Very little in life is fair. That’s true.

Let’s admit then that few of us can afford — or much less own — or drive — or be seen to be driving — anything as wicked-cool as a “show-off,” caramel-colored, road-hugging classic car like the 1939 Ford coast-to-coast hot rod that’s parked out in front of Just Escorts garage on the River Road in Middle-sex.

That Ford hot rod is just one of the classic cars that’s been stopping traffic on the River Road this summer.

Then there’s also the 1957 Plymouth Bel-vedere that’s still parked in front of Just Escorts. It’s a honey. But sorry, that Bel-vedere has already been spoken for and is no longer for sale. But more on that Belvedere later.

Let’s go back in time.

To begin with, there was the Barrows family, consisting of Vernon Barrows, his wife, Vir-ginia and their four sons — Mike, Mitchell, Dan and David.

Vernon Barrows who is still warmly re-membered locally ran Barrows Aluminum, a storm window company that served a pretty large sales territory from White River Junction all the way to Burlington and beyond. Here in central Vermont, Barrows Aluminum had such clients as the now-defunct Brown Derby Restaurant and he had contracts to install storm windows with clients in the commercial blocks up and down Main and State streets in Montpelier. Further afield, he was the storm window provider for such clients as St. Michael’s College in Colchester.

Back in the 1950s, there was comparatively little cash in the local economy. People pretty much fed their families from what they produced on small farms — a few cows, a few beef cattle, tons of chickens. There was always a big garden with lots of food

canning during summer and

fall. In addition, Virginia Barrows raised rabbits — 500 in all — that she sold as pets. She kept track of each rabbit by taking a green ballpoint pen and writing an identifying number inside an ear of each rabbit.

Talking recently about his brothers, Dan said, “There were four of us and every one of us was car crazy.” Growing up, the boys had the farm to run. “We had two Jersey cows,” Dan said. And the four brothers had their

own stall in the barn where they worked on racing and classic cars.

“My mother had her hands full with four boys, Dan said to begin with. “I’m next to the last of the four brothers.” Dan’s older brother was only 16 and you had to be 18 to race cars at Thunder Road. “He tricked

my mother into signing the papers that allowed him to race at Thunder Road,” Dan continued. “He drove but all of us did the work,” said Dan. “We raced for eight years and in the last year, we were top contenders, losing by only three points.”

The car obsession has never stopped, even today. All four brothers still live within a few miles of each other. “They don’t al-ways agree,” said Dan. “But they all turn wrenches and every one of us has a classic car.”

Mike, the oldest, tinkers on cars at home. Mitchell, who is next in line, has his own garage on the hill. And Dan, who is owner, and his younger brother, Dave, work on cars at Just Escorts.

For a number of years, Just Escorts special-ized in Ford Escort repairs and service, and Dan and Dave still do repair Escorts. But Ford stopped making the Escort in 2002

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O p e r a C o m e s t o V e r m o n t i n A F l e e t i n g A n i m a l — p a g e 7

September 3 – September 16, 2015

Relive Your Youth in a Classic Carby Nat Frothingham

IN THIS ISSUE:

5: To Leash or Not to Leash?

9: Thunder RoadStandings

10: Meet the Musical Duo Patchtax

11: Montpelier's SocialRecreation Groups

Photos by Michael Jermyn

The Law Office of Amy K. Butler, Esquire, PLLC

Affordable, Personal and Professional Legal Services in the Heart of Vermont

64 Main St., Ste. 26, Montpelier802-371-0077

akbutler@amykbutlerlaw.com

YOUR BOX AD HERE!

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advertising department at 223-5112 ext. 11

Continued on Page 13

1957 PlymouthBelvedere

Ford roadster

PAGE 2 • SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 16 , 2015 THE BR IDGE

Betwixt and Between

The dreamy sounds of crickets, the bumble bees noisily visiting a tangle of Japanese anemones, put me into a bit of a trance. Until, whoosh, a merlin cuts through the air, doves scatter, then silence, before the crickets start up again. Hawks are on the

move! It's that in-between season, defying label, but alternating from hot to cool, from summer to fall and back.

Follow The Bridge on Twitter: @montpbridge

Watercolor by Nona Estrin

Advertise in the NEXT ISSUE:

RESTAURANTS, FOODSeptember 17 – September 30, 2015ALL AD MATERIALS AND AD SPACE RESERVATIONS DUE

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11.For more information about advertising deadlines, rates and the design of your ad call 223-5112 ext. 11 or email our ad sales representatives at michael@montpelierbridge.com or rick@montpelierbridge.com

Nature Watch by Nona Estrin

THE BR IDGE SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 16 , 2015 • PAGE 3

Help Wanted on City Boards and CommissionsMONTPELIER — The City of Montpelier is seeking individuals interested in filling a handful of empty seats. The design review committee is seeking someone to fulfill a three-year term, which expires in October 2018, as well as a one-year alternate term, which expires in October 2016. The planning commission seeks two persons for two-year seats, which will expire in September 2017. The Montpelier Housing Authority seeks someone to serve a five-year term, which will expire in October, 2020. And, finally, the historic preservation commission seeks two members, one to fill a two-year term ending in September 2017, and one to fill a three-year term ending in September 2016.

Those interested are asked to submit a letter of interest with a brief resume by noon on Wednesday, September 16, to the City Manager’s Office, City Hall — 39 Main Street, Montpelier, Vermont 05602, or via e-mail to spitonyak@montpelier-vt.org. City Council will make this appointment at their September 23rd meeting; applicants will be notified and encouraged to attend. All municipal meetings are accessible to people with disabilities and are held in accordance with the public meeting and public records laws.

City Replacing Terrace Street CulvertsMONTPELIER — Starting this week, work will begin to replace the existing metal arch culvert at the intersection of Terrace Street and Walker Terrace. The project will include the removal and replacement of the existing culvert that runs across Walker Terrace, then turns and runs across Terrace Street.

Walker Terrace will be closed for one day while the culvert is being installed across the roadway. Residents on the street will be provided 24 hours notice prior to this closure and provided parking along Dairy Lane if requested during the closure.

Terrace Street will have one-way traffic maintained throughout the project with a temporary detour around the edge of the construction limits during the street crossing. There may be some delays for motorists, so please plan accordingly.

A tentative schedule from the contractor performing this work is available on the city’s website http://www.montpelier-vt.org/ — but is subject to change if inclement weather or material delivery delays are encountered.

If you have any questions or concerns, please call the Department of Public Works at 802-223-9508.

Hunter Ed Courses Available Now, Not Later MONTPELIER — If you haven’t completed a Vermont hunter education course but want to before hunting seasons, this is the time to act according to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department.

“Vermont’s volunteer instructors of hunter education courses are scheduling their courses now on Vermont Fish and Wildlife’s website,” said Nicole Meier, hunter education special-ist. “The courses have started and will continue for a few weeks, and fewer courses will be available by October because many instructors will be hunting.”

Anyone who wants to obtain their first Vermont hunting license must first pass the state-sanctioned course. Upcoming courses are listed on Vermont Fish & Wildlife’s website (www.vtfishandwildlife.com).

Trees Limbs Weighed Down by Fruit

The weather this summer has produced an unusually heavy “fruiting year,” according to Lincoln Earle-Centers of Sylvan Tree Care to The Bridge. What he’s seeing is apple trees, crabapple trees, any fruit bearing trees heavily laden with fruit which is leading broken limbs and tops. “The danger is that trees are becoming heavily damaged and the “tearing” he says will produce such problems as rot and disease.” The fruit is weighing down the trees and when the limbs break off they leave wounds and tears that make the tree vulner-able to rot and disease.

Earle-Centers recommends that any branches that are too heavily weighed down need to be shaken to make the fruit fall to the ground. He added, “Anything that’s in reach, you can just grab and shake. If it’s not within reach,” he said, “take a pole to shake the limb. If you don’t have a pole find someone to make you a long enough pole with a fork in it so you can shake the limbs.” The message, he said, is “Get the fruit off the trees before the limbs break. The heavy fruit is causing tree damage.” Every apple tree I’m seeing is dam-aged or about to be damaged ... The apples aren’t even at full weight yet.”

Youth Start Micro Newspaper in The Meadow MONTPELIER — Winter Street resident Sarah McGinnis recently told The Bridge that a new daily newspaper has been showing up at her house. The Meadow Daily, with bylines from Fraya Hubbard and Sarah Greene, tackles topics such as saving endangered species, rescuing animals (such as cats and dogs in high-kill shelters) and eating local. McGinnis said she knows the girls and their parents and that she looks forward to getting each issue.

Home Sales Up This Year MONTPELIER — Sales volume increased to 138 sales for the April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2015 period, up 6 percent compared to the 2014 Study. The number of sales in the 2014 Study showed a 9 percent increase over the number of sales in the 2013 Study.

Sales from April 1, 2014 through March 31, 2015 continue to demonstrate an increasing real estate market in Montpelier.

There were a total of 82 residential sales, up from 76 in last year’s study. Thirty-four sales were between $60,000 and $199,000; 26 sales were between $200,000 and $299,000; 16 sales were between $300,000 and $399,000; four sales were between $400,000 and $499,000 and two sales were over $500,000. The volume of sales up to $400,000 was up slightly compared to last year’s study period, while residential sales over $400,000 declined from 11 last year to six in this year’s study.

From the 2015 Annual Sales Study prepared by the City of Montpelier. The study is the basis for calculating the common level of appraisal for the upcoming year.

The C-Span Campaign Bus Stops at Montpelier High School MONTPELIER — C-SPAN’s award-winning, 45-foot customized bus visited Montpelier High School September 2. It was scheduled to visit three other Vermont high schools as well. The bus travels the country to promote C-SPAN’s “Road to the White House” program by visiting universities, schools and political events. Additionally, the bus will feature a custom-ized 2016 campaign app allowing visitors to explore potential presidential candidates, events and footage during the campaign trail.

This fall, as the supreme court convenes for its 2015 session, C-SPAN will debut a new 12-part history series produced in cooperation with the National Constitution Center, exploring the issues, people and places involved in some of the most significant Supreme Court cases in our nation’s history. During the series the C-SPAN Bus will select law schools throughout the country to inform students of its new series.

Students and residents will step aboard the bus to learn about the public affairs network’s programs and resources, including its in-depth coverage of the U.S. Congress, White House, federal courts and the American political process. Through interactive exhibits, students and educators will also learn about C-SPAN’s campaign 2016 coverage and its new history series, Supreme Court Landmark cases.

Civic and government educators will learn about C-SPAN’s free comprehensive online edu-cational resources including C-SPAN.org, C-SPAN Classroom and C-SPAN’s nationwide documentary contest, StudentCam, open to students in grades six through 12.

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PAGE 4 • SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 16 , 2015 THE BR IDGE

MONTPELIER — Douglas Becker heats and acquires electricity for his home with-out using fossil fuel. Instead, he uses wood, sun and water. Water?

No, he doesn’t have a hydroelectric dam or a water wheel. Instead he has installed a geothermal exchange system. The system uses water pumped through a loop of plas-tic pipe and a “heat exchanger in the geo-exchange unit,” according to information put out by the Geothermal Heat Pump Consortium, to either warm up or cool down — depending on the season — the air inside the house. The unit absorbs heat from inside the house in the summer and carries it to the ground, returning cool air to the home. In winter, it takes heat from the earth and transfers the heat into the cold house.

“One of the things that I really like is that not only does it heat my house, it heats my hot water. Whether I am heating or cool-ing. I can switch a switch from heating to cooling — it is nice to have that option —(and) even if it is cooling (the air), it is still heating my hot water,” Becker told The Bridge by phone July 8.

Installing a geothermal unit requires plenty of water. Becker had an advantage there, because he had dug a 200-foot well during

a drought about 10 or 15 years ago. That well allowed Becker to avoid the additional and considerable expense of drilling a deep well just to support the geothermal system.

Becker was also well poised to install a geothermal heat pump because, in addition to having the deep well, he had two solar panels on his roof that produce more than enough electricity to power the unit. And he used wood as his primary source of heat.

“I wanted a bare bones central heating system. I never had that because I always heated with wood. I cut my own wood, but as I get older I am not going to be doing that,” said Becker, age 59. He landed on the geothermal idea while talking to the HVAC (heating, ventilating and air con-ditioning) specialist at his place of work. Becker works as a culinary arts teacher at Green Mountain Technical and Career Center in Hyde Park.

However, Becker said he wouldn’t have made the move to install one until, two winters ago, he called for his usual supply of kerosene that he had used as back up heat and the supplier said they could not deliver it if the tank was in an enclosed space due to a new company regulation. So, rather than go to the trouble of mov-ing the tank, Becker looked into getting a

geothermal exchange system.

He quickly discovered geothermal heating unit installers are few and far between in Vermont. After requesting bids from the few who do exist, Becker found Jim Ashley of West Danville. At a price of around $30,000, Becker said he went for it. Ashley had a background that fed into developing this kind of alternative energy business.

“I used to work for the state (doing) well driller licensing and records and environ-mental conservation,” Ashley told The Bridge during a face-to-face interview July 8. Ashley said he retired from his job work-ing for the State of Vermont in 1996 during a staff reduction. His father and extended family had long been in the air condition-ing business, and he, a hydrologist with an interest in environmental conservation, started to develop his geothermal business. He started up Green Mountain Geother-mal about 12 years ago.

He describes the geothermal process this way, “It is something that takes heat or cold, enhances it or moves it to another location. We are taking heat out of 50 degree groundwater. We take 6 degrees out through the refrigeration process. We capture that heat, upgrade it through a compressor, then are able to discharge heat

from the hot refrigerant to heat our homes and businesses.”

Sounds simple, but it requires quite a bit of digging and specialized expertise. In fact, the cost is prohibitive to many potential customers, Ashley said, which has led to trouble increasing his small customer base. Because banks treat the kind of loan people need to purchase a heating unit more like a mortgage than a car loan, the process can be lengthy if the customer doesn’t have the money on hand in savings, Ashley said.

But here in Montpelier, Becker sounds like a happy customer. Since he and his wife put in the solar panels, they have excess power and have enough left over, even after providing electricity to the geother-mal exchange unit, to sell back to Green Mountain Power.

Becker describes this past winter: “On the coldest day we used maybe 20 kilowatts, but we were producing 25 kilowatts in a day. We have always made more kilowatts in electricity than the system could use.” Still, the system is unfamiliar to many people locally, Becker said. “Here in Ver-mont it has not been embraced as much as other sources of heat,” Becker added.

Geothermal Exchange Units Can Warm You Up or Cool You Down by Carla Occaso

Police BeatExcerpts from Montpelier Police Department Media Report

August 24–30

• Police located three individuals who were found to be consuming alcohol in Blanchard Park.

• Brunilda James, 62, of Montpelier, was charged with Driving Under the Influence #4 after a complaint was made about the operation of her vehicle and contact was made with her. James was processed at the Montpelier Police Department and then lodged at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility for detox and lack of $1,000.00 bail.

• Concerned citizen reported observing an individual in Montpelier that they believed to be wanted. No outstanding warrants were located for the individual.

• Police brought a subject to the Lighthouse for detoxification after the person was re-ported for public intoxication on Main Street.

• A male was reported to be yelling obscenities in the Carr Lot. • A person reported being followed by another person on Main Street. • Two people were on top of a train car. • Someone reported graffiti vandalism at Saint Augustine’s Church on Barre Street.• A man reportedly went to the bathroom on the library's lawn on Main Street.• Someone reported a suspicious person on Charles and Foster Streets. It was a woman

bowed down on the sidewalk; she claimed to be praying to her higher power. • A male subject was causing a disturbance and urinating in an alley on Main Street.• Michael Neale, 64, of Montpelier was issued a citation to appear in the Washington

County Superior Court, Criminal Division on September 24 to answer to the offense of Public Urination in the City of Montpelier, a violation of Montpelier's city ordinance.

• Transients were moved along from under bridges.• A bicycle rider came into the police station to make a complaint about a motorist that

was refusing to share the road on State Street.

• A dog bit a woman jogging through Hubbard Park.• Police checked under bridges for homeless camps on Bailey Avenue. • Montpelier Police Dept. reported a hit and run accident that occurred earlier in the day

in the parking lot located at 133 State Street. No suspects identified.• The Mobil station on Berlin Street requested that a homeless male be trespassed from

their store because he is frightening employees and customers by his disruptive behavior.• A Greyhound bus driver contacted police reporting that he refused a customer from

coming onto the bus because she was intoxicated and that she was now blocking the bus from leaving on Main Street.

• Police assisted Montpelier Rescue with an intoxicated male that fell down on Green-wood Terrace.

• Police assisted Montpelier Rescue at a residence for a female that may have overdosed on her medication.

• The manager of Sarducci's (contacted police) reporting that homeless people have been sleeping/living underneath the restaurant in a crawl space.

• Retail Theft was reported at a business on Stone Cutters Way. • Police received a report of a male sleeping behind the parking garage on East State

Street. • Two suspicious individuals were reported walking around the Montpelier High School

very early in the morning.• Police responded to a mental health issue concerning a homeless male in the downtown

Montpelier area.

THE BR IDGE SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 16 , 2015 • PAGE 5

MONTPELIER — Police were notified on August 25 that a woman jogging in Hubbard Park was bitten by a dog, according to police media logs. Tom Andrews, the husband of the woman bitten in Hubbard Park, posted a question on Front Porch Forum asking if the owner of the dog could please contact him to advise if the dog was up to date on rabies shots. Since that posting, controversy has erupted on the social networking website regarding the practice of allowing dogs to roam off leash in Hubbard Park.

“It's clear that I've landed, unknowingly, in a huge and ongoing controversy. We were just trying to find out if the dog that bit my wife had rabies vaccinations up to date,” Andrews wrote in a recent posting. “The fact is that my wife was run down from behind while jogging in Hubbard park by a dog that was not under control, leashed or otherwise, of the owner. The dog didn't bark, growl — nothing. It never made a sound. She was bitten badly on the arm. The skin was broken, she was bleeding and days later she is still bruised.”

The official stance from the parks commission is that “dogs are welcome in Hubbard Park and may be off leash” as long as they are under voice control. In addition, dog owners must always keep their dog in sight, carry a leash for the dog if needed, pick up after the dogs and have a current rabies vaccination, according to the code of conduct posted on the city of Montpelier’s website. However, several people have said an unpredictable cadre of free roaming dogs keeps them away from the park for fear of larger or out of control dogs — particular concern was expressed for the elderly and those with small children.

Since Andrews’ original posting, numerous people posted either in support of allowing unleashed dogs in the park or against the practice. Below are some sample public postings on the Front Porch Forum website.

One of the more impassioned postings for keeping dogs on a leash:

“As a dog lover and advocate I can see the ideal of having dogs off leash (in Hubbard Park). However, as a runner and pedestrian in Hubbard Park I feel like I shouldn't have to succumb to your lack of discipline and control of your animal off leash. I have no problem kicking your dog in front of you if you cannot control it (in) the assigned areas (you know who you are and you know who I am). I drove (through) the park the other day at a very slow crawl and had four dogs off leash cross over me at the very last minute where I would have run them over while owners were watching and doing NOTHING. While running, a dog rolled up on me while an owner stood by and did NOTHING except say "oh, she's friendly." How does any pedestrian know that? Get your shit together dog "owners" or stay out of Hubbard Park.” - Jerry Zeankowski.

And a post in favor of allowing them to go off leash:

“I am currently not a dog owner, but I have been in the past, and will be again in the future. Although the news of a dog biting a runner in Hubbard is distressing, I LOVE the fact that I can go to my local park and be greeted by excited, friendly, unleashed dogs while walking. I have never encountered an unfriendly dog in Hubbard Park. I am not belittling the seriousness of the dog bite and do hope the owner is able to provide what is needed, but in all honesty, I went today to Hubbard to get my dog fix, and was greeted, as usual, by happy, well-natured, fun furry friends. I feel all these great dogs need to be recognized along with the one incident that brought this issue to Front Porch Forum.” - Emma Joyce

And finally, many people advocated for installing a fenced-in dog park area, as in this posting:

“A dog park makes good sense in most communities and should do well in ours too. I've been running and skiing the trails at Hubbard for more than 15 years. In my experience, the majority of dogs off leash do meet the "under control" requirement. They stick near to their owners and respond quickly to voice commands. A significant minority are nice friendly dogs who are poorly trained and not "under control." I've been chased down by dogs like this, most often when they are running in small packs. One walker really cannot manage three, four or more exuberant canines off leash. A very small number of untrained, unpredictable and potentially vicious dogs with irresponsible owners cause real problems. It's a rare occurrence, but I've been cornered against a tree by a snarling dog with its back up and its teeth bared. If I'd twitched a muscle, I would have been bitten. The owner was unresponsive and unapologetic. She didn't even have a leash with her. I found a parks crew, told them what happened, and they said there was nothing they could do, so that dog and that owner remained in the park, presenting a danger to others. It would be helpful if the park commission would develop and post specific guidelines.

These should reiterate the "off leash but under control" policy (making clear what "under control" means), place a limit on the number of dogs per walker in this category, and give concrete information on how and where to report incidents aimed at reducing the likeli-hood of their recurrence, whether that means outreach to owners so that they can bring their behavior in compliance with the posted guidelines or whether it means a temporary ban on park use while the specifics of reported incidents are given further consideration in a fair process.” - Carol Doerflein

A committee who helped advise the park commission on the dog ordinance proposed “that the Parks Commission promote the idea of a fenced in off leash dog park to the City Council. There are a few potential areas that could be fenced in and designated as dog parks on existing City Parks or Recreation land. A fenced in dog park would become an additional option for dog owners who want to socialize their dogs and could relieve some of the pressure on Hubbard Park.”

Disclaimer reprinted from Frontporchforum.com “Even though a message will only be posted in the relevant Neighborhood Forum(s), members should consider that anything published online can find its way out to the broader world and Internet.”

The next meeting of the Montpelier Parks Commission will be September 8 at 7 p.m. at the Montpelier Police Department conference room. The public is invited and encour-aged to attend.

Dog Bite Unleashes Hubbard Park Policy Debateby Carla Occaso

PAGE 6 • SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 16 , 2015 THE BR IDGE

MONTPELIER — City Hall Plaza in downtown Montpelier has become an incubator space for new businesses and a friendly place to stop for lunch or a quick snack this sum-mer with not one, but two unique new food carts.

Be Juicy is the brainchild of local entrepreneur, Charlotte Root. Passionate about health and wellness, she makes her juices from local organic ingredients. She believes that juicing can change your life and “is a way to incorporate healthy items into your diet in a fun way.” Root should know; she says juicing changed her life.

Her most popular drinks, Kale Aid, Melon Aid and Creamsicle, are a combination of vegetables and fruit, and her recipes were developed in her personal kitchen, only adjusted based on access to local and organic ingredients.

Root’s talents are not limited to health and juicing. She designed and built her cart herself and designed her creative and colorful logo. Her best sales rep is Miela, her dog, who has become a favorite to everyone that stops by.

What’s next for Be Juicy? In October, Root will begin to take on clients as a health and

wellness coach. She is currently working on her masters at the Institute for Integrative Health where her passion continues to grow.

Also using local ingredients and launching a new business in City Hall Plaza is Brandon Darmstadt of Arnie’s Ice Cream. Darmstadt’s business idea for Arnie’s Ice Cream came to him before he even had a driver’s licenses, while he was a student at U-32 High School. Production began just two months after graduating. Arnie's Ice Cream is made in small batches and all ingredients are carefully selected, never using artificial f lavors or colors.

The realization of Darmstadt’s dream of starting a business began during independent study at U-32 and then moved on to an ice cream short course at Penn State. Much like Be Juicy, his ice cream recipes started in Darmstadt’s family kitchen with a hand-crank machine, and they were refined over time with taste tests conducted at school. He put a tremendous amount of hours into a business plan, applied for a loan and secured space on Gallison Hill where the ice cream is now made.

Do you want more Arnie’s Ice Cream? You can sign up to be a member. Members receive four pints of ice cream every month. Flavors change each month and are seasonal. Ac-cording to the Arnie’s Ice Cream website, newly developed flavors are made available to members before the general public, and members can sign up for a three, six or twelve-month membership.

Next on the horizon, Arnie’s Ice Cream will be available at local stores and restaurants, with perhaps a scoop shop in the future. Darmstadt says he is working on another cart that will travel and be available for catering and events. He will also consider adding ad-ditional frozen desserts to the menu in the future.

Although these food carts are very different in product, they have a lot in common. Both businesses use local ingredients and are using these carts as a launching point for their future. Most importantly, both food cart owners have terrific passion and are dedicated to their crafts. We are keeping an eye on Brandon and Charlotte and expect big things from these two young entrepreneurs!

Both of these yummy food options will be available in City Hall Plaza through Columbus Day weekend and we hope you will stop by and show these locals your support.

The writer is executive director of Montpelier Alive.

City Hall Plaza Fosters Two New Businessesby Ashley Witzenberger

One of the exciting things about working in downtown Barre is that there has been a steady f low of economic activity for the past several years. And a stroll through downtown the other day indicated to me that it was not stopping any time soon.

On this particular day, I stopped at three different startup businesses on Main Street to check in on their progress. The first business, The Office Block, is a co-working space located above Espresso Bueno. Business partners Markus Browning and Reuben Stone are in the middle of renovations and on this day had solicited the help from family members to paint.

Splotches of various colors adorned the main wall with the “winners” identified with smiley faces. The color palette was certainly warming and vibrant. Markus showed me around and described the layout of their vision. He was enthusiastic about the project and so were his mother and girlfriend who were painting trim. Reuben was away working at the business partners’ other venture, Stone & Browning Property Management. The two young Barresians have so much enthusiasm for downtown Barre and are looking forward to finishing The Office Block space sometime in the middle to end of September.

I left Markus and his talented painters behind to catch up with Elysha Thurston at Ever After Photography. Elysha and her husband, Matt, were painting also. Matt had grown up in Barre and the two met at Norwich. After stops in Florida and Massachusetts, their family of five settled in Barre. Elysha told me that after starting her photography business three years prior, she was excited to be able to bring her passion and energy for photography into downtown Barre. Weddings and portraits are Elysha’s specialties and she enjoys meeting clients in environments that make them feel comfortable. Their space was nearly complete with some minor painting yet to be done and they hope to open by the end of the week.

Across the street I headed to see Dustin Poitras, owner of Maria’s Bagels. As I walked in, sure enough there was Dustin painting. Dustin’s entrepreneurial path started two years ago when he saw a lack of quality bagels in the Barre–Montpelier area. After going through several iterations of recipes, Dustin finally was satisfied with a final product that was unique in that much of the seasoning, traditionally on the outside of the bagel, would be located inside the dough. I asked him how he came up with the name and he said “my daughter’s name is Maria and it sounded better than Dustin’s Bagels, but it would also be a constant reminder to give it my all.”

The move for Dustin was critical as his current production facility limited the number of days he could utilize the equipment. The retail storefront will allow Dustin to expand production from 70 dozen bagels a week to 600 and help to grow his wholesale business while diversifying his model with retail offerings. Dustin hopes to open up in late Sep-tember or early October and is looking forward to being on Main Street.

As I left Dustin and contemplated my visit with Elysha, Markus and Reuben, I was en-couraged that four 20-somethings had so much energy and passion for their businesses, but also for the direction of downtown Barre. It brought me great satisfaction that I was able to capture these moments of four entrepreneurs on the same day doing the exact thing, painting their hopes and dreams on the wall. And then I realized, I had not gotten any paint on my hand, or my shirt or pants and I knew then that this was a special day.

The writer is executive director of The Barre Partnership

Young Entrepreneurs Bringing New Businesses to Barreby Joshua Jerome

Granite City Groove

THE BR IDGE SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 16 , 2015 • PAGE 7

“A Fleeting Animal” Revived

by Nat Frothingham

Something big is about to happen in the Ver-mont arts world.

This September, after a performance break of 15 years — poet David Budbill and composer Erik Nielsen — are teaming up again with a full professional company that includes a music and stage director also a stage manager, tech direc-tor, costume designer, 16 opera singers and a seven-piece orchestra in an opera production of “A Fleeting Animal.”

“A Fleeting Animal” tells the story of what it’s like for ordinary people to live in hardscrabble, rural Vermont. But to the point. The opera fixes our attention on a young veteran who returns home to his small Vermont town after an 18-month tour of duty in Vietnam. He has been greatly changed — and is deeply troubled — by what he experienced. But he falls in love with a beleaguered single mother. The two find great happiness for a short time. And he struggles, but ultimately fails to escape his demons and dies by suicide. She becomes distraught and loses her grip on reality.

In a conversation with composer Erik Nielsen he talked with an unmistakable intensity about “A Fleeting Animal” — an opera and a work of art that would not let him go.

Nielsen said that his commitment to the opera “is coming from a deep and abiding attach-ment to the work — an attachment he felt most strongly during the nine months that he com-posed the music.

But mounting a second production of “A Fleeting Animal” – given the harsh realities of today’s opera world — has not been unlike pushing a huge stone uphill.

Getting an opera performed the first time was comparatively easy, he said. “People want to commission something.” That gets it performed once. But getting it performed a sec-ond time is nearly impossible. “If they can’t commission it, they don’t want to produce it” and this chokes off a second run of performances.

“A Fleeting Animal” was first performed in 2000. The years went by and over time Nielsen made his peace with the opera world as it is today and put his dream of a second production on hold.

Then something unexpected happened.

A couple of years ago, Nielsen was leading a music appreciation class and two women in the class asked him to talk about the opera. “I played some music. I talked about the story. People in the class that had seen the opera talked about it.”

And said Nielsen, “The response was so overwhelming, that I said: ‘It’s time.’”

It was time, he felt, to take on the formidable task of reaching out to volunteers, orga-nizing a board, and seeking financial support to pay for a professional production and a second run of performances.

That Nielsen and his board (with the timely help of the Monteverdi Music School that has served as the project’s fiscal agent) have nearly met the $70,000 goal speaks to the opera itself and the spirited effort that is going forward in rehearsals to create a run of performances that will do justice to the transformative power of the work.

Talking about this second run of shows, Nielsen sounded like a man whose creative energies had been re-engaged. “I’m back at it,” he said. I did some revisions. I never lost my love for it.”

The story about the young veteran who re-turns home— changed and troubled —and who struggles with what he has experienced in Vietnam — Nielsen called this, “a story for our time.” And though Nielsen sees himself as a composer, not as a clinician, he’s deeply aware that a lot of veterans come home and feel that no-one understands what they have been through.

In the opera that composer Erik Nielsen and librettist David Budbill created, there is plenty of darkness. But there are also shafts of light.

Said Nielsen: “They're funny. They fall in love. Like any of us, these rural people are dazzled by the beauty of the seasons. They roller skate, cut wood, play softball. In our short — 90-day-summers — they have cookouts, go skinny dip-ping, sit out under the stars.

Nielsen believes absolutely that opera can take storytelling — can take hearing and seeing and experiencing a story to a higher level of under-standing — through music. “Let the music take you. Follow the story. Let the music take you along,” he said.

One local woman who saw the opera during its first run in 2000 described her reaction in words like this, “A Fleeting Animal had knocked her back because it was so powerful. But it aston-

ished her as well because it was so funny.”

The power of the opera is derived from the searing honesty of David Budbill's Judevine and from Nielsen's often urgent, sometimes tender, music.

“This stuff is the bedrock of our time,” Nielsen said about the Vietnam veterans who returned home and couldn’t find understanding for what they had experienced.

Erik Nielsen is bringing back “A Fleeting Animal” for six performances over two week-ends and in reaching out, he says: “We want this seen by as many people as possible. We think this is an important story told in a compelling way.”

A Fleeting Animal: Performance Schedule Friday, September 11: Barre Opera House 7:30 p.m.Saturday, September 12: Elley-Long Music Center, Colchester 7:30 p.m.Sunday, September 13: Hardwick Town House 4 p.m.Friday, September 18: Woodstock Town Hall Theater 7:30 p.m.Saturday, September 19: Vergennes Opera House 7:30 p.m.Sunday, September 20: Chandler Center for the Arts, Randolph 4 p.m. Special Ticket Prices for Veterans and Students For information about special ticket prices for veterans and students, please con-tact: jsmith4127@gmail.com Please put “Vet Tickets” in the subject line of your e-mail message.

PAGE 8 • SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 16 , 2015 THE BR IDGE

Unlike my wife, who is practical and level-headed in such matters, I have this incredible ability to choose the wrong car. Whereas she

sees a car as just a means of getting from one place to another and would be happy with any sturdy little

sedan, my tastes run toward the exotic. I prob-ably got this trait from my family, who at one point all owned Studebakers.

My first car was very small and made in Italy. If I had been married back then, my

wife would have pointed out to me before I bought it that something was not right about the car, because the doors worked backward — the hinges were toward the rear of the car and the door latches were at the front by the windshield. The engine was in the rear, but unlike another more famous rear-engined car

of that time period manufactured north of the Alps, mine was water cooled, so the radia-tor was in the rear too. And the car was so small that the Italian designers could only fit a speedometer — nothing else — on the dashboard. Two days after I bought this tiny car it stopped running. It spent a day in the shop, and when I picked it up, the mechanic who did the diagnosis informed me that it would run much better if I put some gas in it. How was I to know?

That car was smashed one evening by a parked Chevy Chevelle SS Supersport (like most American muscle cars of the time, the Chevelle had it in for things foreign and rolled driverless out of its carport, down a small incline, across a street, and into my car). After that, I got rid of the little Italian car and bought another tiny car. This was a used two-seater made in England.

Two days after I bought this sports car it stopped running. Now, given my history, I know what you’re thinking, “Did you remember to put gas in it, Lare?” Of course I put gas in it! This car was small, but unlike the Italians, the English designers had included a spiffy little gas gauge that was so accurate the needle actually wiggled as the gas sloshed around in the tank. What the English designers also included was an electric fuel pump from the largest and most incompetent automotive electrical component manufacturer in England. Unlike the good old mechanical fuel pump you might find on a ’55 Nash or ’62 Ford Falcon, some of which are still working to this day even though the cars are completely rusted away, the life span of this British electrical component was about two months tops, after which you would just push the car to the foreign car parts store and buy a new fuel pump.

The life span of the electric fuel pump was, however, longer than the life span of the mas-ter cylinder for the hydraulic clutch system, which seemed to be about two weeks. And it is my belief the clutch master cylinder was component “Number One” around which the car was built, because to replace it you had to disassemble the entire car.

I had many great experiences with that car. In addition to fuel pumps and master cyl-inders there were numerous failed batteries, a blown engine, a broken transmission, and a broken crankshaft, not to mention that, when it rained, water poured in between the edge of the convertible roof and the removable “side curtains” and into the aptly named bucket seats. When it was sunny, the side curtains had to be stored in the “boot,” which is an exotic term for “trunk,” because the transparent plastic used as windows had turned an opaque brown. Also, the car was useless on dates to the drive-in movies because the transmission and its gear shifter formed a mountain range between the driver’s seat and the passenger’s seat.

I liked that exotic car so much I went out and bought another one of the same make that was two years newer, figuring that the engineers had enough time to work out the bugs on the “B” model. They hadn’t, but it did have glass roll-up windows and door locks!

My last bout with exotic machinery was a few decades ago but seems like only yesterday. Although in my shopping I became fond of a basic and relatively inexpensive car from a large German manufacturer, I thought its seats were as comfortable as the pews in a Lutheran church, so I decided to cruise by the dealer for cars made farther west, beyond the Maginot Line, in a land known for its fine wine and 246 varieties of cheese. This car company was also known for its high-quality pepper mills, so what could go wrong? A test drive made me stupid. The car was stylish, comfortable, handled very well, had been “Car of the Year” in Europe, and had this really neat and exotic prancing lion emblem on the grill, the steering wheel, and the f loor mats.

Two days after I brought the car home it rained. The rear seat foot wells filled with water, drowning two of the prancing lions. I called the dealer, who suggested I had left the sun-roof open. I suggested back to him that the car didn’t have a sunroof. It went downhill from there, with a new problem every week or two. Over the few years I owned the car, the mechanics at the dealership would smile when they saw me drive in, knowing that there was overtime pay in the offing. They replaced the pin up calendars on the wall of the shop with photos of my car.

When I pulled into the parking lot at work one bright and very cold February morning, I noticed a wisp of smoke from under the hood. Then flames shot out of the eyes and mouth of the prancing lion on the grill. The fire department managed to save the rear seats and trunk, but the prancing lions on the steering wheel and front f loor mats were lost.

After the fire was out and the debris was cleared, I called my wife. “You know how you are always wishing the prancing lion car would just burn up?” I said, “Well, you got your wish.” She took the news more calmly that I thought she would, and then suggested that before I went car shopping again I undergo counseling.

Car Simple

by Larry Floersch

The Center for Leadership SkillsBUSINESS & LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Lindel James coaching & consultingTaking You from Frustration to Enthusiasm

802 778 0626 lindel@lindeljames.comlindeljames.com

Got a news tip? We want to know! Send it to us at:

editorial@montpelierbridge.com

A TEST DRIVEM A D E M E STUPID.

THE BR IDGE SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 16 , 2015 • PAGE 9

BARRE — Derrick O’Donnell of New Hampshire put an exclamation point on his bid for a third consecutive Thunder Road championship by making a late charge for his fourth win of the season Thursday, August 27, on Cody Chevrolet Cadillac Night.

O’Donnell broke out of traffic late in the 50-lap main event and sliced through the front of the pack, passing cars low and high before reaching leader Mike “Beetle” Bailey. The two-time defending champion then swung to the outside of Bailey and grabbed the top spot with just three laps remaining.

“The car was really tight in the begin-ning, but I knew it would get better as we burned off some fuel, and it did just that,” O’Donnell said. “It almost worked out perfectly. As soon as the car got better, traf-fic opened up, and we had some running room. I was a little surprised when we got to Beetle; I thought we’d be a lot closer on laps than we were.”

Dave Whitcomb (Essex Junction) who was gunning for the Triple Crown, started on the pole. South Barre’s Bailey drew along-side him for the race’s second and final restart on lap seven and the two racers, who were both looking to break long win-less streaks, dueled for nearly 30 laps before Bailey got the edge.

Meanwhile, O’Donnell had worked his way up from the 12th starting position to sixth, but found himself boxed behind two-by-two traffic that also included Trampas Demers and Cody Blake. Once the pack sorted itself out, O’Donnell made his move and was in the second position by lap 43. The two-time defending champion caught Bailey a few laps later and got past for his seventh career Thunder Road Late Model victory.

Bailey settled for second and Whitcomb took third. Demers, Blake, Jason Corliss, Scott Dragon, Nick Sweet, John Donahue, and Kyle Pembroke rounded out the top-10. Results are pending ongoing technical inspection.

Essex’s Mike Billado picked up his first win of the season and seventh of his career in the Bond Auto Tiger Sportsman feature. Billado took the lead from rookie Tommy Smith of Williamstown on lap eight of the 35-lap feature following the race’s only restart and cruised to the victory.

Smith held off Cameron Ouellette for sec-ond. Doug Crowningshield finished fourth followed by Brendan Moodie, who unoffi-cially takes over the point lead. Mike Mar-tin, Jason Woodard, Christopher Pelkey, Dylan Payea, and Stephen Donahue fin-ished sixth through 10th.

Waitsfield’s Kevin Streeter nabbed his first career Allen Lumber Street Stock victory in the 25-lap feature. Streeter came out on top of a duel with Jennifer Getty just before the halfway point and ran away for the win.

Getty held off a charge from rookie Mat-thew Smith for second. Jamie Davis fin-ished fourth to unofficially take a sizeable point lead after nemesis Jaden Perry was in-volved in an early crash. Marcel J. Gravel, Brandon Gray, Alan Maynard, Tyler Aus-tin, Chris LaForest, and Will Hennequin completed the top-10.

The Thunder Road regular season con-cludes Sunday, September 6 with the 37th Coca-Cola Labor Day Classic. The Thun-der Road Late Models will run 200 green-flag laps, and at the conclusion the 2015

“King of the Road” will be crowned. The Bond Auto Tiger Sportsmen and Allen Lumber Street Stocks will also crown their champions. Post time is 1:30 p.m. Admis-sion is $25 for adults and free for kids 12 and under.

For more information contact the Thunder Road offices at 802.244.6963, media@act-tour.com, or visitwww.thunderroadspeed-bowl.com.

Cody Chevrolet Cadillac NightUnofficial Results

Thunder Road Late Models

Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown

1. Derrick O'Donnell ( 60VT ) N. Haverhill, NH

2. Mike Bailey ( 00VT ) S. Barre, VT

3. David Whitcomb ( 25VT ) Essex Jct., VT

4. Trampas Demers ( 85VT ) S. Burling-ton, VT

5. Cody Blake ( 99VT ) Barre, VT

6. Jason Corliss ( 66VT ) Barre, VT

7. Scott Dragon ( 16VT ) Milton, VT

8. Nick Sweet ( 88VT ) Barre, VT

9. John Donahue ( 26VT ) Graniteville, VT

10. Kyle Pembroke ( 27VT ) Montpelier, VT

11. Matt White ( 42VT ) Northfield, VT

12. Eric Badore ( 4VT ) Milton, VT

13. Brooks Clark ( 68VT ) Fayston, VT

14. Brett Gervais ( 11NH ) Island Pond, VT

15. Phil Scott ( 14VT ) Middlesex, VT

16. Josh Demers ( 10VT ) Montpelier, VT

17. Boomer Morris ( 13VT ) Barre, VT

18. Adam Pierson ( 18NY ) East Corinth, VT

19. #Darrell Morin ( 17VT ) Westford, VT

20. Scott Coburn ( 72VT ) Barre, VT

21. Ricky Roberts ( 3VT ) E. Barre, VT

22. Tyler Cahoon ( 38VT ) St. Johnsbury, VT

23. Arthur Heino Jr. ( 07ME ) Newport, NH

24. Jason Allen ( 29VT ) Barre, VT

25. Eric Chase ( 40VT ) Milton, VT

26. Mark Norris ( 22ME ) Benson, VT

27. Chip Grenier ( 9VT ) Graniteville, VT

Bond Auto Tiger Sportsmen

Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown

1. Mike Billado ( 8 ) Essex, VT

2. Tommy Smith ( 50 ) Williamstown, VT

3. Cameron Ouellette ( 90 ) Barre, VT

4. Doug Crowningshield ( 14 ) Barre, VT

5. Brendan Moodie ( 94 ) Wolcott, VT

6. Mike Martin ( 01 ) Craftsbury, VT

7. Jason Woodard ( 68 ) Waterbury Ctr., VT

8. Christopher Pelkey ( 64 ) S. Barre, VT

9. Dylan Payea ( 7 ) Milton, VT

10. Stephen Donahue ( 26 ) Graniteville, VT

11. Shawn Fleury ( 31 ) Middlesex, VT

12. Brian Delphia ( 27 ) Duxbury, VT

13. Joe Steffen ( 00 ) Grand Isle, VT

14. David Finck ( 37 ) Barre, VT

15. Bert Gallison ( 30 ) Graniteville, VT

16. Adam Maynard ( 25 ) Milton, VT

Allen Lumber Street Stocks

Pos., Driver, Car #, Hometown

1. Kevin Streeter ( 67 ) Waitsfield, VT

2. Jennifer Getty ( 25 ) Cambridge, VT

3. #Matthew Smith ( 04 ) Essex Jct., VT

4. Jamie Davis ( 43 ) Wolcott, VT

5. Marcel J. Gravel ( 86 ) Wolcott, VT

6. Brandon Gray ( 00 ) E. Thetford, VT

7. Alan Maynard ( 10 ) Fairfax, VT

8. Tyler Austin ( 5 ) E. Calais, VT

9. #Chris LaForest ( 56 ) Barre, VT

10. Will Hennequin ( 47 ) Morrisville, VT

11. Gary Mullen ( 29 ) Tunbridge, VT

12. Kyle Streeter ( 37 ) Waitsfield, VT

13. Jamon Perry ( 62 ) Hardwick, VT

14. Kevin Dodge ( 8 ) Barre, VT

15. Thomas Merchant ( 38 ) Eden Mills, VT

16. Justin Town ( 53 ) East Barre, VT

17. Bunker Hodgdon ( 83 ) Hardwick, VT

18. Scott Maynard ( 59 ) Burlington, VT

19. Scott Weston ( 40 ) Berlin, VT

20. Richard Gravel ( 68 ) Wolcott, VT

21. #Reilly Lanphear ( 21 ) Duxbury, VT

22. Jaden Perry ( 92 ) Hardwick, VT

23. Kelly Miller Jr. ( 0 ) Johnson, VT

O’Donnell Wins a Fourth Championship at Thunder Road

by Michael Stridsberg

Cody Chevrolet Congratulates The Bridge On Over 20 Years of Business!

Derrick O'Donnell (#60VT) takes the lead from Mike Bailey (#00VT) with three laps remaining in the Cody Chevrolet Cadillac Trophy Dash. (Alan Ward/Big Al's Photos photo)

PAGE 10 • SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 16 , 2015 THE BR IDGE

MONTPELIER — Music lovers attended a particularly memorable concert this summer. It both inaugurated the new Main Street pocket park as a performing venue and featured a combination of two instruments that are rarely paired: a saxophone and a classical violin.

A perfect evening and a welcoming audience greeted Patchtax, a musical duo from Boston, who initiated Montpelier’s Main Street Pocket Park as a special outdoor concert venue.

The performance recently featured the Boston-based duo, made up of Montpelier’s own, violist Karen Eve Boltax, and saxophonist Mary Joy Patchett in collaboration with dancer Elizabeth Epsen. Interpreting classical music with a modern flair, Patchtax performed works by Georg Philipp Telemann, Luciano Berio and Béla Bartók, as well as new works by contemporary composers Georges Aperghis and Kevin Laba.

Patchtax performs a wide variety of music that spans from the Renaissance period to brand new works commissioned by the duo. Boltax and Patchett, musicians with gradu-ate degrees in music, combined syllables of their surnames to arrive at their band name, Patchtax. They live in Boston and have been playing together as a duo for three years. Both teach privately and have freelance careers.

These performances are part of a summer tour, where the artists will be experimenting with the shared physical space of music, dance, and audience. During the 10-day tour of Vermont and Montreal, which just took place, and subsequent September dates in New York City, the ensemble will be recording an album to be released in the fall. In Montreal, they gave two public concerts, one in a park, to the delight of mothers and their infants.

During the pocket park performance, these talented musicians threw themselves into the music as they engaged the audience. Patchtax’s inventiveness was evident in many ways. Patchett explained to the audience that not a lot has been written for saxophone and viola. In one of the Bartok pieces, originally written for two violins, they explained that they transcribed the music for their instruments, as they must do for many other works that they play. Part of the charm for the audience was in their moving around the park, situ-ating themselves in a different place for each piece. This venue worked well in achieving an unusual intimacy between musicians and audience.

Interesting musical choices also contributed to the appeal. In the Canonic Sonata by Te-lemann, the two musicians played the same series of phrases but began at different times. The Aperghis piece entitled Rasch was quite modern and was described as a game of ping pong. In another non-melodic and rather discordant piece, the duo paired music with

food and urged the audience to pretend they were biting into a lemon as we listened. In Berio’s Alfredo, dancer Epsen played with Boltax’s hair at a furious pace while the musi-cians played on. While pleasing to the audience, performing outdoors can be difficult for the musicians because of weather, sound, and distractions. This is definitely not a controlled environment, albeit one in which the performance appeared f lawless.

The tour and recording project, funded by Indiegogo, involves filming and recording on location utilizing the expertise of sound engineer Kevin Laba. This is the first of their collaborative projects, and Boltax explained that collaboration is central to their process. They have worked with many composers, dancers, percussionists, brass players, and an electronic musician. They often view themselves as a trio with a rotating third member.

What does the future hold for these dynamic musicians? They hope to continue to de-velop their repertoire and push the boundaries of where classical music can be performed and for whom.

Patchtax’s parting words: “Montpelier’s a great audience!”

For more information about the duo go to www.patchtax.com.

Boston Duo Plays Montpelierby Joyce Kahn

Mary Joy Patchett and Karen Eve Boltax are Patchtax

MONTPELIER — Mark your calendars for September 26 for the social event of the year, the first Vermont Book Awards gala hosted by the Vermont College of Fine Arts.

In keeping with the college’s mission “of promoting emerging and established artists”, the event will recognize outstanding poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, and children’s literature that takes place in Vermont, is published by a Vermont press, or is composed by a Vermont writer. It will be a true celebration of local literary talent and is the brainchild of college president Tom Greene. The idea came from a desire to celebrate Vermont’s rich literary heritage.

A special nominating committee, made up of the Independent Booksellers of Vermont, was chaired by Bear Pond Books owner, Claire Benedict, who carefully selected six books. To be eligible for a nomination, a book must have a publication date between January 1 and December 31, 2014 and must either be set in Vermont, published by a Vermont press, or written by a Vermont writer.

Nominated books:

• “Winter Ready,” Leland Kinsey from Barton, Poetry

• “Landscape with Plywood Silhouettes,” Kerrin McCadden from Plainfield, Poetry

• “Museum of the Americas,” Gary Lee Miller from Montpelier, Fiction: Short Stories

• “If Only You People Could Follow Directions,” Jessica Hendry Nelson from Winooski, Creative Nonfiction: Memoir

• “Like Water on Stone,” Dana Walrath from Underhill, Children’s Literature: Young Adult Novel in Verse

• “Belzhar,” Meg Wolitzer from New York, New York Children’s Literature: Young Adult Novel

A panel of esteemed judges including writers, teachers and librarians will decide on one winner that will be revealed at the Vermont Book Awards gala; the winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize.

In addition to revealing the first winner of the Vermont Book Awards, the gala will be the unveiling of the newly renovated Alumni Hall at Vermont College of Fine Arts. The event will include music, a plated dinner, and readings by the nominees. Tickets to the award ceremony and gala dinner are now available on the Vermont College of Fine Arts website. An invitation is extended to not just those in the literary world but to the entire Vermont community.

VCFA to Host The First Vermont Book Awardsby Ashley Witzenberger

Thank you for supporting The Bridge!

THE BR IDGE SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 16 , 2015 • PAGE 11

Now that you’ve enjoyed your Mont-pelier sweets, it’s time to work off some of those calories. Our city

has a wide variety of social recreational groups that meet regularly to get fit, lose weight, study the environment, or simply enjoy the camaraderie and conversation with others while being outdoors.

This spring, epicurean fiddler Susan Reid started a walking group that meets in front of City Center Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings at 7 a.m. and Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings at 6:30 p.m. The group walks about an hour down the bike path, through Hubbard Park, or around the city neighborhoods. Dogs are welcome on leashes. The group is diverse and out for a good walk and inspiring con-versations — not a race.

Montpelier Tree Board member John Snell leads nature walks through the downtown and Hubbard Park and identifies and pro-vides history on our local trees. These walks are part of a week of walks organized by the Montpelier Pedestrian Committee and are held in the fall and in the spring.

The North Branch Nature Center orga-nizes bird walks. These tree and bird gath-erings are publicized in the events sections of our local papers. Discussions include dangers to our local arboreal and avian cul-tures and how residents can assist in pro-tection and maintenance. This fall's bird walks will be held on Fridays beginning September 4 through October 2 meeting at 7:30 a.m. at the Nature Center. There is a small fee for non-members.

The Montpelier Senior Activity Center sponsors “Walks with Harris (Webster)” on Thursdays at 12:45 p.m. These walks depart from the senior center on Barre Street and are for healthy exercise and con-versation. The senior center also sponsors some cycling events. For more information contact them at msac@montpelier-vt.org.

Onion River Sports hosts many cycling events, ranging from low-key pedestrian rides to elite racing events. On Tuesday nights, Onion River sponsors the Road Spokes. They meet seasonally at the Mont-pelier High School at 5:15 p.m. Three dif-ferent group levels ride until dark and are supervised by Linda Freeman. On Wednes-day nights ORS partners with the Stowe Bike Club to hold time trials in various locations throughout Central Vermont, in-cluding Middlesex, Waterbury, Worcester, and Stowe. Onion River Sports also publi-cizes and sponsors organized road cycling,

mountain-bike and cross-bike races and events. Their most famous event is the Onion River Century which was held in August for the benefit of the Kellogg Hub-bard Library. For more information check out www.onionriver.com.

A group of accomplished road cyclists meets on good weather days at noon, either in front of the State House or at the corner of Spring and Elm streets for a 20-mile or so lunch-hour spin. This group, affection-ately called the “nooners,” was started by Bill Reynolds and his cronies in the attor-ney general’s office. The rides guarantee a good workout, fun chatter, lots of teasing and town line challenges. A favorite ride is Route 12 to and from the Wool Shed east of Worcester.

Central Vermont Runners is a longstanding active running club. From May through September, the club holds fun runs every Tuesday evening at 5:30 on the bike path near the Montpelier High School track. Distances range from one mile to six miles on a safe course including the bike path and dirt roads. Central Vermont Runners sponsors a full calendar of certified and fun Central Vermont races. In Montpelier they include the 41-year-old Paul Mail-man Ten Miler, the 38-year-old Capitol City Stampede, the Kids Track Meet and the Fallen Leaves 5K Series. The club also puts on the Berlin Pond Five Miler, the Bear Swamp Run in Middlesex, the Leaf-

peepers Half Marathon in Waterbury and others. The Leafpeepers has been ranked one of the top half marathons in the coun-try. The CVR schedule can be found at www.cvrunners.org. Onion River Sports sponsors most Central Vermont Runners events, and, together with the Kiwanis Club, holds the increasingly popular and successful Montpelier Mile, which kicks off Montpelier’s Independence Day cel-ebration each year on July 3.

Montpelier dog owners regularly gather in Hubbard Park in the field at the parking lot above the intersection of Parkway Street and Corse Trail, above the Old Shelter, for after-work romps for their canines. If you want a workout goal with your pup, try the annual Mutt Strut sponsored by Central Vermont Runners at Little River State Park in the spring. See www.cvrunners.org .

Last but not least, the Montpelier Chapter of the Green Mountain Club has an active schedule with 400 members from Mont-pelier and surrounding towns. In addition to maintaining a section of and hiking the Long Trail, Green Mountain Club vol-unteers lead trips year round. Depending on the season, these trips may be hiking, biking, paddling, cross-country skiing, or snowshoe trips with varying published degrees of difficulty, from easy to mod-erate to difficult. There is no charge for such outings and you do not have to be a member, although membership support is

encouraged. See www.gmcmontpelier.org.

Of course there are activities to keep you fit at home, such as gardening and wood stacking, although such activities may not be as social. Stay tuned for my next column on Montpelier’s secret gardens, shortcuts and hidden jewels. Don’t worry. I won’t give away too many “secrets.”

Montpelierites on the Moveby Dot Helling

Members of the Montpelier Chapter of the Green Mountain Club dig in North Branch to remove invasives.

Central Vermont Runners at the start of a Fun Run.

Part of Susan Reid's walking group in Hubbard Park.

PAGE 12 • SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 16 , 2015 THE BR IDGE

Multifarious Multimodalism: Different Ways of Getting Aroundby Carl Etnier

A multimodal transportation center is key to the development plans for One Taylor Street in Mont-pelier. When it's complete, people will be able to

walk, bicycle or drive there and get onto Greyhound or Green Mountain Transit Agency busses. They'll be able to transfer from regional busses to intercity busses or vice versa. Perhaps some day, a passenger use will be found for the rail track that runs past it, to Barre in one direction and Montpelier Junction in the other...

However, there's no need to wait to take advantage of mul-timodal transportation — opportunities abound. Regional busses in our area, for example, almost universally have bicycle racks. I regularly bike down the hill from my home in East Montpelier to College Street, where I take the bike with me on the Route 2 commuter bus to Goddard Col-lege. At the end of the day, I get off the bus at a higher elevation than College Street — the corner of Towne Hill Road and upper Main Street — and ride home. Or, if I want to come home at a different time than the bus, or to work out the kinks after a day at a desk, I bike the entire ten miles home from work.

It's not just bikes that can be combined with the bus. I sometimes drive to College Street and take the bus from there — it puts six or seven miles on my car instead of 20.

I find bikes and busses to be a potent combination for other regional trips, too. Bus service between Montpelier and Barre is infrequent in the middle of the day. If I have a meeting in Barre, I can take the bus there and bike back to Montpelier immediately afterward, rather than waiting for the next bus. It's even more convenient if I have an ap-pointment at the hospital — the Hospital Hill bus takes me there, and I return via the almost entirely downhill Paine Turnpike/Berlin Street or see some lovely country-side in exchange for a bit of uphill by riding via Stewart Road and Hill Street.

East Montpelier resident Paul Erlbaum says he and his wife, Rachel Grossman, have used the bike racks on the Route 2 Commuter bus to travel to St. Johnsbury and start five-day bike trips in the White Mountains. "It's great," he said. "We've done it three different years. The worst that's

happened is that the 6:30 a.m. bus already had a bike on it, so only one of us could fit. The second person just came an hour later. And at the end of our bike trip, we took the bus back home from St. J."

I've seen the bike racks on the roofs of CarShare Vermont's cars in Montpelier — which means members who live a ways from their downtown locations could bike in to City Hall or School Street, drive off with their bicycles, and bicycle at their final destination.

The LINK busses to Burlington have bike racks, too; tak-ing the bike on the LINK puts the entire Queen City in easy reach of my two-wheeler. And there's been years of pressure on Amtrak to accept bicycles on the Vermonter — which they have done on a test basis, but are no longer doing, according the Amtrak agent I spoke with.

For planes and trains that don't allow bikes, and automo-biles that don't have bike racks, a folding bike can make them multimodal, too. When I lived in Norway, I once moved from a cabin in the countryside to an apartment in Oslo entirely by folding bike, bike trailer and commuter train. It was a lot of trips, but I was commuting anyway.

I've heard of people who take a folding bike on intercity buses or airplanes in a bag or box marked "Exercise Equip-ment." In Henry Kissinger's pet phrase, the label has the added advantage of being true.

I also find multimodal ways to travel without involving bicycles at all. For example, I'll take the LINK bus to some event in Burlington, getting email done via the bus's wifi, and then connect at the event with someone for a ride home. On some of these journeys, I've gotten to know mere acquaintances considerably better.

How about a bus-plane combination? Some Burlington flights can be reached by bus from Montpelier without

overly long layovers. But it's a little tricky. Greyhound goes directly to the airport, but it doesn't reliably hold its timetable. The LINK keeps pretty close to its timetable, but it doesn't go near the airport — and it takes two bus transfers in Burlington to get from the LINK route to the airport. I've taken the LINK to Burlington and ordered a cab ahead of time to meet me at one of its stops — it's con-siderably cheaper than parking for more than three days.

Technically, driving to the Greyhound stop at City Hall, the Amtrak station at Montpelier Junction, or the Burling-ton airport constitutes multimodal transportation — but somehow it feels more adventurously multimodal if the drive is a bit longer. For example, a drive to the Dartmouth Coach in Lebanon can be the prelude to a relaxing and/or productive bus trip to Boston or New York City — while avoiding traffic hassles and parking costs in the city. Since Dartmouth's Boston bus goes both to South Station and Logan, it's convenient to really put the "multi" in multi-modal by transferring to a train or plane.

In a way, even the most car-bound among us generally travel as multimodalists. Most drivers walk out the front door to get to the car, after all, and walk to their final destination. But with a little planning, determination and sometimes a dose of creativity, it's possible to combine a lot more modes of travel. When I've done so, I not only feel good about reducing my carbon emissions, I feel in-vigorated after a brisk bike ride from the bus. Or socially satisfied from a conversation with a new rideshare buddy or seatmate on the bus or train. Or just refreshed from being able to nap on my travels and leave the driving to someone else.

Opinion

When I was in high school, Tom Cochran’s version of the song “Life is a High-way” hit the airwaves and attached itself directly to my nervous system. I had a license, a good pair of sunglasses and a great car. My cooler-than-thou brother

had handed down to me a ’66 Mustang with a souped-up engine and custom stereo with a “bass cannon” in the trunk. I had “Life is a Highway” on a cassette single and when I popped it in and pumped it up, I became a daredevil and, I suspected, a badass.

I had developed a series of racy vehicular maneuvers for different parts of the song — swerves at the doot doota doot doot YEAH! and at the screeching “Whoooooo!” part, I f loored it. This particular dance driving routine earned me more than one brush with disaster but I had a Mustang with a 302 and it was painted black: I was immortal.

Two decades and three children later, I recently found myself driving into town in my standard-issue silver Subaru. I was having a blessed moment to myself — no kids in the backseat complaining, just me and a summer afternoon — when “Life is a Highway” came on the radio. I smiled. My palms began to twitch on the steering wheel. At a stop sign I looked carefully around. I waited for the right part of the song. Then, with a glint in my eye, I punched the gas pedal to the f loor for just a few seconds “Whoooooo!” before I returned to the dictates of my sensible mother protocol. I am no longer immortal, but it’s still my song. I’m more careful, more tired, less daredevil and certainly less badass, but life is still my highway. Doot doota doot doot YEAH!

Michelle A.L. Singer lives in East Montpelier and, amazingly, the Mustang is still in her life. It’s now painted dark burgundy and is just getting a new exhaust manifold. And no, it’s not for sale.

Life is a Highwayby Michelle A.L. Singer

Opinion

THE BR IDGE SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 16 , 2015 • PAGE 13

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and today there are fewer and fewer Escorts on the road. In recent years people have asked Dan, “When the Escorts disappear, what are you going to do?

Well, as early as the 1980s, Dan was dis-covering a stronger and stronger market for classic cars. As the Escort business faded, Dan turned his attention to finding, then rebuilding — and not just rebuilding, but doing complete makeovers on classic cars.

Sometimes Dan’s work involves a complete restoration. Sometimes he builds a replica. Pointing to a Ford hot rod out on the middle of the grass, Dan said, “That’s a replica car. The top comes off and it turns into a con-vertible.”

With a replica car, it’s not enough to produce a car that looks exactly like the car it once was. You’ve got to take those cars and make them all modern by adding disk brakes, power steering, air conditioning. Dan’s Ford hot rod includes a number of “show-off” gadgets that open the door or the gas tank, or that slowly lift the trunk. The high luster shine isn’t metal. “It’s fiberglass and it won’t rust,” Dan said.

Talking about price, Dan said that Ford hot rods like the one on his lot now average be-tween $30,000 and $60,000. “That orange one is on eBay for $40,000,” he said. “I can find you five on eBay for $40,000.”

The Plymouth Belvedere at Just Escorts has its own delicious story.

Like a number of other classic cars that Dan Barrows has worked on recently, the Belve-dere was found locally. According to Dan, “The last eight cars I brought here were within 21 miles of me. Some of them were in storage lockers. Some of them came out of barns tucked under blankets.”

The Belvedere was an estate car meaning that its owner had died. It was a surviving family member who phoned Dan to ask, “Are you still buying classic cars?”

Well, of course, he was.

“We went to Barre Street (in Montpelier),” Dan said. When they opened the garage door, the car was there but it was under a cloth cover. When Dan peeled back the cover, there in front of him was a 1957 Belvedere with 52,000 miles in near-mint condition.

“I was blown away,” Dan said, to think that a car like this had been stored in a local ga-rage less than 10 miles away from his shop all these years and in near-mint condition.They hooked up the battery and drove it out of the garage.

Getting to the final deal was a compara-tively straightforward task. “I gave them a price. They said, ‘No.’ Then they came back with another offer. I finally agreed on their price.”

Without disclosing the final price, Dan said, “A car like this, as it is, would sell for $30,000 to $45,000.

Dan described his work on the Belvedere as a minor restoration with a touch up on the body work. You put on new tires, and the car is ready to go.

That Belvedere does take your breath away with the awesome sweep of its wrap-around windshield, its classy grill and headlights and its whitewall tires. The car is parked. It’s not moving. But like a crouching animal, it’s ready to go. It’s ready to fly.

Warming to his subject, Dan said, “Those high fins in back. You don’t see those any-more. Those dual antennas — that was the look.”

Dan and I talked about the almost irresist-ible pull of a classic car. He remembers what it was like in the 1950s and 60s in Montpe-lier when 30 to 40 guys with their muscle cars would hang out there in front of the old Chittenden Bank building on State Street where Capitol Grounds is today.

Said Dan, “There are a lot of people walking around who want to relive their youth, who want to get in touch with their memories. A classic car? You find that car. It’s the key that opens a door to his heart. For a man it might be remembering the first car he ever drove. For a man and a woman, it might be the car they got married in. It might be remembering what it felt to be young.” Said Dan, “They know the car. They had that car when they were young. “The man might say, “I had that car when I was 16 or 17. My wife wants it.”

Relive Your Youth in a Classic Car Continued from Page 1

Dan Barrows of Just Escorts with the Belvedere, the Ford Hot rod and an antique Sky Chief gas pump.

PAGE 14 • SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 16 , 2015 THE BR IDGE

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3MBAC Meeting. Meeting of the Montpelier Bicycle Advisory Committee. First Thurs., 8 a.m. Police Station Community Room, 534 Washington St., Montpelier. 262-6273.

Diabetes Support Group. First Thurs., 7–8 p.m. Conference room 3, Central Vermont Medical Center. 371-4152.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4Lawn Fest and Craft Sale. Sept. 4, 5, 7. China, kitchenware, linens, books, puzzles, games, toys, sports equipment, small appliances, baskets, jewelryand some wonderful collectibles. Snacks and lunch. 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Waterbury Center Community Church, 3583 Waterbury Stowe Rd., Waterbury Center. 244-8089.

Death Café. Group discussion about death with no agenda, objectives or themes. First Fri., 11:45 a.m.–1 p.m. Twin Valley Senior Center, Rte. 2, Blueberry Commons, E. Montpelier. Bring your own lunch or eat at the center for $4. 223-3322.

Book Signing and Discussion: Chris Hadsel. Chris Hadsel author of Suspended Worlds book signing, discussion, Curtains without Borders to preserve historic stage scenery. 5–6:30 p.m. T.W. Wood Gallery, 46 Barre St, East Wing, 2F, Mont-pelier. Free. 262-6035. ginnycallan.woodartgal-lery@gmail.com. twwoodgallery.org

Coffeehouse. Enjoy live music and share your own. Fellowship, potluck snacks and beverages. First Fri., 7–9 p.m. Trinity United Methodist Church, 137 Main St., Montpelier (park and enter at rear). Free. 244-5191, 472-8297 or rawilburjr@comcast.net.

Art and Author Night: Interior Spaces. Art opening of paintings by Diane Fitch, 6 p.m. Reading with author Sherry Olson, 7 p.m. Jaquith Public Library, Jaquith Public Library, 122 School St., Marshfield. Free. 426-3581. jaquithpubliclibrary.org.

Stories to Sweeten the Jewish New Year. Shab-bat service with lively singing and storytelling with Rabbis Tobie Weisman and Michal Woll, Maggid Yitzhak Buxbaum and Carole Forman, 6 p.m. Catered meal, 7:30 p.m. Yearning for Learning Center, 32 Main St., Montpelier. $15-36 sliding scale suggested donation for meal and session. No fee for services. Register: 223-0583. yearning-4learning.org

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5National Federation of the Blind, Montpelier Chapter. First Sat. Lane Shops community room, 1 Mechanic St., Montpelier. 229-0093.

Lawn Fest and Craft Sale. Sept. 4, 5, 7. China, kitchenware, linens, books, puzzles, games, toys, sports equipment, small appliances, baskets, jewelry and some wonderful collectibles. 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Waterbury Center Community Church, 3583 Waterbury Stowe Rd., Waterbury Center. 244-8089.

The Northeast Storytellers. Writers, readers and appreciators of prose and verse meet regularly the first Saturday of every month. The public is welcome to attend and new members are always encouraged to join. 11:30 a.m.–2 p.m. Catamount Arts, 115 Eastern Ave., St. Johnsbury. 751-5432. brookequillen@yahoo.com.

Osteoporosis Education and Support Group. For those who have been diagnosed with osteopo-rosis or osteopenia, have a family member who has been diagnosed or want to learn about osteopo-rosis. Learn from a variety of guest speakers and medical specialists. First Sat., 1–3 p.m. Commu-nity National Bank, Community Room, Crawford Rd., Derby. 535-2011. mary@betterbonesnek.org. betterbonesnek.org.

Fleeting Animal Benefit. An evening of entertain-ment, food, wine and discourse benefitting the documentary film of Erik Nielsen and David Budbill’s opera A Fleeting Animal: An Opera from Judevine. The program includes poetry reading by David Budbill, Rep. Chip Troiano speaking about his experiences in Vietnam, music by Tom MacKenzie and more. 7–9 p.m. Wood Art Gallery, 46 Barre St., Montpelier. $25 suggested donation. Space is limited. Reservations: 223-5124 or info@susanbettmann.com.

Espresso Brain-o. Mount your best small team, and come eat, drink and think your way through this dynamic live trivia game. 7 p.m. Espresso Bueno, 248 N. Main St., Barre. $5. 479-0896. events@espressobueno.com. espressobueno.com.

Spiritual Attunement for the Jewish New Year. With Maggid Yitzhak and Carole For-man, 7:15–8:45 p.m. Selichot service with Rabbis Michal Woll and Tobie Weisman, 9–9:30 p.m. Yearning for Learning Center, 32 Main St., Mont-pelier. $15–36 sliding scale suggested donation. No fee for Selichot services. Register: 223-0583. yearning4learning.org

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6Storytelling and Apple Tasting for the Jewish New Year. Apple tasting and storytelling for families and children. With storytelling masters Maggid Yitzhak Buxbaum and Carole Forman. 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Elmore Roots Nursery, 631 Symonds Mill Rd., Wolcott. $15–20 suggested donation per family. Reservations: 223-0583. yearning4learning.org

Monarch Butterfly Tagging. Drop by any time between 3:30 and 5:30 p.m. to catch, tag and release some migrating monarchs. We’ll look for other butterflies and bugs as well! We have nets to share, but bring a net if you have one. 3:30–5 p.m. North Branch Nature Center, 713 Elm St., Montpelier. Adults $5; children $3. 229-6206. northbranchnaturecenter.org.

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7Hike Avery's Gore with Green Mountain Club. Difficult. 8 miles round trip. Gore Mountain. Hike to fire tower/summit. Contact Michael for meeting time and place: 249-0520 or chernick5@comcast.net

Lawn Fest and Craft Sale. Sept. 4, 5, 7. China, kitchenware, linens, books, puzzles, games, toys, sports equipment, small appliances, baskets, jewelry and some wonderful collectibles. 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Waterbury Center Community Church, 3583 Waterbury Stowe Rd., Waterbury Center. 244-8089.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 8Medicare and You Workshop. New to Medicare? Have questions? We have answers. Second and fourth Tues., 3–4:30 p.m. 59 N. Main St., Ste. 200, Barre. Free, donations gratefully accepted. 479-0531. cvcoa@cvcoa.org. cvcoa.org.

Grandparents Raising Their Children’s Children. Second Tues., 6–8 p.m. Child care provided. Wesley Methodist Church, Main St., Waterbury. 476-1480.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9Bereavement/Grief Support Group. Open to anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one. 10–11:30 a.m. Conference Center. 600 Granger Road, Berlin. Free. 223-1878.

Pete Seeger, Musician. A focus on Seeger’s music with musician Mark Greenberg. An Osher Lifelong Learning Institute program. Doors open 12:30 p.m. for those wishing to bring a brown bag lunch; programs starts 1:30 p.m. Montpelier Se-nior Activity Center, 58 Barre St., Montpelier. $5 suggested donation to Osher. 454-1234. MSAC: 223-2518.

Celiac and Food Allergy Support Group. With Lisa Masé of Harmonized Cookery. Second Wed., 4:30–6 p.m. Conference room 3, Central Vermont Medical Center. lisamase@gmail.com.

Spotlight: Great Play Discussion. “As You Like It” by William Shakespeare. Discussion with Joanne Greenberg and the cast of Lost Nation The-atre. Explore one of Shakespeare’s most influential plays. 5:15–6:15 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier. 223-3338. kellogghub-bard.org

Quilting Group. Working meeting of the Dog River Quilters. Second Wed., 5:30 p.m. Commu-nity room, Brown Public Library, Northfield. Jean, 585-5078 or jeanjolley@myfairpoint.net.

Group Dream Embodiment. Come and see what dreams can bring us. If possible, bring 2–3 dreams to discover the unique message they have for you. All dreamers welcome. 6–8 p.m. Nutty Steph’s, 961 US-2, Middlesex. Donations accepted. 522-6889.

Bereaved Parents Support Group. Second Wed., 6–8 p.m. CVHHH, 600 Granger Rd., Berlin. Jeneane Lunn 793-2376.

Young Adult Book Discussion. Open to anyone, any age, with an interest and passion for young adult literature. The goal is to inspire a rich, lively discussion from people who bring varied perspec-

THEATER, STORYTELLING & COMEDY

Sept. 3: LPN Comedy Night. Please welcome and support the return of comedy to the former Black Door in Montpelier. With Kathleen Kanz, Taylor Scribner, Joe Gingras and Bitsy Biron. Adult con-tent. 8 p.m. La Puerta Negra, 44 Main St., Montpelier. $5.

Sept. 4: Laugh Local Vermont Open Mic Comedy Night. Montpelier's longest currently running monthly comedy open mic. Please support local comedy by performing or watching those that do. Sign-ups 7:30 p.m.; show starts 8 p.m. The American Legion Post #3, 21 Main St., Montpelier. Free; donations welcome. Bob: 793-3884.

Sept. 11: A Fleeting Animal: An Opera on the Judevine. A creation of Brookfield composer Erik Nielsen and Wolcott poet David Budbill. Timeless in its themes: the harm of individual isolation and the possibility of community redemption. Like all great operas, it has passion, humor and tragedy. Music inspired by French Canadian fiddle tunes, the blues, jazz and other contemporary styles. 7:30 p.m. Barre Opera House, 6 N. Main St., Barre. $25. 476-8188. barreoperahouse.org

Sept. 11: The Capitol Steps. The famed and hilarious political satire group Capitol Steps perform an evening of political merriment. The material is updated constantly. No matter who or what is in the headlines, you can bet the Capitol Steps will tackle both sides of the political spectrum and all things equally foolish. 7:30 p.m. Chandler Music Hall, 71-73 Main St., Randolph. $36. 728-6464. chandler-arts.org

Sept. 17–Oct. 25: The Hound of The Baskervilles. Presented by Lost Nation Theater. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s celebrated Sherlock Holmes story gets a gloriously funny makeover. Thurs., 7 p.m.; Fri. and Sat, 8 p.m.; Sept. 19 and Sun., 2 p.m. Lost Nation Theater, City Hall Arts Center, Main St., Montpelier. $30 Fri. and Sat.,; $25 Thurs. and matinees; discounts for students and seniors. 229-0492. lostnationtheater.org.

Sept. 18: Stroke Yer Joke. Sign up in advance on Facebook, or sign up at the door a half hour before show time, and try five minutes of your best open-mic stand-up comedy before a live audi-ence. 8 p.m. Espresso Bueno, 248 N. Main St., Barre. Free. 479-0896. events@espressobueno.com. espressobueno.com.

Sept. 19: Ballets with a Twist: Mint Julep and Other Spirited Dances. Reinvents the glamour and excitement of classic entertainment with an original mix of charismatic choreography, intoxicating music and exquisite costume design. Program highlights include the spunky “Shirley Temple” and Kentucky Derby-inspired “Mint Julep.” 7:30 p.m. Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center, 122 Hour-glass Dr., Stowe. $20–59. 760-4634. sprucepeakarts.org

Performing Arts

The Capitol Steps bring hilarious political satire to Chandler on Sept. 11

THE BR IDGE SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 16 , 2015 • PAGE 15

Calendar of Events

tives to the books because of diversity in age, life experience and reading tastes. The September book is "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian," by Sherman Alexie. Second Wed., 6:30–8 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, East Montpelier Room, 135 Main St., Montpelier.

Montpelier City Council Meeting. Second and fourth Wed., 6:30 p.m. City Council Chambers, Montpelier City Hall. 39 Main St., Montpelier. montpelier-vt.org.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10Therapy Dog Visit. MSAC member Martha Chaiken and her therapy dog, Coco, visit to provide companionship and play. Information about Therapy Dogs of Vermont and how to get involved. 1–1:30 p.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 58 Barre St., Montpelier. 223-2518.

Author Reading and Book Signing: Elayne Clift. Author Elayne Clift reads excerpts from her newest book “Children of the Chalet.” 7:30 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Hayes Room, 135 Main St., Montpelier. 223-3338.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11Friday Night Group. For youth age 13–22 who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning. Pizza, soft drinks and conversation. Cofacilitated by two trained, adult volunteers from Outright VT. Second and fourth Fri., 6:30–8 p.m. Unitarian Church, 130 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 223-7035. Micah@OutrightVT.org.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 12Winooski River Clean-up. Sponsored by Friends of the Winooski River. Help improve the streams and rivers for Vermont. Bagels and coffee, 8:30–9 a.m.; clean-up 9 a.m.–noon. Meet in front of City Hall, 39 Main St., Montpelier. Volunteers will head out to clean-up sites from there. 882-8276. Advance sign-up appreciated: info@winooskiriver.org. winooskiriver.org

Overeaters Anonymous. Twelve-step program for physically, emotionally and spiritually over-coming overeating. Two meeting days and loca-tions. Second Sat., 8:30–9:30 a.m. at Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, 39 Washington St., Barre. 249-3970.

White River Clean-up. Sponsored by White Riv-er Partnership, Vermont Law School and Redstart Forestry. Help improve the streams and rivers for Vermont. 9–11 a.m. Vermont Law School park-ing lot downstream of South Royalton bridge. 763-7733. mary@whiteriverpartnership.org

Everything But the Baby! Sale. Kids clothes to size 6X, maternity clothes, toys, carriers and baby gear. 9 a.m.–1 p.m. Quality donations appreci-

ated. Drop-off donations Sept. 11, between 8 a.m. and noon. Bethany Church, 115 Main St., Montpelier. 244-1254. babywearerscentralvt@gmail.com

2015 Walk or Run for Children. With Prevent Child Abuse Vermont. An opportunity to alert Vermonters to the need for a community commit-ment to child abuse prevention. Special guest is the amazing Spider-Man, who has a long history of being a proponent of child abuse prevention. Come and see Spidey, and for pledges of $100 or more, get your picture taken with him. 10 a.m.; check-in 8 a.m. The State House lawn, State St., Montpelier. Register: 1-800-CHILDREN or pcavt.org

Touch-a-Truck. Presented by Barre Kiwanis Club. A unique opportunity for children to explore vehicles of all types — public service, emergency, utility, construction and more — all in one place. Supervised environment. 10 a.m.– 2 p.m. Barre Town Recreation Area, behind Barre Town Middle & Elementary School, Websterville Rd., Barre. $6 per family benefits Barre Kiwanis projects. 476-4029.

Memory Café. A safe and accepting place for people living with memory loss and their care partners to meet and socialize. Special guests Bill "Spaceman" Lee, retired legendary Red Sox Pitcher, and Brian Gallagher, Vice-President and General Manager of the Vermont Mountaineers. Hot dogs, beverages and fixings. 10:30 a.m.–noon. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 58 Barre St., Montpelier. Free; open to the public. Liz: 229-9630.

Second Saturday: Mammoth Discoveries! Archaeologist Brennan Gauthier will discuss the discovery of a mammoth tooth and tusk in 1848 at Mount Holly. He will talk about theories developed at the time to explain the bones, as well as what we know now after 150 years of archaeo-logical and scientific progress. 2–3 p.m. Vermont History Center, 60 Washington St., Barre. Free with museum admission (adults $5; seniors $3; students/children/members free.) vermonthistory.org

Sip ’n’ Spin. Vinyl geeks unite! Bring a selection of your favorite LPs — any genre — and play them for the crowd. Two turntables and a mixer on site. 7 p.m. Espresso Bueno, 248 N. Main St., Barre. $5. 479-0896. events@espressobueno.com. espressobueno.com.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13Verve in Verse: Poetry Reading. Featuring Ker-rin McCadden and Ryan Walsh. Reception and book signings follow down the road at the Kent exhibit. 3–4 p.m. Old West Church, 758 Old West Church Rd., Calais. kentscorner.org

Rebel Intuitive Perfumerie at Salaam Bou-tique. Join Beckie Sheloske and Katy Knuth from Rebel Intuitive and Sarah Lesser from Salaam for

pairing of Rebel Intuitive scents with the latest fall fashions. Enjoy complimentary refreshments and an evening of fragrance, fashion and fun. 5–8 p.m. Salaam Boutique, 40 State St., Montpe-lier. rebelintuitive.com

Rosh Hoshanah Service. 6:30 p.m. Beth Jacob Synagogue, 10 Harrison Ave., Montpelier. Com-plete schedule and donations: bethjacobsvt.org

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14High Holiday Services. Rosh Hoshanah, 9 a.m.; Tashlich, afternoon time T.B.A.; Humanistic service, 7 p.m. Beth Jacob Synagogue, 10 Har-rison Ave., Montpelier. Complete schedule and donations: bethjacobsvt.org

Baby & Toddler Story Time. 10 a.m. Waterbury Public Library temporary location, 30 Foundry St., Waterbury. Free. 244-7036. waterburypubli-clibrary.com.

Peace & Justice Center Book Discussion. Sept. 14–15. "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarcera-tion in the Age of Colorblindness" by Michelle Alexander. Discussion will focus on the War on Drugs, how it became the booming industry it is today and how communities of color have been disproportionately affected by the industry. 6–8 p.m. Aldrich Public Library, 6 Washington St., Barre. program@pjcvt.org. pjcvt.org

Bereavement/Grief Support Group. Open to anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one. 6-7:30 p.m. Conference Center. 600 Granger Road, Berlin. Free. 223-1878.

10+1 Prenatal Superfoods. With Tara Carpen-ter. Part of The Birthing Year: New Parent Prepa-ration Series. Babes in arms welcome. Free onsite childcare for elder siblings may be available. 6–8 p.m. Good Beginnings, 174 River St., Mont-pelier. Free. Register: 595-7953.

Italy’s Friuli Venezia Giulia Region: Beautiful, Fascinating, and Affordable! Learn about the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, the most northeast region of Italy, bordered by Slovenia, Austria and the Adriatic Sea, filled with exquisite food, history and stunning sites. Mary Sue Lyons will lead a slide show tour through the region, in what is sure to be the least expensive (but still very enjoyable) trip to Italy ever. Sponsored by the Vermont Ital-ian club. 6:30 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier. 223-3338. kellogghubbard.org.

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15Rosh Hoshanah Service. 9 a.m. Beth Jacob Syna-gogue, 10 Harrison Ave., Montpelier. Complete schedule and donations: bethjacobsvt.org

Introduction to the New York Times Cross-word Puzzle. Crossword enthusiast Renee Epstein will share tips and tricks to help you complete crossword puzzles more easily. 1–3 p.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 58 Barre St., Montpelier. Free; open to all seniors. Pre-registra-tion welcomed but not required: 223-2518.

Peace & Justice Center Book Discussion. Sept. 14–15. "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarcera-tion in the Age of Colorblindness" by Michelle

MusicVENUESEspresso Bueno. 248 N. Main St., Barre. 479-0896. Free/by donation. events@espressobueno.com. espressobueno.com.

Sept. 4: Susan Picking, 7 p.m.; Dan Weintraub, 8 p.m.; Michelle Rodriguez with Paul Boffa, 9 p.m.Sept. 11: Jazzyaoke, 7:30 p.m. $5.Sept. 19: Open Mic & Talent Show, 7:30 p.m.

La Puerta Negra. 8 p.m. 44 Main St., Montpe-lier. $5. 613-3172.

Sept. 4: BOSSMAN (reggae)Sept. 18: The Rough and Tumble (Americana)

Positive Pie. 10 p.m. 22 State St., Montpelier. 229-0453. positivepie.com.

Sept. 4: Afinque (salsa/Afro-Cuban) $8.Sept. 11: The House Band, $5.

Whammy Bar. 7 p.m.; Fri. and Sat., 7:30 p.m. 31 County Rd., Calais. Thurs., Free. whammybar1.com.

Sept. 3: Willa Mamet and Paul MillerSept. 4: Lefty Yunger (blues)

SPECIAL EVENTSSept. 4: Jo Dee Messina. Since breaking onto the country music scene with the hit “Heads Carolina, Tails California,” Messina has had nine #1 songs and has won countless awards including the Academy of Country Music’s Top

Female Artist of the Year and CMA’s prestigious Horizon Award. 7:30 p.m. Chandler Music Hall, 71-73 Main St., Randolph. $35-75. 728-6464. chandler-arts.org.

Sept. 4: Benefit Concert for the Palestinian Violin Project. Concert by pianist Michael Ar-nowitt and violinist Michael Dabroski to support Palestinian children's music education. 7:30–9 p.m. Unitarian Church, 130 Main St., Mont-pelier. Free-will offering requested. 229-4011. mhage56@yahoo.com

Sept. 5: Dave Keller Band: Soul and Blues from Montpelier to Memphis. Singer, guitarist and songwriter performs. 8 p.m. Spruce Peak Per-forming Arts Center, 122 Hourglass Dr., Stowe. $20–35. 760-4634. sprucepeakarts.org

Sept. 6: Chandler’s New World Festival. The 11-hour festival celebrates the Celtic and French Canadian musical traditions brought to northern New England by English, Scottish, Irish and French-Canadian immigrants. Featured are Ten Strings and a Goat String, Andrea Beaton and

Troy McGillivray, The Fretless, Press Gang and more. Ethnic foods, crafts and creative activi-ties in the children’s tent. Main St., Randolph. Adults $39; children under 12 free. 728-6464. newworldfestival.com

Sept. 11: Free Music in the Alley. Hosted by Axel’s Gallery and curated by TURNmusic. Fea-turing Parker Shper who grew up playing piano by ear. Eclectic jazz roots. 6–9 p.m. The alleyway between Axel’s Gallery and Cork Wine Bar, Stowe St., Waterbury. Free. axelsgallery.com

Sept. 11: The Villalobos Brothers. Brothers Ernesto, Alberto and Luis bring their classical violin training and Mexican folk roots together to create “contemporary high-octane Mexican fiddle music.” Their music carries a strong message of love and brotherhood, as well as a commitment to social justice. Part of Vermont Tour for Migrant Justice and Milk with Dignity. 8 p.m. Barre Labor Hall, 46 Granite St., Barre. Tickets start at $15. http://migrantjustice.net/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=8

Sept. 12: Carol Ann Jones Quartet. A free-flowing up-tempo evening of rock, country, pop, jazz and blues. 8 p.m. Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center, 122 Hourglass Dr., Stowe. $20–35. 760-4634. sprucepeakarts.org

Send your listing to calendar@montpelierbridge.com

Deadline for next issue is August 27.

Send information for events happening Sept. 3–Sept. 19.

The Villalobos Brothers bring Mexican folk music to the Barre Labor Hall on Sept. 11

PAGE 16 • SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 16 , 2015 THE BR IDGE

Calendar of Events

Alexander. Discussion will focus on the War on Drugs, how it became the booming industry it is today and how communities of color have been disproportionately affected by the industry. 6–8 p.m. Aldrich Public Library, 6 Washington St., Barre. program@pjcvt.org. pjcvt.org

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16Events and Trends in the Middle East. Presented by retired CIA station chief Haviland Smith. An Osher Lifelong Learning Institute program. Doors open 12:30 p.m. for those wishing to bring a brown bag lunch; programs starts 1:30 p.m. Aldrich Public Library, 6 Washington St., Barre. 454-1234.

Film and Panel Discussion: Growing up Trans. The program focuses on young adults who transitioned in childhood, how society and their communities relate to them and documents the struggles they face. A Frontline Program and part of the LGBTQ series. 6:30 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier. 223-3338. kellogghubbard.org.

Film at Jaquith Library. Bird’s eye view of bird migration. A big screen movie. Stunning photog-raphy; a visual treat. For people of all ages. 7 p.m. Jaquith Public Library, 122 School St., Marsh-field. Free. Call library for film title: 426-3581. jaquithpubliclibrary.org.

Montpelier School Board Meeting. 7 p.m. Montpelier High School library, 5 High School Dr., Montpelier. 225-8000.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17The Tunbridge World’s Fair. Sept. 17–20. Thurs., 8 a.m.–9 p.m.; Fri., 7 a.m.–9 p.m.; Sat., 7 a.m.–10 p.m.; Sun., 8 a.m.–6 p.m. 1 Fairground Rd., Tun-bridge. Thurs., Fri. and Sun., $10; seniors on Fri., $8; Sat., $15; season ticket $35. For full schedule: tunbridgeworldsfair.com

Brain Injury Support Group. Open to all survi-vors, caregivers and adult family members. Third Thurs., 1:30–2:30 p.m. Unitarian Church, 130 Main St., Montpelier. 244-6850.

Diabetes Discussion Group. Focus on self-management. Open to anyone with diabetes and their families. Third Thurs., 1:30 p.m. The Health Center, Plainfield. Free. Don 322-6600 or dgrabowski@the-health-center.org.

Credit Card Debt: What to Do if it Gets Out of Control. With Robin Barone. Responsible han-dling of credit card debt, what to do if you have to go to court and how to avoid unscrupulous credit card debt collectors. 5 p.m. Central Vermont Basic Education’s Montpelier Learning Center, 100 State St., Montpelier. Register in advance: 476-4588 or 223-3403.

Survivors of Suicide Loss Support. Monthly group for people affected by a suicide death. Third Thurs., 6–7:30 p.m. Central Vermont Medical Center, conference rm. 1, Fisher Rd., Berlin. 223-0924. calakel@comcast.com.afsp.org.

Grandparents Raising Their Children’s Children. Third Thurs., 6–8 p.m. Child care provided. Trinity United Methodist Church, 137 Main St., Montpelier. 476-1480.

River Arts Photo Co-op. Gather, promote and share your experience and knowledge of photog-

raphy with other photography enthusiasts in an atmosphere of camaraderie and fun. Adults/teens. Third Thurs., 6–8 p.m. River Arts Center, 74 Pleasant St., Morrisville. $5 suggested donation. 888-1261. riverartsvt.org.

Designing Abundance: Applying Permaculture Principles to Regional Design. A Transition Town program. Presenter Victor Guadagno, an Emmy winning director and permaculture expert discusses permaculture on all scales and how it can lead to a better society. 6:30–7:45 p.m. :30 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier. 223-3338. kellogghubbard.org.

Songwriters’ Meeting. Meeting of the Northern VT/NH chapter of the Nashville Songwriters Association International. Bring copies of your work. Third Thurs., 6:45 p.m. Catamount Arts, St. Johnsbury. John, 633-2204.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18The Tunbridge World’s Fair. Sept. 17–20. Thurs., 8 a.m.–9 p.m.; Fri., 7 a.m.–9 p.m.; Sat., 7 a.m.–10 p.m.; Sun., 8 a.m.–6 p.m. 1 Fairground Rd., Tun-bridge. Thurs., Fri. and Sun., $10; seniors on Fri., $8; Sat., $15; season ticket $35. For full schedule: tunbridgeworldsfair.com

Preschool Story Time. 10 a.m. Waterbury Public Library temporary location, 30 Foundry St., Wa-terbury. Free. 244-7036. waterburypubliclibrary.com.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19Hike Waitsfield with Green Mountain Club. Difficult. About 5 miles. Scrag Mountain from Waitsfield to Northfield. Near the summit is the

former fire tower site, and below summit is the cabin used by the lookout. Car spot necessary. Contact one of two co-leaders for meeting place and time: Rudy at 433-1004 or Phyllis Rubenstein at 223-0020 or Phyllis@PhyllisRubensteinLaw.comcastbiz.net

The Tunbridge World’s Fair. Sept. 17–20. Thurs., 8 a.m.–9 p.m.; Fri., 7 a.m.–9 p.m.; Sat., 7 a.m.–10 p.m.; Sun., 8 a.m.–6 p.m. 1 Fairground Rd., Tun-bridge. Thurs., Fri. and Sun., $10; seniors on Fri., $8; Sat., $15; season ticket $35. For full schedule: tunbridgeworldsfair.com

Bethany Church Lawn Sale. Sept. 19–20. 8 a.m.–4 p.m. Everything you could desire in one place at great prices! Donations accepted Sept. 14, 1–8 p.m.; Sept. 15–17, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. No dona-tions accepted on Sept. 18. Bethany Church, 115 Main St., Montpelier. 223-2424. uccbethany@comcast.com. bethanychurchvt.org

Additional Recyclables Collection Center. Ac-cepting scores of hard-to-recycle items. Third Sat., 9 a.m.–1 p.m. 540 N. Main St. (old Times-Argus building), Barre. $1 per carload. 229-9383 x106. For list of accepted items, go to cvswmd.org.

Lamoille River Clean-up. Sponsored by Vermont River Conservancy, Lamoille River Anglers Association and Lamoille County Conservation District. Help improve the streams and rivers for Vermont. 9 a.m.–2 p.m. 459 Durarmel Rd., Morristown. 888-9218 x. 113. Kimberly.komer@vtnecdnet.net

Chicken Pie Supper. Two sittings, 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Trinity United Methodist Church, 137 Main St., Montpelier. Adults $12; children 10 and under $5. Take-outs available. Reservations required: 229-9158.

Visual Arts EXHIBITSThrough Sept. 6: Karla Van Vliet and Kathleen A. McGuffin, Making Sacred Connections. Van Vliet is a poet, painter and sculptor. McGuffin is a modern painter. Part of the Vermont Festival of the Arts. The Waitsfield United Church of Christ, 4335 Main St., Rt. 100, Waitsfield. Free; donations welcome. 496-3065.

Through Sept. 7: 26th annual Photo Show in the Round Barn. Community-based photo show. Part of Vermont Festival of the Arts in the Mad River Valley. Mon.–Fri., 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Sat.–Sun., 10 a.m.–2:30 p.m. The Round Barn, E. Warren Rd., Waitsfield. roundbarn.com. For more information and entry forms: greenmoun-tainculturalcenter.com.

Through Sept. 7: Generations. 87 paintings by invited artists and teachers and their students. Watercolors, oils, acrylics and pastels by artists aged 6–85 years old over the past 75 years. 11 a.m.–5 p.m. and by appointment. Bryan Memorial Gallery, 180 Main St., Jeffersonville. 644-5100. bryangallery.org.

Through Sept. 18: Art Resource Association Group Members Show. Celebrating 40 years. An excellent opportunity to view many central Vermont artists’ works. T.W. Wood Gallery, 46 Barre St., Montpelier. artresourceassociation.com. twwoodgallery.org.

Through Sept. 23: Alan Jacobs. Abstract paint-ings by Jacobs, a retired psychiatrist and psycho-analyst and self-taught artist. Gifford Medical

Center gallery, 44 S. Main St., Randolph. Free. 728-7000.

Through Sept. 26: Karla Van Vliet. Mixed media works inspired by the artist’s own dreams. Reception: Sept. 5, 6–8 p.m. Axel’s Gallery, 5 Stowe St., Waterbury. 244-7801. info@axelsgal-lery.com. axelsgallery.com.

Through Sept. 26: Paintings of Diane Fitch. Opening: Sept. 4, 6 p.m. Jaquith Public Library, 122 School St., Marshfield. Free. 426-3581. jaquithpubliclibrary.org.

Through Sept. 30: Tom Leytham, The Other Working Landscape. Watercolor prints. Gal-lery hours Mon.–Fri., 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Pavilion Office Building, Governor’s Gallery, 109 State St., Montpelier. tomleythamarchitectartist.com.

Through Sept. 30: Paintings by Marina Epstein. 20 years of painting ranging from the artist’s earliest influences of surrealism, abstract expressionism and more. The Vermont State Supreme Court, 111 State St., Montpelier. Free. 229-6297. hermitage-gallery.com.

Sept. 4–30: The Fantastical World of Liz Le Serviget. Enter the fantastical world of Le Serviget’s painted menagerie and delight in the organic forms, swirls and vivid colors that soar with her imagination. Opening reception: Sept. 4, 4–8 p.m. Cheshire Cat, 28 Elm St., Montpe-lier. 223-1981. cheshirecatclothing.com.

Through Oct. 14: Exposed. Outdoor sculpture exhibit. 18 monumental sculptures and installa-tions. The art works are installed in Stowe along Main Street, the recreation path and at Helen Day Art Center at 90 Pond St., Stowe. helenday.com/exposed2015.

Sept. 15–Oct. 30: Exhibits at Studio Place Arts. Gallery hours: Tues.–Fri., 11 a.m.–5 p.m.;

Sat., noon–4 p.m. 201 N. Main St., Barre. 479-7069. studioplacearts.com

Main floor: Rock Solid for Fifteen Years. An-nual exhibit showcases stone sculptures and assemblages by area artists. In addition, take the Art Stroll around downtown, historic Barre and view a variety of sculptures created from granite.Second floor: Tarpentry. A visual narrative of landscape and culture by Linda Bryan.Third floor: Pattern & Signal. Paintings and ceramics by Alex Constantino. Reception: Sept. 17, 5:30–7:30 p.m.

Through Nov. 2: Photographing the Flower. Celebrates the work of local photographers who participated in River Arts' Photographing the Flower workshop taught by local photographer, Kent Shaw. Images on display highlight the artists' work, craft and unique vision. Morris-ville Post Office, 16 Portland St., Morrisville. 888-1261. riverartsvt.org

Sept. 10–Nov. 2. Hal Mayforth, Two Trains Running. Large abstract paintings on canvas as well as smaller works on wood panel that are cartoon and humorous in nature. Also included in this exhibit is a sampling of pages from Mayforth’s sketchbooks. Reception and artist talk: Sept. 10, 5–7 p.m. Gallery hours: Mon.–Thurs., 9 a.m.–4 p.m.; Fri., 9 a.m.–2 p.m. River Arts Center, 74 Pleasant St., Morrisville. Free. 888-1261. riverartsvt.org.

Sept. 12–Nov. 8: Sound and Fury. Thought provoking exhibition explores themes centered on the meaning of life and death. Various medi-ums. Opening reception: Sept. 12, 6–8 p.m. Chandler Gallery, 71-73 Main St., Randolph.

Sept. 11–Nov. 22: Fractured: Works on Paper. Group exhibition of works on paper looks at

fractured space through the lens of the narrative, structure and optics and how those constructions or deconstructions create new meaning, new perceptions and new truths. Reception: Sept. 11, 6 p.m. Gallery hours: Wed.–Sun., noon–5 p.m. Helen Day Art Center, 90 Pond St., Stowe. 253-8358. mail@helenday.com

Through Nov. 30: Mark Lorah, Building Blocks. Vibrant, blocky abstract artworks. Morse Block Deli, 260 N. Main St., Barre.

SPECIAL EVENTSSept. 4: Opening Reception for Women of Norwich: Trailblazers and Torchbearers. Features many facets of the women who were “first”— first ladies of the Norwich presidents, first women in the Corps of Cadets, and first women in fields where they have not tradition-ally been employed or deployed. 3–5 p.m. Nor-wich University Sullivan Museum and History Center, 158 Harmon Dr., Northfield. Free; open to the public. acedemics.norwich.edu/museum/

Sept. 4: Montpelier Art Walk. Art receptions in many downtown venues. Selected locations will feature local cheese. 4–8 p.m. Downtown Montpelier. Free. 223-9604. artwalk@montpe-lieralive.org. montpelieralive.org/artwalk

Sept 12: Opening Celebration of the Kent Mu-seum. The Kent shows encourage visitors to ex-perience contemporary images within the bones of an historic structure, providing a unique tour of mid-19th century architecture enhanced by modern forms. 3–5 p.m. Kent Museum, 7 Old West Church Rd., Calais. kentscorner.org

October Berries by Robin LaHue (left) and La Grange Orange à St. Octave by Frank Woods are currently on display through Sept 18 as part of the Art Resource Association Group Members Show at the T.W. Wood Gallery in Montpelier.

THE BR IDGE SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 16 , 2015 • PAGE 17

Tell them you saw it in The Bridge!

Vermont Italian Club Presents Travel Program of the Lesser Known Northeast Region of Italy

MONTPELIER — Mary Sue Lyons, member of the Vermont Italian Club, will present Italy's Friuli Venezia Giulia Region: Beautiful, Fascinating and Affordable! on September 14, 6:30 p.m. at Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Lyons will lead a slide show tour of her travels of the most northeast region of Italy that is bordered by Slovenia, Austria and the Adriatic Sea. The Friuli Venezia Giulia region spans a wide variety of climates and beautiful land-scapes and is known for its developed economy and being a key link to greater Europe. Its population is now a mix of Italian, Austrian and Slavic cultures.

The presentation is sponsored by the Vermont Italian Club, a non-profit organization committed to discussing, learning, sharing and celebrating the cultural heritage of Italy and Italian-Americans. The club began in 1983 and currently has a about 150 members, primarily in Chittenden County. Lyons hopes this presentation will not only encourage travel to Italy but also generate interest in membership for a greater club presence in Washington County.

According to club president Stephen Baietti, the club hosts an array of events centered on Italian culture such as dances, dinners, operas and renaissance art lectures. All events are free of charge. Baietti says that members plan on hosting more events in and around the Montpelier area. The only requirement for membership is an interest in Italian culture.

For more information on the Vermont Italian Club, visit www.vermontitalianclub.org.

For more information on Mary Sue Lyons' travel presentation on Sept. 14, please call Kellogg-Hubbard Library at 223-3338 or visit www.kellogghubbard.org.

Laghi di Fusine. Photo courtesy of Mary Sue Lyons

Mary Sue Lyons

PAGE 18 • SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 16 , 2015 THE BR IDGE

ART & CRAFTBeaders’ Group. All levels of beading experience welcome. Free instruction available. Come with a project for creativity and community. Sat., 11 a.m.–2 p.m. The Bead Hive, Plainfield. 454-1615.

Noontime Knitters. All abilities welcome. Basics taught. Crocheting, needlepoint and tatting also welcome. Tues., noon–1 p.m. Waterbury Public Library, 28 N. Main St., Waterbury. 244-7036.

Women Knitting for Peace Group. Knit/crochet items to be donated to those in need world-wide. Bring yarn and needles. Thurs., 10–11 a.m. and 6–7:30 p.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 58 Barre St., Montpelier. 223-2518. For basic info. and patterns: knitting4peace.org.

BICYCLINGOpen Shop Nights. Volunteer-run community bike shop: bike donations and repairs. Fri., 4–6 p.m.; other nights. Freeride Montpelier, 89 Barre St., Montpelier. 552-3521. freeridemontpelier.org.

BOOKS & WORDSLunch in a Foreign Language. Bring lunch and practice your language skills with neighbors. Noon–1 p.m. Mon., Hebrew; Tues., Italian; Wed., Spanish; Thurs., French. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier. 223-3338.

English Conversation Practice Group. For students learning English for the first time. Tues., 4–5 p.m. Central Vermont Adult Basic Educa-tion, Montpelier Learning Center, 100 State St. 223-3403.

Ongoing Reading Group. Improve your reading and share some good books. Books chosen by group. Thurs., 9–10 a.m. Central Vermont Adult Basic Education, Montpelier Learning Center, 100 State St. 223-3403.

BUSINESS, FINANCE, COMPUTERS, EDUCATIONComputer and Online Help. One-on-one com-puter help. Tues. and Fri., 10 a.m.–1 p.m. Water-bury Public Library, 28 N. Main St., Waterbury. Free. Registration required: 244-7036.

Personal Financial Management Workshops. Learn about credit/debit cards, credit build-ing and repair, budgeting and identity theft, insurance, investing, retirement. Tues., 6–8 p.m. Central Vermont Medical Center, Conference Room 3. Registration: 371-4191.

FOOD & DRINKCommunity Meals in Montpelier. All welcome.Free.

Mon.: Unitarian Church, 130 Main St., 11 a.m.–1 p.m.Tues.: Bethany Church, 115 Main St., 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.Wed.: Christ Church, 64 State St., 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m.Thurs.: Trinity Church, 137 Main St., 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.Fri.: St. Augustine Church, 18 Barre St., 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m.Sun.: Last Sunday only, Bethany Church, 115 Main St. (hosted by Beth Jacob Synagogue), 4:30–5:30 p.m.

Lunches for Seniors. Mon., Wed., Fri., Noon. Twin Valley Senior Center, 4583 U.S. Rt. 2, E. Montpelier. $4 suggested donation. 223-3322. twinvalleyseniors.org.

Feast Together or Feast To Go. All proceeds

benefit the Feast Senior Meal program. Tues. and Fri., noon–1 p.m. Live music every Tues., 10:30–11:30 a.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 58 Barre St., Montpelier. Seniors 60+ free with $7 suggested donation; under 60 $9. Reservations: 262-6288 or justbasicsinc@gmail.com.

Barre Farmers Market. May 16–Oct. 17. Every Wed., 3–7 p.m.; every Sat., 9 a.m.–1 p.m. Vermont Granite Museum, 7 Jones Brothers Rd., Barre. barrefarmersmarketvt.com.

Capital City Farmers Market. 53 farmers, food producers and craftspeople. Every Sat. through Oct. 31. 9 a.m.–1 p.m. 60 State St., Montpelier. capitalcityfarmersmarket.com.

Community Night. Fresh pasta dinners in sup-port of local non-profits and other community causes. A portion of the evenings proceeds will be donated to a selected local non-profit. Sept. 12 benefits Lost Nation Theater. Sept. 19 benefits Washington County Youth Service Bureau. Every Sat., 5:30–8:30 p.m. North Branch Café, 41 State St., Montpelier. 552-8105. thenorth-branch.com/upcoming-events/

HEALTH & WELLNESSTurning Point Center. Safe, supportive place for individuals and their families in or seeking recovery. Daily, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. 489 North Main St., Barre. 479-7373.

Sun.: Alchoholics Anonymous, 8:30 a.m.Tues.: Making Recovery Easier workshops, 6–7:30 p.m.Wed.: Wit’s End Parent Support Group, 6 p.m.Thurs.: Narcotics Anonymous, 6:30 p.m.

Early Bird Bone Builders Class. With Cort Richardson. Osteoporosis exercise and prevention program. Wear comfortable clothing and sturdy shoes. Light weights provided or bring your own. All ages. Every Mon., Wed. and Fri., 7:30–8:30 a.m. Twin Valley Senior Center, Rt. 2, Blueberry Commons, E. Montpelier. Free. Cort: 223-3174 or 238-0789.

Bone Building Exercises. All seniors welcome. Every Mon., Wed. and Fri. 10:45–11:45 a.m. Twin Valley Senior Center, 4583 U.S. Rt. 2, E. Montpelier. Free. 223-3322. twinvalleyseniors.org.

Tai Chi for Seniors. Led by trained volunteers. Every Mon. and Fri., 1–2 p.m.; Mon. and Wed., 5:30–6:30 p.m. Twin Valley Senior Center, 4583 U.S. Rt. 2, E. Montpelier. Free. 223-3322. twinvalleyseniors.org.

Living Strong Group. Volunteer-led group. Sing while exercising. Open to all seniors. Every Mon., 2:30–3:30 p.m. and every Fri., 2–3 p.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 58 Barre St., Montpelier. Free. Register: 223-2518. msac@montpelier-vt.org.

Sex Addicts Anonymous. Mon., 6:30 p.m. Bethany Church, 115 Main St., Montpelier. 552-3483.

Overeaters Anonymous. Twelve-step pro-gram for physically, emotionally and spiritually overcoming overeating. Two meeting days and locations. Every Tues., 5:30–6:30 p.m. and Sat., 8:30–9:30 a.m. at Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, 39 Washington St., Barre. 249-3970. Every Fri., noon–1 p.m. at Bethany Church, 115 Main St., Montpelier. 223-3079.

HIV Testing. Vermont CARES offers fast oral testing. Thurs., 2–5 p.m. 58 East State St., Ste. 3 (entrance at back), Montpelier. Free. 371-6222. vtcares.org.

Mooditude Support Group. Open to anyone coping with a mood disorder such as major depression, bipolar disorder, seasonal affective disorder, postpartum depression or dysthymia. Every Thurs., 4–5:15 p.m. Gifford Medical Center, 44 S. Main St., Randolph. Free. No registration required. 728-2608. cgould@giffordmed.org.

KIDS & TEENSThe Basement Teen Center. Safe drop-in space to hang out, make music, play pool, ping-pong and board games and eat free food. All activities are free. Mon.–Thurs., 2–6 p.m., Fridays 3-10 p.m. Basement Teen Center, 39 Main St., Mont-pelier. BasementTeenCenter.org

Read to Clara. Sign up for a 20-minute slot and choose your books beforehand to read to this special canine pal. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier. Sign up ahead: 223-4665 or at the children’s desk. kellogghubbard.org.

Story Time for Kids. Meet your neighbors and share quality time with the pre-schooler in your life. Each week we’ll read stories and spend time together. A great way to introduce your pre-schooler to your local library. For ages 2–5. Every Thurs., 10:30 a.m. Cutler Memorial Library, 151 High St., Plainfield. 454-8504. cutlerlibrary.org.

Lego Club. Use our large Lego collection to create and play. All ages. Thurs., 3–4:30 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St., Mont-pelier. Free. 223-3338. kellogghubbard.org.

Drop-in Kinder Arts Program. Innovative exploratory arts program with artist/instructor Kelly Holt. Age 3–5. Fri., 10:30 a.m.–noon. River Arts Center, 74 Pleasant St., Morrisville. 888-1261. RiverArtsVT.org.

Teen Fridays. Find out about the latest teen books, use the gym, make art, play games and if you need to, do your homework. Fri., 3–5 p.m. Jaquith Public Library, 122 School St., Marsh-field. 426-3581.

Musical Story Time. Join us for a melodious good time. Ages birth–6. Sat., 10:30 a.m. Kel-logg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 223-3338. kellogghubbard.org.

Mad River Valley Youth Group. Sun., 7–9 p.m. Meets at various area churches. Call 497-4516 for location and information.

MUSIC & DANCEBarre-Tones Women’s Chorus. Open re-hearsal. Find your voice with 50 other women. Mon., 7 p.m. Alumni Hall, Barre. 223-2039. BarretonesVT.com.

Dance or Play with the Swinging Over 60 Band. Danceable tunes from the 1930s to the 1960s. Recruiting musicians. Tues., 10:30 a.m.–noon. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 58 Barre St., Montpelier. 223-2518.

Ballroom Dance Classes. With Samir Elabd. Sponsored by Montpelier Recreation Depart-ment. No experience necessary, singles welcome. Tues., Sept. 8–Oct. 6. Swing, 6–7 p.m.; waltz and tango, 7–8 p.m. Register: 225-8699. Infor-mation: 223-2921, elabd@comcast.net

Monteverdi Young Singers Chorus Rehearsal. New chorus members welcome. Wed., 4–5 p.m. Montpelier. Call 229-9000 for location and more information.

Piano Workshop. Informal time to play, refresh your skills and get feedback if desired with other supportive musicians. Singers and listeners welcome. Thurs., 4–5:30 p.m. Mont-pelier Senior Activity Center, 58 Barre St., Montpelier. Free; open to the public. 223-2518. msac@montpelier-vt.org.

Ukelele Group. All levels welcome. Thurs., 6–8 p.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 58 Barre St. 223-2518.

Gamelan Rehearsals. Sun., 7–9 p.m. Pratt Center, Goddard College. Free. 426-3498. steven.light@jsc.edu. light.kathy@gmail.com.

OUTDOORSTuesday Morning Nature Walks. with Mari-anne Kotch and Suzy Klinefelter. Every Tues. through Sept. 29. 9 a.m. Meet at Barre Town Forest kiosk, 44 Brook St., Websterville. 476-4185. mkotch731@gmail.com.

Fall Migration Bird Walks. Come for a morning walk to search for migrating warblers, vireos,

tanagers, thrushes and more. Binoculars avail-able for loan. Every Fri. through Oct. 2, 7:30–9 a.m. North Branch Nature Center, 713 Elm St., Montpelier. $10 non-members; free for members and kids. 229-6206. northbranchnaturecenter.org.

Summer Bird Walk Series. Nesting activity is picking up. Observe the fascinating behaviors of our breeding birds. Walks are at a vari-ety of local hot spots. June 19: Berlin Pond. Fri., 7 a.m.–8:30 a.m. $10; free for members. northbranchnaturecenter.org.

RECYCLINGAdditional Recycling. The Additional Recy-clables Collection Center accepts scores of hard-to-recycle items. Mon., Wed., Fri., noon–6 p.m.; Third Sat., 9 a.m.–1 p.m. ARCC, 540 North Main St., Barre. $1 per carload. 229-9383 x106. For list of accepted items, go to cvswmd.org/arcc.

RESOURCESOnion River Exchange Tool Library. 80 tools both power and manual. Wed., 4–6 p.m.; Sat., 9–11 a.m. 46 Barre St., Montpelier. 661-8959. info@orexchange.com.

SOLIDARITY/IDENTITYWomen’s Group. Women age 40 and older explore important issues and challenges in their lives in a warm and supportive environment. Fa-cilitated by psychotherapist Kathleen Zura. Every Mon., 5:30–7:30 p.m. 41 Elm St., Montpelier. 223-6564. Insurances accepted.

SPIRITUALITYChristian Science Reading Room. You're invited to visit the Reading Room and see what we have for your spiritual growth. You can borrow, purchase or simply enjoy material in a quiet study room. When we are closed, we have free litera-ture out on the portico, over the bench, for you to read or take with you. Hours: Tues., 11 a.m.–5 p.m.; Wed., 11 a.m.–7:15 p.m.; Thurs.–Sat., 11 a.m.–1 p.m. 145 State St., Montpelier. 223-2477.

A Course in Miracles. A study in spiritual trans-formation. Group meets each Tues., 7–8 p.m. Christ Episcopal Church, 64 State St., Montpe-lier. 279-1495.

Christian Counseling. Tues. and Thurs. Daniel Dr., Barre. Reasonable cost. By appt. only: 479-0302.

Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. For those interested in learning about the Catholic faith, or current Catholics who want to learn more. Wed., 7 p.m. St. Monica Church, 79 Summer St., Barre. Register: 479-3253.

Deepening Our Jewish Roots. Fun, engag-ing text study and discussion on Jewish spirituality. Sun., 4:45–6:15 p.m. Yearning for Learning Center, Montpelier. 223-0583. info@yearning4learning.org.

SPORTS & GAMESRoller Derby Open Recruitment and Recre-ational Practice. Central Vermont’s Wrecking Doll Society invites quad skaters age 18 and up. No experience necessary. Equipment provided: first come, first served. Sat., 5–6:30 p.m. Mont-pelier Recreation Center, Barre St. First skate free. centralvermontrollerderby.com.

YOGA & MEDITATIONChristian Meditation Group. People of all faiths welcome. Mon., noon–1 p.m. Christ Church, Montpelier. 223-6043.

Zen Meditation. With Zen Affiliate of Vermont. Wed., 6:30–7:30 p.m. 174 River St., Montpelier. Free. Call for orientation: 229-0164.

Shambhala Buddhist Meditation. Group medi-tation practice. Sun., 10 a.m.–noon; Tues., 7–8 p.m.; Wed., 6–7 p.m. New location: Center for Culture and Learning, 46 Barre Street, Montpe-lier. Free. 223-5137. montpeliershambala.org.

Sunday Sangha: Community Ashtanga Yoga. Every Sun., 5:40–7 p.m. Grateful Yoga, 15 State St., 3F, Montpelier. By donation.

Weekly EventsCalendar of Events

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THE BR IDGE SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 16 , 2015 • PAGE 19

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CLASSESTAI CHI CHUAN:Beginners Class. Cheng Man-ching’s "simpli-fied" Yang-style. Taught by Patrick Cavana-ugh of Long River Tai Chi. Starts Tuesday, September 8th from 7:15 to 8:15pm at Bethany Church, 115 Main Street in Montpelier. For more information, contact Patrick, 490-6405 or email patrick@longrivertaichi.org. Cost: $65 per month. Registration open until Tuesday, September 29th.

SERVICESROOFING AND ROOF REPAIRSAL SMITH LLC

Residential and Flat Roof ExpertsRoofing since 1978Shingles, rubber, slate, metalFree estimates. Fully insured.10% senior citizen discount.Call 223-1116alsmithroofing.com

CLASSESMASSAGE:Vermont’s longest operating massage school, The Universal Institute of Healing Arts directed by Bob Onne, offers Wellness, Self-Care and Massage Classes, Tuesdays 6:30-9 p.m., starting Sept. 22 for 10 weeks. The school is located in Middlesex, just outside of Montpelier. Call 802-229-4844, email classinfo@universal-institute.com or visit www.Universal-Institute.com for class details.

CLASSEST'AI CHIHwa Yu Tai Chi fall semester starts September 14, twelve weeks/$120. Payment plans available. New students wel-come. Mondays 5:00-6:00 pm, in the Taplin Room, Christ Church, 64 State St, Montpelier. Instructor Ellie Hayes has been teaching Tai Chi since 1974. Pre-register by September 13: 456-1983/ info@elliehayes.net

CLASSESMEDITATION IN EVERYDAY LIFE, an introductory class, is being offered at the Montpelier Shambhala Center on Sept. 10 from 6:00 - 8:30, Sept. 12th, 9:00 - 5:00 and Sept.17th, 6:30 - 8:30. It will explore mindful-ness, inherent wisdom and ways that medita-tion can improve the quality of our daily life. Cost is $110. No one will be turned away from lack of funds. For more information and to register, go to www.montpelier.shambhala.org

WORKSHOPAMHERST WRITERS AND ARTISTS MEM-OIR WRITING WORKSHOPAn encouraging, supportive place to grow in craft skills, take creative risks and enjoy rapport with other writers.Mondays: 10-Noon, Sept. 14 - Nov. 16, 2015, $200Held at Christ Church, 64 State St., MontpelierMaggie Thompson, MFA. Call to register, 454-4635

SERVICESVSEA MEMBERS take 10% off plumbing until October 1st. Call Fred Blakely 272-3818

CLASSESALLIANCE FRANÇAISE: FALL SESSIONEleven-week French classes for adults at our Colchester, Burlington and Montpelier loca-tions. September 21- December 10.Morning sessions available in Colchester. Our classes serve the entire range of students from true beginners to those already comfortable conversing in French.For more information, visit www.aflcr.org or contact Micheline at michelineatremblay@gmail.com / (802) 881-8826

JOB OPPORTUNITYVERMONT CENTER FOR INTEGRATIVE HERBALISM is seeking an Outreach and Administrative Coordinator. This position is perfect for a marketing professional interested in part-time work in a unique environment. 20 hours/week, Tuesday through Friday9 am to 2 pm. Application and more information at vtherbcenter.org. Contact us at 224.7100 or info@vtherbcenter.org.

PAGE 20 • SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 16 , 2015 THE BR IDGE

Have something important to say? We want to hear it!Send it to us at: editorial@montpelierbridge.comPoetry

Back to School

Bumper crop of

U Hauls on the adjoining streets

Seems like only yesterday

a Conestoga wagon dropped me off on campus

After unpacking,

i tore into my care package:

Hardtack and collard greens

by Reuben Jackson, host of Friday Night Jazz on Vermont Public Radio

The Revolution in Our School House, Part II: For Whom the Bill Tollsby David Kelley

In her 1953 book, Vermont Tradition, Dorothy Canfield Fisher tells the story of a town meeting in Arlington. The need for a new school had been simmering for years, but f loods and modern traffic made

it increasingly important to rebuild the town's bridges. Education was a lofty goal, but the need for bridges was real and urgent.

The bridge advocates seemed to have the better argument until one of the town's grocers stood up and said, “We are being told that our town cannot afford to keep its bridges safe and also provide for its children a preparation for life that will give them a fair chance alongside other American children. That's what we are being told. Not one of us here believes it. We just can't think of what to say back. But suppose it were true — then I say, if we have to choose, 'Let the bridges fall down.' What kind of a town would we rather have 50 years from now? A place where nitwits go back and forth over good bridges? Or a town with brainy, well educated people capable of hold-ing their own in the modern way of life? You know which one of those is really wanted by everyone of us here. I say, “Let the bridges fall down.”

Arlington built a new school and the tradition of Vermont's commitment to education. The results are tangible. Vermont’s scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress continually rank among the top 10. Our state has observed a steady increase in high school graduation rates, to the point now where we have one of the highest gradua-tion rates in the country (second or third highest). But anyone who was paying attention to demographics 10 years ago could see a storm coming. Along with preparing our students to adapt to the digital revolution and a global economy our schools are now faced with a dramatically changing demographic.

According to L.O. Picus and Associates in research done for Joint Fiscal Office in 2012, Vermont has maintained a continued commitment to education funding as measured through both the state’s relative tax effort (as a percentage of income), which is the high-est in the nation, and the percentage of state resources devoted to K-12 schools (the 6th highest).

According to another report, conducted last year by Art Woolf and Dick Heaps of North-ern Economic Consulting, Vermont’s overall per pupil spending was 20 percent above the national average 15 years ago; now it is between 50 and 70 percent above the average. The two consultants compared education spending and health care expenditures to median family income growth. While those two expenditures are going up dramatically, incomes are actually going down. According the the U.S. Census Bureau in 2013, when inflation was factored in, Vermonters are actually earning less than they did a decade earlier.

Teachers here are paid below the national average (27th lowest in the country) but Ver-mont’s low student to teacher ratio (9.4 students per teacher) is now the lowest in the country. The national average is 16 to 1. Vermont's student to administrator ratio is, likewise, far below the national average. While the number of students in our schools has dropped dramatically the number of teachers and administrators in Vermont schools has actually been increasing.

The issue of appropriate levels of spending on education is a debate without any answers. But the demographics are certain, and for the last 15 to 20 years they have been making Vermont's stalwart devotion to education increasingly contentious. In Greensboro, where I live, residential property taxes for education are going up 13 percent this year alone.

In the last session our legislators grappled with ways to constrain those costs. The result was Act 46. Act 46 may offer some hope for moving in a positive direction. It creates sticks and carrots to persuade small school districts to merge and there are some obvious, but minimal savings: a single audit instead of multiple audits; one treasurer instead of

multiple treasurers; f lexibility in faculty allocations; and fewer contract negotiations. While those small steps may be helpful, they will not turn back the demographic tide.

Vermont has experienced the second greatest percentage decrease in stu-dent population over the last 10 years (18.1 percent) of any state in the entire country. Only North Dakota has had a greater decline. Vermont's average school district size has dropped to 299 students — making the

state’s school districts the smallest in the nation. If supervisory unions merge there could be more substantial savings in administrative overhead — especially using new technolo-gies for bookkeeping, budgeting and payroll.

Act 46 does hold the potential for more than just the obvious minimal savings. Together with Act 77, it provides a window of opportunity for school districts to reinvent them-selves. To do so school boards will be challenged to demonstrate the creative and entre-preneurial skills legislators and the Agency of Education are hoping Act 77 will help teach our students.

By creating bigger districts and more school choices through Act 46 and Act 77, creative school districts will inevitably start to market themselves, particularly to tuition students. Attracting students will be more competitive and ideas like theme schools and magnet schools — schools with an emphasis on the arts or sciences may finally begin to be con-sidered. Schools could be focused on food and agriculture or environmental studies. They could partner with schools in other countries. There could be schools with an emphasis on being outdoors. The time to use our imaginations is now.

Vermont needs to do more. For one thing the financing formula needs to become sim-pler and more transparent so that the conversation on Town Meeting Day can focus on numbers all voters can understand and discuss. We need to know what we are voting on.

We also need to begin a conversation about administrative overhead. And we need to begin a conversation about ways to ensure that students with special needs can access ad-equate resources regardless of where they live in Vermont. One option that should be on the table is a voucher system that applies to special needs students. Like our juniors and seniors that can now choose dual enrollment and the early college program, our students with special needs should have more opportunities and more choices.

The Agency of Education recommends minimum course sizes across grade levels for four main learning categories: English, math, science and social studies. Up to eighth grade, the smallest class sizes should be 10 students at schools of 150 children or more; at schools with fewer students, classes should consist of no less than five children, the report says.

Small schools and small classes have been a cornerstone of educational quality in Vermont. Students at schools like Cabot and Craftsbury may not have a curriculum as comprehen-sive as schools like Essex and South Burlington but they have other advantages that are no less valuable. The individual attention, and everybody knowing everybody else, teachers and students alike, has a wealth of rewards socially and academically. Craftsbury Acad-emy, for example, by every known standard, is one of the best K-12 schools, not only in Vermont, but in New England.

The forces of globalization, the digital revolution and Vermont's demographics are con-spiring to revolutionize our schools. We have a unique window of opportunity and we should seize it. Act 77 and Act 46 were good steps in the right direction, but they are still timid steps. Those laws have however given school boards an opportunity to take more initiative and to create more choices and more opportunities for students. We should take that initiative and we should resist the notion that a bigger school house is somehow better.

Opinion

RANDOLPH — Chandler Center for the Arts is accepting sub-missions of arts, fine crafts and high-quality specialty food items for its 14th annual holiday market. Held in Chandler’s elegant gallery space, beautifully decorated for the season and located at 71-73 Main St. in Randolph, the market will be open from mid-November through December 23 with regular Wednesday through Sunday hours.

The Gallery’s aim is twofold — to provide a showcase for ar-tisans and specialty food producers, and to generate income to support ongoing programming and exhibits at Chandler.

Artisans interested in submitting fine art and crafts or specialty foods may find a submission form at www.chandler-arts.org. For further information, please contact Emily Crosby, Chandler’s

technical director and production assistant, at 431-0204 or outreach@chandler-arts.org

Forms and images for prospective first-time exhibitors can be submitted by email to outreach@chandler-arts.org. Entry forms and work and product samples can also be delivered to Chandler before the September 30 deadline. Artisans whose work has been showcased in past markets are only required to submit a com-pleted form indicating their interest.

The gallery committee will meet to review all submissions, and participants in the jury process will be notified by mid-October of the committee’s decisions. Available space after that time will be filled at the gallery’s discretion.

Chandler Seeks Submissions for This Year’s Holiday Market

THE BR IDGE SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 16 , 2015 • PAGE 21

Back in my in my 20s I was a participant in the Teachers for East Africa Program along with 150 or so other Americans. And, I had a little baby blue Morris Minor (soft-top) convertible.

We were young and foolhardy. But I don’t know which of those qualities was in the ascendant. Was it youth or damned stupidity that predominated — I can’t say which. We took that poor little Morris Minor all over East Africa.On a lark, we pushed that little car as far as we could to the top of the Ngong Hills that look out across the Rift Valley to what was then called the Masai Reserve. But we never got the top of the hills. We got mired and covered in mud instead.Emboldened by that adventure, we concocted a totally simpleton plan to drive that car as far up as we could on a track that eventually led up, up, up, to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Someone was driving. It started out easily enough. Then the trail narrowed. Then it filled up with rocks. We pushed that car as far as we could until we punctured the oil pan and the oil poured out and the car came to a stop. We got it turned around and coasted back down. I hailed a ride on a sugar cane truck and went for help. That’s what you do when you’re young and foolish.In the 40 or so years I’ve lived in Vermont I’ve had a succession of cars — used cars.One of these used cars was a Volkswagen Rabbit. It was summer. The phone rang. My friend David Brewster was on the line. I had been trying to get him to take a bus from near Buffalo, New York and spend a few days with me here in Montpelier. He’d been sick for years — cancer. But now he was too sick even to take a bus.I remember thinking, “I’ve got to see David. But I can’t swing it financially. And then thinking again, “I’m taking the trip anyway.

I did take the trip. It was July. The temperatures in the high 90s up to 100 degrees. I did see David. And he was not only pretty sick, he was terribly sick, and was lying in a bed listening to music. There was a fan stirring up the air. Once in a while he would come to and say something.I left in the afternoon and drove back toward Vermont on the New York Thruway. By the next morning I was making my way past Wallingford, on a dual carriageway, toward Rutland, when my car rolled to a stop. I knew exactly how much money I had — enough for a little gas to get me home. But not enough to get my car fixed.I pulled my car off the travelled road. And I took a look around to assess the situation. In the distance was an elite foreign car garage. The Rabbit wouldn’t go forward. But it would go in reverse. And I crossed the median strip and reversed it into the foreign garage parking lot.I walked into the garage and talked to a mechanic who was working on another car and said to him, “My car’s out there in the lot. It needs to be repaired. But I don’t have any money.”He looked me straight in the eye and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll fix it. When you get home, you write me the best letter of recommendation that you can.” He fixed it. And I wrote the letter.When I got home, the phone rang, “David had died.” So. There I was contending with the death of my friend and sorting out an unexplained act of generosity from a mechanic I saw once and never saw again.

Cars — oh dear! by Nat FrothinghamEditorial

Last week I had an opportunity to spend some time with an older gentleman who has lived in the hills of Vermont his whole life. As he showed me his land, he shared his belief that more Vermonters are environmental stewards than folks

in other states because we are connected to the land. He went on to suppose that the churches aren’t as full in Vermont as some of those other places because so many Vermonters experience their own spirituality in the out-of-doors. Perhaps he is right. When I am surrounded by the abundant life and beauty of the natural world it feeds my spirit, and I often see how Vermonters’ personal ties to our lakes, mountains, fields and forests lead them to fight to protect the land and water. It is as though we ascribe to the Native American proverb: “We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.”It has long been debated by theologians whether there is a moral obligation to be stew-ards of the earth. For that reason, it is no small thing when a world religious leader calls upon the faithful to be dedicated to environmental action. That is what Pope Francis did when he declared September 1 a day for “Care of Creation.”This follows his encyclical on climate change, in which he called for a new partnership between science and religion to combat human caused climate change and listed spe-cific actions we should all be taking to limit our consumption of the world’s resources and to protect the planet for future generations. With 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide, this call for an “ecological conversion” of the faithful can be a powerful catalyst for meaningful social change.The Pope is not the only religious leader to address the moral imperative to change the way we live so that the earth can continue to nourish and provide a good life to all be-ings, present and future. The Dali Lama, the religious leader of the world’s nearly 500 million Buddhists has said, “Among the thousands of species of mammals on earth, we humans have the greatest capacity to alter nature. [It is our] responsibility to undo the serious environmental degradation that is the result of incorrect human behavior … humanity must take the initiative to repair and protect the world.”Here, in Vermont we have an active faith community including Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and many others who experience spirituality outside of churches and temples. Across all these faiths, we have long known that our lives and livelihoods are so intertwined with nature that we cannot separate ourselves from it. This knowledge comes with an imperative to act.As a Jew, I am reminded every year of our obligation to take care of the planet. Rosh Hashanah — one of the Jewish religion's high holidays — celebrates the anniversary of creation. This is a time for Jewish people to reflect on our lives and on our relation-ships to one another, and to rededicate ourselves to “Tikkun Olam” — healing the world.The pope’s call to action reminds each of us, whatever our faith, to explore a pressing question: Does humanity have a moral obligation to respect and protect the earth and all of its abundance for all living things and for generations not yet born, or does the earth exist for our sustenance alone?I was recently at a conference for people from across the U.S. who work on climate change. During the opening session, a woman came to the microphone and spoke a

simple poem that expressed her own spiritual motivation to lighten her footprint on the earth. “There is an illusion that I can’t make a difference. ‘I am just one person,’ said the collective billions. But I am not here to do everything, I am here to do some-thing,” she said.And with each of us doing "something" we can change the world.Deb Markowitz is the Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources

A Day to Care for Creation by Deb MarkowitzOpinion

PAGE 22 • SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 16 , 2015 THE BR IDGE

Open Your Eyes: Watch City Council on ORCA TV

Editor:The recent letters to the editor criticizing Montpelier's city council have reminded me that several council members will most likely be running for reelection when their terms expire in March, 2016. I think most people vote for candidates on the basis of general impressions, but especially considering all the growing discontent about taxes and other local issues maybe everyone should take a little time to watch some videos of council meetings on ORCA TV. Are your representatives representing your interests, delivering on campaign promises they may have made, acting in ways that seemed informed, responsible, and professional? Viewing the sessions themselves may be an eye opening way to see for real.

Ron MerkinMontpelier

Nuclear Power Emits Zero Carbon

Editor:Thank you for extending your news coverage to Barre, my hometown. The reflection on Lara Sobel was both informative and heartfelt. And thank you for The Breeze, your youth publi-cation. Chain-owned media may complain about aging readership, but it takes a hands-on publisher who knows and loves his community to do something positive about it.In your August 20 issue, solar power advocate Kyle Neyer writes: “I grew up in Pennsylvania and I could see the plumes coming from the nuclear power plant as they produced dirty fossil fuels.” In fact, nuclear power plants do not burn fossil fuels and therefore produce no carbon emissions. What he probably saw was clean water steam, a benign outcome of the pipe cool-ing process. This is an important point because Mr. Neyer is not the first renewable power advocate to misstate or downplay the essentially zero-carbon nature of nuclear power. The U.S. Energy Information Administration confirms that the “lifecycle” (from mining the fuel to decommissioning the closed plant, and every activity in between) carbon emissions of nuclear power is so low as to be classified with wind, solar and hydro as a “zero emitter.” Of the four it is by far the largest power source, in the U.S., producing about one-fifth of all electricity.It’s fine to hope and plan that solar and wind power become Vermont’s electricity future. But they are not our electricity present – that dubious honor now goes to fossil-fuel natural gas, the carbon-emitting fuel on which we are increasingly dependent, now that Vermont Yankee no longer operates. Fossil-fuel burning plants justify their smoke-stack emissions in part by buying “energy credits” from Vermont renewable power. These credits are essentially a “get out of jail free” card for the region’s largest source of greenhouse gases.Rather than falsely painting nuclear with the black brush of smoggy emissions, climate change advocates should join James Hansen of National Aeronautics and Space Administration and other leading climatologists by embracing nuclear power as, at the very least, a zero-carbon transitional power source. In this case, the “politically incorrect” position is actually environ-mentally correct.

Guy PageBarreCommunications Director, Vermont Energy Partnership, Montpelier

Blame Legislature for Easy Telecom Towers and Alternative Energy Approval

Editor:A number of articles and letters to the editor fault the Public Service Board for so easily ap-proving communications tower and alternative energy projects. My review, as an experienced land use attorney of many recent cases, indicates that much fault (or credit, if you support such projects) belongs to the Vermont Legislature which has specified a review process for such projects that is less rigorous than that required for other projects.

Jon AndersonBurak Anderson and Melloni, plc, Burlington

Letters

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Photo by Daniel A. Neary, Jr.

What Do You Think?

Read something that you would like to respond to? We welcome your letters and opinion pieces. Letters must be fewer than 300 words. Opinion pieces should not exceed 600 words. The Bridge reserves the right to edit and cut pieces. Send your

piece to: editorial@montpelierbridge.com.Deadline for the next issue is September 11.

Editor & Publisher: Nat Frothingham Managing Editor: Carla OccasoCalendar Editor, Design & Layout: Marichel VaughtCopy Editing Consultant: Larry FloerschProofreader: Garrett HeaneySales Representatives: Michael Jermyn, Rick McMahanDistribution: Tim Johnson, Kevin Fair, Diana Koliander-Hart, Daniel RenfroEditorial: 223-5112, ext. 14, or editorial@montpelierbridge.com.Location: The Bridge office is located at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, on the main level of Stone Science Hall. Subscriptions: You can receive The Bridge by mail for $50 a year. Make out your check to The Bridge, and mail to The Bridge, PO Box 1143, Montpelier VT 05601.Published every 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month, except in July when we publish the 3rd Thursday only.montpelierbridge.com facebook.com/thebridgenewspapervt | Twitter: @montpbridge

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THE BR IDGE SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 16 , 2015 • PAGE 23

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PAGE 24 • SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 16 , 2015 THE BR IDGE

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