecharlottenews.org

Personal Service, Professional Results Michael T. Russell Business Formation & Reorganization Land Use Permitting & Disputes Real Estate Transactions & Disputes Wills & Trusts www.peasemountainlaw.com | info@peasemountainlaw.com (802) 264-4888 | 2848 Greenbush Road Suite 1A, Charlotte, VT

22 • June 27, 2019 • The Charlotte News

SENIOR CENTER MENUS Suggested donation for all meals: $5

Monday Munch

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

No reservations required.

October 21

Wednesday Lunch All diners eat at noon.

Reservations required.

October 23

Moroccan lentil soup Greens w/ beets & orange Crème-fraiche Chocolate-chunk cookie bars

Shepherd’s pie Coleslaw w/ apples Homemade dessert

Pumpkin curry soup Leaf peeper salad Pumpkin bread pudding

Stuffed peppers Halloween dessert

October 28

October 30

Thursday Gents Breakfast

Carolyn Kulik

SENIOR CENTER DIRECTOR

“There is no passion to be found playing small—in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” ─ Nelson Mandela The trip on 10/5 to Frank Ittleman’s Lemon Fair Sculpture Park in Shoreham was truly memorable, and the perfect weather was a bonus. For more than two hours, Frank took us around this lovely rural setting and told us his personal stories about each of the 48 large outdoor sculptures there. Assembling these works is his passion, and it was very special to be introduced to them through his eyes. Photos do not show the scale of the artworks very well—one is more than 30 feet tall. The park is a real treasure for the public to explore and is open May through November. The Senior Center will be offering another trip in the Spring Schedule that comes out in March.

Tomorrow Friday, Oct. 18, there is still room to join the CWSD recycling plant tour of the Materials Recovery Facility in Williston.

Meet at Senior Center at noon to carpool to Williston. Tour starts at 1 p.m., finishing by 3:30. Please call today for more information and to register. Free.

Activities starting soon Sunday, 10/20, from 1–3 p.m. is the monthly Shape-Note Singing at the Senior Center. This traditional, a cappella, four-part harmony has been called “full-body, shoutit-out singing” and is also known as Sacred Harp. Open to newcomers and experienced singers. Stop by to listen or sing, and leave whenever you wish. No fee.

Tuesday, 10/22, is Fall Hike #5 at Williams Woods in Charlotte, accompanied

by Chittenden Country Forester Ethan Tapper. Williams Woods is an old-growth, clay-plain forest off Greenbush Road.

The 1.2-mile easy loop trail is on fairly level terrain with some boardwalks over marshy ground. this nature walk will be an opportunity to learn about forest ecology and tree identification from Ethan, whose columns appear regularly in The Charlotte News. Meet at 8:45 at the Senior Center and carpool to the trailhead because of limited parking there. The hike should be about two hours, total. No fee.

Wednesday, 10/23, at 10 a.m., is Strolling in Charlotte with Janet Yantachka. It’s an easy walk on the Town Link Trail if you are not up for a hike. And this is a great way to get out and about before it gets too cold.

Please sign up in advance. No fee.

7:00–9:00 a.m. Reservations required.

Coming up soon are two holiday craft workshops with artist Linda Finkelstein.

The first one is Mask-Making on Friday, 10/25, from 1:30–3:30. Have fun decorating a mask form of paper pulp, using materials such as paint, glue, feathers, sequins, ribbons, raffia and tissue paper to create a fantastic mask in time for Halloween.

Discover the background of the importance of masks in different cultures. Fee: $20, includes materials.

October 24 Menu: TBA | Topic: TBA

(Keep up to date on Menus at our website, CharlotteSeniorCenterVT.org, and on Front Porch Forum, as they sometimes change.)

The following week Linda offers Mexican Fiesta of Arts and Crafts on Friday, 11/1, from 1:30–3:30.

Close to Halloween, in Mexico there is the celebratory Day of the Dead with many fanciful images and bright colors. Learn what it means in our neighboring country and create your own “dead” characters using model magic, found objects, wood pieces, colorful shiny papers and paint. This will be a festive process! Fee: $20, includes materials.

Activities in November Bake for Good with Margaret Woodruff and Susann Kahn Saturday, Nov. 9, from 9:30 a.m.–2:00 p.m. Kids and seniors learn how to bake delicious, nutritious rolls. Lunch provided.

For seniors of all ages and children ages 9 and up. Registration required. No fee.

Holiday Origami with Gail Martin Thursdays, 11/7, 11/14 and 11/21 from 12:30–2 p.m.

In these classes, you will be folding paper and fabric into trees, stars, birds and ornaments for the holidays. Directions for some models will be included so that you may teach them to friends and family.

Registration required. Fee: $30 for the series, includes materials. Class limit is 14.

Free Wednesday Afternoon Events at 1 p.m. – after lunch 10/23: Making A Difference in Honduras with Linda Gilbert. See colorful images that tell the story of how international service is provided by dedicated Hands to Honduras Tela volunteers. Their successful accomplishments help to improve the lives of thousands of Honduran families. “Doing good work with good people—it’s good for the soul.”

10/30: Fudge Fest in the Café. Sign up beforehand, and we will supply the ingredients for you to pick up and mix up a batch of fudge at home to bring in. It’s very easy—and we are even providing the pan.

Then, all are welcome to come around 1 p.m. on Wednesday and spend the afternoon telling stories while wrapping up Halloween fudge and popcorn balls for the children. All

Light Ring by Bruce White at Lemon Fair hands welcome—many needed.

New sign and website Have you seen our new sign? We moved it closer to the road so it will be easier to see and trimmed some branches. It’s now in color—pretty spiffy—and was designed

by Phyllis Bartling of Futurad with input from the Senior Center’s board. In addition to being a graphic design artist, Phyllis has been our popular Pilates instructor for many years. Do you like it?

The Senior Center’s website is newish. It went up last year and is still a work in progress. It is worth a visit.

The address is long but really easy: CharlotteSeniorCenterVT.org. In addition to the seasonal schedule and the monthly calendars, you’ll find our menus for the month, additional nutrition tidbits, occasional photos of activities, some background information on the Center, as

Photo contributed well as limited archives of these articles. ~ The best times to see the Art Exhibit in Oct. & Nov. ~ Mon. at noon, Tues. after 2:30, Wed. 9:30-noon (except 11/3), Thurs. after 12:30, Fri. after 12:30.

Please call the Center during the week to check on Sunday availability.

If you have questions or would like to register, please call 425-6345, M-F from 9-4. We are at 212 Ferry Road, Charlotte, right across from the post office. The Senior Center’s mission is to serve those 50 and up. Residents from other communities are always welcome.

Stop in and say hello. See you soon! ______________________ Charlotte Senior Center 802-425-6345

The Charlotte News • June 27, 2019 • 23

Burn permit reminder for residents Rob Mullin

THEME: WORLD SERIES Answers on page 20

ACROSS 1. At a great distance 5. *TV network, last aired World Series in 1993 8. Biological blueprint 11. “For” in Spanish 12. Clarified butter 13. Kind of Wrangler 14. Foolish person 15. Capital of Latvia 16. More so than #16 Down 17. *As opposed to #51 Across 19. Grateful Dead’s kind of rock 20. Like Hitler’s ideal 21. Bugling ungulate 22. *2018 World Series winner 25. Like default settings 28. American cuckoo 29. Interstellar cloud 32. Female gamete 34. Noonan in “Caddyshack” 36. Olympic chant 37. Related on mother’s side 38. Narc’s unit 39. Kind of acid 41. Mountbatten-Windsor ____ Markle 42. Financial deficit

44. Made noise 46. “I ____ You Babe” 47. Next step for juvenile 49. Dylan Thomas, e.g.

51. *League with most World Series victories 54. Miss America’s headgear 55. ____ en scene 56. Successor 58. Picnic invaders 59. Change for a five 60. Marine eagle 61. Unknown power 62. *Formerly known as Stockings 63. Shirt is tied, then ____ DOWN 1. City dwelling, abbr.

2. Babe in the woods 3. Cantatrice’s offering 4. Drum sound 5. Formal dishes 6. Between “begin” and “begun” 7. Notary Public’s mark 8. Cold cuts store 9. Demand 10. Credit card acronym 12. Breakwater 13. *Single series HR record holder 16. Opposite of sun-

kissed 18. Often-missed humor 21. *Pitching stat 22. Hard place to scratch?

23. Currently broadcasting 24. Sashay 25. Surveyor’s map 26. *1984 winner Darrell or 1986 loser Dwight 27. Tutor’s student 30. *World Series play-byplay announcer 31. Take illegal drugs 33. Fitting reward 35. *2018 losing team 37. Cause for food recall 39. Adam of “Stand and Deliver” fame 40. Hardens 43. I, to a Greek 45. Used a back-scratcher, e.g.

47. Kind of acid 48. Spay 49. Pub order 50. Solemn promise 51. Singer Tori 52. Bald eagle’s nest 53. *Positions on the field 54. Summer glow 57. *Sock color of the 1918 and 2004 winners

Before burning any brush or yard waste, please remember to call Shelburne Dispatch at 985-8051 (7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.) for a burn permit. The dispatcher on duty will ask what you plan to burn, your name and phone number and the location where the burning is planned. The dispatcher will tell you the rules and recommended safety precautions, and if the weather conditions are favorable, a burn permit will be issued and the burn location logged. Then if a neighbor or passing motorist spots smoke or flames and calls 911 to report a fire, the dispatcher will see that a burn permit has been issued for the area in question and will not dispatch the fire department.

A reminder about the state rules regarding burn permits • Burn only untreated and unpainted wood, brush, leaves, yard debris.

• You must call for a permit whenever you wish to burn these materials in Charlotte.

• The burn pile must be attended at all times.

• Have plenty of water at the fire site before igniting the fire, and do not leave the fire unattended for even a short time. Always extinguish the fire with water and stir the ashes to be sure it is completely out before leaving the fire site.

• Permits are not issued during periods of rain, low clouds or high winds.

• Fines can be imposed for burning without a permit, and the fire department can be reimbursed for costs to extinguish a burn pile that gets out of control.

Campfires or other recreational open fires Please call for a burn permit prior to having any sort of recreational or open cooking fire, so that the fire department is not called to respond. And be sure to fully extinguish the fire (see above) before leaving the site.

Heating season is upon us!

• Please ensure that your heating

device or chimney have been properly cleaned prior to your first lighting.

• We recommend that you have your chimney cleaned at least twice a year (spring and fall) or more depending upon your wood consumption.

• Burn only clean and dry wood in your fireplace or stove.

• Make sure fireplaces have screens on them and preferably no carpets in front of them.

• Make sure you have working smoke detectors at least on every level of your home (in every bedroom is preferred) • Make sure you have a working carbon monoxide detector (CO) on every level of your home And remember, too, that all fireworks displays must have a permit (this is a state requirement), which must be applied for at least 15 days in advance of the event and will be approved by the fire chief or his designee only if the fireworks are being done by a professional pyrotechnics company. Finally, when considering a fireworks display, consider the winds and the intended audience and have an extinguishing agent nearby.

Rob Mullin is deputy chief of Charlotte Volunteer Fire and Rescue Services.

Classifieds Reach your friends and neighbors for only $12 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.

INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR PAINTING If you’re looking for quality painting with regular or low voc paints and reasonable rates with 35 years of experience call John McCaffrey at 802-999-0963, 802-338-1331 or 802-877-2172.

MT. PHILO INN A unique hotel with panoramic views of Lake Champlain and private road to Mt. Philo. 1800 sq. ft. 3-bedroom suites with 2 bathrooms and a complete kitchen. By the day, week and month. Privacy, space, tranquility. Bigger on the inside. MtPhiloInn. com, 425-3335.

LUPINE PAINTING can help with any of your painting needs. 20+ years of stress-free painting. Call for a free consultation 802598-9940.

Does your home need a fresh coat of paint or brand new color? LAFAYETTE PAINTING is ready to provide a great custom paint job for you. Allow our professionals to enhance your space with a fresh look. Call 863-5397 or visit LafayettePaintingInc.com for your free and accurate estimate.

PAINTERS WANTED Local, experienced company with guaranteed inside work for a seasoned finish painter. Exterior painting positions available also. Salary is top end for this area. Year-round work for the most qualified. Call 355-0028

U.S. POSTAGE PAID MAILED FROM ZIP CODE 05482 PERMIT NO. 9

presorted standard