Connecting Montpelier and nearby communities since 1993 | A PRIL 17A PRIL 30, 2014

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Food & Farming Issue

The Bridge P.O. Box 1143 Montpelier, VT 05601

IN THiS iSSUE:

GMO L ABELING: vERMONT WON ' T WAIT

HARSH WINTER LEAVES FARMERS OUT IN THE COLD

VERMONT GOAT CREAMERY EXPANDS

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As a mother, raising the future, her children are her focus and her greatest accomplishmentparenting, her spiritual practice. Kate believes in the humanizing force of art and design and seeks to make that connection with each work. Whatever her medium Kates predilection for minimalism and simplicity never becomes cold. Her work is that which celebrates that lone leaf on the wet snow. It is a reverence for the sound and the glint that is just enough to bring life but never to overwhelm. It is an art and design rooted in nature but never a copy. It is nature that is at the core of her work. Her presence as a fierce warrior for the subtle, the gentle, and the precious. Art allows Kate to protect moments and qualities and to celebrate the space and breath where goodness is found. Kate lives with her two kids and wee dog in Montpelier VT, working out of SnapWhistleStudio located at her home.

Kate Burnim is an artist, designer and illustrator. She was born in

Wimbledon, England in 1976. Most of her childhood years were spent in New England though her formative years of adolescence found her overseas again in the heart of London, England and traveling throughout Europe and Israel. Each summer of her life has brought her to a lake in rural Mass. The synthesis of the urban with the rural is a thread that runs throughout Kates work. Kate studied art from a young age with her grandmother, a painter, printmaker and sculpture, and later at Silvermine Arts Center in New Cannan CT, The California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland CA, and The Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA. Kate further studied herself, humanity and place on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana, the backwoods of Idaho protecting the native forests and wild places throughout the US.

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ear Roots Farm is a small-scale, diversified, organic vegetable farm located in South Barre at 175 Snowbridge Road. Their goal is to produce high quality, nutrient-dense food for the greater Barre community. They offer a CSA program that offers on-farm pick up, business delivery, or farmers market pick up. The farm stand, located at the farm, will officially open at the end of May. Starting on May 17th you can find them at the Barre Farmers Market, located at the Granite Museum from 9 a.m.1 p.m. We started Bear Roots Farm to make high-quality, locally-grown, organic food available to our community. To find out more about us visit our website: www.bearrootsfarm.com

STREET
There's A New Organic Farm In South Barre! Public Meeting on Parklet Proposals

HEARD ON ThE

ontpelier Alive has solicited proposals for seasonal parklets (extensions of the sidewalk that cover parking places and can be used for public or private activities) to be installed in the downtown as a two-year pilot project. There will be a public presentation of at least one proposal for a public parklet on Thursday, April 24, at 7 p.m., in the City Council chambers. Montpelier resident Ward Joyce and students from Vermont Technical College will present their idea for a parklet on the Rialto Bridge. For information, contact Montpelier Alive at 223-9604 or director@montpelieralive.org.

e finally made it into the woods to check the vernal ponds, and a semi-permanent pond used each year by countless Jefferson and spotted salamanders and wood frogs. Well, guess what? For the first time in 30 years, that pond was frozen right down to the bottom and although it has melted on top and around the sides by a few inches, the ice that remains is bonded solidly to the bottom of the pond. It must have formed early in the winter, before there was any insulating snow cover! Never mind, plenty of other water around, melt water, rain water, no shortage for amphibians. I predict a great toad hatch unless it gets dry awfully fast. And what glorious bird song today, particularly good after what we have been through!! Nona Estrin

Nature Watch

Watercolor by Nona Estrin

Sign Up Today for Onion River Sports' 11th Annual Century Ride
ll proceeds go to the Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Montpelier. Register ahead of race day for $60 or on the day of the event for $75. The event kicks off on July 26 at 8:30 a.m., when riders depart from the Montpelier Pool out through the city. There are three distances that riders can register for ,including an 111 mile full century, 110 K Metric Century (68 miles), or a 40-mile ride. Visit www.onionriver.com for more information or e-mail Tristan at: events@onionriver.com

East Barre Resident Named Vermont Nurse Fellow

ADVERtISE in our Montpelier MAYhem issue! May 1- 30

T A

ara Reil of East Barre was named one of 25 nurses to be honored as one of this years Vermont Action Coalitions Vermont Nurse Leadership Fellows. In a press release put out by Mary Val Palumbo, DNP, APRN, associate professor of nursing at the University of Vermont and co-lead of VAC said, This program will prepare the nurse fellows to lead and inform health care decision-making by leveraging their frontline perspective and providing additional insight into the business and financing of health care.

Car Burglars Back in Town

recent string of Front Porch Forum posts have brought to light a series of car break-ins in the Montpelier area. Thieves appear to be looking for money and anything of value. One report noted a strong smell of cigarettes and alcohol remained in the car after the robbery.

ALL AD MATERIALS DUE Friday April 11 Advertising: For information about advertising deadlines, rates, and for the design of your ad call: 223-5112, ext. 11, or email our ad sales representatives at: carolyn@montpelierbridge.com rick@montpelierbridge.com

City of Montpelier School Budget Vote Results

he school budget proposal as revised was approved by Montpelier voters on April 15. The final tally was 914 people voting yes and 565 people voting no. 1,479 people turned out to vote, significantly fewer people than turned out on Town Meeting Day 2014. On Town Meeting Day 2014 2,446 people voted, just over a third of the 6,319 registered voters in the city.

3-Square Vermont Is There to Help

Vermonters are a hardworking people, but the high costs of food, fuel and other necessities make it tough to get by, said Jen Evans of the Central Vermont Community Action Council (CVCAC). CVAC wants to remind Vermonters that federally funded programs like 3-Sqaure VT are there to help. According to Evans, A family of four earning up to $3,632 a month may be able to get benefits. For more information and to find out if you qualify, please contact 1-800-639-1053.

P.O. Box 1143, Montpelier, VT 05601 Phone: 802-223-5112 | Fax: 802-223-7852 montpelierbridge.com; facebook.com/montpelierbridge Published every first and third Thursday
Editor & Publisher: Nat Frothingham Managing Editor: Jerry Carter Production Editor: Kyle Cushman Calendar Editor: Marichel Vaught Proofreader: David Smith Sales Representatives: Carolyn Grodinsky, Rick McMahan Graphic Design & Layout: Jen Sciarrotta

CVCOA Seeks Candidates to Join Board of Directors

entral Vermont Council on Aging (CVCOA) seeks candidates interested in serving in positions on its Board of Directors. The Board is responsible for and has authority over the overall management and performance of the Council on Aging. Interested candidates should visit http://cvcoa.org.board-of-directors.html or email Executive Director Beth Stern at bstern@ cvcoa.org

Subscribe to The Bridge!

For a one-year subscription, send this form and a check to The Bridge, P.O. Box 1143, Montpelier, VT 05601. Name______________________________________________________ Address_____________________________________________________ City____________________________________ State_____ Zip____________ I have enclosed a check, payable to The Bridge, for: $50 for a one-year subscription An extra $____ to support The Bridge. (Contributions are not tax-deductible.)

Bookkeeper: Kathryn Leith Distribution: Kevin Fair, Diana Koliander-Hart, Daniel Renfro, Anna Sarquiz Website Manager: Jerry Carter & Erin McIntyre Editorial: Contact Jerry Carter, 223-5112, ext. 14, or editorial@montpelierbridge.com. Location: The Bridge office is located at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, on the lower level of Schulmaier 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.
Copyright 2014 by The Montpelier Bridge

CORRECTIONS:
In the April 3, issue of The Bridge, several of the commas in the real estate listing section were misplaced.

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Granite City Grocery: Testing a New Model

20 percent will serve as working capital for the first year of operation. It's a long hill to climb: that $1 to $4 million is $1 to 4 million more in capital than Hunger Mountain, for example, started with. Where? North Main Street's Barre City Place, owned and developed by Williston's DEW Properties, seemed the natural location for the co-op, at least at one point, and DEW and Granite City began discussing a lease arrangement before the co-op had even incorporated and DEW had even been awarded the development project, says DEW representative Steve Morton. Barre Mayor Thom Lauzon, a member of the co-op, encouraged them to consider leasing at City Place, but after many months of deliberation, the co-op abandoned the idea.

by C.B. Hall

All-natural? No thanks. What distinguishes Granite City's vision from many other food co-opsaside from its considerable start-up costsis what the co-op intends to sell. We're going to have a mix of organic, natural and conventional foods. It's clear from what people have said in Barre: an all-natural foods market is not going to fit this demographic. The organizers are thus not relying on the model of the natural foods co-ops that began dotting the Vermont map in the 1970s, but on the example of an earlier generation of coops, such as the Hanover Consumer Co-op, established in its namesake New Hampshire town in the 1930s. The Hanover Co-op, which now operates three large stores in the Upper Valley, handles the wide range of merchandise one associates with supermarkets. Riddell and his colleagues feel that the need in workingclass Barre, which has seen two natural foods ventures fail in recent decades, is a grocery store, period, in a revitalized downtown that has not had a full-service grocery since the Grand Union checked out in 2001. Locating downtown rather than on the city's outskirts is a key issue for the co-op. A storefront on the route of the Barre-Montpelier bus, and convenient to other downtown amenities, would make the store handy to those who can't or don't want to drive. Still, while access on foot or by bus is a nice, politically-correct plus, parking, or the lack thereof, continues to circumscribe the model for doing business in American downtowns, Barre included. What is not part of the model, though, is hirsute volunteers repackaging preordered hundred-pound sacks of peanuts in an inconspicuous cellar. In Barre, Riddell says, it's plain that whats needed is a retail food store in the community, not a buying club. [The model] has now shifted to, 'Open an alternative to Whole Foodscorporateowned natural foods.' As for an opening date, he says, I would think about this time next year. By that point he expects the co-op to have 1200 members. Most start-up co-ops take 24 to 48 months to open, he adds. I just don't see progress quickly enough, Lauzon responds. I hope I'm wrong, but I think that the co-op is going to be a story of missed opportunities. Doors open and doors close.

You don't just 'build it and they will come, he summarizes.

We weren't ready to open a store this spring, Riddell says, referring to DEW's development timeline. To be honest, the City Place space would not be an ideal space to open a grocery in any event. He cites, for example, the lack of the 35 dedicated parking spaces that the co-op feels it needs.

Outside of City Place, Barre, VT. Photo by C.B.Hall.

nce upon a time, 40 or so years ago, an energetic movement sprang up in Vermont as nonconformist consumers launched cooperative buying clubs to preorder whole-grain flours, dried fruit and other hard-to-get natural foods at reasonable prices. As surpluses left over from preorders accumulated and consumer preferences changed, the co-ops set up outlets with retail hours. Ideals slowly matured into businesses with little or no upfront capital to urge the process along. Things simply evolved organically. All that's changed. Hunger Mountain Coop, which began as a Plainfield buying club without capital investment, member equity or paid employees, has become a major Montpelier business employing some 160 workers in a 20,000-square-foot building. And Chris Riddell, president of the Granite City Cooperative, which aims to open a grocery in Barre next year, can tell you in great detail how elaborate opening a food co-op has become. "You don't just 'build it and they will come," he summarizes.

After incorporating in July 2012, the Barre co-op, which plans to operate as the Granite City Grocery, raised about $25,000, Riddell explains, to finance, among other things, a market survey and a financial model, both performed by consultants in Minneapolis. Meanwhile, organizers began recruiting members, who were asked to buy $200 capital shares in the enterprise. As of today 420 sharesfrom individuals and households are paid up, current in their installment payments or subject to promissory notes. Once that number reaches 800, meaning a capital fund of $160,000, the co-op, Riddell says, will move to the next phase: settling on a location. It's a model used nationally for co-ops. There are milestones based around the number of owners [who have committed capital]. We're planning to get to [800 shares] by late summer. Once the co-op has determined its future location and signed a lease or purchase agreement, it will approach banks for a loan that Riddell estimates will furnish 30 percent of the venture's total financing. In all, he says, anywhere from $1 to 4 million will be needed to open the doors. Of that, about

Lauzon, who continues to favor the City Place site, notes that DEW offered the co-op almost that many spaces25 to 30and that, outside office hours, far more parking frees up. The 5,000-square feet of first-floor space that DEW has envisioned as a grocery, and for which the developer even built a loading dock, remains unleased. In an artist's conception on the DEW website, signs reading Market and Cafe beckon from the 82,000-square-foot building's Main Street facade; but, after approaching Granite City and several established local grocers, including Hunger Mountain, the developer has found no takers for the grocery idea. I don't really understand the co-op's resistance to City Place, Lauzon opines. It really defies logic. Granite City is currently examining six other sites, all in what Riddell refers to as walkable downtown Barre. He declines to identify the locations. The co-op's planning model calls for a space of 6,000-square feetnot a small store, given both the dimensions of most downtown shops and what most Vermont co-ops started with.

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SUMMER CAMPS 2014

Montpelier Recreation Department Summer Day Camp
Licensed Child Care Program
Resident Fees: $120.00 per Week-5 Full Days $70.00 5 half days mornings or afternoons Additional Family Members $105.00 per Week- 5 Full Days $60.00 5 half days mornings or afternoons Special Trips Weekly & Swimming Everyday Non-Resident Fees: Other Summer Opportunies $160.00 per Week 5 Full Days MRD offers a wide variety of summer programs, $100.00 5 half days morning or afternoons Camps, tennis lessons, swim lessons, and special Additional Family Members Events. For more information please call our office $140.00 per Week 5 Full Days Or visit us online. $90.00 5 half days mornings or afternoons 1-802-225-8699 www.montpelierrec.org Lunch Program TBA 55 Barre St. Montpelier, VT 05602 Open Registration for all weeks.

! s p Cam

Gymnastics, Foam pit, In-Ground Trampoline, Rock Climbing wall & Swimming every afternoon!

Boys & Girls 5 - 12 year of age Weekly Monday Friday June 16 through August 15 7:30 Drop off 4:45 pickup Half Days or Full Days Montpelier Recreation Field

State subsidy is available upon request.

The Montpelier Bridge Half Day 1 col. x 5" - 25 Spring Camp April 21 & Full Day Summer Camps Jun 23 - Aug 22
654 Granger Rd Berlin, Barre, VT 05641 ( 223-0517 SunriseGym.com

nature based jewish summer camps!

Summer Day Camp Childs Garden

June 16 August 15
at the

Tiferet Trails
July 7-11 : For girls July 21-24 :

Monday to Friday, 8:30a3p

(with extended hours available)

ex pl or e ec os ys te ms , ve r bl es sin gs me et fr ien ds , dis coag es 9-12

,V er mo nt : In St ar ks bo role ar n sk ill s,

y Children ages 38 y Nature- and artistic-themed weeks y Multi-week discount

See our Web site for Summer Camp brochure and application materials: www.ovws.org/programs 155 Northeld Street, Montpelier
Licensed, independent school by the State of Vermont. Childcare subsidy accepted.

rn ing Bu sh In co nj un ct ion wi th Bu pe dit ion ni ex Ad ve nt ur es - a Co -E d mi a ca no e! . in ex pl or ing La ke Ch am pl ain es 12-15

For teens ag Contact Yaffa 286 or 802 839-8 om yepeth@gmail.c

Childs Garden

fo rm at io n Fo r mo re inR ubin at:

Orchard
WALDORF

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Awakening the highest potential in every child.

802-456-7400 orchardvalley@ovws.org

55 Barre St., Montpelier, VT 05602 1-802-225-8699 www.montpelierrec.org

Montpelier Recreation Department

Yes Soccer Camp Sharpen your soccer skills. Ages 5 14 One-week Camp Two-Week Camp Monday Friday Monday - Friday August 4 August 8 August 4 August 15 5 7 years 3:00 pm 4:30 pm 5 7 years 3:00 pm 4:30 pm 8-14 years 3:00 pm 6:00 pm 8-14 years 3:00 pm 6:00 pm Montpelier Rec. Fields Montpelier Rec. Fields 5- 7 years Resident $80 (before July 25) 5- 7 years Resident $153 (before July 25) Non-Res. $90 Non-Res. $163 8 14 years Resident $115 (before July 25) 8 14 years Resident $208 (before July 25) Non-Res. $125 Non-Res. $218 Fishing camp Learn the fundamentals of fishing with Stowe Fly Rod Shop. Ages 6 12 Monday Friday July 21 July 25 12:30 pm 4:00 pm Montpelier Rec. Fields Trips to Wrightsville Reservoir Res. $165. Non Res. 175. Ultimate Frisbee Camps Beginner to advance ultimate skills High School Ultimate ages 14 -18 Monday Friday July 14 July 18 9:00 am 3:00 pm Montpelier High School Res. $92.00 Non-Res. $138.00 Middle School Ultimate grades 6-8 Monday Friday July 21 July 25 9:00 am 3:00 pm Montpelier High School Res. $92.00 Non-Res. $138.00 Youth Adventure Camp Team work, hiking, white water kayaking and much more Ages 7-12 Monday- Friday July 28 August 1 9:00 am- 5:00 pm Montpelier Rec. Fields Res. $285. Non Res. $295. Vermont Youth Adventure Challenger British Multi- Sport Learn new British Sports and new skills! Half Day Camp Ages 5 12 Monday Friday July 14 July 18 9:00 am 12:00 pm Resident $130 Non-Resident $140 Full Day Camp Ages 7-12 Monday Friday z July 14 July 18 9:00 am 4:00 pm Resident $203 Non-Resident $213

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Barre Farmers' Market on the Move

by C.B. Hall

he Barre Farmers' Market has announced that it is moving to the grounds of the Vermont Granite Museum on Route 302, a mile and a quarter north of the market's former location in the city's center. The market will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays, a shift from its former Thursday scheduling. In an interview with The Bridge, market president and Barre Town vegetable grower Alan LePage explained that the move comes in the wake of the market's failure to find a good home downtown. The market dates from 2000 and has occupied a succession of sitesstarting out at City Hall Park, moving to the Vermont Granite Museum for the first time in 2005, then to the lawn of the city's library for an unsuccessful 2007 season. After a year off, the farmers returned to City Hall Park, the venue to which the market is now

saying goodbye. We were losing groundlosing vendors, losing our basic customers, LePage said of the City Hall Park site. There were times when there was just no parking. The access was Byzantine. A beautiful spot, but with major deficits. Research into alternative downtown venues turned up no attractive alternatives. The museum site, he said, offers plenty of visibility and plenty of space for both vendors and their customers' cars. All things considered, I'd rather be downtown, he conceded, but farming is a business. It's nice to be an ornament, but it's about making money. The farmers are shifting to Saturday, he said, because it was difficult to draw customers on a weekday. The weekday timing had origi-

nally been chosen to complement the Saturday scheduling of the county's main farmers' market in Montpelier. He dismissed any possibility that making the location more accessible to Montpelier residents and shifting to Saturday would adversely affect the Montpelier market's vigor. I don't think Montpelier has anything to worry about. . . People in Barre don't shop in the Montpelier market, as a rule, and vice versa. In a telephone interview, Laini Fondilier of Westfield's Lazy Lady Farm, who has been selling at the Montpelier market for 18 years, didn't seem worried, either. I think there'll be a pinch of a loss, she said. We had Barre people showing up on Saturday. Saturday is a very good market day. I wish them luck. The Barre market will launch its season at the museum on May 17, with a celebratory grand early on in the season. The cardholder then swipes the card at Dog River Farms self-serve market stand to redeem the dollars in veggies, fruit or other bulk items. The benefits? Unlike the traditional CSA model, DRF Dollars never expire; its selfserve on-site at the farms market stand, and there is full flexibility of choice. You can use these dollars anytime for veggies, eggs, meat, honey and fruit options like pick-your-own strawberries, raspberries and blueberries, says Gross. Dollars are also good for bulk options like root bags toward the end of the season and even for products I sell here from neighboring farms in the Dog River Valley, like oats and flours. Plus, the savings in costs to the farmer is passed on to the consumer. The cost of running a CSA this way is incredibly low, according to Gross. With the old box style, you had to buy boxes that didnt last and then there were all of the other headaches that came with getting the food to the consumer," he says. The only catch is that DRF Dollars cannot be redeemed at the farmers market, but for good reason: Gross cant account for who is going to come and use their card at the market. In any case, Gross said, there is more convenience and better selection at the farm. Come to the farm to use the card; If I run out of chard, I have extra in the cooler,

Photo courtesy of Emily Kaminsky

opening scheduled tentatively for the summer solstice, June 21. LePage is optimistic about the change: We're hoping to be reborn, with a bang. Already we've got double the number of vendors that we had [last year].

Dog River Farm Dollars: A New Tech Twist on the Old CSA Concept Proves a Win-Win for Both Farmer and Consumer
by Emily Kaminsky
observing that a lot of CSA members were burnt out on the idea; they found it just didnt work or was wasteful. There was too much food, members didnt want the food they got or didnt know what to do with it. They had to be there at the pickup location on a designated day or they would lose the share, and then there was the occasional missing box. When it comes down to it, the traditional way of delivering on the CSA share agreement can be aggravating and unproductive for both the farmer and the consumer. People have lost track of the whole idea of the CSA, which is to fund the farmer, says Gross. Its a concept thats all about buy local and help your farmer but it seems that weve forgotten the help your farmer part, he says. Noting that a CSA is meant to make money available to the farmer early on in the season, Gross said that he spends 75 percent of his annual budget in the first couple of months. Ive had employees for a month now to get the farm ready. And, we have to buy all of our materials up front to get the better deal, he says. Knowing there had to be a better way to run his CSA, Gross started Dog River Farm Dollars (DRF Dollars for short). It's a new twist on the CSA concept that uses debit card technology to provide greater flexibility, choice and savings for the consumer, while boosting the financial benefit to the farmer. How does it work? CSA share members purchase a preloaded value card that also comes with bonus dollars if paid in full by a certain deadline

he says. Plus, theres more variety here at the farm. I can sell things here that I dont sell at the farmers market, like blueberries. Ultimately, DRF Dollars benefit Gross in the upfront cash it affords him to improve the farm. This means adding greenhouses and purchasing equipment like the strawberry tunnel. Im so close, he says. If I sold two more shares, Id be there. And, then theres the improvements to the market stand. Were going to rip the market stand right off the barn and rebuild it old-style, with big tall walls and high ceilings, he says. In the future, he envisions a patio on the side with seating for visitors to have breakfast before they go pick their strawberries. For now, he is expanding his local offerings with chicken and beef from neighboring farms, honey from Bee Boys Honey produced on site, plus oats, flours and other grains from a new farm down the road. Two other farms in Vermont use the debit card model: River Berry Farm in Fairfax and Wood's Market Garden in Brandon. "Its a viable option for us, says Gross. Shares are still for sale. And, the market stand will be open sometime between late May and early June. For more information on Dog River Farm and the DRF Dollars, visit www.dogriverfarm.com

n a cold and windy April morning in Berlin, Dog River Farm owner George Gross stands in one of his greenhouses amongst rows of organic onion starts destined for the shelves of City Market and Healthy Living Market in Burlington. Just outside, theres a pool of water that accumulated overnight from melting snow sitting atop frozen ground, and its going nowhere fast. Gross had expected to be in the middle of construction right about now on his new market stand. As soon as this snow is gone, were going to break ground, he says. The market stand renovation is one of several projects Gross has in the works. This year, we plan to extend our pick-your-own strawberry growing season by investing in a strawberry tunnel, he says. These investments in infrastructure are possible thanks to the usual resources that Gross and other farmers draw upon regularly: plenty of planning, a reserve of funds saved and borrowed, plus a whole lot of persistence, a bunch of grit and a dash of luck. There is also the pre-season influx of cash from communitysupported agriculture (CSA) shares, a now ubiquitous form of consumer-to-farmer funding. For Gross, who has been selling CSA shares at his organic vegetable farm for 10 years, this particular form of financing farm improvements and operations has come with a fair share of headaches and unanticipated costs. I saw the writing on the wall, says Gross,

FOLK MUSIC DAY CAMP FOR KIDS & TEENS!

JULY 14 - AUGUST 18
Kids 8-17 learn any kind of instrument they are interested in, including: Fiddle, Banjo, Guitar, Singing, Dance, Drumming and more. This folk music immersion camp begins at 9:00 a.m. and ends at 3:00 p.m. each day, with an extended day on Friday for our performance from 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. We will again offer a Stay and Play hour from 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. for an additional fee of $10.00 per day. Tuition: $300. Limited scholarships available. REGISTER WITH A FRIEND & YOU EACH SAVE $25! REGISTER AT SUMMIT-SCHOOL.ORG OR CALL 802.917.1186

SUMMIT SCHOOL OF TRADITION

(802) 446-6100

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THE BRIDGE

The GMO Labeling Bill: Vermont Wont Wait

by Amy Brooks Thornton
ermont has passed historic GMO (genetically modified organisms) labeling legislationthe nations first GMO labeling law to be effective without the requisite that other states pass similar legislation. This Right to Know law, passed by 26 to 2 votes, requires food producers to state on food labels or, in the case of unwrapped produce, in bins or on shelving, whether food products contain GMOs or were produced using genetic engineering. On April 15, the Vermont Senate approved the legislation with amendments to the House of Representatives version and will return it to the House for approval of the proposed changes. If the House concurs, the law heads to Gov. Peter Shumlin, who is likely to sign the bill. Genetically engineered foods defined and argued As defined by the World Health Organization, genetically modified foods are derived from organisms whose genetic material (DNA) has been modified in a way that does not occur naturally, e.g. through the introduction of a gene from a different organism. Although most genetically modified foods are derived from plants, development of foods from genetically engineered microorganisms and animals is likely. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, genetically engineered crops, including corn, cotton and soybeans, are grown on about half of the 169 million acres of U.S.

cropland. Topping the list of genetically engineered vegetables are corn, soy, zucchini, alfalfa, canola and, making up half of the U.S. sugar production, sugar beets. Eighty percent of processed foods include genetically modified ingredients. Genetically modified food opponents argue that genetic engineering of food may interfere with environmental and human natural biological processes, alter or decrease naturally existing nutritional value in food and ultimately be unethical. Advocates contend that genetic engineering of food can increase nutritional value and crop production and create more weather and insect resilient plants. Whether the science is good or bad is not the question, said Sen. Joe Benning, R- Caledonia. The question is, does the consumer have the right to know? Vermonters want the right to know According to Washington County Republican Sen. Bill Doyles Town Meeting Day survey, 76 percent of Vermonters who responded voted that food products sold in Vermont produced with genetic engineering should be labeled. Fifteen percent disapproved, and nine percent were undecided. Vermonts Right to Know bill, H.112, strives to empower the consumer to make informed decisions regarding the potential health effects of food they purchase the environmental impacts of their food, and disclose factual information and protect re-

ligious practices. Should there be a dairy exemption? Should milk and products made primarily with milk, such as plain yogurt, butter and cheese, be exempt from GMO labeling? If cows are fed corn, and the majority of corn grown in the United States is genetically engineered, theres a good chance GMOs will be in your morning coffeeif you drink it with half and half. Sen. David Zuckerman, P-Chittenden, explains the complexity surrounding labeling dairy and meat. Strict federal labeling laws for dairy and meat already exist, but they do not require label information on genetically engineered feed given to the animals. The state of Vermont may not be able to override federal law due to federal preemptionwhen the federal government can invalidate a conflicting state law. Federal law bars GMO labeling of dairy. But, because the Legislature wants to be sure not to appear to be creating legislation favoring Vermonts dairy industry, the Right to Know legislation includes a study under the Office of the Attorney General. The study, due by Jan. 15, 2015, will recommend whether or not milk and products made primarily with milk should be labeled and the legal basis for the recommendation. No to the trigger mechanism And then theres the issue of neighborly collaboration. Vermont may be the first state to approve a Right to Know GMO labeling law without a trigger mechanism, which would put the laws implementation on hold until neighboring states follow suit. Maine and Connecticut have already approved GMO labeling legislation, but these include triggers. The rationale of waiting is that if states collectively passed GMO labeling laws, they would be able to pool resources to defend themselves against almost certain lawsuits from food associations, such as the Grocery Manufacturers Association. But Sen. Zuckerman believes that a food association could sue one state, compelling that state to defend itself alone without neighborhood collaboration. He doesnt like the idea of passing a law that cant be put into effect. The idea of passing with a trigger was, at best, passing the buck; at worst, duping our voters, Zuckerman said. Its giving people a pipe dream. We either believe we have the evidence or we dont. Lets do it. Vermont may decide to move forward alone. Supporting the House decision not to wait for

other states, the Senate approved a new date of July 1, 2016, for the law to become effective whether or not other states join in. Funding our legal defense To help alleviate the cost of legal defense against potential litigation from food associations, and hopefully reduce the burden to Vermont taxpayers, the Senate created a legal fund with a goal of $1.5 million. The attorney general can also use the fund to implement the legislation. Monies for the fund can come from three places: gifts from individuals and public and private organizations, which is standard operating procedure for such special funds; excess monies from pending suits in the attorney generals office; and, possibly, the 2016 state budget. If the fund does not reach $1.5 million by end of Fiscal Year 2015, the attorney general will make a budget request for funds to cover the gap. However, Zuckerman doesnt think the state will have to kick in. I am extremely confident we will have $1.5 million in the fund, he said. There are people and organizations all across this country who would be willing to help. Industry and consumer cost Legal issues aside, will the industry pass the cost of labeling onto the consumer, increasing food prices? The Washington State Academy of Sciences, in its report Labeling of Foods Containing Genetically Modified Ingredients, found that the direct costs of mandatory labeling were notable. Opponents of GMO labeling say that with the existing system, consumers have a choice. Make your pick: conventional products that may or may not be produced with or include GMOs and are the least expensive to produce and purchase; slightly more expensive products labeled as GMO-free goods; and USDA organic products that are the most expensive and for which the USDA prohibits the use of genetic engineering in food production, whether processed food, crop or livestock production. The consumer decides the value of knowing. Sen. Benning argues that if the Federal Drug Administration requires food manufacturers to label our carbs, its disingenuous to have anything genetically engineered in the chain of events that leads to the food product and to escape having to label it.

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and consumers are continually being forced to deal with an increasing number of regulations, food labels and the likes. VLS hopes to train its future attorneys to help manage these growing needs. As the local and organic food movements expand, managers and organizers routinely run into organizational dilemmas. VLS is training the next generation of legal experts to help these people dot all of their is and cross all of their ts. The mission of CAFS, exemplified in its staff and realized in the projects that they are undertaking, is to prepare future attorneys to not only assist in furthering the local and organic food movements, but to become partners with the people on the ground. CAFS is trying its hand at this by partnering with the National Farmers Market Association and the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA) to help farmers market managers across the country develop a national template for developing bylaws, managing expansion and establishing the markets themselves. The farmers market project is a five-year project that is still in the early stages, but throughout the process, CAFS will partner with local farmers markets here in Vermont and the region to gain hands-on insight into the needs of the markets. This project, like all CAFS projects, is individually funded by an outside grant. By operating in this way, the CAFS program has been able to start up and operate at a significantly lower cost to VLS than if the law school had to front all of the money. CAFS hopes to eventually become self-sustaining and economically independent, but they are content with seeking out both financial and research partners until they are able to do so. CAFS, itself born of an anonymous grant, hopes to one day become financially independent by creating its own sources of funding. For example, said Renner, we are working on a food labeling project. This food labeling project, spearheaded by Laurie Beyranevand, hopes to help better inform consumers about the many food labels they are confronted with when they go into the grocery store. Eventually, as the project develops, Beyranevand and her team are exploring the possibility of making it an app that they could sell at a fair cost to consumers. That way, when shoppers go into the store they will be able to simply scan an item with their phone and quickly access the legal meanings of all that stuff on the container. The goal is that this app will be to explain all of the health claims that are often plastered on products; state what the manufacturer and producer have to disclose, and what they do not; and what, if any, part of the product is regulated. Renner said, We are interested in partnering with scientists and nutritionists to help decode ingredients. Whether it is through this app or any number of future projects that CAFS hopes to take on, their goal is to improve access to information and healthy food. In light of some legislators fears that Vermont could face a lawsuit if the state passes a law that mandates products containing GMOs be labeled, I asked Renner if CAFS took risks like this into account with projects like their food labeling project, which could have a similar backlash from food producers. Truth is a defense to defamation. We will never shy away from speaking the truth about food. Renner replied. He doesnt think the CAFS labeling project will face the type of resistance that GMO labeling is likely to receive. We are just saying from a legal perspective what kind of category a statement fits into. When I say what they [health claims] mean and what they dont mean, those are legal issues. They are not opinions. CAFS does not plan to shy away from issues. We feel very comfortable because we are pushing out information that I think is legally sound and true, said Renner.

Law to Farmer
tarting a business, running a farm and managing a farmers market are all complex endeavors. Each pursuit comes with its own myriad of legal hitches that can be daunting for someone who is also responsible for the day-to-day operation of a farm, restaurant or business. There is a lot of helpful information out there however, and the Internet has helped to bring that information right to our fingertips. Unfortunately, it can be hard to sift through all of that information and find the stuff that is really important. This is where the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems (CAFS) at Vermont Law School (VLS) comes in. CAFS has developed a new web portal called Farm and Food Legal Resources. This new portal brings all of the legal resources about food and farming that are scattered throughout the web under one roof. The website is still in its early stages, but CAFS is working to build it out in order to create a one-stop site for legal and policy information about agriculture and food systems. The site seamlessly breaks down materials into different sections, each tailored to a different stakeholder. There is a link for consumers, farmers, physicians, attorneys and others. Each link brings people to the information that is specifically directed at and tailored for them. The portal is part of CAFS larger mission to enhance the publics access to agricultural and food legal resources. CAFS, which is just in its first full year of existence, is still trying to find its footing. Faculty and students involved with CAFS are busy immersing themselves in the food movement, searching for areas with

by Jerry Carter
the greatest need and places that their expertise can have the largest impact. The beginning of the center involves a selfeducation where were setting aside our own backgrounds and getting a deeper understanding of food system issues, said Jamie Renner, an assistant professor at VLS and the person in charge of directing the CAFS legal clinic. VLS has managed to compile quite the team to run the CAFS program. Led by Laurie Ristino and Laurie Beyranevand, the team has an extensive background working in agriculture and food systems. Before joining VLS, according to the VLS website, Ristino was a senior counsel with the Office of the General Counsel, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington, DC. Ristino and her team hope to shape the next generation of food and agriculture law and policy experts right here in Vermont. Their scope and aspirations go far beyond Vermont, however. The CAFS program is training students to be leaders in the field throughout the nation and on the international stage. They are doing this not by confining students to the classroom and firing a never ending barrage of torts and contract terms at them, but by giving them real world experience. The barrage comes too, but CAFS strives to give its students the experience to be successful, not only in the classroom and on the bar exam, but in the real-world. The legal market is saturated right now. Simply put, there are more lawyers than are needed. VLS is hoping that CAFS can help solve this problem by creating new markets for attorneys in helping farmers, food providers and entrepreneurs grow and manage the ever-growing food market. Farmers markets, CSAs, organic producers

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around. She makes the whole education process feel very natural. And, the program itself and the environment is all very conducive to learning, beams Wendy, who graduated from CKA Barre in February and is now working for Cafe Provence on Blush Hill in Waterbury, both in the front end of the house, and as a prep cook. I feel successful and positive. Every morning, I not only get to choose which baked goods to offer, but I get to make them. Its satisfying watching our customers enjoy the food I bake. She has plans to become a full-time baker in the future and she has the skills to make it happen thanks to CKA. Chef Jamies long-term goal for the program is to make the CKA Barre the go-to place for food service employers to find new employees. We want local restaurants and food service businesses to use us as their primary place for new hires, she says. Her message to area employers: Instead of putting a job up on Craigslist, come to us first. She also notes that CVCAC is seeking entrepreneurs to use the kitchen during off-hours. According to Cohen, the CKA program fits right in with the mission of CVCAC. Were always looking for ways to help people get out of poverty. With this program, people get trained, learn a skill and get a job. The move to Barre gave us an opportunity to do a commercial kitchen and start this program, he says. In fact, CVCACs move to downtown Barre from the Barre-Montpelier road is, in a sense, a homecoming, since the organization started in Barre City on Ayers Street almost 50 years ago. Its like coming back home, says Cohen. CVCAC decided to build a new home in downtown Barre after it had outgrown its old home. The move also made sense because over 50 percent of the people served by CVCAC in Washington County reside in the Barre area. Since opening its doors in July 2013, the demand for services has increased. Weve seen a 100 percent increase in the number of people weve been serving in the food shelf compared to the previous year, says Cohen. Located on Gable Place off of Granite Street in the old P&S Furniture building, the new CVCAC facility is 24,000 square feet and cost $4.9 million, most of which was spent with local contractors and suppliers. This is now a community asset, we think for a really long time, says Cohen. The next CKA Barre starts July. For more information on CKA Barre, call 802-479-1053 or email cka@cvcac.org.

The Vermont Foodbank and Central Vermont Community Action Council Serve Up a New Culinary Training Program in Downtown Barre
by Emily Kaminsky

Jamie Eisenberg, Senior Chef Instructor, CVCAC Hal Cohen, Executive Director, CVCAC Michelle Wallace, Program Manager, The Vermont Foodbank
alking into Central Vermont Community Action Councils new facility in downtown Barre, you would hardly know that in just seven months, 11,000 pounds of food came through one door and went out another in the form of 33,000 prepared-meal servings to people in need. For the first time in its 50-year history, Central Vermont Community Action Council (CVCAC) not only distributed groceries, baked goods and other essentials through its food shelf, but a wide assortment of prepared meals, thanks to a unique educational program called the Community Kitchen Academy (CKA). CKA is a 13-week, 9-credit basic food service skills course developed and offered by the Vermont Foodbank at the Chittenden Food Shelf, and recently replicated in Barre in partnership with CVCAC. They wanted to expand the program in Washington County and we were a natural partner, says Hal Cohen, CVCACs executive director. They essentially moved their entire kitchen from their Barre Town facility to CVCACs new facility. That, plus equipment from LACE (a downtown Barre retail food business supported by CVCAC that

ceased operations in 2011), helped CVCAC replicate the academy in Barre. The program is free to students who are unemployed, underemployed, meet income eligibility thresholds or are part of other programs like the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation or Reach Up. Students receive practical, hands-on experience in all aspects of cooking, as well as education on hunger relief, sustainability and the buy local movement. Already, CKA Barre has graduated two classes totaling 14 students, all of whom were looking to restart or start their careers in the food service industry and succeeded in completing this intens,e 30-hour-per-week job training program. The CKA has an 85 percent job placement rate for its graduates. While CKA is mostly a job training program, its also a way to repurpose food that would otherwise go to waste. Ninety-five percent of the food used by CKA to train its students in the culinary arts is rescued by the Vermont Foodbank from grocery stores, bakeries and other food establishments. In addition, 75 percent of all of the produce rescued comes from area farms. CKA students transform this food into delicious single or double-serving packaged meals in CVCACs small but ef-

ficient full-scale production kitchen as part of their hands-on education. Packaged meals are then walked across the loading dock to be distributed to CVCAC food shelf clients that same day. The program allows us to minimize the number of steps we would have to take to get food to families in need. The food stream becomes much more practical and accessible, says Michelle Wallace, program manager at the Vermont Foodbank. There is more to the program than food rescue according to Wallace. This program has a transformative quality that is hard to describe. Its workforce development; theres a benefit to the environment; its higher education. At graduation, you see that there is an incredible impact on the individual student and their family. Graduates gain connections and social supports that werent there before, she says. Wendy Viola of Warren is one of them. Wendy learned about CKA through her Reach Up caseworker. It seemed like a great opportunityshe loves to cook and came from a family of restaurateurs. When she met Chef Jamie, CVCACs CKA senior chef instructor, she knew that it was the perfect opportunity. Chef Jamie is amazing to be

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Harsh Winter Leaves Farmers Out in the Cold

by Carolyn Grodinsky

arch 2014, the month for starting plants in the greenhouse, was one of the coldest on record. Temperatures ranged from a low of minus 16F to a high of 11F, averaging almost 11 degrees lower than usual. And it wasnt just the month of March, the entire winter of 2014 was extremely cold, with 68 days experiencing temperatures below 10F. Local farmers felt the impacts of the 2014 winter in many ways. Paul Betz of High Ledge Farm in Woodbury typically plants his seedling starts in March to be ready to sell on opening day of the farmers market. This year, Paul had to wait 10 days later than normal, as his heating system couldn't heat the greenhouse when temperatures were sub-zero. Likewise, plants at Gaylord Farm in Waitsfield are more than three weeks behind due to the very cold nights and lack of sun. Deb Gaylord noted that the delayed planting date means that some of the longer-season produce will not mature for harvest. Chris Thompson of Owl Hill Farm in Plainfield hasn't yet planted his early season crops for the early May and June harvests. This later planting date will create a gap between the end of his winter greens season and the time for selling the greens he would have planted by now. To counter the shortened planting season, Chris is planting all his high tunnels with fastgrowing greens. Hell harvest these greens when it's time to plant the warm season crops. The work, typically done over several months, will be concentrated over a very short period, leading to extra-long, exhausting days. Having later greens for sale is hard on Chris financially, because the beginning of the season is when farmers need income most to buy items such as soil amendments, compost and potting soil. Greenfield Highland Beef, as its name suggests, raises Highland cattle. These animals have lived for centuries in the rugged, remote Scottish Highlands. The extremely harsh conditions have created a breed of hardy and adaptable animals, with long hair and thick skin, well suited for cold weather. But even this hardy breed was challenged by the winter just ending. The cold temperatures and lack of sunshine reduced their normal weight gain. Cattle werent able to convert their hay ledge feed efficiently and grow at the same rate as they do during more typical winters. The lack of sun created serious problems, too. The Highlands normally soak up the sun, building heat in their bodies. With so few

sunny days this season, they werent able to conserve energy and needed more feed to maintain heat. Fortunately, with the return of warmer weather and sunshine, the cattle are already less physically stressed and are beginning to fill out. Greenfields veterinarian observed that he had never seen such winter loss as in the dairy cattle hes now seeing in his rounds. He noted that the cold winter also compromised the cattles resistance to disease and infection. Gaylord Farm in Waitsfield raises Black Angus and Belted Galloway. Like the Highland Cattle, they required more feed over the winter to stay warm. The farm buys organic hay for its cattle and, because the animals needed extra to stay warm, hay has been in short supplyand there are still two months remaining before cattle can feed on springs nourishing grasses. Calving has also been difficult in the subfreezing temperatures. The farm has lost a number of small animals, as the time to get on their feet to nurse in order to raise their blood sugar is greatly reduced with the cold. Extra staff is required to address all these issues and help more animals survive. One silver lining of the long, cold winter was its impact on some warmer climate pests. Pests are slowly moving north, but they have not been able to establish populations in this area. Betz hasn't seen the insects yet on his farm, or in this area, and he hopes the severity of the winter has killed the bugs and they don't want to come back up North. Betz's biggest pest concern is the squash vine borer. The moths lay their egg on the stems of the squash plants, the eggs hatch and move into the vines of the squash, and the vines collapse. Thicker vined-stemmed squash, such as butternut squash, are less susceptible than thinner ones, such as pumpkins and delicatas. Its a major concern for Betz, who grows many varieties of squash. He notes that if this pest harmed squash throughout New England, it would create fewer squash for the fall and winter season. As of April 8, Betz still had between 18 inches and 2 feet of snow on High Ledge Farm, but hes still planning to have his wide variety of vegetable startsincluding lettuces, cabbage, kales, collards, broccoli, cauliflower and Asian greensfor the first Capital City Farmers Market on May 3. Support our farmers on opening day of the outdoor season. By then, the weather is sure to be warmer!

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Premium Goats Milk Production Expanding in Vermont

by Mike Furey
The Ayers Brook Goat Dairy Barn in Randolph, VT. Photo by Mike furey

ined up on shelves at either end of the glass-enclosed atrium are 30 or more gold and silver statuettes along with 18 or so plaques representing dozens of national and international awards that the cheeses and products of Vermont Butter & Cheese Co. have won in the last decade. Just recently the company changed its name to the Vermont Creamery, and now there are several more significant changes on the way. The glass atrium in Graniteville runs across the width of the aged goat cheese building and there are 10 windows that you can peer into and see different stages of cheese making. That 4000-square-foot building is now in the process of being swallowed by a 14,000-square-foot building going up around it on three sides and 10 feet above the roof. Once the new aged goat cheese production facility is up and running later this summer, Mark Groleau, of Groleau Construction, Inc. of Barre, who is in charge of completing the project as construction manager, will be gutting the existing interior and rebuilding it as an integrated part of the new plant. The new construction will be home to geotricum aged goat cheese production. Geotricum refers to the yeast spores that occur naturally in the air that are used to create the crinkled rind that is associated with aged goat cheese most notably from the southeastern regions of France. The geo process can be delicate. It requires a plantwide computerized air handling and filtration system imported from France to control the temperature and humidity, among other things. The aging process will also be part of the production space inside the new building. We are not talking about years of aging like the sharp cheddar we are all familiar with. These cheeses are aged 7 to 10 days. Then, they are ready to be packaged and sent off to chefs, restaurants and specialty cheese shops that know how to store and handle the product. The geo goat cheese is currently the fastest growing product line for the Vermont Creamery. Several of the four or five aged goat cheese lines have been perennial award winners since the early days of production in 2005. Their major bread winners though, are made from cows milk, such as the cultured butter and crme fraiche, which accounts for about half of the milk that comes into the creamery from the St. Albans Cooperative Creamery. The goat milk comes from 17 goat dairy farms here in Vermont, as well as additional milk as needed from a co-op in Ontario, Canada. Looking to secure the future, the Vermont Creamery recently initiated a project of

building a model goat dairy farm in Randolph. The Ayers Brook Goat Dairy is nearing completion. A new 27,000-square-foot goat barn was built last summer and is now operational with over 200 milking goats. The plan is to demonstrate to farmers here in New England how to run a successful goat dairy farm. These new farms will hopefully provide the milk to support the expanded production. The Vermont Creamery was the brainchild of two Vermonters, Allison Hooper and Bob Reese. While traveling in France as a college student, Allison spent time working on a farm and learned the essentials of traditional French cheese making. She brought those skills back to Vermont and hooked up with Bob in 1984 to create what was then Vermont Butter & Cheese Co. In 1988, they moved their operations into the Wilson Industrial Park, just a stones throw from the Rock of Ages quarry in Graniteville. After building a solid reputation, about 15 years ago they began to invest in expanding the creamery. It was about 12 years ago that a young intern with the National Dairy School in France came on board and soon discovered that the geo process cheeses needed to be separate from the other cultured products, and in its own building. Today that intern, Adeline Druart, is now the general manager and lives with her husband and son in central Vermont. When the creamery began operations in the new location, they hired Groleau Con-

struction to do some minor renovations. The relationship grew and eventually Mark Groleau was hired as the construction manager for all of the succeeding expansion projects. Eventually they moved from about one third of the space in the building they were in, to taking over the entire building. In that time frame, the creamery also added the new aged cheese building in 2005, which is now being more than tripled in size with the new construction. They liked the idea of working with a local contractor, Mark Groleau. Mark has been responsible for managing all the new construction and major renovations at the plant, as well being the construction manager for the Ayers Brook goat barn. He brought with

him a slew of additional local subcontractors, such as Hutch Brothers Concrete and Dexter Electric, both in East Barre. DMS Machining & Fabrication out of Barre did the steel work and BCI Construction of Orwell worked on the Randolph barn. As Mark Groleau has come to master the stringent food industry construction requirements as relates to the Vermont Creamery, a nice working relationship has developed. There is already talk of several additional expansion projects on the drawing board. This bodes well for future farmers looking to venture into premium goat milk production, as well the contractors ready to expand the facilities to handle the demand.

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Farm to Plate for All Vermonters

by Erica Campbell
we can all work towards. The team also went through an exercise to identify gaps and opportunities that can be addressed by the network and its affiliated organizationssuch as messaging and educating policy makers, funders and consumers; linking local food systems to health; and more deeply exploring how local food can be accessible for everyone. There is also interest in building new statewide partnerships and programming to address this challenging issue. The Farm to Plate Network and its members will continue to meet to identify how Vermont and the Farm to Plate Network can increase food access and ensure that by developing the local food system we are also creating a more healthy society and benefiting the most vulnerable in our state. Erica Campbell is the Farm to Plate program director at the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, which developed the Farm to Plate Strategic Plan and coordinates the Farm to Plate Network. Vermont Farm to Plate is a statewide initiative to increase economic development and jobs in Vermonts farm and food sector and to improve access to healthy local food for all Vermonters. www.VTFoodAtlas.com

ermont has a blossoming local food movement that is often in the news and even makes national headlines. While its wonderful to be recognized as a leader, we cant rest on our laurels. We need to continually examine the impacts of local food systems on the economy, health, food security and the environment. We need to ask, Is local food accessible to all, or is it just accessible to some? Prior to the proliferation of cheap modes of transportation and industrial farming and processing, all food systems were regionally based, constrained by the limits of the land, climate and local farmers. Vermonters have a long history of self-sufficiency and producing and processing a wide array of food. Over the last century we began to lose that connection to our food and to the land as industrial food from afar became the norm. There is a revival in local food systems, but it is often perceived as being supported by the more affluent foodie types of consumers, often urban. However, that is an incomplete picture of what the local food movement is and what it needs to be about. Vermont is fortunate to have many organizations working to decrease food insecurity and alleviate hunger, and many of these organizations are seeing the benefits of how local food systems can improve access to healthy food. For example, Salvation Farms coordinates gleaning programs (traditional harvesting and moving surplus) throughout the state

to capture fresh food that will not make it to market. The Vermont Foodbank runs several gleaning programs and distributes the produce to many food shelves. They also rescue food from retail markets and run the Community Kitchen Academy, which trains underserved individuals with kitchen skills in a program that uses gleaned food to prepare meals for charitable food sites. NOFAVermonts farm share program provides free CSA shares to qualifying Vermonters and supports farmers markets in setting up Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) systems. The Vermont Youth Conservation Corps partners with Central Vermont Medical Center to offer fresh local produce to families in need. These are only a few of the many great programs in our state. In 2009, the Vermont Legislature initiated the Vermont Farm to Plate initiative to increase jobs and economic development in the farm and food sector, and to increase access to healthy local food for all Vermonters. The Farm to Plate Strategic Plan was released in 2011, and that same year the Farm to Plate Network was launched to implement the plan. Members of the Farm to Plate Network encompass all types and scales of agriculturalrelated production and processing businesses, government entities, educational institutions, distributors, retailers and dozens of nonprofits from food justice to technical assistance providers. Members work together on numerous high-leverage projects. The Farm to Plate Network has undertaken

projects aimed at increasing food access, including the Farm to Plate Food Retailers Task Force working in conjunction with the Healthy Retailers program of the Vermont Department of Health to increase local food at small independent markets. The Farm to Institution Task Force is working to make more local food available where many lower income consumers eat, such as schools and hospitals. Lastly, the Food Cycle Coalition is working to implement the Universal Recycling Bill that prioritizes food rescue. However, there is still a lot of work to be done. Food insecurity rates continue to be high, national budget cuts have significantly impacted Vermonters and programs intended to serve as emergency food are more regularly used as supplemental food by many families due to increasing needs. That is why the Food Access Crosscutting Team is exploring how the Farm to Plate Network can better address food access and food insecurity. The group recently met for a day-long planning retreat in Montpelier. The team first assessed the contextual factors affecting the current state of food access. Some systemic factors include a lack of food justice, high poverty rates, lack of livable wages for many people, including farmers, and the fact that food is still not defined as a human right in the United States. The group then explored what a truly food secure Vermont would look like in the future, particularly focusing on a common agenda

Why should you hire our Culinary Graduates?

Reliability Knowledge Dedication
CKA is an intensive 13-week culinary job training program located in Barre & Burlington. Since 2009, over 108 students have graduated from CKA and well over 80% have been successful in finding employment. The hands-on instruction and college level academic work required of these students makes them ideal candidates for a position in the culinary industry. CKA is accredited to provide qualifying graduates 9 college-level academic credits.

GRADUATE PROFILE
1. Thirteen consecutive weeks of working in a high volume production kitchen 6 hours of instruction and production daily. Every student utilizes the latest commercial tools and equipment to produce quality entrees and side dishes daily. 2. ServSafe certification training. 3. Extensive knife skills experience. 4. Recipe comprehension, conversion, measurement and execution. 5. Organize mise en place and prioritize production lists. 6. Hands-on knowledge of vegetable cookery, soups, sauces and salad making. 7. Basic meat handling and cooking techniques. 8. Fundamentals of baking. 9. Breakfast, a la carte and banquet productions. 10. Life skills training on how to work in a team, solve problems and budget resources and time.

Do you have staffing needs? Contact the CKA chef instructors to find the right employee for your kitchen! CKA Burlington: 802.540.2571, cka@cvoeo.org CKA Barre: 802.479.1053, cka@cvcac.org
CKA is a statewide program of the Vermont Foodbank

vtfoodbank.org

in local partnership with: Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf to operate CKA Burlington and Central Vermont Community Action Council to operate CKA Barre.

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Chicken and onion illustrations by Kate Burnim

Small Food Companies Win Big with New Lot Tracking Software
hen Camilla Behn joined Tonewood Maple in November 2013 as its operations manager, she quickly realized that if the pure maple syrup and specialty products company wanted to continue its growth and expansion, it needed a new streamlined and more efficient computer tracking system. Prior to her arrival, everything from record keeping, and accounting to traceability of where its food and inventory items were distributed, and tracking of expiration dates of the ingredients used in its products, was being done manually in spreadsheets. Behn set out to find a solution, but to no avail. There were different versions of QuickBooks that we could have used, said Behn, but the software was so expensive for a small company like ours that I just couldnt find something that could work. Thats when Behn decided to call Robin Morris, founder of the Mad River Food Hub in Waitsfield. The Mad River Food Hub is a licensed vegetable and meat processing facility that provides small local food producers and processors, including Tonewood Maple, with a wide range of services such as business planning and distribution of products to local retail outlets in Montpelier, Waterbury, Burlington and the Mad River Valley. They also provide packaging, meat processing and dry, cool and frozen storage spaces. Behns call was well-timed, because her dilemma was exactly what Morris had spent the last year looking to solve. Food Safety Requirements The Mad River Food Hub requires businesses that use its facility to have what is called lot tracking for food traceability. Food traceability refers to the record keeping system of a business to track where its products have gone such as to which retail outlets or restaurants; the history of the animal that went into say, the bacon or sausage; and what ingredients went into a final product, like the maple syrup used in Tonewoods pure maple sugar cubes. Food traceability is a key component in food safety. If an ingredient or product is found to be tainted, a business must know immediately

by Amanda Ibey

where those ingredients and products were shipped so it can issue a recall. Although the use of lot tracking isnt a mandate right now for small food producers statewide, within one to four years thats expected to change. The FDA is in the process of finalizing regulations authorized by the 2011 enactment of the Food Safety Modernization Act. Morris says these regulations will significantly impact many small Vermont food processing companies by increasing food safety regulations, specifically the requirement to have traceability, like lot tracking, on all products. Businesses that will be impacted range from meat processing companies, like those that make sausage and bacon, to value-added businesses like cheesemakers. Morris estimates that up to 400 Vermont food processing businesses will be impacted by the regulations. Id say that today, most small businesses are not tracking, and I understand why. When youre just starting out, its not the first thing on your mind, said Morris. But if youre making and selling food, you should have traceability. Lot tracking is a best practice for the industry, and any food company has an obligation to keep their customers safe. Finding a Solution While Morris knew the businesses that used the Mad River Food Hub facility already had lot tracking in place, he also understood that many companies like Tonewood Maple were using spreadsheets and doing everything by hand. He figured there had to be a more efficient and cost-effective management solution. He also knew that his companies werent the only ones struggling with this issue in Vermont, so in early 2013, Morris launched a three-phase project with funding and assistance from the Vermont Farm & Forest Viability Program, a program of the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board (VHCB) and the Center for an Agricultural Economys Vermont Food Venture Center. For the project, VHCB contracted with Stan Ward, a software professional, farmer and value-added processor, to first develop a paper-based lot tracking system to understand

exactly what all companies would require. The next step was to complete in-depth market research of existing food traceability software solutions, and the last step was to work with a cross-functional team of Vermont food system stakeholders to evaluate over 130 different software solutions. In late 2013, DEAR Inventory was selected to provide small businesses with food and product traceability and accounting solutions. The system offers companies the ability to integrate with QuickBooks Online, XERO cloud-based accounting services, other cloudbased services including e-commerce solutions like Shopify, Magento and eBay, as well as shipping logistics ShipStation, which connects with FedEx, UPS, USPS, DHL and international express mailing service. As part of the agreement between DEAR and the Mad River Food Hub, DEAR will provide functional enhancements to improve its support of food processing businesses and is offering a special first-year pricing for all Vermont food businesses. A New Beginning When Behn placed her call to Morris, he was preparing to create a pilot group of members from the Mad River Food Hub and the Vermont Food Venture Center in Hardwick to test DEAR Inventory. Behn slid in as part of the pilot group, which also consists of a wide variety of businesses, including Artisan Meats of Vermont, Joes Soups, Vermont Bean Crafters, Vermont Food Venture Center (lightly processed foods), and Vermont Switchel. Behn said shes already seen an immediate positive impact for the business. The great thing about this [DEAR] is its an affordable program for small producers. And there are three distinct benefits, said Behn. One, it helps with cost accounting; two, it allows us to track and flag expired products and three, we can track products for safety and recalls. When we buy a raw good from a distributor to use in one of our products, say maple

syrup, she went on to explain, then if that product becomes tainted and has to be recalled, we know which batches of our products contained that tainted product. With the system we can quickly recall the batches and can notify the appropriate distributors. The pilot group is expected to complete its work between April and May, and then other Vermont companies will be able to purchase the system. Morris acknowledges that this system will do more than just help Vermont companies meet federal regulation standards; it has the potential to help them enter brand new markets. While the FDA has a minimum requirement for food safety, its really larger companies like Whole Foods that are setting the industry standard because they require food processors to have food traceability requirements that are way above the FDAs, said Morris. Not having software to manage food traceability can hinder progress, and if people want to grow their businesses and ultimately sell to companies like Whole Foods, then they need to use lot tracking. In solving this problem for our members, were helping to solve it for all Vermonters.

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kids. But, BOOM! Its not local (and there are a lot of great local breads) and its white. I know that white flour, white sugar and many white foods are processed, stripped of whole grains and any nutrients they might have had. From here, every aisle in the grocery store is one big BOOM! I hear Michael Pollan in my mind: Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants. I believe it. But the reality of feeding three kids, packing lunches and making healthy food that will actually get eaten in such volume is too much of a burden for eating mostly plants to bear. For every time I pack cucumber slices or blueberries, there are Goldfish and graham crackers. For every dinner with Brussels sprouts, there is macaroni and cheese. I am resigned to compromises. At Price Chopper I feel like I strike a middle road. I buy ground turkey instead of ground beef for homemade meatballs because spaghetti and meatballs are something everyone can always agree on. But BOOM! The meat is not local, and I wonder if the ground turkey was processed humanely, or was raised with hormones and antibiotics. It says natural but that could mean anything. The same goes for the dairy section: BOOM! There is organic milk, but a half-gallon is more expensive than a whole gallon of nonorganic. I have to think in terms of enough for the whole week. I buy fish, which has its very own special set of landmines. BOOM! BOOM! We should eat fish to get those essential omega-3 fatty acids. I have a guide that lists clean and dirty fish, or those that have more or less pollution and toxins from the ocean (that we humans put there). So I try to buy wild Alaskan salmon. Thats what I can remember from the list that I dont carry anymore, and I know that we all like it. We also eat Tilapia which I hope, rather than know, is clean. Finally, there is the frozen section where I make decisions like BOOM! frozen pizza, because I know that we make dinner at home every night, and there are nights when pizza is all I can muster up the energy to make. I diffuse the landmine by getting American Flatbread. I will decide how many other meals are going to involve frozen shortcuts, and grab a pint of Ben & Jerrys to ease the end of what I know will be a long week making as much healthy food as I can for my family, while sometimes taking a less healthy but easier way out just because Im exhausted.

B OOM! Landmines in the World

F
of Food Choices
ood is just one of many landmines that pepper the battlefield of my life as a parent in 21stcentury America. Health care, screen time, education, chores and allowances are just some of the topics I pore over and research. When I asked my mom how today is different from when she raised me, she said, You think about everything so much more than we did. Case in point: a photo of me, not one year old, grinning ear to ear with half an Oreo clenched in my fist and the other half smeared across my face. Times have changed. The messages are loud and clear: dont eat fast food, dont eat processed food, dont eat anything your grandparents didnt eat, dont eat pesticides or GMOs, watch out for all those antibiotics in meats and dairy products, dont buy mass-produced meat that is the result of cruel treatment of animals, dont eat fish from polluted waters, and maybe you should consider gluten-free. I hear them all. When I shop at Price Chopper once a week (I go there because I get 10 cents off a gallon of gas for every $100 I spend, and because I can feed my family for the week within my

by Michelle A.L. Singer

budget), Im aware of issues around food and the compromises Im making because of what I can afford. Like landmines, choices explode as I make my way through the aisles. Coming through the doors, the produce section is where every shopping trip begins. In front are the items on sale, and thats good butBOOM! The first landmine is hit. It might be on sale but its not organic. Never. I have a list of the dirty dozen: the 12 most important foods to buy organic because of their high levels of pesticides. As I pick the staples that we always eat, another BOOM! As far as I can tell, I cant ever buy too many bananas for my household to consume. But I know they come from far away, and there is a cost to the fuel and transportation is takes to get them to me, every week. Food within a 100-mile radius? Not even close. Just behind produce is the bakery. I sidestep the landmine of sweets with only a little boom for eyeing the apple turnovers. Im not too tempted. I also may or may not buy deli lunchmeat, sidestepping an explosion of preservatives and nitrates. I buy the bread they bake at Price Chopper; I like it and so do the

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Hill of Hill Farmstead Brewery, brewing under his Grassroots label. Each of these past two collaborations resulted in great beer and fantastic festivals, a combination that Kevin and Scott are hoping will work again. So while the recipe is different, they are hoping the results are the same. When Three Penny teamed up with Lawson in 2012, they set out with the goal of making, something as low in alcohol as humanly possible that was still balanced and hoppy, said Scott. Because the event fell on Cinco de Mayo that year, they ended up calling the beer, TPT (Three Penny Taproom) Especial. Last year, Montbeerliers second year, they partnered with Hill to create Grassroots Three Penny Song of Spring, which was a 4.2% ABV hoppy amber ale. Both this beer and TPT Especial satisfied the fine balance that Three Penny is looking for when making its annual Montbeerlier collaboration, great taste and low alcohol content. This combination is not easily struck, but Scott emphasized how important it is to Three Penny, The idea is that we have about 700 people who show up for this party, and the original intention was that we need to make a low alcohol beer that people can have at like 3 or 4 in the afternoon and not fall on the pavement, and be able to enjoy the entire party. At Montbeerlier, its all about enjoying the party, the good weather and the great people while sipping on some of the finest beer the world has to offer. Kevin and Scott are really excited for this years collaboration with Lost Nation, which incorporates two of their favorite hopscitra and galaxy. The two hops, which are known for their tropical fruity notes, will be on full display in this blond and hazy ale. With 60 percent of the grain bill being made up of wheat and an intensive dryhopping cycle, this beer will be as refreshing and aromatic as a spring breeze. While neither brother has had the chance to sample the beer yet, they are confident it will turn out great. Longtime friends with the guys over at Lost Nation, Kevin and Scott are psyched that they got the chance to push Allen Van Anda and James Griffith out of their comfort zone of making exceptional old world beers, to trying something that merges old world simplicity with some of the markets newest and most celebrated hops for this years collaboration. Lost Nations Vermont Pilsner, one of Three Pennys best selling beers, will also be on tap outside. Three Penny isnt the only outfit that is collaborating out there. Many breweries around the continent and in Europe are collaborating on a regular basis so that brewers can explore

THE BRIDGE
new techniques, try new styles and really take advantage of the terroir of some of the most renowned breweries in the world. Kevin said he first dabbled in collaborative brewing while working as a brewer at the Flying Goose Brew Pub & Grill in New Hampshire in a project undertaken by the New Hampshire Brewers Guild. Members of the guild were asked to create their own recipe, brew it and then share the recipe with others to brew. This exercise helped demonstrate the role that terroir plays in shaping a beer. Differences in water quality and yeast really made each beer taste uniquely different even when all other factors in a beers recipe were kept constant. Big craft breweries are getting in on the action, too. Sierra Nevada, which was founded in Chico, Calif., regularly invites collaboration with outside breweries and brewers. Matt McCarthy, Wes Hamilton and Scott, the three owners of Three Penny, were fortunate enough to be invited out to Chico just one year after the bar opened to take part in Sierra Nevadas Beer Camp. The camp brings together some of the biggest industry names every year to create a new beer on their 10 barrel pilot system. When the guys from Three Penny went, they created with the seven or so other campers a unique ESB (Extra-Special Bitter). An ESB, said Scott, is a really nice perfect balance between malt and bitterness. But while this beer is usually carbonated with Carbon Dioxide, they decided to nitrogenate the one that they were making, a process usually reserved for stouts like Guinness. This beer, which they dubbed Knightro, was the first nitrogenated beer ever made at Sierra Nevada. While Three Penny is not offering up Knightro, they will be offering up some other Sierra Nevada collaborations later this summer, when Sierra Nevada wraps up its 12 brewery tour on its way to opening its new North Carolina brewery. Ken Grossman, Sierra Nevadas founder, will be touring the country visiting some of the nations most well renowned, yet often regionally exclusive, breweries to make single collaborative beers with 12 different breweries. These beers are intended to highlight the collaborative nature of the craft beer community and, just like the beers themselves, are meant to be drunk with friends and in good company. Patrons will be in good company May 3 when they get a taste of this year's Three Penny collaboration and the opportunity to ring in our long-awaited spring with fine brews, good food and some down-home bluegrass.

SPARGE:

/sprj/ verb. A brewing technique that

extracts the sugar from the grains by exposing the grains to water.

Montbeerlier

by Jerry Carter

Scott & Kevin Kerner at Three Penny Taproom. Photo by Jen Sciarrotta

he sun is shining, temperatures are rising and the snow is melting. While the sap might be drying up, the beer is running. Spring is here at last and its time to enjoy the great outdoors. The time for huddling around the fire and sipping heavy beers behind the confines of four walls is over. Its the time of year to grab a Frisbee, rejoice with friends and embrace the sun. Thats why the Three Penny Taproom in Montpelier is kicking down the doors, rolling out the kegs, firing up the grills and cranking the tunes. This years Montbeerlier Festival will feature the bluegrass sound of the Mad Mountain Scramblers, said Kevin Kerner, the manager of Three Penny and one of the event coordinators. We are doing bluegrass-themed, said Kevin, because spring has taken a while to get here

and bluegrass is just spring. Its kind of just celebrating. You know, he said, its finally here guys. Everybody, come out of your houses. It is going to be alright. Kevin and his brother, Scott, one of the three owners of Three Penny, are making sure everything is going to be alright when hundreds of people descend upon Langdon Street in Montpelier on Saturday, May 3, by orchestrating an incredible draft list of beers to highlight the seasons flavor. Outside, Three Penny will be showcasing a collaboration beer made just for this event. Made at Lost Nation Brewing in Morrisville, this beer marks the third collaboration Three Penny has crafted in preparation for the annual event. Over the last two years, Three Penny has teamed up with two other local greats, Sean Lawson, of Lawsons Finest Liquids, and Sean

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practicing locavores long before the current American trend toward sourcing foodstuffs close to home. Certainly there was a time before modern transportation and industrial farming when eating local was a necessity not a lifestyle choice. You ate what was within your reach. The Italians and countless other cultures have held on tightly to this ideal to spite changing times. Fast forward 15 years or so and the locavore movement is part of the fabric of life in Vermont and many other like-minded communities. Our farmers markets are flourishing, local farms are finding an audience and menus all over the state are highlighting ingredients sourced from nearby producers. Clearly, this is no trend. It is a fundamental shift in the way we see food and feed our families. Our supermarkets have come under fire for the dubious quality of many of the foods they offer. Too often, the products available in these markets are compromised for the sake of profit. I cant escape the feeling that there are more chemists and marketing executives involved than farmers. Chemicallyfertilized, hormone-pumped, hyper-salty and ultra-processed foods are, for many of us, largely unappealing. Often the ingredients are unrecognizable; the sourcing is geographically ridiculous, while authenticity and integrity are sacrificed to meet corporate goals that have nothing to do with nourishment. selected. Wells wrote: "It is our understanding that he (Golonka) received pressure from the city to avoid an 'appearance' of conflict. But there was no conflict_..._he would not have received any direct or indirect benefit from selecting one developer over the other." Rescinding a vote so city councilors can re-vote requires that at least one member who voted with the majority (in this case for Redstone) make a motion for reconsideration. Among that majority, Jessica Walsh was absent during the April 9 meeting. Anne Watson and Justin Turcotte decided to stick by their votes despite urging from Donna Bate, who voted for DEW, that a re-vote would establish a better beginning regardless of which development firm won. Theirry Guerlain also voted for DEW. His mention that, like DEWs president, he'd lost sleep because of the process of deliberation and its outcome swayed no one. So assuming another more successful strategy is not devised, all that debating didn't change Redstone as the city's partner. A topic Vermonters never tire of discussing occupied most of the rest of the April 9 meeting. Potholes and crack ceilings (those lines on street surfaces that look like alligators) are especially popular conversation pieces durI was astounded recently to find that some shrimp I was considering was commercially farmed and shipped to Vermont from Bangladesh. The salmon right next to it was florescent orange! When I inquired about the unnatural color, it was explained to me that the fish was raised in a tank in South America and fed a diet of corn pellets that are dyed orange in order to improve visual appeal. I wonder how the fishmongers in Venice would feel about that. My biggest concern about the locavore movement is that subscribing to it can be an expensive proposition. Food costs are appreciably higher, sometimes astonishingly higher. Is authentic, organic, healthy food soon to be the privilege of those with the means to afford it? Are costs out of line with family budgets? I am willing to pay the price, having concluded that I cant afford not to be careful about what I put on my familys table. As we stumbled back to our room after dinner at Antica Locanda Montin, a fog descended on the lagoon. The mist swirled about the gaslit footbridges like a scene from Brigadoon. You never know what direction you are heading in as you traverse the narrow walkways of Venice, especially at night after imbibing in the local dessert wine, but one thing was clear: thanks to that sublime, eye-opening wine, we would never look at food in the same way again. ing spring as Public Works Department grant proposal writers, awaiting results to their appeals for state funding, start worrying about how much summertime repair can be accomplished using city funds alone. During a presentation regarding this issue, a representative from Public Works pointed out that throughout Vermont there's a lot of competition for state money. Montpelier funds can finance repairs on Barre Street but not Main Street this year. In fact, temporary repair in general can be done with city funds, but reconstructiona more permanent solutionneeds state financing (in other words, drivers: write to your representatives!). Amid this discussion, primarily about downtown street repair, Councilman Guerlain mentioned that someone he knows who wants to sell his home in an upscale Montpelier neighborhood has not been successful because potential buyers have been discouraged by the condition of the small, out of the way road leading to his house. Upper middle income residents in remote areas pay taxes like everyone else, and they shouldn't be forgotten during discussions about road repair, said Guerlain.

BRIDGE BITES:
by Mark Frano
ntica Locanda Montin is a tiny, burnished trattoria in a mysterious part of Venice. It is roughly a hundred bridges away from Saint Marks Cathedral, down a canal that is too narrow for even the most skilled gondolier to navigate. Tourists like us are not supposed to find places like this. It does not exist in Fodors or Frommers, but even the blind squirrel stumbles upon a chestnut from time to time. This would be OUR place even if the locals wanted to keep it for themselves. We settled into our table and smiled at each other smugly. SCORE, we whispered. My wife and I were on our first tour of Italy. With Rome and Tuscany in our rear view mirror, Venice was the last stop. The meal at Locanda Montin was a revelation. Each dish showcased the bounty that the lagoon offers Venetians every day. Our waiter explained that many of the fishes on the menu swim only in these local waters. We devoured them all voraciously in spite of the fact that the strange sea creatures resembled nothing that we had ever experienced from the waters

Lessons from the Lagoon

of New England. As the meal came to a close, we found ourselves totally seduced by Venice and were beginning to feel like we understood the place, when all of a sudden things unraveled. Our waiter stood by as we deliberated over his last question to us: Can I bring you something sweet? I immediately remembered a libation that we had discovered in Sienna a few days before. Vin Santo for both of us, I said. He looked at me in such a way that I knew I had just crossed a line. He was, however, a professional and immediately composed himself enough to explain that Vin Santo was, in fact, a dessert wine that was made and enjoyed in Tuscany, not Venice. Perhaps I can introduce you to a local dessert wine from the Veneto, he offered. Sheepishly we agreed, having just been schooled in Italian regionalism and pride of place. This was our first exposure to the eat local movement. Our epiphany occurred years before Alice Waters or Michael Pollan had found their voices. It happened before we ever heard the word locavore. It seems the Italians were

City Council Report

hich of two competing development firms should the city of Montpelier choose as a partner to collaborate on plans for the One Taylor Street bus terminal construction project? Readers of my last column may have assumed that the nearly two-and-a-half-hour discussion resulting in a vote for Redstone during the March 26 City Council meeting had put an end to deliberation about this question. It didn't. The first person to speak when members of the public were invited to raise concerns at the beginning of the April 9 meeting was Donald Wells, president of DEW Properties, the firm that lost the bid. His remarks launched renewed discussionthis time for approximately one hour, instead of two and a half hours. Urging the council to rescind its vote and take another one, Wells said the decision during the council's last session was keeping him awake at night. His DEW firm had addressed all of the questions asked in the city's RFP (request for a proposal), he asserted. "Eighty per-

April 9, 2014

by Ron Merkin

cent of our customers are repeats," he added, and also said that the selection process determining who would be members of the citizens' advisory committee that recommended Redstone was flawed. Before speaking, Wells gave council members copies of a letter he'd sent in advance to City Manager Bill Fraser. Among other complaints, the letter contended that Councilwoman Jessica Walsh's participation as the City Council liaison to the citizens' advisory committee had compromised her impartiality when voting for Redstone. Seeming to imply that her identification with citizen members of the committee influenced her more than an objective comparison of the two firms' merits, he wrote, "She sought to ensure the Committee's choice was selected." He implied in another paragraph that if Tom Golonka's family connections with Capitol Plaza hotel owners had not influenced him to recuse himself from voting, that DEW Properties instead of Redstone might have been

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A Message from City Hall

This page was paid for by the City of Montpelier.

Road Work Ahead

by William Fraser, City Manager

maximize parking and repave. o Wait until enough funds are available and perform complete street reconstruction similar to the 1991 design. o Wait until some state financial assistance is available before paving. Barre Street Barre Street has one of the oldest water mains in the City, installed at a depth of approximately three feet. Current design standards are for a minimum burial depth of six feet for new water main installation. Leaks occur between Main Street and Granite Street consistently almost every year. It is also one of the most highly traveled roads in the City. Options for Barre Street are as follows: o Pave the worst portions of Barre Street knowing it will need to be excavated in order to repair future water leaks. o Patch with DPW crews until water funds are available to replace the aging main. o Wait until a Class II paving grant is received to perform a full surface rehabilitation. Main Street (Between Roundabout and Towne Hill Road) Main Street has experienced significant potholes from the frost this year. The sewer main which runs under the sidewalk is in extremely poor condition. Upper Main Street is a Class II highway. Options for Upper main Street are as follows: o Grind out failing sections of the street approximately 100 feet long and install new pavement. o Patch potholes with City crew and wait until a Class II paving grant is received. o Perform a full street mill & fill using City funds. Recommendations DPW proposes the current street paving selections to include Barre Street from Hubbard to Granite Street and portions of Main Street. Both of these streets are Class II highways. DPW will evaluate Barre Street and determine the most cost effective option for resurfacing. For Main Street, we propose to perform localized repairs by grinding out sections of poor condition roadway and replacing the pavement wearing surface. The intent is to improve streets that receive the high traffic volumes at the lowest cost. Additionally, DPW will apply for the Class II paving grant for Main St. from Murray Hill to the town line. If the grant is not received, this section will also receive spot repairs. Other streets planned for work in FY15 are Dyer Avenue, Emmons Street, Freedom Drive, Gould Hill Road, Greenock Avenue, Judson Road, Woodrow Avenue The preliminary list for FY16 includes Heaton Street, Greenfield Terrace, Redstone Avenue, Prospect Street, Spring Hollow Lane, Sunnyside Terrace, Bailey Avenue, College Street and Grandview Terrace. The preliminary FY17 list includes Park Avenue, Pearl Street, Towne Street, Sunset Avenue, Liberty Street, Cedar Street, East State Street, Hubbard Street, Loomis Street, Hinkley Street, Arsenal Drive, Hillside Avenue, Cliff Street, North College Street, Green Mountain Drive, Merrill Terrace, Parkside Drive, Marvin Street. For FY18, the list is Hackamore Road, Deerfield Drive, Dewey Street, Gaylord Drive, Clarendon Avenue, National Life Drive, Walker Terrace. For FY19 its First Avenue, Colonial Drive, North Street, Vine Street, Cummings Street, Putnam Street, Ledgewood Terrace, Winter Street, Lague Drive, Blackwell Street, Sherwood Drive, Dwinell Street. These street listings are preliminary and subject to change based on many variables. This provides a glimpse, though, at how the increased road funding will be utilized over the coming years. Thank you for reading this article and for your interest in Montpelier city government. Please feel free to contact me at 223-9502 or wfraser@montpelier-vt.org with any questions or comments.

City line). Class 3. Virtually all other roads and streets in Montpelier are Class 3 roads. These roads are fully maintained and funded by the City. Class 4. There are very few Class 4 roads in the City. These are roads which do not meet full standards. They may be city owned but do not receive regular maintenance. Some are only open seasonally. Questions frequently come up about which streets are paved and why other streets are not repaired. There are many factors which go into these decisions, including: Pavement Condition Index (PCI). All roads are evaluated annually for their condition and given a specific numerical PCI rating. Type of work needed. Street work generally falls into three categories repair, rehabilitation and reconstruction. Repair is the least expensive and may involve simple repaving and slight resloping of drainage. Rehabilitation is more expensive and involves stripping the asphalt, improving the base underneath, and making other subsurface improvements. Reconstruction is the most expensive and involves completely rebuilding the road from its sub-base to its surface. Other related work necessary. Each road is also evaluated for the other projects which may be related such as water or sewer line repairs under the road, storm drain work, culverts, sidewalks and other use considerations (bike lanes, etc.) A road may be in very bad shape but also require extensive water line work first so as not to keep digging up a newly repaired pavement to fix leaking pipes. Such water and sewer line work is extraordinarily expensive, much more so than road repair, and therefore creates a challenging decision point. FY15 Street Selection process DPW initially selected streets based on the Paving Condition Index (PCI) and avoided areas that have underlying utility problems. DPW initially avoided selecting any Class II highways because of the opportunity for funding assistance through State paving grants. Due to the long winter with multiple freeze/thaw cycles, the list was revised to include some repairs to the worst sections of the Class II highways. DPW initially avoided main travel corridors for FY 2015 in anticipation of incorporating the results of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. Revised estimates will need to be prepared for streets that are identified through this study as needing wider shoulders for bicycle lanes or other improvements. Considerations Although extensive water improvement projects are needed, a review of the water fund shows that there is not enough money available to do any significant water improvement projects for at least five years. Based on historical records, the frequency of Montpelier being awarded Class II paving grants is very low. After receiving funding for Berlin Hill last year it will likely be a few years before Montpelier is awarded another Class II paving grant. DPW will however continue to apply for this funding annually. The Complete Streets initiative requires streets to be evaluated for bike and pedestrian accommodations. The Bike and Pedestrian Master Plan is needed to identify specific improvements and is expected to be complete next year. Depending on the recommendations made in this plan, significant changes may need to be made to the paving cost estimates. Baldwin Street Reconstruction of Baldwin Street was designed by an engineering consultant hired by the State of Vermont in 1991, but was never constructed due to funding limitations. Improvements included new water, sewer, storm, street lighting, sidewalks and curb realignment to increase parking. The options for moving forward with Baldwin Street are as follows: o Pave with no other improvements. o Do minimal sidewalk work and curb realignment to

n the aftermath of the difficult winter, a key question on everyones minds these days is what the heck is up with the roads? The wet, freezing weather has wreaked havoc with our already challenged streets and roads. As the weather improves and the asphalt plants open, DPW will be aggressively repairing potholes and other deterioration. These short-term fixes, of course, are not the real solution for improvement of Montpeliers streets. For many years, the city needed to spend its capital project money on urgent and expensive repair projects primarily retaining walls. In a city of hills, retaining walls often go unnoticed but are essential to support houses and roads. In addition to retaining walls, the city invested money in flood prevention design and other key projects. The result was that road paving was underfunded. The City Council has set improvement of infrastructure and roads in particular as a top priority. The road budget, which reached a low of $66,690 in FY11 has been increased to $449,000 in the current FY14 budget and $561,000 in the recently approved FY15 budget. The Council has adopted a plan to incrementally increase road funding up to $850,000 by FY20. This plan allows for more and more infrastructure work to be completed each year while avoiding a huge tax impact by increasing funding all at once. Citizens will see steady progress on the roads but will not see them all repaired at once. It has taken several years for these conditions to develop and will take a few years before most of the roads have been completed. The plan is designed to provide steady state funding so that once streets have been repaired, there is sufficient money to maintain them to acceptable standards. Road Classifications: It is important to understand how roads are classified and how work on them is performed and funded. Class 1. These are roads (often State numbered routes) within communities for which major repair responsibility falls on the State of Vermont Agency of Transportation. VTrans schedules, directs and pays for the work on Class 1 roads. The City is responsible for minor maintenance (pothole patching, etc.) The City has very little say over when work is done on these roads. Class 1 highways in Montpelier are - Main Street (downtown Route 12 section), State Street, Northfield Street, Elm Street, River Street, Spring Street, Berlin Street (Route 2 section), East Montpelier Road and Memorial Drive. Class 2. These are local roads that serve as major connectors and which carry high volumes of traffic. They are typically longer and more expensive to repair. The State provides funding for Class 2s, but it is competitive within regions and cant be relied upon annually. Therefore the city must choose whether to use all of its own money for these roads or seek to leverage State dollars. Our estimate is that it will cost $1.5 million to completely repair all the Class 2 roads. Class 2 highways in Montpelier are - Towne Hill Road, Barre Street, Gallison Hill Road, Main Street (from roundabout to City line), Graves Street, Terrace Street , Taylor Street , Elm Street (from Spring to State), Bailey Avenue, Montpelier Junction Road, Berlin Street (up Berlin Hill to

annie tiberio cameron

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THE BRIDGE

The Drag Queens of Dummerston, Vermont: A Story of Transformation

by Amy Brooks Thornton

Eva applies her lipsPhoto by Evie Lovett.

Mercedes and her star wand Photo by Evie Lovett.

with a 35mm Roloflexreflected her as an artist, but they didnt fully capture the drag queens that she had come to know. In 2010, five years after the Rainbow Cattle Co. closed, Greg Sharrow from the Vermont Folklife Center helped Lovett record interviews with five of the main members of the troupe to make the show more complete. Visitors to the show can now dial into 19 audio recordings with their cell phones while looking at Lovetts rich and candid black and white photographs. The audio adds a sense of how fun and outrageous they are, Lovett says. These individuals are in touch with themselves. They know themselves. They are phenomenally brave, Lovett adds. It is already toughto be gay in this culture. But a drag queen? You are going to be gay and put on heels? Lovetts show helps you understand the reason why. Miss Candi Schtick, one of the ladies, found that growing up in a small town in Vermont, it was hard to let people in, to see my creative and fabulous side. But she found her voice loud and clear on stage. Yearning to unearth our true selves is a universal experience, not reserved for closet drag queens, Candi reflects. If put into effect, the discovery and acceptance are empowering. As she articulates, Anybody who works a nineto-five everyday and goes home at night and says, you know what? I wish I could, thats their drag. If they ever push to experience that, theyll find that freedom, that liberation.

Mitzi in flower dress Photo by Evie Lovett.

Mama puts on Mercedes lashesPhoto by Evie Lovett.

a nurses aid. Mercedes works at Northfield Mount Herman. Sophia runs the Windham County Humane Society. While the queens work in mainstream Vermont, Lovett continues to focus on her photography and her own sea change. Im this sort of white-bread, straight chick. Yet I am so burdenedI think we all are with what we think we are supposed to be. Good wife, good partner, good parent, good citizen. I think we sometimes dont let ourselves be who we are. How have I transformed? she asks herself. Its not sexy but I feel more comfortable with the fact that Im an introvert knowing them [the drag queens], seeing their strength has given me strength. I wish I could say, Now I perform in drag. But that isnt my thing. Lovetts art is also changing. She used to focus her lens on others; now her work is more about self and expression, less about others. I didnt think I had much in common with someone who dressed as a drag queen, but I emerged wishing I had more in commonmore guts to explore a different facet of myself, to be courageous and outrageous, to write my own life story rather than follow a prescribed path that I feel I should walk. My time with the Ladies has prompted me to ask myself: how can I achieve that degree of freedom of expression in my own life?

vie Lovetts transformation began in the basement of the Rainbow Cattle Co., a gay bar in Dummerston, Vermont. As she photographed everyday Vermont citizens turning themselves into divas of the stagepadding their hips and busts, lavishly applying lipstick and eyeliner and donning gorgeous wigsshe asked herself, How do I let my hair down? It was the drag queen called Mama who encouraged Lovett to capture the metamorphosis of these men (and one woman) into fabulous vamping and strutting performance artists: The Ladies of the Rainbow. Lovett recalls Mama telling her: You dont want a photograph of us performing. You want a photograph of us backstage. What an enormous gift it is when someone opens their life to you, says Lovett. They just opened the door to me. And once a month for two years, Lovett captured the dazzling personas as they emerge in the Rainbow Cattle Co.s basement. Lovetts photography show Backstage at the Rainbow Cattle Co.: the Drag Queens of Dummerston, Vermont is touring the state. Its also been to Boston, Cape Cod and even Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The show, Lovetts photography joined with audio segments from interviews with the ladies, will be opening at The Plainfield Community Center on April 18. Lovett felt her photographsContemplative, individual, square, black and white, taken

But change and acceptance come slowly. Lovett tells a story about Vermonts transformation. In 2000, at the height of the civil unions debate, a large wooden Take Back Vermont billboard was erected at a local gas station in Putneypushback against the proposed changes. Lovett passed through Putney often and had been using the station. But when the sign appeared, Lovett stopped going in quiet protest. Recently, on her way to one of the drag queens fundraisers with posters in hand that advertised their show, she passed the station. The billboard now gone, Lovett asked herself, Should I peel in and ask them to put up a poster for the drag performance?" Taking a chance she went in. And they said, Yeah yeah! With relief, Lovett noted the change. Fourteen years makes a difference. Feedback isnt always positive. Although, commentary from visitors to the show is usually encouragingYou awakened me to people and situations I hardly knew existed, wrote one visitor to the Rutland exhibitLovett ran into less favorable reception in Newport. There, some visitors found the show distasteful, disgusting and immoral. Perhaps if they knew the drag queens by day, theyd have a change of heart. Onstage, the drag queens work for free, for the love of it. Offstage, all of the queens have full-time jobs. Lovett counts them off: Candi works at Vermont Yankee. Mama is a nurse at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. Kitty is

Shumlin at Norwich:We've Done Enough Talking

bout 60 people turned out April 8 at Norwich University's Plumley Armory to hear Peter Shumlin and a panel of experts discuss Vermont's struggle with opiate addiction. The program, What Ails Vermont: Is There a Cure to the Drug Epidemic? was sponsored by the university and the Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation. Shumlin delivered keynote remarks before turning the stage over to four panelists: state Health Commissioner Harry Chen, State Police Director Thomas L'Esperance, Norwich Professor David Orrick, and Vermont Center for Justice Research Director, Max Schlueter. Alluding to drug-fueled crime, Shumlin said, Things are happening that didn't used to happen in Vermont. He wasted no words in pinpointing what precipitated the change: the Food and Drug Administration's approval of OxyContin as a prescription drug. A semisynthetic opioid pain-reliever, the drug has a high addiction potential, leading some to call it heroin in a pill. Illegally obtained

by C.B. Hall

OxyContin, moreover, can be so expensive that addicts move on to heroin as a cheaper alternative. We've got to do something about it, Shumlin declared. We've done enough talking. Central to the opiate action plan Shumlin outlined in his January State of the State message, is substituting treatment for jail. The goal, he said, is to eliminate waiting lists for treatment centers within one year. He was quick to tie that initiative to the need to save taxpayers a ton of money:" it costs $1,136 a week to lock up an addict but only $132 a week for treatment, he said. Nothing can be more debilitating than to pretend [the problem] is not in our own front yards, he concluded. Among the panelists, Orrick took the widestangle view of the problem, stating that we've built on America's love of self-medication. In addition to the FDA approval of OxyContin, he cited two events that have made the anti-drug wars all the more difficult: the

commencement of direct advertising of prescription drugs, and the FDA's decision to make drugs containing pseudoephedrine, a raw material in crystal meth manufacturing, available without a prescription. In response to a question from the floor, Chen pointed to another societal factor: the practice of scoring medical providers' performance in terms of success in alleviating pain. That leads doctors to take a free hand in feeding patients analgesics like OxyContin. I think we went too far in over-medicating and over-prescribing, he said. Drug policy gets complicated when an FDAapproved painkiller becomes a gateway to heroin, and when the furor over opiates coexists with an increasing acceptance of marijuana, once broadly demonized as a precursor to heroin dependency. Asked, as he left, if he felt legalization of marijuana could free up resources from justice administration to help the fight against opiates, Shumlinwho The New York Times recently

described as open to legalizationgave a qualified yes. I support it, he said, but I'm glad that Colorado and Washington are going to go firstthere are a lot of technical and legal issues to figure out. Asked the same question after the program, L'Esperance answered, No [marijuana's illegal status] is not tying up resources like some people say. Moreover, he added, With the move toward legalization, the [anti-drug] message we're trying to get through to kids gets polluted. Sen. Bill Doyle's recent Town Meeting Day poll found 44 percent of Vermonters in favor of legalization and 45 percent opposed. The survey found 89 percent of Vermonters concerned about opiate use; only 5 percent weren't. For Shumlin and other policymakers, the political challenge lies in making the case for a liberal policy on marijuana while combating the dangers of harder drugs.

T H E B R I D G E

a p r i l 17 a p r i l 3 0 , 2 014 pag e 2 3

Cold Weather, Hard State

by Peter Miller
buying some of the lush windows and kitchens shown in ads. Luxury homes and their gardens are marvelously photographed and landscaped. Then there are the magazines that advertise estates for sale that run from $900,000 to $3 million or more. The thrust here appears to be that Vermont wants the newcomers with big bucks and then hit them with a property-education tax that makes them shed dollars like melting snowflakes, but hey, many a new Vermonter can afford it. "What are we going to do, just work for a bunch of wealthy people?" said the son of a farmer who sold his farm. "We can't afford to buy a home or land in the town we grew up in." Banks have often turned their backs on the self-employed and some frown on approving loans for older people, unless their assets are quickly convertible. Many independent Vermonters have switched their banking to credit unions. And did you see there are more restrictions on your home insurance plan? I love Vermonthave ever since I moved here in 1947. I love the hillside farmers I have met, the beauty of the land. I have written five books on Vermont that are recognized as classics on rural Vermont. I have been recognized as Vermonter of the Year and honored by the Vermont State Legislature and the US Senate for my documentation of rural Vermont. "I am a treasure to Vermont," I was told. "You can't move away." I don't want to leave the Vermont that has been such a large part of my life and soul, but I cannot afford to live in Vermont, own a home and pay property taxes and support the money our towns and state say they need so they can support me. I see our mountains becoming billboards for subsidized wind turbines. A Canadian firm owns our two largest power companies; other businesses are interested in pipeline and transmission stations to send energy through Vermont, not to Vermont. We need a return to the values that made this state free in thinking and bound by a common unity of spirit. I'm suggesting that we need to embrace the democratic principles of governance by the peoplelegislators need to hear our stories so they can make informed governmental decisions on funding during their sessions in Montpelier. Wishful thinking, and meanwhile ... many creative people have given up and taken salaried positions. Rob Hunter, the director of Frog Hollow, which is located in Burlington and is Vermont's leading gallery for craft and art, reports a number of artists stopped paying dues, as they cannot afford to create art they can't sell. True, it is tough all over for creative people. The copyright is under attack. New business models created by CEOs with the expectations that every intellectual property is as free as the Internet has crippled photography, illustration, writing and music creators. The effect reverberates. With the money crunch, buying artwork is not an option for average Vermonters. I put off repairing my car and winterizing my house because I need to pay taxes and buy fuel oil. Alpine skiing, my favorite sport, is too expensive, and new Vermonters have posted most of the land I used to bird hunt on. Instead of thinking of new book projects, I repair my house, shovel snow, spread salt and haul firewood. Because of the cost of gas, I don't drive around the state looking for photographs or people to talk to; I argue with the companies who charge me too much on those monthly costs and stare aghast at my shrinking income, but I thank God for Medicare. We self-employed Vermonters grumble but we have carried on, and every so often we remember that we live in beauty. That's the Vermont Way and I think it is coming to an end. This tome started out as a rant but it is not. It is a fact and a warning that perhaps the people who run this state have shot themselves in the foot. My house, according to one real estate agent, is over-appraised by a large amount and this is true for many homeowners. Our old homes were built large to hold families and farm workers and usually had little or no insulation. When houses are reappraised lower, will the towns raise taxes or lower salaries or cut staff? It is getting to the point where selfemployed Vermonters might do better going on the dole and using state and federal funds to pay their bills. Back to the effects of a cold, cold winterthe cold that travels down my backbonethat seesawing of temperaturesis here to stay says Roger Hill, our knowledgeable northern Vermont meteorologist. (www.weatheringheights.com) Roger gave me the statistics on minus-zero days this winter in my region. Roger went on to say this cold-ice, flooding and blizzards, according to a study at Rutgers University, are likely to become a constant for residents of Canada, North America and Britain. The high altitude jet stream, a river of air, is sucked up north. As the Arctic temperatures are rising rapidly, more so than the rest of the world, the jet stream slows down and creeps over the polar region, sucking up cold from the arctic sea that is no longer ice-capped so it is not reflecting back the heat of the sun. The meteo-techies feel the cold jet stream is going to hover over our small state for a while. I love my home state but I can't afford to own my house, and now I hear rents are way too high, too. Well, my old house is an anachronism and so am I. I have to minimize or go off the grid. I do have an out, and it is my 18-foot, 45-year-old Airstream trailer, but damn it makes my Jeep over indulge at the gas pump. Peter Miller is a photographer and author who recently published "A Lifetime of Vermont People", a collection of photos and stories on rural Vermonters created over the past 63 years. He is 80 years old and lives in Colbyville, VT.

Editors Note: The following opinion piece was first released to Vermont Digger on March 27, 2014. As released, Peter Millers opinion piece opened with a few paragraphs that described the punishing, relentless winter just passed. As we publish Millers piece for our April 17 issue, the hardest part of the 2013-2014 winter has passed, so we decided to pick up the piece after his description as he goes on to report on how tough it is for ordinary Vermonters (carpenters, farmers, mom and pop store owners, repair people and the like) to make ends meet and continue to live here.

ire and Ice ... the cold that freeze-sucks my body is matched by the heat it creates in the belly of my psychethe heat of anxiety. After all this, how am I going to pay my bills?

thing only he could see. "I want to leave but I have to sell first." Bleak it is. Vermont property taxes are rated among the top 10 most expensive in the country. This week in Vermont, the average cost of fuel oil is $3.92 a gallon (17 cents below average); propane, $4.34 a gallon ($1.17 above average); gasoline, $3.59 a gallon (eight cents higher in Waterbury) and electricity, 17.05 cents per kilowatt hour (fourth highest in continental United States). Food costs keep climbing in this "...one of the 10 coldest years in U.S. history. A friend in New Mexico pays a property tax of $1,400 for their adobe home, and it is appraised at half a million and could be sold for more. When they lived in Middlesex, they paid a $3,900 property tax on a house they sold for $150,000. Many of us "new poor folk" are independent Vermonters, meaning we work for ourselves. Creative people (I'm a writer and photographer), mom and pop owners of village stores, people who work the woods or land, carpenters, landscapers and repair peoplethese are the Vermonters who crafted Vermont and gave it a flavor so different from most of America. Many of us are bereft of any lifeline associations, lobbyists and public relations firms. Bankers don't like our sporadic cash flow. We are the grunts of Vermont. Many a Vermonter has a certain foreboding of their future, and it is evidenced by the ads and editorials you see in Vermont Life and Vermont Magazine. Most of us can't think of

This anxiety attack hit hard when I, and many homeowners throughout Vermont, received our property tax bills last summer, and we saw the increase in the homestead education tax. That bill might as well have stamped on it: "You cannot afford Vermont!" (Thirtyfour towns turned down their school budget this past Town Meeting Day. I was lucky I am so poor, for I received for last year a hefty payback. Still, I'm behind.) This past fall, I was traveling through Vermont, delivering my new book to bookstores and talking to strangers. People told me they placed their homes for sale or had seen their neighbors put up for sale signs right after the tax bill was put in the mailbox. I talked to a young woman who lives in Wolcott. "My husband and I both work, but I don't know how we can make it." Worry lines were creasing her forehead and puckering her natural beauty. "We recently retired," said a friend who is now a clerk in a bank. "We don't have as much work and our retirement funds are not enough to live here anymore. We have to move. Vermont is not what it used to be." "My house has been on the market for a year and no one has made an offer," said a store clerk. He frowned, and looked away to some-

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THE BRIDGE

Performing Arts
Apr. 17: Cinderella. Kingdom County Productions and Burklyn Arts Council will present The Moscow Festival Ballets performance of Cinderella. 7 p.m. Lyndon Institute Auditorium. Lyndonville. $29$54; students $22. 748-2600. kingdomcounty.org.

THEATER, STORYTELLING & COMEDY

Apr. 1727: Our Town by Thornton Wilder. Lost Nation Theater opens its 2014 season with Thornton Wilders Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning classic Our Town. Funny, deeply moving, engaging and ground-breaking theatrical play celebrating the very ordinariness of our lives. Features a multi-generational cast and live performance of the music of Aaron Copeland. Montpelier City Hall Arts Center. 39 Main St., Montpelier. 229-0492. lostnationtheater.org. Discounts for seniors and youth. Apr. 17, 24: 7 p.m. $25. Apr. 20: 7 p.m. $30 Apr. 18, 25: 8 p.m.; $30 Apr. 27. 2 p.m. $30 Apr. 18: Good Friday, Good Laughs Comedy Show. Were bringing more gut-busting fun to the winery! Settle in for some laughs by some of Vermonts top standup comedians in our cozy, intimate environment. 8 p.m. Fresh Tracks Farm Vineyard & Winery. 4373 VT Rte. 12, Berlin. $15 advance; $18 at door. 223-1151. freshtracksfarm.com.

Some members of the church choir, in Our Town. Photo courtesy Lost Nation Theatre
Michael Tebelak. 7 p.m. all three evenings; 2 p.m matinee May 3. Twineld Union School, 106 Nasmith Brook Rd., Marsheld. $10. 563-9965. plaineldlittletheatre@gmail.com. May 2: An Evening with Groucho. Awardwinning actor/director/playwright Frank Ferrante recreates his acclaimed portrayal of legendary comedian Groucho Marx in this fast-paced 90 minutes of hilarity. 7:30 p.m. Chandler Music Hall. 71-73 Main St., Randolph. $25 advance; $30 day of show; $10 students. 728-6464. chandler-arts.org. May 2: Laugh Local VT Open Mic Comedy Night. Montpelier's monthly comedy open mic. Please help support local comedy by performing or watching those that do. Signups 7:30 p.m.; show starts 8 p.m. The American Legion Post #3. 21 Main St., Montpelier. Free; donations accepted. 793-3884.

Apr. 27: Film: The Conversation. The Chandler Film Society presents The Conversation (1974) directed by Francis Ford Coppola. 6 p.m. Chandlers Upper Gallery. 71-73 Main St., Randolph. $9. 431-0204. outreach@chandler-arts.org. May 13: Godspell. An inspirational and popular musical by Stephen Schwartz and John-

APR. 17

Third Thursday: Porches of North America. Bring a bag lunch and listen to Thomas Visser talk about porch history. Noon1 p.m. Vermont History Museum. 109 State St., Montpelier. Free. 828-2180. vermonthistory.org/calendar. Green Mountain Care Board. GMCB Director of Health System Finances Mike Davis will present an internal GMCB budget update. GMCB Director Analysis and Data Management Dian Kahn will present a VHCURES update. Open to the public. 14 p.m. DFR 3rd Floor Conference Room, 89 Main Street, Montpelier. 828-2130. gmcboard.vermont.gov. Survivors of Suicide Loss Support. Monthly group for people aected by a suicide death. Third Thurs., 67:30 p.m. Central Vermont Medical Center, conference rm. 1, Fisher Rd., Berlin. 2230924. calakel@comcast.com.afsp.org. Transition Town Montpelier: Dealing with Climate Change. Dr. Alan Betts will discuss how to make a creative contribution to the future of the Earth and our children. 67:45 p.m. KelloggHubbard Library. 135 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 223-3338. kellogghubbard.org. Grandparents Raising Their Childrens Children. Third Thurs., 68 p.m. Child care provided. Trinity United Methodist Church, 137 Main St., Montpelier. 476-1480. 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. Library Film Series: Writing and Reading. Interesting and sometimes quirky lms to stimulate your mind and senses. 7 p.m. Jaquith Public Library. 122 School St., Marsheld. Free. 426-3581. PoemCity: Vermont Studio Center Alumni Poetry Reading. Join Julia Shipley, Hilary Poremski-Beitzel and Kristin Fogdall for a group poetry reading. 7 p.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center. 58 Barre St., Montpelier. Free. 223-2518. jsharp@montpelier-vt.org. PoemCity: My Strange Objects. Students from Montpelier High School will perform their new poetic/collaborative works created especially for PoemCity 2014. 7 p.m. Sweet Melissas. 24 Langdon St., Montpelier. Free. 225-6012. Deborah Derrick Shares Stories from Half Lives. Author Deborah Derrick of Half Lives shares the true story of an atomic waste dumping ship, a government cover-up and the veterans' families shaped by it all. Presented by Green Mountain Global Forum. 7 p.m. The Big Picture Theater. Carroll Rd, Waitseld. Free. 496-2111. lev@wcvt.net. gmgf.org

help. 9 a.m.Noon. Montpelier Senior Activity Center. 58 Barre St., Montpelier. By appointment: 479-4400. The Science of Sound. With Kurt Valenta. An exploration of how sound is created with handson activities that explain the principles through personal experience. Ages 36. 10 a.m. Waterbury Public Library. 28 N. Main St., Waterbury. Free. 244-7036. PoemCity: Brown Bag Poetry: Favorite Poems. Bring your lunch and join others in a roundtable sharing of our favorite poems, by ourselves or others. Noon. Kellogg-Hubbard Library 135 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 223-3338. kellogghubbard. org. PoemCity: So Little Time. The writers of this anthology, focusing on nature and our human impact, gather for a reading. 6 p.m. KelloggHubbard Library.135 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 223-3338. kellogghubbard.org. Create a Biodiverse Garden for Ecological Resilience. With Dr. Wendy Sue Harper. Learn strategies for creating more beautiful, biodiverse and thus resilient gardens. 6:308 p.m. North Branch Nature Center. 713 Elm St., Montpelier. $5. 229-6206. northbranchnaturecenter.org.

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Spring Tea Tasting. Fresh 2014 teas including Taiwanese, Chinese and Darjeeling First Flush Black with Stoneleaf Teas' importer. 11 a.m. Tulsi Tea Room. 34 Elm St., Montpelier. $5. 223-1431. solenne@tulsitearoom.com. tulsitearoom.com. Families of Color. Open to all. Play, eat and discuss issues of adoption, race and multiculturalism. Bring snacks and games to share; dress for the weather. Third Sun., 35 p.m. Unitarian Church, 130 Main St., Montpelier. Alyson 439-6096 or alyson@suncatchervt.com.

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Spring Migration Bird Walks. Explore North Branch Nature Center and other local birding hot spots for spring migrants, such as warblers, vireos, thrushes and waterfowl. 78:30 a.m. $10; Free for members. Call for directions to meeting locations: 229-6206. northbranchnaturecenter.org. Central Vermont Council on Aging Assistance. Questions about health insurance or other senior services? Sarah Willhoit, from CVCOA, can

Pruning Trees. With Dave Wilcox, State Lands Forester. A presentation on tools and techniques and pruning the crabapple trees on the library grounds. Dress appropriately for the weather. 10 a.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library. 135 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 223-3338. kellogghubbard.org. Additional Recyclables Collection Center. Accepting 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/arccadditional-recyclables-collection-center.html. 2014 Annual Egg Hunt. Join us in Hubbard Park for a Special Egg Hunt Celebration. 12 years old and under. Arrive by 9:45 a.m. Hunt begins 10 a.m. Hubbard Park, Frog Pond Entrance. Montpelier. Free. 225-8699. montpelierrec.org. PoemCity: Braiding History. Join historian, mystery novelist and poet Beth Kannell in this generative writing workshop. 10:30 a.m. Vermont History Museum, Snelling Room. 109 State St., Montpelier. Free. 828-2291. North Branch Cafe's One Year Anniversary Party. Join us to celebrate our 1 year anniversary! Music, specials, fun and more. Noon9 p.m. North Branch Caf. 41 State St., Montpelier. Free. 552-8105. lauren@thenorth-branch.com. PoemCity: Twitter Poetry. Beth Kannell leads this workshop in using the power of social media. 12:30 p.m. Bagitos. 28 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 229-9212. PoemCity: Photo and Poetry Workshop. Deb Fleishman and Gary Miller host a generative workshop around photography and poetry. 13 p.m. Local 64. 5 State St., Montpelier. Free. 5950605. Green Mountain Club History Walk in Middlesex/Moretown. Easy. 4-6 mile history road walk along Rte. 100B to visit two former hydro-electric power plant sites, and a third site still in operation. Call for meeting time and location: 622-0585.

Onion River Exchange Potluck. Bring a dish, plate, utensils. Share food, meet people and make exchange connections. Log time if you bring a dish. 5:30 p.m. ORE Oce, 2F. 46 Barre St., Montpelier. info@orexchange.org. orexchange. org. FALLING AWAY: A Talk with Robert Kest, Ph.D. Moving beyond western constructs of self, relationship and psychotherapy. 67:30 p.m. KelloggHubbard Library. 135 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 229-6989. ryokan@juno.com. Death and Rebirth Series: Evening Talks. With Tibetan Buddhist nun Venerable Amy Miller. Enrich your days with a meaningful exploration of the natural cycle of life, death and rebirth. Second talk of three-part series. 68 p.m. KelloggHubbard Library. 135 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 633-4136. milarepa@milarepacenter.org. milarepacenter.org. Weatherization Workshop. Kate Stephenson from Yestermorrow will be giving a hands-on workshop for weatherization. Weatherization Door Prizes Galore! 6:307:30 p.m. Onion River Exchange. 46 Barre St, Montpelier. Free. 552-3040. info@orexchange.org. orexchange.org. Plainfield Book Club. Third Mon., 78:30 p.m. Cutler Memorial Library, 151 High St. (Rte. 2), Plaineld. Free. 454-8504 or cutlerlibrary.org. Montpelier Development Review Board Meeting. 7 p.m. City Council Chambers, Montpelier City Hall. 39 Main St., Montpelier. montpeliervt.org.

Toy Hacking. What does the inside of a toy look like and how does it work? Kids will be able to take apart a toy to see how it works. Toys and tools provided. For 4th6th grades. 10:30 a.m. Waterbury Public Library. 28 N. Main St., Waterbury. Free. Register: 244-7036. waterburypubliclibrary.com. How the Law Made Vermont. Paul Gillies, historian, writer and attorney discusses how early founders and the Green Mountain Boys created a new system to administer justice. Part of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. 1:30 p.m. Aldrich Public Library, 6 Washington St., Barre. Free for members; $5 suggested donation for nonmembers. 454-1234. pdaggett@myfairpoint.net. Waterbury Public Library Celebrates World Book Night. Waterbury Public Library will be handing out 20 copies of Where' d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple. First come, rst served. 6 p.m. Waterbury Public Library. 28 N. Main St., Waterbury. Free. 244-7036. waterburypubliclibrary.com. Conversation About Drones. Learn about the legal controversies that surround the use of drones internationally and domestically. Then watch a screening of the short lm Wounds of Waziristan by journalist, Madiha Tahir followed by a brief discussion. 67:30 p.m. Savoy Theater, lower level. 26 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 229-0598. Bicycle Maintenance. With Anne Miller and Special Guests. Tune-up your bike for Spring. Gas prices are going up! Get out your bike and get it ready to go. 7 p.m. Jaquith Public Library. 122 School St., Marsheld. Free. 426-3581. jaquithpubliclibrary.org. PoemCity: Winter Ready. Leland Kinsey reads from his newest book, Winter Ready. 7 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library. 135 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 223-3338. kellogghubbard.org.

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Don Mitchell, VT Author Book Reading. Don tells of creating habitat for endangered bats on his Vergennes farmprofound and funny. 12:45 p.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center. 58 Barre St., Montpelier. Free. 223-2518. Medicare and You Workshop. New to Medicare? Have questions? We have answers. Second and fourth Tues., 34:30 p.m. 59 N. Main St., Ste. 200, Barre. Free, donations gratefully accepted. 479-0531. cvcoa@cvcoa.org. cvcoa.org. 17th Annual Open Poetry. A popular event, we have a new sign up system this year (ask at the store). 7 p.m. Bear Pond Books. 77 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 229-0774. helen@bearpondbooks.com. bearpondbooks.com.

Parklets - Presentations and Technical Meeting. Montpelier Alive hosts a meeting for those interested in learning more about parklets in general, and those looking to construct or submit proposals for this application round. Architects and designers will be on hand to answer questions regarding draft proposals and to answer specic questions regarding the parklet standards document. Open to everyone. 7 p.m. City Council Chambers, Montpelier City Hall. 39 Main St., Montpelier. 223-9406. director@montpelieralive. org. Green Mountain Care Board. Mike Davis, GMCB director of Health System Finances, will be presenting a deeper analysis of FY 2013 Hospital Financial Operating Results. Open to the public. 14 p.m. DFR, 3F Conference Room. 89 Main St., Montpelier. 828-2130. gmcboard. vermont.gov. Poem in Your Pocket Storytime Celebration. Celebrate Poem in Your Pocket Day with a special poetry story time. Enjoy poems in celebration of National Poetry Month, PoemCity and Poem in Your Pocket Day, when everyone is encouraged to carry a favorite poem and share it with friends and neighbors. 10:30 a.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library. 135 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 223-3338. kellogghubbard.org.

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Music
VENUES
Bagitos. 28 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 2299212. bagitos.com. Apr. 18: Art Herttua and Stephen Morabito Jazz (jazz guitar and percussion) 68 p.m. Apr. 19: Irish Session with Sarah Blair, Hilari Farrington, Benedict Koehler, Katrina VanTyne, and others, 25 p.m; The Neptunes (high energy jazz, blues and alternative) 68 p.m. Apr. 20: Ben Kinsley (acoustic guitar) 11 a.m.1 p.m. Chandler Music Hall. 7173 Main St., Randolph. Tickets: 728-6464 or chandler-arts.org. Apr. 26: Beat the Band! Five bands perform (Donna Thunder, Coquette, TallGrass GetDown, Revibe, and The Folk Rock Project) and audience members vote for their favorite. 7:30 p.m. $12. May 3: Vermont Philharmonic. 7:30 p.m. $15 adults; $12 seniors; $5 students. Charlie Os World Famous 70 Main St., Montpelier. Age 21+. Free. Call for times: 223-6820. Apr. 17: Brave the Vertigo + DJ Crucible (metal) Apr. 18: Mystery Points, Couches, PistolFist (indie) Apr. 19: Dance Party Apr. 21: Kick Em Jenny (bluegrass) Apr. 25: Township (rock) Apr. 26: Dance Party

North Branch Caf 41 State St., Montpelier. Free. 552-8105. thenorth-branch.com. Apr. 24: Dave Loughran (classic smooth rock) 78:30 p.m. Positive Pie. 22 State St., Montpelier. 229-0453. positivepie.com. Apr. 18: Hip to the Hops Spring Fling. Featuring Mertz, Political Animals, Vorheez, and The Aztext. DJs between sets. 21+. 10:30 p.m. $5. Apr. 19: Black & White Rave 2.0. With DJs Gaga, Jaws and Don P. All ages. 10:30 p.m. $15. Apr. 25: The Durians Album Release. 21+. 10:30 p.m. $5 Apr. 26: Grundelfunk (funk and jazz) 21+. 10:30 p.m. $5. Sovversiva. 89 Barre St., Montpelier. subversive. intentions@gmail.com. bomsheltervt.wordpress. com. Apr. 17: Ava Marie, John Levin, Danny Bissette, Will Solomon (indie folk and experimental electronic) 7 p.m. $5 suggested donation (no one is turned away). Sweet Melissas. 4 Langdon St., Montpelier. Free unless otherwise noted. 225-6012. facebook. com/sweetmelissasvt. Apr. 17: Live Music, 8 p.m. Apr. 18: Honky Tonk Happy Hour with Mark LeGrand, 5 p.m.; Hot Diggity, 9 p.m. Apr. 19: Andy Pitt, 5 p.m.; Eames Brothers Band, 9 p.m. Apr. 20: Johnny Rawls and The Dave Keller Band, cover, 7 p.m Apr. 22: Live Music, 5 p.m.; Open Mic Night, 7 p.m. Apr. 23: Wine Down with D. Davis, 5 p.m.; John Daly Trio, 7 p.m. from Outright VT. Second and fourth Fri., 6:308 p.m. Unitarian Church, 130 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 223-7035. Micah@OutrightVT. org.

Apr. 24: Bob Stannard and Those Dangerous Bluesmen, cover, 8 p.m. Apr. 25: Honky Tonk Happy Hour with Mark LeGrand, 5 p.m.; Stone Cold Roosters, 9 p.m. Apr. 26: Blue Fox, 5 p.m.; Joe Adler Show, 9 p.m. Apr. 29: Live Music, 5 p.m.; Open Mic Night, 7 p.m. Apr. 30: Wine Down with D. Davis, 5 p.m.; Jeanne & Jim, 8 p.m. The Whammy Bar 31 County Rd., Calais. 2294329. whammybar1.com. Apr. 18: Bramblewood: Carol Hausner, Danny Coane and Colin McCarey (acoustic bluegrass, folk and country) 7:309:30 p.m. Suggested donation. Apr. 19: Bob and the Trubadors, free, 7:3010:30 p.m.

ARTISTS & SPECIAL EVENTS

Apr. 17: Sap Runnin Contra Dance. All dances are taught. No experience necessary. Partners not required. Musicians welcome to sit in with the band. Caller Lausanne Allen will kick o the 2014 Season! 710 p.m. Pierce Hall. 38 Main St., Rochester. $8 adults; $5 youth (under 25). 617-721-6743. Apr. 19: Johnny Rawls & The Dave Keller Band Live Concert. River Arts is pleased to present another evening of soul and blues with Mississippi blues man Johnny Rawls and The Dave Keller Band. Soul food available 6 p.m.; concert 7 p.m. River Arts Center. 74 Pleasant St., Morrisville. $20 (food not included). 888-1261. riverartsvt. org. Apr. 2527: Geekend. Three days of music, dance, video games and comedy all in geek form. Espresso Bueno. 248 N. Main St., Barre. Call or 223-3338. kellogghubbard.org. Discover Goddard Day. Learn about Goddard's low-residency BA, BFA, MA and MFA degree programs. Meet current students and faculty, tour historic campus & gardens, and have lunch. 10 a.m.3 p.m. Goddard College. 123 Pitkin Rd., Plaineld. Free. RSVP required: 800-906-8316. admissions@goddard.edu. goddard.edu/discover. PoemCity: The Nature of Poetry. Join other nature and poetry enthusiasts for a celebration of these tawo great forces united. 10 a.m.Noon. Kellogg-Hubbard Library. 135 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 223-3338. kellogghubbard.org.

Facebook Espresso Bueno for details. 479-0896. espressobueno.com. Apr. 26: Springtime Family Music Soiree with Summit School. Rollicking family fun featuring music, dancing and the wonderful talent of Montpeliers Summit School for Traditional Music. 12 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library. 135 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 223-3338. kellogghubbard.org. Apr. 26: Maids in Vermont. Capital City Concerts presents its nal concert of the season Maids in Vermont, an all-Vermonter ensemble of ve women includes Mary Rowell-violin, Stefanie Taylor-viola, Frances Rowell-cello, Rebecca Kauman-harp, and Karen Kevra-ute. At the conclusion of the concert VPR music hosts Walter Parker and Kari Anderson host a catered reception by the Skinny Pancake to celebrate the launch of VPR Classical in the Montpelier area. 7:30 p.m. Unitarian Church. 130 Main St., Montpelier. $10$20 includes reception. capitalcityconcerts.org. Tickets may also be purchased with cash or check only at Bear Pond Books, Montpelier. Apr. 27: Cantare Con Spirito. Vocal works of Brahms. Presented by BarnArts Center of the Arts. 10 a.m. Bethany Church. 115 Main St., Montpelier. Second performance 4 p.m. St. Michaels College. Colchester. $15 suggested donation. 332-6020. cantareconspirito.com. May 2: Friday Night Fires with The Glass Project. Virtuosic jazz collaboration of Gregory Douglass and Joshua Glass. 79 p.m. Fresh Tracks Farm Vineyard & Winery. 4373 VT Rte. 12, Berlin. 223-1151. freshtracksfarm.com. May 2: 4th Annual Contra Dance at Vivien and Michael Fritzs Barn. With Susannah Blachly and Susan Reid on ddle, and George White on guitar. Have lots of fun dancing and listening to the music. Fundraiser beneting the Jaquith Public Library. 7 p.m. Call for directions to the barn: 426-3190. or aspiring to be in business. Nominal fee includes light refreshments. Last Tues., 4:306:30 p.m. CVCAC Campus, 20 Gable Pl., Barre. Information and registration: 479-9813, info@vwbc.org or vwbc.org. Montpelier Design Review Committee Meeting. 5:30 p.m. City Council Chambers, Montpelier City Hall. 39 Main St., Montpelier. montpeliervt.org. Brave Parenting. With local author Krissy Pozatek. Parenting coach and author oers up a Buddhist inspired guide to raising emotionally resilient children. 6:308 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library. 135 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 2233338. Gary Margolis Reading. Poet Gary Margolis reads from his book Raking the Winter Leaves. 7 p.m. Bear Pond Books. 77 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 229-0774. helen@bearpondbooks.com. bearpondbooks.com. Waterbury Historical Society Annual Meeting. Paul Carnahan, librarian of the Vermont Historical Society, will talk about how to research your house. Meeting 7 p.m.; program 7:30 p.m. American Legion Post. 16 Stowe St., Waterbury. 244-8089. kellogghubbard.org.

Ecumenical Group. Songs of praise, Bible teaching, fellowship. Second and fourth Thurs., 79 p.m. Jabbok Center for Christian Living, 8 Daniel Dr., Barre. Free. 479-0302. PoemCity: The Poetry of William Carlos Williams. UVM English Professor Huck Gutman gives a presentation on modern American poet William Carlos Williams. 7 p.m. KelloggHubbard Library. 135 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 223-3338. kellogghubbard.org. Woodcock Watch. Its spring and love is in the airliterally! Listen and watch for the dramatic courtship ight of the American Woodcock, a sandpiper which nests along the North Branch. With luck, we may also be serenaded by Wilsons Snipe and were sure to hear a chorus of Spring Peepers. 7:30 p.m. North Branch Nature Center. North Branch Nature Center. 713 Elm St., Montpelier. $5 members; $8 non-members. 229-6206. northbranchnaturecenter.org. Green Mountain Dog Club Monthly Meeting. Learn about the club and events. All dog lovers welcome. Fourth Thurs., 7:30 p.m. Commodores Inn, Stowe. 479-9843 or greenmountaindogclub. org.

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PoemCity: Brown Bag Poetry: Card Catalog Poetry Writing. Bring your lunch in this group writing session using the librarys retired card catalog as a prompt. Noon1 p.m. KelloggHubbard Library. 135 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 223-3338. kellogghubbard.org. Friends of the Aldrich Public Library Spring Book Sale. Plenty of gently used books and other items for all ages at rock bottom prices. Noon5 p.m. Milne Community Room, Aldrich Public Library. 6 Washington St., Barre. 476-7550. aldrichlibrary@charter.net. aldrichpubliclibrary.org. Turkey Take Out Dinner Annual Fundraiser. The menu includes turkey and gravy, stung, mashed potato, vegetable, cranberry sauce, rolls and dessert. Dinner pick-up 46 p.m. Waterbury Center Community Church. 3583 Waterbury Stowe Rd., Waterbury. $9 Reservations required: 244-8089. Spring Poetry Slam. Pizza and drinks followed by slam with host, Geo Hewitt. Open to all. 6 p.m. Aldrich Public Library, 6 Washington St., Barre. Free. 476-7550. aldrichlibrary@charter.net. aldrichpubliclibrary.org. Friday Night Group. For youth age 1322 who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning. Pizza, soft drinks and conversation. Cofacilitated by two trained, adult volunteers

Friends of the Aldrich Public Library Spring Book Sale. Plenty of gently used books and other items for all ages at rock bottom prices. 10 a.m.3 p.m. Milne Community Room, Aldrich Public Library. 6 Washington St., Barre. 476-7550. aldrichlibrary@charter.net. aldrichpubliclibrary.org. The 5th Annual MAD PIE HOEDOWN. Fundraising event for Transition Town Montpelier regions Villagebuilding Convergence. Contra dancing and the famous pie auction. Donate a pie, bid on a pie, have fun and dance the night away. 7:30 p.m. Plaineld Community Center. 153 Main St., Plaineld. $820 suggested donation. 223-1730. Vermonts Spring Turkey Hunting Starts with Youth Turkey Hunting Weekend. Youth turkey hunting weekend is April 2627. Landowner permission is required to hunt on private land, whether or not the land is posted. Youth must be age 15 or under, must have successfully completed a hunter education course and possess a hunting license, a turkey hunting license and a free youth turkey hunting tag. Youth also must be accompanied by an unarmed adult who holds a hunting license and is over 18 years of age. Shooting hours are one half hour before sunrise to Noon. The youth may take one bearded turkey during youth weekend and two bearded turkeys in the regular May hunting season. A shotgun or bow and arrow may be used in the youth turkey or regular spring turkey hunting seasons. Shot size must be no larger than #2 and no smaller than #8. Regular turkey hunting season starts May 1. Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. 8281000. vtshandwildlife.com. Capital City Farmers Market. 35 vendors selling produce, meats, cheeses, prepared foods, crafts and more. 10 a.m.2 p.m. 60 State St., corner of Elm and State. Free. 223-2958. manager@montpelierfarmersmarket.com. Household Hazardous Waste Collection. 9 a.m.1 p.m. Barre Town Garage, 129 Websterville Road, Barre. $15 per carload for in-district residents. 802-229-9383 x. 105. cvswmd.org. The What, Where, When and Why of Pruning. State Lands Forester David Wilcox will demonstrate pruning tools and techniques for health, strength, beauty and production. Workshop and outdoor demonstration. 1011:30 a.m. KelloggHubbard Library. 135 Main St., Montpelier. Free.

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Musical Story Time. With Lesley Grant. Ages 18 months4 years. 10 a.m. Waterbury Public Library. 28 N. Main St., Waterbury. Free. 2447036. Sit n Knit. Lucky us! One more round of knitting with our friend Joan. First timers and knitting superstars can drop right in. 3:304:30 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library. 135 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 223-3338. kellogghubbard.org. Montpelier Planning Commission Meeting. 5 p.m. City Council Chambers, Montpelier City Hall. 39 Main St., Montpelier. montpelier-vt.org. Death and Rebirth Series: Evening Talks. With Tibetan Buddhist nun Venerable Amy Miller. Enrich your days with a meaningful exploration of the natural cycle of life, death and rebirth. Final talk of three-part series. 68 p.m. Kellogg Hubbard Library. 135 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 633-4136. milarepa@milarepacenter.org. milarepacenter.org. Monthly Book Group for Adults. New members always welcome. April's book is Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand and May's book is American Dervish by Ayad Akhtar. For book copies, please stop by the library. Fourth Mon., 7 p.m. Jaquith Public Library, 122 School St., Marsheld. 4263581. jaquithpubliclibrary@gmail.com. marsheld.lib.vt.us.

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Main Street Middle School Poetry Reading. Sixth grade MSMS poets will be reading poetry in conjunction with Sherry Olsons poetry class. The theme of the poems will be adolescence. 12 p.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center. 58 Barre St., Montpelier. 223-2518. Business Wisdom Circle. Monthly networking and mentoring opportunity for women in business

Bereavement/Grief Support Group. Open to anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one. 1011:30 a.m. Conference Center. 600 Granger Road, Berlin, VT 05602. Free. 2231878. Lunch N Learn. Michael Krause, PhD, Norwich University Class of 1964, educator, security specialist and former soldier, will present Decisions for War in 1914. Light lunch provided. Noon1 p.m. Sullivan Museum & History Center, Norwich University. 158 Harmon Dr., Northeld. Free. 485-2183. SMHC@norwich.edu. norwich.edu/ museum. Freedom & Unity: The Vermont Movie, Under the Surface. First of two lm programs. This segment includes the labor wars, eugenics experiments, the McCarthy era, and other important phases of Vermont history. 1:30 p.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 58 Barre St., Montpelier. Free for members; $5 suggested donation for nonmembers. 454-1234. pdaggett@myfairpoint.net. Play with Scratch! Children will learn how to program their own interactive stories and animations using an online program called Scratch. For 4th6th grades. 3 p.m. Waterbury Public Library. 28 N. Main St., Waterbury. Free. Register: 2447036. waterburypubliclibrary.comw

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THE BRIDGE

Visual Arts
Through Apr. 27: Corrina Thurston, Wildfire in Colored Pencil. Green Bean Visual Gallery at Capitol Grounds. 27 State St., Montpelier. curator@capitolgrounds.com. corrinathurston. com. Through Apr. 30: Linda Pruitt, Re-Wilding. Shamanic Painting. Journeying around the medicine wheel and through the worlds. Kellogg-Hubbard Libarary, ction room. 135 Main St., Montpelier. 223-3338. kellogghubbard.org. Through Apr. 30: Arny and Cil Spahn. Photographs of the Southwest. Giord Medical Center Gallery. 44 S. Main St., Randolph. Free. 728-2324. Through Apr. 30: Gretchen Besio. Gretchen Besios quilts come in many forms and feature hand-dyed fabrics and uniquely sewn pieces. The Cheshire Cat, 28 Elm St., Montpelier. 2231981. cheshirecatclothing.com. Through May 2: Artists of GRACE 2014. Featuring works by Merrill Densmore, T.J. Goodrich, Dot Kibbee and James Nace. All four artists have participated in programs sponsored by the Grassroots Art and Community Eort (GRACE). Mon. 8 a.m.6 .m.; Tue. 8 a.m.8 p.m.; Fri. 8 a.m.5 p.m. The State House Cafeteria. 115 State St., Montpelier. 828-0749. Through May 9: The Barre Paletteers, Zebra/ Water/Fruit. The artists have been challenged to combine these themes in one piece of work. Other artwork will also be shown. During library hours. Aldrich Library, Milne Room. 6 Washington St., Barre. 476-7550. Through May 16: Poetry StoryWalk Exhibit. This exhibit matches the poetry of Mary Oliver and Wendell Berry with the work of local artists and photographers. Montpelier Senior Activity Center. 58 Barre St., Montpelier. 223-2518 Through May 22: Fine Art Photography Exhibit. Featuring photographs by Annie Tiberio Cameron, Sandra Shenk and Lisa Dimondstein. 8 a.m.4:30 p.m.; closed for lunch Noon12:30 p.m. Lamoille County Court House. 154 Main St., Hyde Park. Free; photo ID required to enter building. 223-2204. anniecameronphotography.com. Through May 22: Evie Lovett, Backstage at the Rainbow Cattle Co.: The Drag Queens of Dummerston, Vermont. Reception Apr. 17, 58 p.m. Plaineld Community Center, gallery. 153 Main St. Plaineld. Free. 454-1030. Through May 31: Studio Place Arts Announces 3 Exhibits. It's Black and White, an exhibit that reveals the stark beauty and dynamic energy of opposites. Main Floor Gallery; 2014 Silent Auction Exhibition, benets SPA art programs. Open through May 9. Second Floor Gallery; Tangents: Fiber Diversified, an exhibit of innovative textile art by 14 Vermont members of the Surface Design Association. Artist Talks Apr. 26, 34 p.m. Third Floor Gallery. Studio Place Arts. 201 N. Main St., Barre. 479-7069. studioplacearts.com. Through May 31: Ana Campinile, Lapins Agile. Studies of feral hares in their element. Tulsi Tea Room, 34 Elm St., Montpelier. 223-1431. Through May 31: Round. An exhibition of objects of circular shape, from the Sullivan Museum collection. Sullivan Museum and History Center, Norwich University, 158 Harmon Dr., Northeld. 485-2183. Norwich.edu/museum. Through May 31: John Snell. Photographs of animals during John Snells recent trip to Botswana. Chill Vermont Gelato. 32 State St., Montpelier. 229-1751. eyeimagein.com. stillearningtosee.com. Through May 31: John Snell, Preview of Coming Attractions. Photographs by John Snell of Spring owers and leaves. Savoy Theater lobby, 26 Main St., Montpelier. 229-1751. eyeimagein. com. stillearningtosee.com. Through June. 1: Barbara Leber, Twists and Turns. A show of paintings in acrylic on masonite. Reception Apr. 25, 57 p.m. Blinking Light Gallery. 16 Main St., Plaineld. 454-0141. blinkinglightgallery.com.

PoemCity: Kin/Lake Studies. UVM Professor and poet Daniel Lusk reads from his books Kin and Lake Studies: Meditations on Lake Champlain. 7 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library. 135 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 223-3338. kellogghubbard.org.

MAY 2

EXHIBITS

MAY 1
What is This Joy? An exhibit of photo-based images on reclaimed tiles by Maayan Kasimov.
Through June.1: Student Art Show Exhibit. Begins May 2. A month-long exhibit presenting the extraordinary artistic talents of students in the greater Stowe area, featuring Stowe Elementary, Stowe High School, Stowe Middle School, and guest schools Thatcher Brook Elementary and Harwood High School. Wed. Sun., Noon5 p.m. Helen Day Arts Center. 90 Pond St., Stowe. Free. 253-8358. education@ helenday.com. helenday.com. Through June. 17: Tom Cullins, Recent Works. Inuenced by the artist's yearly travels to Greece and reects the aesthetics of place: crisp light, intense color, cubist composition and the lure of negative space. An awardwinning architect and artist, Cullins uses paint and photography to explore form, light, detail and composition. West Branch Gallery and Sculpture Park, 17 Towne Farm Ln. Stowe. 253-8943. art@westbranchgallery.com. westbranchgallery.com. Through Jun. 17: Rebecca Kinkead, Local Color. West Branch Gallery and Sculpture Park, 17 Towne Farm Ln. Stowe. 253-8943. art@westbranchgallery.com. westbranchgallery. com. Through June. 30: What is This Joy? A tribute to our fellow creatures and their sacred dance. Photo-based images on reclaimed tiles by Maayan Kasimov. Art Walk Reception Jun. 6. Mon.Fri., 3:308 p.m.; Sat. 9 a.m.2 p.m. Contemporary Dance & Fitness Studio. 18 Langdon St., 3F, Montpelier. visualrites.com. Through June. 30: Dianne Shullenberger, ReEnvisioned. Fabric collages and colored pencil works. The Governors Gallery, Pavilion State Oce Building. 109 State St., 5F, Montpelier. Through Dec. 19: 1864: Some Suffer So Much. Stories of Norwich alumni who served as military surgeons during the Civil War and traces the history of posttraumatic stress disorder. Sullivan Museum and History Center, Norwich University, 158 Harmon Dr., Northeld. 4852183. Norwich.edu/museum.

MBAC Meeting. Meeting of the Montpelier Bicycle Advisory Committee. First Thurs., 8 a.m. Police Station Community Room, 534 Washington St., Montpelier. 262-6273. March for Health & Dignity and Day of Action. Keep government on track toward universal healthcare, work with dignity, a healthy environment and more. A celebration of our families, our communities and our strength as a peoples movement. Family-friendly, with music, art and kid-friendly activities. Presented by Vermont Workers Center and partners. Noon. State House Lawn. Montpelier. New Parents Workshop Series: Honoring Your Birth Story & Birth Healing. New Parents Workshop Series is intended for expecting parents and parents of infants less than 1 year of age. Space is limited. 68 p.m. Good Beginnings. 174 River St., Montpelier. Free. RSVP: 595-7953. gbcv91@ gmail.com. Diabetes Support Group. First Thurs., 78 p.m. Conference room 3, Central Vermont Medical Center. 371-4152. Powerful Poems and Decadent Desserts. Select poems from those on display during Randolphs PoemTown month will read their poems. Homemade desserts will be available. 7 p.m. Chandlers Upper Gallery. 71-73 Main St., Randolph. Free. 728-9878.

Coffeehouse. Enjoy live music and share your own. Fellowship, potluck snacks and beverages. First Fri., 79 p.m. Trinity United Methodist Church, 137 Main St., Montpelier (park and enter at rear). Free. 244-5191, 472-8297 or rawilburjr@comcast.net. The Practice of Prayer. Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel, Buddhist author of The Power of an Open Question: The Buddha's Path to Freedom, will give a public talk followed by a book signing. 7 p.m. Unitarian Church. 130 Main St., Montpelier. Free; donations accepted. 333-4521. vanwaxman@gmail.com.

MAY 3

National Federation of the Blind, Montpelier Chapter. First Sat. Lane Shops community room, 1 Mechanic St., Montpelier. 229-0093. Marshfield Green-Up Day. Bring all trash, metal and tires to the Marsheld Town Garage. 8 a.m. Noon. Marsheld Town Garage. 122 School St., Marsheld. 426-3849. Orchard Valley Waldorf Schools 8th Annual Sweet N Savory All-You-Can-Eat Pie Breakfast. Fundraiser beneting Orchard Valley Waldorf School. 8:30 a.m.12:30 p.m. $8; $30 family; children under 5 free. Christ Episcopal Church. 64 State St., Montpelier. 802-456-7400. ovws.org. Capital City Farmers Market. 35 vendors selling produce, meats, cheeses, prepared foods, crafts and more.9 a.m.1 p.m. 60 State St., corner of Elm and State. Montpelier. 223-2958. manager@ montpelierfarmersmarket.com. Hike Moscow with Green Mountain Club Montpelier. Moderate. 10+/- miles. Cotton Brook loop trail. Contact Leader Phyllis for meeting time location: 223-0020. phyllis@PhyllisRubensteinLaw.comcastbiz.net.

Apr. 17: Visceral Virtual: Design and the Souls of Tools. With Caroline Oh, Guest Designer at the MFA in Graphic Design residency. Lecture explores the new frontier of interactive personal tools and the evolving role of designers. 6 p.m. Vermont College of Fine Arts, Noble Lounge. 36 College St., Montpelier. Free. samantha.eckert@vcfa.edu. vcfa.edu/ graphic-design. Apr. 22: Teen Art Studio. With photographer Paul Rogers. Get inspired and make art with professional artists in this free open studio. Ages 1118. 6:308:30 p.m. Helen Day Art Center. 90 Pond St., Stowe. Free. 253-8358. education@helenday.com. helenday.com. Apr. 25: Peeps Art for Children. Make an imaginative, 3-D mixed media diorama or sculpture using Peeps marshmallow candies. Advance enrollment needed. Ages 713. 1:303:30 p.m. Studio Place Arts. 201 N. Main St., Barre. $10. Register: 479-7069. studioplacearts.com. Apr. 2527: Ninth Annual Northfield Art Show. Paintings, ber arts, photography, pastels, and basketry by 20 artists from Northeld and surrounding towns. Fri., Noon9 p.m. (reception 79 p.m.); Sat., 10 a.m.6 p.m.; Sun., Noon4 p.m. Brown Public Library Community Room. 93 S. Main St., Northeld. Free. painemountainarts.wordpress.com.

SPECIAL EVENTS

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Weekly Events
ART & CRAFT

Development Program of Central Vermont Community Action. Thurs., 68:30 p.m. To Apr. 17. 20 Gable Pl., Barre. Free. Sign up: 477-5214 or 800-639-1053. mferguson@cvcac.org.

Community 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 Beaders Group. All levels of beading experience a.m.1 p.m. welcome. Free instruction available. Come with Fri.: St. Augustine Church, 18 Barre St., 11 a project for creativity and community. Sat., 11 a.m.12:30 p.m. a.m.2 p.m. The Bead Hive, Plaineld. 454-1615. Sun.: Last Sunday only, Bethany Church, 115 Main St. (hosted by Beth Jacob Synagogue), Movies for Everyone Series. Films that are 4:305:30 p.m. fun for all ages, that deserve a big screen and that you might not have seen a hundred times already. Sat., 11 a.m. through Spring. Jaquith Public Library. 122 School St., Marsheld. Free. 426Turning Point Center. Safe, supportive place 3581. jaquithpubliclibrary.org. for individuals and their families in or seeking Noontime Knitters. All abilities welcome. recovery. Daily, 10 a.m.5 p.m. 489 North Main Basics taught. Crocheting, needlepoint and St., Barre. 479-7373. tatting also welcome. Tues., noon1 p.m. Sun.: Alchoholics Anonymous, 8:30 a.m. Waterbury Public Library, 28 N. Main St., Tues.: Making Recovery Easier workshops, Waterbury. 244-7036. 67:30 p.m. Wed.: Wits End Parent Support Group, 6 p.m. Thurs.: Narcotics Anonymous, 6:30 p.m.

FOOD

Read with Arlo. Meet reading therapy dog Arlo and his owner Brenda. Sign up for a 20-minute block. Thurs., 45 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier. 223-4665. kellogghubbard.org. Origami Club. Learn to make magical paper creations come alive with Kim Smith. Thurs., 34 p.m. Through May. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier. 223-4665. kellogghubbard.org. Drop-in Kinder Arts Program. Innovative exploratory arts program with artist/instructor Kelly Holt. Age 35. 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., 35 p.m. Jaquith Public Library, 122 School St., Marsheld. 426-3581.

SPIRITUALITY

Christian Science Reading Room. A place to dig deep into your spirituality. Bibles and Bible study aids available. Tues., 11 a.m.8 p.m.; Wed., 11 a.m.7:15 p.m.; Thurs.Sat., 11 a.m.1 p.m. 145 State St., Montpelier. 223-2477. csrr_mpv_ librarian@myfairpoint.net. Deepening Our Jewish Roots. Fun, engaging text study and discussion on Jewish spirituality. Sun., 4:456:15 p.m. Yearning for Learning Center, Montpelier. 223-0583. info@ yearning4learning.org. 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.

SPORTS & GAMES

HEALTH & WELLNESS

MUSIC & DANCE

Barre-Tones Womens Chorus. Open rehearsal. 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. Monteverdi Young Singers Chorus Rehearsal. New chorus members welcome. Wed., 45 p.m. Montpelier. Call 229-9000 for location and more information. Gamelan Rehearsals. Sun., 79 p.m. Pratt Center, Goddard College. Free. 426-3498. steven.light@jsc.edu. light.kathy@gmail.com. Ukelele Group. All levels welcome. Thurs., 68 p.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 58 Barre St. 223-2518. Ballroom Dance Classes. No partner or experience necessary. Sponsored by Montpelier Recreation Department. Tues., Apr. 1, 8, 15, 22. Waltz 67 p.m.; East Coast swing 78 p.m. Union Elementary School, Montpelier. Registration: 225-8699. Information: 223-2921

Apollo Duplicate Bridge Club. All welcome. Partners sometimes available. Fri., 6:45 p.m. Bethany Church, 115 Main St., Montpelier. $3. 485-8990 or 223-3922. Roller Derby Open Recruitment and Recreational Practice. Central Vermonts Wrecking Doll Society invites quad skaters age 18 and up. No experience necessary. Equipment provided: rst come, rst served. Sat., 56:30 p.m. Montpelier Recreation Center, Barre St. First skate free. centralvermontrollerderby.com. Coed Adult Floor Hockey League. Join women and men in a oor hockey game. Equipment provided. Sun., 36 p.m. Montpelier Recreation Center, 55 Barre St., Montpelier. $5. bmoorhockey@gmail.com. vermontoorhockey. com.

BICYCLING

Open Shop Nights. Volunteer-run community bike shop: bike donations and repairs. Tues., 68 p.m.; other nights. Freeride Montpelier, 89 Barre St., Montpelier. By donation. 552-3521. freeridemontpelier.org.

Sex Addicts Anonymous. Mon., 6:30 p.m. Bethany Church, 115 Main St., Montpelier. 5523483. Overeaters Anonymous. Twelve-step program for physically, emotionally and spiritually overcoming overeating. Fri., noon1 p.m. at Bethany Church, 115 Main St., Montpelier. 2233079. Tues., 5:306:30 p.m. at Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd, 39 Washington St., Barre. 249-0414. HIV Testing. Vermont CARES oers fast oral testing. Thurs., 25 p.m. 58 East State St., ste. 3 (entrance at back), Montpelier. Free. 371-6222. vtcares.org.

BOOKS & WORDS

Lunch in a Foreign Language. Bring lunch and practice your language skills with neighbors. Noon1 p.m. Mon., Hebrew; Tues., Italian; Wed., Spanish; Thurs., French. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier. 223-3338. Conversations with the Word Weaver. Examine the roots and denitions of words we use in daily conversation. Tues., 1:30 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St. 2233338. kellogghubbard.org. English Conversation Practice Group. For students learning English for the rst time. Tues., 45 p.m. Central Vermont Adult Basic Education, Montpelier Learning Center, 100 State St. 223-3403. Ongoing Reading Group. Improve your reading and share some good books. Books chosen by group. Thurs., 910 a.m. Central Vermont Adult Basic Education, Montpelier Learning Center, 100 State St. 223-3403.

YOGA & MEDITATION

Shambhala Buddhist Meditation. Group meditation practice. Sun., 10 a.m.noon; Tues., 78 p.m.; Wed., 67 p.m. Shambhala Meditation Center, 64 Main St., 3F, Montpelier. Free. 2235137. montpeliershambala.org. Christian Meditation Group. People of all faiths welcome. Mon., noon1 p.m. Christ Church, Montpelier. 223-6043. Zen Meditation. With Zen Aliate of Vermont. Mon., 6:307:30 p.m. 174 River St., Montpelier. Free. Call for orientation: 229-0164. Yoga and Meditation. With Katy Leadbetter. Meditation: Mon., 1 p.m. (unlimited). Introduction to yoga: Tues., 4 p.m. (four-class limit). Consultation: Fri., 11 a.m. (one per person). 56 East State St., Montpelier. Free. 2728923. Acro Yoga Jam. Led by Lori Flower of Karmic Connection Yoga. Come by yourself or with a partner to practice yoga together in a therapeutic and/or acrobatic way! This is a celebratory practice that builds community and FUN. Wed., 6:307:30 p.m. Yoga Mountain Center. 7 Main St., 2F, Montpelier. Donation based. karmiconnection.com. Drop-In Meditation Sitting Group. With Sherry Rhynard. A weekly meditation group oers ways to nd out more about meditation and gives support to an existing or new practice. Thurs., 67 p.m. Central Vermont Medical Center. 130 Fisher Rd., Berlin. Free. 272-236. sherry@easeoow.com.

KIDS & TEENS

Mad River Valley Youth Group. Sun., 79 p.m. Meets at various area churches. Call 4974516 for location and information. Open Hearth Moretown Community Playgroup: Free play. Open to all. Mon., 9:30 11 a.m. Through June. Moretown Elementary School Gym. 940 VT 100B, Moretown. The Basement Teen Center. Cable TV, PlayStation 3, pool table, free eats and fun events for teenagers. Mon.Thurs., 36 p.m.; Fri., 311 p.m. Basement Teen Center, 39 Main St., Montpelier. 229-9151. Story Time at the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Stories, songs and special guests. Birth to age 5. Tues. and Fri., 10:30 a.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier. 223-4665. kellogghubbard.org. Story Time at the Jaquith Public Library. With Sylvia Smith, followed by play group with Melissa Seifert. Birth to age 6. Wed. 1011:30 a.m. Jaquith Public Library, 122 School St., Marsheld. 426-3581. Read to Coco. Share a story with Coco, the resident licensed reading therapy dog, who loves to hear kids practice reading aloud. Wed., 3:30 4:30 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier. Sign up ahead: 223-4665 or at the childrens desk. kellogghubbard.org.

OUTDOORS

Spring Migration Bird Walks. Explore NBNC and other local birding hot spots for spring migrants, such as warblers, vireos, thrushes and waterfowl. Fri., 78:30 a.m. North Branch Nature Center. 713 Elm St., Montpelier. $10; free for members. Call for directions to meeting locations: 229-6206. northbranchnaturecenter. org.

BUSINESS & FINANCE, COMPUTERS

RECYCLING

Personal Financial Management Workshops. Learn about credit/debit cards, credit building and repair, budgeting and identity theft, insurance, investing, retirement. Tues., 68 p.m. Central Vermont Medical Center, Conference Room 3. Registration: 371-4191. Computer and Online Help. One-on-one computer help. Tues. and Fri., 10 a.m.1 p.m. Waterbury Public Library, 28 N. Main St., Waterbury. Free. Registration required: 2447036. Business Building Blocks Workshops: Keys to Your Business Success. Micro Business

Additional Recycling. The Additional Recyclables Collection Center accepts scores of hard-to-recycle items. Tues. and Thurs., 12:30 p.m.5:30 p.m. ARCC, 540 North Main St., Barre. $1 per carload. 229-9383 x106. For list of accepted items, go to cvswmd.org/arccadditional-recyclables-collection-center.html.

SOLIDARITY/IDENTITY

Womens Group. Women age 40 and older explore important issues and challenges in their lives in a warm and supportive environment. Facilitated by Amy Emler-Shaer and Julia W. Gresser. Wed. evenings. 41 Elm St., Montpelier. 262-6110.

Remodeling New Construction

Builders, LLC
Les Church
802-249-1030 dles51854@aol.com freerangebuilders.com

Kitchens and Bathrooms, Additions, Doors and Windows, Ceramic tile, Hardwood and Laminate Floors, Stairways and Railings, Painting

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THE BRIDGE

Class listings and classifieds are 50 words for $25; discounts available. To place an ad, call Carolyn, 223-5112, ext. 11.

Classifieds
CLasses and Workshops
WRITING COACH. Struggling with beginning, continuing, nishing? Need tools to start you up and keep you working from concept to completion? Art is long, and life short. WRITE NOW is

what we have. Thirty years working in lm, TV, theater and prose, coaching writers in all genres. Free initial consultation. Tamarcole21@gmail.com 802-225-6415. Art Programs at Helen Day Art Center for Adults and Teens. D.I.Y Stop Motion Animation workshop, April 26th. Rustic Furniture workshop, April 30th. Awaken Your Creativity class May 2nd - 30th. Basketmaking workshop, May 3rd. Scholarships available. Learn more and register atwww.helenday.com. 90 Pond Street, Stowe. 802-253-8358.

Submit Your Event!

Send listings to calendar@montpelierbridge.com

Metal Roof Painting

Interior & Exterior
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BUSINESS & LEADERSHIP DEVElOPMENT

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Saturday Hours are Now Available!

Tell them you saw it in The Bridge!

Integrative Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine

Kerry Boyle Jenni, L.Ac. and Joshua Singer, L.Ac

802-223-0954
156 Main Street, Montpelier www.integrativeaom.com

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very same. These flowers do not think that this is my country or that the land has passed from Nazism to communism to democracy. In Klaffenbach the lilacs bloomed. The pale lavender and the fragrance were the same as when I was a child near the shed in my yard in Barrington, RI. I never thought when I was a child smelling those deep purple blooms that somewhere in Nazi Germany the lilacs were blooming at the very same time. The sun shone on Prague, Czech Republic in the very same way that it does in Stuart. We were among the hundreds of tourists walking the Charles Bridge over the Vlata. Weaving in and out of the cobblestone streets, we arrived at Wenceslas Square. So this was the place of history. I remember only the aftermath of WWII and have learned of the appeasement of the Nazis and the following submission of these countries through the history books. I do remember as a young mother in 1968, I watched the television in disbelief as the Soviet tanks rolled into Prague. Now I was standing in Wenceslas Square and praying at the small and insignificant memorial for Jan Palach who died for his beliefs in that yearwillingly by choice. Nearby red and white roses, pure white and blood-red grew in the garden at the square. The summer rose did not know Jan Palach, but this day it blooms near him. These roses were just like the roses in Rocky Point where I walk each day. The very same. The seeds, the sun, the rain. It is all the same in Speyer, Achern, Klaffenbach, and in Prague; in Middlesex and Montpelier and Warren; in Barrington and in Stuart. Whether we are in Germany, Czech Republic, Vermont, Rhode Island or Florida; in 1941, 1968, 1980 or this very daythe flowers bloom. They do not choose the year. They do not know the fascist, the Nazi, the Communist, the president, or chancellorthey bloom and bloom through dark years and in light. To those who walk with their heads down and eyes diverted, it may have been the flowers which held the hope of a new season. With our eyes, the gifts of the season are always ours no matter what century, what war, what government. These blooms may have been hope and light to carry on through another yearthe hope that lifts the soul, the face and the eyes to a new day. Perennially.

Women Abolishing War by Nat Frothingham

dont know if womenacting individually or collectivelyhave the power to stop war. But war has become so terrible in its indiscriminate killing and wanton destructiveness that abolishing war just must now happen if we are to save civilization and preserve the planet.

Editorial

As a class, its fair to say that men have pretty much championed war or gone along with it, and certainly some women have either championed war, or gone along with it or gone along with the men in their lives for whom war has seemed like a necessary pursuit. There are also some commentators who believe that war is part of the human condition. That we cant get away from it. That it defines us as who we are.

Now we are part of the way through 2014, the 100th anniversary of the start of World War Ia war that ushered in a particularly gruesome and massive example of what war would become in the modern era, with a toll from that war of 10 million military deaths and another 20 million wounded. As we mark the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I, two Vermont women, Robin Lloyd and Charlotte Dennett, both members of the Womens International League for Peace and Freedom, have come together to create a performance piece based on womens experiences in World War I. Beyond their collaboration in theater both women have pretty deep ties to each other. Robin Lloyds grandmother was Lola Maverick Lloyd and Charlotte Dennetts grandmother was Lola M. Lloyds friend, and both grandmothers graduated from Smith College in 1897. Now comes the daring part of the story: Lola M. Lloyd was one of 47 American women who crossed the Atlantic Ocean during wartime in 1915 to meet with 1,200 other women from 12 countries in an attempt to stop the war. And not just to stop the war either, but in Robin Lloyds words to create a democratic society with equality between men and women, so that there would be no recourse for war. In addition, these women proposed a new international legal system based on continuous mediation to restore peace between warring nations. As we know too keenly, the 47 American women and their 1,200 counterparts from other countries failed to put a stop to war. And in the 100 or so years that have followed, war has continued. But with the continued efforts of the Womens International League for Peace and Freedom and other like-minded organizations the movement to abolish war continues. In the theater piece that Lloyd and Dennett have created, the two women employ dialogue, letters and images. In the performance piece, Robin Lloyd talks to her grandmother across the generations. And both, in the words of a press release, recreate the heroic efforts of women (during World War I) on both sides of the conflict to meet together and propose initiatives to stop the war. The theater piece entitled World War I and the Womens Peace Movement will be performed in Montpelier on Thursday evening, April 24 at 7:00 p.m. at Bethany Church at 115 Main Street. For further information call (802) 862-4929.

Many Faces of War by J. M. Turner

irst and foremost, I offer my greatest condolences to the family members of those who were a part of the tragedy at Fort Hood this past week, including Ivan Lopez. As a two-time veteran of the Iraq War in 2005 and 2006, as an infantryman with the marines, as being a purple heart recipient for a minor shrapnel wound and having been diagnosed with severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and two traumatic brain injuries, I must depict my own unhealthy emotions that have risen from the response of this past weeks shooting by the officials who have publicly made claims that PTSD is not an issue. In 2007, as an alcoholic who underwent two rehab treatments before the age of 22 because the only way I could deal with my deployments was by staying drunk, I was discharged from Camp Lejeune and into the civilian population who had an even lesser understanding of war, the effects of war or the impact of PTSD. We, as veterans of all generations, are trained to go to war and undergo extreme conditions that have a lasting effect on the psyche, and yet it is only now that the VA is beginning to publically recognize that there are severe issues with returned soldiers. I find it interesting that the officials and supporters of war, who have full understanding of this minor detail, still have not employed proper tactics for re-integrating back into a noncombatant mentality. Iraq has been occupied for over 11 years now. Over two million troops have flown in and out of theatre, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and 22 veterans are killing themselves each day. Many of us have fallen victim to the lack of care provided for veterans, and it has been an ongoing struggle to find reasons as to why we are still being neglected and or being found unqualified for having post traumatic stress. I was fortunate enough to have been introduced to a small veteran population in Vermont who believed in alternative methods to what was, and con-

tinues to be, provided in attempt to reduce the symptoms of PTSD. But the reality is many of us will not find a healthy outlet. Meanwhile, millions of dollars are spent on testing new and improved methods that send energy waves into the brain to alleviate depression rather than just offering a space for veterans to feel safe and a sense of worth. For the past seven years I have travelled the country working with veterans by utilizing creative writing and artistic expression to make sense of the triggers, dreams, behaviors and methodology that we have adapted since returning home. I have worked with hundreds of veterans, heard many sides to many stories and seen the impact war has had on those who served, as well as their family members, spanned over several generations and times of conflict. I can and will always say that regardless of whether or not we saw death, achieved the objectives we set out to or whether we drove trucks and served for only 4 months overseas, PTSD is real and it has the potential and ability to rub off on those around us and leave anyone who was exposed to war and trauma in a state of confusion. My hopes are that those who have served in times of peace and times of war, will be willing to recognize that there might be underlying issues that have contributed to their behaviors since either returning home or leaving the military, and that those who have sent us off to war, regardless if we volunteered or were drafted, will be willing to let themselves be humbled and offer a solution to this epidemic that has infected our soldiers, their families, the enemy and the lands in which we live upon. It is not easy to admit that we might have a disability, and by doing so we make ourselves vulnerable to judgment and fear. However, if we do not stand together and work to make these issues more known to our communities and governments, then we will continue to be confronted with the unhealthy effects of war.

A Message from Nat Frothingham about Caroline Garside by Nat Frothingham

This is both a personal and public message. The public message is this. Caroline Garside, who was a wonderful and remarkable woman and had many Vermont friends, died on March 25, 2014 at the Jewish Nursing Home in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. Some of Carolines friends are organizing an event to remember and honor her. This event will take place on Sunday afternoon, April 27 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in the Hayes Room of the Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Montpelier. The idea for the gathering is taken from the Quaker meeting practiceto assemble in a circlethen to share memories of Carolinethen to break for conversation with something to eat and drink. The personal message is this. Caroline and I were married for about 10 years. For me, Caroline redefined the idea of friendship and loyalty. She never willingly gave up a friendship and even after we divorced, we continued as friendsa gift from Caroline I will not forget.

Opinion
M
Where the Flowers Bloom by Susan D. Auld
walked the streets of Speyer, Gelsenkirchen, Klaffenbach or Prague, the people rushed by, determined, not looking up but down as they hurried on their way. There were no eyes to look at, no nods. The ladies, neatly dressed, were hurrying on their way, eyes down to the pavement, or the gentlemen, heads turned away. I wondered. In Speyer, Germany we walked through the green belt to the Kaiserdom. We walked by the beer garden and on the wall crept an abundant vinebig deep-purple blossoms, divided petals, white centersclematis hugging the lattice just the way they were at Lixis house in Warren. The very same. We boarded the train to Chemnitz and traveled to the villages where our ancestors lived. We stopped at a village and on the bank by the train tracks pastel spires poked through the spring earth pointing to the sun and blue sky. Lupines. Purple and pink lupines just the way they looked in my Middlesex garden. The y garden on Wood Road in Shady Rill in Middlesex, the Vermont State House and the flowers lining the granite walkway of Christ Church Memorial Garden all serve as favorite places of greens and vibrant flowers. My legislative friend, Lixi Fortna of Warren, grew lush clematis vines on her trellis. Each season these places burst forth with a colorful message: Welcome spring to all. A universal message. Time passes and we move to Stuart, FLa place bursting with flowers. These flowers are for all, no matter what place, what state or what belief. In 2006, John and I traveled across Germany to see the world soccer contests, and once again the flowers bloomed. When I walk Osceola Street in Stuart past my favorite Kilwins ice cream shop, and I pass a person, I look at her straight in the eye and say, Good Morning. After I pass, I say God Bless. Or I stop my car to let a man riding to work on his bicycle pass. I nod and say to myself, God Bless you this day. Yet, when I

Carr Lot by Marge Garfield

For many years, all I read in The Bridge were articles about the terrible lack of parking in downtown Montpelier. This problem has never been solved. And yet, the town "fathers" are now somehow fixated on whether there should be a hotel in the new transportation complex planned for the Carr lot, among the many other possible uses to be shoehorned into this limited site. And, there is also concern that the hotel be a national chain brand. I was glad to hear the Redstone plan had won the city's approval as a starting point for planning the Carr lot. And I thought having a new hotel in town was a nifty ideaan aggressive bid for more tourism, and therefore more revenues for the city and areaa focal point for downtown. But when I heard Redstone insist the hotel had to be a national chain, I began to wonderWHICH national chain? This chain would put a huge, visible stamp on the city, occupying such a central spot in town. The hotel would have an enormous, indelible impact on the city's identity. So it had to be a very good national chain. I immediately thought, what if it's Best Western? Uh-oh. That chain, in my experience, turned out to be "Worst Western" more than once.

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Then I wonderedwhich national chain is really good enough to reflect or enhance the very special character of Montpelier? Probably none of them. Or, even if there were a great chain brand appropriate to Montpelier, why would it bother to develop a very small property (relatively) in such a tiny market? Then, amid my trepidations about the hotel, I finished reading the April 316 article "Carr Lot: Visions and Revisions" and got to the part at the end addressing parking. "With the state reportedly short 600 [yes, six hundred!] parking spaces for its needs." And then I remembered, oh yes, the unresolved PARKING issue! Shouldn't the Carr lot's design address the city's clearly stated priorities for the site: (1) transportation hub, (2) PARKING, (3) farmers' marketin that order??? Why is having a hotel suddenly such an imperative?? It has never been introduced into the public debate until now! Is Montpelier as critically short of lodging as it is of parking? I don't think so! For a limited site like the Carr lot, a hotel should not even be in the conversation. Put as much parking on the site as you can squeeze into it, build a big multi-story garage in the transportation hub, and give the farmers' market a nice big, accessible space to operate in. In that way, the project will fill the city's stated needs and not veer off to lame distractions. If there is space or funding left over, explore the other more blue-sky ideas. But address the top priorities first and fully. Stay focused!!!

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federal law to prohibit felons from possessing weapons. As a member of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, I'm committed to life-affirming, peaceful resolution to local and global issues. Neville Berle, Vermont chapter of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Montpelier Early Educators Have a Right to Organize To the Editor: I support Vermont Early Educators Uniteds right to organize. I hope my legislators will also support this right during the legislative session. Providing quality early education for every child is the key to fighting the cycle of generational poverty. Early childhood educators care for children so their parents can go to work or school. I am glad that Vermont Early Educators United is working with providers so they can have the right to form a union. Those who are interested in learning more can visit kidscountonme.org. Stephanie Muller, Montpelier Support S.239 To the Editor: Vermonters a chance to live a more dignified life and better take care of our families. Please join me and call your Reps about H.552. Stauch Blaise, Randolph Support for Montpelier Senior Activity Center Greatly Appreciated To the Editor: On behalf of the many area seniors who benefit from the Montpelier Senior Activity Center (MSAC), the MSAC staff gratefully thanks all the people in our supporting towns who helped with petitions and outreach, as well as listened and voted on Town Meeting Day to support our important work. Voters in Berlin, Calais, East Montpelier, Middlesex and Worcester approved funding requests totaling $16,000 for FY 2015, and well try again in Plainfield. Our requests were based on the number of active members who are residents in each town, nearly 20 percent of the 800 plus members involved but not including uncounted people who attend events and services that are free and open to the public. These funding approvals acknowledge the contribution that MSAC makes to quality of life and the value that voters see in MSAC. Representing 10 percent of MSACs public funding (the rest coming from the City of Montpelier), the approved funds play an important role in our diverse revenue stream, allowing us to offer vital, dynamic, always evolving, accessible and affordable (or free) programming and services. Financial aid is available. We support the work of neighboring senior centers like Twin Valley Seniors, who provide vital and distinct services to residents. We anticipate future collaborations with TVS as they relocate, we encourage gifts to their renovation campaign and we believe the more seniors we serve collectively, the better for our communities! MSAC sponsors nearly fifty weekly activities and classes for healthy living and lifelong learning. We host FEAST, a unique public/ private/nonprofit senior nutrition partnership with Just Basics, Inc. and Good Taste Catering (on-site meals Tuesday/Friday, home delivered meals MF and a take-out caf on Thursdays). Our mission is to enhance the quality of life for older adults through opportunities that develop physical, mental, cultural, social and economic well-being in a welcoming, flexible environment. Its a great time to check out the services voters have supported, as registration is happening now for spring classes that start in early April.

The Coming of Green by Daniel A. Neary Jr.

Between the whites of the melting snows and the whites of blooming apple blossoms, the green comes to Vermont. Usually in late April and early May, it rolls northward and upward, saturating the fields, bushes and trees with verdure. Naturalist Edwin Way Teale says spring creeps northward at the average rate of about 15 miles a day and climbs mountain sides at the rate of about a hundred feet a day. It is an annual event of striking visual beauty in Vermont (a state which many believe owes half of its name to the color green). Over the years, I have noticed that this natural phenomenon, the coming of green, has attracted little attention. It could be another asset for the state's tourist industry at a time when visits to Vermont are relatively low. I propose having the state issue periodic maps on the coming of green foliage, using similar methods used by the state during the fall foliage season.

Letters
Campaign Finance Reform? To the Editor: The much anticipated US Supreme Court decision in the pivotal campaign finance case, McCutcheon v. FEC, was issued earlier this month, and once again the court ruled on the side of big money in knocking down aggregate campaign contribution limits. The case challenged the limits on the total contributions from an individual donor to candidates and political committees that were designed to prevent corruption and the appearance of corruption. The importance of this decision cannot be overstated. While McCutcheon dealt with a technical and arcane matter of campaign finance law, in the end it is all about more money and more influence. As a result of this decision, another loophole in campaign finance laws has opened, allowing political parties and PACs to become huge funnels for corrupting elected officials across the country. The court has used the McCutcheon decision to continue dismantling the wall of protection against big money dominance in our political systemcase by case, brick by brick. As in previous decisions by the Roberts Court, the chief justice ignores the corruption he is turning loose in Americas election system. Simply put: The McCutcheon decision means more power for big money and more corruption for the rest of us. Now, more than ever, we need to fight to make every vote count and give every eligible voter free and fair access to the polls. In the end, the only reliable response to a flood of money in our elections is a flood of voters at the polls. Catherine Rader, East Montpelier Cut Pentagon Funding To the Editor: I'm unhappy to learn that 40 cents of my 2013 federal tax dollars went to fund current and past wars, according to the Quaker advocacy group the Friends Committee on National Legislation. We have critical needs as a countryhow to respond to effects of climate change, how to repair our crumbling bridges and roadways and how to bridge the growing divide between rich and poor. I want more of my tax dollars going to these priorities, rather than to the Pentagon.

Vermonts Senate recently passed S.239 that concerns chemical regulation in consumer products (from toys to cosmetics). I believe that the bill is very well written and feel very fortunate that Vermont is dealing with this very serious problem. A few states have recently passed laws protecting consumers from chemical toxins. These regulations require the chemical industry to test chemicals put into consumer products and to show that their I hope that my senators, Patrick Leahy and products are safe prior to distribution. Bernie Sanders, will work to make this hap- There has been a significant increase in a numpen in the coming year. They can start by ber of medical conditions including certain eliminating the more than $100 billion of childhood and adult cancers, asthma, reprodocumented waste, fraud and abuse found in ductive disorders (especially male infertility), the Pentagon's budget every year. We might birth defects, autism, learning problems and disagree about the need to invest in the tools other neuro-developmental disorders. There is for war, but surely we can agree on the need to an abundance of studies that link exposure to spend our tax dollars responsibly. toxic substances to many of these conditions. Joel Trupin, Montpelier Most of these chemicals, for example Bisphenol A (BPA), Phthalates, flame retardants and mercury, act as endocrine disruptors (which interfere with hormone signaling) and/or neurotoxins. All of us and our children have at least some of these chemicals in our bodies. Currently most of the medical organizations including the American Medical Association recommend improvement of toxic substance control legislation.

Preserve the Tradition: Safe Gun Use in Vermont To the Editor: Vermont has a long history of safe and appropriate gun use, as evidenced by generations of local hunters and sportsmen. In recent years, however, tragic misuse of firearms in our state is all too common. The facts:

The next step for S.239 is to be passed by the Vermont has the highest rate of gun deaths House of Representatives. As a grandparent, in New Englandtwice that of Massachu- retired pediatrician and concerned citizen, I To join or get involved, contact the center setts. feel very strongly that this bill be passed in by calling 223-2518, e-mail msac@montpe States with safer gun storage laws have re- order to protect Vermonters (especially the lier-vt.org, check out the latest newsletter at duced accidental shootings of children by as most vulnerablechildren and pregnant www.montpelier-vt.org/msac or visit 58 Barre much as 23 percent and have reduced suicides woman) from further chemical exposure. I Street. Thank you again for your support. hope that many Vermonters feel that they can Janna Clar of adolescents by 8 percent. support S.239 and if so to please contact their Vermont's growing guns-for-drugs trade is Director, Montpelier Senior Activity Center, representatives as soon as possible. being fueled by extreme accessibility of guns Montpelier in our state. A 2009 study found that Ver- Sally Cargill, MD, Montpelier A Campaign to Support The mont exports more guns per capita than any Workers Deserve a Livable other state in the Northeast and ranks 16th Bridge Wage nationally. Currently, Vermont has just one of To the Editor, Please, if you can, weigh in with a 10 laws proven by other states to be effective financial contribution. Please send us I am writing this letter because I believe a in reducing gun trafficking. a check made payable to The Bridge livable wage bill should be put on the front Over the past 10 years, 50 percent of Ver- burner. I support H.552 which would put the to this address: The Bridge, P.O. Box mont's homicides have been domestic violence minimum wage up to $12.50 per hour. This is 1143, Montpelier, VT 05601. Please related. In states that require a background a good start towards reaching a livable wage. It feel free to drop off a check at our ofcheck for private sales of handguns, 38 per- would give thousands of Vermonters a chance fice. We are located on the lower level cent fewer women are shot to death by their to access things like mental health services of Schulmaier Hall on the campus of intimate partners, compared to states like or much needed dental care, both of which the Vermont College of Fine Arts. ours. For more statistics, please visit Gun- are out of my reach and many of your neighSenseVT.org. Thank you in advance for considering bors reaches. Shuffling money from program to program hasn't worked in the past. This this request for needed financial help. The evidence points to an urgent need for revision in Vermont's gun laws. With a few might help to stimulate the economy, give strategic changes, we can help secure our What Do You Think? long tradition of safe and respectful gun use. Read something that you would like to respond to? We welcome It's time for universal background checks, your letters and opinion pieces. Letters must be fewer than 300. tougher gun trafficking laws and safer storOpinion pieces should not exceed 600 words. The Bridge reserves age laws. Its time for better communication the right to edit and cut pieces. between state agencies and the National Instant Criminal Background Check System Send your piece to: editorial@montpelierbridge.com. and for bringing state laws in line with the

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