Connecting Montpelier and nearby communities since 1993 | M ARCH 114, 2012

IN THIS ISSUE
HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH ? Examining city debt

A Place for Patriots

9
SCHOOL TALK Conversations with the board chair and candidates

11
GRIEF AND LOVE Remembering Sarah Billian

14
SETTING DOWN ROOTS Montpelier man realizes farming dream

15
CINEMA SEASON Previewing the film festival

16
ELECTION BUZZ Letters on option tax, races and other ballot items

Montpeliers American Legion Post: Its About Family, Bonding and a Legacy
by Caroline Abels; photos by Annie Tiberio Cameron

20
PRSRT STD CAR-RT SORT U.S. Postage PAID Montpelier, VT Permit NO. 123

ts the only downtown storefront with windows so high you cant see into them. Its not trying to sell you food, books, clothing or bath soaps. Its rare that you see anyone leaving or entering, although you might hear someone being buzzed in the front door. The 1950s-era faade, it seems, hasnt had a face lift in decades. see LEGION, page 6 In short, the American Legion post at 21 Main Street is mysterious enough to be a speakeasy and familiar enough to be a corner bar. Turns out, its a bit of bothand more. To enter, you have to know the code, as in the speakeasies of yore. But the code isnt a password or a phraseits a code of conduct, a code of honor, that only folks who have served in the military know. To enter the American Legions Vermont Post No. 3 on Main Street, you have to be a veteran who served during an official American conflict (Vietnam, Korea, Iraq), or be a close relative of such a veteran, and be willing to pay annual legion dues. Not many people in central Vermont fit this criteria, and eligible younger veterans are joining the legion in fewer and fewer numbers. No wonder only a handful of Montpelier residents seem to know what goes on inside Post No. 3. Charlie Karparis, the post manager, echoed this when he and six other post members sat Charlie Karparis was recently hired as post manager. We call this the Legion family, he said. down to talk about the legion. Were bonded together by our previous life experiences and I think thats so unique.

Yeah, Father Mike next door [of St. Augustine Catholic Church], we invited him over to supper about a week ago, Karparis said. And he goes, Ive been here for seven years and Ive always looked out my window and wondered what goes on inside that building. Well, he got in here and he was overwhelmed. We had supper, he met all the troopsit was great, and we invited him back here again. Here refers to the sunny, spacious room

you enter after getting buzzed in. A handful of veterans might be gathered there on any given Montpelier weekday. On the left is a bar ringed by a few red swivel chairs and a flat-screen TV that coos country music videos. Behind the bar, coolers are stocked with Bud Lights, Coronas and a few Magic Hats ($2.50 for any bottle), and Slim Jims, Reeses Pieces and Babe Ruths are for sale on the counter. Across from the bar, a pool table

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

PAG E 2 M A RC H 114, 2012

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M A RC H 114, 2 012 PAG E 3

STREET
L
Occupation Cooperation
ast issues Heard on the Street reported the news that some local Vermont organizers and activists involved in the Occupy Wall Street movement were taking umbrage at the scheduled March 10 conference at Plainfields Goddard College. The conference, which is being heavily promoted as a discussion of the Occupy movement, also included some of the trappings of an actual Occupy event (such as the trademark general assembly meeting), and the college did not reach out to local Occupy activists in putting together the $10-a-head event. Since that report, Goddard has reached out to local Occupy activists. Although some of them were unimpressed with Goddards initial overtures, which they felt were more about the college looking to assign support duties than forming a partnership, bridges are now built and fences seem to be mended. In a letter to the editor included in this issue, Goddard President Barbara Vacarr indicated the establishment of a no-one-turned-away option for local activists who may want to attend but balk at the price tag. Vacarr also indicated that the plan for a general assembly would be dropped. News from local Occupy supporters also indicates that Goddard has agreed to include local occupiers Emma Lillian from UVM, Nathan Gusdorf from Dartmouth, and Elizabeth Beatty-Owens from Johnson State College in the program.

HEARD ON THE

inal call for snow. Dont give up on skiing or snowshoeing just because it seems over. The best, longest, sunniest days are here, and skiing is fabulous, even when one must clomp over wet bare ground to reach that next run of compressed, diamondlike spring snow. Trails are less necessary, since the fields are perfect for exploring slowly, taking in each track, each sign of spring. And there are plenty of signs. If you are out on the fields near the North Branch Nature Center, look for stone flies crawling across the snow, and listen for flocks of sparrows and finches moving through. Or just lean against the south side of a tree and catch a few minutes of solar warmth. Nona Estrin

Nature Watch

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March 15 advertising deadline: Friday, March 9 April 5 advertising deadline: Friday, March 30
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Local Filmmaker Tells a Multilayered Story

ontpelier filmmaker Kim Brittenham, along with sister Tiffany Rhynard, have announced area screenings of their film, Little House in the Big House, which, in the words of the press release, is the story of one home and the 45 women who built it. Four of those women tell their stories as they face challenges while incarcerated and upon reentering society. The film focuses on women incarcerated at the St. Albans correctional facility who took part in a program (administered by Vermont Works for Women) in which inmates learned job skills through the construction of modular homes. Its interesting timing for the films releaseand perhaps a bit uncomfortable for the administration of Governor Peter Shumlinas Vermonts female inmates no longer reside at the St. Albans facility and have instead been moved to the Chittenden County Correctional Facility as a way to open up more beds for Vermont prisoners being housed in out-of-state prisons (as well as to make money by leasing those beds to non-Vermont prisoners). The move from St. Albans has been criticized by many, as the other facility is seen as poorly suited for this inmate population, in part because rehabilitative programssuch as the modular home building programcannot be maintained there. In other words, the film is lauding the success of a visionary, Vermont-created rehabilitative program for women that the administration has essentially pulled the plug on. Little House in the Big House will be screened in Montpelier as part of the Green Mountain Film Festival on Saturday, March 24, at 2 p.m. at the Pavilion Auditorium, and again on March 25 at the Savoy Theater. More information on the film can be found at littlehouse bighouse.com.

April 19 advertising deadline: Friday, April 13 Call Carl or Carolyn at 223-5112, ext. 11.

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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____________

Show Me the Money!

ommon Cause of Vermont wants to set a new standard for tracking campaign contributions in the state, and to that end is launching a searchable, online database of contributions during the 2010 cycle, broken out in a more user-friendly and intuitive way than what exists on the secretary of states website. The database is being announced on March 1, and as such was unavailable for review by The Bridge at press time. According to Common Cause, the new system and its downloadable data includes pre-sorted secondary databases that breakdown each candidates contributions into the following categories, Individuals, Businesses, PACs, Candidate & Family, and Party Committees. The databases are accompanied by a Guide and Users Manual.

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.)

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Hail to the Chiefs

he Montpelier High School Boosters will be honoring a pair of high-profile graduates during its upcoming 19th annual Celebration of Excellence. Police Chief Tony Facos and Fire Chief Bob Gowans, class of 1984 and 1975 respectively, will be the stars at the March 31 event to be held at the Capitol Plaza.

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 General Manager: Bob Nuner Production Manager: Marisa Keller News Editor: John Odum Sales Representatives: Carl Campbell, Carolyn Grodinsky, Rick McMahan Graphic Design & Layout: Dana Dwinell-Yardley Calendar Editor: Dana Dwinell-Yardley Bookkeeper: Kathryn Leith Distribution: Kevin Fair, Diana Koliander-Hart, Daniel Renfro Web Master: Michael Berry

Looking Ahead to Warmer Seasons

ormer Montpelier Alive executive director Suzanne Eikenberry will be the point person for planning and pulling off the capital citys Independence Day festivities this year, which will, as usual, be held on July 3 (a Tuesday). If you want to get involved, the e-mail contact is festivals@montpelieralive.org. all items by John Odum

Correction

Advertising: For information about advertising deadlines and rates, contact: 223-5112, ext. 11, carolynatthebridge@yahoo.com or ccampbell@montpelierbridge.com Editorial: Contact Marisa or Bob, 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 2012 by The Montpelier Bridge

n A Conversation with Anya Rader Wallack [Editorial, February 16], we quoted a remark from Governor Peter Shumlin from the January 6, 2011 issue of The Bridge. The numbers given there are incorrect; the state in fact spends more than $5 billion on health care every year, up from $2.5 billion in 2003, and future spending could be as much as $7.5 billion. The Bridge regrets the error.

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Montpelier Launches Business Mentor Team

by Phil Dodd

group of Montpelier residents with business experience has joined together under the auspices of Montpelier Alive to form a business mentor team that will provide several hours of free advice to entrepreneurs who are thinking of starting a business in Montpelier or moving a business here. An interested entrepreneur can choose to work with one or more of the advisers, getting advice on everything from a business plan to city permits to negotiating a lease. One of the mentors, Andrew Brewer, proposed the concept of the business mentor team late last year to a subcommittee of the revived Montpelier Alive economic development committee, and the idea quickly gained traction. I had the benefit of being able to talk informally with many local business people when I bought Onion River Sports, and Ive enjoyed being able to share what Ive learned with some others over the years, Brewer said. So the idea was to have a varied and discreet group of people who could be available to chat about Montpelier and what its like doing business here. Were a welcomewagon committee with some years of experience to share.

Business

The group of advisers includes downtown retailers, current or former owners of other types of businesses, and business consultants. At the present time, the mentors are Brewer, Eric Bigglestone, Thierry Guerlain, Edmar Mendizabal, Leigh Seddon and Nina Thompson. Others with relevant experience are welcome to join the team. Anyone thinking of starting up a business or moving a business to Montpelier can take advantage of the program. The proposed Montpelier business could be anything from a tech company to a food-product business to a retail store to a small home office. The only requirement is that the entrepreneur must have prepared a basic business plan. All information shared with advisers will be kept confidential. To get connected with the business mentor program, interested entrepreneurs can contact Montpelier Alive by phone (2239604) or e-mail (director@montpelieralive. org). More information is also available at montpelieralive.org/businessmentors. So far, without any publicity, one person interested in moving a business here has already contacted the team. The hope of the team members, Brewer said, is that many more entrepreneurs will recognize that Montpelier is open for business and that

there are local businesspeople willing to help them get started here. Below is further information about the six mentors currently participating in the program. Andrew Brewer, who grew up in central Vermont, has had a lifelong relationship with Onion River Sports, first as a customer, then working there on and off from 1985 to 1991, returning to manage the store in 1995, and finally purchasing it in 2000. Since then, hes opened the Shoe Horn (2001) and Onion River Kids (2008), as well as a thriving Web business selling car racks, snowshoes and cross-country skis. Eric Bigglestone is a third-generation Montpelier business owner with over 20 years of hands-on retail experience. A graduate of Southern New Hampshire University, he currently co-owns Capitol Stationers in Montpelier, Mr. Bs Hallmark in Berlin, and Bigglestone Investments in Montpelier (commercial property rental). He is currently the chair of the Montpelier Business Association. Thierry Guerlain, a Montpelier resident since 1995, has worked as a businessperson for 35 years. In Vermont, he has worked for the Johnson Company of Montpelier, Hearthstone Stoves of Morrisville, started a small wooden weathervane business, and owned and managed a large-format digital printing business, Graphitek, with 15 to 20 employees. In addition, he spent four years as a business consultant.

Edmar Mendizabal is a producer and director of business development in the video game industry. After moving to the area in 2008 he founded MontP.com, an events calendar for the capital. Prior to his work in the entertainment industry, he managed the operations for a large consortium of nonprofits working on housing issues on Long Island, where he also founded a medical billing software company. He also enjoys property development and is a landlord in the capital area. Leigh Seddon is a Montpelier resident of 35 years with experience in technology business start-ups, project management and nonprofit organizational development. He is the founder of Solar Works (1980), which became Alteris Renewables in 2008 and is now part of publicly traded Real Goods Solar. He currently works as a renewable-energy consultant with a focus on community-scale renewable energy deployment. Nina Thompson is a Montpelier resident and business consultant specializing in transition management. She has experience helping small and medium-sized companies of all types to start up, streamline, reimagine and expand. Ninas clients come from the service, manufacturing, food, agriculture, restaurant and high-tech industries, as well as the nonprofit sector. Her experience also includes project management, large-scale event logistics, community-development work and Vermont political campaigns.

PRUNINGpruning maintenance. FRUIT TREES and annual

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needs to be done before the ground thaws.

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M A RC H 114, 2 012 PAG E 5

Capitol Notebook
STATE HOUSE NEWS & COMMENTARY

Dont Be Caught Looking Away on Saturdays

by John Odum

ts one of the most tried and true axioms in politics: If youre going to generate news thats likely to cause you problems, be sure and release the news on Friday. That way it gets covered in the Saturday newspapers, and those are read by fewer people. During the legislative session, it works even more in your favor, as the legislators dont return to the State House until Tuesday. After four days, your bad news could well be old news, and some other shiny object may have distracted the lawmakers and the press corps. Its a principle that was routinely exploited by former governor Jim Douglas, but in terms of sheer scale, Peter Shumlin may have just set the new bar. On Friday, the Shumlin administration announced it would be laying off 80 state workers who staffed the Vermont State Hospital (VSH) before it was flooded out by Irene. Shumlin, with the support of the legislature, had previously announced plans to replace the facility with a combination of beds in other regional facilities and a new, far-smaller, state-built facility. To say that legislatorsand the media were caught off guard would be an understatement. The announcement caused a delay on a vote authorizing funds to replace VSH until lawmakers heads stopped spinning. And word is that the union that represents the workers to be laid offthe Vermont State Employees Association (VSEA)is livid. In fact, VSEAs (shall we say) dynamic relationship with this administration seems to be the underlying political drama of the 2012 legislative session. With some suspicious rhetoric exchanged between the two at the end of 2011, 2012 has seen the two come into conflict over double-time pay for some Irenedisplaced workers, only to have them seem to come back together over state employees contracts. This latest round is unlikely to drift away quickly, despite the announcements timing. 63 Percent of Voters May Agree . . . but Which 63 Percent? Its always interesting how some of the very bills that bring Republicans and Democrats together can be the ones that have no chance whatsoever. The reason why you rarely see anything earth-shattering come out of the legislature is that as soon as a bill starts making fundamental changes (as opposed to simply tweaking the rules already on the books), it becomes controversialand when something becomes controversial, youre going to have two legislators back away for every one that is supportive. This is why so much fundamental change

happens only when required by the courts (e.g., Act 60 and civil unions), or incrementally (e.g., same-sex marriage would never have passed without civil unions, which only passed because the courts demanded it). Most of these bills are considered to be firmly in one partys camp or another, but sometimes the bills that break the mold are the very ones that cross party lines. Case in point: house bill 427. H.427 would decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. Notethis is decriminalize, not legalize. It would reduce the penalty for possession of less than an ounce to essentially the equivalent of a traffic ticket. Its sponsored by the tripartisan group of Representatives Jason Lorber and Chris Pearson (Democrat and Progressive, respectively, both from Burlington), and Republican Adam Howard of Cambridge. One supporter it does not have is Speaker Shap Smith, whose office has indicated that the bill will not receive a floor vote (translation: the bill is dead). There is a companion bill in the Senate S.134 (sponsored by the bipartisan team of Chittenden senator Philip Baruth and Caledonia senator Joe Benning)but word is that the chairman of the Senate judiciary committee (Senator Dick Sears of Bennington, who has reportedly been supportive of the concept) had been taking a wait and see approach to see if the legislation had any chance in the House before letting it out of his committee. Looks like the wait is over. According to press reports, Smith has said that hes quashing the bill due to concerns in the law enforcement community. That might seem an odd calculation, given the recent poll from Public Policy Polling (and commissioned by a national pro-legalization group) indicating that 63 percent of Vermonters supported decriminalization. But herein is an important lesson in how legislative leaders think. Sixty-three percent is a big number, sure, but if that 63 percent overwhelmingly resides in Chittenden County, its only worth so much to the head of the Democratic caucus (who does not run a statewide campaign the way the governor who has been supportive of the ideadoes). Hubbub is that there are members of the Democratic caucus who feel nervous about taking a vote on the issuedue to concerns over the voters in their own districtsand would rather it went away. And until that changes, this bill will meet the same fate year after year after year. John Odum is the news editor of The Bridge and a longtime political blogger and online journalist. He lives in Montpelier.

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LEGION, from page 1 is lit by a low-hanging light in the shape of a beer bottle. Legion members said they are very aware that the public associates their national organization with drinkingthat the posts are seen as places for vets to go drown their sorrows. They were eager to dispel this notion. A lot of people think, oh, Ill go down and have a few beers, cheap beers, said Dick Harlow, the current Post No. 3 commander. Well, thats not what the American Legion is about. I can honestly say, in the last two years, weve really changed the image of this post, and Im very proud to be a part of it. Indeed, theres a lot more at Post No. 3 than a bar. Beyond it, red formica tables and chairs invite members to gather and swap stories. On the walls are yellowing photos of sepia-toned military men standing proudly with their firearms and marching band instruments. There are black-and-white photos of 1950s-era military women looking perfectly put together, as women back then always seem to. One of the photos is of Barb Witham, who explained that the other woman in the photo was her twin sister, also a veteran. Barb was an Army cook, stationed stateside and overseas in the late 1950s and early 1960s. A past commander of Post No. 3, shes now

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in charge of its holiday decorationsthe hearts, shamrocks, Easter eggs and candy canes that, like clockwork, go up in those front windows as soon as the previous holiday is over. My sister used to do it, Barb recalled, and I came down one time and she said, Will you help me decorate? We got the tree up for Christmas and she said, Well, its your job now, do it better than I did, and Ive been doing it ever since. At the back of the ground-floor room theres a glass case with trophies awarded by dart clubs, little leagues and bowling teams. Everywhere you turn, you see reminders of how people passed the time before iPads and smartphones. Certificates, citations and preambles to various legion charters also grace the walls. Theres no restaurant or food service at the post, but upstairs is a commercial kitchen and dining area (available for rental by outside groups) that fits 80 people and is used for special events. Theres a gun room, shut with a padlock, where firearms are kept for use in parades. Theres also a stuffy treasurers office that needs to get cleaned up, Barb says (leaving you with the impression that if Barb thinks so, it will get cleaned up). Post No. 3 is structured for conversation, for camaraderie. Almost every day, we have a little group

Above, Mark Hughes, one of the younger members of Post No. 3, said the legion is about having a voice, about having an opportunity to take action and to leave a legacy. Right, members of the American Legion are issued special hats; Barb Withams is replete with pins marking her service.

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that sits around a table and we talk, Charlie Karparis said. We share a lot of life experiences. We could have been on the deck of an Air Force carrier, we could have been over in Germany, we could have been over in France. You never know. But its a bond, and you can say were just talkin over old times, but it keeps that bond together. Vermont has 72 legion posts, with a total of 14,500 members. Montpeliers Post No. 3so numbered because it was the third one formed in the state after the American Legion was founded in 1919has roughly 350 members. (The VFW requires combat experience for membership; the legion doesnt.) The Sons of the American Legion and Ladies Auxiliary, groups for relatives of legion members, has about 200 members. When asked about its younger members, the assembled veteransnearly all of them in their 60s and 70sstruggled to name a young person who had recently joined. (They did mention a nice young lady who came out of the Coast Guard, and they noted that cadets at Norwich University would be more likely to join the Northfield post.) But they didnt have a shortage of explanations for the age gap in their membership. Bob Buley, a 79-year-old Korean War veteran, said it was easier to sign up legion members back when people in the service were generally of the same age, due to the draft. Now, because of the way the wars have been, you dont have millions of guys coming in and out at the same time, he said. When they get out, there may not be another person in the service they even know. Its hard to get someone to come to a place where they dont know anybody. Mark Hughes, a 48-year-old retired Army warrant officer who joined Post No. 3 last year, noted that other national fraternal organizations with local chaptersthe Elks, the Masons, the Veterans of Foreign Wars are suffering membership declines in an age when people can easily connect with their communities on Facebook.

M A RC H 114, 2 012 PAG E 7

From left: Bob Buley, Dick Harlow (post commander), Barb Witham, Tom McGibney and Frank Killay (state commander). Theres also the age thing. A guy whos 25 whos talking to a guy whos 70, hes thinking, OK, why would I go down there and hang out with you guys? Hughes said. But its funwe have dinners, we have parties, we have events, we do things in the community, and you can be in the color guard. Were guilty of not blowing our own horn, Buley chimed in. We do a lot of things, but people dont know we do em. Indeed, the list of scholarships and programs they contribute toboth in time and dollarsis longer than a dinner-party shopping list. Buley, the post treasurer, rattled some off: two $500 scholarships for local high-school students, a legion baseball program for high-school boys, sponsorship of the Montpelier Tigers little-league team, and support of the Green Mountain Conservation Camp, Boy Scout troop #742, the Kiwanis Santa program and more. Since taking the position of post commander two years ago, Dick Harlow has been working with post members on raising the profile of the group and getting more involved in these local endeavors. This organization is about having a voice, about having an opportunity to take action and to leave a legacy, Hughes said. Perhaps the future of the legion hinges on veterans like Hughes, who knows theres a part of him that cant be understood by a civilian, which is why he goes to the legionto be understood. Vets of any age could probably relate. We have our own language here, Hughes said. We have a culture and we have a family. These are the people I can relate to, that I understand and that understand me. And perhaps the future of the legionas well as the quirky little building sandwiched between Rite Aid and the China Star restaurantalso rests with its older members, like Dick Harlow, who know what the legion used to be and what it can become again. Were really on the move, were doing great things, Harlow said. Were trying to get back to what the American Legion is all about. Caroline Abels lives in Montpelier. She is the editor of Vermonts Local Banquet magazine and the website humaneitarian.org.

PAID FOR BY THIERRY GUERLAIN

Thierry is a creative, committed advocate, a Thierry has done his great neighbor, a tireless doer, and someone who homework and understands loves Montpelier. Mark Billian the problems and politics of Montpelier. Best of all, he has Thierry is an approachable, energetic prothe time, ability and desire to fessional with a can do attitude who will bring eect change. Dot Helling new and creative ideas to the table. Jake Brown The most empowering thing about Thierry is his Thierry combines a love of our city with positive nature. the ability to help improve its eciency. Meg Hammond John Rahill

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M A RC H 114, 2 012 PAG E 9

A Closer Look at City Bonding

by John Odum

n Town Meeting Day, Montpelier voters will be asked to vote to authorize the city to add on up to $870,000 of new debt through municipal bonding. The service on this debt will continue to be paid by city taxpayers for the life of the 20-year bond. Despite these financial implications, municipal debt and bonding continue to be mysterious to many voters. Most people have some familiarity with treasury billsbonds sold by the federal government. Municipal bonds work the same way but are issued by local governments to raise money for an assortment of projects. The municipality sells the bond to an investor, who lends the city the money for a set period of time in exchange for regular payments. These municipal bonds are generally considered very safe investments for investors. But how much debt is too much debt for the city? According to the 2011 audit, Montpelier carried just short of $7.7 million dollars in bonding debt at a wide range of interest ratessome of that debt dating back to street repair and fire-department upgrades approved in the 1990s. And that does not include debt authorized (but not yet incurred) by Montpelier voters for the district heat system and Carr lot improvements. Theres no hard and fast answer to the question of how much is too much? According to Bob Giroux, director of the Vermont Municipal Bonding Bank, state law sets Montpeliers limit into the stratosphere. I can tell you, under state statute, Montpeliers cap is 10 times the grand list, but that would never happen, said Giroux. With the most current grand list topping out at close to a billion dollars, its safe to say that nobody would argue that point. According to Giroux, for a municipality

Budget

of Montpeliers size and servicesprobably 1,000 to 1,500 dollars on average per capita is the typical amount of debt carried, with some significantly lower and others (such as Cabot) significantly higher. Giroux added that Montpeliers per-capita debt load was 2,500 to 3,000 . . . on the high side, but attributed that to the citys unique burdens as the state capital. In terms of real amounts to real taxpayers, Montpeliers debt level required service payments of $771,646 for fiscal year 2012 if you consider only the general-fund-related debt. Factor in citywide debt, including infrastructure commitments off the general fund budget, and that figure jumps to $2,496,208. While there arent hard and fast guidelines for debt ceilings, the city produced its own last September. City councilor Tom Golonka participated in a city group that formalized an official debt policy. Golonka looked at Moodys financial rating service with an eye toward comparable towns and the goal of ensuring at least an A rating for Montpelier. It worked out pretty well for a town of our size, Golonka said of the process. He believes the policy is a good benchmark so we can compare year to year . . . are we better or worse off than when we started. Golonka indicates that the current amount of debt is manageable, noting that the biggest factor is the water facility. Im comfortable with this debt in terms of what were using it for, he said. According to the policy, Total direct debt service (principal and interest) for Government Activities (General Fund and other Governmental Activities) of the City will not exceed 8.2% of the total budgeted revenues for Governmental Activities. In addition, Total direct debt service (principal and interest) for the City as a Whole (Governmental Activities and Business Activities) will

not exceed 15% of the total budgeted revenues for the Governmental Activities and the Business Activities (Water Fund, Sewer Fund, Parking Fund). But some bonds already approved by voters have not been issued yet, specifically bonds approved to fund district heat development and Carr lot improvements. Montpelier finance director Sandy Gallup indicates that the long-term plan that keeps Montpelier under its self-imposed debt limit calls for that debt to be issued in the coming fiscal year. I would apply for a bond bank issue in May, and it could be issued in July, Gallup said, pointing out that such plans are always subject to change, if necessary. In fact, according to figures provided by the city, if the district heat and Carr lot bonds had been issued in FY12, it would have breached the newly established debt ratio ceiling. As it is, current projections for FY13 with that additional debt would bring the city to within a percentage point of that ceiling, with the margin increasing over the following years as other debt is retired and the overall debt starts to decrease again. The debt service payments as well will begin to decrease from a FY13 peak of $899,403 (general fund) or $2,536,080 (citywide total). This also means that, based on the citys assumptions, the debt service will increase

next year by approximately $40,000, making budget discussions start from a point that much higher, assuming neither of the proposed local option taxes pass, even one of which would more than cover the increase. Off the record, some critics of the city council have suggested that the council may have had coverage of this debt in mind when the controversial local option taxes were placed on the ballot. There is also a large amount of bonds the city continues to pay off that will be retired in coming years, which could offset that increase, at least partially. However, the city has recently acknowledged that the district heat system will cost the city another $937,000 beyond the expected $4,000,000 and that the numbers the city has been working from (and which were made available for this article) are likely to changeand the entire project is already coming under renewed scrutiny. John Hollar, who is running unopposed for the position of mayor, offered his opinion during a forum at the Savoy Theater on February 28 that the district heat plan should be revisted (Hollar supported the original proposal). If the city council authorized further indebtedness to cover the increased price tag, the city would likely still be able to stay within the new policy guidelines but would likely increase the annual debt service by a figure of roughly $70,000.

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PAG E 10 M A RC H 114, 2012

THE BRIDGE

Interviews with School Board Candidates

Charlie Phillips
Do you have a personal agenda of things you want to achieve in the next two years? Weve been fighting declining enrollment for the past eight or nine years. Its worked its way through the school system. Its pretty much through the elementary and middle school. The major impact right now is at the high school. Can you remember how many students were at Montpelier High School at the highest point of enrollment? Yes, it was about 1,000 students. This had to be in the late 60s or early 70s. And what are student numbers at the high school now? At the high school, its about 340 now. Ive been told the incoming freshman class next harlie Phillips has served on the Mont- September will be just about 50 students. pelier school board for three terms (six This incoming freshman class will be the years) and is running uncontested for another smallest class in the schools history. two-year term. We have declining school numbers and rising budgets. Can you Why are you running for reelecdiscuss that? tion? We are going to pay as much to heat the I spent 37 years of my professional life in high school whether there are 600 students or the Montpelier school system. I was very fortunate and my family has been fortunate to 200 students. All of the infrastructure of the live in Montpelier. I will have four grandchil- school system will stay the same regardless of dren in the school system come September. the number of students. The only place you Im fortunate that my two daughters have can cut is through staff reductions. been able to come back to Montpelier with their families. I think it speaks volumes that So that leads to cutting staff. And we have. The difficulty is that we they wanted to come back to Montpelier. All this means I have vested interest in Montpe- have absolute quality teachers in the school system. We have people teaching for about lier school system. 15 years (they are the low people on the totem Can you expand on this? The school board is saying, We cant lose poll in many cases.) They would be cut first. teacher X or teacher Y. Let me give you an example. Lets talk about the math program. Why are we loathe to swing the The math teachers wanted to address some budget-cutting axe at them? weakness in the math scores. They volunBecause they are quality teachers. tarily agreed to take on additional teachIs this a matter of compassion or ing responsibilities. As a result there were dramatic improvements. After these special good sense? In my case its both. We dont want to lose classes, Montpeliers 11th grade tested highest in the state in the NECAP [New England these outstanding teachers. Common Assessment Program] standardized tests. I think they were providing in the Have we cut teachers? We have cut teachers. We will cut two- neighborhood of 10 to 12 classes of math tenths of a teacher or four-tenths of a teacher. support In addition to the 11th-grade scores, MHS That means they will leave Montpelier and was singled out for exceptional performance teach somewhere else. in both math and science in the advance placement tests. And thats a loss to the Montpelier school system? We could close the middle school Absolutely. and perhaps save taxpayer dollars. Why not? I understand the budget repreSo far the community as a whole has said, sents an increase of 4.9 percent. No, we dont want to do that. We have a Isnt that high? good school system. We dont want to do It sounds higher than I believe it to be. that. I understand that the superintendent proposed a budget that was less than the budget that was finally approved by the school en Bean is a school board candidate runboard? What happened? ning for her first term in an uncontested Weve done that to our superintendents for race. every one of the last three years. We gave the superintendent certain goals. When he came Why are you running for a seat back he had to cut a number of teaching posi- on the Montpelier School Board? tions, and the school board was unhappy about Its about being a parent and wanting the that. That has been the story this year and last best education for the kids. Its about being year. It was true with Steve Metcalf as well.

Jen Bean

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THE BRIDGE
a community member and wanting to give back to the community I live in. Its about valuing education, educators and the critical role they play in our childrens future. Montpelier has great schools, a passionate and committed school board and high expectations in education. All this with budget constraints and tremendous challenges ahead. Id like to be a part of shaping the future and would be honored to serve on the school board. Do you have a personal agenda of things youd like to pursue as a school board member? I dont have a personal agenda. I want to see what the landscape looks like before forming opinions. I want my opinions to be educated. I think theres a learning curve to service on a school board. Im looking forward to asking questions and getting familiar with the budget process. Theres a lot therethe heating initiative, for example. Would you be willing to discuss the budget issues? This was a difficult year for the budget process. What concerns me is maintaining programmatic integrity. What do you mean by programmatic integrity? Its hard when you have a budget where you have to make cuts. I want to keep an eye out on budget cutsso that we dont cut so deeply that we cant provide students with the kind of educational offerings we provide now. Im committed to maintaining the depth and breadth of the curriculum. Something that really concerned me this year is that we had to cut a really fantastic teachers salary, so that this teacher had to get another teaching job. It concerned me to lose a teacher who was talented and effective. I would love to figure out a way to retain teachers who have had the greatest impact on kids. It breaks me up that the kids coming along may not have the benefit of really talented teachers, because, when we cut them back from full-time teachers, we also cut their salaries. This is what I mean by maintaining our programmatic integrity. We need to keep our best teachers, and we need to preserve the diversity of our program offerings. This is how we stay at the level where we are now. The question is how do we make a long-range plan to weather some of the storms and keep our most talented and effective teachers and offer the children who are coming up the same kind of quality that we have now. Why dont you hold onto the very good teachers and let go of the teachers who are less effective? The teachers union contract makes that very difficult to do, and we do what we can. But Im pleased to say that the real truth is there arent that many underperforming teachers. Were always hopeful we can bump up student enrollment numbers. Sometime we do this by working with neighboring school districts or by working with private schools. In any given year, we dont know the actual student numbers until September. I am pleased that we appear to be getting a lot more students than in the past attending Montpelier High School as tuitioned-in students. But as anyone who follows our meetings knows, the school board constantly asks itself, Do we strictly follow the enrollment numbers or do we try to hold onto our really good teachers?

M A RC H 114, 2 012 PAG E 11

The second, and more defensible reason, is cost. Twice, in the past five years, we have explored moving the middle school to the high schoolthe last time only a year ago. In the last review we asked former Montpelier school superintendent Brian ORegan to look at closing down the middle school and report back to us. His findings confirmed that the cost of merging the middle and high schools didnt justify the expense. Can you talk about special education? It appears to be an expensive budget item. Special education is an entitlement issue. Students with special needs are entitled to get help. Vermont is also known as a state that addresses special needs very well. As a citizen I have to trust the trained professionals who interview these kids and identify their needs. We are seeing more and more kids whose lives are affected by social issues for whom the schools are really the last place in which their lives may be turned around. As a society we cant turn our backs on these children or their families. These may be students from families afflicted by alcohol or substance abuse. Or, due to poverty, some children arrive at school not having had breakfast. How can we ignore their issues, or, as bad, not treat each ones issues independently? There is no simple solution, and no simple answer here. Children affected by all of these things are bringing their problems into the school. The schools need to diagnose these kids and identify the problems and see whats going to work for these students. I think the impact of these social issues is placing a heavier and heavier burden on the school. We have more children with special needs such as dyslexia. We cant just slash the special education budget. Then there are people who are moving to Vermont from other places because of our attention to special education. Montpelier does a particularly good job at special education, and thats true for Vermont as well. It draws people to the state. Other issues? The budget is important. But the school board is aware that the world is constantly changing. The old educational format rows of kids sitting in chairs with a teacher at the front of the classis giving way to new modes of learning and teaching. We continue to ask ourselves, What the best way to educate our students in a responsible fashion so that when the kids leave school, theyre excited, passionate and ready to join in the local and national community and make a difference, whether they want to be an an artist, an auto mechanic or a college professor? We want every kid to follow their dream or their passion. Whats the best way to deliver a 21st-century education to our children? Thats what the school board is all about.

Sue Aldrich

Elections

ith 11 years of service, School Board Chair Sue Aldrich is the longestserving member of the school board. This is her first year as chair. She is not up for reelection. What do you see as the major issues facing the school board? One of the major issues is declining enrollment. This years eighth-grade class is the smallest class ever. When they reach high school next year, the school will have the lowest enrollment in yearscertainly since I first came onto the board. The good news, however, is that were seeing a swelling of numbers in the lower grades. Enrollment is expanding at Union Elementary School. We have had to add a couple of kindergarten classes and now have five. Thats a very good sign for the future. Can you discuss the impact of declining enrollments in Montpelier? Our struggle is that we know we have some fantastic teachers in our system that we dont want to lose in the short term. We have high-school graduates who are going to Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Middlebury. The level of acceptance is really great and depends so much on our great teachers. We dont want to lose them simply due to a short-term drop in school enrollment.

There has been talk about merging Montpeliers superintendents office with the U-32 superintendents office and realizing some dollar savings what about that? We regularly reach out to discuss sharing programs and services with U-32 and other districtsmost recently with Northfield. Basically, no one wants to give up their local control, but we believe that sharing some classes, some athletic programs is healthy and good for our community. The bottom line is I think very few people in either Montpelier or U-32 would be in favor of a complete merger. At the very least we would immediately lose some of the fantastic competition between our districts (could you believe those two recent buzzerbeaters?). Closing the middle school has been proposed as a way of saving taxpayer money. Why not close the middle school? We have looked at this proposal. Two things have led to keeping the status quo. The first is that there appears to be a general consensus in Montpelier to keep the middle school separate from the high school for programmatic and developmental reasons.

he Bridge and ORCA Media sponsored a forum featuring mayoral candidate John Hollar, District 2 incumbent city councilor Nancy Sherman, District 2 challenger Thierry Guerlain and District 1 incumbent Alan Weiss. It took place on February 20 in the city council chambers, and was moderated by Cassandra Brush. The forum will be rebroadcast on ORCAs Channel 17 at the following times ahead of the election: March 1 at 1 p.m., Saturday, March 3 at 8 p.m. and Monday, March 5 at 4 p.m. The forum is also available for streaming at orcamedia.net. The video player is in the center of the screen, and the menu is on the right-hand side. Look for: Mplr City Candidates Frm in the menu, click on it, and the evenings forum will play. Curious about candidates beyond Montpelier? The Bridge has compiled a list of other local races; its available on our website, montpelierbridge.com, and our Facebook page, facebook.com/montpelierbridge.

Watch the Montpelier Candidate Forum!

PAG E 12 M A RC H 114, 2012

THE BRIDGE

Querying the Montpelier Budget

by Jo Ann Corskie Gibbons

n the last five years, 75 percent of Montpelier residents who voted approved the municipal budget as written. How many people have read through and understand the proposed fiscal year (FY) 2013 budget? If we listen carefully to the citys budget message, we hear that we are doing well, spending at par for our size, and have no room to pare down costs. Does this imply we are so efficient that there are no savings or reallocations to be made anywhere in the entire budget? The FY2013 budget is projected to be $10,635,878; add to that the ballot items of $474,150 and the total general fund will be $11,110,028. The 2012 annual city report states that the average residence in Montpelier is valued at $223,000. The average tax bill is $2,139 (excluding the school taxes). The largest shares of dollars are for fire and emergency medical services at $393; police at $387; public works at $321 and administration at $315. Putting these numbers in perspective, the property-tax dollars raised for FY 2013 will generate $6.9 million of the total $11.7 million revenue projected to be raised from all sources. In light of the current budget debates, here are some questions to examine. On Technology The City of Montpelier has established a website. This initiative has been a large budget item. Hardware, software and technology support are needed to establish and maintain this site. Could a city our size have used a professional webmaster instead of hiring people in house as employees? What would the cost savings be? This challenge of moving to a digital-records access is a challenge every community is facing in this new information age.

Could we become more efficient with technology, thereby reducing payroll hours? On Equipment Acquisition Can we lease more as an alternative to purchasing? Can we make the budget-making process more transparent throughout the year and get more input from the community?Perhaps a group of volunteers could assist in the research and analysis of items that are needed and report back the cost of leasing versus purchase on each. On Bonding What categories of items should qualify as bond items? The City of Montpelier has been bonding for maintenance. Is this the best way to move forward? Should we continue to bond items as we have, or should bonding be for planning items that are well thought out and allocated in advance? On the Matrix Consulting Report Could the report be interpreted and discussed by a Montpelier volunteer committee and reported to the citizens for more transparency? How many of the recommendations from the study have been implemented? What would our cost savings be if we make the changes in the 2013/2014 budget year? On the Whole Budget There are items that grow automatically. Payroll and benefits are the best examples. Can we curb personnel and administrative expenses? Can we make some compromises and open up a discussion for new hires? Is it possible to change the way the council relates to the city manager? Is it possible to change the city charter to accomplish this? What are we paying for? Is this fiscal path sustainable?

Opinion

On Budget Policy, Procedure and Process Could the city council and administration take a fresh look at expenses and be more creative at reallocating resources? Are there some new positions that can be temporary? This would reduce the future legacy accounts related to pension and insurance costs. Are some tasks better performed by professionals from the outside for a fee instead of a salary?

Jo Ann Corskie Gibbons is a management consultant. She lives in Montpelier.

Tell them you saw it in The Bridge!

T H E BR I D GE C A L E N DA R O F E V E N T S

M A RC H 114, 2 012 PAG E C .1

Upcoming Events
FRIDAY, MARCH 2
Stress-Busting Recipes for Health
With Marie Frohlich, health coach. Learn about foods that cause stress and fatigue, make a serenity smoothie and taste delicious, calming treats and tea. Recipes and handouts included. 5:307 p.m. Hunger Mountain Coop community room, Montpelier. $6 member/owners, $8 nonmembers. Register at 223-8004, ext. 202, or info@hungermountain.com.

Art Songs of France and Spain

Soprano Roxanne Vought and pianist Annemieke Spoelstra perform songs by Canteloube, Chausson, de Falla and Rodrigo. Presented by Vermont Opera Theater 7:30 p.m. Unitarian Church, 130 Main Street, Montpelier. Suggested donation: $15 adult, $10 low income, $5 student. 223-8610 or vermontopera.org.

Contra Dance

All dances taught; no partner necessary. All ages welcome. Bring soft-soled shoes. 811 p.m. Capital City Grange, 6612 Route 12 (Northeld Street), Berlin. $8. 744-6163. Event happens every rst, third and fth Saturday.

Coeehouse

SUNDAY, MARCH 4

Enjoy live music and share your own. Fellowship, potluck snacks and beverages. 79 p.m. Trinity United Methodist Church, 137 Main Street, Montpelier (park and enter at rear). Free. Dick, 244-5191, 472-8297 or rawilburjr@comcast.net. Event happens every rst Friday.

Ski with the Green Mountain Club, Montpelier Section

Easy, 2-mile ski on Coburn Pond in East Montpelier. Meet at 1 p.m. at Montpelier High School. Leader: Thomas Weiss, 223-5603.

Arnowitt Plays Bach

Bagels and Challot Baking with Deb Bailin

Pianist Michael Arnowitt performs an all-Bach concert, including J.S. Bachs Partitas 1, 2, 3, and 5, and some of the pianists favorite selections from the Well-Tempered Clavier. 8 p.m. Unitarian Church, Montpelier. $20, $18 seniors, $5 students. Tickets at Bear Pond Books in Montpelier or at the door. 229-0984 or mapiano.com.

Learn how to make bagels, and get tips and recipes for making challah. 24 p.m. Beth Jacob Synagogue, Montpelier. $7 synagogue members, $12 nonmembers. Register with Emily, 279-7518 or bjprogramming@gmail.com. bethjacobvt.org.

Film Event: The Naked Option

SATURDAY, MARCH 3

Snowshoe with the Green Mountain Club, Montpelier Section

Screening of a recently released award-winning documentary about Nigerian womens struggles to ght big oil companies in their communities, followed by Q&A with a Goddard faculty member who helped produce the lm. 79 p.m. Haybarn Theater, Goddard College, 123 Pitkin Road, Plaineld. 454-8311 or goddard.edu.

Snowshoe to the re tower on Gore Mountain in Averys Gore. Dicult; 8 miles round trip. A joint outing with the Northeast Kingdom Section. Contact leader Michael Chernick, 249-0520 or chernick5@comcast.net, for meeting time and place.

MONDAY, MARCH 5

Cardio-Dance and Yoga with Allison Mann

Healing Art and Writing with Patricia Fontaine

For all those aected by cancer or chronic illness. No experience necessary. 10 a.m.noon. Mountainview Medical meeting room, CVMC Building B, Berlin. Free. 2255449.

A cardio workout with great moves and music, complemented by sustained yoga postures to strengthen, lengthen and balance the musculature. Drop-ins welcome. Noon1 p.m. Contemporary Dance and Fitness Studio, 18 Langdon Street (third oor), Montpelier. 229-4676 or cdandfs.com.

Montpelier Winter Farmers Market

Hurricane Irene Support Group for Recovery Workers

Live music by the House Carpenters. 10 a.m.2 p.m. Gym, Vermont College of Fine Arts, Montpelier. Carolyn, 223-2958 or manager @montpelierfarmersmarket.com. Market happens every rst and third Saturday through April.

Get peer support and help processing emotions, strengthen relationships, and learn coping skills. Led by Ellia Cohen and Christina Ducharme. 3:30 p.m. Unitarian Church, 130 Main Street. 855-767-8800. Group meets every other Monday.

Corporations are People, Money is Speech: Why Should You Care?

Attorney Anthony Iarrapino will explain recent changes in law that are fueling town meeting resolutions supporting an amendment to the U.S. constitution. Potluck follows. 5:30 p.m. Capital City Grange, 6612 Route 12 (Northeld Street), Berlin. Free. Marj, 2290782.

Foot Reexology for Health

With Alicia Feltus, foot reexologist. Enjoy an aromatherapy foot bath and learn basic reexology techniques, reex points on the feet, benets and self-care for health and well-being. 5:306:30 p.m. Hunger Mountain Coop community room, Montpelier. $5 member/owners, $8 nonmembers. Register at 223-8004, ext. 202, or info@hungermountain.com.

Shape-Note Singing School

Acupressure for Self-Care

Ian Smiley leads tunes from The Sacred Harp. All welcome; no experience necessary. 68 p.m. Tulsi Tea Room, 34 Main Street, Montpelier. By donation. Ian, 229-4008 or vtshapenotesingers@gmail.com. Event happens every rst and third Saturday.

With Larken Bunce, core faculty. Learn simple point location and self-massage techniques for headaches, digestive upset, colds, anxiety, fatigue and more. 68 p.m. Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism, 250 Main Street, Montpelier. $10 VCIH members, $12 nonmembers. Register at 224-7100 or info@vtherbcenter.org.

Free Family Concert

Contemporary Christian music with Vermont recording artist Madeleine McHugh. Bring a refreshment to share. 68 p.m. Calais Woodbury United Church, South Woodbury, Route 14. 371-7969 or srbr@under oneroofministry.com. Sponsored by by Under One Roof Ministry.

Classic Book Club

6 p.m. Cutler Memorial Library, Route 2, Plaineld. Free. Daniel, 793-0418. Event happens every rst Monday.

see UPCOMING EVENTS, page C.2

Live Music
BAGITOS

28 Main Street, Montpelier. All shows 68 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 229-9212 or bagitos.com. Every Saturday Irish/Celtic session, 25 p.m. Friday, March 2 Blue Fox Tuesday, March 6 Jazz with Karl Miller Wednesday, March 7 Acoustic blues jam with the Usual Suspects and guests Thursday, March 8 Aaron Marcus (traditional) Friday, March 9 Clancy Harris Saturday, March 10 A Taste Of Mint (jazz) Tuesday, March 13 Jazz with Karl Miller Wednesday, March 14 Acoustic blues jam with the Usual Suspects. 57 p.m. Comedy, 78 p.m. Thursday, March 15 Colin McCarey and Sarah Blair

Wednesday, March 14 Valley Night with Phineas Gage, 6 p.m.

FRESH TRACKS FARM

BLACK DOOR

44 Main Street, Montpelier. All shows start at 9:30 p.m. with $5 cover unless otherwise noted. 225-6479 or blackdoorvermont.com. Friday, March 2 DMoja (world) Saturday, March 3 Hot Neon Magic (1980s) Wednesday, March 7 Swing night with live band, 8 p.m. Friday, March 9 Swing Caravan (gypsy swing), $10 Saturday, March 10 The Amida Bourbon Project (folk/Americana) Wednesday, March 14 Comedy open mic with B.O.B.

4373 Route 12, Berlin. 223-1151 or info@freshtracksfarm.com. Friday, March 2 Megs Kitchen (Celtic/jazz/swing), 58 p.m.

Theater

GUSTOS

THE RULES OF COMEDY

28 Prospect Street, Barre. 476-7919 or gustosbar.com. Saturday, March 10 Dave Keller Band, 9:30 p.m.

NUTTY STEPHS CHOCOLATERIE

Route 2, Middlesex. All shows 710 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 229-2090 or nuttystephs.com. Every Thursday Bacon Thursdays, hot music and live conversation, 6 p.m.midnight

A physical comedy extravaganza in one act, presented by 17 actors age 915 from the winter Youth Theater Production Camp. Friday, March 2, 5:30 p.m. Lost Nation Theater, 39 Main Street, Montpelier. $5. 229-0492 or lostnationtheater.org.

YOUTH AUDITIONS FOR MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

PURPLE MOON PUB

CHARLIE OS

BIG PICTURE THEATER

70 Main Street, Montpelier. 223-6820. Every Tuesday Karaoke Every Thursday Bingo for Vermont Foodbank, 9 p.m. Friday, March 2 Township (rock) Saturday, March 3 Horseshoe Lounge Playboys (bluegrass) Friday, March 9 TBA

Route 100, Waitseld. Saturday, March 3 The Starline Rhythm Boys (honky-tonk/ rockabilly), 8:3011:30 p.m.

Shakespeare in the Hills youth production, for ages 918. Performance June 8. 15-minute interview; no preparation necessary. Sunday, March 4, noon4 p.m, Plaineld Community Center, 153 Main Street (above the co-op). Call Peter, 4549334, to schedule an audition.

SKINNY PANCAKE

48 Carroll Road (just o Route 100), Waitseld. Most shows by donation. 496-8994 or bigpicturetheater.info. Wednesday, March 7 Valley Night with Don & Jenn

CIDER HOUSE RESTAURANT

Route 2, Waterbury. 244-8400 Every Saturday Dan Boomhower (piano), 6 p.m.close; no performance March 10

89 Main Street, Montpelier. 262-2253 or skinnypancake.com. Every Sunday Old-time sessions with Katie Trautz and friends, 46 p.m. (intermediate to advanced players welcome to sit in) Sunday, March 4 Mind The Gap Sunday, March 11 Paul Cataldo (Americana)

CALL TO PLAYWRIGHTS

Vermont Playwrights Circle seeks 10page or 10-minute scripts by Vermont authors for Ten-Fest in August. For more information, contact Jeanne, rialto@tds.net, or visit vermontplay wrightscircle.org. Deadline is March 31.

SUBMIT YOUR EVENT!

Send listings to calendar@ montpelierbridge.com. Deadline for the March 15 issue is Friday, March 9.

PAG E C . 2 M A RC H 114, 2012

T H E B R I D G E C A L E N DA R O F E V E N T S

UPCOMING EVENTS, from page C.1

Ukulele Group

Better Birding Series: Deciphering Ducks

With Larry Clarfeld of the North Branch Nature Center. Learn a simple approach to watching waterfowl and how to distinguish species in ight or when theyre just sitting in front of you. 6:30 p.m. First Baptist Church, School Street, Montpelier. $10. 229-6206.

All ages and abilities welcome. 68 p.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 46 Barre Street, Montpelier. 223-2518. Event happens every second and fourth Thursday.

Winter Bike Workshops: International Womens Day

New England Winds Concert

On tour from Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, the quintet performs popular, Broadway, patriotic, jazz and folk music, as well as traditional woodwind quintet repertoire. 7 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montepelier. Free. 223-3338 or bandoiberty.af.mil.

Power to the pedal! Celebrate women of our community, cycling and peace. 68 p.m. Magic Wheel, 34 Granite Street, Barre. $25 or two Onion River Exchange hours; ve workshops for $100. Register at 477-7800, ext.18, or magicwheelvt@gmail.com. magicwheel.org. Workshops happen every Thursday through March.

Guest Speaker: Frances Moore Lapp

Tina Muncy shares stories and pictures of her visit to Bhutan last fall. The nationally known speaker on environmental sustainability and ecological and social justice 7 p.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 46 Barre Street, Montpelier. Donations welcome for the MSAC scholarship fund. 223-2518. talks about her new book, EcoMind: Changing the Way We Think, to Create the World We Want. Q&A, books for sale and book signing to follow. Film Showing: Once in Afghanistan 7 p.m. Haybarn Theater, Goddard College, 123 Pitkin Road, Plaineld. 454-8311 or goddard.edu. Jill Vickers, Peace Corp volunteer and Vermont lmmaker, shows her documentary of one Peace Corps groups experience in Afghanistan in the 1960s vaccinating against smallpox. 7 p.m. Crossett Brook Middle School Library. Free.

Come Visit Bhutan

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 7

Agatha Christie: Creator of Miss Jane Marple and Hercule Poirot

Ecumenical Group

With Helene Lang, professor emeritus at the University of Vermont. Part of the weekly Osher Lifelong Learning Institute spring series. 1:30 p.m.; doors open at 12:30 for brown-bag lunch. Vermont College of Fine Arts, Montpelier. $5 suggested donation. 223-1763 or clb247@cornell.edu.

Songs of praise, Bible teaching, fellowship. 79 p.m. Jabbok Center for Christian Living, 8 Daniel Drive, Barre. Free. 476-3873. Event happens every second and fourth Thursday.

Spices Beyond Salt and Pepper

With Delna Boyce. Learn how to use cardamom, mace, black mustard, coriander, clove, carom The Alexander Technique seeds, anise and more to bring the varied avors of international cuisine to your meals. With Katie Back. Improve your sense of well-being, feel more present and alive, and regain the 56:30 p.m. Hunger Mountain Coop community room, Montpelier. $10 member/owners, $12 natural grace and poise of a child. For all ages and bodies. Bring a mug and a blanket or mat. nonmembers. Register at 223-8004, ext. 202, or info@hungermountain.com. 5:307:30 p.m. Hunger Mountain Coop community room, Montpelier. $3 member/owners, $5 nonmembers. Register at 223-8004, ext. 202, or info@hungermountain.com. The Door That Led to the Night Strangers Bestselling novelist Chris Bohjalian discusses the inspiration for and the writing of his latest String Workshop with Paul Reynolds novel. A Vermont Humanities Council event. Paul Reynolds unravels the mysteries of tone production for string players. Learn dierent 7 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier. Free. 223-3338. ways to use the bow and left hand to create the best possible sound. Open to all levels. Bring your instrument and pieces you are working on. Auditors welcome. Classic Film Night 6:30 p.m. Monteverdi Music School, 46 Barre Street, Montpelier. $20 suggested donation. This 1937 fantastical comedy, directed by Mark Sandrich and starring Roland Young, Cary Grant and Constance Bennett, involves the haunting of a banker by two ghosts. Naturalist Journeys Lecture Series: Shipwrecks of Lake Champlain 7 p.m. Jaquith Public Library, Marsheld. Free. 426-3581 or jaquithpubliclibrary@gmail.com. Lake Champlain has the largest collection of shipwrecks in North America. Alex Lehning of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum presents the stories of several of these vessels and Ecstatic Dance explores the environmental issues aecting their documentation and conservation. Freestyle boogie with DJ using Gabrielle Roths mediative dance form, 5Rhythms. 7 p.m. Unitarian Church, 130 Main Street, Montpelier. By donation. 229-6206. Sponsored by 79 p.m. Worcester Town Hall, corner of Elmore Road and Calais Road. $5$10 donation. Fearn, 505-8011 or fearnessence@gmail.com. Event happens every rst and third Wednesday, and the North Branch Nature Center. fourth Wednesdays at the Plaineld Community Center. Red Horse This folk supergroup is John Gorka, Eliza Gilkyson and Lucy Kaplansky, three of todays nest folk/roots singer-songwriters. Part of the TD Bank Celebration Series. 8 p.m. Barre Opera House. $10$30. Tickets at 476-8188 or barreoperahouse.org.

FRIDAY, MARCH 9

THURSDAY, MARCH 8
Stress Reduction and Massage

Ski with the Green Mountain Club, Montpelier Section

Outings of various distances for all abilities at the Mount Manseld Touring Center in Stowe. Call leaders Mary Garcia, 229-0153, or Mary Smith, 505-0603, for meeting time and place. With Sarah Shapiro of Greenheart Massage. Learn about the eects of stress, do hands-on exercises to get into your body and learn how to give and receive seated shoulder massage. 67:30 p.m. Hunger Mountain Coop community room, Montpelier. Free for member/owners, $5 nonmembers. Register at 223-8004, ext. 202, or info@hungermountain.com.

SATURDAY, MARCH 10

Snowshoe with the Green Mountain Club, Montpelier Section Occupy! Goddard: Occupy Wall Street and Student Activism

Trek from Route 12 to Little Elmore Pond. Moderate; 4 miles round trip. Call leader Priscilla Daggett, 454-1234 or pdaggett@myfairpoint.net, for meeting time and place. An open discussion about the role of higher education in student protest, the core values of OWS and the future of the Occupy movement. Keynote by author Les Leopold. Facilitated by Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice (CVHHH). Second Wednesdays, 68 p.m. CVHHH, 600 Granger Road, Berlin. Jeneane Lunn, 7932376.

Support Groups
TURNING POINT CENTER
Safe, supportive place for individuals and their families in or seeking recovery. Alchoholics Anonymous, Sundays, 8:30 a.m. Making Recovery Easier workshops, Tuesdays, 67:30 p.m. Wits End Parent Support Group, Wednesdays, 6 p.m. Narcotics Anonymous, Thursdays, 6:30 p.m. Open daily, 10 a.m.5 p.m. 489 North Main Street, Barre. 479-7373.

BRAIN INJURY SUPPORT GROUPS

Open to all survivors, caregivers and adult family members. Evening group facilitated by Marsha Bancroft; day group facilitated by Kathy Grange and Jane Hulstrunk. Evening group meets rst Mondays, 5:307:30 p.m., DisAbility Rights of Vermont, 141 Main Street, Suite 7, Montpelier, 800-8347890, ext. 106. Day group meets rst and third Thursdays, 1:302:30 p.m., Unitarian Church, 130 Main Street, Montpelier, 2446850.

DIABETES DISCUSSION GROUP

CELIAC AND FOOD ALLERGY SUPPORT GROUP

Focus on self-management. Open to anyone with diabetes and their families. Third Thursdays, 6:30 p.m. The Health Center, Plaineld. Free. Don, 322-6600 or dgrabowski@the-health-center.org.

With Lisa Mas of Harmonized Cookery. Second Wednesdays, 4:306 p.m. Central Vermont Medical Center, conference room 3. lisamase@gmail.com.

MENS GROUP

First Wednesdays, 10 a.m.noon, Barre Presbyterian Church, Summer Street. Second Tuesdays, 68 p.m., Wesley Methodist Church, Main Street, Waterbury. Third Thursdays, 68 p.m., Trinity United Methodist Church, KINDRED CONNECTIONS For anyone aected by cancer. Get help from 137 Main Street. Child care provided in Montpelier and Waterbury. Evelyn, 476-1480. Kindred Connections members who have been in your shoes. A program of the Vermont Cancer Survivor Network. Call Sherry, 479-3223, for more information. vcsn.net.

GRANDPARENTS RAISING THEIR CHILDRENS CHILDREN

CANCER SUPPORT GROUP

Men discuss challenges of and insights about being male. Thursdays, 6:158:15 p.m. 174 Elm Street, Montpelier. Interview required: contact Neil Davis, psychologist-master, 223-3753.

Third Wednesdays, 6 p.m. Potluck. For location, call Carole MacIntyre, 229-5931.

DIABETES SUPPORT GROUP OVEREATERS ANONYMOUS

MAN-TO-MAN PROSTATE CANCER SUPPORT GROUP

First Thursdays, 78 p.m. Conference room 3, Central Vermont Medical Center. 371-4152. Twelve-step program for physically, emotionally and spiritually overcoming overeating. Fridays, noon1 p.m. Bethany Church, 115 Main Street, Montpelier. 223-3079.

Third Wednesdays, 68p.m. Conference room 2, Central Vermont Medical Center. 8726398 or 225-5449.

LIVING WITH ADVANCED OR METASTATIC CANCER

MAMAS CIRCLE GROUP

BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT GROUP

Second Tuesdays, noon to 1 p.m. Cancer Center resource room, Central Vermont Medical Center. Lunch provided. 225-5449

For anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one. Every other Monday, 68 p.m., through April 16. Every other Wednesday, 1011:30 a.m., through April 11. Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice, 600 Granger Road, Barre. Ginny, 223-1878.

WRITING TO ENRICH YOUR LIFE

Support for parenting in a group setting. For babies, toddlers and preschoolers; books, toys and light refreshment available. Hosted by Good Beginnings of Central Vermont. Thursdays, 10 a.m.noon. 172 River Street, Montpelier.

NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND, MONTPELIER CHAPTER FAMILIES OF COLOR

First Saturdays. Lane Shops community room, 1 Mechanic Street, Montpelier. 229-0093. Open to all families. Play, eat and discuss issues of adoption, race and multiculturalism. Bring snacks and games to share, and dress for the weather. Third Sundays, 35 p.m. Unitarian Church, 130 Main Street, Montpelier. Alyson, 4396096 or alyson@suncatchervt.com.

For anyone aeced by cancer. Third Tuesdays, noon to 1 p.m. Cancer Center resource room, Central Vermont Medical Center. 225-5449

NAMI: CONNECTION

BEREAVED PARENTS SUPPORT GROUP

A peer-led, recovery-oriented group for individuals living with mental illness. First and third Thursdays, 67:30 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier. 800639-6480 or connection@namivt.org.

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M A RC H 114, 2 012 PAG E C . 3

9 a.m5 p.m. Haybarn Theater, Goddard College, 123 Pitkin Road, Plaineld. $10, includes lunch. Full schedule and registration at goddard.edu/occupy.

Dental Town Meeting with Bernie Sanders

Film Series: Migrant Workers in Vermont, Immigration and Globalization

Share your thoughts and concerns about obtaining aordable dental care in Vermont. Refreshments at 10:30 a.m.; meeting begins at 11 a.m. Montpelier High School. Free. RSVP requested but not required: 800-339-9834 or sanders.senate.gov.

Explore what life is like for Vermonts undocumented workers, as well as global inuences and policies. Todays lm: 9500 Liberty. Facilitated discussion follows. 35 p.m. Unitarian Church of Montpelier, 130 Main Street, Montpelier. Free. Madeline, 229 5951. Event happens every second and fourth Sunday through April.

Acro Yoga Montreal Workshop

Beginner-friendly workshop with Lori Mortimer. 10:30 a.m.12:30 p.m. River House Yoga, Plaineld. $20. Preregister at 324-1737 or sattvayoga. wordpress.com.

Shape Note/Sacred Harp Sing

No experience needed. All welcome. 57 p.m. Plaineld Community Center (above the co-op). By donation. 426-3849 or 426-3850. Event happens every second Sunday.

Zumbathon

Join Melissa Story and eight other local Zumba Instructors to sweat for a great cause: nding a cure for ALS (Lou Gehrigs disease). 13 p.m.; doors open at 12:30 p.m. Vermont College of Fine Arts gymnasium. $20 person, $30 for two. 272-4305.

MONDAY, MARCH 12
Meditation Group

Open House at Pacem School and Homeschool Center

4:306:30 p.m. 29 College Street, Montpelier. 223-1010 People of all abilities and experience levels welcome for meditation and discussion based on Adyashantis writings and talks. 6:308 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier. Sherry, 479-3223, oreaseoow.com.

Arts First

Free art activities for youths age 710. 13:30 p.m. Studio Place Arts, Barre. Register at 479-7069. Event repeats Saturday, March 17.

Crafternoon for Adults and Teens: Simple Beaded Jewelry

With local artisan Sue Premore. Make a necklace, bracelet or earrings. 24 p.m. Waterbury Public Library. Free, but space is limited to 10 participants: call the library at 244-7036 to register.

Maine to Greenland: Exploring the Maritime Far Northeast

Vermont Fiddle Orchestra Spring Town Hall Tour

Dinner, music and dancing to benet the Friends of Doty Elementary School enrichment activities. Dinner at 5 p.m.; music and dancing at 6:30 p.m.. Worcester Town Hall. Suggested donation: $10 individual, $30 family. 877-343-3531 or vtddleorchestra.org.

Slideshow about the forthcoming Smithsonian project and publication by Will Richard, research fellow at the Smithsonian and the Uummannaq Polar Institute). Part of the Osgood Lectures on the North series. 7 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier. Free. 223-3338. Sponsored by the Center for Circumpolar Studies.

Adamant Winter Music Series: Rusty Romance

TUESDAY, MARCH 13
Medicare and You
New to Medicare? Have questions? We have answers. 34:30 p.m. Central Vermont Council on Aging, 59 North Main Street, Suite 200, Barre. Free. Register at 479-0531. Event happens every second and fourth Tuesday.

Optional potluck before the show. 5:30 p.m., potluck; 7 p.m., concert. Adamant Community Club, intersection of Haggett and Martin Roads. $10 in advance at the Adamant Co-op, $15 at the door.

Annual Library Fundraiser Contra Dance

With Susannah Blachly and Susan Reid on ddles and George White on guitar. Benets the Jaquith Public Library in Marsheld. Refreshments available. 7 p.m. Vivien and Michael Fritzs barn, 693 McCrillis Road, Marsheld. 426-3581 or jaquithpub liclibrary@gmail.com.

Nutrition Response Testing

With Alicia Feltus, health educator and nutrition coach. Learn how this technique helps determine chemical and metal toxicity, food sensitivities, and immune and nutritional imbalances. 5:306:30 p.m. Hunger Mountain Coop community room, Montpelier. Free. Register at 2238004, ext. 202, or info@hungermountain.com.

Sixth Annual Kaleidoscope of Talent Variety Show

Instrumental, vocal, dance and comedy performances by talented local folks. Benet for Green Mountain United Way. 7 p.m. Spaulding High School auditorium, Barre. $10 adults, $5 children and seniors. Tickets at 229-9532, gmunitedway.org or at the door.

Quilting Group

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

SUNDAY, MARCH 11
Second Sunday Concert

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14

Snowshoe with the Young Adventurers Club

Preschool Discovery Program: Tap a Tree

An easy outing in Worcester for all ages. YAC is a group of the Montpelier Section of the Green Mountain Club devoted to helping parents and kids 06 years old get outdoors. Call leader Shawn Keeley, 229-0933, for meeting time and place. 9:30 a.m. Bethany United Church of Christ, 115 Main Street, Montpelier. Free.

How does maple syrup get produced? What is special about our state tree? Kids age 35 explore the sugaring season and the world of the sugarmaker. 1011:30 a.m. North Branch Nature Center, 713 Elm Street, Montpelier. $5 per child. 2296206. Event repeats Thursday. March 15.

Music to Go to the Dump By: Community Radio in Vermont

WGDR/WGDH Annual Community Address

Community celebration of independent Vermont media and local arts, culture and activism with keynote speakers Shay Totten, Robert Resnik and Barbara Vacarr. 12:305 p.m. Haybarn Theater, Goddard College, 123 Pitkin Road, Plaineld. 454-7367 or wgdr.org.

With broadcaster Ken Squier of WDEV and WCVT. Part of the weekly Osher Lifelong Learning Institute spring series. 1:30 p.m.; doors open at 12:30 for brown-bag lunch. Vermont College of Fine Arts, Montpelier. $5 suggested donation. 223-1763 or clb247@cornell.edu.

Second meeting of interested travelers. Connect with others in groups organized by interest in biking or hiking/walking and preferred destination. A slideshow on DVD is available. Theosophic Midrash and the Zohars Theory of Justice Dartmouth College professor Ehud Benor talks about the Kabbalistic text, the Zohar. Lecture- 5 p.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 46 Barre Street, Montpelier. Donations welcome for the MSAC scholarship fund. 223-2518. style workshop with some discussion and time spent studying text. 24 p.m. Beth Jacob Synagogue, Montpelier. $5 suggested donation. Register with Emily, 2797518 or bjprogramming@gmail.com. bethjacobvt.org.

Europe by Bike or Foot

Wellness for Kids and Parents

Vermont Sisters in Crime Read New Mysteries

Vermont mystery writers read samples from new work. Refreshments provided. 2:15 p.m. Unitarian Church, 130 Main Street, Montpelier. Free. sincne.org.

With Shona MacDougall, clinical herbalist. Learn which herbs, foods and supplements can rev up your immune system and keep your whole family healthy. Take home herbal preparations. 68 p.m. Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism, 250 Main Street, Montpelier. $15 VCIH members, $18 nonmembers. Register at 224-7100 or info@vtherbcenter.org.

see UPCOMING EVENTS, page C.4

Art & Exhibits

CALL TO ARTISTS
Work by Washington, Orange and Lamoille county visual artists age 70+ wanted for third annual Art of Creative Aging show. Submit digital photographs of up to three works of art for jury review by March 16. Send submissions to Margaret Harmon, mharmon@cvcoa.org or 476-2681. Sponsored by the Central Vermont Council on Aging.

39 Main Street, Montpelier. Through March 10. 225-6489 or 229-9416.

GREEN BEAN ART GALLERY

artwhirled23@yahoo.com.

CONTEMPORARY DANCE & FITNESS STUDIO

Discography, new work with disks in grids by Janet Van Fleet. 18 Langdon Street (third oor), Montpelier. Through March 28. 229-4676 or cdandfs.com.

Born in Vermont, watercolors by Sienna Fontaine. Capitol Grounds, 27 State Street, Montpelier. March 331. curator@capitolgrounds.com.

SKINNY PANCAKE

KELLOGG-HUBBARD LIBRARY

GODDARD COLLEGE

CENTRAL VERMONT MEDICAL CENTER

The History of Goddard College, 19691979, photographs, lms and archival documents, curated by Goddard sta member and alumnus Dustin Byerly. Pratt Center Library, Goddard College, 123 Pitkin Road, Plaineld. Through June. 4548311 or goddard.edu.

Black, White, and Color, acrylics on board by Barb Leber (rst oor), and Birmingham and Beyond, pastels and oils by Cheryl Dick (second oor). 135 Main Street, Montpelier. March 7April 23. 223-3338.

People, drawings and paintings by Glen Coburn Hutcheson of gods, saints, locals and the artists mother, among others. 86 Main Street, Montpelier. Through March. 262-CAKE.

STUDIO PLACE ARTS

MENS STORE

From Vermont to Italy, works by Ray Brown. 130 Fisher Road, Berlin. Through April 6. cvmc.org.

GOVERNORS GALLERY

Exploring the Form of the City and the Architecture of the Body, oil paintings by architect Ward Joyce. 30 State Street, Montpelier. Through April 20.

Storytime, multimedia group show exploring the human impulse to construct narratives, and Never Forget, multimedia group show on the creative journey of women. 201 North Main Street, Barre. March 6April 7. Reception Friday, March 9, 5:307:30 p.m. 479-7069 or studioplacearts.com.

VERMONT HISTORY MUSEUM

CITY HALL

Portraits by Nancy Smith.

Sound Proof, black and white photographs of Vermont musicians by Matthew Thorsen. 109 State Street, Montpelier. Through March. Photo ID required for admittance.

SHOE HORN

Dogs, Penguins, a Pig and a Frog, paintings by Jody Stahlman. 8 Langdon Street, Montpelier. Through April.

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

PAG E C .4 M A RC H 114, 2012

T H E B R I D G E C A L E N DA R O F E V E N T S

UPCOMING EVENTS, from page C.3

Richard Czaplinski: Simple Living and Energy Conservation

Weatherization Skillshop

Hands-on workshop on home energy eciency and weatherization techniques, taught by a Building Performance Instituteaccredited contractor. 69 p.m. 19 Gable Place, Barre. $25, includes reference book, informational materials and light dinner. Register at 888-514-2151 or weatherizationskillshop.com. Sponsored by Central Vermont Community Action Council.

With photos and examples, Czaplinski describes how he has lived simply for the last 30 years, and how living this way can help us face looming social and environmental problems. 6 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier. Free. 223-3338. Sponsored by Transition Town Montpelier.

Science of Mind Principles

Hurricane Irene Financial Planning and Educational Workshop

For residents of Waterbury, Richmond, Bolton, Duxbury, Moretown and Middlesex. Learn how to access funding, learn nancial planning tools and ask questions about nancial issues. 6 p.m. St. Leos Hall, 109 South Main Street, Waterbury. 855-767-8800.

Study group for inquiring minds of all faiths. 68 p.m. Universal Rivers of Life, 28 East State Street, Suite 4 (second oor), Montpelier. 2233427 or robin@universalrivers.com. Event happens every rst and third Thursday.

Around the World Travel Talks

We the People . . . Not We the Corporations

David Cobb of Move to Amend discusses two legal threats to democracy: corporate personhood and money being considered free speech. With Ginny Lyons and Jerry Greeneld. Free ice cream and live music at 6 p.m.; talk at 7 p.m. Big Picture Theater, Waitseld. Free. Marge, 496-4655, or gmgf.com. Sponsored by Green Mountain Global Forum.

Featuring photos and discussion. 6 p.m. Cutler Memorial Library, Route 2, Plaineld. Free. 454-8504 or cutlerlibrary.org. Event happens every third Thursday.

Winter Bike Workshops: Cycling Body and Mind

D.I.Y. Pannier-Making Workshop

Learn how to make cycling a stress-relieving, rejuvenating, healthy, lifelong passion. Learn about simple diet planning, warm-up techniques, breathing, training plans and the zone. See Thursday, March 8, for time, location and information.

Learn how to make simple, cheap bike panniers out of two old backpacks, one square 5-gallon bucket, and a bungie cord. If you can, bring supplies. Hardware provided. 6:308 p.m. Freeride Montpelier, 89 Barre Street. $5 suggested donation or Onion River Exchange hours. Register with Madeline at sharrow32@yahoo.com.

Windows on Waldorf: Grades 18

Explore the grade school and take a walk through Waldorf education. Faculty will lead a guided tour describing the core curriculum and showcasing student work. 6:308:30 p.m. Grades building, Orchard Valley Waldorf School, 2290 VT Route 14N, East Montpelier. Free, but registration requested. 456-7400.

THURSDAY, MARCH 15
Meeting on Disability Issues

Songwriters Meeting

Preschool Discovery Program: Tap a Tree

See Wednesday, March 14, for description and information. Share stories and concerns. 13 p.m. Vermont Center for Independent Living, 11 East State Street, Montpelier. 639-1522 or 229-0501 (both are also V/TTY numbers). Event happens every third Thursday.

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

Film Premiere: Winter

Narrative Ski Channel lm of some of the most talented people in mountain sports, plus auction and raes. Event honors Sarah Burke, a world-renowned skier who died in January. 8:30 p.m. Savoy Theater, Montpelier. $10; benets a foundation being set up in Burkes name.

Weekly Events
BICYCLING
Open Shop Nights
Have questions or a bike to donate, or need help with a bike repair? Come visit the volunteer-run community bike shop. Mondays and Wednesdays, 57 p.m. Tuesdays, 68 p.m. Freeride Montpelier, 89 Barre Street, Montpelier. By donation. 552-3521 or freeridemontpelier.org.

HEALTH

Morning Playgroup

Free HIV Testing

Vermont CARES oers fast oral testing. Thursdays, 14 p.m. 73 Main Street, Suite 40, Montpelier. vtcares.org.

KIDS & TEENS

Storytelling inspired by seasonal plants, fruits and herbs with in-house astrologer MaryAnna Abuzahra, plus crafts, games and activities. Walk follows. All ages welcome. Tuesdays, 10 a.m. Tulsi Tea Room, 34 Main Street, Montpelier. Free. tulsiteallc@gmail.com.

Shambhala Buddhist Meditation

Instruction available. All welcome. Sundays, 10 a.m.noon, and Wednesdays, 67 p.m. Program and discussion follow Wednesday meditation. Shambhala Center, 64 Main Street, Montpelier. Free. 223-5137.

Second-Language Story Time

Zen Meditation

The Basement Teen Center

Cable TV, PlayStation 3, pool table, free eats and fun events for teenagers. MondayThursday, 36 p.m.; Friday, 311 p.m. Basement Teen Center, 39 Main Street, Montpelier. 229-9151.

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

Wednesdays, 6:307:30 p.m. 174 River Street, Montpelier. Call Tom for orientation, 2290164. With Zen Aliate of Vermont.

Story Time at Onion River Kids

Fun outdoor adventure tales and childhood classics. Sundays, 10:30 a.m. 7 Langdon Street, Montpelier. 223-6025.

SPORTS

SPIRITUALITY
Christian Science
Gods love meeting human needs. Reading room: TuesdaySaturday, 11 a.m.1 p.m.; Tuesdays, 58 p.m.; and Wednesdays, 57:15 p.m. Testimony meeting: Wednesdays, 7:308:30 p.m., nursery available. Worship service: Sundays, 10:3011:30 a.m., Sunday school and nursery available. 145 State Street, Montpelier. Free. 223-2477.

Story Time at the Waterbury Public Library

Roller Derby Open Recruitment and Recreational Practice

On spring break: resumes March 7. Mondays, age 1836 months. Wednesdays, age 018 months. Fridays, age 36 years. 10 a.m. Waterbury Public Library. Free. 244-7036.

Library Activities for Kids

LANGUAGE

Lunch in a Foreign Language

Central Vermonts Wrecking Doll Society invites quad skaters age 18 and up to try out the action. No experience necessary. Equipment provided: rst come, rst served. Saturdays, 56:30 p.m. Montpelier Recreation Center, Barre Street. First skate free. centralvermontrollerderby.com.

CRAFTS

Beaders Group

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

FOOD

Story time, Tuesdays, Wednedays and Fridays, 10:3011:30 a.m. Crafts, rst Tuesdays, 3:30 p.m. Games, second Tuesdays, 3:30 p.m. Lego club, third Tuesdays, 3:30 p.m. Teen Advisory Group meeting, fourth Tuesdays, 3:30 p.m. Chess club, Wednesdays, 5:30 p.m. (call Robert, 229-1207, for info) Comics club, Fridays, 3:305 p.m., March 9April 13 Young Adult Nights (games, movies, food, crafting and more for youth age 1017), third Fridays, 69 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier. Free. 223-4665.

Bring lunch and practice your language skills with neighbors. Noon1 p.m. Mondays, Hebrew. Tuesdays, Italian. Wednesdays, Spanish. Thursdays, French. Fridays, German. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier. 223-3338.

Coed Adult Floor Hockey

Equipment provided. Sundays, 35 p.m. Montpelier Recreation Center, Barre Street. $5. 363-1531, bmoorhockey@gmail.com or vermontoorhockey.com.

MUSIC

Sing With the Barre Tones

THRIFT STORES

Womens a cappella chorus. Mondays, 6:30 p.m. Alumni Hall (second oor), near Barre Auditorium. 223-2039 or rjmorgan1956@comcast.net.

Trinity Community Thrift Store

Capital Orchestra Rehearsals

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m.4 p.m.; Saturdays, 11 a.m.5 p.m. Trinity United Methodist Church, 137 Main Street (use rear entrance), Montpelier. 229-9155 or tctsvt@yahoo.com.

Lenten Fish Dinner

Youth Group

Baked sh, soup, salad, vegetable, potato, beverage and dessert. Fish sticks and mac and cheese also available. Weekly raes of gift certicates to local businesses. Fridays, 56:30 p.m., through March 30. St. Augustines parish hall, 16 Barre Street, Montpelier. $10 adults, $6 students, free for age 3 and younger, $29 family of four; benets Central Vermont Catholic School. 793-4276 or pte1218@aol.com.

Games, movies, snacks and music. Mondays, 79 p.m. Church of the Crucied One, Route 100, Moretown. 496-4516.

Community orchestra. No audition required. All orchestral players welcome. Culminates in April concert. Mondays, 79 p.m. U-32 School band room. Dan, 272-1789 or liptakdan@gmail.com.

YOGA

Sliding-Scale Yoga Classes

Story Time and Playgroup

GAMES

Story time: for children age 06. Playgroup: story, art, song, nature activities and cooperative games. Dress for the weather. Story time: Mondays, 10 a.m. Playgroup: Wednesdays, 1011:30 a.m. Jaquith Public Library, 122 School Street, Marsheld. 426-3581 or jaquithpubliclibrary@gmail.com.

SPIRITUALITY

Deepening Our Jewish Roots

Apollo Duplicate Bridge Club

Cub Capers Storytime and Songs

Fun, engaging text study and discussion on Jewish spirituality. Sundays, 4:456:15 p.m. Yearning for Learning Center, Montpelier. Rabbi Tobie Weisman, 223-0583 or info@yearning4learning.org.

With Lydia Russell. Weaving in seasonal poetry and myth, intermediate-level Anusarainspired classes help build strength, exibility and safe postural alignment. Saturdays, 1011:15 a.m., Shambhala Center, Montpelier; Mondays, 5:306:45 p.m., River House Yoga, Plaineld. $5$20. saprema-yoga.com.

All welcome. Partners sometimes available. Fridays, 6:45 p.m. Bethany Church, Montpelier. 485-8990 or 223-3922.

For children age 35 and their families. Tuesdays, 9:30 a.m. Childrens room, Bear Pond Books, 77 Main Street, Montpelier. 2290774.

With Lori Mortimer. Tuesdays, 67:15 p.m., March 13May 29. Christian Meditation Group All Together Now, East Montpelier. $5$15 People of all faiths welcome. suggested donation. 324-1737 or sattvayoga. Mondays, noon1 p.m. Christ Church, Montpe- wordpress.com lier. Regis, 223-6043.

Rhythmic Flow Vinyasa

indicates new or revised listing

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M A RC H 114, 2 012 PAG E 13

Classes
COACHING
WOMEN IN TRANSITION
Coaching group beginning March 8, 68 p.m. Four sessions. Two openings left. $150 ($135 in advance). It will change your life. Stillpoint Associates LTD, Fran Weinbaum, Life Coach, 802-249-7377 or stillpointlifecoa ch@yahoo.com.

through movement awareness studies, touch and verbal guidance. Deepen your understanding of your natural design and discover freedom and ease in any activity. $90 for six-week series. Preregister: 223-7230 or katie@balanceofbeing.com.

Classifieds
FOR RENT
ARTIST, MUSICIAN SPACE
Studios available this spring in assorted sizes at 46 Barre Street (site of Monteverdi and Summit School). Reserve your space and become a part of the Montpelier areas center for the arts, learning and music. For details call Paul Irons at 223-2120 or 461-6222.

REAL ESTATE
HOUSE FOR SALE
3-bedroom, 2-bath home located just one block from College Street and the Vermont College of Fine Arts green. Sunny, south-facing lot. Fully renovated and well-insulated throughout. Hardwood oors downstairs. Solid bamboo and stone tile oors upstairs. 2-car garage, deck. Low-trac street. $279,500. 917-2121, 4edwardsstreet@gmail .com, 4edwardsmyblog.wordpress.com.

POTTERY
CLAY SESSION
Have a great mud season at Montpelier Mud in Middlesex! A new session for adults, teens and older kids starts March 5 and runs for seven weeks. Contact us at our website, montpeliermud.com, or call 224-7000 for more information.

MOVEMENT

SERVICES
HOUSE PAINTER
Since 1986. Small interior jobs ideal. Neat, prompt, friendly. Local references. Pitz Quattrone, 229-4952.

ALEXANDER TECHNIQUE FUNDAMENTALS

Framing to Finish Design Energy Mindful

With Katie Back. Tuesdays, noon1:30 p.m., March 13April 17. Reawaken aliveness

David Lathrop Carpentry

229-0921

Emerge Yoga
Amy LePage-Hansen, CYI Kripalu Yoga Therapy Pre- & Postnatal Partner Labor/Birth Workshops

Classes offered at various locations. www.emergeyoga.net 802.778.0300 amylepage.alh@gmail.com

VERMONT PROFESSIONAL TAX & FINANCIAL SERVICES

TAX PREPARATION SMALL BUSINESS CONSULTING
GERARD M. GALVIN, JD CPA

802-839-6929
MAX @ VTPROTAX . COM

Tell them you saw it in The Bridge!

PAG E 14 M A RC H 114, 2012

THE BRIDGE

On Grieving, Healing and Community

by Mark Billian

very time I find myself at the corner of State and Main, waiting for the light to change, I notice a parade of seemingly confident young women crossing the street on the way to who knows where. And I ask myself, Why? Why couldnt it be my daughter among those coffee-cup-grasping, cellphone-talking, dance-shoe-holding eager women on the way to the rest of their lives? For me, its a fruitless question, but when you lose a child, its a question you ask nonetheless. One year ago this week, we lost a beautiful, sweet, sensitive and loving daughter. Sarah was many things, a brilliant student, a talented writer, a frequent traveler and explorer, a first grandchild, an only sibling, a stand-up comedian, poet, baker and carpenter. She had a sometimes caustic wit, a penchant for impersonation and a deep sense of humor. We still have a birthday greeting card received from President Bill Cliton penned secretly, I suspect, by my 10-year-old practical jokester! But she was also a caring and supportive friend and a peer leader on her college campus, and she became an outspoken advocate for others, others like herself, who struggled

Essay

with depression and the battle for physical and mental health. In those awful hours that followed the realization that our beloved little girl was gone, my first instinct was to run away and hide. I did not want to see or be seen, not by the community or friends, nor even by family. But there is nowhere to run when you live in a small town and so we surrendered ourselves to the love and support that we needed so much. There is no gift in the death of a child. While you may wake up some days in awe of the loving kindness that has come to lift and surround you, it hardly toughens you to the pain of burying one you were meant to nurture and protect. Yet somehow, beneath the almost incomprehensible and crushing grief, something positive emerges that, in the words of a dear friend, changes you in a fundamental, irrevocable way. What you find is that, almost for the first time, you see the world more clearly. The petty judgments that weighed you down, like some overfilled backpack, seem to lose their power and drift away. But something else, even more profound, happens along the way. For when you give up trying to conceal your terrible wound, you find that others carry

their own hidden scars. Among the people you see every day, the folks who deliver your mail, sell you groceries, fix your car or cut your hair, there are many who are marked by their own personal losses. A parent gone, a sibling lost, a spouse or child stolen away by accident, or something worse, their grief hidden just below the surface until it can be shared with another who understands. And when the sadness returns, as it always does, and sucks your breath away, someone you may hardly know will come up quietly and restore your faith with a hug. It is at that moment that you realize how lucky you are to live in this place at this time. Twenty-four years ago we somehow landed in central Vermont and Montpelier. It seems now we were destined to find this community without knowing how important it would be in the years that lay ahead. Before she died on March 3 of last year, Sarah told us we would be strong, we would survive. So when the pain seems too much to bear, and I find myself filled with doubt, I think back about the confidence she had in us. For if she had the strength to battle her demons, how can I do anything less? There is a place in Hubbard Park, a glade of trees I pass every morning when walking Sarahs precious black lab, Sophie. Each time I pass, I stop and look and imagine there is someone among those trees gazing back at me. In the year that has passed since Sarah

Sarah Billian. Photo courtesy of Mark Billian. died, I have begun to learn, rather than searching for that which is not there, to see the things that are. To appreciate the fragility of life, the value of friendship, the importance of community and to know, now with certainty, that openness, love and support are all that matter. Mark Billian, Anne Brin and Hannah Billian live in Montpelier. Sarah Billian graduated from Montpelier High School and Smith College. She wrote for her school newspapers and was a contributor to The Bridge.

THE BRIDGE

M A RC H 114, 2 012 PAG E 15

Soil in the Soul: Pursuing a Dream to Farm

by Marsha Barber

ndrew Stowe has had a passionate dream for decades. When we talked on Sunday, February 26, that dream was two days away from being fully realized. Hed given notice at his two jobs and was working his last day at Uncommon Market. By now, he is living at Highfields Farm in Randolph, serving as farm manager and getting his hands dirty in his beloved soil. The desire to farm has always been in his blood, and the excitement with which he talks about farming is contagious. Stowe was born in Connecticut, but, he says, I did a lot of growing up in Vermont. My fathers family is from St. Johnsbury, and when I came up here to visit family I always felt more of a connection to Vermont and to the land up here than anywhere else. Stowe moved back to Vermont in January 2011 and began work at both the Uncommon Market and Hunger Mountain Coop in the produce department. He also worked on the side as an organic garden consultant under the moniker Handful of Soil. Stowes passion for farming includes a deep attention to the health of the soil. I traveled and worked on farms for about four years before I moved back to Vermont: a farm in southern Vermont, a sage farm in Hawaii, a farm in Alaska, and farms in India and Nepal. You travel the world and each farm has something to teach you, but the one thing you realize is that the soil is everything, The soil is the key. You can break farming down to two approaches: The feed the soil approach and the feed the plants approach. The feedthe-plants approach is what you see in the big midwestern mainstream agricultural systems. The philosophy is, Dont worry about the soil, put down the fertilizer and what the plants need and dont worry about next season. This approach requires constant fertilizing, and a lot of people dont see this as a sustainable long-term approach to agriculture. The feed-the-soil approach is beautiful,

Profile

because if you take care of the soil, especially thinking about long-term fertility, you will grow amazing plants both [in] one season and many generations [in the future]. Stowe credits work on the Hawaii farm of Ben Nichols with enhancing his passion and drive for local food, local systems, the organic food movement and small-scale agriculture. Ben was the one who gave me the philosophical contextthe big picture. At the end of the day, feeding the soil is only a small part of . . . what goes into working on a farm, but it is the most important part. . . . For me it resonates with the word stewardship, preserving the land for a long time to come. Stowes dream of farming didnt stop at working the soil and harvesting. I had a vision that my farm would serve as a center of learning and connectivity for members of local community and people traveling through: a small farm or garden with a caf or restaurant on-site or nearby, where people could eat food grown in that garden; a place with local lectures, a place where people could trade stories, have local music, work in the garden in exchange for a meal; maybe a little bookstore. Ive worked on a lot of farms and am comfortable with that aspect, but have no experience in the food-service industry for the caf. Thats why I got jobs at the co-op and the Uncommon MarketI figured it would take a year or two or three. Once I had that down Id look for some farmland. As it turned out, he didnt have to wait that long. He tapped in to some local databases, including the Vermont agriculture land access database. There he found a posting for Highfields Farm in Randolph, owned by Chris Recchia, deputy secretary for the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources and his partner, Julie Iffland, executive director of the Randolph Area Community Development Corporation. They posted on the UVM database that they wanted to continue their full-time jobs but couldnt manage their farm at same time. They were seeking someone to

Andrew Stowe. Photo by Marsha Barber. come take over the farming side, and wanted to create a collective business partnership. If it went well, then there was the possibility for a long-term relationship, including transfer of the land. The farm is two miles outside downtown Randolph, a beautiful piece of land, south-facing slopes, sandy loam soil really high in organic matter, a woodlot on the uphill north end of their land which draws water up through the hillside, which also serves as a natural windbreak. Their sheep and chickens have built up incredibly rich soil. Stowe couldnt believe what hed stumbled upon. When I had that vision of what I originally wanted to do, Id envisioned it in the Bethel, Royalton, Randolph area. Its a beautiful area, kind of centralized; it has this feel of a place of people passing through, but theres a strong local community, too. It seems perfect to set up a farm and and do the caf, bookstore, education stuff Id always wanted to do. Chris and Julie felt good about it. Its not set in stone. . . . Right now the focus is making the farm sustainable: thats what they want and I want too. Ten years down the road, if we build up strong capital and name recognition, we could take that other step. Id bring my vision back on the table. But right now I want to be there growing delicious food, building up the soil and working with these guys. Stowe plans to have celery and onion starts going this week at Highfields Farm. What it comes down to is that feeling of deep connectivity, where farming connects me both in a physical and mental and emotional way to the land, and through that I feel a connection everything else, he explains. When youre growing food, it starts with the soil, and theres also the sun and the rain and the plants. And when you sell or give what youve grown to someone, theyre also taking that sun and rain and soil connection. Its amazing how you can stand on farmland and have a discussion about biology, politics, mathematics, social and cultural trends. Its a lens for understanding the rest of world. Marsha Barber is a freelance writer who lives in Montpelier.

am to 6 pm Sat, April 28th, 2012 9 Vt Barre Civic Center, Barre 540 Vendor info: call 802-431-3 @yahoo.com or email resourcewizard

Kindergarten Registration
Union Elementary School 1 Park Ave, Montpelier
Registration for children entering kindergarten in the fall of 2012 will be on Monday, March 19, Tuesday, March 20, and Wednesday, March 21, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Additional evening hours are on Thursday, March 22, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Please call 802-225-8204 if you have any questions. Registration is for children born on or before September 1, 2007. Please bring birth certicate and proof of residency.

Vendors Wanted!

PAG E 16 M A RC H 114, 2012

THE BRIDGE

Green Mountain Film Festival Preview

by Michelle Barber

he Green Mountain Film Festival (GMFF) ushers in each spring and pulls many of us out of our cabin fever. With highlighter or pen in hand, we comb through the schedule and plot our course through the 10-day festival, scheduled for March 16 to 25 this year. This years festival offers 80 films and two film competitions at five venues in Montpelier and St. Johnsbury. Attendance is expected to reach 11,000 to 12,000 in Montpelier and 1,500 in St. Johnsbury. When asked to divulge a few of his favorite selections, GMFF programmer Rick Winston smiles and says dont get me started and that each film is selected for a reason. Donald Rae, GMFF executive director, highlights the 48-hour film slam, a slew of guest critics, directors, actors and historians, and the inevitable themes that emerge at each festival. Film Slam The second annual Green Mountain 48Hour Film Slam brings together approximately 40 filmmakers for a whirlwind filmmaking spree. On Friday, March 16, teams of six to seven writers, editors, actors, directors of photography and sound people are given a prop, one line of dialogue and a specific location that must be used in the film. A genre is selected out of a hat and the

team sets off to create an original 10-minute film in 48 hours. The films are rushed to submission by Sunday, March 18, at 7 p.m., just minutes before being viewed in the Pavilion Auditorium. Last year was an experiment. We didnt know if anyone would show up, said Rae. But the Pavilion, which seats 200, actually sold out. Rae expects this year to sell out as well. After the films are viewed by the audience and judges alike, the filmmakers take the stage for a Q&A and discussion while the judges gather to make their decisions. First prize is $1,000, second prize is $500 and third is $250, so the stakes and chances of winning are high. Vermont Films
Circus Dreams

Circus Dreams, a documentary about the Greensboro-based Circus Smirkus, will be shown three times, examining the peculiar and exciting lives of the 12- to 18-year-old troupers. The film also examines the financial stability of the troupe as they approach their 25th anniversary tour this summer. Craptastic, from Rutland filmmaker David Giancola, features a circus of its own by documenting Anna Nicole Smiths last feature film, Illegal Aliens.

Works for Women to build a house from start to finish. A Whisperer in Darkness is based on H.P. Lovecrafts novel of the same name, which is based on the authors 1928 visit to Vermont. Set in New England and filmed in White River Junction, the film was released in 2011 but produced in black-and-white mythoscope, a blend of modern and vintage film techniques that produce an authentic, 1920s-era feel. Featured Guests GMFF doesnt just bring movies to the capital city. It introduces audiences to many directors, writers, critics and actors each year. This year, festival-goers will have the opportunity to hear from Michael Murphy, Jeanine Basinger and Peter Rainer, among others. Michael Murphy is known as a first-rate supporting actor, longtime Robert Altman collaborator and Woody Allens best friend in Manhattan. Murphy will be discussing several of his films playing during the festival, including Manhattan, Brewster McCloud and one episode of Tanner 88, as well as speaking with fellow Altman alumnus Allan Nichols on Sunday, March 18. Jeanine Basinger, film historian and one of the most important film scholars alive today, will speak with GMFFs Winston about the studio system of the 1930s and 1940s on Sunday, March 25. Shell also be

In addition to the locally made, last-minute films of the film slam, the festival features other Vermont films and connections.

More serious films take us into the Vermont State Archives; to the Westin Trailer Park in Berlin with the documentary Strength of the Storm; into the lives of four recent immigrants from Somalia, Iraq, Bosnia and Rwanda in a sneak preview of Burlington filmmaker Mira Niagolovas Welcome to Vermont; and into the Vermont state womens prison, with Little House in the Big House, where 45 women are trained by Vermont

New Adult Education Classes

at the Barre Technical Center
SMART FINANCIAL STRATEGIES: Learn strategies for securing a more stable financial future with Ryan LeCroix, Edward Jones. Thursdays, 68 pm. March 1April 19. $165. DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY & PHOTOSHOP: Learn photography and editing techniques with the digital camera with BTCs Ric Nudell. Mondays, 69 pm. March 12April 16. $185. SERVSAFE: Saturday, May 12, 2012, 8 a.m.5 p.m. With BTCs Chef Wendy Clark. $175 with $10 discount for two or more. EASTER PASTRIES: An April evening of baking at BTCs new pastry shop in downtown Barre with Chef Wendy Clark. Call for information. CONVERSATIONAL SPANISH: TBA. Call for information.

Tell them you saw it in The Bridge!

Enjoy Life-Long Learning at the Barre Tech Center

Custom Classes for Local Businesses! For more information on any classes, contact Dottye Ricks at 476-1487 or drickbvt@u61.net, or visit barretechncialcenter.org.

THE BRIDGE
discussing The Far Country, a classic 1953 Jimmy Stewart western, and Midnight, a 1939 comedy starring Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche and John Barrymore. In many ways, films are dependent on film critics, but the written art form is dying and dwindling with the immediacy of social networks and the rise of online rating systems like Rotten Tomatoes, where viewers can rate films themselves. Nonetheless, it takes a keen eye, historical knowledge and excellent writing skills to not only inform the public about films, but to also provide true insight. Peter Rainer has been doing just that since the 1970s and is one of the few critics remaining with a regular print outlet. Rainer will be discussing film criticism on Saturday, March 24, in addition to discussing Night of the Hunter and Pianomania. My Personal Selections I appreciate the GMFF for the films it yodeling twin sisters from New Zealand. If they were also cross-dressing activists with honorary degrees, I couldnt be more surprisedand they are! The winner of many film-festival audience-selection awards and grossing over $2 million at the New Zealand box office, this film is one Im excited about. Until 2010, a warren of studios and apartments were perched above Carnegie Hall, home to the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Isadora Duncan, Barnett Newman, Norman Mailer, Marlon Brando and, more recently, Josef Astor, Bill Cunningham and Don Shirley. In 2001, however, the Carnegie Corporation began to systematically evict the tenants in order to renovate the spaces. First-time director Josef Astor chronicled the last years of Lost Bohemia and will be at the GMFF to discuss the film after both showtimes. The 15th annual GMFF has something for everyone, from film competitions to film

M A RC H 114, 2 012 PAG E 17

Being Elmo

The Topp Twins

brings to my attention: documentaries I havent heard about, locally made films that havent received broad-based showings and off-the-beaten path movies of all sorts. Im particularly looking forward to the following films this March. The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls couldnt be described with more surprising adjectives: they are the worlds only comedic, singing,

viewings, from Being Elmo, which is sure to tickle the kid in each of us, to a series on American documentarys radical roots from 19321948, and from revolutionary films to Japanese anime.

Michelle Barbers career in higher-education marketing funds her passion for movies and GMFF tickets. She lives in Barre.

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Fran Weinbaum, Life Coach & Consultant 802-249-7377 stillpointlifecoach@yahoo.com

PAG E 18 M A RC H 114, 2012

THE BRIDGE

Ask The Home Team

This column is produced by Efficiency Vermont, a nonprofit organization that provides energy-efficiency information and services and is funded by a surcharge on utility bills. The three members of the Home Team, Kathleen Brown, Bob Murphy and Li Ling, are staffers at Efficiency Vermont. For more information or to submit a question, go to efficiency vermont.com/askthehometeam or call, toll-free, 888-921-5990. My grandson and his wife gave me a heated mattress pad so I could have a warm bed to get into at night. They said it saves $131 per year on energy bills, but I dont see the logic in that, so I havent used it. Can you tell me the truth about heated mattress pads? Whats true is that, if you stay in bed with the pad on and with the house thermostat low, youll stay warm and you wont use as much central-heating fuel over the course of a night. However, the same can be said anytime you turn down the house thermostat at night and keep your bed warm. Many people are able to warm the bed with blankets and body heat. Some use a hot-water bottle. If you prefer to add an electric mattress pad or electric blanket, youll increase your electricity costs. As for the $131 claim, its based on the manufacturers assumption that youll turn down your houses thermostat eight degrees, around the clock, for 25 weeks, and use the mattress pad for eight hours each night of those weeks. That would mean about six months of keeping your house eight degrees colder than you now keep it. I dont know how youd feel about such a change, but it makes me shiver just thinking about it. So, Im with you; I dont see the logic in the claim. If you want to use your grandchildrens gift to make the bed warm when you get in it, I suggest using an appliance timer for your electric mattress pad. You could set the timer to turn on the pad about half an hour before bedtime and to turn it off at bedtime. You can experiment with the timing to get it right for you. Thanks for sending in this interesting question. Kathleen for the Home Team Ive been seeing ads for Amish or infrared quartz heaters. Are they really better at saving energy than other electric space heaters? No. All portable electric heaters produce the same amount of heat per kilowatt hour consumed. A claim of energy savings from any portable heater is based on the idea that youll turn down your central heat and use the portable heater to keep you warm only in the room youre occupying. But electricity is one of the most expensive heating fuels in Vermont. So, the cost of the electric heat is likely to outweigh the energy savings from reducing your use of your central heating system unless you turn down the house thermostat substantially. Unfortunately, the colder a house gets, the more you put it at risk of problems like frozen pipes, cracked plaster or drywall, and wetness on the inside of the home and the outside. As notable is the potential problem of condensation forming on cool surfaces. Without enough heat to dry them out, these surfaces can become ideal spots for mold and wood rot. This may happen where you can see it or where you cantwithin the walls, floors or attic. A better approach is to make your central heating system work as efficiently as possible. Be sure your furnace filter is clean. Seal and insulate heating ducts, and have your furnace or boiler professionally inspected, cleaned and tuned as often as the manufacturer recommends. Vacuum or dust heating vents or baseboards and move furniture away from them so heat can circulate. Bob for the Home Team

THE BRIDGE

M A RC H 114, 2 012 PAG E 19

A Message from City Hall

This page was paid for by the City of Montpelier.

Budget and Taxes

by William Fraser, city manager
Montpelier Population 2011 effective residential tax rate 2011 effective school tax rate 2011 effective municipal tax rate Police department 7,855 $2.31 Barre City 9,052 $2.61 Berlin 2,887 $1.82 Calais 1,607 $2.04 Middlesex 1,731 $1.76 E. Montpelier 2,576 $1.82

he annual city meeting voting takes place Tuesday, March 6, at City Hall from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Absentee and early ballots are available now. We are electing a mayor, a city clerk, three city council members and two school commissioners, among others. We are also considering the city, school and recreation budgets, along with several ballot items. Included among those articles are an infrastructure bond and three proposed charter changestwo involving local option taxes, which I wrote about in the last edition of The Bridge. The citys annual report has been distributed, which contains detailed information about the various budget proposals. Please read the report and please vote. Roads and Infrastructure One obvious issue is the poor condition of our roads and infrastructure. Several years ago, the city adopted a capital funding plan which capped the amount of money being spent on major infrastructure projects. This plan worked from the point of view of providing predictable dollar amounts and managing the tax rate. It did not work from the point of view of having funding keep pace with needs. This occurred mostly because of very costly and important, but much less visible, projects such as retaining-wall replacements and flood mitigation work. Fitting those necessary items into the capital plan without raising the funding cap resulted in inadequate sums of money left available for paving, road work, sidewalks and other major items, including equipment and building maintenance. City officials spent a great deal of time this year identifying infrastructure, equipment and facility needs and estimating costs associated with addressing those needs. An initial assessment was that an additional $500,000 per year was necessary to address the backlog. Rather than simply adding this money to the budget and tax rate this year, the city council chose to take advantage of the current low interest rates and propose an $870,000 bond to accompany the annual funding level. This results in total capital project funding increasing from $515,849 in fiscal year (FY) 2012 to $1,124,193 in FY13. The specific funding for roads and sidewalks is rising from $218,000 to $528,558. Items specifically included within the bond are those with an expected 20-year (or more) life to match the bond payment period. The amount of the bond falls within the citys adopted debt affordability guidelines. Tax Rate and Services The tax rate is always a key issue when considering budgets. The total of every money item on the ballot, including petitioned items, would increase the tax rate by 4.3 cents, or 1.9 percent from last year. This is still 3 cents or 1.2 percent lower than the tax rate was two years ago. The average tax payer would pay $66 less in FY13 than they paid in FY11. Montpeliers tax rate is higher than our neighboring towns because the city provides a much wider range of services than those towns, in large part because the city is a regional center. Lets compare 2011 effective tax rates and local services within our immediate region. The chart above right illustrates tax and service differences between Montpelier and its neighbors. School tax rates are fairly constant throughout, but the average resi-

$1.29 $1.01

$1.12 $1.49

$1.40 $0.42

$1.48 $0.56

$1.35 $0.41

$1.33 $0.49

17 full-time (FT), 6 FT, 1 part-time (PT) dispatch (for 17 towns), 2 CSO 24-hour service 17 FT, 1 EMT only; call force

18 FT, 7 FT, 2 PT dispatch, 1 CSO, 9 PT reserve, 24hour service 17 FT; call force FT EMS and paramedics through fire department; 3 minutes 12 FT 49 miles total 23 miles total 0.85 miles

7 FT 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. coverage, 19hour service

None; state police only

None; state police only

None; state police, sheriffs, 2 constables

Fire department

All volunteer Contract with Barre Town; 7 minutes

All volunteer Contract with Barre Town, East Montpelier fast squad; 12 minutes 4 FT 72 miles total, 69 miles dirt none none none

All volunteer Contract with Montpelier, volunteer fast squad; 10 minutes 4 FT 65 miles total, 44 miles dirt none none Wrightsville Beach (regionally funded facility)

All Volunteer East Montpelier fire and rescue; 5 minutes

Ambulance; av- FT emergency erage response medical services time (EMS) provided by fire department; 4 minutes Road/maintenance crew Roads Sidewalks Bike paths Recreation facilities 12 FT, 1 PT 53 miles total, 2 miles dirt 26 miles total 1.75 miles total paved Hubbard Park, N. Branch Park, swimming pool, 2 rec fields, rec center, civc center, tennis and basketball courts, playgrounds, Mountaineers, senior center

4 FT 75 miles total, several dirt none none

4 FT 59 miles total, 45 miles dirt none none Rec field

Barre auditorium, 7 Outdoor skating playgrounds, swimming pool, tennis and basketball courts, 2 rec fields, 3 parks, playing fields, picnic areas

Tax information is taken from the 2011 annual report of the Vermont tax department. Service information was provided by each community.

dential tax rate for the 8,801 residents in the surrounding four towns was 19 percent less than the Montpelier resident rate. The tax rate for Barre City, however, is 13 percent higher than Montpelier for similar services. What services do Montpelier residents receive for these additional taxes? Full-time, 24/7 fire and ambulance service based in downtown Montpelier. Volunteer fire and ambulance departments do excellent jobs, but they cant match the response time or training level of full-time staff people. Dispatch records show an average ambulance response time of four minutes in Montpelier, compared to eight and a half minutes in the combined towns. This difference may not seem like much but, statistically, makes an enormous difference in the spread of a fire or in a medical emergency. The full-time fire department is actively involved with fire prevention efforts along with emergency response. Full-time, 24/7 police service based in downtown Montpelier. A 911 emergency call gets a local police officer at your door within minutes. Officers are on patrol at all times. One officer is involved with the school system full time. In communities served by state police, one trooper may be on duty covering many towns at once, and response can be significantly delayed. Full-time dispatching service. Emergency calls are answered in and dispatched from the Montpelier police station by people familiar with both the community and the local police, fire and ambulance operations. Our dispatch center, in fact, handles calls for most of the surrounding towns (and is paid by those towns for that service). Paved and quickly plowed roads. Ninety-six percent of Montpeliers roads are paved, compared with 20 percent in neighboring towns. Gravel roads can mean more dust, dings on vehicles and difficult access during certain seasons (mud) and weather conditions. When youre in a business rush

or personal emergency, you need to rely on being able to pass over your road year-round. Neighboring road crews do a fine job, but with an average of one person per 17 miles of road, one cannot expect the same service as Montpelier, which staffs one person per 4.3 miles of road. Neighboring towns also dont have responsibilities for snow removal in downtown, sidewalk plowing/maintenance, bike-path plowing and maintenance, street lights or traffic signals, roundabouts, onstreet parking or parking lots, or as many significant bridges as Montpelier. Paved roads are far more expensive to maintain than gravel roads, which has been a major struggle in Montpelier. Public information. Virtually all municipal and school meetings are broadcast on local cable TV. City meetings are streamed on the Web and archived for viewing at a citizens convenience. All propertyassessment records are on line. The city is continually adding as much information as it possibly can to our website for all to see. The citys annual report has won awards for public presentation. Both the school and the city contribute regular pages in The Bridge newspaper (these pages arent free). The city maintains Facebook and Twitter sites for people to receive up-to-date information and notices and has recently implemented a new emergency notice system. Services also include a full slate of recreation programs, municipal water and sewer systems (rather than wells and septic tanks), storm-drain systems to avoid washouts and direct drainage away from properties, the City Hall auditorium and arts center, the swimming pool and rec facilities, and conveniences like quarterly tax payments and water/sewer bills with automatic bank deductions if you want them. There are also many services that Montpelier residents support from which neighboring town residents also benefit at low or no cost. Hubbard Park and North Branch Park

are two prime examples. Others include the Kellogg-Hubbard Library, the Montpelier Senior Activity Center, sidewalks and bike/ pedestrian paths, street sweeping, the Montpelier arts fund, downtown enhancement initiativesnot to mention design review and planning efforts, which are occasionally causes of controversy but which regularly help keep the city looking as wonderful as it does for all to enjoy. Most everyone enjoys events like Independence Day, First Night, the Vermont Mountaineers games and other celebrations. None of the surrounding smaller communities provide or pay for these services or activities. Over the last 12 years, the city council has proposed budgets that have held an average increase to 1.45 percent per year as compared to an average inflation rate of 2.54 percent per year. In four of those 12 years, there was no proposed increase. The comprehensive survey that the city conducted in 2009 indicated very high levels of satisfaction and support for city services. The council works hard every year to balance the delivery of programs, services and capital needs against increased property taxes. A management consultant retained to review city operations found that most operations were right and tight. The city has been very active in an effort to look at public safety services on a regional basis. City officials welcome suggestions from residents with regard to municipal priorities. Continued review of departments, services and costs will be a major focus of the upcoming year.

I appreciate your interest in city government. As always, please feel free to call me at 2239502 or e-mail wfraser@montpelier-vt.org if you have questions or comments. Please like City of Montpelier, VT on Facebook or follow @vtmontpelier on Twitter.

PAG E 20 M A RC H 114, 2012

THE BRIDGE

Editorial
A Blueprint for Needed Action

Letters
Adverse Effects from Wireless Not Backed Up by Science To the Editor: Concerning the article Calais Man Campaigns Against Wireless Radiation in the February 16 issue, I feel its important for readers to know that statements made about adverse health effects of electromagnetic radiation from cell towers, cellphones and other devices are not supported by the scientific evidence. The claim that electromagnetic radiation causes cancer is true for high-energy radiation from the near-ultraviolet through X-rays and gamma rays, but not for microwaves. Quoting Bob Park, (emeritus professor of physics at the University of Maryland and a former director of public information at the American Physical Society), All cancers are caused by mutant strands of DNA. Electromagnetic radiation cant create mutant strands of DNA unless the frequency is at or higher than the blue limit of the visible spectrumthe nearultraviolet. The frequency of cellphone radiation is about 1 million times too low. A three-year review by the National Research Council (NRC) of more than 500 scientific studies conducted over a 20-year period found no conclusive and consistent evidence that low frequency electromagnetic fields harm humans. Neurobiologist Charles F. Stevens, chairman of the NRC panel, said, Research has not shown in any convincing way that electromagnetic fields common in homes can cause health problems, and extensive laboratory tests have not shown that electromagnetic fields can damage the cell in a way that is harmful to human health. As far as someone being electrosensitive, double-blind, controlled studies have repeatedly shown that electrosensitives cant tell the difference between genuine and sham electromagnetic fields. In one study in 2007, a Norwegian research team conducted tests using 65 pairs of sham and mobile phone radio frequency (RF) exposures. Their conclusion; The study gave no evidence that RF fields from mobile phones cause head pain or discomfort or influence physiological variables. The most likely reason for the symptoms is a nocebo effect. Douglas Aja, East Montpelier Occupy Conference is About Inquiry and Engagement To the Editor: I noticed in the February 16 Heard on the Street column a piece that mentioned concern by some central Vermont Occupy activists about the purpose of Occupy! Goddard, an upcoming conference addressing issues raised by the Occupy Wall Street movement. I would like to clarify Goddards purpose. This conference is part of a larger effort for Goddard to engage its activist roots and to be a leader in thinking about the change that is needed in education. Our political system cant change if our education system does not change. Higher education is broken, marked by competition and tuition that outstrips income. The issues raised by the Occupy movement afford us all a teachable moment as citizens of a democracy. This is not an Occupy event or action. It is a conference, hosted by a college whose mission has always been radical and experimenting. The conference is designed to invite inquiry leading to effective action. In no way are we trying to usurp the goals and actions of the Vermont and national Occupy movement. We are trying to understand and engage the issues raised by the movement. In an effort to make it clear that Goddard is hosting a conference rather than an Occupy event, we have decided to remove the general assembly from the days agenda. We are charging $10 per person to offset costs. If paying the fee causes financial hardship, a code on the registration page allows people to register at no cost. There is also an opportunity to make a contribution to support these no-cost registrations. I am grateful for the feedback we are receiving from local Occupy activists. We want to make this a truly national conference that places Goddard and Vermont where they should bein the midst of a discussion on the central role of education in ensuring the health of our democracy. Barbara Vacarr, president, Goddard College Corporations Stifle Free Speech To the Editor: Thank you for including my opinion, Vote for People, Not Corporations, in your February 16 edition. However, to shorten it, you deleted what I feel was the critical middle paragraph: The concept of free speech holds that every person has the right to express his or her opinion and to be heard. It encourages open dialogue on all issues. In an election cycle, people want to obtain knowledge to inform their vote. The problem is that when corporations use their vast reserves, or super PACs spend their huge contributions, to purchase space in major media outlets to support or oppose a particular candidate or issue, many people are influenced to follow that advice simply because other opinions are smothered by the overwhelming output from corporate and monied interests. As of January 31, $67 million dollars, half of the total donations to the candidates super PACs, had been given by just 22 individuals and corporations. Big money can elect candidates who are corporate-friendly, which leads to the appointment of judges who are corporate-friendly, which leads to legislation and judicial rulings that are corporate-friendly. Also, to clarify a point in the first paragraph of my opinion, in Citizens United v. FEC the Supreme Court struck down the restrictions in the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill that prohibited electioneering communications (funding issue ads within a certain time of an election) by corporations and unions, declaring that those restrictions constituted a violation of the right of free speech. In the process, the court defined corporations as people and money as a form of speech or communication. Therefore, corporations cannot be restricted from spending money on election issues even right up to the day of an election. They are supposedly still prohibited from donating directly to candidates, but the super PACs provide a medium to get around that. Please vote yes on Article 40. Page Guertin, Montpelier

or the 35-plus years Ive lived in Montpelier, theres been a constant complaint about high property taxes. And Ive wondered, Are property-tax complaints today any different from the property tax complaints of 20 or 30 years ago? Yes, Id say, although the complaints may sound the same, the situation is different because the world is different, the economy is different. To be blunt, it strikes me that individually and as a people and a nation, we have become poorer, we are facing greater debt and our capacity to create wealth appears to be in decline. Each of us has a different financial profile. But whether its gas at the pump, college tuitions, propane or oil to heat our houses, cuts in government fuel assistance, rising food costs, health-care costseach us has a list thats ours alonemany of us, and I include myself here, feel the money we have this year isnt stretching as far. Its buying us less. Im aware this may not be a majority view, but I line up with people who question why Montpelier taxpayers are carrying one of the highest municipal tax burdens in the state. As a new Montpelier City Council assembles after March 6, heres one blueprint for needed action. Cut the municipal budget. In one of the new councils earliest March or April goal-setting meetings, lets ask the council to make a commitment for a city-council-approved FY14 budget proposal that reduces municipal expenses. Please put a number on that reduction1, 2, 3 percent. Commit to something solid. Then create a FY14 budget that meets that goal Change the budget-making timetable. Lets ask the new council to bring in an approved FY14 budget proposal for citizen review and comment in late summer or early fallnot in December in the lead-up to the holidays or later during the fevered final discussions in January. Put everything on the table. In building a new FY14 budget, ask the new council to put everything on the table: city staffing levels, compensation and benefit packages, also the major city departments of police, fire and ambulance, and public works, as well as other city functions. And give clear instructions to the city manager in any negotiations with unionized city employees. Examine the big city departments. In reviewing the efficiency of the big city departmentspublic works, police, fire and ambulancestart out from zero appropriations and rigorously question all assumptions. Once the assumptions have been revised and accepted, rebuild the budget and implement the efficiencies. Test regional programs for taxpayer fairness to Montpelier residents. In building a new budget, insist that Montpelier pay its fair share of regional services but no more than its fair share. Regional services include, for example, the Montpelier senior center, the Kellogg-Hubbard Library, the community justice center and mutual aid arrangements for fire and ambulance between the City of Montpelier and nearby communities. Come up with a more rational process for dealing with agency requests. The new council needs to create both a process and a rationale for the timely review of requests for Montpelier taxpayer help to charitable organizations. Voters at the polls need to know that each agency request has been reviewed and evaluated and that only those agencies whose requests have been screened and recommended proceed to the ballot for voter consideration. The process feels opaque at the moment. Plug in the voting public. At the 2011 city meeting, some seven out of 10 Montpelier voters sat out the city meeting election. This has to tell us something. We can and should do better.

The Power of Music

uring a week when I was not too well organized, I waited until late to try to buy a ticket to the February 19 Massively Mozart Concert sponsored by Capitol City Concerts. The tickets were gone, but on the afternoon of the event I turned up at the door and put my name on a waiting list. Just a few minutes before the concert started, my name was called. We are seeing bigger and bigger audiences for classical music in Montpelier. Last fall, when the Montpelier Chamber Orchestra and the Capitol City Concerts held two separate concerts on the same Saturday evening, both concerts sold out. Its not hard to understand whats happening. The Massively Mozart concert was a clear run of lyric joy, from the singing of Julie Boulianne to the flute performance with orchestra of Karen Kevra to the joyously masterful clarinet performance of Daniel Gilbert in a piece that Mozart wrote within two months of his death, his final piece for an orchestral instrument. Karen Kevra first came to know the Mozart flute concerto that she played in concert when, as a 9-year-old music student, she was given a boxed record set of Mozart wind concerti by her elementary-school music teacher and fell in love with his Concerto No. 1 in G Major. Daniel Gilberts awakening to the Mozart clarinet concert was similar. He was 8 years old when somebody gave me a record of Robert Marcellus playing the concerto. I was mesmerized, he wrote. Marcellus later became his clarinet teacher, Its impossible to express what happened at the February 19 concert. I was there. I was hearing the music. I didnt want to be anywhere else. I know how I felt as I entered the performance space; I know, also, that I left feeling transformed.

Option Tax Letters

Option Taxes are a No-Brainer To the Editor: Having just voted absentee ballot in Montpelier, I had the chance to look over and think about the two proposed options taxes. While I dont like flat taxes in general, because theyre regressive, the importance of the revenue generated from these two taxes is a no-brainer. Eighty percent of the revenue from the 1 percent local sales tax would go towards offsetting revenue from municipal property taxes, with 20 percent going towards business development and promotion. And of the 1 percent rooms and meals and alcohol taxes, fully 100 percent of the revenues would go towards infrastructure improvements and maintenance; and if ever there were a city in

Update: The Bridges Annual Campaign

ecent, timely, and deeply appreciated contributions to the annual campaign to benefit The Bridge give us a new total of $10,197 toward the overall campaign goal of $12,000. We had a fundraising envelope that accompanied our February 16 issue. But if you dont have our address, heres the information. Please, if you can, contribute to the annual campaign that benefits The Bridge by making a check out to The Bridge and sending it to our mailing address: The Bridge, P.O. Box 1143, Montpelier, VT 05601. Or feel free to stop by our office. We are located in the lower level of Schulmaier Hall on the Vermont College campus and we are open from about 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Again, thanks.

THE BRIDGE
need of that, it is Montpelier now. I encourage support for these two percentage-wisevery-small taxes, because of the benefits that would result. Lew Friedland, Montpelier Montpelier Alive Concerned About Extra Downtown Taxes To the Editor: In response to community interest in learning more about the impact of the local option taxes on businesses and residents, Montpelier Alive hosted a community forum on the issue on February 23. The goal of the moderated forum was to clearly identify what local option taxes are and discuss how they may affect Montpeliers residents and business owners. The event filled every seat in the room at the Capitol Plaza. While we understand that Montpeliers municipal budget is strained, Montpelier Alive is concerned that the adoption of local option taxes will make it more difficult to accomplish our mission, which includes collaboration with businesses, civic and governmental organizations, and the wider community to enhance the citys position as a preferred location for business. Further, Montpelier Alive is concerned that the adoption of local option taxes may impede the development of a downtown assessment district, which we view as a viable alternative way to support and enhance our downtown. We wish to extend sincere appreciation to all of the community members who attended the forum as well as the moderator and panel members who made the event a success: The moderator was Todd Bailey of KSE Partners. The panel featured Ken Jones of the Vermont Department of Taxes; Bill Fraser, Montpelier city manager; Bob Gross, Montpelier resident; and Rob Kasow, Montpelier resident and co-owner of Bear Pond Books and Rivendell Books. We also would like to thank the Capitol Plaza for hosting, and ORCA Media for broadcasting this event. Greg Guyette, board president, Montpelier Alive family, friends, coworkers and even complete strangers. He is one of those people who I know will take his responsibilities seriously and come into the office every day with an open mind, ready to take on the diverse tasks of being the city clerk. Mike wants to make a difference in the Montpelier community in even the smallest ways. He is intent on increasing the number of voters participating at the polls through outreach efforts, as well as encouraging reciprocal community service. Mike has deep roots in Montpelier that will allow him to reach out to a large percentage of the citys residents. To me, some of the more important qualifications for this position are strict attention to detail, a genuine caring for people from all walks of life and the ability to prioritize. Mike has these qualities, and I have complete faith that he is the man for the job. Eva Morse, Calais Odum Has Skills, Experience and Sound Ideas To the Editor: Montpelier voters will be choosing a new city clerk for the first time in more than two decades. Its important to elect someone who is dedicated to the community and also has relevant skills and experience. Both candidates share the former attribute, but John Odum also brings the needed skills and experience. And he has a solid plan for making the clerks office more efficient through the use of technology. As a longtime information technology/database professional, he knows how to make the the clerks office more accessible to citizens in person and online, and make it more environmentally friendly by cutting down on the use of paper. I dont know Mike Marinelli. In his campaign announcement, he touted his biography and background, and promised to bring family values to the clerks office. I have no idea what that means; family values are nice, but how are they relevant to the office he seeks? His announcement gives no indication of his professional skills, his ideas or his plans. Faced with a choice between two familyminded candidates with strong ties to the community, I urge a vote for the one with relevant experience and sound ideas: John Odum. John Walters, Montpelier Guerlain Has Energy To the Editor: Montpelier is so fortunate to have such a qualified person as Thierry (called Terry) Guerlain running for city council, District 2. Thierry has not only the background but the high energy to tackle some of the citys most vexing problems. We all suffer with broken roads and unsafe sidewalks that have crumbled over the past 10 to 15 years. He wants Montpelier to live within its means and help solve so many of our problems by addressing just how city management directs its dollars and find the solutions to what has been our ever growing problems. Don Lyons, Montpelier Sherman Supports Housing To the Editor: Nancy Sherman has been a dedicated city council member for 12 years. Her experience and her willingness to listen and explore creative solutions are invaluable. She has been supportive of the senior-activities-center rebuilding, the district heat project and a new transit center on the blighted Carr lot. Her experience includes working with the Sabins Pasture study committee on a plan to build high-density housing in one area while preserving another part for open space. This project could revive when the housing market revives. Nancy encouraged my husband and me when we converted our barn into an auxiliary apartment. She was helpful with the permitting process as we did the construction. It works out well for us to live in the smaller space, and a young family lives in the main house. Nancy supports new housing that meets the needs and preferences of moderateincome residents who want to be in walking distance of downtown. She is always willing to listen to concerns and questions from her constituents. We want her to continue her good, thoughtful and experienced work on the city council addressing the issues that are important to us and to future residents. Hedi Ballantyne, Montpelier Guerlain Will Help City Improve Efficiency To the Editor: I am part of a Montpelier business that I started over 30 years ago, which has grown over the years to 29 people. I have served three terms on the design review board. Our downtown location, in the Blanchard Block, has been a great place to work. We first met Thierry Guerlain when we hired his business consulting firm to help our company improve its efficiency, productivity, profitability and, therefore, its sustainability. Thierry has a wonderful grasp of financial, as well as managerial, business issues. He is also a good communicator. He was a big help in showing us ways to improve our business, build on our strengths and our terrific employees. I am excited about the prospect of having a person join the council who combines a love of our city with the ability to help improve its efficiency. As architects, we help people work on projects in many cities around the state, and it is clear that although Montpeliers taxes are often significantly higher than in these towns, the services seem to be no better, and are sometimes worse. Finding out how we can improve our efficiency will help this city remain vital in the long run, and Thierry Guerlain is a positive character who is well suited to assist in this worthy task. John Rahill, Montpelier City Council Needs Balance To the Editor: After reading the most recent Bridge, I felt grateful for those people running for elected office in the upcoming Montpelier March election. The positions expressed were civil, rational, moderate and positive. Reading all the candidates thoughtful answers and observing the lack of contest for mayor got me looking at the election as a whole and the potential new compositions of Montpeliers city council. Labeling is tricky, but I think it is fair to say there are no extreme antigovernment, Tea Partylike candidates, nor, for that matter extreme antibusiness candidates. I also think it fair to say that the positions of John Hollar and Thierry Guerlain are quite similar and might be described as moderate fiscal conservatives, and that Mary Hooper and Nancy Shermans positions have been also quite similar and might be described moderate fiscal progressives. There will be two possible election results in terms the overall composition of the city council. If Nancy is reelected, with John replacing Mary, the council will have one replacement member who is relatively more conservative. If Thierry replaces Nancy, the council will have two replacements, both relatively more conservative than the former members. Montpelier needs and has council members with both types of political biases, one more cautious and one more trusting of governments capabilities. I am sure some Montpelier residents would be pleased by having two more conservative replacements, but I dont think the majority of Montpelier would be pleased with such a result. As a moderate progressive who regrets losing Marys voice, I will be hoping that Nancy holds on to her seat. Harris Webster

M A RC H 114, 2 012 PAG E 21

Guerlain Is Genuine, Friendly, Successful Businessman To the Editor: I have been living and working in Montpelier for well over 20 years, and I have known Thierry Guerlain, city council candidate for Montpeliers District 2, for that entire time. He has been a highly successful businessman working in many diverse areas: Johnson Enviromental, Black River Design, Hearthstone stoves, Graphitek (his own graphic company) and Vermont Weathervanes (again his own company). He has always excelled, because he combines mental acuity and administrative skill with an ability to communicate with people in an easy and natural manner. He is one of the friendliest people you could ever meet. His concern for other people is genuine and sincere. Montpelier would be fortunate to have Thierry Guerlain working on its behalf. Thomas Mulholland, Montpelier Sherman: Thoughtful, ForwardThinking, Experienced To the Editor: The approach of Town Meeting Day is a time for taking stock. In Montpelier, we have important decisions to make about our budget items and which candidates would best represent our values. I will vote for the school and city budgets and for candidates who are committed to maintaining the services that make our city an attractive place to live. That candidate in District 2 is Nancy Sherman, a thoughtful, forward-thinking and experienced council member who understands the issues, including the importance of gaining the most value for our tax dollars. Nancys challenger for the District 2 seat is running on a platform to reduce real-estate taxes without informing us about the depth of tax cuts over time that he believes will make Montpelier affordable or identifying the services to be eliminated in the process. Budget cuts would benefit the wealthy disproportionately and deny services to those who are most dependent upon them. Over the years a generosity of spirit has created a very special community in Montpelier. We have chosen wisely to invest in professional emergency services whose response times save lives and property and a school system that is successful in preparing our kids for the future. We have a wonderful library that is the heart of our community and recreation and senior programs that contribute to the quality of life for many of our neighbors. I hope that my fellow citizens in Montpelier will join me in voting to support these and other services that help to form the fabric of life here. David R. Abbott, Montpelier Guerlain Brought Community to His Neighborhood To the Editor: I support Thierry Guerlain for city council. If elected, Thierry will listen to his constituents and work tirelessly on their behalf. He will offer a fresh perspective, creative solutions, work collaboratively with his fellow councilors and be a unifying force for positive change. I know this to be true, from having watched Thierry in action ever since he moved into our neighborhood. Our neighborhood was always great, but after Thierry moved in it became even better. He brought a real sense of community to our street. He organized the first block party. Last summer we celebrated the 16th annual block party. Thierry became the neighbor who everyone went to for help. Skilled with tools of all kinds, he would spend a day with his chainsaw clearing out overgrown trees from a neighbors back yard, or assisting those of us less skilled than he with home repairs. Thierry is always ready to roll up his sleeves for a neighbor. He put up a basketball hoop in his front yard, not his driveway. Street ball flourished. He painted a foursquare block on the street, and not just kids see LETTERS, page 22

Election Letters
Odum is Best Fit for City Clerk To the Editor: Im writing to encourage Montpelier voters to cast their vote on March 6 for John Odum for the position of city clerk. In my opinion, John is the best fit for this position: he is friendly, intelligent, skilled, responsible and well-versed in local news. I have gotten to know John through our neighborly and friendly exchanges. Whether chatting over the grill during neighborhood barbeques or jumping our cars on those below-zero mornings, John is always willing to lend a hand. He is dependable and authentic in his caring attitude. As the news editor for The Bridge, he is always well informed about what is going on around town. Additionally, he is familiar with the electoral process and has done great work for Planned Parenthood and the Vermont Natural Resources Council. I trust John as a neighbor and a friend and I trust he will make a great city clerk; his serviceoriented demeanor and commitment to this town makes him an ideal candidate. Christopher Pyatak, Montpelier Marinelli Passionate About Serving Others To the Editor: As a lifelong resident of central Vermont, I was very happy to hear of Mike Marinellis intent to run for Montpelier city clerk. The vacancy being created by Charlotte Hoyt povides a unique opportunity for a person like Mike. Having known him for some time now, I believe he is the ideal candidate I would like to see in the position. I have never seen anyone more dedicated and passionate about serving others. On numerous occasions he has bent over backwards for his

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THE BRIDGE

Dont Burden Local Business: Vote No on Option Taxes

by the Montpelier Business Association

he public forum on local option taxes (LOTs) on February 23 made it apparent that there are still some people in Montpelier who are willing to risk that an increased 1 percent on sales and rooms and meals would be no big deal. We hope everyone takes time before Town Meeting Day to learn more about the complexities of the city councils proposal to raise taxes in this way. The Montpelier Business Association feels strongly that LOTs will be detrimental to Montpelier businesses and residents alike for these reasons: Who will pay? LOTs increase costs to you and our customers and directly increases overhead costs of businesses and commercial properties in Montpelier. Businesses will be required to pay the additional taxes on heating fuel, equipment purchases, supplies and any taxable item regardless of where it is purchased. This will have the double effect of driving up business fixed costs and increasing prices on consumer goods. Are LOTs an unfair shift of the tax burden? Yes. Montpeliers tax rate is among the highest in the state, and adopting LOTs is not an efficient, fair or sensible course for raising revenues. Thirty percent of the taxes collected from LOTs would go directly to the state. There are no guarantees that any of the remaining funds would go toward economic development, despite the citys promises. LOTs shift the tax burden to loyal and predominately local consumers, including low-income residents and seniors who shop solely downtown. Keep downtown vibrant. Vermont enjoys a strong shop-local movement and a community that understands the importance of supporting local independent businesses. Montpelier businesses, in kind, contribute heavily to the cultural life of downtown Montpelier LETTERS, from page 21 but adults would stand in line to play. The street in front of Thierrys became the gathering spot. Watching Thierry, one cannot help but be impressed by his intelligence, ingenuity, positive attitude, creativity and community-building skills. He is equally at home in his Jane Austen book group as he is climbing in the dirt to shore up the foundation of a sagging building. As a result, he is able to relate to and empathize with everyone he encounters. More importantly, he inspires them to join together for the common good. Thierry Guerlain has improved the quality of our neighborhood. If elected to city council, he will do the same thing for Montpelier. David Kidney, Montpelier Odum and Guerlain Will Add Value to Government To the Editor: I urge Montpelier residents on March 6 to support John Odum for city clerk and, for those who live in District 2, Thierry Guerlain for city council. I have interacted with John Odum as a professional work colleague and also when he coached my sons baseball team. His understanding of computer systems, and databases in particular, is very strong. And as a coach he demonstrated both fairness and diplomacy. It seems to me a combination of technical savvy and strong interpersonal skills are the sorts of attributes a successful city clerk should possess. Thierry Guerlain I have known over a decade. On two occasions Thierry has provided me with timely, invaluable advice on important personal and business-related financial matters. His clear thinking was extremely helpful to me in those cases. I fully expect he would bring this same sort of

financially and materially. Were afraid that LOTs will act as a disincentive to shop locally and will alienate our loyal customers and participants in the many cultural events hosted by Montpelier. We recognize that the greater central Vermont community and out-of-town tourists are valued customers and a vital part of keeping downtown Montpelier vibrant. Keep Montpelier strong. A difficult economic climate is no time to increase taxes and make Montpelier business less competitive.

With an ongoing recession, stiff competition from box stores, the popularity of Internet shopping and the lingering effects of two floods, downtown businesses are facing difficult financial realities. The potential loss of sales and the increased overhead costs resulting from LOT will put even more pressure on our fragile downtown. The Montpelier Business Association does not believe that LOTs are an equitable or efficient way of solving the citys budgetary prob-

lems. We all have to face the realities of living within our budgets and the City of Montpelier is no exception. We are valuable members of the community and generous supporters of local nonprofits, schools and other local businesses to help keep Montpelier the wonderful place that it is. In our estimation the citys plan to increase sales and rooms and meals taxes will hurt our businesses and ultimately your pocketbook by adding another tax on an already overtaxed community.

Option Taxes Would Ease Burden

by Mary Hooper

he chamber of commerce and business association have done an excellent job of presenting a case against local option taxes. They worry about how this will affect our business community. The chamber suggests that because we can collect money more efficiently from property taxes, that is how we should pay for services. Montpeliers residential community deeply values our downtown and commercial partners. We have worried about our locally owned retailers and small entrepreneurial businesses. We support them by shopping locally and by investing property-tax dollars in the downtown. We make these investments because they make us a stronger, more vital community. We need to keep investing in our community, but we have stretched our property-tax payers too far. We have not heard about the burden our residents are facing. Many in our community live on small fixed incomes; many are state employees who have seen 3 percent and 5 percent reductions in their pay over the past three years. All face the same rising costs of solid, critical analysis to city government. Both John Odum and Thierry Guerlain are dedicated, intelligent Montpelier residents who love this city and who would add significant value to city government. Jake Brown, Montpelier Sherman Has Quiet, Responsive Commitment to Community To the Editor: In this day of bravado and showboat tendencies, Nancy Sherman represents a quiet and responsive civil servant. She neither seeks the limelight nor follows it. Her deportment exemplifies what most folks have forgotten: that one can serve responsibly in a quiet manner. Nancy has participated in moving items forward that have been neglected: from alternative sources of energy for a Montpelier downtown heating system to accessible and affordable modes of transportation for all. Even the current controversy concerning local option taxes that Nancy and others have put forth for Montpeliers citizens is a way of keeping the conversation going about how to generate new revenue sources in a city that has become a commercial and cultural center for so many other Vermonters. We often hear the rallying cry of throwing the old out with the next vote, but there are times when this is not a good idea. It helps to have city representatives who have been involved in governance and policy issues over time. Without such members, a board lacks memory. Nancy has helped to forge directions and to encourage conversations with her electorate. Certainly, the Taser controversy demonstrated a thorough review of the matter before the public, and rightfully so. In the midst of all the issues and controversies that come with public office,

health insurance and energy. We have not heard of the slow shift of paying for services to the residential sector. Twenty-five years ago, residents paid for about half of the cost of services. Today they pay for two-thirds of these services. We have not heard about who consumes Montpelier services. Montpelier has more employees per capita than any community except Williston. This distinction is part of what makes our community so vital 20,000 people coming into town each day. And it is what makes our taxes so highas we pay for the services they use. Nor have we heard a clear explanation of who pays local option taxes. Rooms, meals and alcohol taxes are easy to understand the people who rent a room, buy a meal or a drink will pay the additional 1 percent. Sales taxes are more complex. There are lots of exemptions. Most food and clothing, farm equipment, residential heating fuel, vehicles, items bought for resale and many other items are exempt from the sales tax. Specific data on sources of sales tax is not collected by the state. But one of our large businesses pays $175,000 annually in sales tax. Extrapolating from this, it is safe Nancy listens to her constituency and takes her office of representing District 2 voters seriously. We have known Nancy for a long time and have seen her continued commitment toward all members of the larger community. Her work with adult basic education as well as her present position with the Council on Aging as AmeriCorps director demonstrates her commitment. She bridges gaps and creates supportive structures where all can succeed. The truth of the matter is that we need more Nancy Shermans in these complicated times, not fewer Cynthia and David Hartnett, Montpelier We Need Guerlains Change To the Editor: Nancy Sherman is a wonderful woman who has performed tirelessly for the City of Montpelier for years. We are very grateful for her service. However, Nancys time has come. Montpelier needs new blood, a nonpartisan perspective and fresh energy. With Thierry Guerlain on city council and John Hollar as our new mayor, we have a chance to change the way we do business and make some fiscally responsible decisions before its too late. If changes do not occur soon, the middle class will seek other places to live and businesses will seek other commercial venues that are affordable. Kim Cheney must not have met Mr. Guerlain before he wrote to The Bridge [Letters, February 2]. Thierry is not a Tea Party voice. He has solid business acumen. Thierry has done his homework and understands the problems and politics of Montpelier. Best of all, he has the time, ability and desire to effect change. We need change, no question. We need a new approach to finances, and we need re-

to assume that the major employers pay at least half of the sales tax. This is the same commercial sector that draws people into the town and that has seen its share of property taxes rise at a slower rate than residential property-tax payers. We do know that less than half of the sales taxes paid in Montpelier will come from the people who shop locally. We do know that as the charter changes are proposed, the local option taxes will reduce property taxes on the average residential property in Montpelier by about $150, in addition to investing an additional $100,000 in the business sector. And that if Montpelier passes local option taxes, the average residential property-tax payer would have to spend more than $15,000 to offset this tax savings. We should not allow this conversation about local option taxes to devolve into a business versus resident debate. I hope we will carefully consider how we support the needs all of this community. How do we fairly share the responsibility of providing services to all in our community? Mary Hooper is mayor of Montpelier. vised priorities. Too many of our city leaders have been wedded to projects like the Carr Lot and the district heating plant that go nowhere and make no practical fiscal sense. We have real issues to address, like our lousy streets and too high taxes. We continually hear justifications from City Hall about why we cant fix the roads, why we blew it with Scott Construction, why a local option tax is good, etc. It is a dizzying merry-goround of excuses. My wish for Montpelier is new leaders who will make things change, stop spending money unnecessarily and frivolously, and address our infrastructure first and foremost, then move on to the amenities if there is money and a desire from our citizenry. Dot Helling, Montpelier Guerlain Has Business Acumen To the Editor: About 10 years ago, Thierry Guerlain bought a floundering graphic signs business in Bennington. I was the insurance broker for the business, both before and after Thierry bought it. This is what I know about Thierry: He took this business and its 10 or so employees from the brink of failure to become a stable, profitable business through imaginative ideas and a lot of hard work. In my 25 years as an insurance broker, Ive met a lot of business owners and have seen how they run a business. Ive met very few whom I respect as much as I do Thierry, both for his fiscal acumen and for his ability to encourage his staff to use their own ideas and skills to make the workplace better and more successful. I wish I had 10 more clients just like him, and if he were running for office here in Bennington, hed certainly get my vote. Mark Kevorkian, Bennington

THE BRIDGE

M A RC H 114, 2 012 PAG E 2 3

City Clerk Candidates Introduce Themselves

John Odum
I am a credentialed database programmer and Internet technology specialist. In the last two decades, Ive worked for organizations such as the Vermont Natural Resources Council and Planned Parenthood (where I was responsible for maintaining a database application used by clinics over three states). These professional skills will allow me to identify opportunities to increase efficiency in the office and cut down on paper use. As a Web programmer, Ill also be able to identify ways to make the website more useful. My experience will also serve me well in some of the more particular responsibilities of the city clerk. As a former Montpelier justice of the peace, I have firsthand understanding of how the clerk supports the board of civil authority. As the news editor of The Bridge, Ive been a close observer of the city council (particularly the budget process) and have a strong understanding of city governance, which will help me support the council. I have extensive professional experience with election campaigns in Vermontboth at the state and local level. I am ideally suited to be the local point person on election law, as well as to run smooth election processes for the city. Finally, my years spent supporting political candidates, nonprofit membership and medical clinics have more than prepared me for the task of maintaining a responsive and positive customer-service environment in the clerks office. I am both a husband and a parent and have a strong attachment to our community. My wife, Cary, works at Norwich University, and I have two boysTucker and Zanewho are in the Montpelier schools. From raising these kids, along with being a local baseball coach for the last couple years, I know that Montpelier is the greatest place in the world to raise a family. John Odum, Montpelier bring to fellow residents my hardworking values, dedication and commitment. I am a graduate of Montpelier High School and Paul Smiths College, with a degree in hospitality and culinary-arts management. I have worked all of my adult life in the foodservice industry and 20 years as manager of Knights of Columbus, a nonprofit fraternal benefit society. My work experience and skills parallel many of the skills needed to perform the duties of city clerk. Most importantly, I have excellent communication skills to effectively interact with a diverse group of people. I have proven interpersonal skills, tact, diplomacy and a cooperative attitude. I have sound business-management skills. I am fiscally responsible and efficiencyminded. My strong organizational skills and goal-oriented mindset will ready me to accomplish objectives for the city. I have working knowledge of and experience with personal and business computer and accounting applications. I am eager to learn the citys systems for maintaining and recording vital records, land records, the election processes and collaborating with other city officials to make improvements, if needed. Montpelier is known as a family city where community and commitment to your fellow residents is given top propriety. I want to give back and serve the Montpelier community that has been an integral part of my familys life through this position of public office. I appreciate your support, thank you! Mike Marinelli, Montpelier

Mike Marinelli

or more than two decades, Charlotte Hoyt has given Montpelier citizens a clerk-treasurer office built on a foundation of dedication and hard work. Job 1 for the next clerk will be to keep that foundation secure. Job 2 will be to find ways to build on that foundation for greater efficiency and savings. I can offer Montpelier the professional skills, the management experience and the track record of accomplishment required to meet these challenges.

Opinions

s a longtime resident of Montpelier, I am excited and will be honored to serve each and every resident of the City of Montpelier in the capacity of city clerk and will

Discussion Needs Statistics, Not Anecdotes

by Jed Guertin

he presentations and discussion at the Montpelier candidates forum were excellent. However, a recurring theme was, The tax rate is too high, and We have champagne tastes and a beer budget. Sadly, sound bites skew the debate away from the issues. Here are some numbers to consider (see chart at right). These are all older nuclear cities with extensive and aging infrastructure, surrounded by rural communities. These cities provide amenities to their surrounding towns. Note that Montpeliers median home values are the highest, and the tax rates are the lowest, of these comparable cities. Montpeliers high tax bill, viewed from this perspective, appears to be a function of the relatively high

property values, not the tax rate. Property values have probably remained high because Montpelier is a desirable place to live. If we mindlessly cut taxes just to cut taxes, we run the risk of undermining property values by removing some of the amenities that make the city attractive. I hope that the candidates, in the next week, can restructure their dialogue to an open conversation of the real issues. I have questions for each of the District 2 candidates for city council: Nancy: You have mentioned the issue of regional equity; that is, assuring that the surrounding communities contribute equitably to the cost of the citys amenities. On what basis did the council determine that regional equity is an issue? What options, besides sales tax, are there for resolving the inequity?

Tax Rate Barre City Rutland City Springfield Brattleboro Montpelier 1.4725 1.3095 1.1799 1.0941 1.0074

Median Median Prop Value Population Tax Bill $130,110 $132,900 $142,000 $187,970 $212,900 9,052 16,495 3,901 7,414 7,855 $1,916 $1,740 $1,674 $2,057 $2,145

MedInc (1=VT) .77 .78 .64 .72 .99

MedHome (1=VT) .70 .75 .65 .91 .99

Tax on $200K Home $2,945 $2,619 $2,360 $2,188 $2,014

(MedInc is the communitys median household income divided by VT median household income. MedHome is the communitys median home value divided by VT median home value.)

Thierry: You said that young people are discouraged from buying property in Montpelier because taxes are too high, yet continued high property values suggest that there is still a demand for Montpelier housing. Do you have statistical, as opposed to anecdotal, evidence to support your statement? How

do you explain the significant differences in market value between Montpelier and these other comparable cities?

Jed Guertin is a Montpelier resident.

We Need More than Assertions

by Dan Jones

s we approach Montpeliers town meeting, we are seeing profound division emerging, expressed in both the heated debate over the local option taxes and in the city council contest between Nancy Sherman and Thierry Guerlain (representing his Vibrant and Affordable Montpelier (VAM) coalition). While its exciting to have such a debate, the arguments require more than assertions and assumptions. All I am hearing from the antitax side are unfounded assertions. They simply state that any new taxes hurt business and home owners, but where is the proof? Guerlain claims his budgetary discipline will force a new direction, but, again, where is his proof? I, too, would love lower taxes, but not without a serious discussion of the long-term consequences of such austerity. All I hear instead are short-

term assertions that echo right-wing political arguments of the last two years. We are told tax policies will benefit business and keep more residents in their homes. Why? Their simplistic answers basically repeats the Fox News position that all taxes are bad bad bad. I would love to hear concrete, low-cost plans to preserve Montpeliers most treasured assets: its safety, its human scale and stable quality of life. However, Im old enough to know that such valued qualities do not come cheap. Sure, the VAM coalition and businesses who oppose the local option tax claim to want a vibrant Montpelier. They just dont say how that will be maintained with their no new taxes and across-the-board 3 percent budget cut. Such demands for fiscal austerity remind me of Tea Party demands based on the idea that all government is wasteful. We saw how that movement played out in Con-

gress last year, to no good end. Do we really want to encourage that type of thinking in our city council? This is not a attack on Mr. Guerlain, who reputed to be generous, socially progressive and a good father. However, I do wish he and his coalition engaged in more concrete proposals for the budget than simply demanding the city manager decide what programs to axe. Look at what has happened in California when mandatory austerity (similar to VAMs proposal) was imposed on local governments by Proposition 13, passed by angry California voters during a deep recession in 1978. Prop 13 put a tight lid on property taxes, preventing growth of local government. Over the last 30 years, this law has utterly decimated the states public education system and left hundreds of California municipalities mired in a world of hurt, often bankrupt. Do we really want Montpelier to start down that road?

We are all living in economic fear because growth is stalled, unemployment is high, and many of us are in debt up to our ears. In this environment, our city, like any good household, needs closely manage its expenses. But we have to do it responsibly. So, before engaging in wholesale tax trashing, could Montpelier have a real debate on what we actually want for future services and how we pay for them? This debate needs more sophistication than simply asserting that controlling waste and better management will save Montpeliers budget. We need candidates and proposals who will provide leadership, not just assertions, in the face of looming economic challenges. We must recognize that our collective quality of life here has a value way beyond a percentage point on our tax bill. Next, we must act accordingly. Dan Jones is a Montpelier resident.

PAG E 24 M A RC H 114, 2012

THE BRIDGE

The Washington County Youth Service Bureau/Boys & Girls Club is an important resource to the residents of Montpelier.
During the past year the Washington County Youth Service Bureau/Boys & Girls Club provided the following services to young people and families in Montpelier: 240 Teens participated in the Basement Teen Center in Montpelier that provides supervised drop-in time, leadership opportunities, and many activities & events. 57 Teens were served by the Community Assistance Program that helps youths avoid substance abuse or make connections with treatment services. 26 Youths and their Families were assisted by the Country Roads Program that provides 24-hour crisis intervention, short-term counseling, and temporary, emergency shelter for youth who have run away, are homeless, or are in crisis. 41 Teens were provided with Substance Abuse Treatment. 6 Family members (3 teens and 3 children) participated in the Teen Parent Program that helps teen parents build parenting and life skills, continue their education, and create healthy homes. 14 Teens participated in the Transitional Living Program that helps homeless young people make the transition to independent living. 1 Young man was served by Return House that provides transitional assistance to young men who are returning to Barre City from jail. Return House is staffed 24/7. 192 Community Members were served through the 39th Community Thanksgiving Dinner organized by the Bureau (83 of these were provided with home-delivered meals). 10 Youths were served through the VT Green Youth Program that helps youth living in difcult circumstances in central VT access trainings and certications that lead to successful employment in the green jobs eld.

The Basement Teen Center/Boys & Girls Club

The Basement Teen Center Boys & Girls Club, located in the basement of Montpeliers City Hall, is a substance-free, adult-supervised space for teens to gather, attend workshops, learn leadership skills, and have fun. At the Basement, teens have snacks, cook, talk, play pool, listen to music, and participate in a wide variety of activities. The Basement is open from 2-6 pm Monday through Thursday, and 3-10 pm on Friday. In the past program year: 146 Montpelier teens participated in the Basements daily activities. 66% of the 221 individual teens who participated in the Teen Center were Montpelier residents. 94 Montpelier teens participated in special activities and events. Of the 117 youth participating in special events and activities, 80% were from Montpelier. 145 activities were sponsored by the Basement including Friday night dinners, lmmaking workshops, photography, health and tness workshops, Montpelier Amazing Race, paintball, movie nights, digital photo scavenger hunts, music Mondays, pool tournaments and much more! 28 community volunteers donated time to lead activities, help with special events, or help during drop-in time. Daily drop-ins ranged from 5 to 36 teens. Teens made a total of 2,725 drop-in visits to the Basement.

Referrals to our services come from parents, school personnel and other organizations, the VT Department of Children and Families, the VT Department of Corrections, churches, police ofcers and young people themselves. Many are received through our 24-Hour Crisis Response Service. The Youth Service Bureau/Boys & Girls Club is a private, non-prot, social service agency. All programs and services are funded by foundations, state government, federal government, private donations, area towns, Medicaid, private insurance and fundraising activities.

The following Montpelier businesses urge you to support the Basement Teen Center on Town Meeting Day and throughout the year.
Always Answering Service Aubuchon Hardware Bob Sheil, Juvenile Defender Bonnie Johnson-Aten Buch Spieler Capital Copy Capital Kitchen Capital Stationers The Cheshire Cat The Drawing Board Elm Street Barber Shop First In Fitness The Getup Vintage Clothing Global Gifts Guitar Sam Heathers Nearly New The Jolly Trader Antiques and Vintage Delights Katies Jewels Manghis Bread Minuteman Press No. 9 Boutique ORCA Media Pinkys on State Sarduccis State Street Engraving Thats Life Soup The Leahy Press Tulsi Tea Room Uncle Mikes Deli The Uncommon Market Vermont Trading Company Village Pizza Woodbury Mountain Toys