The Charlotte News | April 19, 2017

The

Charlotte News Charlotte’s award-winning community newspaper

Volume LIX Number 19

The Voice of the Town

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Green Up Day - May 6, 2017 - First Sunday in May To help in your town, go to the How To Participate page at GreenUpVermont.org

On the inside: • New Town Charter put to the test, page1 • Welch responds to Impeachment Resolution, page 2 • Exploring “Music Man” with Nick Caycedo, page 10

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Charlotte News

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Vol. 59, no. 18 April 19, 2017

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

New charter put to the test

Pet saves mother and daughter from fire Lynn Monty EDITOR IN CHIEF

Mother and daughter Anne LaBombard Jones and Elizabeth Jones escaped a house fire unharmed after their four-monthold golden retriever alerted them to a conflagration in the garage. As a result of the fire, Dorset Street in Charlotte was closed from Hinesburg Road to 540 Dorset Street in the early morning hours of April 12.

Life-saver pup Berkeley was missing for a time after having been let outside along with the family cat. He has since been located safe and sound, Charlotte Fire Department Assistant Chief Rob Mullin said. Visit our Facebook page to view their reunion video.

Anne’s mother, Louise LaBombard, said the cat escaped the fire but is still missing. She is a small tuxedo spayed female. “This has been very stressful for the family, and we are so grateful for all the help that has been given,” she said.

“Liz is a competitive horse rider, and while most of her equipment was at the barn in Ferrisburgh she lost her recently purchased safety vest in the fire. Gift cards would be most appreciated.”

All fire operations were defensive with water being shuttled from a dry hydrant on Falls Road in Shelburne, Mullin said.

There were about a dozen apparatus and 30 fire personnel on scene.

Keith Morrill STAFF WRITER

MotheranddaughterAnneLaBombardJonesandElizabethJonesreunitewiththeirgolden retriever, Berkeley, after a fire took their home in the early morning hours of April 12.

Berkeley was missing for hours after alerting the family to the blaze.

Photo by Lindsey Nicole Dry hydrants are used to supply water for fighting fires in rural areas where municipal water systems are not available. They are tubing pipes that have one end below the water level of a lake or pond and are not pressurized.

The home was a total loss, Mullin said.

The cause of the blaze is unknown at this time. Departments from Shelburne,

Charlotte and Hinesburg responded to the scene around 3:30 Wednesday morning.

Jones and her daughter have lost everything, a family member said, including vehicles, household and personal items. Donations of basic items are needed. To donate email LLabombard@ gmail.com or visit gofundme.com/ Annelabombardjoneshousefire.

Uncovering the meaning of dreams

Dreamwork session held in Charlotte opens new dialog Lynn Monty EDITOR IN CHIEF

Rita Murphy of Charlotte was curious enough about her own nighttime dreams that she invited others to explore theirs as well, with a little help from Buffalo Dreamers Karla Van Vliet and Annie Perkins, who offer individual sessions, dreamwork groups, workshops and retreats across the region.

“It’s courageous to share a dream with a group of people you’ve just met, but at Thursday night’s gathering, folks stepped right in,” Murphy said. “Dreams are so amazing and so unique to each person.

There is great love in dreams, great wisdom, forgiveness, healing.”

Murphy’s dreams have been a wonderful source of inspiration for her, she said, “particularly in my creative work. I notice certain settings, characters, animals that come forth at important moments in my life to share a message and to guide. I’ve been walking with big lions lately in my dreams.

I dream often of lions.”

It was a buffalo for Van Vliet, hence the name “Buffalo Dreamers.” Van Vliet is an artist and poet and has been a dreamwork practitioner for more than a decade. Integrative dreamwork is a system of working with dreams for personal and spiritual growth, she said. “It is a way of coming home to the wholeness of your being through the experiences brought to you every night.”

Her partner in dreams, Annie Perkins, said her holistic, Jungian-based practice promotes love, relationship and creativity.

“Dreams are powerful teachers,” she said.

“When you engage them in a conscious manner they will help you to open your heart, to heal old wounds, to work effectively with issues of shame, trauma and depression, to improve your relationships, to discover your passion and to express yourself creatively.”

To set up your own dreamwork workshop or for more information visit artandthedream.com.

Integrative Dreamworkers Karla Van Vliet and Annie Perkins offer individual sessions, dreamwork groups, workshops and retreats in Chittenden and Addison counties.

Courtesy photo

Charlotte citizens put their new charter to the test this week with their first town budget vote by Australian ballot. The April 11 vote decided the fate of two articles: the town budget and Article 6, a $40,000 expenditure for the Town Link Trail. While both articles passed by a comfortable margin—the $3,046,847 budget by a vote of 379 to 93 and Article 6 by a smaller margin of 285 to 190—the tally for Article 6 reflects the discontent of some citizens over the ongoing trail project.

Though both the budget and Article 6 were voted off the floor at Town Meeting without amendments, robust debate trailed Article 6 up until Tuesday’s vote. The article allocates $40,000 to the Town Link Trail project, an effort by the town’s Trail Committee to create a seven-mile path that will connect Charlotte town beach and Mt. Philo. “We’re over-the-moon excited that we received the funding,” said Laurie Thompson, co-chair of the Trails Committee. According to Thompson, the money allocated in Article 6 will expedite the trail’s construction and represents only a $20–$25 cost per household, depending on property value.

Yet, not all of Charlotte’s citizens see the project in such positive light and the expenses as so negligible. They have turned to Front Porch Forum and showed up at public meetings to voice their concern that it’s unfair for taxpayers, the majority of whom say will not use the path, to shoulder expenses in addition to the $5,000 already allotted for the committee in the town budget. Instead, they argued, the town should have pursued alternate ways to raise the money.

Charlotte resident Patricia Frost has been vocal on Front Porch Forum in her opposition to the trails project. When reached for comment she voiced a concern about not just the trails project but what she sees as deeper problems. “They are taxing us old timers out of here. …The money allotted for running such a small town here is out of control.”

Town officials are not blind to these concerns. “You have people on fixed income, lower income, and as the taxes go up, it’s a challenge to certain people, so

Senior Center 21• Community Events 22• Crossword & Sudoku 23

see VOTE page 7

2 • April 19, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Opinion Welch responds to town’s impeachment resolution

Editor’s note: It was Susan Ohanian’s advisory motion to impeach Donald Trump that prompted the Selectboard’s letter to Rep. Peter Welch last month.

The basis for this motion was Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 of the U.S. Constitution, which says “No person

holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title, of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state.” The letter argued President Trump has received foreign

emoluments through his international business holdings and, therefore, should be impeached.

Susan Ohanian, Charlotte In Rep. Peter Welch’s letter to Selectboard Chair Lane Morrison, I see a distressing refusal to consider principle over pragmatism. The townspeople of Charlotte who voted for the impeachment resolution are quite aware that the numbers are against us and that as a matter of pragmatic politics it is not possible to impeach Donald Trump at this time. We do not need Peter Welch to lecture us on the arithmetic.

At issue is the conflict between Donald Trump’s wide-ranging business interests and his constitutional duty. Historically, Town Meeting is where local citizens gather to vote on town matters, ranging from school taxes to septic systems. But as Henry David Thoreau pointed out, sometimes citizens gather in “some obscure country town ... to express their opinion on some subject which is vexing the land; that I think is the true Congress, and the most respectable one that is ever assembled in the United States.”

Silence gives consent, and in consenting to President Trump’s transgressions, Representative Welch becomes a fellow traveler of the Trump organization. I would remind Representative Welch that Senators Rand Paul and Tim Kane ignored pragmatic arithmetic when they spoke out loudly against Trump’s trampling on the Constitution by not consulting Congress about his recent acts of war in Syria. As Kane said, “The Constitution we all pledge an oath to is very plain.” The Constitution to which Representative Welch pledged his oath is also very plain in its Emoluments Clause. He should speak out for the Constitution even when the numbers are against him.

And in choosing to address Lane Morrison personally, Rep. Welch pointedly ignored the Town of Charlotte—ignored the clear message we sent to him and to the president, asking them to heed the Constitution.

PUBLICATION DATES Publication date: May 3 Columns/features deadline: April 24 Letters due: April 28 Ads deadline: April 28

ON

THE

COVER:

Congratulations to the 2017 Green Up Day Poster Design Contest Overall Winner Hope Petraro, grade 9, of Montpelier.

Publication date: May 17 Columns/features deadline: May 8 Letters due: May 12 Ads deadline: May 12

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

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

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

Editorial Staff news@thecharlottenews.org / 425-4949 Editor in chief: Lynn Monty Layout manager: Anna Cyr Staff writer: Keith Morrill Contributing editors: John Hammer, Edd Merritt Copy editors: Beth Merritt, Vince Crockenberg, Carol Hanley, Edd Merritt, Janet Yantachka Business Staff ads@thecharlottenews.org / 343-0279 Ad manager: Monica Marshall Business manager: Shanley Hinge Board Members President: Vince Crockenberg Secretary: John Hammer Treasurer: Patrice Machavern Board members: Bob Bloch, Rick Detwiler, Carol Hanley, Gay Regan, Louisa Schibli Contributors Jeff Albertson, Elizabeth Bassett, Bradley Carleton, Ann Curran, Lindsay Longe, Mary Mead, Lily Myers, Susan Ohanian, Linda Radimer, Mary Recchia, Ruah Swennerfelt and Mike Yantachka 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, PO Box 251, Charlotte, VT 05445.

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The Charlotte News • April19, 2017 • 3

Opinion Defense in Vermont Supreme Court against the “fracked gas” pipeline Ruah Swennerfelt, Charlotte In 2016 Vermont Gas Systems, Inc. continued to lay a controversial 41-mile natural gas pipeline through Chittenden and Addison counties as citizen opponents filed an appeal in the Vermont Supreme Court to stop one leg of the “fracked gas” project from tunneling through Geprags Park in Hinesburg.

My husband, Louis Cox, and I listened to oral arguments before the Supreme Court in Montpelier on April 4, as we sat in solidarity with our neighbors from Charlotte, Hinesburg and other Vermont communities who have tirelessly resisted the project for the past couple of years.

It was exciting to observe firsthand how our justice system functions, as the justices listened to about 30 minutes of oral arguments from attorneys representing citizens of Hinesburg and attorneys representing Gaz Metro, headquartered in Quebec, Canada, the parent company of Vermont Gas Systems (VGS). The justices had already received written briefs, and this was the opportunity for the attorneys to highlight key points in their cases and for the justices to ask questions.

The project had been given the overall approval last year by the Vermont Public Service Board (PSB). In doing so, the PSB was not deterred by numerous objections that had been raised about the project’s major cost overruns, which will affect rate payers, marginal benefits for those who will be most affected by the project, the legality of a foreign-owned corporation condemning land in the U.S. for a utility right-of-way, and assertions that any new fossil-fuel infrastructure would undermine efforts to transition to a sustainable, renewable-energy future.

One of the major arguments against the pipeline going through Geprags Park was that the land had been willed to the Town of Hinesburg expressly for use as a public park. Last year the Hinesburg Selectboard

withdrew its objections for this pipeline to go under the park land, over the protests of some town residents.

Although many different kinds of concerns have been raised about the pipeline, the Supreme Court hearing was specifically about whether the PSB has the authority to approve the pipeline under these circumstances, given that the land was willed to the town specifically for public use. The attorneys for the opponents of the project argued that it was only the Legislature that had the authority to make the decision. VGS attorneys argued that installation and operation of the pipeline would not interfere with current public use of the park. Attorneys for the opposition noted that high-pressure gas pipelines require periodic testing and maintenance, which would entail access roads and restricted areas that would limit public access to portions of the park.

Attorneys for Vermont Gas Systems were unable to cite any specific precedents in case law, but they argued that the Legislature would not need to be involved as long as the pipeline could be deemed “not incompatible” with current public use of the park.

Rachel Smolker, one of the Hinesburg citizens opposing the gas line, wrote in an email, “The mood in the room yesterday was nothing like the PSB hearings. Our argument was in a nutshell basically that the PSB doesn’t have authority without legislative approval to grant easement on public land due to prior public use doctrine, which is ‘well established’ law. This is a very strong argument and is relevant to bigger, more long-term issues and concerns about land use decisions, legal precedent and process.

Strategically it is a brilliant approach. VGS argued that the easement was ‘necessary’ in order to meet the ‘public good’ of the project, and that their pipeline would have ‘no impact’ on the park since it is installed [with durable, reliable material], so would not impair or conflict with the current public use of the park.

“The judges asked very pointed and telling questions indicating they had really done

The Supreme Court justices with Jeff Behm, who represents Gaz Metro, presenting.

Courtesy photo

Rob Woolmington, who represents the Hinesburg folks, presenting his arguments.

Courtesy photo their homework and understood the issues at hand and were not just in the pocket of VGS. They asked a few questions indicating that they were not at ease with VGS’s claim that a high transmission gas pipeline would have

‘no material impact’ on the park.”

For me, this was an experience of seeing the beauty of our government system, where all voices can be heard.

Town meeting, charter and voting questions that need answering Mary Mead TOWN CLERK/TREASURER

With the passing of the Town Charter in 2016, Charlotte now votes the town budget and “budget related articles” by Australian ballot, but that is not done on Town Meeting Day. We discuss all the articles at Town Meeting, and amendments can be made to those articles, from the floor, by the people in attendance on Town Meeting Day. In the past, we have had approximately 200 people participate. The end result of the floor discussion of the Town budget and budgetrelated articles (maybe amended, maybe not) on Town Meeting Day produces the Australian Ballot that is now voted on at a Special Meeting, warned for a later date (April 11 this year).

We do vote for our town and school officers and consolidated school budget

by Australian ballot on Town Meeting Day. This year we also voted for the new fire truck by Australian ballot. A total of 840 people voted by Australian ballot at Town Meeting. Over the past 7–8 years, the number of people voting by Australian

ballot on Town Meeting Day has been 8001200. So when we are looking at how the charter is working, as far as preserving Town Meeting and enabling more people to vote, it’s important to compare Australian ballot numbers on Town Meeting Day versus Australian ballot numbers at a Special Meeting in April, which would be 840 to 475 for this year.

This difference in voter turnout may say that it would be better if all voting occurred on one day, Town Meeting Day. The first Tuesday in March is the day people expect to be voting. It is the day you will get the highest possible number of people to come out and vote—that one day. The more spread out the process becomes, the less participation you will have. But, for now, we have a charter.

Section 7 of the Charter states, “Absent action to repeal or modify this Section 7, this charter shall expire, terminate and have no further force and effect four years from the date of passage by the legislature.”

It will be interesting to see over the next four years what will happen. Will there be more or less participation on Town Meeting Day in March for the floor discussion? Will

voter participation by Australian ballot in April increase over time as people get used to this process, or will it continue to be half the amount of participation that we see in March?

We’re looking for feedback from all sides and what you think needs to happen to increase participation. There were newspaper

articles, warnings and postings on Front Porch Forum about the April 11 election, but clearly that was not enough. Only five people showed up for the informational meeting before the election. It seems as though we could do better, so what do you all need to make this happen?

4 • April 19, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Report from the Legislature Three executive orders, three results Rep. Mike Yantachka Our new president’s use of executive orders to try to fulfill some of his campaign promises, particularly regarding immigration, quickly ran into trouble.

Executive orders are a way to bypass Congress to establish rules and policies by edict. The president can usually make the order stick if Congress does not have a veto-proof majority, as was the case for President Obama. But if the order is made late in the president’s term, a new administration can more easily reverse the order than it can for those made years before. This is why President Trump has been able to reverse several of President Obama’s orders issued within the last year.

In Vermont the governor can also issue executive orders. An order will take effect unless the Legislature disapproves it within 90 days of issuance. Disapproval by either body of the Legislature, either the House or the Senate, will invalidate an executive order. Governor Scott issued

three executive orders in January to expedite a reorganization of the executive branch of government. One would move the Department of Labor (DoL) into the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD). A second order would merge the Department of Liquor Control and the Lottery Commission. A third order would create a new Agency of Digital Services that would have responsibility for all IT services in the executive branch.

The Senate took action to disapprove the first order several weeks ago based on the different missions of the two organizations and the possibility of conflicts of interest that might arise if the order took effect.

The ACCD is a business-oriented agency that promotes commerce and business interests. It focuses on broad economic development issues. The DoL, on the other hand, uses a case-management system focusing on individuals and provides job search and job training opportunities for employees, administers Vermont OSHA rules, and advocates employee claims against unfair labor practices. The latter

two responsibilities can be in conflict with the mission of ACCD since the final appeal of cases would transfer from the commissioner of DoL to the secretary of ACCD. The second executive order merging liquor and lottery was considered by the House Committee on General, Housing and Military Affairs. The committee was unable to adequately assess the consequences of such a merger because the Scott administration failed to demonstrate how the merger would result in significant savings or improvement in customer service. The committee found the order to be vague and broad and had questions about how it would affect jobs and revenue. Because the committee was unable to get adequate testimony from the administration, it felt required to reject the order and instead has introduced a bill, H.525, which would establish a working group to fully explore the advantages of merging these departments. The resolution passed after considerable debate and over the objections of the governor, and the order will not take effect.

Finally, the third order creating the Agency of Digital Services (ADS) was assigned to the House Energy and

Technology Committee. During our consideration of the order, we were able to work collaboratively with the administration as both entities reviewed past successes and failures in the creation and administration of the state’s IT resources and services. Since most of the IT is currently distributed throughout the various agencies of government, an inventory is being taken of all of the state’s technology programs, personnel and equipment. To avoid disruption of the current work environment and maintain continuity of service, the personnel will report to ADS while remaining embedded within the agencies they support. Our committee has asked the administration to provide a timeline of the fiscal impact— when and how savings will occur—and to be kept updated regularly on progress throughout the year. The members of our committee were unanimously satisfied that the administration is on the right track with this plan and believe that it will lead to improved cross-agency collaboration and more efficient, effective and successful administration of the state’s IT resources. By not taking action, we allowed this executive order to go into effect as of April 17, 2017.

The Charlotte News • April 19, 2017 • 5

Around Town Edd Merritt

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

Congratulations:

to Tom and Lori Delia, Charlotters, who for 24 years have owned and operated Trattoria Delia Restaurant as well as its neighboring wine bar on lower St. Paul Street in Burlington. Now the Delias are ready to do something else. They sold the restaurant and Soto Enoteca to Leslie McCrorey Wells and John Rao, owners of Pizzeria Verita, another Italian spot on St. Paul. Wells and Rao will, as a result, become the overseers of what many fondly call “Burlington’s Little Italy.” Housed in an old house under a high-rise set of apartments and condos, Trattoria served a standard Italian cuisine – squid, pasta, cuttlefish, antipastone – items generally quite new to northern Vermont native customers. According to an article in the April 14 Burlington Free Press, the menu came as a result of the Delias’ trips through the Puglia and Milan regions of Italy, as well as Tuscany, for wine ideas. The Delias will stay in Charlotte and kite board. to Ben Hyams of Charlotte, a senior at CVU who was named an “Academic AllStar” by the Burlington Free Press in its April 16 issue. The son of Robert and Krysten Hyams, Ben has earned a National Merit Scholarship and was elected Student Body vice president. He also says that one of his greatest accomplishments is learning to play the bagpipes. to Elizabeth and Christopher Cullen of Charlotte whose son Benjamin Patrick Cullen was born March 11. to Alex Bunten former editor of the Charlotte News who was recently hired

by Pale Morning Media, a traditional and digital public relations agency that specializes in the outdoor world.

Sympathy:

is extended to family and friends of Roy Whitmore, Jr. of Charlotte who passed away April 2 at the age of 88. Professor Emeritus of Forestry at the University of Vermont, Roy served as department chair for 13 years from the mid-1970s until 1988.

After retiring from academia, Roy spent many good hours cooking at the Charlotte Senior Center, canoeing and exploring waterways as well as birding in Northern Vermont. He married his wife, Roberta, in 1987 who survives him. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations in Roy’s name to the Charlotte Volunteer Fire and Rescue, 170 Ferry Road, Charlotte would be appreciated. is extended to family and friends of Lawrence Halvorson of Charlotte who passed away April 9 at the age of 88.

Following a span of living in California where, among other things, he won the state Golden-Glove boxing title at 155 pounds, he and his family moved to Vermont where he bought a small business on Church Street and turned it into Halvorson’s Upstreet Café. His surviving family includes his wife, Jackie, his son

Tim and Tim’s wife, Kristin, as well as their children Lawrence, Lucy and Tim, all of Charlotte. The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, donations to Burlington Discover Jazz would be appreciated.

Photo of the week

In other news:

Greg Pierce looms large in uncle’s eyes

In the April issue of Vanity Fair magazine, the “Proust Questionnaire” features actor David Hyde Pierce. Among the series of questions he was asked was, “Who are your favorite writers?” He proffers some usual names; Shakespeare, Chekhov, Bryan Hargrove and a gang who wrote for his TV show, “Fraiser.” Then, he includes Greg Pierce, a Shelburne native who grew up just across the Charlotte line, attended CVU and moved to New York City where he has become a very productive playwright. Oh yes, he also happens to be David Hyde Pierce’s nephew. His recent play, Slowgirl, inaugurated Lincoln Center’s Claire Tow Theater. He has three additional plays that have played around the world, including The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle in Edinburgh and Singapore.

The Vermont Stage Company produced The Quarry with music by Randal Pierce, Greg’s younger brother and another CVU grad.

Greg has received a number of prestigious fellowships for his work, and his stories have appeared in numerous magazines.

Speaking at Greg’s commencement at CVU, uncle David began with one of very few memorable lines by a commencement speaker that I can recall. He simply looked the audience straight in the eyes and said, “Watch more television!” (And if you can’t watch more TV, at least stick to “Fraiser.”)

An Easter Sunday rainbow in Charlotte.

Week—the only high school group to participate. They will work with collegeage interns and Habitat “partner families,” that is, those families who will live in the houses they build once they have contributed a required “sweat equity” to the construction. The students will also work side-by-side with retired contractors, electricians, plumbers, landscapers and others who contribute their time and energy to make Habitat homes affordable and well-constructed.

Rahn Fleming, who has traveled as

Photo by Lee Krohn

in lodging that previous groups of CVUers helped to build.

This will be the first year in over a decade that Activities Director Dan Shepardson will not be making the trip as chief chaperone, handing that title to Rahn and Sarah Cox. He said in talking with student volunteers that their experience on the builds has made him aware of how positively affected they were. For many it was a new experience, a service to needy groups, and the students used it in essays once they returned to CVU as well as on

CVU news:

Students raise money to travel to North Carolina to work on affordable houses

For

a number of years Habitat for Humanity has been building houses that are affordable to the partners who live in them.

Begun in Americus, Georgia, by Millard Fuller, Habitat work in that area and the Carolinas received positive publicity with the active involvement of former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalyn.

This year, as it has in the past several decades, CVU will be sending a group of about 20 students to Winston-Salem during spring break to help with Habitat-Forsyth (a development located just outside of town). The cost per student to make the trip runs at least $850, and a number of the applicants are eager to go but unable to afford the cost. Any donation toward their travel is appreciated. To make it, click on a “GoFundMe” website that will create scholarships for at least five students and will go into this or future years’ Habitat Scholarship Fund. A $150 “participant donation” for each of the 20 students plus the three volunteer chaperones will go directly to Habitat.

Once there, the CVU students will be part of the Habitat Collegiate Challenge

A Habitat for Humanity House off Greenbush Road, Charlotte, under construction.

Photo by Edd Merritt

chaperone for the last two years, says he has helped build as many as five different houses in newly formed neighborhoods.

Helping means doing the full range of building activities from digging out an entire foundation to putting on siding to laying floor and installing cabinets. In more recent years it has included renovation of older dwellings from the ground up to provide a more comfortable home for the people living in them—often elderly and unable to make or pay for the renovation themselves. The students this year will stay

college applications.

One reason that the high school students travel south to do their work is that the threshold age for participation there is 16 rather than 18 as it is in Vermont.

Nonetheless, Green Mountain Habitat is an active organization in this area, with two projects in Charlotte—one on Greenbush Road, the other on Albert’s Way off Spear Street. These particular houses have been praised for their energy efficiency due to extra insulation and solar panels and have won awards for their placement and design.

6 • April 19, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Town Volunteers needed for Green Up Day in Charlotte It’s time to grab those green bags and pitch in

Staff report Every year, for 47 years, neighbors join forces to create a litter-free community. In fact, Vermont was the first state to designate a day to clean up the entire state. Green Up Day in Charlotte this year is May 6 and 7.

All it takes is a few free green bags and an hour or two to help keep the tradition alive. This year Charlotte has new Green Up Day coordinators as Ken Spencer and Kim Findlay have replaced Joanna Cummings.

Green Up Day is an annual statewide event where more than 22,000 volunteers come together to remove litter from Vermont’s roadsides and public spaces. More than 50,000 bags of trash are collected annually.

Visit CharlotteVTGreenUpDay.com for helpful links and videos about recycling, composting, reducing the waste stream and more. Sign up for routes in Charlotte on this site and view a

map of all town roads. It’s easy to do.

Just find the road or section of road you would like to cover on the sign-up page and include the route’s section number on the sign-up form. Longer roads are split up at intersections with other roads. You may do more than one section of road, but sign up for each section so we can track what is available.

Jr and Leslie Lewis have volunteered to make three of their trucks available at the Charlotte Central School Quonset hut to collect Green Up Day bags, tires and scrap metal, so please do not leave bags along the roadside as the town does not pick up bags and neither does the Green Up Day coordinator.

Bring all filled bags, tires and scrap metal collected from roadsides to the Quonset hut at Charlotte Central School on Saturday, May 6, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and on Sunday, May 7, from 9 a.m. to noon.

WHAT: Green Up Day WHEN: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, May 6, and 9 a.m. to noon on Sunday, May 7 WHERE: The Quonset hut at Charlotte Central School on Charlotte-Hinesburg Road INFO: Visit Charlottevtgreenupday.com or email Kim Findlay at farafieldfarm@gmavt.net or Ken Spencer at spenken@ icloud.com.

The Charlotte News • April 19, 2017 • 7

Town VOTE

continued from page 1 some folks don’t want their taxes to go up,” says Selectboard Chair Lane Morrison.

He explains that Article 6 specifically may not represent an increased tax burden over last year on account of a $50,000 conservation fund that wasn’t included in this year’s budget.

Thompson too acknowledges these concerns. “With any new project, there are always people who are interested in it and there are people who don’t see it as a priority,” she explains. “I don’t see it so much as opposition to the trail as not wanting to pay any more in taxes.” She says that the Trails Committee has worked to address concerns and minimize the burden to the taxpayers through fundraising and grants. The hope, Thompson says, is to use the Article 6 allocation as seed money in acquiring additional grants from the

state.

If nothing else, this robust debate might indicate that democracy is in good shape in Charlotte, and it may put to rest concerns that the new town charter had the potential to impoverish the Town Meeting experience. According to Selectboard Chair Lane Morrison, the day was a clear success for the charter, as over 475 voters cast their votes to decide the fate of the two articles. While that number is still well below the more than 3,000 registered Charlotte voters, Morrison says it’s more than double the average Town Meeting turnout. “You can still have Town Meeting, and by having this Australian ballot vote at this time, it got more people involved.”

Morrison says that if voter turnout continues to improve over the next several years, he anticipates the charter, which sunsets in three years, will be readopted— and the Australian vote will remain alive and well.

Local historians attend book signing Staff report

An event honoring Vermont’s Civil War history took place at Barnes and Noble Booksellers in South Burlington on April 1. A portion of the day’s sales supported the restoration of Major General George J. Stannard’s post-war house in Milton. Stannard’s heroic actions in the Civil War, most notably at Gettysburg, make him a Vermont hero.

On behalf of the Charlotte Historical Society, Dan Cole is on a committee working on the Vermont Civil War heritage trail. As such, he was asked to participate in a booksigning as part of a fundraising event for the General Stannard House.

Cole is author of Upon Us Rests the Burden: The Civil War Experience of a Small Vermont Town (Charlotte).

A heavy snow storm did not deter many history buffs from attending the event, Cole said. Other authors were present for the book signing portion of the event: Howard Coffin, wellknown historian, lecturer, and author of Full Duty, Vermonters in the Civil War, Nine-Months to Gettysburg, The Battered Stars and Something Abides; William L. “Liam” McKone, Irish history expert, Civil War reenactor and author of Vermont’s Irish Rebel, Capt. John Lonergan– Civil War Hero; and Gary Furlong, teacher, historian and author of Images of Milton.

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Dan Cole (left) and Liam McKone as Captain Lonergan at Barnes and Noble in South Burlington on April 1.

Photo by Jenny Cole

In celebration and preparation of Arbor Day Lynn Monty EDITOR IN CHIEF

It’s been more than 130 years since J. Sterling Morton founded Arbor Day. His simple idea of establishing a special day for planting trees is now more important than ever. Arbor Day is a day set aside to celebrate trees and all of their benefits.

The Town of Charlotte has declared May 5 to be Charlotte Arbor Day and will encourage tree planting with a celebration at Charlotte Central School on that day.

Trees provide valuable environmental services such as shade in summer, carbon fixation, oxygen production, soil erosion reduction, more favorable groundwater recharge, and habitat for many forms of other plant and animal life, the official Charlotte Arbor Day declaration reads.

Before you grab that shovel heed a few warnings from an expert arborist to ensure the tree’s longevity. “Too often, consumers waste hundreds of dollars on trees that will die because they were planted too deep,” said Tchukki Andersen of the Tree Care Industry Association.

“Proper planting is absolutely essential for the success of a transplanted tree.”

First, use quality plants and follow up with good tree-care practices, such as watering, pruning and fertilizing, Andersen said. Next follow these planting guidelines: Measure the height and diameter of the root ball or root spread.

Dig the hole just deep enough to allow the first structural root to be at level

grade. The diameter of the hole should be two to three times the diameter of the root ball or root spread.

Set the tree on undisturbed solid ground in the center of the hole. The tree should be planted so that the root flare, the base of the tree trunk where the roots begin to “flare out,” will be visible above grade.

Backfill with soil from the planting hole, using water to pack or settle the soil around the root ball. Do not tamp soil by stepping on it.

Mulch the planting area with two to four inches of an organic composted mulch such as wood chips. Do not mulch up to or against the trunk. Start the mulch six inches away from the tree trunk.

Trees should be pruned after planting to remove broken, damaged, diseased or dead branches.

Stake and/or protect the trunk of the tree if there is a real potential for wind damage or lawn-mower injury. Remove the guy wires (string, rope, wire or other ties used with supports) when the staking is no longer needed or the tree could be injured or even killed from girdling by the wire.

Prune to develop a good branch structure once the tree has become established in its new home, usually one to three years after planting. Never remove more than 25 percent of total foliage in one year. (Depending on the tree and its condition, some arborists advocate capping pruning at an even lower percentage.)

Fertilizing is not recommended at the time of planting.

8 • April 19, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Town Burlington Choral Society celebrates 40th anniversary with Brahms’ Requiem

Margaret Woodruff LIBRARY DIRECTOR

The Burlington Choral Society will cap its 40th season with Johannes Brahms’ Requiem on Saturday, April 22, at 7:30 p.m., at Elley-Long Music Center in Colchester and Sunday, April 23, at 4 p.m. at the Barre Opera House.

Courtesy photo Ann Curran

BURLINGTON CHORAL SOCIETY BOARD MEMBER

The Burlington Choral Society will cap its 40th season in April with performances of beloved music. Richard Riley, artistic director, will lead the chorus, soloists and two pianists in Johannes Brahms’ Requiem.

A musical journey from sorrow to consolation, the piece will be sung in English, as it was in 1871, just three years after its German premiere. Also on the program is Brahms’ passionate Schicksalslied (Song of Destiny).

Performances are scheduled for Saturday, April 22, 7:30 p.m., at the Elley-Long Music Center in Colchester, and Sunday, April 23, 4 p.m., at the Barre Opera House. This will be the chorus’s first performance in Central Vermont.

Pianists Claire Black and Diane Huling will be side by side at the keyboard playing Brahms’ own four-hand piano arrangement.

Sarah Cullins, soprano, and Geoffrey Penar, baritone, are the soloists.

Riley said, “Performing the Brahms Requiem is one of the most profound

experiences one can have in music.

The music is gigantic, and yet intimate.

Together, performers and audience create an environment where, through music, we share our most personal feelings about life and death.”

Tickets for the Colchester performance are at the Flynn Box Office, flynntix.org and (802) 86-FLYNN. Barre tickets are at the opera house box office, barreoperahouse. org and (802) 476-8188. Prices are $25 for adults and $20 for students and seniors.

The Burlington Choral Society was founded in 1976 by University of Vermont professors Francis Weinrich and Frank Lidral. John Henzel, Thomas Strickland and David Neiweem led the BCS in succeeding decades. Riley became artistic director in 2012.

VPR is media sponsor for the Burlington Choral Society’s 2016-2017 season.

Northfield Savings Bank is sponsor for the Barre concert.

For more information visit bcsvermont. org.

Editor’s note: Among the 90 voices in this choral society are Charlotte residents.

April is National Poetry Month and we hope you’ll join us on Thursday, April 27, for “Poem in Your Pocket Day.” Imagine if we all carried a poem with us to share as we went through our days. You can try it out here at the Charlotte Library. Pick a poem, make a pocket (easy instructions provided) and go forth. Need help selecting a poem? We’ve got that covered, too, with poems to choose from our youth and adult collections.

May will be here before we know it, and we’re getting ready with programs inside and out to herald the start of spring.

May 1–May 5 we invite you to “Choose Privacy.” Learn how to protect your identity when online. Learn why this is so important with tips from the AG’s office in a special presentation on May 25.

You can pick up your Green Up Day bags here so you’ll be ready to “green up” our roadways on May 6 and May 7. When you drop off those bags, you can pick up a packet or two of seeds from the Charlotte Shelburne Seed Library. This year, we’ve got our fabulous assortment of beans as well as a new variety of flowers and other veggies to select from.

On May 17, we welcome Long Trail Canine Rescue to the library. Join us for a pup-filled evening to learn about this organization whose outpost on Mt. Philo welcomes rescue dogs all summer long.

If you need a good book to keep you entertained in the meantime, don’t forget to check out the Reader’s Corner on our website: charlottepubliclibrary.org/ readers-corner/#read2.

Here’s what is coming up at the library.

We hope to see you here!

MAY 1 to MAY 5: CHOOSE PRIVACY WEEK. Find out how to safeguard your privacy on the Internet: learn to generate a secure password, use a password manager and download helpful software and addons. Try the “Virtual Privacy Lab” and get a custom privacy toolkit.

TUESDAYS, MAY 2, 9, 16, 23 & 30, 9 a.m. Baby Time @ the Library! Join us to chat, sing songs and read to Baby.

Sponsored by Building Bright Futures.

TUESDAYS, MAY 2 & 9, 2:15 p.m.

TinkerBelles Explore the Wildife. Help ID and track animals in their native habitats.

For grades 3-5. Funded by a grant from John and Alice Outwater.

TUESDAY, MAY 2, 7 p.m. GREAT DECISIONS, Conflict in the South China Sea. This region is a locus of competing territorial claims, and China is its most vocal claimant. Materials at desk.

THURSDAYS, 3:15 p.m. Coding Club.

Join kids coding with Scratch. Beginners and advanced, 4th grade and up.

FRIDAYS, MAY 5, 12, 19 & 26, 10:30 a.m.: Friday Free for All. Join us each Friday for a new adventure with stories, experiments and snacks! For ages 3–5.

SATURDAY, MAY 6: SEED LIBRARY @ GREEN UP DAY. Pick up your seeds as you drop off your trash at the Charlotte and Shelburne Green Up Day sites!

MONDAY, MAY 15, 10 a.m.: Mystery Book Group: Started Early, Took My Dog, by Kate Atkinson. A literary thriller featuring Jackson Brodie and named for an Emily Dickinson poem. Copies available at desk.

TUESDAY, MAY 16, 7 p.m. GREAT DECISIONS, Saudi Arabia in Transition.

As Saudi Arabia struggles to adjust to the drastic decline in oil revenue, there are attempts to transform the country and shift more power to the younger generation.

Materials at desk.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 7 p.m. Long Trail Canine Rescue. Meet the people and puppies in this life-changing group. Learn how to help their efforts or find a pet of your own!

THURSDAY, MAY 18 & FRIDAY 19: GARDEN SESSION: Plant a Seed, Defend the Future. Be a Slow Food champion by planting seeds in our library garden that will preserve the biodiversity of our planet. Materials provided by a grant from Friends of the Charlotte Library.

THURSDAY, MAY 25, 7 p.m. Privacy & Safety on the Internet. Jason DuquetteHoffman from the Vermont Attorney General’s Office Consumer Assistance Program walks you through internet safety basics and explains common consumer complaints here in Vermont.

The Charlotte News • April 19, 2017 • 9

Town

Elms return to the park

Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan to speak in Shelburne Ed Cafferty

CHARLOTTE DEMOCRATIC TOWN CHAIR

Please join Vermont’s Attorney General T. J. Donovan on Thursday, April 20, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Shelburne town offices at 5420 Shelburne Road.

Donovan will discuss Vermont’s role in opposing President Trump’s travel ban, what we can do to promote public safety through access to justice, what Vermont is doing to address campaign finance law in the age of Citizens United and much more.

Donovan is the former Chittenden County state’s attorney who championed

the rights of the most vulnerable, bringing compassion and common sense to our legal system. He has led our state in addressing the rising opiate epidemic as the disease it is. Donovan was elected this past November to a two-year term as the state’s attorney general.

The discussion is free, open to the public and will include a question and answer session.

The Charlotte Democrats, in conjunction with the South Burlington and Shelburne Democrats, are pleased to host this public discussion.

Applications being accepted for West Village Wastewater Committee

ThismagnificentelmtreeinaparkinPittsfield, Massachusetts, is being preservedwith Courtesy photo injections of fungicide.

Mark Dillenbeck TREE WARDEN

Stately elm trees with their characteristic vase-shape crowns once towered over forest canopy and urban landscape alike. Because of their size, abundance and beauty, elms would have been readily recognized by anybody living within their natural range. Today, because of Dutch elm disease (DED) mature elm trees are largely absent from our forests and are found in our cities and towns only where municipalities have made substantial investments in their preservation. Naturally occurring elm trees remain abundant but rarely grow to diameters greater than 10 inches before succumbing to DED. Fortunately, diseaseresistant elm trees are now available and being used for reforestation and urban plantings. Soon this missing component of the ecosystem will be restored to our

park.

On Earth Day, April 22, the Charlotte Park and Wildlife Refuge Committee, your tree warden and a hardy group of volunteers will plant 25 disease-resistant elm trees in the park. The plantings are funded with a grant from the Vermont Urban and Community Forestry Program.

Additional support will come from The Nature Conservancy, which is donating an additional 15 trees of three varieties to be planted at the park and elsewhere in town.

Volunteers are invited to help with the plantings. We will meet at the Thorp Barn off of Route 7 at 11 a.m. on the 22nd and then proceed to the planting sites, where we will dig, plant, water and mulch.

Depending on the number of volunteers, crews may also tackle other chores such as invasive plant removal and trail work.

At 1 p.m. we will break for a communal lunch provided by the Parks Committee.

Please let me know if you plan on attending by emailing mark@ocmqa.com.

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

Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church Spear Street, 425-2637

The Selectboard would like to appoint three additional members to the West Charlotte Village Wastewater Committee.

The committee will be developing policies and fine-tuning draft ordinance language that would govern connections to and use of the town wastewater system, which will ultimately need to be approved by the Selectboard. Any person

who will be applying to connect to the system or who has any other conflict of interest will be disqualified from committee membership. Please contact Town Administrator Dean Bloch if you are interested or have questions regarding the committee. 425-3071 ext. 5 or dean@ townofcharlotte.com.

The Selectboard is looking for interested citizens to fill the following vacancies:

with a term ending in April 2021 Interested applicants should email, call or stop by the office for more information.

Recreation Commission—2 vacancies with terms ending in April 2019 Energy Committee—1 vacancy with a term ending in April 2019 Trails Committee—1 vacancy with a term ending in April 2019 Conservation Commission—1 vacancy

Dean Bloch, town administrator Charlotte Town Office P.O. Box 119 Charlotte, VT 05445 E-mail: dean@townofcharlotte.com Phone: 425-3533.

Get involved in town government!

Sister parish: St. Jude’s, Hinesburg Regular schedule of masses: Saturday, 4:30 p.m., at St. Jude’s, Hinesburg Sunday, 8 a.m. and 11 a.m., at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Sunday, 9:30 a.m., at St. Jude’s, Hinesburg

10 • April 19, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Love at first spotlight Exploring “The Music Man” at Charlotte Central School with Nick Caycedo Lynn Monty

EDITOR IN CHIEF

in its structure, style and score,” he said. “I remember seeing it for the first time in the Susan Stroman Broadway revival back in 2000. I couldn’t believe how fresh a show written nearly 50 years before that felt to me.”

Nick Caycedo, a Burlington-based director and choreographer born and raised in Vermont, is this spring’s Charlotte Central School Right from the opening musical drama director. He drum lick this musical had currently works as a teaching an infectious rhythm unlike artist for Very Merry Theatre, any Caycedo had ever as well as a professional heard. “It had the motion actor and music director who of a marching band and the starred in Blackberry Winter emotion of an unexpected at the Flynn Space last month.

Hallmark card,” he said. “I Charlotte Central School wanted the young people of students will perform the Nick Caycedo the Charlotte Central School Broadway hit The Music community to experience Man on May 11 through this timeless masterpiece fi rsthand.”

13. The plot concerns a con man, Harold, Caycedo has performed in New York who poses as a band organizer and sells City at La Mama ETC, The Flea Theatre, instruments to naive townsfolk. It turns and Theatre Row and has also appeared out that he is no musician and plans to skip locally at St. Mike’s Playhouse, Skinner town without giving any music lessons.

Barn, Lyric Theatre and the Stowe Theatre Marian the librarian sees through Harold’s Guild.

He started acting at a very young age scheme but also begins to fall in love with on a stage similar to the one at Charlotte him.

Central School, he said.

“It was love at first The Music Man was chosen because Caycedo said it is one of the best musicals see THEATRE page 23 ever written for the stage. “It’s immaculate

The Charlotte News • April 19, 2017 • 11

Education Charlotte Central School compost sale, shed tour, and tree and shrub sale on Green Up Day Staff report Need compost? Buy your bulk compost at the Charlotte Central School sixth annual compost sale on Saturday, May 6, in the CCS west Quonset parking lot from 9 a.m. to noon on Green Up Day May 6.

Bring your five-gallon, 20-gallon or 33-gallon cans with you. Shovel labor will be provided. Prices are $3 per 5-gallon can, $12 per 20-gallon can

and $18 per 33-gallon can.

This is a drop-in sale, first come and first served, while supplies last. The compost is generously donated by Champlain Valley Compost Company, and proceeds go to CCS compost shed and school gardens.

There will also be a tree and shrub sale again this year with apple, plum, pear, shipova, currants, gooseberries, quince, elderberry and honeyberry available, offered by Vermont Edible

Landscapes. Ten percent of these proceeds will benefit CCS gardens.

Sixth-grade CCS students will give compost shed tours. Drop in from 9 to 10 a.m. to learn about thermophilic and backyard composting techniques.

For more information contact Abby Foulk of the CCS Sustainability Committee at afoulk@gmavt.net or 802-999-8501 Charlotte Central School compost sale, shed tour, and tree and shrub sale to happen on Green Up Day, May 6.

Courtesy photo

Celebrating Project-Based Learning at Vermont Day School Lindsay Longe CONTRIBUTOR

Parents and friends gathered at Vermont Day School for a schoolwide celebration of learning highlighting recent units in Global Studies and STEM. In the kindergarten and 1stgrade classroom, visitors were invited to tour a museum exhibit that students designed to share their knowledge of the Inuit culture.

In another room, visitors heard the biographies of influential Vermonters from 2nd and 3rd graders who acted as wax museum statues. Elsewhere, students in the 4th and 5th grade class explained mixed-media artwork and the accompanying quotes they created to represent their personal beliefs on human rights. As Sage Bagnato, head of school, described it, “The depth of their thinking, the detail and complexity of their projects, and the confidence the students exuded when speaking about their work was impressive.”

STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) projects were equally compelling. Caryn Shield, the school’s STEM teacher, noted, “The project-based process creates a great

learning environment. Each age group is working on something different, but they all are invested in their learning and are challenged to think creatively and solve complex challenges.” Shield’s youngest students presented their learnings on how best to design and build garden beds for their school. Engineers from the 2nd and 3rd grade class shared products they invented using their new understanding of states of matter and phase changes.

Lastly, 4th and 5th graders displayed 2and 3-D models of blue prints, floor plans and houses they created to capture their knowledge of architectural design.

Students had significant influence and choice throughout each of these projects, as project-based learning is never just an assigned task or set of questions.

Throughout such projects, there are abundant opportunities to reflect, critique and revise. The benefits of this philosophy are many. It inspires students to do exciting and meaningful work, helps them see how learning connects to life, builds 21st century learning competencies such as collaboration and critical thinking, offers practice in managing time and materials, teaches the use of assessment tools to create high-quality work, and

makes students feel like they can and are making a difference in the world.

When speaking with current students, these benefits are further evident. One 4th grader said, “I like it because we always know why we are learning something.”

A 2nd grader told us, “Our work doesn’t disappear when we are finished. It sticks with us!”

Overall, Erin Capps, 4th and 5th grade teacher, had this to say, “The learning is profound and meaningful. Project-based learning never stops—we are already diving into a new investigation involving design thinking and entrepreneurship with a well-known Vermont business. The students are happy, engaged and eager for knowledge every day.”

To learn more about project based learning at Vermont Day School, please visit the school’s website: vtdayschool. org. The school is also hosting an open house on Sunday, May 7, at 3 p.m.

Lucianna Macauley of Charlotte displays her mixed-media art piece representing her original quote, “Anyone who changes the world has to start by speaking their mind.”

Courtesy photo

12 • April 19, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Get ready for the Lewis Creek Covered Bridges 5K/10K & Half Marathon

Edd’s Sports Report Edd Merritt CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

CVU winter sports end on an all-star note

Ellen and Ted Metzger of Glastonbury, CT, cross Holmes Covered Bridge in at the Charlotte Covered Bridge 5K, 10K and Half Marathon in Charlotte on Sept. 10, Photo by Lynn Monty 2016.

Staff report The Lewis Creek Covered Bridges 5K/10K & Half Marathon meanders through Charlotte’s countryside along Lewis Creek, through two historic covered bridges and will begin at 8 a.m. on Saturday, May 13.

Rayne Herzog of Race Vermont is the local personal trainer who brings these runners through town every year. He is the race director and the health club general manager at Shelburne Health and Fitness.

All three races begin and end at

Charlotte Central School. The 5K and 10K racers will run the same course as the half marathon, except they will turn around and return to the school before reaching the bridges. Race walkers are welcomed in the 5K division. There is a 500-person limit for this race.

The fee for the 5K/10K race is $30 and the half marathon is $45 if registered by Tuesday, May 9. Add $10 to race-day registration. Price includes finisher medal for all three divisions. T-shirts available for $15 if ordered by April 22.

For more information visit RaceVermont.com.

All-star teams selected by the coaches and by the Burlington Free Press are bringing the winter season 2016–2017 to a close. Several CVU athletes have made the list at various levels. In basketball, the Free Press named Walker Storey to its second team and granted Josh Bliss and Matt Spear honorable mention. The coaches felt Storey was a top player in the Metro Division, deserving first-team ranking, Bliss gained a spot on the second team, and Spear received honorable mention. Redhawk coach Michael Osborne was named “Coach of the Year.”

In hockey, defenseman Richard Hall earned a selection to the first team by the Free Press. Although he missed three games due to injury, he still managed to gain nearly 30 points through goals and assists from the blue line. Forward Joe Parento received honorable mention. The men’s team lost by two goals (3-1) to BFA St. Albans in the state semi-finals after defeating Midddlebury to get there.

Both Redhawk tennis teams open the season impressively Behind the Joseph sisters, the CVU women’s tennis team has shown impressive winning records for the past several years.

With the older sister graduated, Stephanie has stepped into her shoes, playing number 1 singles and leading the Redhawks to a 7-0 victory over Colchester April 15.

Charlotte’s Meara Heininger won her match by 6-1, 6-1 scores. In doubles, both

pairs won to sweep the match.

The men had a tougher time, taking their matches 4-3. Losing three out of five singles matches, the Redhawk pairs had to take over, which they did. Charlotte’s Peter Hyams and his partner Richard Hall won their doubles match 6-0, 6-4 to give CVU the win.

Track and Field runs third and fourth places at South Burlington The dream race for CVU women seems to be 3,000 meters. At South Burlington, Ella Whitman and her teammate Jennifer Ireland placed first and second to lead the Redhawk team to a third-place team finish in the meet. The relay foursome at 800 meters also won its event. Other top-five finishers for CVU were Eryn Erdman at 400 meters, Willow Devoe-Talluto at 800 meters and Whitman again at 1,500 meters.

The men’s team placed fourth with South Burlington, North Country and U-32 ahead of it. Tyler Marshall again showed his speed by winning both the 800- and 1,500-meter runs. Charlotte’s Seamus Higgins topped the high-jump contenders at 5 feet, 4 inches. Kenneth MacKillop was second in the triple jump, and Sage Whitecloud ran second at 400 meters.

Charlotte’s Brauns are leading LAX scorers

Will and Walter Braun have been scoring regularly for CVU men’s lacrosse.

After losing a tight overtime (12-11) to perennially strong Hanover High from New Hampshire, the Redhawks came back to take Rutland on the road 13-10. Against Hanover, Will Braun led CVU’s attack with four goals, and his brother Walter notched two. In goal, Charlotte’s Andrew Tieso saved five shots. Will had a second fourgoal performance against the Raiders. His brother scored once and Charlie Bernicke performed a hat trick. Tieso saved six for the win.

Redhawk women start oneand-one in lacrosse

Burr and Burton was the CVU women’s victim in the opening LAX meeting of the season. Charlotte’s Jenna Baginski joined her colleague Lydia Maitland for eight goals to lead the Redhawks to a 1511 victory in Manchester. Bella Riley and Kate Noel had hat tricks with a single tally from Gabby Booth to earn the 15 points. In goal Allie Wainer made eight saves to her opponents’ 11. The Hawks came home to face Middlebury on April 14. The Tigers were too much for them and CVU went down to defeat 13-6. Maitland set up three goals and scored one herself, while Cate Noel and Becca Provost fired in two goals apiece.

For Rice, Charlotte’s Emma Hudziak has been a prolific goal scorer, first against South Burlington, to whom they lost 17-12, but not without Hudziak’s two goals, and then in a 15-7 win over Colchester, a game in which Emma had a hat trick and two assists.

Softball has first-game win over Rutland Pitching the entire game and striking out nine batters, CVU’s Hattie Roberts managed to put the cap on a final-inning comeback by Rutland to earn an 8-7 victory over the Raiders. Natalie Gagnon’s three hits in four at-bats, including an RBI, led the Redhawk offense.

The Charlotte News • April 19, 2017 • 13

Sports After the Track’s Kentucky Derby Fundraiser “Greens & Roses” to feature The Growlers Editor’s note: After the Track is connected to Charlotte through its formal agreement with Champlain Valley Union High School to provide internships and other opportunities for students who want to work with horses.

To date it has served six CVU students, and the number grows every year.

Ginny Iverson AFTER THE TRACK EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

After the Track, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to acquiring, retraining and rehoming thoroughbred ex-racehorses, will host “Greens & Roses: A Kentucky Derby Party and Golf Tournament” at Cedar Knoll Country Club on Saturday, May 6.

The signature event will kick off with a 9-hole golf tournament at 2 p.m., followed by games, contests, a buffet dinner, wagering, a silent auction and other festivities. A 6:30 p.m. viewing of the 143rd Kentucky Derby will lead into a family-friendly concert with local band, The Growlers.

Golfers who try their luck at a hole-in-one have the chance to win a 2017 Dodge Ram pickup truck. Other prizes from community businesses will be awarded to golfers, contest winners and game participants.

All ticket fees are tax-deductible donations to After the Track. Golfers can register in foursomes for $250, or individually for $75. Party passes are $25, with children 12 and under only $5. Concert-only attendees can get a rocking evening for $8.

“Greens & Roses” is the second Kentucky Derby fundraiser held by After the Track and is a centerpiece of the organization’s fundraising endeavors. The proceeds will

Executive Directory Ginny Iverson and Win. go toward the care and retraining of the offthe-track thoroughbreds at the Hinesburgbased facility.

Off-the-track thoroughbreds often face very uncertain futures when their racing careers are over. Nearly 30,000 thoroughbreds are born every year for racing, but only 20 make it into the gate at the Kentucky Derby. What happens to the others? That’s where we come in to help give these horses the best chance at future success.

Funds raised will also benefit the Educational Outreach program, which offers internships in horsemanship, farm management and business innovations. The program is unique among thoroughbred aftercare organizations.

Visit afterthetrack.org for more

Courtesy photo

information. Tickets can be purchased at greensandroses.eventbrite.com.

Win, formerly known as “Twinkie Winks,” and his assistant trainer pose at Finger Lakes RaceTrack in October, right before he came home to Vermont.

Courtesy photo

Ginny Iverson and KeyLo tackle the water in a summer clinic! Courtesy photo

14 • April 19, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Home & Garden Help the pollinators this spring!

Lily Myers CONTRIBUTOR

What if half or all of Vermont schools, homes, farms and businesses left a lawn area unmowed? It would help to create a pollinator and beneficial-insect corridor

for the native bees and other pollinators that are in trouble.

Many pollinator populations are in sharp decline due to pesticide use, disease and parasite problems, loss of food and nesting habitat, and more. This is the best time to plan ahead on how to include

pollinator habitat in your landscape for spring planting.

“Wild for Pollinators” is a collaboration of KidsGardening. org, the Vermont Community Garden Network and the Intervale Center. It encourages homeowners, schools,

businesses, community spaces and other organizations to preserve permanent wild spaces for pollinator-friendly habitat or to create landscapes or container gardens with plants and gardening practices that

Continued on the next page

The Charlotte News • April 19, 2017 • 15

Home & Garden benefit pollinators.

All you need to do is make a simple pledge and you’ll receive a beautiful Wild For Pollinators sign and your site will be added to the national Million Pollinator Garden Challenge map. By working together, Vermonters can have a

Many pollinator populations are in sharp decline due to pesticide use, disease and parasite problems, loss of foodandnestinghabitat,and more. Photo by Lynn Monty

significant impact on the wellbeing of pollinators in our state.

Want to learn more about the Wild for Pollinators initiative and how to BEE involved? Find more information at wildforpollinators. org or register now.

16 • April 19, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Home & Garden

The Charlotte News • April 19, 2017 • 17

Business

Arts

Working Fields aims to build a stronger community

Very Merry Theater soon to be back on tour

Working Fields founder Mickey Wiles testified before the Senate Economic Development Committee last year in support ofVermont House Bill H.261, known as the Ban the Box bill that prohibits employers from requiring the disclosure of criminal history information on an initial employment application.Courtesy photo using his successful statewide recoverycoaching model blended with a temporary job placement agency model.

“I have improved my life through longMickey Wiles, founder of Working term recovery, so I understand the Fields, is in the business of offering power of second chances,” Wiles said. second chances and that’s because he “Returning to work as a CFO was not was once on the receiving end of such a path that I ever thought I would travel generosity. After battling with addiction again, but I did. Now Working Fields and a two-year stay in federal prison for will help people from all walks of life crimes committed as chief financial do the same in their officer of a prominent respective careers.” ice cream company, Wiles’past experience he emerged clean in both business and “I have and sober and ready to recovery uniquely begin anew. qualify him to lead improved my And that he did with the growth of Working his work over the past life through Fields. “I am driven 15 years as executive by my passion to help director at the Turning long-term those individuals who Point Center in have made mistakes, recovery, so Burlington and chief have suffered the financial officer (CFO) consequences and now I understand at Burlington Labs. are struggling to get “Vermont’s opioid the power that second chance in addiction problems life,” he said. have grown over the of second Working Fields is years and so have the seventh Vermont chances.” the treatment options small business available,” Wiles off ering on Milk MiKe Wiles said. “It’s a chronic Money’s Vermontdisease. And recovery only platform, which is an ongoing journey gives Vermonters with the critical the opportunity to discover and invest component of employment.” in local businesses. “By investing in a Wiles, 60, has developed a model local business such as Working Fields, of recovery coaching on the job. His you will circulate wealth and build a newest endeavor, Working Fields, is stronger community that fosters new a product of that development. It’s a relationships between businesses and mission-based staffing agency founded community members,” Milk Money’s on the belief that individuals who Louisa Schibli said. are in recovery from substance-use Vermonters who want to learn more addictions deserve a second chance in about the Working Fields opportunity the community. can find investment details on the Milk By working with Vermont employers, Money website at MilkMoneyVT.com.

Wiles is placing individuals into jobs

Lynn Monty

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Charlotte’s Very Merry Theatre provides children ages five to 18 with opportunities to produce and perform original plays throughout Vermont.

Courtesy Photo

Staff report Mark your calendars for some exciting Very Merry Theater goings-on about town this summer!

Barn Camp: In Search of Mother Goose is set for June 19–23. Camp day will be from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for ages 6 to 11. There’s a 6:30 barn performance on June 23. Great roles for both genders.

Limit is 30 campers. Cost is $275.

Wagon Tour One: The Phantom Tollbooth is set for June 26–30 and July 3–7. Camp day is 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for ages 7 to 13. Noon performances will be on July 4, 5, 6 and a 6:30 p.m. show will be on July 7. Limit is 30 campers. Cost is $480.

Wagon Tour Two: You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown is set for July 10– 14 and 17– 21. Camp day is 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. for ages 7 to 13. Noon performances on July 18, 19, 20 and a 6:30 p.m. show on July 21. Limit is 30 campers. Cost is $480.

Teen Tour: Oklahoma! July 24– 28, Aug 1–4 and Aug 7–11. Camp day is 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for the first six days then varies depending on time of performance.

Most shows are either noon or early evening with a full afternoon of activity prior to evening shows. For ages 13 through 19. Cost is $620.

All camps run by Don Wright and Ashley O’Brien.

For more information email info@ verymerrytheatre.org.

Charlotte Volunteer Fire & Rescue Invites you to their annual Fire & Ice at the Old Lantern Friday, April 28, 2017 - Doors open at 6:00 802-425-3111 or email auxiliary@cvfrs.org Tickets $20 in Advance / $25 at door

18 • April 19, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Health Matters Jeff Albertson With the change of seasons and the excited pursuit of new activities that accompanies it, our sports rehabilitation clinic will see a rush of seasonal injuries like plantar fasciitis, IT band syndrome and the subject of this column, “tennis elbow.”

What is it?

Tennis elbow (TE), also known as lateral epicondylalgia, is a repetitive-stress injury affecting the muscles and tendons that attach to your lateral elbow. The bottom of your arm bone (the humerus) has two epicondyles (or bumps). If you stand upright with your arms straight and palms forward, the lateral epicondyle is the bump on the outside, about one finger’s width above the elbow crease.

The pain associated with TE is typically felt directly over the epicondyle or just below in the tendons that attach to it.

Put simply, overuse and misuse may lead to micro-tearing of the tendons near the elbow attachment, resulting in pain and weakened tissue that time by itself does not resolve.

Who gets it?

Approximately 40 percent of tennis players, most commonly those in their 30s and 40s, will experience TE. Men and woman are affected almost equally.

Unsurprisingly, as a repetitive-stress injury, there is a link between playing

Tennis Elbow—staying in the game

time and incidence of TE; playing more than two hours a day doubles the risk for players over 40 and almost quadruples the risk for players under 40.

Interestingly, studies have shown an increasing incidence of TE in class A players compared to class C players.

However, this is likely explained by the increased volume and intensity of play in higher-level athletes. Lending credence to the importance of form and technique is the finding that lower-class players have a higher recurrence of TE. Can I prevent it?

There are a number of good prevention strategies to consider.

1. Equipment. Throw out your Jimmy Connors-era racquet and invest in something lightweight and younger than the internet. Make sure the weight distribution in the racquet is proper. A racquet with a larger sweet spot may help. Make sure your handle size is appropriate for your grip.

2. Have a coach look at your mechanics.

Keeping your knees bent during an overhead serve, for example, can reduce strain on the shoulder and elbow.

3. Get a structured warm-up plan in place, and be disciplined about following it.

4. Recovery! Make sure your training regimen includes a recovery plan (this is more than just days off).

5. Come into the season with some level of conditioning and avoid suddenly ramping up the intensity or volume of play.

Repetitive-stress injuries are caused by

overuse, misuse or a combination of the two. The most common misuse is ramping up volume at a rate that outpaces your body’s ability to adapt. While your body will adapt to slow, incremental increases in workloads, it will react—sometimes painfully—to sudden increases in those loads.

Misuse may refer to a wonky grip or a hitch in your form due to an old injury.

Complex and explosive athletic movements, like those required in tennis, require all parts of the biomechanical chain to be functioning at top level.

Athletes with prior injuries or weaknesses in core or shoulder-girdle muscles are at increased risk of developing TE.

What to do about it once you get it You’ve probably heard of the acronym RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation).

Well, rehab professionals now use another acronym: POLICE. Protection, Optimal Loads, Ice, Compression and Elevation.

With TE, the ICE is often less important than the POL. “Protection” does not mean wrapping your arm in bubble wrap. Usually it refers to some modest equipment changes, grip modifications, the temporary use of a brace (such as a counterforce brace or strap) or temporarily modifying your game.

Some easy-to-follow advice that is appropriate for most people with TE is to avoid obvious stressors throughout the day; heavy gripping and twisting (e.g. opening a stuck jar) and lifting objects in a palm down position, especially with the elbow fully extended (e.g. pouring milk from a gallon jug) should be minimized.

Determining what constitutes an “optimal load” when battling TE includes two considerations: 1) Avoiding full fatigue during a single playing session and ensuring proper recovery between sessions, and 2) Introducing external loads through resistance training to strengthen the affected tissues between playing sessions.

While in rare and severe injuries full

rest is required, in lesser injuries it can be counterproductive. Complete rest results in deconditioning of tissues, muscle atrophy and stiffness. Determining optimal loading for healing can prevent the athlete from yo-yoing back and forth, from overuse to complete rest and back again. This is not a recipe for success, yet we see it all the time!If you find yourself popping a handful of Advil, slapping on some frozen peas and resolving to rest your arm for the week, rethink your strategy. This may result in a decreased pain in the short-term, but it will not fix the underlying pathology.

How long will I be out?

Tennis players of all ages and abilities would be well served to get screened by a sports physical therapist for common imbalances that predispose to injury, participate in an off-season conditioning program to ensure the optimal functioning of the entire body, and work with a tennis pro to correct issues with form. If, despite these precautions, TE sidelines you or interferes with your desired level of activity, especially those of you with performance goals in mind, consult with a sports physical therapist—and a tennis pro. (A quick aside: Most athletes with TE should avoid corticosteroid injections as they lead to delayed healing and an increased risk of recurrence in the long term.)

In the meantime, visit VASTASports. com for additional information on TE, including simple self-treatment strategies and research into emerging treatment options.

Tennis is a ‘lifetime’ sport, right? Let’s plan for the long haul. Happy spring.

Jeff Albertson is a sports physical therapist and the director of physical therapy at VASTA Performance Training and Physical Therapy. He can be reached at jeffalbertson@VASTAsports.com.

Jeff and his family live in Charlotte.

The Charlotte News • April 19, 2017 • 19

OUT-DOORS:

Our small, fragile world Elizabeth Bassett CONTRIBUTOR

Down at the End of the Earth, in Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost populated town on the planet, life unfolds much as it does in Vermont.

Tax incentives lure new business, like assembly plants for cell phones and computers; a glacier that provides potable water to Ushuaia’s 90,000 souls is expected to disappear within ten years; and Brazilians who love to ski are visiting in much smaller numbers because their economy is on the rocks.

Why does this matter to readers of OutDoors? Our world is so interconnected that stories unfolding half a world away will likely influence our future. They certainly offer cautionary tales.

Ushuaia is on Tierra del Fuego, Land of Fire, an island separated from the rest of South America by the Strait of Magellan. Pumas once roamed the land as apex predators, much like our catamounts of yore. Pumas kept the population of native guanacos, a genetic parent of the llama, in check. But the pumas are gone, and now only a hunting season keeps the guanaco population from becoming unsustainable. For the record, well-prepared guanaco filet is scrumptious!

South America, like the United States and Canada, was populated by massive immigration, mostly from Europe. Its native population migrated across a land bridge from Asia during the last Ice Age, 10–15,000 years ago. European explorers brought diseases that killed many natives and introduced invasive plants and animals. Much as the United States is home to non-native starlings, wild boar and Burmese pythons, Tierra

Help wanted!

The News is looking for writers, photographers and drivers to join the community of Charlotters—more than 130 of us last year—that every two weeks throughout the year produces the paper and then distributes it to every mailbox in town and to more than 50 drop-off sites up and down Route 7. If you’re interested in supplying news stories or photography, please email the paper’s editor in chief, Lynn Monty, at lynn@thecharlottenews. org. If you’d be willing to take on a paper distribution route or would like to know more about what’s involved, please contact Vince Crockenberg at vince.crockenberg@ gmail.com.

del Fuego is now overrun with beavers and bunnies. Vermonters know what beavers and bunnies do without natural predators. Flooded homes, pastures and roads have pressured the Argentine government to order the culling of 100,000 beavers. They are seeking specialists for the kill; if you have this skill set and yearn to travel to the far ends of the earth, this might be your chance.

High in the Andes two enormous ice fields, the Northern and Southern Patagonian, produce dozens of glaciers.

Moisture flowing across the Pacific Ocean hits the high peaks of the Andes and turns to snow. This snow compresses to form glacial ice from which glaciers eventually flow to lower elevations where they melt into rivers and the sea.

The rate of melting in the Patagonian Ice Fields since the year 2000 is half again what it was during the previous 30 years. From both land and the air these rivers of ice appear vast, but they are Toppled Moai shrinking, and with that melting comes rising sea levels. soil fertility was depleted. With no trees In addition to its stunning statues, for making boats, the islanders could no Easter Island has a history of longer go to sea to fish. The island could environmental collapse. The small not support its population. Tribes fought volcanic island, a mere 63 square miles, a civil war, decimating the population was once 70 percent covered by trees. and toppling each other’s moai. After As the population grew from its original a century of warfare the number of Polynesian settlers to an estimated islanders plummeted to just a few 20,000 or more by the year 1600, thousand. By the end of the 19th century islanders cut trees to make fishing boats, introduced diseases had reduced the to make room for crops like taro and population to a mere 111. Today there are sweet potatoes, and possibly to move the about 3,000 Rapa Nui, as the natives call island’s famous statues or moai. It’s also themselves, and another 4,000 mainland possible that an introduced Polynesian workers to host the 120,000 tourists who rat may have devoured seeds that would arrive each year. Four thousand horses have germinated into young trees. Once roam the island, devouring its grasses the island was deforested less rain fell and reproducing freely—Easter Island’s and, with little vegetation to decompose, next environmental time bomb.

UpcominG Public MeetinGs Zoning Board of Adjustment: April 19 at 7–8:30 p.m.

Planning Commission: April 20 at 7–8:30 p.m.

Selectboard: April 24 at 7 p.m.

Conservation Commission: April 25 at 7–9 p.m.

Photo by Elizabeth Bassett Where are we headed? How can it be that, in the 21st century, mankind cannot, or chooses not to, solve our vexing environmental problems?

Seven hundred years ago the Rapa Nui carved more than a thousand moai from volcanic tuff using tools made of harder basalt. They moved 900 of these statues, as tall as 33 feet and weighing up to 86 tons, across rolling terrain for up to 14 miles without using wheels.

We can certainly solve our environmental problems—if only, like the Rapa Nui, we have the will.

20 • April 19, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Bradley Carleton CONTRIBUTOR

It’s human instinct to take advantage of things in life that help nurture, sustain, enrich or simplify our lives.

There are so many ways of taking advantage that sometimes our training to do so engulfs our spirit, and we start looking for ways that we might make choices that later require us to recalibrate our moral compass to find true north.

We take advantage of situations, resources, opportunities, and even each other to gain money, power or prestige. Sometimes we don’t even see that we are taking advantage of something, or someone, who might not be aware of what we are doing. We become detached from our own values in order to seek advantage.

When I forage, I am taking advantage of a resource to nourish my body and the bodies of those for whom I care. I am taking advantage of a landowner’s good graces by asking if I can be allowed to harvest a particular plant or mushroom.

Upon arriving at my destination, I assess the resource and use my moral compass to determine how many ramps, fiddleheads

How much is enough?

or wild asparagus I might take without harming the population by over-harvesting.

Hopefully, that small voice inside me puts a limiter on my desire to take advantage of the bounty in front of me.

As I walk leisurely into my favorite ramp field in the small plot of woods, I am shocked at what I see.

The entire half-acre of ramps has been destroyed by someone seeking to take advantage of this small woodlot to harvest sap. A gently rolling hillside has been pummeled by mini excavators, tractors and ATVs that have created three-foot-deep ruts and knocked over anything that wasn’t big enough to tap.

Clearly, the individual who has done this is taking advantage of this resource for the chance to make some extra money. As an acquaintance of mine likes to proclaim, “Profit is not a bad word.”

I have to question that statement when it exploits a resource or a person to the degree that it harms anything or anyone.

I am aware that humanity cannot exist without taking advantage of our resources, and I try to consider this when harvesting a chicken-of-the-woods mushroom or taking too many morels from a special spot. But the harm we do is measurable and should

be calculated to include the common denominator of degrees to which we need the money, need the electricity, need the gas, or the coal … or the maple syrup.

We should also consider the affected individual. Does he or she know the volume of compensation you are receiving from taking advantage of his or her resource?

In the case of the sap lines, I am privy to knowledge that the lessee is not claiming the true value of the syrup he is taking off the woodlot. The landowner is blissfully unaware of this, as he is supposed to be sharing in the profits of this operation.

Is taking advantage of another person’s lack of knowledge akin to taking advantage of the resource beyond what is sustainable? Is this standard operating procedure acceptable in the name of “making a profit?”

As I sit on the bridge over the slang in Ferrisburgh and work on filling my bucket full of bullhead (of which there is no daily limit) I can only reflect on my own actions and ask myself “How much is enough?”

Am I taking advantage of a resource for my own benefit? Yes. Am I harming the environment? No. Am I taking more than I need?

I pray that my moral compass points to true north, into the sunlight reflecting off of

a natural instinct to track, chase, attack and kill other species. The Dog Owner’s Guide article “The Call of The Wild” states, “Once a dog targets its prey, chemical reactions in the brain take over and the chase is on.”

The Pet Demographic Population Fact Sheet estimates that there are 74 to 86 million cats in the United States. A separate study estimates that a little over half of these cats are kept indoors. It is estimated that there

are 70 to 78 million pet dogs in the U.S. It is thought that 75 percent of the dog population around the world is left to roam free. Dr. Nicki Rosenhagen of the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine calls these pets predators by nature. “They hunt because their instincts tell them to, not because they are hungry.”

According to an article in the journal Nature, domestic cats in the United States kill somewhere between 1.3 billion and 4 billion birds a year as well as 6.1 to 22.3 billion small mammals and other wildlife. Dogs also kill wildlife, either directly or as a consequence of their actions. The website livescience. com states that “Dogs can sometimes cause the direct death of wild animals they chase, but more frequently they cause their prey to expend significant energy to save their life at a time when they are just barely surviving and into a state of malnutrition that allows other predators to then kill them. Pregnant animals are particularly vulnerable to this.

Often the act of a pet harrying wildlife turns ugly, with significant injuries and death of the wild animal, and its eggs or young, being the result.”

Rosenhagen also points to the impact unrestrained pets have on wildlife. “Young animals, particularly fledgling birds just learning to fly, are especially at risk. For wildlife, an attack is a horrifically terrifying experience. Often these animals die, but even the ones who are brought to a clinic for care face a scary, painful recovery make more difficult by the stress of being in captivity.”

With their bites domestic pets also pass along harmful bacteria to wildlife, which often leads to their ultimate death. Dogs can also pass along diseases to others through the abundant feces that they leave on trails. Rosenhagen

the early spring water.

Fishing with my wife and father-in-law for bullhead in Ferrisburgh last week.“As I sit on the bridge over the slang in Ferrisburgh and work on filling my bucket full of bullhead (of which there is no daily limit) I can only reflect on my own actions and ask myself ‘How much is enough?’” –Bradley Carleton Bradley Carleton is executive director of Sacred Hunter.org, a nonprofit that seeks to educate the public on the spiritual connection of man to nature and raises funds for Traditions Outdoor Mentoring.org, which mentors at-risk young men in outdoor pursuits.

Dogs and cats: To be, or not to be, outside?

Linda Radimer CONTRIBUTOR

When you know what they could be doing, there is no question. Once outside and on their own, “Fluffy” the cat and “Fido” the dog have

also points out that pet owners who suggest that it satisfies pets to be out in the wild and roaming freely should realize that it “places them in great danger of being injured or killed by predators, automobiles, or contracting a disease.” She points out that “Indoor cats live longer and are much less likely to get attacked or injure themselves.”

For cat owners who try to be proactive it has also been shown that “belling” a cat is ineffective in protecting wildlife because wildlife have not learned to associate the sound of a bell to a predator. Humans are also impacted by the trauma of killing or maiming someone else’s pet or by witnessing such an event. The veterinarian cost of treating injuries caused by wildlife or human vehicles also carries a high cost.

What can you do to avoid problems? Take your dog for a walk in designated “dogs allowed” areas. On a leash, your dog also won’t get into a fight with a skunk, porcupine or another walker’s dog. It also won’t jump up on a child or grandparent or eat something smelly on the road before you can stop them.

Dogs are also social animals and enjoy being with other dogs, so a dog park is another way to give them a fun outing. Remember to bring a couple of plastic baggies to clean up after your dog no matter where you go.

Cats are more particular about what they consider fun and are highly territorial.

Some experts suggest giving them an upper walkway/shelf to escape charging children or other pets (boa constrictor perhaps), and providing them with toys to interact with when they are of a mind to. An excellent website that has great information is thespruce.com/ toys-for-cats-home-alone-554647, which also provides short articles about common cat issues that you might experience.

The Charlotte News • April 19, 2017 • 21

Senior Center News

Mary Recchia CONTRIBUTOR

Getting Ready for an Active Summer? Ginger Lambert will help you achieve that goal on Tuesday mornings from 9:15–10. Using timed intervals and a series of stations this class will incorporate body weight, light weights and other cardio/strength building tools to boost strength, cardiovascular fitness, agility and flexibility. Joint and ligament issues will be taken into account. Every exercise can be modified for any ability or level of fitness. If you have been looking for a class that challenges you but doesn’t leave you in the dust, then this is for you.

Registration necessary. Limit 10. Fee: $10 per class.

The first Spring Road Hike in the Champlain Valley with Marty Morrissey will be on April 25 to Little River State Park. Please meet at the Center 10 minutes prior to our 9 a.m. departure with water, good hiking or walking shoes, and a snack or lunch. Details of the hike are in the signup book at the host desk. On Tuesday, May 2, we head to Ferrisburgh State Forest.

Registration required. No fee.

Now that the snow has finally left us, Hank Kaestner will take us on the first Birding Expedition of the season on Wednesday morning, April 26, at 9. Please

meet at the Center so we can carpool together to the location Hank has scouted for spectacular bird watching. Good views are guaranteed through Hank’s “Oh my God” telescope. Register for this event, and if we have to change the date due to bird migration or weather, we will call you. Registration necessary. No fee.

Join Liz Fotouhi and Friends on Friday, May 5, beginning at 11:30 a.m. for a Spring Tea. While delighting in fragrant tea, savory treats and sweet confections we will welcome and celebrate the return of the lovely lady we call Spring. We will be reading and discussing poems about spring by some of our favorite writers.

Bring your favorite poem to share, whether from a beloved poet or one you have penned yourself; all are welcome, dress is casual! Registration necessary.

Max. 25. Suggested donation: $4.

Pastel Painting with Shirley ReidThompson returns on Thursday afternoons, May 4, 11, 18 and 25, from 1–3:30.

Our emphasis will be on pastel painting techniques. Color theory will be explained and used in your paintings. We will work from real life set-ups, except for one afternoon when we will use photographs.

We can do mixed media, watercolor and pastel if you want. If requested, we can do individual contrast composition with color layering. Special help for beginners is

available. All levels of skill are welcome.

Call Shirley (860-0666) for a materials list. Registration necessary. Limit 10. Fee: $100.

All levels of artists will enjoy Bold, Brave & Colorful—Intuitive Painting in Acrylic with Lynn Cummings, even if you haven’t made art since kindergarten!

The class will be held Tuesday mornings from 9:15–12:15 on May 9, 16, 23 and 30.

You’ll learn about color, shape, design and how to paint intuitively, as Lynn guides you through exercises designed to help tap into the creativity that you have inside.

Acrylic is a forgiving medium and is a fun way to make art. You’ll also learn to use different mediums, papers and objects to create texture in your work. Be prepared to have fun and express yourself in ways you didn’t think possible! Please make sure you receive the necessary materials list at least a week prior to the first class by contacting Lynn at Lynn.Cummings@ uvm.edu. Registration necessary. Max. 12.

Fee: $111.

Coloured Pencil Shortcuts with Elizabeth Llewellyn begins Thursday mornings from 10–noon. Dates: May 11, 18, 25 and June 1. Coloured pencils are a very versatile medium. They can be applied to resemble watercolour, pastel, acrylic or oil paintings, but it is a slow process to layer all of those colours! This is why coloured pencil artists have developed various “shortcuts” to help speed up the process. In this four-week class we will explore blending solvents (non-toxic) and toned papers as ways of shortening the time frame for completing paintings and

Puzzles

producing different effects. Please bring whatever coloured pencils you have, an HB graphite pencil and a kneaded eraser to the first class, where more instruction on supplies will be provided. Registration necessary. Limit 10. Fee: $85.

A collection of lectures, performances and special events showcasing the diverse interests of our community Wednesday afternoon beginning at 1 o’clock. No registration or fee.

April 19: The CVU singers For the 13th year, the CVU singers return to the Senior Center to bring a light-hearted repertoire to remind us that spring is on its way! Songs from the great American Song Book and newer offerings will be shared with our friends, and there may even be a sing-along or two!

April 26: A cello quartet, with Judy Chaves The cello quartet returns! This time, Judy, Emily, Kristina and Elizabeth bring a springtime assortment of early and traditional music, including dance tunes from the Renaissance, haunting songs from the Sacred Harp collection, Irish jigs, Scottish laments and more. Come celebrate spring with the rich and soulful harmonies of four cellos!

5/3: From opera to Broadway, with Helen Lyons Internationally acclaimed soprano and native of Vermont, Helen Lyons presents an eclectic program of beloved works from the operatic, classical and musical theater genres. The sound of beautiful singing will make the walls of the Great Room ring! Come be transported through an afternoon of sublime music; a splendid time is guaranteed for all.

SOLUTIONS ON PAGE 23:

43. Settled 44. Film stars’ org.

46. Touch off 48. Damages 52. Stretch of turbulent water 53. Ralph and Alice 59. Ambience 60. Case 61. Pie cuts, essentially 62. Beam 63. Sheepskin leather 64. Voice lesson topic 65. Kind of dog 66. Poet Sexton 67. Square dance group, e.g.

Across 1. Take a powder 6. Firmly secured 10. Fungal spore sacs 14. Two-door 15. Prom conveyance 16. European capital

17. Hurt 18. Effluvium 19. Is positioned 20. Nuptials necessity 23. Calendar abbr.

24. Most concise 25. Marvelous

30. Ed.’s request 31. Nuncupative 32. City west of Tulsa 34. Grill grub 38. The main event 41. Racing network 42. Bristle

Down 1. Take for a ride 2. Chewed stimulant 3. Essen basin 4. Parrot 5. Toward the middle 6. Punishments, of a kind 7. Lieutenant 8. Young salmon 9. Old party members 10. Military rate, British 11. Paris bisector 12. Salad green 13. Dickey

21. “The Age of Anxiety” poet 22. Rail family bird 25. Propagates 26. Kind of school 27. Stevedore 28. Player on the dealer’s left 29. Cubed 33. Mold 35. Gaucho’s weapon 36. “Sit ___!”

37. Information unit 39. Salmon River locale

40. Sine or cosine 45. Family subdivisions 47. City near the Douro River 48. Some parties 49. Barbarian 50. High spot 51. ___ Hall 54. Chinese dollar 55. Bust maker 56. Not leave alone 57. Rub the wrong way 58. Ooze

22 • April 19, 2017 • The Charlotte News

Community Events Moth-inspired event: Storytelling, live music and good food will be served up at HomeShare Vermont’s “There’s No Place Like Home: Celebrating 35 Years” event from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Sunset Ballroom atop Comfort Suites, 1712 Shelburne Road in South Burlington, on Thursday, April 20. Moth award-winning storytellers Sue Schmidt and Kevin Gallagher will headline the event along with other storytellers.

Live music will be performed by The Brevity Thing. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased online homesharevermont.org or by calling 802-863-5625.

Earth Day planting: The Charlotte Park Oversight Committee will plant 20–30 disease resistant elm trees in the park on Saturday, April 22. The planting is made possible by a $1,000 grant from the Vermont Urban and Community Forestry Program. For more information email Tree Warden Mark Dillenbeck at mark@ ocmqa.com.

Calcutta: Carissa’s Calcutta at The Old Lantern on 3260 Greenbush Road on Saturday, April 22. It’s a great cause and promises to be a lot of fun. For more information call 310-3515.

Race: Lewis Creek Covered Bridges 5K/10K & Half Marathon at 8 a.m. on Saturday, May 13, in Charlotte. The registration fee for the 5K and 10K is $30 and the half marathon is $45 if registered

by May 9. Add $10 to race-day registration.

Local Business Directory

Price includes finisher medal for all three divisions. T-shirts available for $15 if ordered by April 22. For more information visit RaceVermont.com.

Tour of China: Jeanne Wisner will share her most interesting photos from her 200-plus trips to China at 7 p.m. at The Charlotte Library on April 25. Sponsored by the Charlotte Historical Society and The Charlotte Library. For more information call 425-3864.

Fundraiser: CVFRS Fire & Ice Meltdown at the Old Lantern on 3260 Greenbush Road from 6 to 11 p.m. on April 28. Fun, food and silent auction. Music by the Hitmen. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. For more information call 425-3111 or email auxiliary@cvfrs.org.

Craft Fair: The Champlain Valley Union High School Craft Fair will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 29.

Artisan foods, jewelry, woodwork, scarves, paintings and more from crafters across 25 Vermont towns will be there. For more information email cvuvenue@cssu.org.

Ferrisburgh rummage sale: The annual North Ferrisburgh Methodist Church rummage sale will be held at 227 Old Hollow Road Thursday, May 4, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Friday, May 5, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. A dollar-a-bag day will be Saturday, May 6, from 8 to 11 a.m. Proceeds will benefit children and youth going to church

summer camps and on mission trips.

SCHIP: This spring as you sort through your clothes please remember SCHIP’s Treasure Resale Shop, which has donated more than $615,000 to other nonprofits in the past decade. Donate, volunteer or shop.

SCHIP’s accepts any season clothing at any time during the year, provided it is gently used. It also accepts home décor, jewelry and other small items. Call the shop at 9853595 for more information.

Grange rummage sale: This year’s Charlotte Grange spring rummage sale will be later than usual. It will be held Friday, May 5, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday, May 6, from 8 a.m. to noon. Drop-off dates will be Saturday, April 29 ,from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Monday, May 1, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Open house: Vermont artists with original art or handmade crafts are invited to participate in Shelburne Pond Studios’ Vermont Craft Council spring open studios weekend. Saturday, May 27, and Sunday, May 28, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Application fee $35. Contact kastockman@aol.com for an application and details.

Ongoing: Basketball: Multi-age pick-up basketball on Mondays at 7 p.m. at Charlotte Central School. For more information call 425-

6129, ext. 204, or email recreation@ townofcharlotte.com.

Baby playgroup: Building Bright Futures baby playgroup, first and third Tuesdays of the month from 9 to 10 a.m. at the Charlotte Library. Ages 0 to 2. For more information email bbfcharlotteplaygroup@gmail.com.

Playgroup: The Charlotte Playgroup meets Wednesdays from 9:30 to 11 a.m. in the multipurpose room at Charlotte Central School. Follows the school calendar—no playgroup when school is not in session. For more information visit buildingbrightfutures.org or contact Colleen at bbfcharlotteplaygroup@gmail. com.

Riding lessons: Steeple Ridge Farm will be hosting weekly afterschool horseback riding lessons. Students will learn the basic care of the horse, including grooming, bathing, feeding and upkeep. This program will be offered to all grades on Tuesdays and Thursdays. For more information call 425-6129, ext. 204, or email recreation@ townofcharlotte.com.

Yoga: Mom and baby yoga on Tuesdays at 8:15 a.m. at Charlotte Central School. For more information call 425-6129, ext. 204, or email recreation@townofcharlotte.com.

Please email Lynn@TheCharlotteNews. org to list your community event.

The Charlotte News • April 19, 2017 • 23

Classifieds

THEATRE

continued from page 10 spotlight. Over the years, this love has deepened and evolved in ways I never imaged in my youth.”

Young people are rich with imagination, dynamism, and energy, Caycedo said. “My job as a director is to create an atmosphere of creativity and collaboration — one in which we are all free to fail big in order to find the best way of telling our story. Part of this approach includes treating these middle schoolers with the respect I would any professional actor.”

Through his study of music theatre at Walnut Hill School, Circle in the Square, and Ithaca College, and his experience as a professional actor and director, he said, “I have come to think of theater as a second language. I have found young people to be the best teachers of this language.”

Reach your friends and neighbors for only $7 per issue. (Payment must be sent before issue date.) Please limit your ad to 35 words or fewer and send it to The Charlotte News Classifieds, P.O. Box 251, Charlotte, VT 05445 or email ads@thecharlottenews.org.

For over 40 years, Lafayette Painting has provided top quality interior and exterior painting services. Our specialized crews can do your job quickly and the result is guaranteed to look great. Call 863-5397, visit LafayettePaintingInc.com Redstone: Affordable small office spaces available on Ferry Rd. Starting at $250.00 including all utilities. For more information or to schedule a tour call 658-7400.

CCS Theater table read for “The Music Man.”

Courtsey photo

These cats need your help!

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 situated at the base of Mt. Philo State Park with stunning panoramic views of Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks. Spacious 3 bedroom suites with 2 bathrooms and a complete kitchen.

Thoughtfully designed for casual elegance.

Privacy, space and tranquility. Bigger on the inside. MtPhiloInn.com 802-425-3335

Hannah Manley HOMEWARD BOUND

Last week Homeward Bound welcomed 17 cats to the shelter through an instate transport from a group in northern Vermont that reached out for help with its cat population. The cats range in age from six months to seven years, and most are already available for adoption.

For more information please call (802) 388-1100 ext. 224.

Let Lupine Painting help warm up your home this winter with a fresh coat of paint or brand new look. Trusted and stressfree painting for 20+ years. Call for a free consultation (802)598-9940.

Tree Service. Lot clearing. Tree and brush removal. Local and fully insured. Call Bud 802-734-4503 Offices For Rent in west Charlotte village, SW corner of Greenbush and Ferry. Lake views, basic Internet included, common kitchen, deck and showers, $300-$525/ month, contact 802-318-6228 or 2848.

Greenbush@gmail.com

Homeward Bound staff Morgan Cote and Chris Ouellette examine one of the cats.

Courtesy photo

One of the 17 cats, awaiting its examination. Courtesy photo Courtesy photo

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