Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
W
Exhibit e hope you’ll join Montpelier Alive downtown for The Marketplace
Montpelier’s July 3rd Independence Day Celebration. Welcome to The Marketplace, where 40 amazing vendors offer
Pg. 8 Kitten Season at This year, Montpelier's celebration will be better a mouth-watering variety of foods and beverages, plus all your
than ever! We’ve heard your feedback and added more—more
CVHS Family Olympics, more music in the parade, more food vendors,
celebration essentials, such as glow sticks and face paint. Join us
along State Street and Governor Aiken Avenue. We have some
and more family-friendly conveniences. Read on or visit www. great new vendors this year, and we’re offering more variety than
Pg. 14 North Branch montpelieralive.org/july3 to learn more about the festivities. ever before.
Vineyards Parade, Powered by VSECU National Anthem Competition
The July 3rd Parade, powered by VSECU, is a timeless The Star Spangled Banner is a tough song to sing, but the winner
celebration of community. This year, we are bringing back some of this year’s July 3rd National Anthem Singing Competition
U.S. Postage PAID
will make it look easy. Don’t miss your opportunity to hear the
ECRWSS
and the Shidaa African Culture Project. By popular demand, winner sing the National Anthem from the Union Mutual Stage
we’re adding more musical acts, including the Midnight Capers just before the Fireworks. Congratulations to the winner and all
Morris Dancers and the Polish Pickle Packers Polka Band. The the finalists.
July 3 Parade would not be complete without the Mount Sinai
#3 Motor Corps and their go karts? During the parade, make Raized on Radio, Presented by Myles Court Barbershop
sure to vote for your favorite “Go Green” and Performance Montpelier Alive is excited to welcome back Raized on Radio
entries in the Union Mutual Parade Competition. Come join us for an encore performance on the Union Mutual Stage. Raized
for the fun. We can’t wait to see you at the parade! on Radio is a finalist for Best Rock Band in Vermont by Seven
Family Olympics Sponsored by Capital Community Church Days, and they are back in Montpelier by popular demand. They
will play your favorite covers from 7 to 9:30 pm. Thanks to
What could be better than the State House Lawn jam-packed Myles Court Barbershop for supporting these awesome rockers!
with giant slides, inflatable obstacle courses, bounce houses,
and tons of awesome games? More time to enjoy it. So we are Continued on Page 2
extending the Family Olympics until 6 pm this year.
Montpelier, VT 05601
P.O. Box 1143
The Bridge
T
here is nothing like rain after
a long dry spell. I watched this
one from under the back door
overhang as it rolled in and let loose.
The sensation, the smells, were powerful.
Clouds billowed up in layers, so you
could see way up, the rivers of wind-
blown droplets, some driven madly
cross-pattern from the main tide of the
incoming storm. Then the downpouring
for almost an hour, softening top layers
of hard dry earth, so that before it was
over, hungry robins patrolled our lawn as
worms came up for air! In the woods it
may be too late for parched wild onions
to send up their mid-summer flowers,
but the shad berries will ripen and with a
little more rain, we may well have berries
Watercolor by Nona Estrin
in the fields and hedgerows.
YOUTH IN
VERMONT
In Circulation July 5–July 18
ALL AD MATERIALS AND AD SPACE
RESERVATIONS DUE FRIDAY, JUNE 29.
For more information about advertising deadlines, rates,
and the design of your ad, contact
Rick McMahan • 249-8666
rick@montpelierbridge.com
PAG E 4 • J U N E 21 – J U LY 4 , 2 018 THE BRIDGE
T
wo elderly women stand back to back, arms linked, one leaning on the back of the intense imagery, other paintings are significant because of their honest depiction of common
other. The bodies of the gray-haired women are wrinkled, their breasts sag, and the experiences of womanhood. When asked why both of her autobiographical paintings,
skin around their stomachs is loose. The whiteness of much of their bodies contrasts “Wonder” and “Roots,” featured scenes of motherhood, artist Daryl Zang answered that
with the deep tan of their arms and faces. The woman on the right, supporting the weight consciously she hadn’t meant to. “The transition to motherhood was shocking to me, as is
of the woman on the left, looks up to the sky, and with mouth open, sends an uninhibited the reaction I often get to these paintings. We are so used to seeing women with children
laugh to the heavens. depicted as serene and fulfilled, but many women easily connect to my images and not the
The painting, “And We Were Birds” by Aleah Chapin, is one of 21 paintings and 2 one constructed for us. Motherhood can leave you stripped of your own identity, ambivalent,
lithographs by 17 artists on display in a new exhibition, Reclamation, at the Helen Day Art and sometimes guilt ridden for wanting anything more. Motherhood left me feeling
Center in Stowe. Reclamation aims to challenge how women are typically portrayed in art burdened with great responsibility, having to make sacrifices to my own ambitions, and
and media by the male gaze, a feminist term used to describe the largely unacknowledged questioning whether I would regain my equilibrium.”
but prevalent depiction of women as unengaged, sexual objects in art and media. This Zang emphasized that she is proudest when her paintings start a discussion. The Reclamation
depiction is problematic because it reinforces the limiting and incorrect view of women as exhibition succeeds in providing a space for that conversation to happen. As a Vermonter,
inept and their existence as decorative rather than essential. They are rarely portrayed with I am a little disappointed that no Vermont artists are featured. As a woman, I feel that
a sense dignity or physical realism. Reclamation is a good first step to challenging how women are portrayed, or rather, displayed
In Reclamation, women paint women, and the images are rather striking. For example, as objects. I appreciated the multitude of women present in both the paintings and as artists.
Margaret Bowland’s piece, “The Artist,” is a portrait of a young black girl in front of a I hope for more exhibitions like this in the future, as it would be a shame if this were the
colorful background of cartoonish smiling flowers in pinks, magentas, and pale blues. only one.
Shockingly, the girl’s face has been painted white. As the viewer’s eye travels around the “Roots” by Daryl Zang
painting, searching for a reason for this possible hate crime, they will see the little paintbrush
in her right hand. It is a captured moment of sadness and contrast, between the ideal flower
world that the little girl has created behind herself as the artist, and the stinging realization
that she has felt the need to paint herself white in order to belong to it.
In her artist’s statement, Bowland describes how she learned to shape herself to please others,
and the emptiness of the result: “As a young woman from a small southern town, I was
taught that the less someone knew about you the better. If you presented yourself as a blank
page to a suitor, that person could project anything upon that page he wished to see. And
you would be loved. What I couldn’t understand was the worth of such love. If who I am is
not being loved, then what have I won?”
The painting highlights the interplay of race and gender by reframing the practice of women
in many cultures painting themselves white to make themselves more beautiful via the
tragedy of a girl who feels she must be a different race in order to belong to her ideal world,
a world of her own creation.
While some of these paintings, such as Bowland’s “The Artist” are bold because of their
T H E B R I D G E J U N E 21 – J U LY 4 , 2 018 • PAG E 5
With the Loss of Vermont Life, how does Vermont sell itself?
by Mike Dunphy
“T
he way you become a resident of Vermont,” “Uncertainty in business begets more uncertainty,” The shoestring is forcing the Department of Tourism to
says Wendy Knight, Commissioner of the points out Michael Schirling, Secretary of the Agency of get creative. “Most of our tourism promotion is digital
Department of Tourism and Marketing, “in a Commerce and Community Development, “so because advertising, email marketing, social media, and PR,”
lot of ways, is you are a tourist first.” [advertisers] didn’t know what was going to happen with explains Knight. Digital marketing is particularly front
And certainly the State of Vermont has shown intense the magazine, that exacerbated the situation.” While ad and center, Schirling explains. “It’s the digital presence
interest in the past year to making this so. Keen to attract sales were up 16 percent from FY16 to FY17, they began to that is really the 21-century marketing mechanism for
young people to move to the state, Governor Phil Scott decline with the Autumn 2017 issue, when the legislature tourism in Vermont, not that the print publications
and Knight announced the Stay-to-Stay initiative in March was discussing Vermont Life, and continued downward over aren’t great, and they are surprisingly well read given
2018, which aims to convert tourists into full-time residents the next several issues with the press coverage and state’s the decline in print readership over the years, but digital
by giving them the opportunity to relax, network with RFP process. By the time the decision was made to retain platforms are the cornerstone of the three million dollars
business leaders, and tour Vermont communities with real- Vermont Life, ad sales had dropped 39 percent year over year we spend on tourism.”
estate experts to learn more about relocating to Vermont. for the Spring 2018 issue, and 46 percent for the Summer Social media—especially YouTube, Facebook, Twitter,
2018 issue. and Instagram—is also taking a lead role. “We instituted
However, with the cessation of publication after 72 years of
Vermont Life magazine, announced in May, Vermont lost “We started to get additional feedback from advertisers that a social media influencer program last summer,” Knight
perhaps its best-known bait for the hook. Emotionally, this said,” Schirling recounts, “‘not only are we gone but we’ve explains, that’s increased the number of followers we
caused no small amount of teeth-gnashing in both long-time now allocated our advertising dollars that used to come to have on Instagram by 65 percent.” While Vermont
readers and supporters. “Personally I was disappointed,” you to other things’ . . . so the projection was that by July Life’s digital assets, social networking channels included,
said Lisa Chase, Ph.D., director of the Vermont Tourism we’d be back to deficit spending.” will remain owned by the state, and final decisions
Research Center, “because I think Vermont Life has done an Knight adds another important legal influence on the have yet to be finalized, it looks like they’ll be folded
incredible job for many years in telling the story of Vermont decision. “Part of the reason is that the legislature last year into the department’s main commercial website,
to people from out of state and to Vermonters as well.” passed legislation that said we cannot operate Vermont Life VermontVacation.com.
Former state lawmaker and the president and CEO of in a deficit. With little to no wiggle room, it became much Beyond that are the Vermont Vacation summer and
Height of Land Publications, Adam Howard, who made a harder to save the magazine. “It’s very hard to turn around winter guides, published in partnership with the Vermont
bid earlier in the year to take over Vermont Life, was more a sinking ship in the matter of a couple months,” Knight Chamber of Commerce in printed and e-guide format
blunt, telling Vermont Public Radio, “I really think it came explains, “It takes time to do that.” and available for free. The website also hosts a Vermont
down to expediency. They didn’t have the capability to But the time ran out. Stay & Play Directory, an online vacation planning tool
understand the asset they had or how to manage it, and so featuring the largest searchable database of Vermont
With the loss of Vermont Life, questions inevitably rise lodging, dining, events, attractions, recreation, and
they just decided to kill it, and to me, that’s a crime.” about how Vermont can effectively promote itself going shopping. A consumer newsletter also goes to 120,000
The Vermont Life Economic Impact Study, released in 2015 forward and achieve the department’s and government’s subscribers, often drawn from names gathered at trade
and based on a reader survey, seemed to confirm the value aims. A glance at the budget does not inspire confidence, shows and the like.
of keeping Vermont Life alive. It reported that 67 percent of because Vermont has the second lowest tourism budget
those surveyed claimed to have bought a Vermont product, in the country (after Delaware), at just three million “I think we get a lot of return on that three million dollar
visited a Vermont store, or used a Vermont service as a result dollars—a tiny amount compared with the large budgets investment,” Schirling explains. “Would we like to spend
of something they read or saw in Vermont Life. Fifty-six of neighboring states: New York spends $50 million; New more in tourism marketing, recruiting workforce, and
percent tried a new restaurant; forty four percent planned Hampshire, $8 million, and Maine $15 million. telling Vermont stories? Absolutely.”
a vacation or staycation; and six percent bought real estate. “We have limited funding, just in general,” explains Knight. Two key recent hires should also add a boost. Earlier
The direct impact from something seen in Vermont Life, “Healthcare, transportation, and education get the lion’s in June Sara DeFilippi became the sales manager for
factoring only dining, lodging, real estate services, calendar share of the state budget.” But it may also be because international and domestic tourism, after serving nearly
sales, and associated taxes, translated into $33.5 million of the lack of value the legislature “that largely doesn’t seven years as assistant director for partner relations
annually. understand, believe in, or fund marketing,” places on at St. John’s University in New York City. She will
However, as with so many other print publications around tourism marketing. This is a view shared by Chase. “I be representing the state at trade festivals such as the
the world, the social “value” of a publication inevitably must think for a long time Vermont tourism has been operating International Tourism Show in Montreal; the American
surrender to the business reality, which in Vermont Life’s on a shoestring. If we could do more statewide for tourism, Bus Association in Charlotte, North Carolina; and the
case amounted to a $3.5 million monkey on its back and it would benefit many small businesses throughout the AAA Travel Marketplace in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
shaky ground underfoot thanks to declining ad sales and state. One of the benefits of tourism compared with other Timothy Simard, formerly Publications Manager at
subscribers. The problem was not helped when Vermont businesses is that it is across the entire state. Investing in Vermont College of Fine Art (and member of The Bridge
politicians, the governor included, publicly questioned the tourism is an investment in the Vermont economy. I think board) has become Director of Communications at the
continuation of the magazine. the investment probably is undervalued.” Department of Tourism.
PAG E 6 • J U N E 21 – J U LY 4 , 2 018 THE BRIDGE
Placemaking in Montpelier
by Anne Watson, Montpelier Mayor
S Single-Use Plastics
ummertime and the nice weather, the end of the school year and the new
construction season, it feels like as a community this is a time of collective
At our last council meeting students
exhaling. It’s such a relief to be able to breathe the warm summer air.
from Montpelier High School presented
Groundbreakings and Openings to the council, asking us to ban plastic
bags. They had conducted an informal
My schedule has been packed lately with all kinds of delightful events, many of survey and showed us the results. Most
which are going to contribute to community and the “special sense of place” that of the people surveyed were in support
Montpelier embodies. I have celebrated more new beginnings this year than I of a plastic bag ban. Anticipating that
expected to. There was a great ribbon-cutting event for Roam, the new shoe store not everyone would love a plastic bag
on Langdon Street, along with Onion River Outdoors, the new incarnation of ban, I’ve started checking in with local
Onion River Sports. retailers who currently use plastic bags
We celebrated the official opening of the Guertin Pocket Park, along the bike path to hear their thoughts. To my happy
near Taylor Street, and I hope to soon resolve where the pocket park by Downtown surprise, so far all the retailers I’ve
Tees will live long-term. Speaking of Taylor Street, the groundbreaking event the spoken with are in favor of the ban.
other day was fun, and it felt only right to honor the many councils that have come This week I received a letter in the mail
and gone over the last decade or more that have shepherded this project along. from a high school student asking us to please ban plastic straws as well. In the
Caledonia Spirits will continue their construction this summer, and I look forward letter, she says, “I know it is possible to have biodegradable straws because I have
to visiting them when it’s open. Perhaps by then the new bike path extension will eaten FroYo with a biodegradable spoon. It might be a little more expensive, but
be done. This summer the City will start construction to extend the bike path that expense would be worth a cleaner environment.”
from where it ends at Granite Street, near the Coop, further down Barre Street, Whatever direction this takes, if approved, the process moving forward would
then down Old Country Club Road, all the way to the edge of town! I can’t wait include a new ordinance, and it may also include a charter change. Either way, I
to take my nieces on a bike ride through town, from one end of Montpelier to the look forward to a robust discussion about what this could mean for our community.
other.
In addition to construction, I am so delighted that Dan Groberg has stepped in Data Collection
as the Montpelier Alive director. I already enjoy working with him. And Laura The last time I wrote the City Page for the Bridge, I included a brief list of
Gebhart is already an active, engaged director for our Montpelier Development indicators that I thought might be useful in taking the temperature of the City.
Corporation. We have some great people in place. We really are lucky to have It would be helpful for us to better understand our needs, to evaluate how we’re
them both. doing, and create, in context, an understanding of who we are beyond anecdotal
In addition to this exciting work, I want to highlight a couple of items from our evidence. I continue to look forward to that data. Through our strategic planning
strategic plan, that I’m really excited for the council to begin discussing. process we will finalize a list of indicators, and hopefully approve a final list of
what we’ll be collecting at one of our August meetings.
Making the WRRF Thermally Net-Zero
Emerald Ash Borer
We need to upgrade our Water Resource Recovery Facility (WRRF) down by
Dog River. Since these upgrades need to happen anyway, we’ve asked our crew to
begin crunching numbers for a plan that will take in more product for a fee, and
then we can turn that material into energy. It would likely be enough energy to
heat the facility or make it thermally net-zero. They will come back to us with a
final proposal in the late summer or early fall, when the council give the project a
final evaluation, and if appropriate, approval. We’ll need to examine the numbers
carefully, but I’m hopeful that this will be a viable project for us.
One unwelcome guest this summer is the Emerald Ash Borer. This little bug has
decimated Ash Tree populations in southern New England over the last decade,
and we have unfortunately recently discovered its presence in Montpelier. This
has wiped out forests south of us, and beyond the ecological costs, it has been
incredibly expensive for these communities to clean up the trees in the wake of
the EAB. What does this mean for us? We’ll all be looking to our (active and
admirable) Tree Board for guidance. They have been working on a plan, but now
it’s time to execute it. They’ll be coming to our meeting in July (I believe), to let us
know how to proceed. Many of our street trees are Ash, and there is a significant
percentage of Ash trees in Hubbard Park. While the council comes up with a plan
for protecting our Ash Trees as well as limiting the damage EAB can do, please
also do not move firewood out of the City of Montpelier.
EAB aside, I’m looking forward to the upcoming changes in Montpelier. We have
good work being done through construction, and we’re laying the foundation for
good discussions to make Montpelier and even better place to live.
T H E B R I D G E J U N E 21 – J U LY 4 , 2 018 • PAG E 7
Y ou know how there are five seasons in Vermont? The Central Vermont Humane
Society has yet another season: Kitten Season!
Every summer, the Humane Society is inundated with kittens. This results in three
urgent needs at the adoption center. First, adorable kittens need homes; second, because
of all the kitten adorableness, adult cats sometimes get overlooked and they need
adopters; third, the Society needs donations to help care for all those cats.
The Humane Society’s adoptable cat and kitten population is continually changing,
Photos courtesy of Central Vermont Humane Society and right now they are in great need of adopters. These photos are a representation
of the wonderful cats and kittens that have been adopted, or that are waiting for
new homes. To find out up-to-the-minute information about which cats or kittens
are available for adoption, or to make a donation, check out the Society’s website at
centralvermonthumane.org.
There is still an overpopulation problem of cats in Vermont, and spaying/neutering is
very important. For information about spaying/neutering, please ask your veterinarian or
check out our local spay/neuter clinic, VT-Can! in Middlesex, at vt-can.org. Cats that are
only four months old can have kittens, so don’t delay to avoid that “oops” litter!
Every year, the Central Vermont Humane Society saves over 1,000 pets, 70 percent of
which come from Vermont. The Society is committed to going the extra mile for every
pet in their care, and every adoptable pet gets all the time it needs to find a loving home.
Two thirds of the animals in their care are cats.
Please visit the Central Vermont Humane Society at 1589 Vermont Route 14S in East
Montpelier and adopt your next furry friend!
Laurie Garrison is the executive director of the Central Vermont Humane Society
T H E B R I D G E J U N E 21 – J U LY 4 , 2 018 • PAG E 9
T he dreaded time has come—time to say goodbye to my dog, Sophie. Every time I’ve
lost a pet, I’ve said, “Never again.”
Bookkeeping · Payroll · Consulting
B
efore becoming editor in chief of The on to plates of grape leaf dolma stuffed
Bridge, I spent more than 10 years with lamb; roasted asparagus on a bed of
in the travel and tourism industry. I goat cheese and fig Jam; and sweet Harissa
continue to do so on the side, and, indeed, I am chicken wings, arguably the best in Vermont.
currently in the middle of updating the Fodor’s 156 Church St., 497-2145,
Travel Guide for Vermont. This means poking honeyroadrestaurant.com
around the entire state for the best restaurants,
pubs, hotels, attractions, and activities. -Drink-
Starting with this issue, readers of The Bridge Foam Brewers
also benefit. Once a month, Abridged Vermont Everyone knows Vermont is beer heaven,
will highlight what’s the buzz in one Vermont and one of its brightest lights is at Foam
town or city in hopes of inspiring some weekend Brewers in Waterfront Park. Opened in 2016
getaways. In some cases, the experiences are by several brewers formerly of Switchback
sponsored by the venues, but I have selected and Magic Hat, it’s since become a must-
according to quality and appeal only. drink for beer aficionados. Tasting notes like
As Vermont’s largest city, and my hometown, “citrus, mango, pineapple, tangerine, and
Burlington is the place to begin. passion fruit” laden brews named for ’90s
music and Stanley Kubrick films. In some
-See- cases thanks to direct additions, such as the
S.P.A.C.E Gallery mediums, and methods, from the “cute and at that time you can meet and greet many 180 pounds of fresh peaches brewed for the
Anyone who knew Burlington before the deadly” drawings and paintings of Martha of the artists at S.P.A.C.E and learn more saison “Pitted Against Drie,” but also from
2000s can’t help but be shocked—in the Hull, to the wire sculpture of Jake Rifken about what they do, or at least negotiate a freshly harvested, full-cone wet hops from
best possible way—by the transformation and Steampunk-style jewelry of designer price over cups of cheap wine—as it should Chateaugay, New York. Go even deeper
of the South End. The once dismal, derelict Mark Eliot Schwabe. be. down the rabbit hole with the “wild ales”
industrial district now hosts one of the most aged in oak barrels with orange peel, rose
The attached gallery is open weekly 266 Pine St., 578-2512, spacegalleryvt.com hips, and Vermont wildflower honey from
happening art scenes in the Northeast. See (Thursday–Saturday, from 12 to 5 pm),
a cross section at the S.P.A.C.E (Supportive -Play- brewer Todd Haire’s side project, House of
but the best time to visit may be during Fermentology.
Places for Artists and the Creative Economy) the monthly First Friday Art Walk, when Community Sailing Center
gallery on Pine Street, where 12 working dozens of art venues across Burlington host After much hemming, hawing, and last- With the lakefront and patio (and ample
artists create pieces in a variety of styles, openings, exhibitions, and happenings. It’s minute appeals for private donations, parking) right outside, it’s a near perfect
Burlington's 22,000-square-foot new three- summer scene, but the interior design of the
story Community Sailing Center on the 19th-century building aims to match. The
Waterfront got its Champagne christening flowing concrete and colored glass-inlaid bar
June 1. top and other design elements come from
the founder of NorthLand Visual Design &
Boating enthusiasts and newbies can choose Construction, Russ Bennett, whose designs
from 150 watercraft to rent including have infused everything from Phish and
kayaks, sailboats, and paddleboards for as Bonnaroo festivals to Red Hen Baking and
little as $15 an hour. Private instruction and Capital Plaza Hotel in Montpelier.
family lessons are available.
12 Lake St., 399-2511, foambrewers.com
And that’s only the start of what’s available.
Instructor/owner of Hot Yoga Burlington -Dream-
and Coast Guard Master Captain Bill Made INN Vermont
O’Connor leads floating yoga classes on While most Vermont inns embrace flowered
paddle boards, which if anything, teaches wallpaper and four-poster beds, Made INN
balance. Events are also scheduled for nearly Vermont has turned that image on its head in
every weekend in summer, including The the best possible way, thanks to the whimsical
Regatta for Lake Champlain and the Water eye of owner Linda Wolf. After purchasing
Works Fair. Otherwise, just pop up to the the 1881 house near the corner of Willard
third floor for spectacular views of the lake and Maple, she gave it a total makeover that
from the large covered deck. infuses the elegant 19th-century framework
505 Lake St., 864-2499, with a significant boutique quirk, including
communitysailingcenter.org chalkboard walls and vinyl record collections
-Eat- in the rooms, guitars in the corridors, and a
virtual sea of fascinating knick-knacks in the
Honey Road ultra cozy lounge. Indeed, every turn of the
When the coveted James Beard Award head unearths some new treasure.
named Honey Road a semi-finalist for The kitchen area maintains an impressive
“best new restaurant,” it merely confirmed 24-hour spread of snacks, fruit, and
the effusive word-of-mouth praise coming sparkling wine that’s included in the price.
from its diners. Located at the corner of The breakfast, including salmon eggs
Church and Main Streets, it’s become one of benedict, impresses enough to forswear the
Burlington’s must-go culinary experiences, many wonderful opportunities just a few
taking Eastern Mediterranean cuisine and blocks down the hill on Church Street.
giving it a significant boutique twist that However, the crown jewel remains a hot cup
wows at nearly every bite and sip. of tea or flute of Champagne in the upstairs
Dishes are served mezze style and designed in the cupola, which offers panaromic views
to be shared (or fought over). While the of Lake Champlain and the Adirondacks—
menu changes according to the seasonal stunning at sunset.
availability of ingredients, start with the 204 S. Willard St., 399-2788,
Muhammara walnut-red pepper dip, fresh- madeinnvermont.com
baked pita, and lamb crackers. Then move
T H E B R I D G E J U N E 21 – J U LY 4 , 2 018 • PAG E 11
J ohn McCann was so busy establishing grape plants in the rocky soil at his new five-acre
vineyard in Middlesex this spring that he fell behind bottling last year’s wine. However,
it’s a sign of his success at North Branch Vineyards, the Montpelier business he runs with
his wife Kate, an award-winning math teacher at U-32 high school.
His skills have been rewarded with a variety of awards at regional and international wine
competitions. Most recently, his “Proprietor’s Blend” wine won a gold medal and “Best
Vermont Wine” at the Eastern States Wine Competition.
Clearly, a lot of effort goes into making and selling North Branch Vineyards wine. The family
But the hard work of planting this year should lead to a big expansion for the small winery in attends 14 festivals a year in Vermont, from Danville to Bennington, accounting for about 70
the near future. North Branch Vineyards has been making and selling about 12,000 bottles a percent of sales, McCann said. They also sell wine at the Montpelier Farmers’ Market when
year in recent years. When the Middlesex vineyard comes online in three years and joins two they are not away at festivals.
smaller vineyards North Branch has in St. Johnsbury and Plainfield, McCann figures he will By December, they will have sold out of most of their wine. The business then essentially shuts
be producing 36,000 to 40,000 bottles a year and might need to hire some help. down until spring. But right now, McCann is very busy. At the Middlesex vineyard he just
McCann seems confident there will be demand for the additional bottles. Since he and Kate finished planting, he has been irrigating four hours a day in the midst of what he says is the
started the business in 2007, starting out with grapes purchased from the Finger Lakes Region driest spring he has seen. Meanwhile, he is cranking up his bottling operation to satisfy the
of New York, the business has grown steadily, even as more wineries pop up in Vermont. thirst of North Branch Vineyards’ customers for his unique Vermont wines.
“It is different than 10 years ago,” he said. “We no longer have to explain that we can grow
grapes in Vermont. Now people come in asking for wine from specific grapes, like Frontenac
or Marquette.”
Visiting North Branch
Today, North Branch uses only cold-hardy grapes grown in Vermont, either from its own Vineyards
vineyards or purchased from other growers in the state. The wine is fermented and bottled
in the basement of the McCann’s home on Trillium Hill Road off Elm Street, a home which This summer North Branch
they share with their two children, Kasi, age 12, and Nora, age 8. Vineyards will he holding wine
The growing interest in Vermont-produced wine brings many visitors to their business for tastings on Fridays, Saturdays,
free tastings, often from out-of-state, McCann said. “They find us on Google. We are not and Sundays from 2 to 5 pm. Be
the biggest or fanciest winery, but they see the good reviews we have and come for a tasting. sure to call ahead, however, as the
Ninety percent of them buy wine when they visit.” proprietors are often away selling
“Saturday and Sunday are our busy days here, especially holidays,” McCann noted. “On their wine at festivals (229-6169).
Mother’s Day weekend a car stopped here every 10 minutes.” Many of the visitors are younger
people. They are adventurous and willing to experiment,” he said. “They want to experience
a mom-and-pop winery.”
Photos by Phil Dodd
Vermont’s beer boom works to his advantage, McCann added. “All the beer marketing helps.
Sometimes a couple will spend a day beer tasting but also want to check out a winery. There
is some cross benefit between breweries and wineries.”
Frontenac grapes are a prime focus at North Branch Vineyards. McCann said his most
popular wine is a Frontenac semi-dry red wine. “It has grown like wildfire for us,” he said.
“We have people pre-ordering it.” But he called Frontenac gris—a white wine—his signature
wine.
The winery features several other wines as well, with bottle prices ranging from $14.95 to
$18.95, said McCann. The wines are sold at several local stores (see sidebar) and also shipped
to customers all over the country, including the 50 or so people in the winery’s wine club.
North Branch wines can also be found at local restaurants, including Sarducci’s and Royal
Orchid in Montpelier
McCann believes his wine-making skills have improved. “I have one customer in Pownal I
met several years ago,” he said. “He says there has been an amazing evolution of our wines
in the past three years.”
McCann, who graduated from UVM with a degree in engineering and once worked as an
aerospace engineer in California, said that when he first started making wine, “I was very North Branch Vineyard wines are sold by the bottle
precise. The engineer in me hasn’t gone away, but I have developed creativity, using my smell at the following local locations, among others:
and taste to create nice blends.”
•Montpelier Farmers’ Market – Montpelier •Cheese Traders - South Burlington
•Hunger Mountain Coop – Montpelier •Mountain Cheese and Wine - Stowe
•Yankee Spirits - Montpelier •Red Hen Bakery & Café - Middlesex
•Buffalo Mountain Food Co-op – Hardwick
•The Warren Store - Warren
•Cabot Annex - Waterbury Center
PAG E 12 • J U N E 21 – J U LY 4 , 2 018 THE BRIDGE
Circa 1946 under the ownership of the Fish Family. Photo courtesy of The Wayside The Wayside today. Photo by Michael Bielawski Owners Brian and Karen Zecchinelli.
Photo courtesy of The Wayside
W
hen Effie Ballou opened the Wayside Diner in society are not always easy to prepare at home. “You might outside the family business before returning to it. Karen
July of 1918, Horace F. Graham was governor be reluctant to make a tuna-and-noodle casserole at home Zecchinelli, for example, ran a bed and breakfast among other
of Vermont, the doughboys were fighting World because you’d be eating it for three or four days straight,” ventures.
War I in Europe, and a global pandemic of “Spanish explains Zecchinelli. “At Wayside you can just come in and Now their son is a junior at Fordham University in New York
Influenza” swept through the state, killing 1,772 Vermonters, enjoy those old-fashioned favorites without being tied to it City, studying in its business school. He had been working at
with the most deaths occurring in Washington County. It for your next three or four dinners.” the restaurant since the age of five and is being encouraged to
was also the year a Red Sox pitcher named Babe Ruth They have more than 60 employees with combined years of test the waters in different careers.
pitched 29 scoreless innings in the team’s last World Series service amounting to over 600 years. The average stay per
victory until 2004. Whether it’s his family or someone else’s, Zecchinelli is
employee is a decade or more. “That’s the thing, that’s why confident the restaurant will always be in good hands. “I think
Much has changed in the Montpelier area in the 100 years we feel privileged to be operating the restaurant at this point the Wayside has become more than just a restaurant, it has
since, but one cornerstone has remained constant—the in time,” Zecchinelli points out. “We’re trying to get the become an important part of the fabric of Vermont, and I’m
Wayside Restaurant. Step inside the classic, all-American story out there of how special it is.” He noted they have six sure there would be a family out there that would welcome the
diner today, however, and it’s as if time has stood still at the employees in the “25-year club,” and he is close to joining opportunity to carry it on for the next 50 years or something
booths and counter. them with more than 20 years under his belt. like that.”
The current owners, Brian and Karen Zecchinelli, have run While it’s not a 24-hour diner, it didn’t always close in The Zecchinellis, however, have no intention to sell or pass the
the restaurant for more than 20 years, but it’s been within mid-evening. In the 1960s and 1970s it was open until business on any time soon.
Karen’s family (the Galfetti family) for more than 50. Her midnight. Zecchinelli noted how during that time period
family purchased the restaurant in 1966, when she was just there were evening dances at iconic locations such as Cole’s “We’re still having too much fun and enjoying being a part of
four years old, and they moved into the house on the hill Pond near Hardwick, and hungry crowds would come in the experience,” Zecchinelli said. “We really worked to get the
behind the restaurant, which every owner has lived in so for a late-night snack. Usually, steak sandwiches were made Wayside to its 100th anniversary, and now we are laying the
far. “Collectively, two generations of the Galfetti family during these hours because there weren’t always other dishes groundwork for its next 100 years.”
have run it for over 50 years of its 100-year tenure,” Brian available. And the next big celebration will be in July, the actual month
Zecchinelli said. While the Wayside is celebrating its past this year, it is also the Wayside opened in 1918. A Customer Appreciation Party
The main appeal is the home-style meals—including looking to the future. A tradition among the Zecchinelli starts at 6:30 pm on July 29th and goes until 9:30 pm. At
meatloaf, casseroles, and chicken pie—which in today’s busy family has been that the children must first test the waters sundown, all guests will be treated to a special fireworks display.
T H E B R I D G E J U N E 21 – J U LY 4 , 2 018 • PAG E 13
F
r om August 2002 to June 2003, I taught English at a school in the city of Koper, in Uncorking a modestly expensive bottle of red wine at our table in the restaurant, the
the coastal Primorska region of Slovenia. Here, they produce a very particular type waiter poured a few splashes in my glass and stepped back. “That’s all I get?” I roared
of red wine called Refošk, which kept me warm and oiled through the year. Ever in disbelief. The French burst out laughing.
since, I have sought it out in wine shops across the United States only to receive quizzical So when Refošk began appearing at my door in Koper, Slovenia, I was understandably
looks and dismissive shakes of the head. So it was with great joy that I discovered The North cautious. First, there was a fear of not liking it and somehow spurning the Marancinas’
Branch Cafe was able to order me a bottle (and several more for adventurous customers). tremendous generosity. But even more treacherous seemed the potential booby
The nostalgia brought to mind this article I wrote about Refošk and the coast of Slovenia in traps waiting in the tannins, all of which had haughty French accents. Happily, the
a 2013 article for the Huffington Post: wine’s thick body roughly achieved beer weight
The wine began appearing outside my door and harbored a rough, roguish personality to
soon after I moved into the ground floor studio Refošk from North Branch match. Locals liked to soften the taste by adding
apartment of the 700-year-old Venetian building. Café. Photo by Mike Dunphy Coca-Cola or dog rose-based Cockta to make a
Poured into reused plastic water bottles, the Bombus. The combo was remarkably delicious.
deep purple liquid needed no label to tell me the But as winter set in, it was the Refošk itself I
vintage. On the coast of Slovenia, there really is wanted, ever purer and less-refined, not just for
only one kind of red wine that darkens the lips the fireside wine warmth and accompanying
of the locals—Refošk. diffusion of worry, but rather the emotional
These particular bottles were squeezed from support. Anyone who’s lived thousands of miles
the grapes at my landlords’ farm outside Koper, from loved ones for long periods knows the depths
where I was living. Klavdij Marancina and his of loneliness that sometimes arrive like the bora
daughter Dolores were not only proud Istrians, and blow you nearly to pieces. In these times, it’s
but true Samaritans. When I was homeless, they Wordsworth’s “little, nameless, unremembered
gave me shelter. When I froze, they gave me acts of kindness” that keep the heart pumping.
clothing. And when I could hardly afford a bite, The wine outside my door contained all three.
they gave me sustenance—and the wine. By spring, the relationship had bloomed into
Even before it began appearing, I’d already love. However pleasing the body was, though,
developed an intimate relationship with the it was the spirit that won me. In short, I loved
grape. Destitution had driven me into the Refošk because Refošk loved me.
ripening hillside vineyards to feed myself on the Back in America, years later, the thirst remains.
hanging clusters, at least until the dogs or migrant workers chased me out. Unfortunately, the wine business here sees little benefit in producing or stocking its
The exceptionally fertile soil of the Primorska region has had a relationship with Refošk shelves with Refošk or even its Italian counterpart, Refosco. Instead, the clerks at New
for millennia. The ancient Romans were particular fans. Then called puccinum, the York City’s finest wine shops simply shrug their shoulders and offer to pursue a special
variety attracted the attention of first-century naturalist Pliny the Elder, who praised order. But I decline. It’s just not the same. Nevertheless, I continue to try, but I’m
the grape in his work Naturalis Historia. The grape’s natural resistance to disease and beginning to think that it’s not really the wine I want, but rather a hug.
rot also made it a favorite with farmers. Pop one into your mouth, and its strength Bottles of Slovenian Refošk are now available at The North Branch Cafe
becomes apparent in the dense, bitter-sweet punch to the palate.
Admittedly, Refošk’s acerbic flavor isn’t for everyone. The lingo-savvy experts at wine-
searcher.com describe it as having “dark peppery spices and plums [and] a slightly
astringent, almond-skin like finish on the palate.” My significantly less-refined taste
buds could discern little of this, but that wasn’t the wine’s fault. My Irish-Nordic
ancestry had simply engineered my genetic receptors for beer and whiskey. Any
estimation of wine quality pivoted on how little or much it burned my tongue.
My upbringing didn’t help. Wine first entered my life in the form of cheek kisses from
my grandmother, who drank it copiously, preferably white, and definitely cheap. The
nascent revulsion was nurtured further by the culture of northern Vermont in the
1980s. Beer was the drink of choice, and wine reserved for elitist wussies and low-rent
drunks—unless in “cooler” form, which appealed to hairspray-heavy backwoods girls
called “chicken heads.” The only other wine culture I saw was during mass, and that
quickly changed to the blood of Christ.
Years later, when I finally stepped foot in French wine country, my maladroitness led to
one particularly embarrassing incident that significantly dissuaded future exploration.
PAG E 14 • J U N E 21 – J U LY 4 , 2 018 THE BRIDGE
S
ummer is often a joyous time for Vermonters, with the for revitalizing sleep. One of my clients begins her summer
annual return of mellifluous song birds, sweet smelling exercise routine with a morning bike ride or run and ends
blossoms, fifty shades of green, and, of course, the sun! with moon salutation yoga poses one hour before bed.
With all this excitement, we can easily forget the basics of Regulate your temperature: Instantly feel cooler by using
caring for our bodies during the hot time of year. cold compresses with essential oils such as peppermint,
Luckily there are many herbs, foods, lifestyle considerations, spearmint, and eucalyptus. To make a compress, add one
and topical preparations that can help us bask in the sun to three drops into a bowl of iced water, stir, saturate a
instead of succumbing to its harshness. From herbal teas washcloth, wring it out, and wipe your neck and armpits
and peppermint to cooling foods and cucumbers, there are (avoid eyes). If you’re going to be outdoors for a prolonged
many natural avenues to sustain our strength and vibrancy period, wrap the wet cloth around your neck to regulate your
through the sweltering heat. body temperature and prevent heat exhaustion. Be sure to
Stay hydrated: Adequate hydration is paramount during use mint and eucalyptus essential oils sparingly because they
summer, especially if you are physically active. When I am are strong and not suitable for sensitive skin, children under
outside working in the sun, I aim to drink a gallon of water six, and women who are pregnant. Another way is to mist
throughout the day. When I am working inside most of the your face and body with hydrosols such as rose, peppermint,
day I drink less water, roughly two quarts. If plain water eucalyptus, and cucumber, which are generally safer.
doesn’t spark your interest, drink herbal teas throughout the Skin soothers: For fair skin or skin not quite yet accustomed
day as an alternative. Drinking herbal teas infused by the
sun is a simple way to brew tea while spending time in the sage advice to the sun, apply aloe vera gel directly at the end of a sunny
day. This will help repair and heal the skin, reducing the
garden or bird watching on the porch. severity of a sunburn. I have used this trick many times on
Favor cool foods: Eat light, easily digested, and hydrating foods such as cucumbers, my fair skin, pleasantly not looking like a red lobster the next
tomatoes, salad greens, summer squash, and dark leafy greens. Fruit is also ideal, so embrace day. If you have an aloe vera plant at home, even better! Simply break off a leaf, slice open
salads of strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries, blackberries, and blueberries. Adding mint, and gently rub the jelly-like sap over the burn. The leaf can be wrapped and stored in the
elder flower, hibiscus, linden, rose, and chrysanthemum to your tea can provide additional refrigerator for later use as well. Aloe vera can also be used for other minor skin irritations
cooling effects. and even poison ivy rashes.
Exercise gently and early: Engage yourself in gentle exercises such as swimming, yin yoga, Iris Gage is a registered clinical herbalist, certified aromatherapist, and owner of Grian Herbs
and walks in the woods. If you are the type of person who needs a bit more sweat in exercise, Apothecary in Montpelier.
do it early in the morning before the heat of the day sets in. Avoid vigorous exercise in the Have a health related question you would like Iris to answer with sage advice? Email
evening, as this is the time of day when your body starts to wind down and prepare itself mail@grianherbs.com
Cool down with this recipe-
Cucumber Yogurt
½ cup plain Greek yogurt
½ cup cucumber, diced
1 Tbl cilantro, fresh, chopped finely
1 Tbl chives, fresh, chopped finely
½ tsp cumin seed powder
½ tsp sea salt
Combine all ingredients and keep refrigerated until ready to eat.
Sun Infused Cool and Calm Herbal Tea
2 Tbl mint (peppermint, spearmint, apple mint, etc.)
1 Tbl linden
½ Tbl elder flower
½ Tbl hibiscus
4 cups spring, well or filtered water
Quart Mason jar
Combine all ingredients into the Mason jar, cover, and let steep outside in the direct sunlight
for 1‒4 hours. Then strain out the herbs out and enjoy. If desired, add sweetener to taste.
After Sun Soother
4 oz aloe vera gel
30‒40 drops lavender angustifolia essential oil
1/8 tsp pure vitamin E oil
4 oz glass jar
Combine and mix ingredients thoroughly and store in the 4-oz glass jar. Apply liberally to
minor skin irritations and sun burns. Store in cool, dark place or refrigerator.
T H E B R I D G E J U N E 21 – J U LY 4 , 2 018 • PAG E 15
Calendar of Events
Community Events
Paint & Sip with Arthur Zorn. Hosted donation: $10 adults, $5 children, children
by Lost Nation Theater. Creative painting SUNDAY, JUNE 24 under 3 free. 223-3322. twinvalleyseniors@
techniques, wine, food, fun will be mixed Central Vermont Cycling Tour. Scenic myfairpoint.net.
for a pallet of painting pleasures. Ages bike tour of hidden gems. Well marked
Events happening courses, great food stops, and three options,
21+. 7:30 pm. Lost Nation Theater, City MONDAY, JUNE 25
June 22–July 7 Hall Arts Center, Main St., Montpelier. from the 13-mile family-friendly loop
Writing Power: A Writing Workshop to
$25 advance; $30 day of event. 229-0492, to the 59-mile with 6000 feet worth of
Unleash the Writer Within. Write from
THURSDAY, JUNE 21 lostnationtheater.org elevation challenge for athletes. Maple
prompts and discuss ways to leap and
Open Ears at Bagitos. Join Montpelier creemees. 8 am–5 pm. Morse Farm Maple
go deep on the page whether you write
city councilor Glen Coburn Hutcheson to Sugarworks, 1168 County Rd., East
SATURDAY, JUNE 23 Montpelier. Adults $60; kids and teens ride
poetry, nonfiction, memoir or fiction. No
talk about the city or anything else. 8:30– Dog Mountain Founders Celebration Dog writing experience necessary. 6–7:45 pm.
9:30 am. Bagitos, 28 Main St., Montpelier. free. Benefits Cross VT Trail. 498-0079,
Party. Honors the lives and loves of Dog Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St.,
hutcheson@montpelier-vt.org, 839-5349. greg@crossvermont.org
Mountain’s visionaries, Stephen and Gwen Montpelier. 223-3338.
Josiah, A New Documentary Film Huneck. If you have dogs, bring them. Live Montpelier Neighborhood Yard Sale.
The Path of the Huntress: First Steps to
Presentation and Discussion. Narrated music, local food, activities. Rain or shine. June 23–24. Dover and Phillips Road
Becoming a Deer Hunter. Discuss getting
by Danny Glover. Josiah Henson escapes Dog Mountain, 143 Parks Rd., neighborhood yard sales. Many homes
a hunting license, finding training and
slavery and overcomes incredible odds. St. Johnsbury. dogmt.com participating! Household items, furniture,
mentorship, and tips for a successful and
T.W. Wood Gallery, 46 Barre St., clothes, books, toys and more. 10 am–5 pm.
CVMC Fun Run (and Walk). Five-mile loop ethical hunt. This workshop will especially
Montpelier. twwoodgallery.org, 262-6035. around Berlin Pond. Prizes for top finishers American Radio Relay League Field address the concerns of new women
$5 suggested donation. in all age groups. $20 if received by June Day. June 23–24. The Central Vermont hunters, but all genders are welcome. 6 pm.
“Writers & Their Mothers” – This book 20; $25 race day. 371-4191. Register: Amateur Radio Club will join radio Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St.,
brings to life the thoughts, work, loves, cvmc.org/fun-run operators from all over North America by Montpelier. 223-3338.
friendships, passions and, above all, the participating in this event. Similar Field
Capital City Farmers Market.
influence of mothers upon their literary Market vendors, music, and events.
Days are being held nationwide to train TUESDAY, JUNE 26
offspring from Shakespeare to the present. ourselves to communicate when disaster Wildlife Rocks! With the Southern
9 am–1 pm. State St., Montpelier.
7 pm. Highland Center for the Arts. www. renders conventional communications Vermont History Museum. Museum
montpelierfarmersmarket.com
highlandartsvt.org, 533-2000 inoperable. Also a chance to see ham radio educators will bring 5 or 6 live animals
Montpelier Neighborhood Yard Sale. in action. Make 24 hours of radio contacts native to New England for an up close look
FRIDAY, JUNE 22 June 23–24. Dover and Phillips Road throughout the U.S. and elsewhere. at their amazing skills and adaptations.
Lucid Path Wellness Open House. Stop neighborhood yard sales. Many homes Hubbard Park Tower, Montpelier. More Cabot Library, 3084 Main Sr., Cabot.
in, say “hi,” sample the Healing Chamber, participating! Household items, furniture, info: AlanZaur@comcast.net or call sign:
clothes, books, toys and more. 10 am–5 pm.
and get a mini hand analysis reading with K1MZM WEDNESDAY, JUNE 27
Kim Fuller of Haelen Hands (suggested Climb Out of the Darkness. Postpartum Pasta Palooza. Various pasta dishes, make Build Your Own Cardboard Guitar
donation for readings is $10) 5–7 pm. 97 mood and anxiety disorders are the most your own sundae. Take out is available. with Jennifer Barlow. Design and build
State St., Montpelier. lucidpathwellness. common complication of childbirth— 4–7 pm. Twin Valley Senior Center, 4583 a sturdy little four string guitar/ukulele,
com and often go undiagnosed. 10 am–1 US Route 2, East Montpelier. Suggested perfect for strumming along at the Cowboy
Ecstatic Dance Vermont and Wordcraft pm. Vermont State House, Montpelier.
All-Stars. Celebrate diversity through goodbeginningscentralvt.org. 595-7953
dance, music, and words in a safe and Open House at Vermont Farm and Forest
open space. All ages event. 6–10 pm. School. Meet the educators, tour the farm
Christ Church, 64 State St., Montpelier. and forest, play games, and cook over the
Dance $10; WORD!CRAFT by donation. fire. 1–4 pm. Drift Farmstead, 324 Webster
myceliumthemc.wordpress.com Rd., Roxbury. driftfarmsteadvt.com
Performing Arts
June 22: Bueno Comedy Showcase at Espresso Bueno. A wide range of talented standup comics,
from here and away, working longer sets. 8:30 pm. Espresso Bueno, 248 N. Main St., Barre. Free/
by donation. 479-0896. espressobueno.com.
THEATER, DANCE, STORYTELLING, COMEDY June 23–24: Jerry & Ed. Leave that blinker on and move into the not-so-fast lane at Garden Acres
June 21–24: Mad as the Wind and the Sea. A Buccaneers Fantabulous Rollicking Tragic Opera Retirement Community for the hilarious and heartwarming story of Jerry Atric (get it?) and his
by Chris Colt, of Blues Brothers fame and the founder of Blue Barn Productions of Maple Corner old buddy Ed Hascomb. Starring actor and playwright Steve Henderson as Jerry Atric, and Frank
has created a new musical for the whole family. June 21–23 at 7:30 pm; June 24 at 2 pm. Gospel Aronson as J.T. Waite in a two-man show that celebrates friendships that stand the tests of time.
Hollow Town Hall, Calais. All tickets are $15 suggested donation, cash or check at the door, $10 Sat. at 7:30 pm; Sun. at 3 pm. Highland Center for the Arts
for students and seniors. June 23: Blood, Sweat, Baby, and Life After Orgasm. One-woman show featuring local
June 22–23: Castle on the Hill, A Tale of King Arthur. Presented by Vermont Youth Dancers community midwife, Katherine Bramhall, telling stories of birth from her many, many years
(VYD) who will put their own spin on the classic legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the of helping women birth our next generation. 7:30–9 pm. Tickets are $23 and $19 for pregnant
Round Table. Fri. at 7 pm; Sat. at 2 pm. Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center, 122 Hourglass Dr., woman and seniors. Barre Opera House, 6 N. Main St., Barre. barreoperahouse.org
Stowe. $18–22. sprucepeakarts.org June 24: Bread and Puppet Presents: Grasshopper Revolution. Attempts to draw advice from
June 22: Bread and Puppet Presents: Out-of-Joint Hamlet, Reimagines the classic tale of the several prominent revolutions in human history. B&P’s traditional bread and aioli will be served
indecisive Prince. B&P’s traditional bread and aioli will be served after the show and the Bread and after the show and the Bread and Puppet Museum store will be open for the public. 3 pm. The
Puppet Museum store will be open for the public. 7:30 pm. The Paper Maché Cathedral, Bread Paper Maché Cathedral, Bread and Puppet Farm on 753 Heights Rd./Rt. 122, Glover. Suggested
and Puppet Farm on 753 Heights Rd./Rt. 122, Glover. Suggested donation is $10, no one turned donation is $10, no one turned away for lack of funds.
away for lack of funds. June 29, July 2–3: Circus Smirkus Presents Vaudeville. Spectacular lineup of daring and
dazzling acts. Amazing acrobats, wondrous wire walkers, jaunty jugglers. For showtimes and ticket
info, visit smirkus.org.
Sing-A-Long on July 6! We’ll provide Capitol Plaza Hotel and Conference Center, Newcomb’s Plant ID Workshop
supplies and instruction. Kids, be sure to 100 State St., Montpelier. Open to everyone. and Walk. Learn the botanical key in MONDAY, JULY 2
bring a grownup to help. We’ll also have $25. https://www.brownpapertickets. com/ Newcomb’s Guide to the Wildflowers Writing Power: A Writing Workshop to
supplies on hand for simple instruments user/manageevent/3443434. for a lifetime of enjoyment. 10 am–12:30 Unleash the Writer Within. Write from
little ones can make too. 6:30 pm. Jaquith pm. Wisdom of the Herbs School, 1005 prompts and discuss ways to leap and go
MFA in Writing Public Readings. Clifford deep on the page whether you write poetry,
Public Library, School St., Marshfield. Thompson, visiting creative nonfiction County Rd., Woodbury. Sliding scale
$25–15. Pre-registration requested: nonfiction, memoir or fiction. No writing
HCA’s Mid-Week Movie Night. Spiderman. writer. 7:30 pm. VCFA, College Hall experience necessary. 6–7:45 pm. Kellogg-
7 pm. Highland Center for the Arts, 2875 Chapel, Montpelier. Free; open to the public. 456-8122, annie.mccleary@gmail.com,
WisdomOfTheHerbsSchool.com Hubbard Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier.
Hardwick St., Greensboro. $5 suggested http://vcfa.edu/writing 223-3338.
donation. highlandartsvt.org. 533-2000 Community Song Circles. A community
Reading Frederick Douglass 2018. Join us as
SATURDAY, JUNE 30 sing-along open to all ages and musical
we read together the fiery July 5, 1852 speech
THURSDAY, JUNE 28 Waterbury Not Quite Independence Day. abilities – all you need is a love of singing.
in which the great abolitionist orator Frederick
Open Ears at Bagitos. Join Montpelier city Parade, concert, games, contests, fireworks. We use the popular songbooks “Rise Up
Singing” and “Rise Again.” Bring your Douglass took exception to being asked to
councilor Glen Coburn Hutcheson to talk For more info: waterburynqid.com
copies if you have them; books will also be commemorate the signing of the Declaration
about the city or anything else. 8:30–9:30 Capital City Farmers Market. Market
available to borrow or purchase. 6–8 pm. of Independence. This is a participatory event.
am. Bagitos, 28 Main St., Montpelier. vendors, music, and events. 9 am–1 pm. State
Center for Arts and Learning, 46 Barre St., 6 pm, Catamount Arts, 115 Eastern Ave., St.
hutcheson@montpelier-vt.org, 839-5349. St., Montpelier. montpelierfarmersmarket.com
Montpelier. Donations appreciated. cal-vt. Johnsbury
6:30 pm, Norwich Congregations Church of
FRIDAY, JUNE 29 SUNDAY, JULY 1
org, vtcommunitysing@gmail.com
Christ, 15 Church St., Norwich
Montpelier Senior Activity Center Senior Hike Mt. Ascutney with Green Mountain MFA in Writing Public Readings. Danielle
Prom. Get ready to boogie at this year’s Evans, visiting fiction writer. 7 pm. VCFA, MFA in Writing Public Readings. Jeffrey
Club. Windsor. Moderate. 5.4 miles . Thomas Leong, visiting alumni poet and
Senior Prom. Our theme this year is Disco Hike to the summit via the Windsor Trail. College Hall Chapel, Montpelier. Free; open
Fever. Music, dancing, food, and fun. A to the public. http://vcfa.edu/writing translator. 7 pm. VCFA, College Hall Chapel,
Bring lunch and water. Contact Michael Montpelier. Free; open to the public. http://
great DJ, a fun photo booth, and fun items Chernick, 249-0520 or chernick5@comcast.
to bid on in our silent auction. 7–10:30 pm. vcfa.edu/writing
net for meeting time and place.
Calendar of Events
T H E B R I D G E J U N E 21 – J U LY 4 , 2 018 • PAG E 17
Visual Arts
contemporary Vermont art. Vermont Arts Third floor gallery: Jack Rowell: Cultural Through Aug. 10: Stewards of the Land:
Council, Spotlight Gallery, 136 State St., Documentarian – Photographs from 5th Photography by Orah Moore. Handprinted
Montpelier. generation Vermonter Jack Rowell’s 30+ year silverprint photographs. Moore is a classically
Through June 30: Stop Motion – Paintings career as a photographer. trained fine art photographer and founding
EXHIBITS and Drawings by Maiya Keck. Original oil and Through July 8: Susan Abbott, El Camino de member of Women in Photography, a national
Through June 24: The Russians and Friends. charcoal pieces. Keck explores when motion Santiago (Way of St. James). Paintings of the organization. Presented by Studio Place Arts.
Paintings by four visiting artists from Russia, ends and the work is suspended into a sustained panoramic landscape Abbott experienced during On display at Morse Block Deli, 260 N. Main
and some of their American friends, who image for the viewer. Axel’s Gallery, 5 Stowe St., her journey walking the road. Highland Center St., Barre.
recently painted together in Jeffersonville. Bryan Waterbury. 244-7801 for the Arts, 2875 Hardwick St., Greensboro. July 5–Aug. 31: Three Shows at T.W. Wood
Memorial Gallery, 180 Main St., Jeffersonville. 533-2000. highlandartsvt.com Gallery. Summer Juried Show, joint exhibit
Through June 30: Common Objects &
bryangallery.org
Uncommon Places – Paintings by Carrie Through July 28: Green Mountain Watercolor of the Essex Art League and Milton Artists
Through June 28: Tom Merwin, The Effects Caouette-De Lallo. Acrylics on paper focusing Exhibition. Over 100 artists from North Guild., and works from the gallery's permanent
of Bird Song on Shifting Strata. Paintings. on common objects and landscapes. Chelsea America. Thurs.–Sun., noon–9 pm. Lareau collection. Reception: July 12, 5–7 pm.
Vermont Supreme Court Gallery, 111 State St., Public Library, 296 VT-110, Chelsea. 685-2188. Farm, Waitsfield. 496-6682. T.W. Wood Gallery, 46 Barre St., Montpelier.
Montpelier. twwoodgallery.org
Through June 30: New Shows at Studio Place Through Aug. 3: Heidi Broner, Inner Lives.
Through June 28: Carolyn Egeli, For the Love Arts. 201 N. Main St., Barre. studioplacearts. Self-taught painter who has worked in a variety Through Sept. 8: Reclamation.Contemporary
of Vermont. Paintings. Governor’s Gallery, 109 com. 479-7069 of media. The Gallery at Central Vermont figurative women artists painting women from
State St., Montpelier. Photo ID required for Main floor gallery: Tell Me – Artwork by Medical Center, Berlin. 279-6403. their perspective, reclaiming and transforming
entry. 19 local artists that explores language and the way women are portrayed. Helen Day Art
June 22 – Aug. 4: Show 26. Features the work Center, 90 Pond St., Stowe. helenday.com
Through June 29: Ronald Slayton, Master of communication. of six new members, along with that of the rest
Watercolor. Highlights two watercolor murals Second floor gallery: Beyond Words: of the gallery’s membership. Opening: June 22, Through Sept. 30: James Peterson,
“The Last Supper” (1985) and “The Hunger Artworks by the Book Arts Guild of 5–8 pm. with live music by Ruth Einstein Dreamcatcher. Large-scale interactive
Dream” (1985). T.W. Wood Gallery, Barre St., Vermont – Books can take on a language and company. The Front Gallery, 6 Barre St., installation that was inspired by the magical
Montpelier. of their own, as shown in the multimedia Montpelier. thefrontvt.com. ice caves of Kamchatka in Siberia. The grounds
work of this group of artists that use shape, of Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center, 122
Through June 29: Artists to Watch Part structure, and materials to get their message Hourglass Dr., Stowe. helenday.com
II. The second exhibition in a survey of across.
TUESDAY, JULY 3
July 3rd Independence Day Celebration. July 3rd is the Capital City’s largest festival of the
year with many activities happening downtown throughout the day and more than 40 food
and craft vendors lining State Street. The fun begins at 3 pm with the Family Olympics on the
State House Lawn. After the Olympics, the Montpelier Mile Road Race begins at 6 pm and
kicks off the Parade! After enjoying the parade, join us on the State House Lawn for a music
concert and fireworks show!
Bike Worcester with Green Mountain Club. Difficult. About 20 miles. Leave at 10 am from
the Worcester Town Office to Elmore. Eat lunch at the Elmore general store. Helmet required.
Contact George Plumb, 883-2313 or plumb.george@gmail.com.
Reading Frederick Douglass 2018. Join us as we read together the fiery July 5, 1852 speech
in which the great abolitionist orator Frederick Douglass took exception to being asked to
commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This is a participatory event.
Noon, Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier
6 pm, Aldrich Public Library, 6 Washington St., Barre
MFA in Writing Public Readings. Mary Ruefle, visiting poet. 7 pm. VCFA, College Hall
Chapel, Montpelier. Free; open to the public. http://vcfa.edu/writing
WEDNESDAY, JULY 4
Reading Frederick Douglass 2018. Join us as we read together the fiery July 5, 1852 speech
in which the great abolitionist orator Frederick Douglass took exception to being asked to
commemorate the signing of the Declaration of Independence. This is a participatory event. 1
pm. Worcester Village Green.
Artwork by James Galligan Baldwin on
THURSDAY, JULY 5 display at The Front Gallery in Montpelier
Open Ears at Bagitos. Join Montpelier city councilor Glen Coburn Hutcheson to talk about
the city or anything else. 8:30–9:30 am. Bagitos, 28 Main St., Montpelier. hutcheson@
montpelier-vt.org, 839-5349.
FRIDAY, JULY 6
Bethel First Friday Flicks - Free Family Movie. All are welcome. Bring a blanket or beanbag
if you want to get comfy (regular chairs available too). Visit our website or Facebook event for
each month’s movie. Popcorn & drinks for sale; donations gladly accepted to cover movie cost.
6:30–8:30 pm. bri-vt.org/events
SATURDAY, JULY 7
Capital City Farmers Market. Market vendors, music, and events. 9 am–1 pm. State St.,
Montpelier. montpelierfarmersmarket.com
Rocque Long
Send your event listing to Painting
calendar@ • Insured
montpelierbridge.com. • 30+ years professional
experience
Deadline for print in the • local references.
next issue is June 29.
802-223-0389
PAG E 18 • J U N E 21 – J U LY 4 , 2 018 THE BRIDGE
Calendar of Events
Live Music
June 22: Jazzyaoke. Live six-piece jazz band. Sing standards from the great American
songbook. All lyrics are provided. 6:30–9:30 pm. Highland Lodge, 1608 Craftsbury Rd.,
Greensboro. $5. 322-4456. info@wooo.tv, wooo.tv
June 23: Rayna Gellert and Kieran Kane. Gellert is a prodigious fiddler, and a
VENUES preternaturally gifted songwriter who has led a new revival of American string band music
Charlie O’s World Famous. 70 Main St. Montpelier. Free. 223-6820. through her work with the acclaimed roots band Uncle Earl. Kane has been referred to
June 22: Wes Hamilton, 6 pm; Green Mt. Playboys, 9 pm as “the godfather of Americana music.” Potluck snacks, and BYOB. Doors open at 7 pm;
June 23: The Wormdogs, Electric Sensei, 9 pm music starts at 7:30 pm. Landmark Schoolhouse, 1643 Rte. 215, Lower Cabot. Tickets:
June 26: Karaoke w/ DJ Vociferous, 9:30 pm–1:30 am
Adv. $16, at door $20. 793-3016, robinsongs@fairpoint.net.
July 3: Karaoke w/ DJ Vociferous 9:30 pm–1:30 am
June 28. 10,000 Maniacs. One of the most enduring bands from the ’80s “alternative
Gusto's. 28 Prospect St., Barre. 476-7919. Ages 21+. rock” movement, the 10,000 Maniacs, bring their 2018 tour to the Spruce Peak
June 22: ’80s Night with DUROC, 9 pm, 21+, $5. Performing Arts Center. 7 pm. 122 Hourglass Dr, Stowe. $25–65. SprucePeakArts.org.
June 23: DJ Loud, 21, 9:30 pm, no cover 760-4634.
Letters
Ban Single-use Plastic Bags
At the time of this writing, the Montpelier City Council is considering a ban on single-
use plastic bags. Also, an ad-hoc group of people wishing to ban single-use plastics in
Montpelier is forming. The group’s name is Citizens Against Plastic Pollution, or CAPP.
To learn more, contact Alice Silverman at alicehersheysilverman@gmail.com.
Editor, Kate Herrington, Montpelier
As most of us now know, plastic is extremely versatile but highly problematic. The problem A Targeted Tax?
is not so much with plastic products, but how to safely dispose of them. The curious thing Editor,
about plastic is its virtual indestructibility. When it’s thrown away and ends up in a landfill,
They raise cigarette taxes to run anti-smoking ads, and dairy farmers pay fees for those
it can degrade into smaller pieces and seep into underground aquifers, including vital sources
“Got Milk” spots. So now that President Trump has leveed a new federal tax on American
of drinking water. All too often, plastic winds up in the world’s oceans, not only in its
manufactures, is that money earmarked for any particular program, or does it all go back
original form, such as plastic bottles, but as billions of degraded plastic microparticles and
to the swamp?
microfibers.
Sadie Thorne, Bridport
Although Vermont is a small state with no oceanic borders, it owns a sizable chunk of the
global problem. For starters, plastic fibers have been found in fourteen different species of
Lake Champlain fish, as well as in zooplankton and lake cormorants, according to Danielle
Garneau, who teaches at SUNY Plattsburgh’s Center for Earth and Environmental Science, Letters to the paper are not fact-checked and do not
in a November 2017 article in VTDigger. In addition, Vermont’s landfill space is literally
running out. necessarily represent the views of The Bridge.
What action can we take in Montpelier?
A powerful first step would be to stop using single-use plastic bags. A spokesman for Save
Our Shores, a marine conservation nonprofit, recently said, “Nothing that is used for less
than five minutes should pollute our environment for centuries.” I couldn’t agree more. Let’s We welcome your letters and opinion pieces. Letters must be
ban single-use plastic bags and start using cloth shopping bags, straw baskets, cloth mesh fewer than 300 words. Opinion pieces should not exceed 600
bags for smaller items like green beans, or even just our own two hands.
words. The Bridge reserves the right to edit and cut pieces.
Something I recently heard affected me deeply. It was a comment on love, and how the
opposite of love is not hate, but indifference. And how, when we experience indifference, an
Send your piece to: editorial@montpelierbridge.com.
integral part of us ceases to live. Let us not be indifferent to this issue. Let’s ban single-use Deadline for the next issue is June 29
plastic bags in Montpelier.
PAG E 2 0 • J U N E 21 – J U LY 4 , 2 018 THE BRIDGE
I
have had the humble privilege of working in mental health emergency services for 20 This might seem very basic, but the reality is that genuinely asking someone how
years. People frequently ask me, “How do you continue to do that work? It must be they are and being ready to listen to the honest answer is harder than we might think.
so hard and sad.” The truth is, sometimes it is hard and sad, but it is also filled with Being willing to ask someone how they are doing when you know the answer might be
true hope. The people I see every day are alive, and I am hopeful that just one more day, disturbing can be incredibly difficult and scary. It is also true that many times a person
one more minute, one more second will make the anguish a little less, and the strength struggling with their mental health will try and hide their troubles because they might
that helped the person live through that anguish will continue to grow stronger. feel ashamed or embarrassed. When another person asks, “How are you?” they say, “I’m
Mental health, like physical health, affects us all. Mental illness, like physical illness, fine.” The other person might continue to have concerns but is unsure how to show
also affects us all. The continuum with which we experience mental and physical health support because they don’t want to “pry” or be disrespectful.
is individual, but we can all empathize with feeling physically unwell on some level In mental health emergency work, we find there are many ways for people to show
similarly. We can all empathize with what it’s like to feel mentally unwell at different genuine care and concern. Honestly stating why you’re concerned is the most respectful,
times in our lives. We have all faced heartache, stress, sadness, anger, fear, and an array transparent way to show your concern. If a person needs space, sending thoughtful,
of other emotions as well. Depression is a compilation of symptoms, just like a physical supportive messages through different media is another way to show care and concern.
illness. I have also sat quietly with people just to be present and share the burden of the distress
We need to talk about mental health and mental illness with the same genuine interest, so they are not alone. I have written cards, texts, and emails, and left voicemails just to
vigor, and directness as we talk about physical health and physical illness. We need to show a person they are not alone, because isolation is a significant risk factor for suicide.
talk about treatment options and recovery stories to promote overall mental wellness But the concerned family member, friend, colleague, or neighbor should never feel alone
as we talk about treatment options and recovery stories promoting overall physical in offering someone support when they are struggling. Help can always be found at
wellness. A person struggling with suicidal ideation (also called suicidal thoughts) is Washington County Mental Health Emergency Services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
struggling just as fiercely as a person struggling with a physical ailment. I have visited Anyone can call for help and support for themselves and to get advice and guidance
with people from all walks of life and can tell you, mental illness, like physical illness, about what to do to help someone else.
does not discriminate. Please call us at 229-0591 for support and guidance.
Recently, two very public figures, Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain, took their own The journey is one step at a time. You do not have to be alone on your journey.
lives. Many people often ask me, “What should I do if I am worried someone might
have suicidal thoughts?” Or “What should I do if I’m worried someone is depressed?” Karen Kurrle is Intensive Care Services Director at Washington County Mental Health
My answer might seem very simple and rudimentary: please ask them how they are. Services
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THE BRIDGE SEEKS A SALES REPRESENTATIVE
DO YOU HAVE A PASSION FOR FREE, LOCAL AND INDEPENDENT
JOURNALISM IN VERMONT?
Spotlight on Jobs
The Bridge is seeking the assistance of a sales representative to help cover the Central
Vermont region, including Montpelier, Barre, Plainfield, Calais, Middlesex, Berlin, and
Waterbury.
Candidates with sales experience and contacts in the region are preferred, but we are
also open to training someone with enthusiasm, charm, creativity, and old-fashioned
moxie.
CLASS A DRIVERS—MIDDLESEX We offer generous commissions on each sale and opportunity for advancement.
Furthermore, the job is part-time and flexible regarding hours.
CENTRAL TRANSPORT is looking for Class A drivers to fill open positions at our
For more information, contact Mike Dunphy at mdunphy@montpelierbridge.com
Middlesex office for daytime and overnight shifts. Daytime shifts start at $26/hr and
top out at $29/hr and offer local routes. Overnight shifts work out to 54 cents/mile with
hourly rates starting at $27/hr when not driving. Both positions are home daily, Monday
through Friday and have a $10,000 sign on bonus. Positions with Central Transport
offer medical, dental and 401K programs, driver uniforms, inspection bonuses, referral ASSISTANT TO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR—
bonuses and other incentives. Our drivers are in 2016 or newer tractors and our brand
new trailers keep rolling in weekly. BERLIN
Qualified candidates should have at least three months of tractor/trailer driving within COMMUNITY HARVEST OF CENTRAL VERMONT is looking for someone to assist the
the last year, no DUIs within the last five years, and a valid Class A CDL. Executive Director during the busy summer/fall gleaning season to keep the behind the
scenes aspects of the program going, as more and more staff time is spent out on farms
Please swing by 52 Three Mile Bridge Rd in Middlesex from 8 am until 5 pm to see gleaning.
us or call (802) 899-0065 and talk to Brian Driscoll. Also contact Brian at bdriscoll@
centraltransport.com. The position is a part time, 10-hours a week, flexible seasonal position with a primary
focus on program administration. An ideal candidate would have excellent organization
skills, attention to detail, data management experience, and an interest and/or experience
in local food systems.
Send cover letter, resume, and three references to Allison Levin, CHCV Executive
Director, at communityharvestvt@gmail.com. Job description posted at
COMMUNITY ORGANIZER—MONTPELIER CommunityHarvestVT.org/about/
The Bridge is just coming out of what has been, for me, a And third, The Bridge had been advised that we could Dear Employer, The State of Vermont is required by the U.S.
disappointing and sobering experience. write a letter to the Commissioner of Labor and the Department of Labor to complete a number of audits each
Here I’m referring to a two-year process of having been Unemployment Insurance Director to ask that interest quarter and your account has been chosen for review.
audited by the Vermont Department of Labor, with a first payments over the three-year review period (amounting McQuiggan wondered about the letter and its possible
contact from the Department in April 2016 and a formal to $1,113.75) be waived. That request was denied on April implications. He had opened True Colors more than 20
audit that began on August 19, 2016. At issue during the 24, 2017. years prior and always paid its Social Security, Medicare,
audit was whether The Bridge had properly classified its Yes, the money involved, being the back UI payments, Vermont labor and sales taxes on time. The letter didn’t
workers for the purposes of collecting unemployment interests, and penalties assessed by the Labor Department, mention subcontractors.
compensation payments during a three-year period: 2013, became a painful financial issue for The Bridge, because As the audit proceeded, McQuiggan was interviewed
2014, and 2015. I might describe the paper as a “day-to-day, paycheck-to- by Paulette LaMare, a field auditor for the Vermont
The Labor Department identified three categories of paycheck” operation. But it was more than the money Unemployment Compensation (UC) unit of the Vermont
possible worker classification. that made the audit process both opaque and almost Department of Labor. LaMare asked to look through
hateful. the checking account and for McQuiggan to fill out a
• First, employees, for whom The Bridge had properly
Editorial
paid unemployment insurance (UI) contributions. questionnaire. This all seemed harmless enough. Then
in a November 2013 letter, McQuiggan was advised by
• Second, independent contractors, for whom no UI the Labor Department that he had failed to report taxes
payment was owed. he owed to Vermont’s Unemployment Insurance Fund
• And third, the disputed employees, for whom no UI for subcontractors that had done work for True Colors
contributions had been paid. customers.
In its ruling, the Labor Department found that during the As part of True Colors offerings, McQuiggan sells vinyl
When The Bridge made its final audit payment to the flooring, carpet, tile, and the like. Because these products
period, 24 individuals received compensation as workers
Labor Department a few weeks ago, I decided I would did not create enough income to employ a full-time
for The Bridge. Ten of these 24 workers were found to
write this editorial about the experience. I also decided to installer, McQuiggan referred the work to reliable,
be properly classified, and it was judged that the paper
seek out and report on the audit experience of other local professional installers.
should have made payments to the state’s unemployment
business owners, and attempt a “best-guess” analysis of
trust fund for the remaining 14. When the unpaid “These installers had skills and talents I did not possess,”
what is going on at the Vermont Department of Labor.
contributions, together with penalties and interest over the he said. They scheduled their own installs, and customers
three-year period were added up, the Labor Department What, I wondered, explains why the Labor Department— were billed from a price schedule provided by the installers.
billed The Bridge a total of $4,157.71 without notice—would suddenly change the rules and Installers had to use their talents to install the flooring
launch an audit crackdown on vulnerable small-business products to the customer’s satisfaction.
During a meeting at the Labor Commissioner’s office
owners?
shortly after we learned of the audit, I remember Labor The case with the Labor Department eventually went to
Department staff members in the meeting room saying Then finally, I wanted to pose a list of questions to the arbitration. The Labor Department uses an ABC test to
not once but many times, “You can always appeal.” And Vermont Department of Labor, questions the Department determine if someone is an employee. True Colors passed
The Bridge did appeal. had either declined to discuss or failed to answer. two parts of the test, but because of one sentence on an
First, The Bridge appealed to the department’s True Colors, Montpelier old website for True Colors stating the they “provide
administrative law judge, who denied our appeal on Bill McQuiggan, owner of True Colors at 141 River Street professional installation for their flooring products,” the
March 3, 2017. in Montpelier, said that his first inkling of troubles to Labor Department extrapolated from that one line that
come from the Vermont Department of Labor was a July all the installers were in fact employees.
Second, The Bridge appealed to the next and higher level,
the State of Vermont’s Employee Security Board. That 9, 2013 letter from the Labor Department that began
appeal was denied on April 25, 2017. with these words: Continued on next page
Thank Your
for Reading
The Bridge!
T H E B R I D G E J U N E 21 – J U LY 4 , 2 018 • PAG E 2 3
So the Labor Department prevailed, and the installers Reflecting on what happened, Wilson said he felt the Questions:
had to be listed not as subcontractors but as McQuiggan’s Labor Department’s action wasn’t high on the “fairness What truthfully is the story behind the Vermont Labor
own employees. McQuiggan was then promptly handed scale.” He added, “Our subcontractors don’t work solely Department’s decision to redesign its worker classification
a large bill for state unemployment insurance fees, fines, for us. We don’t pay their anything else. So now we do. system to crack down on small business owners for the
and penalties for all subcontractors that had done work We take it out of their payroll.” purpose of increasing the dollar income to the Vermont
for the previous five years, amounting to thousands of Wilson remembers the Labor Department’s judgment Unemployment Trust Fund?
dollars. True Colors flooring sales plummeted as a result. costing him about $15,000. “They were targeting What was and is the Department’s thinking about
Looking back at the appeal process, McQuiggan said the subcontractors,” Wilson said. “Hammering on small applying an 18 percent interest rate on back payments to
whole process with the Labor Department is stacked in businesses—I just don’t understand that.” the state’s unemployment trust fund?
their favor. Small businesses do not have deep pockets Analysis and Questions
to prove their innocence against a large governmental Why not identify the Vermont businesses that have been
machine, so they are guilty as a result of a lack of money The Bridge published its first issue in December 1993. In selected for the audit crackdown? Wouldn’t publishing a
to present a good defense. the years that followed up until the Labor Department list of the audited businesses put to rest any suggestions
audit of August 2016, the way The Bridge classified its that the audit crackdown essentially targeted small and
“I feel that this is more about entrapment than educating workers was never challenged by the Department. What’s vulnerable Vermont businesses?
small business owners about their relationship with more, the paper was never advised by its accountant
subcontractors. At that time there was no warning about How can Vermont voters and taxpayers and the general
during all those years that we needed to re-classify our public know that the audit process has been carried out
these audits or their implications. Our accountant was workers.
even surprised. I’m sure the big boxes will never be fairly and that the audits include the state itself and the
audited,” he said, “because they could turn this whole Inasmuch as the Vermont Labor Department has declined state’s largest corporation—not just its small business
audit process on its head.” to talk to The Bridge, this is what I surmise happened. owners?
“But what about politicians who often say that the State of No one needs to be reminded of the September 11, 2001 How much money has the Labor Department spent as
Vermont is small-business friendly?” I asked. terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and other part of its audit crackdown? How much money has the
locations. Nor does anyone need to be reminded about Labor Department collected to date since the start of the
McQuiggan could only laugh out loud. the global banking meltdown of 2008‒2009 and its crackdown?
Bisbee’s Hardware & Home Center, Waitsfield and aftermath—the biggest financial crisis since the Great What have been the specific steps that the Labor
Waterbury Depression of 1929. Department took to advise Vermont employers about
During a brief conversation with John Wilson, who owns The following paragraph is excerpted from the Vermont changes to its worker classification rules or to inform
a hardware and home center store in Waitsfield and Department of Labor’s own website. accountants across the state and small business owners
another hardware and home center store in Waterbury, From the period of 2001 to 2010, Vermont’s Unemployment about the coming audit crackdown?
he offered this terse remark about his encounter with the Insurance Trust Fund (UITF) annual debits exceeded their Was there a $500,000 federal grant made to the Vermont
Vermont Department of Labor, saying: “We got audited.” credits… and the (State of Vermont) went from having Department of Labor to pay for a media campaign to
The employment issues at Bisbee’s were very much like a positive UITF balance in 2001 of $300.4 million to a publicize the worker classification system and the Labor
ones at True Colors. It was all about subcontractors negative balance of $40.6 million in 2010. This required Department crackdown? When was that money applied
who were flooring installers. “We weren’t paying their the (State of Vermont) to borrow money from the U.S. for? When was that grant received?
unemployment tax,” Wilson said. federal government and cover their debts from a Title XII How many businesses and small business owners have
Then he continued, “We appealed the first decision. Our loan. The loan amount increased to $77.7 million in 2011 appealed rulings from the Department of Labor? How
argument was that they were subcontractors. Why would due to shortages of cash in the first quarter of that year. Due many appeals have been denied? How many appeals have
we be paying their unemployment tax?” he asked. to changes in the State’s UI laws and improved economic been won?
conditions, 2011 was net positive in that more cash was
But the ruling went against Bisbee’s when the Labor collected in contributions than was paid out in the form Can the Vermont Department of Labor demonstrate
Department judged that the installers were employees, of UI benefits. This was the first time since 2001 that the that large Vermont corporations such as National Life or
not subcontractors. The Labor Department went back UITF had experienced a net positive contribution-to-benefit Cabot Cheese or the state’s largest banks or the state itself
three years and collected the unpaid unemployment taxes. ratio. The ending UITF net balance on December 31 2017 have been audited as part of the audit crackdown?
is estimated to be $381.7 million
223-3447
clarconstruction.com
PAG E 24 • J U N E 21 – J U LY 4 , 2 018 THE BRIDGE