The Bridge, January 5, 2012

IN THIS ISSUEBOOKS IN THE

AGE OF SCREENS

Are local kids still reading?

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BRAVE NEW CLUB First-ever LGBTQA group at Norwich gets started

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SHIRT SURGEKale vs. Chikin means business

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RECYCLE RETAILCouple opens new secondhand

store in Montpelier

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Connecting Montpelier and nearby communities since 1993 | JANUARY 5–18, 2012

Photo by Joy Worland

Photo by Joy Worland.

Secrets of the State House

by Nat Frothingham

In attempting to capture some of the magnetism and mys-tery of today’s Vermont State House, I met first with state senator William Doyle then took a tour with guides Jane

Bishop and Mike Doyle.Everyone in Vermont state politics and almost everyone

in Washington County knows senator Bill Doyle has served

consecutively in the Vermont Senate since 1968. Doyle is also professor of history and government at Johnson State College and author of The Vermont Political Tradition, first published in 1984.

As for my tour guides, Mike Doyle grew up in Montpelier and was a 12-year-old was a newsboy at the State House in the late 1950s back when the afternoon Times-Argus sold for seven

see STATE HOUSE, page 4

Late at night, when the chambers are emptied and the galleries are free of people, the echoes of times past sometimes invade this hal-lowed building, and the memories of earlier years come back—the sound of carriages rolling through the archway at the back, the music of long forgotten orchestras playing to a multitude of former Vermonters. In walking through these rooms, you may even hear those sounds yourself. If you do, remember that the spirit of a house such as this never dies, but lives on in the reverence and awe that contemporary Vermonters feel when the visit the Vermont State House.

—From former governor Richard A. Snelling’s introduction to The Vermont State House: A History & Guide, by Daniel Robbins

THE PAST REBORNTHE PAST REBORNTHE PAST REBORNTHE PAST REBORNReflections from a Tour of the State House

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PAGE 2 • JANUARY 5 –18 , 2012 THE BRIDGE

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HEARD ON THE

STREETLast week, Dan Hartman saw a crow-sized Cooper’s hawk hit and take down a bird

on the brushy hillside just outside the back window at First in Fitness. We all had a firsthand view of its careful plucking of the dead bird and the subsequent slow eating of every last bit. An hour and 20 minutes later it carefully wiped its bill, looked around and mounted into the air. I inspected the site and found a telltale circle of feathers on the ground and very little else. Another hawk report, this time from my sister, Delia Robinson, was more unusual. While walking the dog near the Sparrow Farm fields, she saw a large grey hawk standing over a dead turkey, carefully plucking the bird. A small band of turkeys stood not far away. When she returned the next day, there was the signature circle of feathers, in this case turkey feathers. Our three winter hawk species, the accipiters, are leaving their calling cards.

—Nona Estrin

Nature WatchThe Road to Town Meeting Day

Tuesday March 6—otherwise known as Town Meeting Day—is creeping ever closer, and, as it does, the current public debate in Montpelier over the budget is beginning to

become conflated with talk of political candidacies. Mayoral candidate John Hollar, in both the Times Argus coverage of his campaign announcement as well as his prepared remarks at the December 20 event at Onion River Sports, made certain everyone understood he is a self-dubbed “fiscal conservative” even as he made the point (to reassure liberal Montpelier) that he has consistently voted for Democratic candidates in past elections.

But a more direct line can be drawn between the recent letter signed by 160-plus residents calling for a 3 percent city-budget reduction and the campaign of Thierry Guerlain to unseat longtime city councilor Nancy Sherman. Guerlain is a driving force behind the letter and the subsequent creation of Vibrant and Affordable Montpelier (VAM) and hopes to champion that message all the way to the council chambers . . . and with better than 2 percent of city residents behind him as signatories on the letter, he’s got a good head start.

Or maybe it’s not quite 2 percent. Confirmed reports have phone calls taking place among some of the letter-signers over some dissatisfaction with the policy particulars put forward by VAM in their names.

VAM continues unabated, though. On December 28 a new letter was sent to the mayor and council, this one signed only by what likely is shaping up to be the group’s core mem-bership of Guerlain, David Beatty, Paul Carnahan, Phil Dodd, Ben Huffman, Eve Jacobs-Carnahan, Gregg Gossens, Bob Gross, Tim Heney, Dave Kidney, Peter Nielsen, Jean Olson, Steve Sease, Linda Setchell, Susan Zeller and Diane Zamos. Fewer names, yes, but still a politically diverse group.

The new letter restates the view that the Montpelier tax burden is too high, as well as a desire for a 3 percent cut from FY2012 levels (as opposed to a 3 percent lower alternative to the increased FY2013 budget the city would like to see pass). The letter also calls for some of those cuts to come from “core” functions, such as police and fire.

From the letter:While we could make suggestions as to how each department could be trimmed, we recognize

that the city manager and the Council have the ultimate responsibility for prioritizing spending within each department (though individually, some of us have thoughts about proposed cuts that we would he happy to share with you). From the various options that the city manager has presented, it seems to us that the City could be able to find $823,221 in savings next year. We believe these savings should be found without eliminating the community enhancements that make downtown Montpelier special and vibrant, such as July 3, First Night and the like.

As for future budgets, we suggest the Council appoint a citizen committee to look for ef-ficiencies and to compare our practices with those of other regional centers in Vermont.

Gallery Closed After All . . . for the Moment

Despite the assurances from Joyce Mandeville, executive director of the T.W. Wood Art Gallery, that were printed in this column on October 20, 2011, the gallery, according

to maintenance people moving items into storage, has indeed closed its doors (as rumors had suggested it would) at the Vermont College of Fine Arts—at least for now.

No one at the gallery answered calls, but the answering machine included the message from Mandeville that the gallery was “undergoing an exhibition hiatus to work on the col-lection.” The website, twwoodgallery.org, appeared to be down as well, as of January 2.

The gallery, like many other art galleries across the country, has been hit hard by the economic downturn, and the prospect of selling some pieces in the collection has reportedly been discussed by the board. The collection is divided between a Burlington College site, the State House and the Montpelier City Council chambers, while the out-of-sight items are being stored at the historical society in Barre.

As to where the new site for the Wood Gallery will likely be . . .

CALM Coming to Montpelier

A coalition of area nonprofits and individuals is moving forward with plans to purchase the former St. Michael’s School and the attached former convent at 46 Barre Street and

open the Center for Learning and Arts in Montpelier (CALM).Coalition members are T. W. Wood Gallery & Arts Center, the Monteverdi Music School,

Summit School of Traditional Music and Culture, and River Rock School. Paul and Peggy Irons are also listed on the press release as “a driving force behind the purchase and forma-tion of the arts center.”

The coalition plans to do fundraising for repairs to the building, and will likely look for other coalition partners to come on board. Studio and musical practice spaces will be avail-able for local artists and musicians, and the building will serve as a performance venue for Monteverdi student recitals, the vocal ensemble Counterpoint, and other interested regional individuals or groups.

The site already houses River Rock School, the Summit School and Monteverdi, and the expectation is that it will become the new home for the T.W. Wood Gallery.

End of an Era at ORCA

After 22 years, Kenric Kite is leaving the Montpelier cable public access system, known as ORCA (Onion River Community Access). Kite has been the face of the at-times one-

man operation forever, but with changes in his life (including a brand-new baby), he decided that the time was right to move on and try something else.

Rather than make a new hire, cash-strapped ORCA will be rearranging responsibilities among current staff to fill the holes. Kite says not to worry, though: “Rob Chapman is the new director and he’s great.”

Chapman, who comes to ORCA from Burlington’s Vermont Community Access Media (VCAM), won’t be totally on his own in the position, as Kite will be doing some consulting in the coming weeks to facilitate a smooth transition.

—all items by John Odum

P.O. Box 1143, Montpelier, VT 05601Phone: 802-223-5112 | Fax: 802-223-7852 montpelierbridge.com; facebook.com/montpelierbridge

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cents. He has led state house tours since 2001 and is a historian in his own right.

Jane Bishop has led tours for two years. She spent a big chunk of her adult life in Memphis, Tennessee. But her love of Ver-mont history and enthusiastic identification with her adopted state, are evident.

Our tour began in the first-floor lobby looking out a window to the granite columns and the grounds.

Mike Doyle began, “Those two cannons on the State House lawn were brought back to Montpelier (from Manila Bay in the Phil-lipines) as a memorial to Admiral George Dewey, who grew up in a little white house directly across the street where the big alu-minum doors at the Department of Motor Vehicles close.” Dewey led the American navy in the battle of Manila Bay and the vic-tory that followed was a turning point in the 1898 Spanish-American War.

Turning to another war trophy, Doyle con-tinued, “On the State House portico we have the Bennington Battle canon taken from the Hessians by the Green Mountain Boys at the Battle of Bennington. The significance of the Battle of Bennington was that it so weakened the British invading army coming down from Montreal that when they finally met the continental army of the United States at Saratoga, they were defeated—and that gave Benjamin Franklin the propaganda he needed to enlist the French for the Ameri-can cause. It was the turning point in the American Revolution.

Back to the first floor lobby, a nautical painting of Dewey at Manila Bay faces one of Captain Charles E. Clark, who com-manded the battleship Oregon and helped win a naval victory against the Spanish fleet at Santiago, Cuba.

The walls of the State House are filled with portraits, including two past American

presidents, both native Vermonters: Chester Alan Arthur, president from 1881 to 1885 and Calvin Coolidge, president from 1923 to 1929.

On Coolidge, Mike Doyle said, “The one story everyone should know is that he was vis-iting his family in Plymouth Notch, Vermont when the message came that [President] War-ren Harding had died in San Francisco. His own father, the local justice of the peace—I believe he was a notary public—pulled out the family Bible and under the light of a kerosene lamp, swore in his own son to be president of the United States.”

In an earlier conversation, Bill Doyle spoke appreciatively about Coolidge, describing Vermont’s history as “incredible.”

Coolidge, he said. “He wrote all of his own speeches. He could be ‘silent’ in five languages.”

“Vermonters,” said Doyle, “are frugal with their money and their words. It’s part of the culture.”

Coolidge came to public attention, Doyle said, when as Massachusetts governor he brought in state militia to restore order dur-ing a police strike. At the time Coolidge thought that calling up the militia amounted to a political obituary. Said Doyle, “Coolidge had a good labor record.” But he was wrong about how his decisive action would be viewed across the nation. His one-sentence message to union leader Samuel Gompers won him national attention: “There is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, anytime.”

Civil War LegaciesNotwithstanding the history that has

taken place since, the State House has the look and feel of a Civil War building, with the gasoliers dominating the Hall of Repre-sentatives, and the Senate chamber

Two elements at the State House suggest that the searing memory of the Civil War

can hardly be shaken off after 150 years. Painter Julian Scott’s 10-by-20-foot, wall-sized painting of the Battle of Cedar Creek not only dominates the Cedar Creek Room but in some ways dominates the building.

Scott enlisted in the Union cause as a 15-year-old drummer boy from Johnson. He saw action and was wounded. In 1865, Congress awarded its first medal of honor to Scott.

Looking back on the war, Scott, as quoted by tour guide Bishop, reportedly said, “I went to the war a boy with a fife. I came back as a man with a wound and a gun.

The power of Scott’s painting lies in its re-alistic detail, in its deference to the common, rank-and-file foot soldier who bore the brunt to the battle and in its depiction not just of smoke and battle flags but also war’s horrors, death and dismemberment. The Battle of Cedar Creek took place on October 19, 1864 and after an initial rout of Union forces, the eventual Union victory is said by some historians to have influenced the successful outcome of Lincoln’s reelection in 1864.

If the Cedar Creek painting by Julian Scott remembers the Civil War, then sculp-tor Larkin Goldsmith Mead’s marble bust of Abraham Lincoln honors the Great Eman-cipator.

Although Lincoln travelled to New York and New England, he never set foot in Ver-mont. The Larkin Mead bust in the lobby therefore confers an unusual honor on a pres-ident whose election and reelection enjoyed almost overwhelming Vermont support.

Larkin Mead had executed other sculp-tures for the Vermont State House, includ-ing an 1858 wooden sculpture, Agriculture which adorned the dome until 1938, when it rotted out and was replaced by a free copy of the original by Sergeant-at-Arms Dwight Dwinell and some of his employees (see photo and caption above).

STATE HOUSE, from page 1

Montpelier was not always Vermont’s state capital. From 1777, when Vermont declared itself a republic, through 1791, when

it was accepted to the union, and until 1808, Vermont government had no formal home. The legislature met 47 times throughout the state, in Windsor, Bennington, Rutland, Westminster, Man-chester, Middlebury, Newbury, Burlington, Castleton, Danville, Norwich, Vergennes and even Charleston, New Hampshire, which was part of Vermont at the time.

On November 8, 1805, the legislature established Montpelier as state capital. The first State House, a three-story frame structure, was completed in 1808.

In 1800, Montpelier’s population was 890. Daniel Robbins, who wrote The Vermont State: A History & Guide, noted that Montpelier’s selection as capital was because “the village was neutral ground in the bitter struggle to capture the rewards of being the capital. Furthermore, it lay reasonably close to the state’s geographic center, and its citizens pledged $8,000 toward the construction.” Even when the cost rose to $10,000, Montpelier citizens paid. But payment in those days was not principally cash; “it was barter, grain, labor and construction materials.”

As originally conceived, the Vermont legislature was a single

house, or unicameral body. But early in the 1830s, it was imagined that a senate would be added. This development underscored space limitations of the first State House, and by 1831 the legislature was asking for proposals for a replacement building.

A larger and more permanent second State House was designed by Lebanon, New Hampshire architect Ammi B. Young. The design was inspired by classical Greek architecture. The portico featured six 36-foot-high Doric granite columns that supported a pediment. The building was topped by an inverted, saucer-shaped dome and was completed in 1836. It occupied the same approxi-mate site as today’s State House, set back from State Street against the backdrop of a steep hillside.

A fire swept through the State House on January 6, 1857, consuming the interior, including the dome. Only the building’s portico, columns, pediment and wall remained. The walls were later taken down.

The larger third State House, with its familiar dome, was constructed at a cost of $141,000. Again, Montpelier shouldered $40,000 of the expense, and the building opened for the legislative session of October 1859.

—Nat Frothingham

Montpelier as Capital and the Vermont State House

Dwight Dwinell, Vermont sergeant-at-arms, at work in 1938 carving the head of the statue of Ceres, goddess of agriculture, which stands atop the State House dome. Dwinell, a cabinetmaker by trade, served as sergeant-at-arms for over 40 years. He died in 1940 and was accorded an official State House funeral. Photo courtesy of the Vermont Historical Society.


Capitol NotebookState House News and Commentary

by John Odum

The same day the state of Iowa of-ficially began the 2012 presidential election with its nominating cau-

cuses, the Vermont Legislature returned to action for the 2012 legislative session.

In an election year, legislative leaders (as well as Governor Peter Shumlin) would like nothing more than to have a smooth, non-contentious and short session, avoiding ex-cess controversy that could haunt them on the campaign trail and allowing plenty of time to campaign. That’s why, when you ask legislative leaders what’s on the agenda for the session, you generally hear the same two answers: continuing the process of recovery from Irene and balancing the state budget given the expected $70-plus million shortfall (in fact, there may be more tax revenues on the way given the improving economy, so that budget hole will shrink somewhat with-out lawmakers lifting a finger).

But there are four big reasons why this session could still get bumpy (aside from the fact that the energy and health-care policy could prove contentious).

First, there is the reality that those two pri-orities are anything but simple. The budget is always problematic, but Irene recovery could also become an issue—particularly where the fate of state workers formerly housed at the State Office Complex in Waterbury is concerned.

Waterbury would like the workers back and cites the damage already being done to their economy due to their absence. Barre Mayor Thom Lauzon would like the workers in his town.

Both the House and Senate institutions committees will likely want to weigh in. Interestingly enough, there are no Barre or Waterbury representatives in the House com-mittee, and no Washington County senators in the Senate committee.

There is, however, outgoing Montpelier Mayor Mary Hooper who, due to the geogra-phy, may well end up a player in the debate.

Second, there are still open ballot spots for many statewide offices. The Democrats have no candidate to run against Lieutenant Gov-ernor Phil Scott, and the Republicans have a number of unfilled ballot lines.

Those discussions heat up in the pressure cooker of the State House, as potential can-didates have a stage on which to distinguish themselves and garner some free publicity.

Third, there are plenty of activists who very much want to have their issues receive a legislative audience. The State House was full, not only of legislators, but of red T-shirts.

The shirt-wearing crowd was affiliated with the Vermont Workers Center (VWC), which held a noontime press conference to announce its agenda. VWC has closely as-

sociated itself with health-care reform and played a role in rallying support for Shum-lin’s election based on that issue, but its call for increased taxes on the wealthy will likely put them squarely in conflict with Shumlin, who has consistently resisted such calls.

Fourth, there are the legislators them-selves, who don’t necessarily dance to tunes other than their own.

Case in point: on the morning of Janu-ary 3, the State House was not so much buzzing with talk of impending legislation or what was on the cafeteria menu as it was with talk of Windham County Senator Peter Galbraith.

As the Senate was preparing a vote on creating a committee to address redistricting (rather than leave the issue in the Govern-ment Operations Committee), Galbraith—who serves on the Gov Ops Committee—took strong exception, despite the fact that creating a more geographically diverse com-mittee to review the issue has been standard operating procedure in the past.

Galbraith went as far as to accuse notori-ously touchy Majority Leader John Campbell of “lacking confidence” in the Government Operations Committee. He then cast one of two objections against the action, before following with a lone vote against a purely procedural and perfunctory floor action.

Shocking (at least to legislators)!Galbraith is, of course, one of the highest-

profile diplomats on the planet.

Puppy LoveIt’s dog days in the Statehouse, as the Hu-

mane Society has hit the halls of the Capitol, where five new bills were introduced regard-ing the welfare of canines.

There is H.89, “An act relating to ban-ning the hunting of black bear with dogs.” H.229, requiring that procedures such as debarking and tail docking be done by pro-fessionals, with the animals anesthetized. There is H.340 (the puppy mill bill), which would require “any large-scale dog breeding operation to provide each dog under its care with basic food and water, adequate shelter from the elements, necessary veterinary care, adequate space to turn around and stretch its limbs, and regular exercise.”

Over in the Senate, there’s S.40, which would proctect town selectboards from dam-ages when a dog kills other domestic ani-mals. Finally, cats get a bit of the action with S.153, which would require pet dealers to sell at least some rescue or shelter animals.

Let me add that the State House has gone to the dogs, so I’ll have covered all the obligatory canine jokes.

John Odum is the news editor of The Bridge and a longtime political blogger and online journalist. He lives in Montpelier.

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Tell them you saw it in The Bridge!


by Rickey Gard Diamond

I don’t think the thing for me has been civil disobedience so much as the importance of not asking permission.

I have a certain degree of hopefulness, but I don’t think it means anything unless we really continue to look—to look at the earth, the way poets do.

—Grace Paley, 1922–2007

Grace Paley was not only Vermont’s poet laureate from 2003 to 2007, but she was also an imagina-tive political activist, a feminist and the author of

consummate short stories. When I first heard her read, I was a graduate student at Vermont College, though I had already fallen in love with her work. One phrase of hers that after-noon stuck with me as a fitting credo for me, and really for any aspiring writer. “Every story should be about the whole world,” she said.

She told Celeste Conway in 1978 and others later on that she wrote her first story because she wanted to understand from the inside out how a man saw the women in his life, how he thought from the inside out. She said: “‘The Contest’ was a little playful as far as language was concerned, but I was scared to death when I wrote that.”

The dare to herself must have worked, because she is known for the sympathetic men in her tales, as well as subjects considered trivial until she lifted them to the level of literature: a mother’s resentments and worries about her children; neighborhood gossip and arguments over dinner; conversations in the park with friends about race and sex and unruly relationships. If some of these conversations took place while sitting unseen in trees, it makes sense within the whole world her stories create with voice and language play.

Grace grew up in the Bronx. “The whole block didn’t have more than two people who weren’t Jewish,” she told Melanie Kantrowitz in 1985. “So my idea of the world was that it was totally Jewish. And the people to be worried about and pitied are the ones outside. . . . It was a normal sense of outrage when others were treated badly, along with the idea that injustice not be allowed to continue.” She said her parents were not openly political: “It just seemed to be related to this business of your attitude towards others, how you were to deal with the other.” She mused, “I learned that expression recently: ‘the other.’ How to deal with the other.”

Her second marriage, to Robert Nichols, brought her to Thetford, Vermont. Her poems, collected in Begin Again, reflect her continued expansion far from her city park into worlds of travel and woods and fields and gardens. It is clear she was still thinking about life as a whole from the inside out. One short example of what I mean is her poem “In Deepest Summer”:

the milkweed flower

dries to pod in autumnflies like seed and diesin earth and is reborn

but not untildisaster strikes the fieldand lays the grasses downunder the weighty icein which the water lives

If you don’t know Paley’s work, however, I should leave you with her humor, always wry and compassion-ate even when dealing with the seri-ous limits of human reach—perhaps especially then.

Whistlers

A stranger calling a dog whistledand I came running though I am not an afghan

or a high-class poodle and not much like a city boy’s dog with a happy wild tail and red eyes

The stranger said Excuse me I was calling my dog not youAh I replied to this courteous explanation

Sometimes I whistle too but mostly for fearof missing the world I am a dog to whistlers

Though she taught writing at Sarah Lawrence, Paley mostly avoided literary life, preferring family and the broad-est kind of inclusionary politics. Talking about literary writ-ing with Ruth Perry in 1981, Paley said, “The act of illumina-tion is a political act. That is, the act of saying, ‘See, this has been in darkness. This life has been unseen, and unknown.’ Now to make that decision and say, ‘I want to illuminate this life’—which is the act of bringing justice into the world a little bit—that’s a decision you make. But if you say, ‘Here’s a life that’s lying there. Now I’d like to take a rock and slowly cover it,’ that’s a political decision. I think people do that with language all the time. Sentimental language does that....There’s a cynicism in it. Who needs it? I mean sometimes you need it but right now we don’t need it.”

We here in Montpelier had the privilege of hearing her read aloud her poem “Responsibility” in the company of a flank of poets protesting the Gulf War. Her hair shone white as a halo that night, but I worry—is it sentimental to say so? Not when I hear her bold voice, which sang out in an incantation like gospel and sings out now when I read this:

Responsibility

. . . It is the responsibility of the poet to stand on street cornersgiving out poems and beautifully written leafletsalso leaflets they can hardly bear to look at because of the

screaming rhetoric. . .It is the responsibility of the poet not to pay war taxes. . . It is the responsibility of the male poet to be a womanIt is the responsibility of the woman poet to be a womanIt is the poet’s responsibility to speak truth to poweras the Quakers sayIt is the poet’s responsibility to learn the truth from the powerlessIt is the poet’s responsibility to say many times: there is nofreedom without justice and this means economicjustice and love justiceIt is the responsibility of the poet to sing this in all the originaland traditional tunes of singing and telling poemsIt is the responsibility of the poet to listen to gossip and pass iton in the way storytellers decant the story of lifeThere is no freedom without fear and bravery there is nofreedom unlessearth and air and water continue and childrenalso continueIt is the responsibility of the poet to be a woman to keep an

eye onthis world and cry out like Cassandra, but belistened to this time.

Rickey Gard Diamond is editor of Vermont Woman. Author of a novel, Second Sight, and her short stories have also been published widely. She lives on the Dog River.

Quotes taken from Conversations with Grace Paley, edited by Bach, Gerhard and Blaine Hall.

Grace Paley and the Other

Grace Paley.

Poetry


by Joy Worland

When I worked in a K–12 school library, the kindergarten, elemen-tary and middle-school students

flocked to the library for the newest fiction and graphic novels. The high-school students came in with lists of resources they needed for research papers. As they left with stacks of scholarly treatises on World War II or Ancient Greece, it was easy to see why they weren’t drifting off to sleep at night with the latest Rick Riordan.

In this age of technological pastimes, “To most kids a room full of books is just not that interesting,” said seventh-grader Tenaya Hubbell-Wood.

Hubbell-Wood is, however, a library regu-lar herself, and when I asked her and eight other central Vermont youth from grades 4 to 11 about their reading habits, they demon-strated diverse reading tastes and for the most part, enthusiastic reading habits. This is by no means a big enough group from which to draw conclusions about youth in general, but their responses may have relevance beyond this small sampling. [Editor’s note: Some of the interviewees requested that their names not be used.]

Eight were introduced to books early by parents or other adults who read aloud to them, which might predispose them to have a high interest in reading. While none of the respondents would choose reading over hang-ing out with friends, several said that when they had free time they would choose to read more than half the time, and two estimated that they choose to read as often as 80 percent of the time.

One, however, said that it was “hard to sit still and get focused” in order to read.

Another deterrent to reading was being too busy. Finding free time to read becomes more difficult as students get older. The two high-school students interviewed both said they read more when they were younger; one said he used to read “all the time.” No matter how passionate a reader is, intensified school pressures that build in the high school years seem to leave little time or possibly even intel-lectual energy for discretionary reading. The younger interviewees read more than the two oldest ones.

However, even the 17-year-old who is too busy to read even during vacation (“vacations are frequently just as busy as the school year”) had a list of favorite authors and genres: Stieg Larsson, Tom Clancy, mysteries, history, military fiction. A 13-year-old boy described reading mysteries from his mother’s book-shelf, science and history books, and being on

his second time through the entire Warriors series by Erin Hunter.

Sixth-grader Sally Read shared many fa-vorite books: Eragon, The Hunger Games, Black Beauty, Margaret Haddix’s The Miss-ing series. Clearly a reader with broad tastes, she also included The Simpsons. She and her older brother, Ben, both read book reviews to get ideas, and their suggestions for the Joslin Memorial Libary in Waitsfield have helped diversify and modernize the collection for readers their ages. Sally enjoys several series, and an interesting point she made about whether or not to stick with a book if it doesn’t grab you right away is that sometimes sequels are better than the first book, so it’s worth hanging in there. A 13-year-old boy pointed out that, “sometimes the beginning is boring and later something exciting hap-pens.”

“If [a book] has a cover I don’t understand, I want to read it because of the mystery,” Hubbell-Wood said. Both she and Nicholas Gambill, a sixth grader, are fans of adventure fiction, and Gambill also loves science fic-tion, especially the Ender series, by Orson Scott Card.

In this group print books are clearly still hanging in there. A boy about to turn 12 had just received a Kindle for Christmas and was excited to use it but hadn’t yet. 10th-grader Sam Ringer has an iPad but doesn’t read books on it, while Gambill read Ender’s Game on a Kindle and loved it, but thought that was mostly because the book was so good.

Attitudes about audio books ranged from, “I don’t like them but I have to listen to them on road trips,” from a fourth-grade boy, to great enthusiasm. Ringer reads and listens at the same time to better absorb content, and Gambill loves audio books that use different voices for different characters. “If a book is written really stylized or in a dialect, I like to have someone read it to me,” he said.

Asked about discussing books with friends, one girl said, “I have two groups of friends—popular friends and friends who like to talk about books.” She described overhearing some people debating “who’s hotter.” When she realized the contenders were not class-mates but two fictional characters, she knew she had found her book tribe. She described them as proud of being “bookworms.”

Most of these kids share book ideas with friends and have an adult in their lives who knows them well enough to make good read-ing suggestions. Ringer described getting good books suggestions from her mother, an adult friend and a peer who reads a lot. They know her and her tastes well enough to predict what she would like. A teacher’s

suggestion of a book Ringer found confusing and sad was not as good a match.

Reviews, reputation as “good” literature or book awards are not considered especially valuable tools for book selection. Hubbell-Wood’s assessment of award books is, “Some-one thinks they’re good; it doesn’t mean everyone does,” and Gambill agreed that “even if it’s well-written, tons of people like it and it’s gotten good reviews, it wouldn’t make me like it.”

A recurring theme was the importance of

knowing someone who can offer book sug-gestions. It seems that though reading itself is a solitary activity, there can be a social ele-ment to it that makes it more attractive and satisfying. A suggestion from someone who knows and respects a reader’s taste can make the difference between reading or not.

Joy Worland is a librarian at the Joslin Memorial Library in Waitsfield. She lives in Montpelier.

Ink Versus ElectronsBooks Hold Out for Kids’ Attention

Above and below in sidebar, young readers deep in their books at the Joslin Memorial Library in Waitsfield. Photos by Joy Worland.

Favorite Books and AuthorsMark BowdenEnder series, by Orson Scott CardTom ClancyThe Hunger Games and the Gregor the Overlander series, by Suzanne Collins The Simpsons, by Matt GroeningThe Missing series, by Margaret HaddixAlex Rider series, by Anthony HorowitzWarriors series, by Erin HunterEmmy and the Incredible Shrinking Rat, by Lynne JonellDiary of a Wimpy Kid, by Jeff KinneyStieg LarssonTwilight series, by Stephenie MeyerThe Knife of Never Letting Go, by Patrick NessEragon, by Christopher PaoliniMaximum Ride series, by James PattersonHarry Potter series, J.K. RowlingHugo Cabret and Wonderstruck, by Brian SelznickBlack Beauty, by Anna SewellA Series of Unfortunate Events, by Lemony Snicket


by John Odum

At most colleges and universities across the country, clubs and ativities set up to support gay and lesbian students,

who often arrive to the campus from families or communities that were less than tolerant of their sexuality, have been around for years, even decades. At schools that train students to serve in the military, it’s been a different story. Until last September’s repeal of the military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) policy, lesbian and gay service members could not serve openly without seeing their military careers end prematurely, and the culture at these military colleges has largely

reflected that military culture hostile to non-heterosexuals.

But students at Norwich University in Northfield, the nation’s first (and only re-maining) private military institution, are taking this entrenched culture on. Fueled by the repeal of DADT, students have formed the campus’s first LGBTQA student group (the acronym stands for lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgendered, questioning and allies and is specifically intended to include every-one and anyone who wants to participate).

A November 3 article on the Huffington Post by Max Rosenthal stated that Norwich’s club was “the first of its kind at the nation’s service academies and military colleges.”

While the statement may not quite be true, there’s no question that the club is breaking new ground.

Daphne Larkin, Norwich University media relations manager, clarified over e-mail, “Of the five U.S. service academies (West Point, Naval Academy, Coast Guard, Air Force and Merchant Marine) only the U.S. Coast Guard Academy has such a club. A ‘diversity council’ (something higher than a club) called Spectrum was chartered after September 20 and the repeal of DADT, but they have not met yet. . . . We are one of six senior military colleges. . . . I have not spoken to all of them (North Georgia, Texas A&M, The Citadel, VMI and Virginia Tech) but so far I have learned that Texas A&M does have several such clubs, one dating back as far as 25 years. From what I can tell, these clubs there are primarily populated by their civilian students.”

Indeed, both Texas A&M and Virginia Tech are much larger institutions that have evolved to primarily serve civilian students and have come to look like most other large universities. Of schools in both lists that still primarily focus on a military mission, Norwich is the only one with such a student organization that has actually met.

This is not the first time Norwich stu-dents have attempted to create such a club. In both the mid-’90s and 2001 clubs were discussed but did not coalesce. The reasons were hardly surprising.

“One of the times it was started, I was told they received a lot of pressure from the student body not to do it,” explained club founder and President Joshua Fontanez, a Norwich cadet. “Even trying to get it started now—when we were going through the pro-cess of getting it started, we had plenty of faculty support, but . . . it wasn’t until we actually held our first meeting that we were able to get people who wanted to be officers in the club.”

“Even up until our last meeting before break, we still had people waiting to see if people were going to get threats, if they were going to get made fun of, what was going to happen. . . . [There was] a huge aspect of fear.”

It is that fear that Fontanez, a former

student government president, wants to take head on. “One of the things we do on cam-pus is working on the campus climate. Mak-ing sure people feel that they’re not alone, that they’re accepted.”

Fontanez understands the entrenched cul-ture he and the others in the club are trying to change.

“Being a military college is huge—ev-eryone needs to be masculine and stuff like that. Then you have the stereotype that gay men are feminine and lesbians are butch—we’re still fighting those stereotypes. No-body wants to be labeled as a feminine man on a military campus.”

The club’s weekly meetings draw 35 to 40 people, which includes a core of about two dozen regulars. Attendees have included a mix of those who identify in some way as nonheterosexual as well as allies, who simply support the club’s mission.

For its part, the club is not shy about its presence. Meetings are in a room on campus known as “the fishbowl” for its high visibil-ity, and a key to the club’s success has been drop-ins from passersby. The group is also planning a campus pride week in late March, as well as a Queer Prom.

Fontanez indicated that the club has re-ceived strong support from faculty, although there are challenges.

“The reception from the administration, student body, some organizations is still mixed—we’re educating a lot of people when it comes to their biases and stuff like that. No outright threats or that type of violence or anything like that, but people have the right to their opinions, and some people think that a club like this isn’t necessary, or some people want it to be a secret thing,” Fontanez explained.

But the club is among the fastest-growing on campus. Already, student representatives from the organization have been taking part in conferences and events at other colleges and universities around the state, and have worked with organizations such as Outright Vermont and RU12. “There is no doubt that what we do every day through our organiza-tion improves the entire world,” Fontanez said.

Norwich University Students Start Pioneer LGBTQA Club

Licensed Nursing Assistant (LNA) Courses — Costs: $950 tuition and text; $20 licensing; $115 testing. Interview required for admit-tance. Limited spaces available.

February LNA: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6–9 p.m. (class) and 6–10 p.m. (clinical). February 2–May 10, 2012. Instructors: Cindy Pratt and Niki Bristow. Interviews scheduled for January 23 & 24, 2012.

March LNA: Mondays and Wednesdays, 5–8 p.m. (class) and 5–9 p.m. (clinical). March 5–June 20, 2012. Instructors: Lynda Volz, Sherri Barnard, Lori Knowlton. Interviews scheduled for February 20 & 21, 2012.

Child Development Associate Credential (CDA) Courses — Interview required for admittance.

Costs: $950 tuition and text. Limited spaces available.

February CDA: Tuesdays, 5:30–8 p.m.; February 7–June 26, 2012; 120 hours. Instructor: Kathi Fuller. Interviews scheduled for February 14, 2012.

American Red Cross Classes — Wednesdays, 5:30 – 9:30 p.m., except for recertification from 6–8 p.m. Registration and payment required at least three (3) business days prior.

First Aid: Jan. 4, Feb. 1, Mar. 7, April 4, May 2, June 6.

Infant/Child CPR/AED: Jan. 11, Feb. 8, Mar. 14, April 11, May 9, June 13, July 11.

Adult CPR/AED: Jan. 18, Feb. 15, Mar. 21, April 18, May 16, June 20, July 18.

Recertification: Jan. 25, Feb. 22, Mar. 28, April 25, May 23, June 27, July 25.

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www.barretechnicalcenter.org Check our website for information on additional classes beginning March 2012.

Enjoy Life-Long Learning at the Barre Tech Center

Championing Change

Norwich University’s LGBTQA club has entered the White House and MTV’s Champions of Change contest, which “invites college and university students

from across the country to demonstrate how their student-led project is improving their campus community and helping America win the future,” according to the White House website.

The club has submitted a short film posted on YouTube, which presents its efforts as a model for other military colleges and universities to emulate. The film—like the club itself—wastes no time making its point. In the first few seconds, video of a student coming out to his parents over the phone bleeds into footage of Martin Luther King Jr. speaking the words, “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of it’s creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’”

The video includes several club members, most in military fatigues or uniforms, explaining the purpose of the organization. As one student, Carolina Suazo, says on the film, “The reason why this club’s important is because it builds an environment for everyone to be them-selves and be open about themselves and an environment where you don’t feel like you’re being judged.”

Contest finalists will be announced in the spring.

—John Odum

Still from the club’s YouTube video.


by Cassandra Hemenway Brush

In August 2011, Bo Muller-Moore was printing approximately four orders a day, or, by his estimate, a bushel basketful

of Eat More Kale T-shirts a week. That was around the time he registered the phrase for a federal trademark; within a couple of months the fast-food chain Chick-fil-A had sent him the second cease-and-desist letter in five years demanding that he not only turn over his website to them but give them all his inventory, claiming that he infringed on their signature Eat Mor Chikin marketing campaign. By November 28, the David and Goliath story went national. It took only two days after that for Muller-Moore’s four orders a day to morph into 10 a minute as the pub-lic showed its support by ordering Eat More Kale products by the truckload.

Chick-fil-A issued its first cease and desist to Muller-Moore back in 2006. His lawyer at the time, working pro bono via the Vermont Arts Council, had “assured them that the support I was going to get from Vermont and the resulting bad PR” was not going to be worth the trouble, Muller-Moore said during an interview from his T-shirt-laden home last week. Muller-Moore took Chick-fil-A’s ensu-ing silence as a back-off, and he continued printing his shirts and bumper stickers. Over time, he had his own problem with copycats using his exact phrase and exact logo, mar-keting in the same manner he does—Internet T-shirt sales. It became irksome enough that Muller-Moore finally decided to go the route of trademarking his logo. In fact, he said, he has no problem with the concept of protect-ing one’s intellectual property, but he doesn’t believe “eat more kale” can be confused with the intentionally misspelled “eat mor chikin,” as Chick-fil-A claims it can.

“The idea that we’re doing a parody of a fast-food restau-rant none of us have ever heard of is ab-surd,” Muller-Moore said. In fact, the nearest Chick-fil-A to Montpelier is approximately 120 miles away, in Nashua, New Hampshire.

Chick-fil-A has not been taking phone calls regarding this issue; however, it did release an official statement, which said, in

part, “We support the entrepreneurial spirit of small business, and, in fact, our business model is founded on providing opportunity for small business owners. Every one of our 1,603 restaurants is owned and operated by a local business person who lives in and gives back to their community. Unfortunately, when protecting our trademark, the law does not allow us to differentiate between a large company or a small enterprise.”

The statement also stated that after Muller-Moore submitted a trademark applica-tion, “we are required to protect ‘Eat Mor Chikin,’ our own brand and trade-mark.” Muller-Moore maintains that the phrases are not simi-

lar enough to be confused by anyone.“I know I don’t have a single confused cus-

tomer,” he said. “I just want them to let me be, and I’ll let them be. I think there’s plenty of room for both of us.”

Meanwhile, back in the studio, Muller-Moore has been working 16-hour days trying to keep up with the suddenly overwhelming demand for his products. He’s had almost 30 volunteers helping him out during the Christmas season, including his mother-in-law, who prints orders and FedExes them to him, and his friend Chris Lumbra, who built a surprisingly sturdy shelving system out of cardboard boxes and packing tape. Not only did friends and neighbors pull together to help, but area businesses stepped in as well, providing everything from a discount on thank-you notes, from Capital Copy, to help with packaging, from Bevins & Sons Custom Printing, to simply keeping the T-shirts in stock at Capital Stationers. Governor Peter Shumlin held a press conference in which he endorsed “Team Kale” in order to help raise legal funds for Muller-Moore, and, most recently, Senator Peter Welch sent a letter to Chick-fil-A describing Muller-Moore as a “garage-based, one-man operation that pro-vides supplemental income for one family.”

Ironically, of course, now that Chick-fil-A

has brought national attention to Muller-Moore’s business, it’s doubtful that he’ll ever return to the microlevel at which he operated before the cease-and-desist letter. Indeed, Muller-Moore is now looking into upgrad-ing his pizza-box sized heater, in which he can only print three T-shirts at a time, and investing in more efficient and ergonomically designed equipment, which will help him remain a one-man show but pump out more product in less time. After appearing on radio stations from Boston to Saskatchewan and having articles about his legal predicament appear everywhere from Forbes magazine to the New York Times to dozens of intellectual property rights blogs, Muller-Moore simulta-neously faces instant folk-hero status and the lucky problem of having more business than he ever dreamed of. Well, actually, he does dream of it.

“When I dream,” he said, “I dream it’s me, loading packages. It’s almost a relief to wake up.” But, he added, “I’m not complaining. . . . I just do one shirt at a time.”

Sell More T-ShirtsBusiness Booms for ‘Kale Guy’ After Trademark Challenge

Bo Muller-Moore next to his new shelving system, which was developed by one of nearly 30 volunteers who helped him deal with an onslaught of orders over the holidays as a result of his wrangle with Chick-fil-A. Photo by Cassandra Hemenway Brush.

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by Peggy Munro

In 1999, my family and I made an uncer-tain landfall in Vermont. Now, 13 years later, we can look back on a turbulent

adventure that has given us a quality family life and a profitable and fulfilling business. As 2012 begins, my business has become a muscular enterprise. I have learned much, since I first hung out my shingle, about the business of business; I have discovered that I do not need to park my values at the door in order to foster success but can instead incor-porate them into my business model.

My time as my own boss has been a cru-cible of learning, though, I admit, not every strategy I have tried has been a winner. What follows is some of the essential knowledge I have acquired regarding what it takes to suc-ceed in business.

Passion for what you do is not enough; you must like what you do and be good enough at it to attract customers. But pay attention to the details. Businesses do not run them-selves; just because you do not like looking after the details does not mean the details do not need looking after.

Be ready with a plan but be equally ready to amend it or ditch it altogether if it is not working. Waiting for the critical mass of people you need to make your business a success will not happen if what you are offer-ing is not adequate to their needs. Never be afraid to tweak your model and evolve.

You are in business to be in business, but both you and your employees must derive professional satisfaction; your clients, con-sumer approval. You must know what it is that makes your business different, what services or goods you provide that set you apart, and how much you earn from each. If I do not know what types of tax returns or advice are profitable, and those that are not, I cannot properly structure my business.

Learn what you can delegate and what you cannot (or should not). Every job in my office carries the same job description—no one does anything that I will not, or have not, done before. But there are certain things that I, and only I, do, including signing

checks, preparing bills and reconciling my bank statement. Ultimately, it is my busi-ness, and I need to make the determinations of how much to charge, and what and who to pay.

Everything works better when you collabo-rate. You hired your employees—take advan-tage of the strengths that each of them brings to his or her job. Ask what would make their jobs more satisfying, or what might produce a better product for your customers. Invite and value your employees’ opinions; their eyes have different blinders than yours and so may well see what you cannot.

Value your employees as highly as you value yourself and your business. Creating a new job takes courage on your part and pro-vides a challenge to the person filling the job. Take your time and do it right, while at the same time leaving yourself an exit strategy (a probationary period, for example) should the relationship falter, or the business suffer. But if it does work out, make sure that, as your bottom line increases, theirs does too. Remember, their hard work is a large com-ponent of your successful business.

Making money is important, but it cannot be the only reason you are in business. Too often, the business picks up an unsustainable level of speed that leads to employer and employee burnout. It is far more important to do a great job for fewer clients and grow slowly, than to expand too fast and lose clients for whom you’ve done a less-than-stellar job. Developing and nurturing repeat customers is easier, cheaper and ultimately far more rewarding than chasing transient business.

You run your business; your business should not run you! You are in business for yourself, and your ultimate success or failure rests squarely on your shoulders, but you still need a life beyond work. Make sure that you always remain in control, and that you have a means to pull back at those times you feel like you’re married to your business instead of your partner.

Remember to take pleasure in your busi-ness endeavors. If you do not, neither will your employees or your customers. The man-ager sets the tone of the office or store; make sure it is a warm and positive tone.

Finally, never lose sight of the fact that your business is a living, breathing and ever-changing organism. While my business model may work today, the outside world may completely rewrite the rules tomorrow. My success and yours will rest completely on our abilities to meet this changing world. In business, it is never enough to rest on your past successes; you must always rise to meet your future challenges.

Margaret Atkins Munro, EA, is a licensed tax professional living in Essex Junction. She is the author of 529 & Other College Savings Plans for Dummies and coauthor of Taxes 2009 for Dummies and Estate & Trust Ad-ministration for Dummies (coauthored with Kathryn A. Murphy, Esq.).

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Upcoming EventsFRIDAY, JANUARY 6Name Th at Movie!Try to come up with the titles of movies by watching a fun barrage of short clips. It’s Happy Hour in the dark! Free popcorn, drink specials and prizes.5 p.m. Th e CineClub (downstairs at the Savoy Th eater), Montpelier. $2.50. 229-0598. Event happens every fi rst Friday.

Th e Alexander TechniqueWith Katie Back. Improve your sense of well-being, feel more present and alive, and regain the natural grace and poise of a child. For all ages and bodies.6–7:30 p.m. Hunger Mountain Coop community room, Montpelier. $3 member/owners, $5 non-members. Register at 223-8004, ext. 202, or [email protected].

Reading by Sydney Lea and Gladys Swan, Former VCFA FacultyPart of a series of public readings by visiting writers, hosted by the MFA in Writing program.7 p.m. Chapel, Vermont College of Fine Arts, Montpelier. Free. 828-8613.

Full Moon Snowshoe HikeExplore and enjoy Montpelier’s hillsides by lunar light with nature center staff . Snowshoes and hot chocolate provided.7 p.m. North Branch Nature Center, 713 Elm Street, Montpelier. $3 members, $5 nonmembers. 229-6206.

Coff eehouseEnjoy live music and share your own. Fellowship, potluck snacks and beverages.7–9 p.m. Trinity United Methodist Church, 137 Main Street, Montpelier (park and enter at rear). Free. Dick, 244-5191, 472-8297 or [email protected]. Event happens every fi rst Friday.

Amahl and the Night VisitorsA story for all ages, featuring local actors. Preceded by a concert of musical selections by organist Arthur B. Zorn and the Bethany Church Choir.8 p.m. Bethany Church, 115 Main Street, Montpelier. Suggested donation $10 adult, $25 family of three or more. 223-2424, ext. 224, or [email protected]. Performance repeats Sunday, January 8.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 7Youth Birding Program: Midwinter Bald Eagle SurveyTeen and preteen birders monitor wintering bald eagles on the lower portion of the Winooski.9 a.m.–5 p.m. North Branch Nature Center, 713 Elm Street, Montpelier. Free for youth. 229-6206.

Montpelier Winter Farmers’ MarketLive music by Lily and the Late Bloomers.10 a.m.–2 p.m. Gym, Vermont College of Fine Arts, Montpelier. Carolyn, 223-2958 or [email protected]. Market happens every fi rst and third Saturday through April, except February markets on February 11 and 18.

Contra DanceAll dances taught; no partner necessary. All ages welcome. Bring soft-soled shoes.8–11 p.m. Capital City Grange, Northfi eld Street/Route 12 (just south of Montpelier), Montpelier. $8. 744-6163. Event happens every fi rst, third and fi fth Saturday.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 8Frozen Onion Winter Bike Race in Hubbard ParkChip the icicles off your trusty steed for a race that’s challenging for the hearty but fun enough for a novice. One-, two- or three-lap options.9:30 a.m. registration; 11 a.m. race start. New Shelter, Hubbard Park, Montpelier. $25, in-cludes lunch and benefi ts the Vermont Mountain Bike Association. Carrie or Kip, 229-9409 or [email protected].

Contact Improv Class for BeginnersLearn to cultivate your awareness and listening skills, fi nd ease in your movements and safely move with other people. Accessible to all levels of skill and mobility.10–11 a.m. class; 11–noon open jam. $5–$10 sliding scale class and jam, $3–$5 jam only. Con-temporary Dance and Fitness Studio, 18 Langdon Street (third fl oor), Montpelier. 318-3927.

Local Healers Herbalist Program Open HouseBrunch potluck, herbal barter blanket and mini healing treatments. Meet graduates and learn about the March–November 2012 herbalism program with Sandra Lory.11 a.m.–2 p.m. Tulsi Tea Room, 34 Elm Street, Montpelier. Free. mandalabotanicalsvt.com.

Amahl and the Night VisitorsSee Friday, January 6, for description. Note change in time.3 p.m. Bethany Church, 115 Main Street, Montpelier. Suggested donation $10 adult, $25 family of three or more. 223-2424, ext. 224, or [email protected].

Film Series: Migrant Workers in Vermont, Immigration and GlobalizationExplore what life is like for Vermont’s undocumented workers, as well as global infl uences and policies. Today’s fi lm: Under the Cloak of Darkness. Facilitated discussion follows.3–5 p.m. Unitarian Church of Montpelier, 130 Main Street, Montpelier. Free. Madeline, 229 5951. Event happens every second and fourth Sunday through April.

Weston A. Price Foundation MeetingLearn about eating local, recreating the traditional diets of our ancestors and bypassing the industrialized food system, including a demo on making lacto-fermented ketchup at home.3–5 p.m. Turkey Hill Farm, Randolph Center. 728-7064 or [email protected].

Shape Note/Sacred Harp SingNo experience needed. All welcome.5–7 p.m. Plainfi eld Community Center (above the co-op). By donation. 426-3849 or 426-3850. Event happens every second Sunday.

Goddard MFAW Faculty Reading With Kyle Bass, Ryan Boudinot, Victoria Nelson, Kenny Fries and Beatrix Gates.

7–8 p.m. Haybarn Th eater, Goddard College, 123 Pitkin Road, Plainfi eld. 454-8311 or goddard.edu.

MONDAY, JANUARY 9Networking Luncheon: From Shoebox to Spreadsheet With business counselor Mary Johnson. Learn how to get your business bookkeeping in order in a way that works for you. Bring receipts, lunch and marketing materials for your business.11:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. Vermont Women’s Business Center, 8 South Main Street, Barre. Free. Mary, 479-7439 or [email protected].

Goddard MFAW Faculty Reading With Deborah Brevboort, Elena Georgiou, Susan Kim, Michael Klein and Jeanne Mackin.1:15–2:15 p.m. Haybarn Th eater, Goddard College, 123 Pitkin Road, Plainfi eld. 454-8311 or goddard.edu.

Do-it-Yourself Localvore Body Care Series: From the Neck DownWith Dana L. Woodruff , community herbalist and health educator. Using pronounceable, familiar, ethical ingredients, learn how to make your own skin-care products. Everyone will bring home a product we’ll make together and a handout of entirely localvore recipes. 6–7:30 p.m. Hunger Mountain Coop community room, Montpelier. $10 member/own-ers, $12 nonmembers, or 2 Onion River Exchange hours. Register at 223-8004, ext. 202, or [email protected].

Book Discussion Group: Navigating the Coming ChaosFacilitators Fran Weinbaum and Chris Miller lead a discussion of Carolyn Baker’s newest book. Sponsored by Transition Town Montpelier.6:30–7:45 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier. 249-7377, 454-1713 or carolynbaker.net.

Group MeditationPeople of all abilities and experience levels welcome for meditation and discussion based on Adyashanti’s writings and talks.6:30–8 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier. Sherry, 479-3223, or easeoffl ow.com.

Osgood Lectures on the North: From Northern Studies to a Circumpolar WorldSteven B. Young and Kathleen Osgood of the Center for Circumpolar Studies speak about the Arctic and sub-Arctic’s importance in climate change, knowledge from traditional cultures, and energy and mineral resources.7 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier. Free. 223-3338.

Capital Orchestra Rehearsals ResumeCommunity orchestra designed for adult amateurs. No audition required. Violins, violas, French horns and trombones especially needed. All orchestral players welcome. Culminates in concert on Sunday, April 15. 7–9 p.m. U-32 School band room. $60 for the semester. Joan, 223-8610 or [email protected].

Goddard MFAW Visiting Writer Series: Screenwriter Chris MillisSpecial advance screening of Small Apartments, starring Billy Crystal and Rosie Perez, intro-duced by visiting screenwriter and Goddard alum Chris Millis. 7–9 p.m. Haybarn Th eater, Goddard College, 123 Pitkin Road, Plainfi eld. 454-8311 or goddard.edu.

TUESDAY, JANUARY 10Th ird Anniversary of the Trinity Community Th rift Store 10 a.m.–4 p.m. 137 Main Street, Montpelier. 229-9155.

Savvy SeniorsVolunteer senior actors provide comical performances about issues such as health-care fraud, identity theft, telemarketing and mail fraud, drug diversion and medication management. 12:15 p.m., St. Augustine’s Church Hall, 16 Barre Street, Montpelier. Free. Hosted by the Mont-pelier Senior Activity Center. 223-2518.

Goddard MFAW Faculty Reading With Rogelio Martinez, John McManus, Jan Clausen and Richard Panek.1:45–2:40 p.m. Haybarn Th eater, Goddard College, 123 Pitkin Road, Plainfi eld. 454-8311 or goddard.edu.

Walk with the Green Mountain Club, Montpelier SectionEasy walk in Montpelier. About 3 miles.Meet at 2 p.m. in front of the Vermont Historical Society, 109 State Street, Montpelier. Ron Mer-kin, 249-7116 or [email protected].

THE BRIDGE CALENDAR OF E VENTS JANUARY 5 –18 , 2012 • PAGE C1

see UPCOMING EVENTS, page C2

TENORES DE ATERÚE: SONGS FROM SARDINIA, CORSICA, AND ITALYTh e quartet performs Cantu a Tenores songs (tradi-tional polyphonic Sardinian a capella music), plus songs from Corsica and the Italian lauda tradition.Sunday, January 8, 7 p.m. Bethany Church, 115 Main Street, Montpelier. $10–$12 suggested donation. Avery, 919-866-8822 or [email protected].

PAGE C2 • JANUARY 5 –18 , 2012 THE BRIDGE CALENDAR OF E VENTS

Introduction to AcupunctureJosh Singer, licensed acupuncturist, gives a basic overview of Oriental medicine and how it encourages healthy aging by preventing illness, maintaining good health, managing disease and reducing pain. 4–5 p.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 46 Barre Street, Montpelier. Free. 223-2518.

Assessment of Prior Learning WebinarAn opportunity for students to earn college credit at the Community College of Vermont for prior learning acquired on the job or in other settings.6–7 p.m. Log onto vscmeeting.adobeconnect.com/apl and join as “Guest”; Internet and speakers or headphones required. Free. ccv.edu/apl.

Empowering Your Intentions: Going Beyond Hopes and Wants With Fred Cheyette. Learn how to set intentions in a way that empowers them for both the big issues in your life and the everyday stuff.6–7:30 p.m. Hunger Mountain Coop community room, Montpelier. Free. Register at 223-8004, ext. 202, or [email protected].

Quilting GroupWorking meeting of the Dog River Quilters.6 p.m. Maplewood Quilts, 29 East Street, Northfield. 223-7984. Event happens every second Tuesday.

Goddard MFAW Visiting Writer Series: Memoirist Mary Johnson Literary reading and Q&A with Mary Johnson, MFAW alum and author of An Unquenchable Thirst: Following Mother Teresa in Search of Love, Service, and an Authentic Life. 7–8:30 p.m. Haybarn Theater, Goddard College, 123 Pitkin Road, Plainfield. 454-8311 or god-dard.edu.

MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults: Public ReadingsFeaturing faculty members Alan Cumyn, Coe Booth, Mary Quattlebaum, Amanda Jenkins and Sharon Darrow.7:30–8:30 p.m. Chapel, Vermont College of Fine Arts, Montpelier. Free. 828-8613.

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 11The Status of Social SecurityJohn Bloch, president of the Vermont Alliance for Retired Americans, talks about the history of Social Security and the present political situation affecting the program.4–5 p.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 46 Barre Street, Montpelier. Free. 223-2518.

Foot Reflexology for HealthWith Alicia Feltus, foot reflexologist. Enjoy an aromatherapy foot bath and learn basic reflexol-ogy techniques and benefits, as well as self-care to promote health and well-being.5:30–6:30 p.m. Hunger Mountain Coop community room, Montpelier. $5 member/owners, $8 nonmembers. Register at 223-8004, ext. 202, or [email protected].

Book Reading and Discussion: Farms and Garden SeriesJanuary’s book: Second Nature: A Gardener’s Education, by Michael Pollan. Discussion led by Rachael Cohen. Books available for loan at the library. Part of a monthly series through April.6:30 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Free. 223-3338. Cosponsored by the Vermont Humanities Council.

MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults: Public ReadingsFeaturing faculty member Uma Krishnaswami and visiting writers Libba Bray and Marla Frazee.7–8 p.m. Chapel, Vermont College of Fine Arts, Montpelier. Free. 828-8613.

Why Do Children Play in Waldorf Early Childhood Education?Early childhood teachers at Orchard Valley Waldorf School lead a conversation on play and playful learning and why it is important to our children’s well-being and development. 7–8:30 p.m. Child’s Garden, 155 Northfield Street, Montpelier. Free. ovws.org.

Goddard MFAW Visiting Writer Series: Novelist Cara HoffmanHoffman, an MFAW alum, reads from her debut novel So Much Pretty. Q&A follows.7–8:30 p.m. Haybarn Theater, Goddard College, 123 Pitkin Road, Plainfield. 454-8311 or goddard.edu.

Potential Health Concerns of Wireless DevicesWith Ray Pealer, an East Calais resident and state expert on wireless technology. 7 p.m. Jaquith Public Library, Old Schoolhouse Common, 122 School Street, Marshfield. Free. 426-3581 or [email protected].

THURSDAY, JANUARY 12Goddard MFAW Faculty Reading With Rachel Pollack, Rahna Reiko Rizzuto, Darcey Steinke and Paul Selig.4:30–5:30 p.m. Haybarn Theater, Goddard College, 123 Pitkin Road, Plainfield. 454-8311 or goddard.edu.

Remembering Samuel Coleridge Taylor Dr. William Tortolano, professor and organist at St. Michael’s College, gives an illustrated lecture on Taylor (1875–1912), an anglo-black composer, conductor and educator.7 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Free. 223-3338.

Middlesex Historical Society Annual MeetingAnnual meeting of the board of directors, election of officers, event planning for 2012, and sharing of old Middlesex photos and other memorabilia. 7 p.m. First-floor library, Heaton Woods Assisted Living Center, 10 Heaton Street, Montpelier. Free. Patty, 272-8074 or [email protected].

Ecumenical GroupSongs of praise, Bible teaching, fellowship.7–9 p.m. Jabbok Center for Christian Living, 8 Daniel Drive, Barre. Free. 476-3873. Event hap-pens every second and fourth Thursday.

House Concert with Paul Lefebvre and Susan ReidStories from the Northeast Kingdom and tunes to match with Lefebvre, author of Perimeter Check: Essays from the Upper Kingdom, and fiddler/singer Reid.7:30 p.m. Montpelier. $10 suggested donation. Contact Susan, 229-1403 or [email protected], for reservations and directions.

MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults: Public ReadingsFeaturing faculty members Martine Leavitt, Betsy Partridge, An Na, Franny Billingsley and Shelley Tanaka.7:30–8:30 p.m. Chapel, Vermont College of Fine Arts, Montpelier. Free. 828-8613.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 13Story Time Dance with Green Mountain Performing Arts For kids age 3–6. 10–11 a.m. Waterbury Congregational Church, 8 North Main Street, Waterbury. Register at the Waterbury Public Library or call 244-7036.

Italian Dinner at Maple Corner Community CenterChef and caterer Beth Ann Porter and high-school Montpelier to Thailand Eight travelers cook up an Italian feast.5–8 p.m. Maple Corner Community Center. $15 adult, $10 child. Linda, 229-6932.

The Life and Training of a Contemporary Druid With Fearn Lickfield and Ivan McBeth of Green Mountain Druid Order. Learn about the magical, mysterious and empowering world of modern druids.5:30–7:30 p.m. Hunger Mountain Coop community room, Montpelier. By donation. Register at 223-8004, ext. 202, or [email protected].

Goddard College Concerts: Session Americana With Wooden Dinosaur.7 p.m. Haybarn Theater, Goddard College, 123 Pitkin Road, Plainfield. $12 in advance, $15 day of show. Tickets at Buch Spieler in Montpelier or wgdr.or/concerts.

MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults: Public ReadingsFeaturing faculty members Julie Larios, April Lurie, Bonnie Christensen, Mark Karlins and Rita Williams-Garcia.7:45–8:45 p.m. Chapel, Vermont College of Fine Arts, Montpelier. Free. 828-8613.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 14Ski with the Young Adventurers ClubKids age 0–6 and their grown-ups get outdoors for an easy ski to play, learn and make friends. Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe. Trail fee applies. Part of the Montpelier Section of the Green Mountain Club.Call leader Lexi Shear, 229-9810, for meeting time and place.

Ski with the Green Mountain Club, Montpelier SectionModerate skiing at Millstone Hill Touring Center. Various distances. Trail fee applies. Meet at 9 a.m. at Montpelier High School. Eric Seidel, 223-1406 or [email protected].

UPCOMING EVENTS, from page C1

Live MusicBAGITOS28 Main Street, Montpelier. All shows 6–8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 229-9212 or bagitos.com.Every MondayOpen mic, 6–9 p.m.Every TuesdayJazz sessionsEvery WednesdayBlues jam (except during comedy open mic)Every SaturdayIrish/Celtic session, 2–5 p.m.Saturday, January 7The Aristocratic Peasants: Michael Jermyn, Eric Fernald, Siena Facciolo and friendsSunday, January 8Eric Friedman, 11 a.m.–1 p.m.

Wednesday, January 11Comedy open mic, 6:30–8 p.m.Thursday, January 12Big Hat, No Cattle Saturday, January 14Nancy Smith and friendsSunday, January 15Miles & Murphy, 11 a.m.–1 p.m.Thursday, January 19Allison Mann and Colin McCaffrey

BLACK DOOR44 Main Street, Montpelier. All shows start at 9:30 p.m. with $5 cover unless otherwise noted. 223-7070.Friday, January 6Evan Crandell and the Two Hot Too Handle (funk)Saturday, January 7Katie Trautz and the Tall Boys CD release party (folk/country)Wednesday, January 11Comedy Night open mic with B.O.B.

Friday, January 13The Heckhounds (country/blues)Wednesday, January 18Swing night with the Missing Cats Trio, 7:30 p.m.

CHARLIE O’S70 Main Street, Montpelier. 223-6820.Friday, January 6Abby Jenne and the Enablers (rock)Saturday, January 7White Zin (Americana)Friday, January 13The Move It Move It (afro-pop)Wednesday, January 18Kosha Dillz, Aleck Woog and Loud One, Mr. Yee and Tank (hip-hop)

LADDER 1 GRILL8 South Main Street, Barre. 883-2000Every WednesdayMexican Night with Chris and Jon Mari-neau, 6–8:30 p.m.

POSITIVE PIE 222 State Street, Montpelier. 229-0453 or positivepie.com.Saturday, January 7The Township (rock/metal) with Bad Dog and the Concrete Rivals, 10 p.m., $5, 21+Friday, January 13Champagne Dynasty CD release party (pop/hip-hop/electro/dance), 10:30 p.m., $5, 21+

SKINNY PANCAKE89 Main Street, Montpelier. 262-2253 or skinnypancake.com.Every SundayOld-time sessions with Katie Trautz and friends, 4–6 p.m. (intermediate to advanced players welcome to sit in)

Ø

SUBMIT YOUR [email protected]

THE BRIDGE CALENDAR OF E VENTS JANUARY 5 –18 , 2012 • PAGE C3

Discover Waldorf Early EducationPuppet show and free play for children age 2 ½–6, while parents meet faculty and learn about the programs and philosophy of Waldorf early education.10 a.m.–noon. Child’s Garden, 155 Northfield Street, Montpelier. Free. ovws.org.

Acro Yoga Montreal Workshop with Lori Mortimer10 a.m.–noon. River House Yoga, Plainfield. Register at 324-1737 or sattvayoga.wordpress.com.

M2T8 12-Hour Walk-a-thonTeams of three walkers each take turns walking for 12 hours. Music, fun, food and prizes. 10 a.m.–10 p.m. Gym, Vermont College of Fine Arts, Montpelier. $75 team; benefits Montpelier to Thailand Eight. Register with Linda, 229-6932.

Summit School Winter Folk Music FestivalFiddle and banjo workshops with Pete Sutherland, followed by an evening concert with Pete Sutherland, Jeremiah McLane, Sarah Blair and Sheesham and Lotus. Workshops at 1 and 3 p.m. at Summit School, 46 Barre Street, Montpelier; concert at 7:30 p.m. at the Black Door, 44 Main Street, Montpelier. $25 workshop, $15 concert, $90 for entire weekend. summit-school.org. Event continues Sunday, January 15.

Intergenerational Gaming DayBring a friend or meet some new ones. Bring a game or play one from the library’s collection.1–4 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Children’s Library. Free. 223-4665.

Adamant Winter Music SeriesJairo Sequeira, Miriam Bernardo and Ruth Einstein. Optional potluck before the show.5:30 p.m., potluck; 7 p.m., concert. Adamant Community Club, intersection of Haggett and Mar-tin Roads. $10 in advance at the Adamant Coop, $15 at the door.

Dharma Film Series: The Wavy Gravy Movie: Saint MisbehavingExplore the life of longtime clown and political activist Wavy Gravy with this documentary, following the popular figure for more than 10 years with commentary from Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Patch Adams, Steve Earle and Buffy Saint Marie.7 p.m. Shambhala Center, third floor, 64 Main Street (across from the fire station), Montpelier. $3 suggested donation. Neville, 224-1001 or [email protected].

Braving the Cold/Creating Some HeatUndergraduate study and collaborative dance works by Kiera Sauter and Vermont artists.7 p.m. Contemporary Dance and Fitness Studio, 18 Langdon Street (third floor), Montpelier. $5-$10 suggested donation. 229-4676 or cdandfs.com.

MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults: Public ReadingsFeaturing faculty members Margaret Bechard, Leda Schubert, Tom Birdseye, Susan Fletcher and Matt de la Peña.7–8 p.m. Chapel, Vermont College of Fine Arts, Montpelier. Free. 828-8613.

SUNDAY, JANUARY 15Summit School Winter Folk Music FestivalSinging workshop with Brendan Taffe, followed by an afternoon concert with the Speckers and local female duet Mayfly.Workshop at 1 p.m. at Summit School, 46 Barre Street, Montpelier; concert at 3 p.m. at the Savoy Theater, Montpelier. $25 workshop, $15 concert, $90 for entire weekend. summit-school.org.

MONDAY, JANUARY 16Flood Relief: Information for Elders and Adults with DisabilitiesPresentation on the scale and impact of the flooding and continuing needs for elders and adults with disabilities. Q&A, resources for flood victims and free lunch. 11 a.m.–1 p.m. Barre Senior Center. Free. If you need transportation to or from the event, contact Neighbor to Neighbor at 479-8545 by Thursday, January 12.

Martin Luther King Jr. DayAuthor Elise Guyette talks about the research for her book Discovering Black Vermont: African American Farmers in Hinesburgh 1790-1890, about free blacks in northern Vermont.Noon, Vermont History Center, 60 Washington Street, Barre; 7 p.m., Vermont History Museum, 109 State Street, Montpelier. Free. Tess, 479-8505.

Free Film Screening: Fat, Sick and Nearly DeadWith Linda Wooliever. The film chronicles Joe Cross’s personal mission to regain his health.5:30–7:30 p.m. Hunger Mountain Coop community room, Montpelier. Free. Register at 223-8004, ext. 202, or [email protected].

TUESDAY, JANUARY 17Ski with the Green Mountain Club, Montpelier SectionCross-country options for all levels at Morse Farm Ski Touring Center. Trail fee applies. Call leader Reidun Nuquist, 223-3550, for meeting time and place.

Free Clinic for Problem Necks and ShouldersRebecca Riley and Irvin Eisenberg, certified structural integrators and massage therapists, offer 20- to 30-minute treatments for neck and shoulder problems.Portals Center for Healing, 28 School Street, Montpelier. Free. Contact Irvin at 223-7678, ext. 2, or [email protected] to schedule your appointment. fascialbodies.com.

Intergenerational Storytime at the Senior CenterStories, songs and activity for preschool-age children, their families and seniors.10:30 a.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 46 Barre Street, Montpelier. Free. 223-2518 or 223-4665. Event repeats Wednesday, January 18, and Friday, January 20.

Waterbury Public Library Teen Advisory Group Meeting3:30–5 p.m. Waterbury Public Library. Snacks provided. 244-7036.

Enzymes: You Can’t Live Without Them, But You DoWith Peter Farber. Our bodies produce enzymes that catalyze our actions. Learn about how the body works well with these enzymes and suffers without them.6–7 p.m. Hunger Mountain Coop community room, Montpelier. Free. Register at 223-8004, ext. 202, or [email protected].

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18Preschool Discovery Program: Follow That TrackYoungsters age 3–5 investigate the message of tracks, learning where large and small animals that are active all winter go.10–11:30 a.m. North Branch Nature Center, 713 Elm Street, Montpelier. $5 per child. 229-6206. Event repeats Thursday, January 19.

Intergenerational Storytime at the Senior CenterSee Tuesday, January 17, for description; same time and place. Event repeats Friday, January 20.

Grow Your Own MushroomsWith Eric Swanson from Vermush. Learn how to culture and grow mycelium into fungi. Everyone will bring home their own oyster mushroom spawn.5–7 p.m. Hunger Mountain Coop community room, Montpelier. $10 member/owners, $12 non-members. Register at 223-8004, ext. 202, or [email protected].

Webinar: Children’s ‘Misbehavior’ and How to Respond EffectivelyFor teachers, parents and caregivers of children of all ages. Learn how to handle rebellious behavior, sibling rivalry and other “misbehavior.”7–8:30 p.m. Montessori School of Central Vermont, 89 Karl Circle, Berlin. Free. 223-3320.

Ecstatic DanceFreestyle boogie with DJ using Gabrielle Roth’s mediative dance form, 5Rhythms.7–9 p.m. Worcester Town Hall, corner of Elmore Road and Calais Road.$5–$10 donation. Fearn, 505-8011 or [email protected]. Event happens every first and third Wednesday, and fourth Wednesdays at the Plainfield Community Center.

Book Reading Performance: Lanthan Mire: Impending Consequence of DoomPaul Luciano (aka Lucian Harke), a Vermont-based fiction writer and musician, reads from his adventure story, accompanied by musical tracks and a silent movie.7 p.m. Jaquith Public Library, Old Schoolhouse Common, 122 School Street, Marshfield. Free. 426-3581 or [email protected].

Swing Dancing at the Black DoorLesson with Gillian Davis (no partner needed), followed by dancing to live music.7:30–8 p.m., lesson; 8–10 p.m., dance. 44 Main Street, Montpelier. $5 suggested donation. Event happens every first and third Wednesday.

THURSDAY, JANUARY 19Preschool Discovery Program: Follow That TrackSee Wednesday, January 18, for description; same time and place.

Meeting on Disability IssuesShare stories and concerns.1–3 p.m. Vermont Center for Independent Living, 11 East State Street, Montpelier. 639-1522 or 229-0501 (both are also V/TTY numbers). Event happens every third Thursday.

Rural Vermont: Growing Local Food SovereigntyOrganizer Robb Kidd talks about Rural Vermont’s statewide discussion on local food sover-eignty and how Town Meeting Day resolutions can support Vermont’s agricultural heritage.6 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier. Free. 223-3338. Sponsored by Transition Town Montpelier.

Science of Mind PrinciplesStudy group for inquiring minds of all faiths.6–8 p.m. Universal Rivers of Life, 28 East State Street, Suite 4 (second floor), Montpelier. 223-3427 or [email protected]. Event happens every first and third Thursday.

Around the World Travel TalksFeaturing photos and discussion.6 p.m. Cutler Memorial Library, Route 2, Plainfield. Free. 454-8504 or cutlerlibrary.org. Event happens every third Thursday.

Songwriters’ MeetingMeeting of the Northern VT/NH chapter of the Nashville Songwriters Association Interna-tional. Bring copies of your work.6:45 p.m. Catamount Arts, St. Johnsbury. John, 633-2204. Event happens every third Thursday.

Shakespeare Study GroupLed by Tom Blachly. Possible agendas include reading plays aloud, group discussions, watching films, working on dramatic monologues and doing scene work.7 p.m. Jaquith PublicLibrary, Old Schoolhouse Common, Marshfield. 426-3581, [email protected] or marshfield.lib.vt.us. Event happens every third Thursday.

ExhibitsCONTEMPORARY DANCE & FITNESS STUDIOThen and Now, large oils and small water-colors by Jennifer Burger O’Brien.18 Langdon Street (third floor), Montpelier. Through February 2. 229-4676 or cdandfs.com.

GREEN BEAN ART GALLERYThinking Above The Noise, photography by Cassi Stilianessis. Capitol Grounds, 27 State Street, Montpelier. Through January 29. [email protected].

KELLOGG-HUBBARD LIBRARYPeople, drawings and paintings by Glen Coburn Hutcheson. 135 Main Street, Montpelier. Through February 28.

VERMONT HISTORY MUSEUMVermont agriculutral murals by Grace

Brigham, depicting maple sugaring with draft horses, apple picking, farmstead views, chickens, dairy and beef cows.109 State Street, Montpelier. Through spring 2012. 828-2291 or vermonthistory.org.

µTennis Court Chair, Cassi Stilianessis

PAGE C4 • JANUARY 5 –18 , 2012 THE BRIDGE CALENDAR OF E VENTS

Weekly EventsBICYCLINGOpen Shop NightsHave questions or a bike to donate, or need help with a bike repair? Come visit the volunteer-run community bike shop.Tuesdays and Thursdays, 6–8 p.m. Fridays, 4:30–6:30 p.m. Freeride Montpelier, 89 Barre Street, Montpelier. By donation. freeridemontpelier.org.

CRAFTSBeaders GroupAll levels of beading experience welcome. Free instruction available. Come with a project for creativity and community. Saturdays, 11 a.m.–2 p.m. The Bead Hive, Plainfield. 454-1615.

GAMES Apollo Duplicate Bridge ClubAll welcome. Partners sometimes available.Fridays, 6:45 p.m. Bethany Church, Montpe-lier. 485-8990 or 223-3922.

HEALTHFree HIV TestingVermont CARES offers fast oral testing.Thursdays, 1–4 p.m. 73 Main Street, Suite 40, Montpelier. vtcares.org.

KIDS & TEENSThe Basement Teen CenterCable TV, PlayStation 3, pool table, free eats and fun events for teenagers.Monday–Thursday 3–6 p.m.; Friday 3–11 p.m. Basement Teen Center, 39 Main Street, Montpelier. 229-9151.

Story Time at the Waterbury Public LibraryMondays, age 18–36 months. Wednesdays, age 0–18 months. Fridays, age 3–6 years. 10 a.m. Waterbury Public Library. Free. 244-7036.

★ Library Activities for Kids• Story time, Tuesdays, Wednedays and Fri-

days, 10:30–11:30 a.m.• Crafts, first Tuesdays, 3:30 p.m.• Games, second Tuesdays, 3:30 p.m.• Lego club, third Tuesdays, 3:30 p.m.• Teen Advisory Group meeting, fourth Tues-

days, 3:30 p.m.• Chess club, Wednesdays, 5:30 p.m. (call

Robert, 229-1207, for info) • Young Adult Nights (games, movies, food,

crafting and more for youth age 10–17), third Fridays, 6–9 p.m.

Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier. Free. 223-4665.

Youth GroupGames, movies, snacks and music.Mondays, 7–9 p.m. Church of the Crucified One, Route 100, Moretown. 496-4516.

Story Time and PlaygroupStory time: for children age 0–6. Playgroup: story, art, song, nature activities and coopera-tive games. Dress for the weather.Story time: Mondays, 10 a.m. Playgroup: Wednesdays, 10–11:30 a.m. Jaquith Public Li-brary, 122 School Street, Marshfield. 426-3581 or [email protected].

★ Morning PlaygroupStorytelling inspired by seasonal plants, fruits and herbs with in-house astrologer MaryAnna Abuzahra, plus crafts, games and activities. Walk follows. All ages welcome.Tuesdays, 10 a.m. Tulsi Tea Room, 34 Main Street, Montpelier. Free. [email protected].

Second-Language Story TimeTales in American Sign Language, plus monthly special events with native speakers.Tuesdays, 3 p.m. Cutler Memorial Library, Route 2, Plainfield. Free. 454-8504 or cutlerlibrary.org.

Story Time at Onion River KidsFun outdoor adventure tales and childhood classics.Sundays, 10:30 a.m. 7 Langdon Street, Mont-pelier. 223-6025.

LANGUAGELunch in a Foreign LanguageBring lunch and practice your language skills with neighbors.Noon–1 p.m. Mondays, Hebrew. Tuesdays, Ital-ian. Wednesdays, Spanish. Thursdays, French.

Fridays, German. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier. 223-3338.

SPIRITUALITYDeepening Our Jewish RootsFun, engaging text study and discussion on Jewish spirituality.Sundays, 4:45–6:15 p.m. Yearning for Learn-ing Center, Montpelier. Rabbi Tobie Weisman, 223-0583 or [email protected].

Christian Meditation GroupPeople of all faiths welcome.Mondays, noon–1 p.m. Christ Church, Montpe-lier. Regis, 223-6043.

Shambhala Buddhist MeditationInstruction available. All welcome.Sundays, 10 a.m.–noon, and Wednesdays, 6–7 p.m. Program and discussion follow Wednes-day meditation. Shambhala Center, 64 Main Street, Montpelier. Free. 223-5137.

Zen MeditationWednesdays, 6:30–7:30 p.m. 174 River Street, Montpelier. Call Tom for orientation, 229-0164. With Zen Affiliate of Vermont.

SPORTSRoller Derby Open Recruitment and Recreational Practice Central Vermont’s Wrecking Doll Society in-vites quad skaters age 18 and up to try out the action. No experience necessary. Equipment provided: first come, first served.

Saturdays, 5–6:30 p.m. Montpelier Recreation Center, Barre Street. First skate free. centralvermontrollerderby.com.

Coed Adult Floor Hockey LeagueFour teams play one game per week. Equip-ment provided. Sundays, 3–5 p.m. Montpelier Recreation Center, Barre Street. $50 for 10 weeks. Begins January 29: registration required before January 15. 363-1531, [email protected] or vermontfloorhockey.com

THRIFT STORESTrinity Community Thrift StoreTuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.; Sat-urdays, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Trinity United Method-ist Church, 137 Main Street (use rear entrance), Montpelier. 229-9155 or [email protected].

YOGA★ Yoga By DonationWith Lydia Russell. Weaving in seasonal poetry and myth, these intermediate-level Anusara-inspired classes help build strength, flexibility and safe postural alignment. Saturdays, 10–11:15 a.m., Shambhala Center, Montpelier (no class January 28 or February 11); Mondays, 5:30–6:45 p.m., River House Yoga, Plainfield. By donation. saprema-yoga.com

Support GroupsTURNING POINT CENTERSafe, supportive place for individuals and their families in or seeking recovery.• Alchoholics Anonymous, Sundays,

8:30 a.m.• Making Recovery Easier workshops, Tues-

days, 6–7:30 p.m.• Wit’s End Parent Support Group, Wednes-

days, 6 p.m. • Narcotics Anonymous, Thursdays,

6:30 p.m. Open daily, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. 489 North Main Street, Barre. 479-7373.

KINDRED CONNECTIONSFor anyone affected by cancer. Get help from Kindred Connections members whohave been in your shoes. A program of the Vermont Cancer Survivor Network.Call Sherry, 479-3223, for more information. vcsn.net.

BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT GROUPFor anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one.Every other Monday, January 9–April 16, 6–8 p.m. Every other Wednesday, January 4–April 11, 10–11:30 a.m. Central Vermont

Home Health and Hospice, 600 Granger Road, Barre. Ginny, 223-1878.

BRAIN INJURY SUPPORT GROUPSOpen to all survivors, caregivers and adult family members. Evening group facilitated by Marsha Bancroft; day group facilitated by Kathy Grange and Jane Hulstrunk.Evening group meets first Mondays, 5:30–7:30 p.m., DisAbility Rights of Vermont, 141 Main Street, Suite 7, Montpelier, 800-834-7890, ext. 106. Day group meets first and third Thursdays, 1:30–2:30 p.m., Unitarian Church, 130 Main Street, Montpelier, 244-6850.

GRANDPARENTS RAISING THEIR CHILDREN’S CHILDRENFirst Wednesdays, 10 a.m.–noon, Barre Presbyterian Church, Summer Street. Second Tuesdays, 6–8 p.m., Wesley Methodist Church, Main Street, Waterbury. Third Thursdays, 6–8 p.m., Trinity United Methodist Church, 137 Main Street. Child care provided in Montpelier and Waterbury. Evelyn, 476-1480.

FAMILIES OF COLOROpen to all families. Play, eat and discuss is-sues of adoption, race and multiculturalism. Bring snacks and games to share, and dress for the weather.Third Sundays, 3–5 p.m. Unitarian Church, 130 Main Street, Montpelier. Alyson, 439-6096 or [email protected].

BEREAVED PARENTS SUPPORT GROUPFacilitated by Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice (CVHHH).Second Wednesdays, 6–8 p.m. CVHHH, 600 Granger Road, Berlin. Jeneane Lunn, 793-2376.

CELIAC AND FOOD ALLERGY SUPPORT GROUPWith Lisa Masé of Harmonized Cookery.Second Wednesdays, 4:30–6 p.m. Central Vermont Medical Center, conference room 3. [email protected].

CANCER SUPPORT GROUPThird Wednesdays, 6–7:30 p.m. For location, call Carole MacIntyre, 229-5931.

PROSTATE CANCER SUPPORT GROUPThird Wednesdays, 6–7:45 p.m. Conference room 2, Central Vermont Medical Center. 223-2933.

ALZHEIMER’S SUPPORT GROUPSecond Wednesdays, 7–9 p.m. Community National Bank, Barre. 476-5116 or 476-4822.

NAMI: CONNECTIONA peer-led, recovery-oriented group for indi-viduals living with mental illness.First and third Thursdays, 6–7:30 p.m.

Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier. 800-639-6480 or [email protected].

DIABETES DISCUSSION GROUPFocus on self-management. Open to anyone with diabetes and their families.Third Thursdays, 6:30 p.m. The Health Center, Plainfield. Free. Don, 322-6600 or [email protected].

MEN’S GROUPMen discuss challenges of and insights about being male.Thursdays, 6:15–8:15 p.m. 174 Elm Street, Montpelier. Interview required: contact Neil Davis, psychologist-master, 223-3753.

DIABETES SUPPORT GROUPFirst Thursdays, 7–8 p.m. Conference room 3, Central Vermont Medical Center. 371-4152.

OVEREATERS ANONYMOUSTwelve-step program for physically,emotionally and spiritually overcoming overeating.Fridays, noon–1 p.m. Bethany Church, 115 Main Street, Montpelier. 223-3079.

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND, MONTPELIER CHAPTERFirst Saturdays. Lane Shops community room, 1 Mechanic Street, Montpelier. 229-0093.

MONDAY11 a.m.–1 p.m., Unitarian Church, 130 Main Street

TUESDAY 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., Bethany Church, 115 Main Street

WEDNESDAY11 a.m.–12:30 p.m., Christ Church, 64 State Street

THURSDAY11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., Trinity Church, 137 Main Street

FRIDAY11 a.m.–12:30 p.m., St. Augustine Church, 18 Barre Street

SATURDAYSecond Saturdays only, 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., Trinity Church, 137 Main Street (hosted by folks from Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church and First Baptist Church)

SUNDAYLast Sundays only, 4:30–5:30 p.m., Bethany Church, 115 Main Street (hosted by Beth Jacob Synagogue)

Free Community Meals For All in Montpelier

★ indicates new or revised listing


ClassesARTS & CRAFTSPOTTERY CLASSESStarting January 9, Montpelier Mud in Mid-dlesex will be offering wheel and handbuild-ing clay classes to adults, teens and kids. We have new Wednesday and Thursday morning classes. Please check out our website, mont-peliermud.com, or give us a call at 224-7000 for more info. 961 Route 2, Exit 9 off I-89.

TAI CHITAI CHI FOR BEGINNERS Course starts January 17. Slow, gentle movements balance the nervous system and awaken flow of energy. Tuesdays, 7:30–9 p.m. 1 Granite Street, Montpelier. 12-week course. For more information, call Sara Nor-ton, 454-8550.

HWA YU STYLE TAI CHIWinter-spring semester runs 16 weeks. Be-ginners welcome. Mixed level class withample one-on-one instruction, peer support, mentoring. Instructor Ellie Hayes has been teaching Hwa Yu since 1974. Experience for yourself the potential of this ancient martial art. Starting Monday, January 9, 5–5:45 p.m. at 64 Main Street, third floor, Montpelier. Preregister by calling 456-1983.

WRITINGWINTER WRITING CLASSESIntroduction to Memoir: Crafting the Story Within: Mondays, January 16–March 19, $150. Guided Writers’ Group: The Art of Draft and Revision: Fridays, January 13–March 16, $150. Classes meet from 10 a.m.–noon, Christ Church, 64 State Street, Montpelier. Maggie Thompson, MFA, in-structor. To register, or for more information, call 454-4635.

ClassifiedsREAL ESTATEMONTPELIER HOUSE FOR SALE3-bedroom, 2-bath home located just one block from College Street and the Vermont College of Fine Arts green. Sunny, south-fac-ing lot. Fully renovated and well-insulated throughout. Hardwood floors downstairs. Solid bamboo and stone tile floors upstairs. 2-car garage, deck. Low-traffic street. $284,000. 917-2121, [email protected], 4edwardsmyblog.wordpress.com.

OFFICE FOR RENTMontpelier office for rent at 73 Main Street. Private office, plus shared use of confer-ence room and storage room. $212.50 plus electricity per month. Contact Kathy at 229-5754 or e-mail [email protected].

SERVICESHOUSE PAINTERSince 1986. Small interior jobs ideal. Neat, prompt, friendly. Local references. Pitz Quat-trone, 229-4952.



Advertise! 223-5112

by Bob Nuner

The new store at 116 Main Street (next to Main Street Grill and Bar) takes full advantage of anything useful that

comes its way. T&T Repeats opened Decem-ber 14, the work of partners Tom Moore and Tonya Wescom. The two sell reusable used items: Clothing, dinnerware, antiques, mov-ies, household goods, even tools, which “go right out the door,” says Moore. To start, the pair invested life savings and bought out two thrift stores, did a garage clean-out, and took some donations.

T&T replenishes its stock by providing a means for people to get rid of what they no longer need. Moore has provided clean-out services that enable him to discover salable items while providing a service—and some-times a little cash—to donors, and he is always on the lookout for things of potential interest to customers.

Discussing T&T’s inventory, Moore men-tions name-brand pants, shirts and dresses, as well as antiques priced “not at antique prices.” He says it’s all about reusing things: Bags from the local supermarket, boxes from cus-tomers, shirts for $5, pants for $6, a working 80-year-old adjustable-speed crank-up pho-nograph and needles, chests, lamps.

Moore says T&T Repeats is off to a great start: “We’re making a go of it. We have a goal every day, and we’re making it.” Moore reports that an enthusiastic customer told him the store is “like a New York City bou-tique.” He said a City Hall employee told him the shop was just what Montpelier needed.

Moore and Wescom started the store after Moore landed in partial unemployment and took stock of opportunities in this economy. Without the job he’d held for six years, he had taken a job at Bob’s Sunoco, where he still works. While visiting thrift stores, Wescomb said, “We can do this,” and the realization crystallized. After finding the Montpelier location, Wescom told Moore, “This is the one I want.” The store has hardwood floors, three dressing rooms and basement storage. Wescom and Moore are clearly energized by the project they’ve undertaken. Moore says, “We’re excited about it,” and both are ef-fusive about the opportunity to “get to meet new people and say hello.” Moore has lived in Montpelier for two decades, arriving just after the ’92 flood, and has been on the call force with the Montpelier Fire Department for 19 years.

T&T Repeats is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day. “The kids are grown up and gone, so this is our baby now,” Moore says.

Waste Not, Want NotNew Thrift Store Opens in Montpelier

Tom Moore and Tonya Wescom in their new store, T&T Repeats. Photo by Bob Nuner.


by Robbie Harold

When our minibuses pull up at the Jikaze Poultry Village entrance, we’re met by soldiers in berets and

camo brandishing AK-47s. Uh-oh, I think for a moment, those Somali terrorists we’ve been hearing about have taken over the village. But they’re Kenyan army troops, brought in for the occasion to protect the visitors.

In November, I joined a Ford Foundation group visiting rural Kenya to check on the progress of their livelihood support programs. Of all the vivid memories of the rolling green plains of the Maasai Mara, of free-roaming animals I’d only seen in zoos, and a vibrant culture of dance and music, the image that has stuck with me is this village of tin-roofed mud houses built by refugees along the Rift Valley escarpment north of Nairobi.

Behind the soldiers, children playing in the village’s main dirt street stop to stare at the stream of white faces emerging from the buses. Shyly they come forward to greet us, guided by parents and grandparents in their Sunday suits. The kids follow us while we tour the commu-nity their elders have wrested from the dry earth.

In July 2008, over 800 internally displaced persons (IDPs), fleeing the ethnic violence that fol-lowed the country’s 2008 presidential elec-tion, came to live together in the Jikaze Camp on the east side of Kenya’s Lake Naivasha in the Southern Rift Valley, an hour north of Nairobi. They’d lost parents, husbands, wives, children, homes, land, farms and busi-nesses, fleeing with only the clothes on their back and a few household possessions.

At first they lived in tents and relied on government food deliveries and, as Kenyans charmingly put it, contributions from “bene-factors and well-wishers.” But they soon turned to the hard work of rebuilding homes, families and livelihoods. They pooled the small cash allotments they’d received from the national government and bought 17 acres of semiarid land along the Mai Mahiu-Naiva-sha Road.

They tried growing cash crops, but a couple of drought years killed them off. Next came

the chicks they planned to raise for eggs and meat. But they lost most of the first wave of chickens to Newcastle virus and other avian infectious diseases. So the Jikaze families tried again, this time with the aid of the Ke-nyan Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) in nearby Naivasha, and a small grant from the Ford Foundation.

So far, the third time’s been the charm. Fif-teen at a time, the villagers have been going through a certification program that conveys the basics of poultry husbandry, including the all-important vaccination steps needed for prevention of Newcastle disease and other epidemics. Today, we’re here to help celebrate the graduation of the second class and the relative prosperity the chickens have brought to the village.

In addition to the training programs, KARI has been developing strains of “improved in-digenous chickens,” who lay more eggs and produce more meat, with each household receiving 100 chicks to start out. With Ford’s help, KARI has provided funds to build the poultry sheds. Villagers sell the grown

chickens to local resi-dents, travelers on the highway and area res-taurants.

Seventeen acres shared by a 145 households comes out to about a 20-by-25-foot plot per

household (average household size is five to six people). Each fenced plot contains a small one-room house with wattle-and-daub walls and a corrugated metal roof. Adjacent to the house is the poultry shed, where growing flocks of contented-looking chickens roost, cluck and peck at their feed. In the kitchen gardens, kales, squashes and castor-oil plants struggle up towards the sun.

As we move from one plot to another, owners gently point out boxes of disinfectant-soaked wood shavings for us to dip our feet at each gate to prevent the spread of germs. Healthy flocks are, and will be, the lifeblood of this little community.

After the tour we gather in a festive tent for the diploma ceremony. One by one the graduates rise and thank God for the many blessings he has bestowed on them. They praise Frank, my husband’s gruff and cynical boss at Ford, as an instrument of God’s good-

ness because of the support the foundation has brought them.

At this point I, a long-time heathen, find myself choking up. These are people who’ve been driven from their homes, who’ve seen friends and relatives killed, who’ve been through things that no one should have to live through. By any standard, they’re im-poverished. They’ve struggled through crop failures and flock deaths and now they have little huts with tiny garden plots and a few chickens, and they feel wealthy and blessed. Faith or folly?

I watch the kids in their colorful clothes

playing in the dirt street. Emily Dickinson’s lines come to mind:

Hope is the thing with feathersThat perches in the soulAnd sings the tune—without the wordsAnd never stops at all.How do you put your life back together

when you’ve lost everything? Well, you could start with a few chickens.

Robbie Harold is a novelist currently work-

ing on her second historical mystery. She lives in Montpelier.

The Thing With FeathersAdventures in Kenya

Photo by Robbie Harold.

EPR BiofeedbackStress & Pain Relief • Reduces Anxiety Aids in Weight Loss & Smoking Cessation

Nan Kenney, CBT, CPT

Riverside Chiropractic136 Main Street,

[email protected]

802-274-0634

Travel


Ask The Home Team

This column is produced by Efficiency Ver-mont, a nonprofit organization that provides energy-efficiency information and services and is funded by a surcharge on utility bills. The three members of the Home Team, Kathleen Brown, Bob Murphy and Li Ling, are staffers at Efficiency Vermont. For more informa-tion or to submit a question, go to efficiency vermont.com/askthehometeam or call, toll-free, 888-921-5990.

My daughter recently discovered that, when we have a fire going in the fireplace, we can feel a steady draft of cold air coming in around the front door. We’re writing to you about this because our furnace kicks on as the draft passes by the thermostat. In your energy work, have you run across this? Please tell me it doesn’t mean we’ve got to stop using the fireplace in order to save heating fuel!

Your daughter discovered something that can happen in any house with a fireplace. Chimneys do a good job of drawing more than smoke out of the house; they also pull warm air out of the house. As warm air is lost up the chimney, equal amounts of cold air are drawn into the house from outdoors. That’s why your front-door draft happens. In fact, it’s also why outside air enters through gaps throughout the house. Typical places include around windows, plumbing vents, wire pathways and more. That’s why wing-back chairs are traditional around fireplaces; they help protect people from the draft com-ing toward the fireplace.

The result is a costly cycle, because your central heating system then works harder to replace the lost heat and to compensate for the incoming cold air. This phenomenon is at its worst on the coldest days of the year, when we’re itching to get by the fire.

You can take steps to reduce the drafts and heat loss. First, see that the damper is shut when the fireplace isn’t in use, after all ashes have gone cold. Fireplace doors also help. Caulk around the house’s window frames and exterior door frames and use weather

stripping on exterior doors, too. In fact, finding and sealing up air leaks is one of the most cost-effective energy-saving improve-ments you can make to a house, whether or not it has a fireplace. A Home Performance with Energy Star contractor can do a com-prehensive job of air sealing, including at key points between the house and the attic, as well as use diagnostic equipment to ensure the fireplace will have sufficient combus-tion air even after comprehensively sealing your home. Efficiency Vermont offers up to $2,500 in rebates for energy-saving improve-ments completed by one of these specially trained and certified contractors. Learn more and find a contractor at efficiency vermont.com. Low-income Vermonters can get similar services for free at helpforvt.org.

—Kathleen for the Home Team

A friend of mine says I can get free hot water if I connect my hot-water piping to my woodstove. Does this really work?

Some woodstoves are manufactured with water-heater connections, and some are de-signed only for space heat. This is an impor-tant distinction, because it can be dangerous to convert a space-heat stove into one that also heats water.

I’m all for do-it-yourself jobs, but ret-rofitting a space-heat woodstove isn’t one of them. The system must be engineered, installed and inspected by a professional. Extreme care must be given to the installa-tion of any kind of woodstove water-heating system to prevent overheated water, which poses an explosion hazard. In order to be safe, any such system must have its own expansion tank and pressure-relief valve, as well as circulating pumps and a way to dis-sipate the water heat if the hot-water tank’s aquastat has been satisfied. Another risk is that improperly diverted heat can mean that toxic gases in the stove may become cool enough to be unable to rise up the chim-ney under certain conditions. Those trapped gases enter your house when you open the stove door.

If you have a stove that’s designed by the manufacturer to provide both space heat and water heat, yes, it will work. But it’s a bit misleading to call the hot water free; it costs you, just as the hot air from the stove costs you, in wood. You see, there’s a fixed amount of heat produced by any heating system. If you redirect some of it for a dif-ferent use (hot water), you’ll need to produce more total heat to make up for the loss to the first use (hot air). I hope this answers your question.

—Li Ling for the Home Team



Architectural sketch of the new office building going up on Stone Cutters Way in Montpelier. The building, a spec project of Connor Contracting, will have its windows, siding and roof installed within the next couple of months. “From the outside, it will look finished,” said Project Manager Andrew Tetreault, but because no tenant has yet been lined up, the building’s plumbing design awaits the tenant, and so the concrete slab for the first floor also waits, as it will be poured after plumbing is in place. Drawing courtesy of Andrew Tetreault.

Under ConstructionBuilding Going Up; Bridges Facing Problems

Do Not Walk

Montpelier’s pedestrian/bike bridge (right) on Memorial Drive is closed. Todd Law,

Montpelier’s director of public works, explained that their engineer discovered major structural damage to the lower part of the bridge.

Installed in 1998 with a weathered-steel look, the bridge is a relatively recent addition to the landscape. Law says that the bridge’s manufac-turer maintains that the weathered steel meets specifications for that form of material but points to the use of salt as a cause for the bridge’s decay. Alternatively, the cause could be the leaching of the pressure-treated-wood preservative on the bridge’s deck. Or, as Law pointed out, it could be a combination of three or four elements, includ-ing environmental influences like rain.

Law said that in the next three or four weeks the city hopes to develop a firm plan and idea of costs for fixing the bridge, but he warned that it will involve a major amount of work, includ-ing possible replacement of the lower part of the bridge with a galvanized substructure to better fight corrosion. The intent would be to keep the trusses above. “We’ll try to preserve all we can,” he said.

While the city has put some funds by for reno-vation of infrastructure, Law said, refurbishing the bridge “is definitely not where we want to be.”

—Bob Nuner

Irene’s Trash

Montpelier blogger Morgan Brown has raised concerns about the debris from Tropical

Storm Irene still evident on the upstream edges of the Bailey Avenue bridge piers (left). Montpelier Department of Public Works Director Todd Law wrote in an e-mail, however, that the city did indeed hire a tree service company to clear the debris after a lengthy and unsuccessful search for contractors, who had been unresponsive due to the wealth of other Irene-related work. The initial clearing effort met with mixed success. The city then decided to wait until river levels decreased to try again. Law said, “We are not taking chances, so we have contacted another contractor with an excavator with a boom exten-sion that we hope can dislodge the debris from the abutments. We should know better in a few days if the contractor thinks that they can make some more progress.”

Law perceived one benefit from the debris piles lodged against the piers: “The debris has performed some good by rechanneling the river between the abutments, but . . . [it] could po-tentially cause a jamming hazard if a great deal of ice were to float down the stretch.” For now, though, the river is open, so that isn’t a problem.

—Bob Nuner


by Phil Dodd

The winter season is bringing with it a number of new initiatives at the Morse Farm Ski Touring Center, in-

cluding lower day-ticket prices, new groom-ing equipment and plans, and more commu-nity outreach.

Among other changes for this season, Morse Farm has reduced the adult day-pass price from $14 to $12, has purchased a new Arctic Bearcat snowmobile with a Ginzu-groomer Tracksetter to update the existing grooming fleet and has launched a new Face-book page.

The ski and snowshoe center, located about 2.5 miles north of Montpelier on the County Road in East Montpelier, has long been a community favorite. Opened in 2002, the center has 15 miles of ski touring trails and 2.5 miles of snowshoe trails on Morse Farm and adjoining lands. The center’s partners include lead partner Burr Morse and local residents Bill Kaplan, Chip Stone and Nat Winthrop.

For the 2011-2012 season, the ski center at Morse Farm is benefiting from a particularly strong crew of volunteers, according to Susan Atwood-Stone, who serves as a volunteer business and operations manager for the ski center this season.

“This fall we had a very successful trail work day, with about 40 people,” she said. “This winter some of our super volunteers are helping in the ski shop, and two or three more are going to assist the paid groomers after large snow events and during regular weekly cleanup days. Our focus this season is on consistently good grooming to provide skiers with a great skiing experience.”

The volunteer help has enabled the ski center to reduce its day-pass prices even as the center’s fixed costs are rising and as it deals with shorter ski seasons, Atwood-Stone noted. “We are trying to be nimble in the face of these challenges, with the kind help of our neighbors,” she said.

As part of a simplified pricing scheme, the ski center will be selling full day passes only. But Atwood-Stone pointed out that Morse Farm’s full-day price of $12 is “the same as or lower than the half-day price at

other cross-country ski centers in central Ver-mont.” Youth age 6 to 18 can get a day ticket for $8 at Morse Farm, and children under 6 ski for free.

Dogs also get a free “pass,” at least on Wednesdays, when owners are allowed to

bring their dogs out on the trails. Maple creemees and other treats are available in the Morse Farm store every day.

Season passes at Morse Farm are still

available for families for $200, for individuals for $110 and for youth for $75 and are sold through the touring center, online and at Onion River Sports. One of the popular ben-efits of a season pass is that pass holders can ski once for free at each of 29 other Nordic centers in Vermont.

Some of the nearby ski centers that offer reciprocal passes include Craftsbury Out-door Center, Trapp Family Lodge, Stowe Mountain Resort Ski Center, Bolton Valley Resort, and Ole’s in Warren. The full list can be viewed by clicking on the “resort finder” link at skivermont.com.

This season is bringing an expanded Morse Farm trail system on the west side of County Road: the Stone Loop, which is reached from Frog Run, now extends to open fields to the south. “That should be a very nice addition,” Atwood-Stone said.

She also reported, “Onion River Sports has been a great supporter of the touring center. This year they stepped in to help us set up the ski shop, improve the waxing table, and provide waxes and waxing equipment for sale.” Onion River Sports is also provides the rental skis and snowshoes that are available in the ski shop.

Morse Farm will continue to host local school ski programs, as well as regular clin-ics and classes in association with the Onion River Nordic ski club, including a women’s clinic on Wednesday mornings, a skate and classic clinic on Thursdays at noon, and the Saturday morning Bill Koch League program for kids. For information on these and other programs, visit onionrivernordic.org.

The ski center will also be once again spon-soring a Ski for Heat fundraiser on Saturday, January 28, Atwood-Stone said. Skiers and snowshoers can use the center for free that day, but donations will be solicited. All funds will go to the Central Vermont Community Action Council to aid those needing help to pay for their heat this winter, she said.

For more information about the Morse Farm Ski Touring Center, including a link to the cen-ter’s new Facebook page, go to skimorsefarm.com.

Morse Farm Ski Touring Center Kicks Off New Season With Lower Ticket Prices

Burr Morse waits for snow with the Pisten Bully groomer at Morse Farm Ski Touring Center. Photo courtesy of Susan Atwood-Stone.

Business



Past City Budget Support Justified

To the Editor:I was among the 75 percent of the Montpe-

lier electorate that voted in favor of the city’s budget last March. That three out of four ap-proval margin was consistent with votes over the last decade in which we have overwhelm-ingly backed city budget requests through good economic times and bad. There’s not a better longitudinal poll of sentiment with respect to real-estate taxes in support of city government. There is no reason to doubt that those results are reflective of the electorate’s values today.

A current effort by some Montpelier citi-zens to reduce local property taxes parallels a paralyzingly contentious effort in Congress to reduce income taxes. The result of these efforts (but not the intent, I am certain) would be the same. Lower taxes will benefit the wealthy disproportionately, and it will be the less affluent who will lose the most as services are curtailed or lost altogether.

Given a choice without adverse conse-quences, I would be delighted to pay less in real-estate taxes. Regrettably, we don’t have that choice. I, along with most Montpelier citizens, like living here and view real-estate taxes as the price to be paid for the scope and quality of city services we enjoy today. Justice Holmes’ “Taxes are the price we pay for civilization” is no less true locally than at the state and national levels.

It is important, as the next city budget is prepared for approval on Town Meeting Day, that the process honors the values, long es-tablished, of the city’s voters. There is a gen-erosity of spirit here that makes Montpelier special. Let’s not lose sight of who we are.

—David Abbott, Montpelier

City Expenditures Fund Essentials

To the Editor:I am writing to express a different point

of view about the City of Montpelier’s bud-geting process than has been expressed by the new Vibrant and Affordable Montpelier (VAM) group. It is not that I don’t want a vibrant and affordable Montpelier; I cer-tainly do! I know and respect many of the people who have identified themselves as members of the group. However, as a resi-dent of Montpelier for over 50 years, I have concerns about some members’ suggestions to cut the city budget. [Editor’s note: See “A Message from City Hall” and “The Letter from Vibrant and Affordable Montpelier,” December 15, 2011.]

Most of us, most of the time, can walk around the city day or night without harm. We are able to drive our cars or use bus service in all kinds of weather to get where we want to go, in part thanks to commu-nication from City Hall alerting us about floods and storms. When we need help, we can call 911 and receive nearly immediate emergency assistance. Cutting police, fire, public works and planning personnel would reduce the city’s ability to provide these basic services. And what would it be like if we had no downtown events to attract people to our community to play and do business here? Especially in a state with very high rates of alcohol dependence/abuse and depression, individuals and families and children really need organized, substance-free, community activities.

Mr. Fraser has explained carefully, year after year, in many presentations and articles, the pressures on city finances and services. On December 7, he made it clear he does not want to give voters a budget to approve that would put at most risk those with the

least ability to fend for themselves. I applaud his point of view and ask the city council to honor it. I really don’t want the City of Montpelier to become as short-sighted as our broader society, wherein the short-term interests of a few have caused losses for all others. Those of us with more resources (property or income, at least) are responsible for continuing to support the infrastructure needed by all of us. Perhaps we should focus more on finding new revenues than on cut-ting expenses. I believe that is what we must do at the state and national levels, so why not here in Montpelier?

—Brenda J. Bean, Montpelier

Scapegoating Disguised as Sustainability

To the Editor:I must admit that I was surprised to read

in Mark Powell’s November 17 letter to the editor that immigrants are to blame for the U.S.’s supposed population problem. I assume that when the author, representing the New England Coalition for Sustainable Popula-tion, declared that immigration is the cause of our problems, he was not taking about college-educated, white British people or English-speaking, middle-class Canadians. While less explosive than the dehumanizing and racialized terms like “illegal aliens,” use of “documented and undocumented” still conjures up images of people of color, specifi-cally those crossing the militarized border be-tween Mexico and the U.S. That the people who have been impoverished by U.S. policy and multinational corporations to the point that they are forced to leave their families and communities to work tirelessly to harvest our crops and keep our dairy farms alive is disgraceful. Europeans who colonized the Americas, including my own ancestors who came as Pilgrims without invitation, were undocumented, as it were. They proceeded to enslave the people indigenous to this land and later stole and enslaved people from Af-rica. Their descendants have benefited from such genocide and some seem to feel entitled to determine who belongs in this country and who doesn’t. We need to take a long look at our nation’s history, our personal ancestry and the sustainability of our own lifestyles. This is not a time for pointing fingers nor for perpetuating racism and classism by scape-goating groups of people. This is a time for solidarity. This is a time for identifying and unlearning narrow thinking that divides us, seeking creative solutions, and working to-gether for justice.

—Dana L. Woodruff, Plainfield

Thanks from the Mercadante Family

To the Editor:We would like to extend our thankful-

ness to the family, friends and members of the community for their generous support following our son Dylan’s injury and subse-quent strokes.

On September 23 our family experienced an event that altered our lives forever. Dylan was injured while playing football, from which he suffered a series of strokes. From the moment of the accident to months later, our family has experienced one of the most amazing networks filled with support, love and encouragement. So many people have stepped forward to assist us in every way imaginable. As our family moves forward, these acts have continued to touch our lives on a daily basis, and, though words cannot express our thanks enough, we would like everyone to know that we greatly appreciate

LettersEditorialA March 2012 Imperative:

Shutting Down Vermont Yankee

Because of unresolved safety issues, for a number of years and consistently, this paper has opposed nuclear power in general, and we have called for the timely shutdown of the

Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon when its operating license expires on March 21, 2012.

Our opposition to nuclear power (strong to begin with) has, if anything, intensified since the Fukushima meltdown in Japan on March 11, 2011, and afterwards.

In our April 21, 2011, issue, we published as a paid advertisment a full-page letter from the Entergy Corporation, which owns Vermont Yankee. In that letter, J. Wayne Leonard, Entergy’s chairman and CEO, made the Entergy case that the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission takes precedence over the Vermont Public Service Board or the Vermont legis-lature in deciding whether Vermont Yankee can renew its operating license beyond March 21 this year.

This past week, we received a letter from the regional antinuclear organization Citizens Awareness Network (CAN), which has a main office in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, and a branch office in Hancock, Vermont. In that letter, the CAN restates its determination to close Vermont Yankee and insists on a responsible cleanup of the Vermont Yankee reactor site.

But according to CAN, Vermont Yankee is determined to resist a March 21, 2012 closure date. Below are excerpts from the CAN letter.

see LETTERS, page 18

In February 2010, the state of Vermont gave Entergy notice that it must shut its system-atically mismanaged nuke in March 2012. Entergy fought the state’s notice and went

to court to overturn the will of the people. It tried hard to lobby legislators and regula-tors to support continued operation of the plant, spending almost $1,000,000 to get its way. In the end, despite its intense fight, the legislature refused to give way and the NRC refused to intervene in Entergy’s court case. This is a victory for the people of Vermont and the tristate community. Not only did we win, we drove Entergy to court.

But—incredibly—this fight is not over. There are still a lot of people who may not be aware of the problems that remain involving the closure of Vermont Yankee and its aftermath. No, it isn’t over.

Despite all of our successes, Entergy made it clear when it recently chose to refuel Vermont Yankee that it believes that the state has no power to force a closing. And then—even after closing, VY still presents a serious threat. Entergy wants to leave its high level waste on the site! As the world learned when the Fukushima reactors exploded, radioactive waste store is a treacherous problem without a solution. Vermont Yankee has some of the same waste storage problems that were so devastating to Japan at the Fukushima plants.

So what do we do about this continuing problem?The next legislative session is critical. It is imperative that the state of Vermont curtails

Entergy’s arrogance and contempt and set clear and responsible limits on closure and cleanup. It is essential that citizens continue to advocate and mobilize for a safe closure, responsible cleanup and a carbon free, nuclear free future. We are organizing what we call our “Lilliputian Campaign” to tie Entergy up into know through accountability legislation as well as creating the bridge to the future.

There are five primary parts to this new campaign.

1. Decommissioning Vermont YankeeIt is essential that people and legislators prepare to deal effectively with the issues of

decommissioning and storage of high-level waste at the Vermont Yankee site.When the plan closes, highly toxic and radioactive waste will remain on site for

decades —and some elements for thousands of years. This means that citizens and leg-islators must be educated and familiar with the new problems that will exist when the plant is closed.

2. Legally Binding GuidelinesStrict guidelines covering site release must be put into law to ensure the safety of

people living anywhere that radiation can reach.

3. Regulation of Connecticut River WaterAction must be taken to regulate the amount of heated water releases into the Con-

necticut River by Vermont Yankee, as well as the amount of water that will be taken from the river to safely cool the waste.

4. Mandatory Waste RemovalAction must be taken to force Entergy to remove its waste from Vermont Yankee’s fuel

pool. Entergy doesn’t want to spend its own money to move the waste—and so it wants to let it sit there until its decommissioning fund, hopelessly underfunded, will increase substantially to cover cleanup costs.

5. Sustainable Replacement Power & Energy EfficiencyVermont Yankee’s power has already been replaced by Vermont utilities with hy-

dropower from Hydro Quebec and nuclear power from the Seabrook reactor in New Hampshire. The cost of these power contracts was substantially less than any offer by Entergy.

Although these contracts provide a transition from Vermont Yankee, they are not the sustainable solutions we are seeking. State and federal incentives must be developed for sustainable replacement power as well as efficiency and conservation. In Massachusetts, there is a Green Community program that provides grant and support to communities that choose to go green. Vermont could use this program as a model to help meet its commitment to create a sustainable future by 2050.


the generous and caring effort from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you.

—The Mercadante family, Montpelier

Use Eminent Domain Threat on Empty Buildings

To the Editor:It’s been a long time since notorious local

landlord Jeff Jacobs was in the news, but it seems like this respite is about to end. There have been movements to force a fee on his vacant buildings, like a similar ordinance in place in Burlington, but the gossip is that Montpelier City Council doesn’t have the political will to do anything drastic.

I think it would be a great option to force eminent domain into effect for any building vacant for a defined period of time. There is word that the city council is afraid to appear unfriendly to businesses by taking such drastic measures, but what is unfriendlier than a draconian landlord? Or a downtown littered with empty store-fronts, screaming desolation. The council should force Jacobs’ hand or by eminent domain take over management of the space themselves.

It all started with a Coca Cola sign he wanted to hang outside Charlie O’s, which he also owns. He thought it was art deco, cool, chic. The city thought otherwise, and put the kibosh on his first amendment rights to free art. Then the whole french-fry-soaked controversy about putting a Mc-Donald’s in the heart of the littlest capital in the country. Again, the city said no.

Jacobs could have a real, profound and lasting positive impact on the state capital. He could revitalize and redefine this city

and become a folk hero, turning lemons into lemonade. I pray for that. But I’ll also contribute my body to the Occupy Jeff Ja-cobs’ Buildings events that are sure to come in the meantime.

—G. Halpern, Worchester

Protect Open Land from Corporations

To the Editor:The method in which large-scale wind is

being put to use in Vermont is a theft of na-ture to secure the success and profitability of large corporations.

Government is trying to ensure there is enough power to support the closing of Vermont Yankee.

Towns, originally created by the legis-lature, used their authority to lay out the borders to “constitute towns, boroughs, cit-ies and counties.”

This open land belongs to the people of that town; they alone must decide if there is a use or need for using open lands. Govern-ment is putting the cost and destruction of the land for wind towers on the people.

The state and public-service-board take-over of town land is a fraud; they have no power to seize property. The legislature is forbidden to make law that will “add to, alter, abolish or infringe any part of this Constitution,” and the public service de-partment has no constitutional powers!

In Kelo v. New London Conn., the city seized private property to advance corpo-rate needs. The end result was the corpora-tion left town and the land is still vacant today. The original owners were the biggest losers, home, land and heritage.

If we allow our government to seize and acquire property for need of corporations

(not just wind towers) we will end up with nothing at all. Government is not our mas-ter, merely our representative; the Constitu-tion is our rule of law.

Protect your constitutional rights!—William Brueckner, Waterbury Center

Remember Flood Victims and ATVers Who Helped

To the Editor:I am writing as the president of the Cen-

tral Vermont Quad Runners ATV club, based in the Bethel-Stockbridge-Randolph-Rochester area. Our area was one of the hardest hit by the floods of Hurricane Irene. ATVers were on the front lines of getting help to our friends and neighbors around this region when floods cut off all other means of access to many sections of our area towns during and after the flood.With the roads and bridges gone, ATVers used old Class 4 town roads and ATV trails to find ways to get food, water, gas and much-needed supplies to stranded people in the region. ATVs rescued people who needed to be air lifted out to hospitals, sometimes making trails to get through. We saw firsthand the amount of devasta-tion and danger that people were going through. Our area has undergone much rebuilding in the months since the flood. However, the many folks who suffered damage or lost everything during the flood still have struggles before them. During this holiday season, I wish to ask everyone to remember our friends and neighbors who are still recovering from the flood. I also want to say thank you to all the ATVers from our region and beyond who responded to this emergency and to all our state and local leaders and volunteers, who helped get

the job done.—Paul Morse Sr., president,

Central Vermont Quad Runners

Obama Administration Saves Lungs

To the Editor:The American Lung Association applauds

the Obama administration for adopting public health safeguards to reduce mercury and toxic air pollution from power plants. The new mercury and air toxics standards for power plants are long overdue and will reduce the harm from air pollution like mercury, lead, arsenic and a host of other pollutants.

Air pollution emitted by coal-fired power plants contains 84 of the 187 hazardous pollutants identified for control by the En-vironmental Protection Agency. Many of these pollutants, such as dioxins, arsenic and lead, can cause cancer and cardiovas-cular disease; harm the kidneys, lungs and nervous system; and even kill. The mercury and air toxics standards will reduce these pollutants and prevent 130,000 asthma at-tacks and 11,000 premature deaths each year.

These new proposed standards are es-pecially critical to those of us in New England, since we are at the tailpipe of the nation’s air pollution exhaust system. We need a strong Clean Air Act to protect us from secondhand smog. According to our 2011 State of the Air report, thousands of Vermont people and visitors are put at risk from the negative health effects of air pollu-tion each year. To view the full report, visit stateoftheair.org.

—Liz DiMartino, American Lung Association of New England

by Morgan W. Brown

Recently, someone told me of a joke going around certain circles that goes something like: “What is the recipe

for closing the Vermont State Hospital and building a much more robust community-based system in its place? Just add water.”

Others had previously quipped in one form or another about how it took a tropical

storm to do in one day what politicians and advocates have been talking about doing for roughly 30 years.

During all those many years there had been a multitude of conversations, meetings and discussions as well as study upon study done and plan upon plan formulated, includ-ing the so-called Futures planning initiative, with no real results to show for all the failed efforts, not too mention all the state taxpayer

funds wasted while doing so.The Vermont State Hospital (VSH), along

with the mental-health system as a whole, had become virtually stuck within a vacuum, a massive black hole, sucking all the energy, available resources and life, and removing any opportunities for improvement from the realm of possi-bility. Then, about two months prior to Tropical Storm Irene, which devastated the 54-bed state hospital, Deputy Agency of Human Services (AHS) Secretary Patrick Flood began reaching out to various stakeholders, including myself, asking for direct input concerning what to do regarding VSH and the mental system as a whole.

There have been many lengthy open dis-cussions held since, sometimes one-on-one and at other times, particularly later in the process, in group settings with various par-ties. A slew of proposals was submitted to the department of mental health (DMH) for consideration, and two days of review by a variety of stakeholders were held.

Out of this process, not only has Gover-nor Peter Shumlin and his administration decided to not return to the VSH facility in Waterbury, but he and his team have come up with a plan for strengthening mental health services across Vermont.

Governor Shumlin’s proposed plan in-cludes:

15-bed state-managed facility in central Vermont; 14 beds at Brattleboro Retreat; six beds at Rutland Regional Medical Center; up to five secure residential beds on the campus of Windsor Correctional Facility; step-down beds for people transitioning off acute care; improved emergency services; improved individualized services; housing vouchers; and peer services (people who have

been patients who now are willing to run services for others).

I do believe the plan is heading in the right direction, but it is my opinion that the administration’s current plan still focuses too much on institutional beds, which I view as

the same old treat-ment model. The plan should instead go much farther in building a more ro-bust community-ser-vices system, one less dependent on the

medical model as well as forced treatment and medication in general.

In a somewhat related development, Gov-ernor Shumlin recently swapped the roles of Flood and Christine Oliver, making Flood the commissioner of DMH and Oliver the deputy AHS secretary.

The governor said, “Christine and Patrick have both done an extraordinary job under difficult conditions over the past year. As I have worked closely with them in the wake of Irene, it has become clear to me that at this unique moment, Christine’s background and talents are better suited to managing the agency’s overall work, while Patrick’s legisla-tive and state government experience make him best suited to helping realize my vi-sion for creating a comprehensive, post-Irene mental-health system.”

From here on out, the Vermont legislature will be considering and deliberating over the plan as well as taking testimony from vari-ous stakeholders and members of the public concerning how best to proceed. Anyone who desires to be heard on these matters should contact the governor and their state legislators.

Morgan Brown is a writer, blogger and ac-tivist, as well as a person with disabilities. He lives in Montpelier.

Strengthening Mental Health Services Across Vermont

Opinion

LETTERS, from page 17

Ski For Heat: A January 28 Event

Organizers of a third annual Ski for Heat event to take place at the Morse Farm Ski Touring Center in Montpelier on Saturday, January 28, are inviting participation

from anyone who enjoys snowshoeing and cross-country skiing and wants to raise fuel-assistance money to benefit central Vermonters in need.

On January 28, the Morse Farm will waive trail fees for participants in the Ski for Heat benefit. Participants are being encouraged to donate what they can to support their neighbors in need.

Go online to register for the event at skiforheat-centralvermont.org/CV_Register.html or register at the Morse Farm on the day of the event. For further information, contact Kate Coffey at [email protected] or 793-7674.

A Note to Readers and Friends

Since our December 15 paper, readers and friends of The Bridge have continued their generous financial support of our current annual campaign.

In November, when we began the campaign, we set a fundraising goal—the money we need—at $12,000.

As of the New Year, on January 1, we have received $7,200, and there are a few ad-ditional checks that have been received but not yet recorded.

For many Vermonters, 2011 was not an easy financial year. But we have not quit on each other. Nor have we given up on what we value and need.

Let me encourage you to help The Bridge in this campaign by sending a check made payable to “The Bridge” at P.O. Box 1143, Montpelier, VT 05601. Or stop by our of-fice, or phone us for any reason at 223-5112.

And please accept our sincere thanks.—Nat Frothingham, publisher


by Peter Nielsen

Vibrant and Affordable Montpelier (VAM) is a new organization that has been calling for fiscal austerity

as the City of Montpelier prepares its budget for the coming year. It has held open public meetings, participated in city council meet-ings and submitted a letter to the mayor asking for a 3 percent municipal budget cut. It will continue to engage in the budgeting process through the March elections.

Given the national political landscape, it might be easy for some people to hear VAM’s call for budget cuts and its concern over ris-ing property taxes and think it’s a bunch of Tea Party types who just want to slash away at government. Some might think that these folks are just looking out for their own wal-

lets and are unwilling to pay their fair share for the common good.

I can assure you this is not the case. As one of VAM’s founders, I am personally on the opposite end of the political spec-trum from the Tea Party, and my friends in Vibrant and Affordable Montpelier are all strong believers in a healthy and functional city government.

My greatest concern lies in the growth rate of our police and fire departments. Yes, these are essential services, and I have relied on both and have been enormously thankful for their response. As a Montpelier citizen, I am proud of the culture of each of these depart-ments; they are exemplary. But both have grown considerably in the past decade and there seems to be an attitude in City Hall that they are untouchable. As a result, when

asked where we could make cuts in the bud-get, the city manager seems willing to scrap all the social-value programs in Montpe-lier before looking at any of the expenses in the police and fire departments.

If you want to compare my con-cerns to those in na-tional politics, you might say that I want see cuts in the defense budget. I worry that the City of Montpelier has quietly adopted an attitude to police and fire that will allow these departments to deplete our local resources the same way the U.S. defense budget spends our nation’s trillions. Let’s not allow the same type of fear mongering that created the military indus-

trial complex’s hold on our federal budget to seize control of local property taxes. Let’s be willing to ask ourselves, How much is

enough for our essen-tial services? Have we gone too far? Is there room for more effi-ciency? Can we save some money here?

As this city pre-pares its budget over

the next few weeks, I urge all Montpelier residents to join this conversation.

Peter Nielsen is a founder of Vibrant and Affordable Montpelier.

How Much is Enough for Our Essential Services?

Opinion

by Heidi E. Scheuermann

Imagine a public education system that produces the most innovative thinkers in the world. Imagine a system that con-

sistently produces the best-prepared citizens and attracts employers who care about the education of their employees’ children. Cam-paign for Vermont does. When it comes to school funding, emphasis should be placed on how and where we’re spending our edu-cation dollars and whether there is good value for the amount we pay. Campaign for Vermont will demand it.

Since the passage of Act 68 six years ago, education prop-erty taxes in Ver-mont have increased by over 43 percent to $918 million, and that is merely two-thirds of what Ver-monters spend on K-12 education. Vermont now spends over $1.3 billion on education, an increase of $250 million since 2005. Dur-ing this same period, the number of students has dropped by over 7,400, or 7.4 percent.

Vermont’s spending per student is at the top in the United States, well above the national average; the United States average is among the highest in the world.

This combination of rising costs and de-cline in school enrollment puts Vermont on an unsustainable track. Simultaneously, Vermonters and their employers increasingly demand the highest quality education for a knowledge-based global economy that re-quires more educational opportunities. In a study published in The Atlantic, American student achievement in math ranked well be-hind other developed and emerging nations,

though Massachu-setts has developed new approaches with measurable positive results.

Further, for our youth that are not college bound but seek employment as

“middle-skilled” professions, a recent report by the Harvard School of Education calls for dramatic reforms in our secondary education system and credentialed degree programs if we are to compete on the world stage. Doing

better requires that we use our educational dollars more wisely, facilitate the sharing of resources between schools more effectively and rethink our educational delivery sys-tem.

We are not alone in this quest. Schools and colleges across the U.S. are being forced to envision new models and approaches. In 1997, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled that Vermont must provide “substantially equal educational opportunity” to all Ver-mont students. As a result, the legislature passed Act 60. A controversial piece of legis-lation then and today, Act 60’s principal goal of ensuring equalized education funding has been realized. So, now is the time to put chil-dren first—transform our delivery system to expand opportunities for our children and improve outcomes, all while ensuring an affordable system. That’s why in the com-ing legislative session, I will again propose changes to our education system that will provide for more transparency and promote prosperity for Vermonters:

Simplify and integrate our school system: Replace Vermont’s 62 supervisory unions with 14 educational districts, with boundar-ies similar to the current regional technical

centers. Existing local school districts will remain to assure educational programs meet community standards. Educational districts will also be overseen by district boards and will focus on administrative and funding ne-cessities, as well as managing special educa-tion and technical education programs. Stu-dents would have the opportunity to attend any school within the educational district.

Align our school funding system around educational districts. Promote more local control in our school funding system by aligning budgeting and revenue functions at the educational district level. Within this realigned structure, state government can in-tegrate requirements and systems that ensure equal educational opportunity and provide for income sensitivity.

Together, with Campaign for Vermont, we think it is time to listen to the pleas of parents, employers and taxpayers. It is time to reform our educational system.

Heidi Scheuermann is a Stowe resident and small-business owner. She is also a member of the Vermont House of Representatives. For more information, go online to campaignfor-vermont.org

Put Children First

Opinion

One of the two history mystery photos (above) published in the December 1 issue of The Bridge has been identified. The center house is 9 Hubbard Street. The house at left, 11 Hubbard Street—which belonged to radio personality Bob Ban-

non—burned several years ago. The buildings in the background are on Nelson and Ridge Street and are visible when there are no leaves on the trees. At left is a modern shot. Photos courtesy of Paul Carnahan.

Mystery Photo Identified


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Documents

The Bridge, January 5, 2012