The Bridge, January 21, 2016

M a r ij ua n a L egisl at ion Updat e Page 4
January 21 February 3, 2016
Mid-Winter Follies
A Community Variety Show to Benefit The Bridge
Saturday, February 6
7:30 p.m.
Capitol Plaza
IN THIS ISSUE:
Pg. 7 New Zoning Map
and Regulations
From far left clockwise: Allison Mann,

George Woodard, Leanne Ponder and Tim
Jennings, Nisht Gerferlach Klezmer Band,
Michael T Jermyn, Reuben Jackson, Ivan
Jermyn, Susan Reid, Donny Osman
Pg. 9 Barre Antiques

Pg. 11 Vermonters on
Trump
Beat the Mid-Winter Blues at the

Mid-Winter Follies!
The Bridge
P.O. Box 1143
Montpelier, VT 05601
PRSRT STD
CAR-RT SORT
U.S. Postage
PAID
Montpelier, VT
Permit NO. 123
by Carla Occaso
MONTPELIER Welcome! Get ready to

come in from the cold! The Bridge presents
a lineup of entertainment to bring some
light and joy into your wintry night at
the Capitol Plaza Hotels Montpelier Room
February 6 at 7:30 p.m.
We expect to host a fun and frolicksome
occasion to help hurry along the passage
of the season, but it has a serious purpose
for us. We need to raise some funds! We
provide a forum for anyone who chooses
to write a letter or story and get their voice
heard that gets mailed out to every resident
who lives in the 05602 zip code. We work
with youth (published a writer as young as
10 in 2015) and with elders (working closely
with the Montpelier Senior Activity Center
and writing teacher Maggie Thompson, we
published numerous pieces from people in
their 70s and 80s).
YOUR BOX AD HERE!
Advertise in this space by
calling The Bridge's
advertising department at
223-5112 ext. 11
We are not just here for the rich and powerful although we dont discriminate
against them, either we are here for the
children, the impoverished, the food insecure, the disabled, mentally ill, uninsured
and disenfranchised. We are here for the
artists, the writers, poets and actors. We are
here for the mayor, the department of public works and the city council. We are here
for the tourists, restaurants and downtown
stores. And the movie theaters. And the
library. But enough! Back to the show! The
following fine citizens writers, thespians,
comedians, musicians have donated their
precious time to participate in our event.
the United States, at Boston University. He

has also been in Hollywood films and New
York City theater.
CALL TODAY FOR

YOUR TICKETS TO
The Law Office of Amy K. Butler,

Esquire, PLLC
Bankruptcy Family Law
Estate Planning
64 Main St., Ste. 26, Montpelier
802-371-0077
akbutler@amykbutlerlaw.com
The other performers, in alphabetical order,

are seasoned professionals with a love of
their craft.
Reuben Jackson, a published poet and

teacher, might be better known to Vermonters for his gig as host of Saturday Night Jazz
on Vermont Public Radio. Jackson will read
some of his poetry. He is best known for
haiku, but he has a diverse portfolio. Jackson also taught a poetry workshop hosted
last October by The Bridge. Additionally,
Jackson taught poetry at the Writers Center
We were lucky enough to get as master of in Bethesda, Maryland before moving to
ceremonies comedian Tom Murphy. Mur- Vermont. He is a poet, radio commentator
phy co-founded two international touring and music critic who, when
comedy troupes and has taught in DenContinued on Page 10
mark, France, Germany, Austria and in
MID-WINTER FOLLIES
223-5112, ext 12
Seats are limited!
PAG E 2 J A N UA RY 21 F E B RUA RY 3 , 2 016
THE BRIDGE
Cody Chevrolet Congratulates The Bridge

On Over 20 Years of Business!
Tell them you saw it in

The Bridge!
Follow The Bridge

on Twitter:
@montpbridge
Like The Bridge on

Facebook:
facebook.com/
thebridgenewspapervt
J A N UA RY 21 F E B RUA RY 3 , 2 016 PAG E 3
T H E B R I D G E
The Bridge Just $3,892 Shy

of $15,000 Fundraising Goal
by Nat Frothingham
eaders and friends of The Bridge have now contributed $11,108 as part of our annual
fundraising campaign.
That campaign which began this year with our paper of October 15 fills a critical dollar gap
between what the paper receives from advertising and subscriptions and what it costs to write,
edit, design, publish and distribute the paper.
In a typical year we hope to raise $15,000 in our annual campaign. So with $11,108 we are
74 percent of where we need to be.
In years past I used to regret having to ask our readers and friends for money so that The
Bridge could continue to publish. I wanted the paper to be able to stand on its own two feet
as a successful business.
In the abstract, Id still like that to be the case. At the same time, I look at what The Bridge
achieves in writing news stories, providing a calendar and publishing letters and opinion
pieces from a range of people without regard to their personal political convictions.
I like it that The Bridge is a free paper. I like to think that anyone in our community can pick
up The Bridge and find out whats happening and follow the news and explore public issues.
I believe The Bridge has a value and its value is not unlike the value of a good book, or a
library, or a college, or a theater or a great radio station. And in seeking your help we are
acknowledging the papers value and acknowledging things as they are.
We are at 74 percent of what we need in our current campaign for support.
If you have already helped us please accept our thanks. If you would like to help but havent
helped us yet, please write a check made payable to The Bridge and send it to this address:
The Bridge, P.O. Box 1143, Montpelier, VT 05601. Or stop by our office in Stone Science
Hall (62 Ridge Street) on the campus of Vermont College of Fine Arts. You can also call, mail
or fax in a credit card donation. Our fax number is 223-7852. In addition, if you arent feeling
well or are just getting around to your estate planning, please dont forget to add a token to
help bolster our continued sustainability in your last will and testament.
Again, thanks sincerely both now and in the past for your timely and generous support.
Nature Watch
by Nona Estrin
Hibernation Time? Mais, Oui!
ig thanks to Chip Darmstadt for writing this piece while I was in southern
France, where every day was a bit cooler than Vermont during November and
December! Now we grumble about the cold, but bear, jumping mice, bats,
woodchucks, raccoons, skunks, and chipmunks, and reptiles and amphibians
too, have finally been able to stop burning their precious fat stores, and are now either
hibernating or in a torpid state. It's good to be home and find that the natural world has
returned to normal!
Watercolor by Nona Estrin
Advertise in the NEXT ISSUE:
VALENTINE'S DAY
Promote Valentine's Day events
Advertise treats for sweethearts
Issue in circulation:
February 4 February 17
ALL AD MATERIALS AND AD SPACE
RESERVATIONS DUE FRIDAY, JAN. 29.
For more information about advertising deadlines,
rates and the design of your ad call 223-5112 ext. 11
or email our ad salesrepresentatives at
michael@montpelierbridge.com or
rick@montpelierbridge.com
Support The Bridge

Become a Community Contributor!
Name______________________________________________________
Address_____________________________________________________
City____________________________________ State_____Zip__________
Email_________________________________
All community contributions, whatever

suits your budget, will be welcomed.
$200 $250 Other $________
*Contributions of $50 or more are eligible to receive a one-year subscription.
Please mark the box if you have contributed $50 or more and would like The
Bridge delivered to you. YES, Send me every issue of The Bridge for one year!
$25
$50*
$100
$150
Friends of The Bridge will be periodically acknowledged in future issues of

The Bridge. I wish to remain anonymous
Send this form and your check to:

The Bridge, P.O. Box 1143, Montpelier, VT 05601
Thank
You!
THE BRIDGE
Marijuana Legislation Update: Planning Chair Supports

Legalizing Pot, Law Enforcement Opposes
by Carla Occaso
MONTPELIER Former Vermont Attorney General Kimberly Cheney, chair of

the Montpelier planning commission, has
been tapped by the Vermont Coalition to
Regulate Marijuana to serve as spokesperson for the cause to legalize recreational
marijuana sales and use. Or, as they word
it, borrowing from a previous era's alcohol
ban, to "end prohibition."
As a former attorney general of Vermont,
I am committed to bringing awareness to
the failures of marijuana prohibition and
working toward a safer Vermont, Cheney
stated in a press release issued by the coalition. We cant expect a different result by
doing the same failed action over again.
The only hope lies in a fundamentally different approach; without further delay, the
Vermont legislature should move forward
with plans to regulate marijuana in 2016.
The coalition is now using a poster with
Cheneys visage to advertise and promote
marijuana legalization. The group is
headed up by Matt Simon, New England
political director and legislative analyst
of the Washington, D.C.-based Marijuana
Policy Project, which formed the subgroup
"Vermont Coalition to Regulate Marijuana." Simon was also heavily involved
in the successful campaign for Vermonts
new decriminalization law, according to
mpp.org. Vermont is just one of the New
England states targeted by the Marijuana
Policy Project, Simon told The Bridge by
telephone. In addition to Vermont, the
organization is executing a ballot initiative
in Massachusetts. Vermont does not allow
for a ballot initiative (taking the matter
directly to voters), so his organization has
to go into the legislative committee rooms
to directly influence lawmakers. Simon,
39, recently moved to Vermont from New
Hampshire, where laws to legalize personal possession, cultivation and use of
marijuana are scheduled to be discussed.
Simon led the discourse at the podium
in the State Houses Cedar Creek Room
January 13 to announce Cheneys affiliation with the coalition.
Cheneys view, however, conflicts with

that of some law enforcement agencies.
On January 13, the same day Cheney
announced his participation, Bennington
Police Chief Paul Doucette, head of the
Vermont Association of Chiefs of Police,
and Rutland County Sheriff Steve Benard
testified in the Senate Judiciary Committee against legalizing recreational weed.
Montpeliers Police Chief Anthony Facos,
head of the Vermont Police Association,
also opposes marijuana legalization. Facos
in October told The Bridge I am strongly
opposed to the legalization of marijuana
due to the impact on highway fatalities (in
states that have legalized) and given the
drug epidemic and drug problems here in
Montpelier. The issue is especially pertinent to Montpelier residents because there
is a state-sanctioned medical marijuana
dispensary behind the old Trading Post by
the Winooski River. According to several
documents, licensed dispensaries would
be the likeliest places to start selling legal
recreational marijuana.
For example, a summary of senate bill
S.95 states the law permits a nonprofit
dispensary or a benefit corporation to register with the Board of Marijuana Control as a Marijuana Product Manufacturer,
Marijuana Testing Laboratory, Marijuana
Retailer or Marijuana Lounge. The law
also establishes preferences for current
dispensaries.
Meanwhile, some bills proposed in 2015
in the House of Representatives seek to
expand the list of medical conditions that
can legally be alleviated through medical
marijuana. Bill H.245 would add Crohns
disease, colitis, glaucoma, amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis to already allowable medical conditions including cancer, multiple
sclerosis, positive status for human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome. In addition,
H. 139 seeks to add the symptoms of
post-traumatic stress disorder to the list of
permitted medical conditions.
Q & A with Kim Cheney
Carla Occaso: How would legalization decrease unregulated illegal growth and sales by
unlicensed individuals?
Cheney: Your question implies that the current system of prohibition is a more effective
system for control of marijuana use and abuse (both by use and law evasion) than legalization. The premise needs to be looked at.
Legalization, together with a comprehensive regulatory system of licensing sellers, restricting sales to minors, controlling THC content, pricing below black market rates and enforcement is proposed as an alternative to the existing system of rewarding manufacturers
and distributors by maintaining high prices for their product though creation of the risk
of criminal sanctions. The collateral costs of that system including police, corrections,
and courts is high, while individual costs imposed by a criminal record are economically
debilitating. Legalization proposes directing profits to public control to be used for rehabilitation, education, and improvements to public health. Prohibition, on the other hand, is
a system for directing profits to criminals who have an incentive to develop more customers
and it has been quite successful in doing so. Certainly, people will continue to seek ways
to profit from evasion of either system by evading laws. Marijuana can be and presently is
grown in Vermont, both inside and outside. Either process requires work and investment
in time, money, creation of a distribution system and a risk of criminal penalties.
Whether legalization can produce a quality supply with known properties at a price that
makes such work and risk unattractive is unknown. The proposition is that prohibition
has not produced the results society seeks. Reasonably, people would try some other way
to achieve those results.
Occaso: How would legalization prevent youths from getting marijuana?
Cheney: Probably people under 18 who want marijuana will continue to get it just as
they do now from friends and illicit suppliers. The legalization proposition is that such
friends and suppliers will at least not also be in the business of selling heroin or other drugs.
Possibly a legal market place will reduce the number of illicit growers and pushers. It is
hard to see how legalization would make matters worse.
Occaso: Do you think the use of marijuana has any detrimental effects (physically) on
human beings? If so, what?
Cheney: My position is that all drugs, wrongfully used, are harmful. The policy proposal
to end prohibition rests on the known facts that prohibition has not been an effective
harm reduction strategy. Insanity, as Einstein reminds us, is doing the same thing over
again and expecting a different result.
Former Attorney General

Kimberly Cheney, Montpeliers Planning Commission Chair, has given his
support and his likeness
to the Vermont Coalition
to Regulate Marijuana to
use in promotional materials seeking to influence
lawmakers to legalize and
regulate the recreational
use of marijuana.
HEARD ON THE STREET
Clean Water Needs in Vermont Estimated at $154 Million
MONTPELIER The United States Environmental Protection Agency recently released the 2012 Clean Watersheds Needs Survey (http://www.epa.gov/cwns). This survey
compiles 2012 data for wastewater and stormwater projects planned for the five years following the survey. The five-year cost for these projects across the nation was $271 billion,
of which Vermonts share was $154 million.
Local communities can obtain low-interest loans for wastewater and stormwater projects through Vermonts clean water state revolving fund, which receives an infusion of
roughly $17 million a year from federal and state sources, which includes funding for
project planning.
Local communities can access planning funds to initiate water quality projects. Preliminary engineering is a critical first step to advancing capital improvement projects,
commented Eric Blatt, Facilities Engineering Division Director for the Department of
Environmental Conservation. Communities interested in learning about these funds are
encouraged to contact the Facilities Engineering Division.
Honoring Joe Tetreault

26 years of volunteering at Kellogg-Hubbard Library
MONTPELIER In 1989, Joe Tetreault, and his wife, Bev, started volunteering at the
Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Together they wrote and sent postcards to patrons with overdue books and maintained the patron accounts in ledgers. All of this was handwritten.
Then came the day that the Kellogg-Hubbard Library decided to automate their card
catalog and circulation. Joe worked doggedly to place bar codes on all of the books. Joe
literally handled thousands of library books while accomplishing this task. Joe and Bev
volunteered together until 2003 when Bev passed away. Joe has continued to help with
various computer work over the years and one time donned a hard hat and chopped down
overgrown shrubs in front of the library.
Joe worked under many library directors, including, Hilari Farrington, who was direc-
tor from 2001 to 2009. Joe is one in a million. He is always upbeat and has a positive
outlook on life. Its a pleasure to be around him. He is a good friend.
Tom McKone, executive director, asked the board of trustees to write a proclamation
honoring Joe Tetreault for his many years of volunteer service at the library. Joes
work has been so important to the library and he is the longest serving volunteer at the
Kellogg-Hubbard Library. We wanted Joe to know that he has made a difference in our
lives.
Congratulations, Joe!
Cannabis Presentations Planned Jan. 27, Feb. 10 and 16

MONTPELIER Dr. Bertha K. Madras, a professor of psychobiology at Harvard
Medical Schools Department of Psychiatry, will present her latest research linking cannabis, opiates, the biology of marijuana and the consequences of legalization.
Her research in drug addiction is internationally recognized and groundbreaking. On
her way back to Harvard after consulting with the government of Mexico about drug
legalization, she will be in Vermont on January 27 for Prevention Awareness Day at the
Vermont State House for daytime presentations and a press conference. Madras will give
a public presentation at the Pavilion Auditorium in the evening. Light refreshments start
at 6, and the presentation begins at 6:30. There will be time for questions after her talk.
Do not miss the opportunity to hear this world-renowned neuroscience expert on marijuana, opioids and addiction all topics relevant to the Vermont conversation today!
Central Vermont New Directions Coalition is working with the Vermont Department
of Health and the statewide organization Prevention Works VT, to educate the community about current substance abuse issues, the impact and resources for help. Upcoming
events in this Prevention Presentation Series for students/parents/community include
The Opiate Effect with speaker Skip Gates on Wednesday, February 10 at 6:30 p.m.
at U-32 High School, and The Other Side of Cannabis with MSMS Parent Advisory
Group and MHS Boosters on Tuesday, February 16 at 6:30 p.m. in Montpelier High
School auditorium. For more information, contact agilbert@cvndc.org or 223-4949.
T H E B R I D G E
The Bridge Presents Education Secretary Rebecca Holcombe

by Jose Aguayo
MONTPELIER School districts find themselves between a rock and a hard place according to skeptics of the legislatures latest attempt (Act 46) at fixing problems that were decades
in the making. In this context, and as part of its commitment to serving our community, The
Bridge organized a panel discussion held at the Kellogg-Hubbard library the evening of January
14, featuring a lively exchange between Rebecca Holcombe, secretary of the Agency of Education, and a knowledgeable and outspoken critic, Hazen Union School Chair David Kelley, with
Donny Osman as moderator.
able to keep under its previous years Cost Containment Per Pupil Threshold, as defined by
Act 46, will see district property tax increased by a penny for every $100 spent above a given
threshold amount. As such, a drop in student population in a small district may translate into
a tax penalty, increasing the pressure to merge with neighboring districts.
Holcombe acknowledged that districts shouldnt be motivated into reform by financial incentives which critics say are being dangled to entice districts to consolidate. They are short
term supports to help you make system changes and if you dont have a clear vision for what
your system changes are and how they are going to leave you in a better place in five years, it
would be absolutely a mistake to rush into something because you wouldnt end up where you
needed to be, she added.
pause, stated Secretary Holcombe. We used to have 25 percent of our kids on free and reduced
lunch, the average now is 40 percent but in the Northeast Kingdom we have schools with
70 percent, said Kelley.
As a result of shrinking student population, tuition towns (communities lacking schools of their
own) are finding their students are becoming a commodity in a marketplace where pupils are up
for grabs by districts trying to raise their average daily membership, its like a game of musical
In his opening remarks, Kelley cautioned not to rush into school district consolidation mo- chairs, some people are going to be left standing, says David Kelley. He pointed to Craftsbury
tivated by a piece of legislation (Act 46) that as he put it, had to be explained to him by two Academy as an outstanding educational institution that could suffer under Act 46 as nearby
lawyers for over an hour (even though he himself is an attorney). In his opinion, small schools districts entice students to join their consolidated schools.
are the heart and soul of many towns, and preserving them safeguards a valuable tradition. Both panelists described Vermont as increasingly stratified socioeconomically. Schools that
Taking those schools out would be like ripping their hearts out, he warned, adding that he serve large numbers of students who live in poverty are becoming schools that serve even higher
was apprehensive about Act 46 for a half dozen reasons. Among them, the loss of students and numbers of students living in poverty and our more affluent towns are becoming more affluthe evisceration of budgets.
ent they are becoming more like gated communities its something that should give us
A rapidly growing rate of poverty and the problems associated with living in poverty are challenges that will test Vermonts leaders in the coming years. According to Secretary Holcombe,
40 percent of the kids in state custody are under age 5, and these children will soon join the
Under Act 46, districts choosing to move forward with accelerated mergers (an action requir- school population. While a solution is not contemplated by Act 46, Vermonts high cost of living
ing voter approval by June 30, 2016) will benefit from a property tax reduction the first year. is clearly not doing much to attract families with school age children into the state.
This number will fall by 2 cents each subsequent year, for a total 5-year tax incentive of 30 cents. The Jan 14 presentation, entitled Expanding Educational Opportunities for our SchoolchilGrants are also available to carry out merger feasibility studies.
dren during Tough Economic Times is the first of a series planned by The Bridge, and is part of
At its core, the law aims to reshape Vermonts education landscape through district consolida- its transition into a Vermont non-profit and eventually a federal tax-exempt 501c3 organization.
tion at a time of falling student population and fiscal tightening. Enrollment in schools fell by
1,200 this academic year, according Holcombe, continuing a negative trend which will inevitably result in the closure of small schools by shifting and combining student populations to
larger schools, as Kelley argued. The stated intent of the legislation is to better position districts
to serve their student populations many small schools dont offer a good education due to
their size, and children dont have a chance at a good education simply because of the zip code
in which they live, something Holcombe considers fundamentally offensive in a state that is so
proud of its strong commitment to equity. Act 46 proponents emphasize its deference to local
decision making/local control when it comes to deciding whether or not to merge with nearby
districts, however, critics believe the financial penalties associated with failure to comply may
result in rushed decisions by many communities.
As explained in late December by Brad James, the agencys finance manager, any district un-
After First-Ever Robbery,

Adamant Residents
Make Lemonade
by Larry Floersch
ADAMANT As has recently happened at many convenience and small grocery stores
in the area, the Adamant Cooperative store was robbed December 29, 2015, possibly by the
same perpetrator involved in the other robberies. This was the first time in recent memory
and perhaps ever in its 80-year existence that the co-op was robbed during store hours. In
the case of the co-op robbery, the perpetrator did not appear to have a weapon. Instead, he
waited until after dark, then, when the person working the counter was alone and had turned
away, he grabbed the cash register, yanked it loose, and ran out of the store. Weve had some
break-ins after hours over the years, said Janet MacLeod, a co-op member who has an art
studio above the store, but this is the first time weve had a crime during store hours.
Winter is our slowest time of the year, said store manager Regina Thompson, and many
of our transactions are charges, so the robber didnt get much cash. Still, the store is a closemargin operation and this is the toughest time of the year. We did lose money and we had to
replace the cash register. And it has our staff very concerned about safety.
Responding to that concern, members of the cooperative and local residents have circled
the wagons around the little store in a creative way. Since the robbery, the co-op has been
having an open house every afternoon and evening in support of the staff member running the store so that person is not alone after dark. And the open house now features live
music. Local musicians have worked up a schedule for live performances in the store. The
first concert took place Tuesday, January 12. Plans are in the works to add poetry readings,
game nights and group sing-alongs. The community has really come together over this and
has been extremely supportive, said Thompson, We really appreciate it.
It was a fantastic afternoon, said co-op staff member Andrea Serota of the concert, The
support of the Adamant community is wonderful. They have taken a bad situation and
turned it around, kind of like making lemonade when given lemons.
Store manager Thompson added that she hoped anyone with any information about the robbery will contact the state police.
Local musicians Rick

Winston (accordion),
Sara Lisnianski (recorder), and Pitz
Quattrone (didgeridoo)
perform a primitive
Baroque Morris dance
in an eclectic concert at
the Adamant Co-op on
January 12.
THE BRIDGE
A Message From City Hall

This page was paid for by the City of Montpelier.
Local Option Tax to Appear on City Ballot

by John Hollar, Mayor
ontpeliers Town Meeting Day ballot will include an item asking voters
to approve a charter change authorizing the city to adopt a local option
tax. If approved, the city would assess an additional one percent charge
on local rooms, meals and alcohol sales. The tax would not extend to items that
are subject to the general sales tax.
After considerable discussion, the city council decided that revenue from the
tax, if approved by voters, would be designated solely for infrastructure improvements, such as roads, bridges and sidewalks.
Budget Forum Support

The City held two Community Budget Forums last fall to engage residents in
helping to solve a structural problem with our municipal budget. The City needs
to spend about $350,000 more each year to reach a sustainable rate of infrastructure funding. This is about $850,000 more than the City spent three years ago.
At the same time, our municipal tax rate, while remaining stable for several years,
continues to be high compared to other communities. This creates a challenge for
our residents and businesses, and is an obstacle for future development.
At the first forum, participants brainstormed ideas about core community values that should be considered during the budget process. At the second forum,
participants reviewed these values and set priorities for the City to consider as it
builds future budgets. Two on-line surveys were also conducted.
The local option tax emerged as the top budget priority for residents who attended the forums or completed the survey. Forty-two percent of residents supported the enactment of the tax on rooms, meals and alcohols. Other budget
ideas that were supported (with % of residents supporting), included greater
regionalization (32%), reduced city staff (30%), promotion of long-term business
growth (27%), and focus on core services (25%). Twenty percent of participants
supported the adoption of a local option sales tax.
The entire budget forum report is available on the citys web site.
City Council Support

The city council voted 4-2 to place the local option tax on the ballot. Under
council rules, I only vote to create or break a tie, but I would have voted with
the majority.
Supporters argued that the imposition of a local option tax would ensure that
out-of-town residents help pay for Montpelier services. They argued that hotel
and restaurant purchases are largely discretionary, and the tax would be less likely
to fall on lower-income residents. Finally, supporters argued that there is little if
any data to suggest that communities that have adopted local option taxes have
seen an impact on sales.
Opponents on the council believed that a local option sales tax should have been
included on the ballot, along with rooms, meals and alcohol.
The Central Vermont Chamber of Commerce testified that the local option tax
is an inefficient way to raise revenue, since such taxes are generally not deductible on state and local income tax returns. Property taxes, on the other hand, are
deductible, and as a result more of the revenue raised from property taxes remains
at the local level.
Communities with Local

Option Taxes
The other cities and towns in Vermont
with local option taxes are:
Burlington
Williston
Middlebury
Killington
Stratton
St. Albans
Stowe
South Burlington
Rutland
Dover
Manchester
Winhall
Brattleboro
Wilmington
Berlin Pond Charter Change

The council has approved a proposed charter change that would allow Montpelier
to regulate its public water supply and public water sources in order to protect
the water supply and sources from corruption, including Berlin Pond.
The proposed charter change is in response to a Vermont Supreme Court decision allowing recreational access to Berlin Pond. Many residents have expressed
concern that such access has created undue risks to the citys water supply.
Other Budget Decisions

The City Council has tentatively approved an FY 17 budget as of this writing.
It would increase taxes by about 2 percent and make very few changes in city
programs.
Unlike the three prior years, the budget includes only a small increase for infrastructure spending. Department of Public Works Director Tom McCardle
has said that an increase next year is not needed to reach the councils goal of
a steady state sustainable plan. Increases of $166,000 in FY 18 and FY 19 are
anticipated. The budget reduces spending on equipment by $50,000.
The budget includes an $8,000 increase in funding for the Montpelier Community Fund, which allocates funding for non-profit organizations that serve local
residents. It also includes a $2,600 increase for Montpelier Alive.
The council voted to restore a reduction of $7,000 in dog waste receptacles that
had been proposed by the city manager, but also tentatively agreed to increase dog
license fees to partially offset that increase.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns at
jhollar@montpelier-vt.org or 223-4651.
Local Option Tax Revenue

The City anticipates that it would receive about $218,000 per year from a local
option tax on rooms, meals and alcohol. The City would receive 70 percent of
the LOT revenue collected. The remaining 30 percent would be paid to the state
and redistributed to communities, such as Montpelier, that receive Payment in
Lieu of Taxes (PILOT).
The anticipated revenue for Montpelier, based on 2014 Tax Department data, is
as follows:
Photo by Annie Tiberio Cameron
T H E B R I D G E
City To Unveil Comprehensive New Zoning Map and

Regulations
by Carla Occaso
MONTPELIER The planning commission has completed and is getting ready to

present a new set of zoning regulations containing multiple changes compared to existing zoning with the aim of encouraging
higher density/less restricted development
within city limits. Other priorities include
revamping historic preservation rules and
reducing and/or dropping parking requirements. The first public hearing is set for
January 25 at 5:30 p.m.
It is a comprehensive rewrite. It is a completely different ordinance than the other
one, said Planning Director Mike Miller
by telephone to The Bridge. Lines have been
redrawn. Districts have been renamed. The
Historic District has been redefined and
redeveloped. Parking requirements have relaxed. It is a complete change. It is a more
refined zoning map. It is much more accurate and follows property lines. The old
one didnt. People would be partly in one
district and partly in another. Weve fixed
a lot of those problems.
As far as density goes, two new categories have been established: mixed use
and rural. Mixed use allows one unit
per 1,500-square-feet on a minimum
3,000-square-foot lot size with a minimum
45-feet of frontage. Rural allows 3.6 units
per acre with a minimum lot size of 12,000
square-feet and 120-feet of frontage.
As for the old density definitions, they have
been redefined. The old high density regulations called for one unit per 1,500-squarefeet with a minimum 8,700-square-foot lot
size, whereas the new high density calls
for one unit per 3,000-square-feet with a
minimum 3,000-square-foot lot size. The
old medium density regulations called
for one unit per 10,000-square feet with
a minimum 10,000-square-foot lot size,
while the new medium density district
calls for one unit per 6,000-square-feet
with a minimum 6,000-square-foot lot size
and the old low density district called for
one unit per 43,560-square-feet lot size
with a minimum 43,560-square-foot lot
size while the new low density district
allows one unit per 9,000-square-feet with
a minimum 9,000-square-foot lot size.
This new redefinition of unit densities on
smaller lot sizes promotes what has been
called in-fill or more development
within already developed areas.
The names of neighborhoods and areas
have been tweaked as well. What used to
be divided into several downtown districts
is now called the urban core. New developments there would not be required to
provide parking.
We have vacant space in our downtown
that simply cant be filled because there
is no parking for it. The new regulations
make an assumption the city will solve and
resolve the parking problems in urban core

area, Miller said. As for the rest of town,
developers were previously required to provide 1.5 parking spaces for every dwelling
unit. Under new guidelines, they would
need to provide one parking space per unit.
So, for an example, a six unit apartment
building would need six spaces instead of
nine. That is not to say a developer can't
put in nine, but it is a matter of what we
require as a minimum. It is going to be
interesting to see if that is an issue. We
were spending a lot of our real estate in
parking Obviously in the downtown a
lot of parking is used. We definitely have a
big change from the old to the new. The
new regulations would also waive parking
requirements entirely for "infill" planned
developments if they provide affordable or
senior housing.
Beyond unit density and parking issues,
the third big change is an adjustment to
the historic district. Montpelier is on the
National Register of Historic Places and
the previous design review rules dont
match the rules for the registry, according to Miller. The historic district exists
largely in the area known as the Cliffside
neighborhood between the State House
and Elm Street. The planning commission
has redrawn the lines, so some people may
find their properties inside it that were not
before while others might be outside it. But
every property that was in the national registry of historic places will nevertheless be
within the design review district, and those
rules have morphed as well.
Weve changed the standards of design
district. We had designed our own rules.
We had our own standards, Miller said,
but now we shifted to be closer to the national (standards) in order to be in synch
with the rest of the country adhering to
the United States Secretary of the Interior
standards governing the National Park Service. Homeowners mostly run into issues
when renovating or maintaining building exteriors. In particular, the treatment
of windows, doors, siding and roofs have
caused conflict between property owners
and various city committees. It used to be
that if you lived in a historic property and
your windows were rotting out, you had to
try first to repair the existing infrastructure before you would be allowed to use a
modern replacement even if the replacement were identical in design. The new
regulations welcome modern replacements
as long as they visually suit the time period.
However, some homeowners don't see why
people should be forced to live in the past.
I very much value the citys older buildings, particularly those downtown," said
Ben Huffman, longtime resident of the
Cliffside neighborhood, which is in the historic design control district. But Huffman
contends the historic design rules reflect a

generalized preservationist ideology and
whether or not a homeowner in the historic
district gets a pass depends on how the
rules happen to be interpreted by the officials attending that design review meeting
that night.
Many historic homes outside the district
have been modified in unique, beautiful ways. Adding spice to neighborhoods,
which, had the homes been restored to the
highest historic preservationists standards,
would likely have instead a pristine storybook quality that never originally existed,
Huffman said.
City zoning has created two classes of historic homeowners, Huffman added, which
for years has grated on him and many of his
Cliffside neighbors who this fall requested
the planning commission to adopt different
design rules, and to apply historic design
control zoning to the entire area of the
city that has for decades been on the State
Register of Historic Places. This would
include the many historic homes now free
of historic zoning constraints such as those
located in the College Hill and Meadow
neighborhoods. The planning commission
rejected this request. When the Cliffside
neighbors then petitioned to be removed
from the historic district, it too was rejected
by the commission.
Other residents have conveyed written
feedback earlier last year. For example,
Carl Martin of Marvin Street writes, I am
unpersuaded by the proposal, which seems
to be shaped more by commercial real
estate interests than the needs and desires
of residents. Martin went on to say the
plan is ecologically unsound in that it does
not provide for run-off, erosion and urban
heat-sink effects. Martin asserts green
spaces must be integrated into the plan and
that Sabins Pasture is a great ecological
resource that must be safeguarded.
Another resident, Stephen Sease of North
Street, former chair of the planning commission and former land use attorney and
director of planning with the Agency of
Natural Resources expressed lengthy reservations in a May 27, 2015 letter to the
planning commission.
First, regarding Sabins Pasture, Sease
writes, The proposed ordinance divides
Sabins Pasture into two zones. A strip of socalled Riverfront zoning is proposed along
Barre Street and onto Country Club Road,
according to the map contained in the
handout. Riverfront calls for great density
and a wide range of permitted uses. If built
out, this new zone would likely block the
view of Sabins Pasture from Barre Street,
which is the perspective many people enjoy
of the open space. Riverfront should not be
applied to Sabins Pasture. It also makes no
land use sense to expand Riverfront along

little-used, dirt surfaced, Country Club
Road. Steep slopes and railroad right of
way will prevent most development here;
even if it were to occur, it would amount to
an unsightly and traffic oriented area with
no relationship to the rest of the city. The
Riverfront should be dropped along Sabins
Pasture and Country Club Road. Sease
said he fears high density designation there
would cause divisiveness and controversy
in the community. A zoning map proposed
earlier this year would have shifted the Pasture from mostly low density to high density; the latest draft map puts it in medium
density residential.
Sease also expressed concerns about the
maps and the proposal to convert medium density areas to high density, some of
which were later changed back to medium
density by the Commission. Some areas
appear more suited to this conversion than
others, according to Sease. In addition, increased higher density development would
lead to traffic congestion and decreases
in livability and walkability. In addition,
Sease shared Huffmans concern for keeping consistency in design requirements for
a historic aesthetic.
And finally, a huge topic for Montpelier every few years that used to be dealt
with in zoning regulations will no longer
be contained under the same umbrella:
flooding. Issues concerning river hazard
rules (formerly referred to as flood hazard
rules) are excluded from the new document. These will be contained in a separate document, according to Miller, who
explained that state government oversees
zoning regulations and federal government
oversees flooding problems.
Overall, Miller said he thinks the new
plan is an improvement over the former
one. From a big picture this is better.
Parking standards are better from an economic development standpoint how it
plays out over the next few years? It will
be interesting to see, Miller said, adding,
Some people wanted to have no parking
requirements at all in town. I like the compromise.
Miller said the first hearing is planned for
January 25 at 5:30 during a regular planning commission hearing. The next is to
be a more informal open house planned
for January 27 from 4 to 6 p.m. The open
house is meant to allow people to find out
how the new regulations would affect their
particular property from a variety of new
standpoints.
Maps of the old and new districts here:
old: http://www.montpelier-vt.org/documentcenter/view/1394
proposed: http://www.placesense.com/doclist/481-draft-zoning-map-4/file
Its WHOs Move
he latest issue of my
favorite weekly science
magazine had an article on some of the latest
ICD codes developed by
the World Health Organization (WHO).
As we all know from
our advanced placement pre-med classes
in high school, ICD stands for the International Classification of Diseases. Now in its tenth revision, the codes
in the ICD are used by doctors to designate a diagnosis
from an elaborate list of diseases and injuries, because, as
you are well aware, doctors have notoriously bad handwriting and reading a badly scribbled code is easier than
reading a badly scribbled transsphenoidal hypophysectomy.
Exactly how patients might have come by some of the
injuries listed in the ICD is hard to explain. For instance,
the description for code W55.21 is, and Im not making
this up, bitten by cow. Having written in these pages
about the hidden intelligence of cows and possible willful aspects of their behavior, I can understand that a cow
might want to bite someone, but the fact that cows lack
upper incisors makes the mechanics of such an act difficult. They cant exactly sneak up and nip you on the ankle
like, say, one of those malicious little wiener dogs.
The mishaps behind other codes are more explicable even
though unusual, such as V95.40, unspecified spacecraft
accident injuring occupant (no doubt popular in Area
51); V97.33, sucked into jet engine and V96.00, unspecified balloon accident injuring occupant. And there
is W56.22, struck by orca, which probably doesnt get
much use in most of the 48 states. One of my favorites is
V91.07, and again, Im not making this up, burn due to
water-skis on fire. How water skis catch fire while in use
escapes me, as does why the user of the skis wouldnt just
fall in the water to avoid being burned.
Even though these new codes just went into effect back
in October of 2015, I am here to tell you that they are already out of date. I base this on a scientific analysis of the
codes I performed myself using some recent news reports
concerning the activity of burglars in our country. I wont
bore you with all the science stuff. Quite simply, I tried
to find codes that would be appropriate for injuries these

burglars suffered on the job and discovered holes in the
ICD system so large you could easily jump through them
on flaming water skis.
The most recent of these burglar reports came from
need I say more? California. The police reported that
a young man broke into a house and stole a purse. He
then jumped into an SUV and drove away, in the process
hitting the purse owners boyfriend, who apparently was
in close pursuit. The police caught the burglar a short
distance away. They are still puzzled about why the burglar was totally naked on a night where the temperature
hovered around 30 degrees.
Because the burglar struck the boyfriend with his SUV
(even though the boyfriend was not badly hurt and refused medical treatment), his bail was set at $250,000 for
assault with a deadly weapon. I am making the assumption he is still in jail for lack of bail because he could not
have had his wallet on him.
Given the cold temperatures on the evening of his crime
spree, this burglar might have suffered mild hypothermia (ICD code T68.XX). Unfortunately, the ICD code
list does not break down hypothermia any further, such
as hypothermia from extensive skin contact with cold
Naugahyde upholstery of getaway vehicle, and therefore
is completely inadequate.
And then there is the case of a 22-year-old burglar in Palm
Bay, Florida. Local residents noticed the young man and
an accomplice lurking around neighborhood houses and
called the police. When the police arrived on the scene,
the two would-be burglars attempted to hide. This one
selected a spot in the bushes by a lake behind the houses
he was casing.
The police did eventually find him, but it was three days
later, after he was reported missing. His body was in the
lake.
This is another case where the ICD code system falls
short. W58.01, bitten by alligator, which the burglar
certainly was, doesnt quite cover it because the guy was
also drowned by the alligator and the alligator had started
to snack on him. W69.XX, accidental drowning and submersion while in natural water, is close, because he was
in a lake, but it makes no mention of alligators. W73.XX,
other specified cause of accidental non-transport drown-
THE BRIDGE
by Larry Floersch
ing and submersion, might work. But both W69.XX and

W73.XX are for accidental drowning, and in this case
the alligator intended to do exactly what it did. There
was nothing accidental about it. This young man simply
forgot some basics that anyone who lives in Florida knows:
(a) Florida has so many gators that they have named the
sports teams of one of their major universities after them;
(b) some alligators live in lakes; and (c) some residents of
Florida make a habit of feeding alligators things like whole
raw chickens, as if the gators were large scaly songbirds
in the back yard. This, of course, convinces the alligators
that humans are a good source of nutrition.
The third case of burglary is pertinent to the Christmas
season just passed. Once again in California, a young man
was burglarizing a house. The news report did not say
whether the burglar had used the chimney to gain access
to the house, but nevertheless, he became stuck while attempting to climb up the chimney.
Upon returning home, the homeowner, unaware the
burglar was in the chimney, built a fire in the fireplace.
The burglar, who had no doubt remained silent to that
point to avoid detection, began yelling. Because the burglar blocked the flue and therefore disturbed the draft,
smoke filled the house. The homeowner immediately
extinguished the fire and called the fire department. On
arrival, the fire department team had to demolish the back
of the brick fireplace and chimney to get to the burglar,
but by then the smoke and flames had done their job.
It being the Christmas season and all, had the burglar
only remembered the simple trick of laying a finger aside
of the nose and giving a nod he may have escaped without
a scratch.
Alas, once again the ICD system does not have a code to
fit. T30.0, Burn of unspecified body region, unspecified degree, is not specific enough. X02.0X, exposure
to flames in controlled fire in building or structure, explains the burns from the controlled fire in the fireplace,
but doesnt cover the smoke inhalation or mention the
chimney, and X02.1X, exposure to smoke in controlled
fire in building or structure, doesnt cover the flames or
chimney.
So its back to the drawing board WHO. Lets get working
on the eleventh revision of the ICD codes. If you have a
code to cover a burn from flaming water skis, you should
be able to do better by these burglars.
T H E B R I D G E
Granite City Groove
Collectibles Abound At
Antique Center
by Joshua Jerome
ocated in one of the oldest buildings in downtown Barre, the Wheelock Office Building
built in 1871 houses the Barre Antique Center. Created last year, the antique store was the
brain child of Pierre Couture and was created to leverage the existing antique dealers in
downtown Barre. Couture, owner of the Lodge at Millstone Hill in Barre, has been collecting
antiques for nearly 40 years and while getting to know many of the antique dealers throughout
Vermont, the creation of an antique collaborative was looked at as a way to keep administrative costs down and offer antique shoppers a unique experience.
Downtown Barre was the ideal location for the antique collaborative as it already had three
traditional antique stores, incuding Last Time Around Antiques and Grakles. In addition, Exile
on Main Street has thousands of collectable vinyl records, Coins & Hobbies has their unique
toys and Goodfellows Fine Jewelers has their estate collection and upcoming Americana and
fine art collection. Identifying the ideal location to house this collaborative was thoughtful and
deliberate. After consideration of several locations, the city-owned Wheelock Office Building
was chosen and renovations began forthwith. To this author, the idea of an antique collaborative made a lot of sense and it was clear there was much interest with antique dealers in the
area. Through The Barre Partnership, a grant application was completed for submission to
the United States Deptartment of Agriculture Rural Development office for a Rural Business
Development Grant and was awarded in the fall of 2015.
I asked Couture if it was difficult to get enough antique dealers on board with the concept.
No, it wasnt. The collaborative concept allows for a critical mass of dealers to show their various collections at reduced cost. When the Barre Antique Center opened last June, there were
around 15 antique dealers that had agreed to lease space. Currently, there are over 30 antique
dealers who lease space and an additional 30 that have merchandise on consignment. In fact,
the collaborative effort has garnered so much support that a second location, The Old Town
Hall Antique Center, opened this past November. It is fitting that The Old Town Hall building is their second location as it was built originally in 1860 and acted as the town enlistment
center during the Civil War.
The collaborative effort seeks to grow into Vermonts Antique Center, strategically located on
the I89 corridor between two other antique areas, Burlington/Essex Junction and Quechee.
Couture has worked on building relationships with dealers from both locations which has led to
a mutual understanding of the importance of the I89 buy-way as Couture calls it. And their
first joint marketing initiative is coming up with their Super Bowl Antiques Weekend starting
on Friday, February 5 through Sunday, February 7. The Five Corners Antique Mall along with
the Barre Antique Center, Old Town Hall Antique Center, Last Time Around Antiques and
Grakles will each offer light refreshments and food to shoppers and those who can make it to
all five locations during the weekend can have their name entered in a raffle for various gift
certificates.
The great thing about Barres antique stores
is that they have a diverse selection of anBarre Antique Center
tiques from smalls, vinyl records, maritime, furniture and everything in between.
Couture says that people who are interested
in antiques look for opportunities where they
can visit several locations in one area, making
Barre the perfect location to drive consumer
traffic towards. And keeping merchandise
fresh and appealing to a broad demographic
is important. This seems to be working. As
a case in point, Ive witnessed teenagers all
the way to people in their 80s who shop at
the Barre Antique Center. Teenagers and
elders are at different stages in their lives.
They have different tastes. But according to
Couture, the one thing that unites both teens
and elders is that no matter who Couture is
talking to, they always associate something
of interest to their grandparents.
And remember even todays grandparents
had grandparents which is what makes antiques constantly interesting.
The writer is executive director of The Barre
Partnership.
RecyclE This Paper!
THE BRIDGE
Beat the Mid-Winter Blues at the Mid-Winter Follies!

he lived in Washington, D.C., was curator of the Smithsonian Institutions Duke Ellington Collection for 10 years.
His poems have been published in Gargoyle, Beltway Poetry
Quarterly and Indiana Review, and he is the author of a
volume of poetry titled Fingering The Keys, which won
the 1992 Columbia Book Award. The Bridge frequently
publishes his work.
Also, The Bridge is grateful to welcome the work of Tim
Jennings and Leanne Ponder, who will do what they do
best: storytelling.
According to writer Nat Frothingham in a previously
published article, the direct experience of the storyteller,
the story and the storytellers audience are as old as human
history. Their careers began in the 1970s and continue to
this day.
The act is larger than life, funny, compelling and ironic,
according to Frothingham, who observes, Sometimes a
tale ends badly, sometimes it ends well. The little pig gets
away from the wolf. The children slam shut the oven door
on the wicked witch. And the princess is awakened from
the sleep of death by a kiss from a handsome prince. Why
are these stories so powerful? We crave knowing why.
played folk music, and then in college was part of a working duo.
On his own will be singer/instrumentalist Donny Osman,
a former member of the House who served on the House
Education Committee. Osman has experience spanning
over 25 years as a touring theater artist. For this show I
will sing one or two songs by folk artists Peter and Lou
Berryman. They write very funny and satirical songs,
some of my performance heroes are The Marx Brothers,
Bill Irwin, Steve Martin, Osman told The Bridge. Osman
said donating his time in this way will support The Bridge,
which is important as independent, local media is a rare
and important community resource.
Susan Reid, who is donating her talents, is a locally renowned fiddler/violinist. Reid will playing two original
fiddle tunes that will take four minutes, and, if there is
time, she will bless us with a song. In addition, Nancy and
Lilly Smith, a mother and daughter singing duo, known
for their folky rocky acousticy goodness, according to
Lilly Smiths Facebook page, will lay it on us.
Another special act is offered by a young but vibrant talent. Ivan Jermyn, a veteran performer with Circus Smirkus
and a senior at Montpelier High School will show off his
fabulous skills of comedy and wonder. His charismatic
father, Michael Jermyn also The Bridges advertising
manager is also scheduled to perform. Michael Jermyn
is going to perform with his gorgeous daughters in an act
they are calling Michael Jermyn and the Sapphire Singers. They will perform original songs.
And joining the above highly esteemed individuals will

be actor/comedian/musician George Woodard. Woodard
milks 25 cows each day and thereby continues the dairy
farm, which has been in his family for over 100 years.
Woodard has also acted in numerous films, including
Ethan Frome starring Liam Neeson by American Playhouse in the early 1990s. He wrote and directed his own
film The Summer of Walter Hacks in 2010. As for the
February 6 show, Woodard plans to play a couple of songs
and tell a few stories ... farm stories and other tall tales that
will most likely be funny as well as interesting.
In addition, jazz singer Allison Mann has agreed to share

her skills with our audience. Mann was a seven-year-old
child when she first started singing in the junior choir at
the Universalist Church at Southold, Long Island, New
York, according to an earlier story published in The Bridge.
Mann sang in choruses in high school and college. In
high school I taught myself to play guitar, she said. I
Patt said though the band started out with a larger number
of people during a splash of interest in Klezmer music in
the 1980s, it has dwindled to the four original dedicated
members: Patt (drums), Stephen Light (trumpet, recorder,
What good is si
And finally, we are pleased to welcome The Nisht Geferlach Klezmer Band, which has been in our community
since 1981, according to founding member Avram Patt.
Continued from Page 1
string bass), Kathy Munson Light (clarinet, harp and recorder) and Rick Winston (accordian and piano). Shortly
after their first performance, they were approached to play
at weddings and other celebratory events.
Klezmer is a type of Yiddish dance music that had its origins in Eastern Europe, Patt told The Bridge. It arrived
in the U.S. in the late 1800s and picked up a signifigacnt
jazz influence. It influenced early Tin Pan Alley vaudeville, Broadway, Hollywood. Ethnically, musicians in
those orchestras were coming from the Klezmer tradition.
The name, Nisht Gerferlach literally means not dangerous but also is understood to mean not so good or not
so bad. We say It wont kill you, Patt said. Patt said he
grew up in a Yiddish speaking household, which was the
reason he was recruited into the band, I was the only person around who spoke Yiddish. After we got more serious I
got a drum set and taught myself rudimentary drumming
for Klezmer.
To get the idea for the light hearted or even heart warming
kind of topics to be expected, one of the songs they commonly do is called Akhtzik Er Un Zibbtsic Zi. Translation: Hes 80, shes 70 a 50th wedding anniversary
song.
As the event gets closer and The Bridge hopes readers will
reach out to all their friends and come to the show.
As we have told our readers in previous issues, The Bridge
needs $15,000 to bridge our spending gap between what
we earn in advertising and what our expenses cost. The
Bridge is in a unique position to connect members of the
community to one another, municipal government, state
government, the arts, science, employment and the natural
world. This continues to be highly valued by our readers,
or so we hear in calls, letters and personal visits.
So, Put down the knitting, the book and the broom. It is
time for a holiday! (From Cabaret, lyrics by Fred Ebb)
And join us at the Capitol Plaza Hotel February 6 at 7:30
p.m.
the music pla

r
a
?
e
h
e
m
C
m
o
o
o
r
r
y!
t t i n g alo n e i n you
Did You Know?

The issue The Bridge publishes on the third Thursday of
each month is mailed to every 05602 residence.
Advertise in The Bridge:
223-5112 ext. 11 or michael@montpelierbridge.com
T H E B R I D G E
Is This Candidate What He Is

Trumped Up To Be?
photos and interviews by Montpelier reporters Ivan Shadis and Jose Aguayo
Matt Crop
Editors Note: Two writers/photographers for The Bridge,

Ivan Shadis and Jose Aguayo, went to Burlington on
January 7 to catch up with people who came to hear
presidential candidate Donald Trump speak. They had
tickets, but so did 18,000 others for the space that fits
under 2,000. They did not get inside the Flynn Center for
the Performing Arts that night. Instead, they spoke to
those waiting outside to get a perspective.
Ivan Shadis: Can you tell me what youre

doing here right now?
Harry Laughy, Fairfax
Matt Cropp: I am protesting the appearance of Donald Trump in Burlington.
Shadis: Can you tell me what

youre doing out here tonight?
Shadis: I see youre not alone in this, and

that youve descended upon the scene among
a big large chanting crowd, can you tell me
what that is?
Laughy: Im out here to support

our candidate Donald Trump
Shadis: Can you tell me what you
find in Trump specifically that
has you choosing him over the
other candidates?
Cropp: Really theres just a call out for a

mass mobilization at the top of Church
street at 4:30, everyone who got that call
showed up at 4:30 and marched down.
Laughy: The United States of

America is a business thats almost
bankrupt. Its going to take a professional experienced man with
honesty and integrity to restore
this country.
Shadis: Where did you get your call?

Cropp: A friend invited me to an event on Facebook.
Shadis: And what has inspired you to come out here in protest of Trump?
Cropp: I think Trump represents a very dangerous thread in American politics that goes
beyond the normal reactionary conservatives who are at least leavened by a bit of classic
liberalism that stops them being too tempted by authoritarianism. Trump seems to have
none of that and represents a very dangerous, authoritarian, fascist thread in American
politics. I think our community needs to come together, know who all the people are
who oppose that so that if, God forbid, hes elected, were ready to organize.
Shadis: As we look around at the crowd, we see a couple of signs in support of Bernie
Sanders. Do you have an opinion on Bernie Sanders?
Cropp: Trump is a showman, hes coming to do something in the town where Bernie
was mayor for 10 years. The response here, from my perspective, should be about opposing bigotry and authoritarianism of Trump rather than supporting any one candidate.
Im here because I think we need to be unified against this threat.
Shadis: When we look out here on this crowd were going to see a lot of Bernie supporters, do you have an opinion on that candidate?
Laughy: Im not out here to disparage any other candidate, Im here for Donald, Im not
out here against anyone. Ive been out here since 68. I know how a rally works. Youre
going to have a lot of people who are going to want to turn it into a protest or a contest,
thats fine. Im here to support my man. This [his sign] doesnt say I dont like Bernie,
this says I like Donald Trump.
Shadis: Is there anything else youd like to add?
Laughy: Donald Trump makes me proud to be an American.
Brandon Del Pozo,

Burlington Chief of Police
So far this is great, we have protesters, we
have supporters, we have people voicing their
opinions but they are all obeying the law;
they are patient, so I am encouraged at the
way things are working out. This is a great
example of, of you know, dissent and expression so far ... We have at least 500 protesters protesting Trump by our estimates
... and then the line, last we checked (which
was two hours ago) was over 1,000 people just
then its probably more now.
Trump said today, hey listen, why dont you
let me simulcast this? If two weeks ago he
said, I want to do a venue at the Flynn and I
want to simulcast, we would have coordinated
for that, but you cant overbook the Flynn and
then say now because I overbooked this, you
have to give me City Hall Park as a simulcast,
we need time to prepare for that that wasnt
on the table.
Finn Yarbrough
Shadis: Can you tell me what youre doing out
here tonight?
Yarbrough: Well, its pretty simple, were here
to send light, peace, and compassion into the
gathering there and amongst one another as an
alternative to anger and hatred.
Shadis: Do you feel that theres something
embodied here which is hateful, and which is
what youre responding to?
Yarbrough: Yeah, I think that Trumps campaign so far has awakened a kind of a fear and
mutual suspicion that is to some extent inherent in human nature but it doesnt need to be
fed, and we want to appeal to the better angels
of our nature and not the worse one.
Shadis: Can you tell me about this gathering,
I see that its not just you here, I see a couple of
other individuals who have candles.
Yarbrough: There are about 50 of us here who
will be committed to silence.
Finn Yarbrough, Leona Aiguier, Richard Aiguier (Hinesburg)
Randy Leavitt,
East Barnard
Trump is a very sad person,
he is just filled with hate
and he hasnt grown up
to me, he acts like a 4-yearold. I hate to cast aspersions
on 4-year-olds, but he is just
having a tantrum right now.
Its sad really the fact that
he has so many children
little spoiled children on
his side is sad.
Richard Aiguier
Richard Aiguler: Racism is not helpful, which
Donald Trump seems to be projecting, and
neither is the religious bigotry that he seems
to be projecting and neither really seems to be
something that should be brought as a topic for
presidential qualifications and its divisive and
Id like to see a calming.
Shadis: Do you have an opinion on Bernie
Sanders or any of the other candidates? Is there
someone specifically who you would like to see
in office, or is it only that you are opposed to
Trump?
Aiguier: I would support any of the Democratic candidates, I would prefer Bernie Sanders
because I think he understands what some of
the basic problems are in this country better
than some of the other candidates, but whoever is the Democratic nominee I would vote
for because Donald Trump might be the most
outrageous Republican candidate but his sentiments are somewhat shared by some of the other
Republican candidates as well. I would prefer a
Democrat.
THE BRIDGE
Opinion
Trumped!
The Other Night

in Burlington by Jules Rabin
eres what Donald Trump yelled out

to his hand-picked audience of 1,400
when he held the mic and center
stage at the Flynn Theater in Burlington, a few
nights ago, and a man in the crowd started to
heckle him:
Get him outta there! Dont give him his coat.
Keep this coat. Confiscate his coat! You know,
its about 10 degrees below outside. No, you
can keep his coat. Tell him well send it to him
in a couple of weeks.
That cheery lynch-mob talk of Trump reminded me of something I first heard about
as a boy in the 1930s the administration
of big doses of castor oil by Mussolinis Black
Shirts to political dissidents. What could be
funnier than the sight of your political opponent clutching his stomach and needing to
run to the bathroom and not being allowed
to. In the same decade of the 1930s, Adolf
Hitlers Brown Shirts, with their own lynchmob mentality, got their kicks by compelling
old bearded Jews to get down on their knees
and scrub the public sidewalk clean with a
toothbrush. The old photographs show smiling faces among the crowd that gathered to
watch the show. And show it was.
Got a news tip? We want to know!

Send it to us at:
editorial@montpelierbridge.com
And show it is, with Donald Trump, in these

strange months of Americas history, when
politics and high entertainment have been
blended together as never before. Are we
that 10 percent or so of Americans raised on
television entertainment who just love Donald
Trump for his rowdy humor, wacky logic, and
scrambled facts Are we ready to see that
wild firecracker of a man carry on in that inimitable way of his, in the White House, too?
Comedian-in-Chief?
Well, I venture to guess that only 10 percent of

us are bent that way the way of the mean
clown wholl do anything for a laugh.
But still: What a mammoth number of us, all
told, that little 10 percent is.
The temperature outside the Flynn Theater
that night was 25 above, not 10 below, as
Trump averred. Accustomed as he is to The
Limousine Life, he probably wouldnt know
the difference between 20 above and 10 below
any more than he knows the difference
in the life of a wage-earner between a wage
of $10 an hour and $15 an hour. But actual
numbers and actual facts are of less than
decimal concern to the Great Entertainer that
Donald Trump primarily is, whose chief preoccupation is with below-the-waist matters,
and secondarily, with the everyday prejudices
of a fantastically wealthy white man born to
multi-millionaire privilege.
And having a high old time the best time
of his life, now that his millions have grown
into billions enough to lever him right into
the public face.
And that 10 percent of us, or however many
they are lapping it up, that Hee Haw humor
of Trump. Because their hours and years before the goon box that television mainly is,
have taught them that the shows the thing,
and the rougher the better. As if modern man,
our ultimate selves, were placed here on the
planet for laffs and jibes and clever comebacks.
This writer will soon be 92. Hes seen better
elections, in his life. Enough to long a little for
an Other with the countenance and cadences
of, say, a Tom Dewey or Robert Taft.
T H E B R I D G E
Community
Events
Events happening
January 21 February 6
THURSDAY, JANUARY 21
Wildlife in Vermont. Kim Royar of Vermont's

Department of Fish & Wildlife will talk about
how Vermonts native wildlife population has been
changed significantly by the humans living here.
Bring your bag lunch to our first Third Thursday
of the season. Noon. Vermont History Museum, 109 State St., Montpelier. Free. 828-2180.
vermonthistory.org/calendar
Brain Injury Support Group. Open to all survivors, caregivers and adult family members. Third
Thurs., 1:302:30 p.m. Unitarian Church, 130
Main St., Montpelier. 244-6850.
Diabetes Discussion Group. Focus on selfmanagement. Open to anyone with diabetes
and their families. Third Thurs., 1:30 p.m. The
Health Center, Plainfield. Free. Don 322-6600 or
dgrabowski@the-health-center.org.
VSAC Financial Aid Forms Workshop. Offers
guidance on filling out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid.) Ask questions
and learn about the college financial aid process,
including how to apply for scholarships. To fill out
forms, participants should bring social security
number, most recent federal tax return and most
recent W-2 or year-end pay stub. 5:30 p.m. Harwood Union High School, 485 VT-100, Moretown. Free. www.vsac.org/schedule.
Twinfield Together Mentor Appreciation
Dinner. Mentors, mentees, families, community
members and stake holders can come together to
celebrate the impact mentoring has on strengthening our kids and community. 5:30 p.m. Twinfield
Union School, 106 Nasmith Brook Rd., Plainfield.
Survivors of Suicide Loss Support. Monthly
group for people affected by a suicide death. Third
Thurs., 67:30 p.m. Central Vermont Medical
Center, conference rm. 1, Fisher Rd., Berlin. 2230924. calakel@comcast.com.afsp.org.
Grandparents Raising Their Childrens Children. Third Thurs., 68 p.m. Child care provided.
Trinity United Methodist Church, 137 Main St.,
Montpelier. 476-1480.
River Arts Photo Co-op. Gather, promote and
share your experience and knowledge of photography with other photography enthusiasts in an
atmosphere of camaraderie and fun. Adults/teens.
Third Thurs., 68 p.m. River Arts Center, 74
Pleasant St., Morrisville. $5 suggested donation.
888-1261. riverartsvt.org.
Calendar of Events
Songwriters Meeting. Meeting of the Northern
VT/NH chapter of the Nashville Songwriters
Association International. Bring copies of your
work. Third Thurs., 6:45 p.m. Catamount Arts, St.
Johnsbury. John, 633-2204.
MONDAY, JANUARY 25
FRIDAY, JANUARY 22
NAMI Vermont Family Support Group. Support

group for families and friends of individuals living
with mental illness. Fourth Mon., 7 p.m. Central
Vermont Medical Center, room 3, Berlin. 800639-6480 or namivt.org.
North Branch Nature Center Lecture and Slide

Show Series. Naked in the Canyon. Bryan
Pfeiffer and Ruth Einstein will bare all in tales
of rock and river, of wildlife and wild walking in
the Grand Canyon. 79 p.m. Unitarian Church,
130 Main St., Montpelier. $5 suggested donation.
northbranchnaturecenter.org
SATURDAY, JANUARY 23
Snowshoe Stowe Pinnacle with Green Mountain

Club. Waterbury. Moderate. 2.8 miles round trip.
Contact Steve or Heather for meeting time and
place: stevecbailey@gmail.com or 609-424-9238
First Shot: Kyudo (Zen Archery). Learn the
technical aspects of the form and its meditative
dimensions: focusing on breathing, letting go
of self-critical thoughts, embodying a relaxed
mind. 9:30 a.m.4 p.m. Barre Auditorium
basement, 16 Auditorium Hill, Barre. 279-2891.
breathingmindkyudo.com
Capital City Indoor Farmers Market. Over
30 vendors in all, more than half of them selling
farm products. Music by Two Cents in the Till. 10
a.m.2 p.m. Montpelier City Hall, 39 Main St.,
Montpelier. montpelierfarmersmarket.com
Dreaming into the Earth: The Light. Question
your dreams wisdom in ways that open a portal to
your own inner journey. Dream yourself awake to
the earth in an afternoon of ceremony, conversation and sharing of the dream space with each
other. 12:303:30 p.m. Yoga Mountain Center, 7
Main St., Montpelier. Confirm: 522-6889.
Climate Change and the Response of People of
Faith. With speaker Bill McKibben. Vespers to
follow. Refreshments. 4 p.m. St. Jacobs Eastern
Orthodox Church, Rt. 12, Northfield Falls. 4854719
Full Moon Snowshoe Hike. Snowshoe by lunar
light. Night activities will illuminate how wildlife
survives the long nights of winter. Snowshoes
and hot chocolate provided. 78:30 p.m. North
Branch Nature Center, 713 Elm St., Montpelier. 229-6206. $5 members; $10 non-members.
northbranchnaturecenter.org.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 24
Family Dance and Fun Day. Face painting, a balloon artist and crafts, 3 p.m. Family dance with
David Kaynor and the Vermont Fiddle Orchestra,
3:305 p.m. Mac & cheese dinner with veggies
and dessert, 5 p.m. Short kids movie until 6 p.m.
Capital City Grange Hall, 6612 VT Rt. 12, Montpelier. $5 per person; $20 family. Benefit for the
Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall.
Moonlight Middlesex Snowshoe with Green

Mountain Club. Moderate. About 3.2 miles round
trip. Full moon snowshoe below the bowl east of
Vermont Dollars Vermont Sense. Join GwendoNorth Hunger. Bring headlamps, warm beverages
lyn Hallsmith in a discussion about local investand snacks. Cancelled or postponed if weather is
ment tools for grassroots investors, businesses, finance professionals and anyone else interested in a inclement. Meet around 4 p.m..; sun sets at 4:48
vibrant local economy. Part of the Transition Town p.m.. We plan to arrive at viewpoint a few minutes
Montpelier program series 6:30 p.m. Kellogg-Hub- before 5:46 moonrise. Contact John Buddington
bard Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier. 223-3338. and Kathy Gohl at 229-0725 or vicepresident@
gmcmontpelier.org for additional information and
kellogghubbard.org
meeting place.
Bereavement/Grief Support Group. Open to

anyone who has experienced the death of a loved
one. 6-7:30 p.m. Conference Center. 600 Granger
Road, Berlin. Free. 223-1878.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 26
Medicare and You Workshop. New to Medicare?

Have questions? We have answers. Second and
fourth Tues., 34:30 p.m. 59 N. Main St., Ste.
200, Barre. Free, donations gratefully accepted.
479-0531. cvcoa@cvcoa.org. cvcoa.org.
VSAC Financial Aid Forms Workshop. Offers
guidance on filling out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid.) Ask questions
and learn about the college financial aid process,
including how to apply for scholarships. To fill out
forms, participants should bring social security
number, most recent federal tax return and most
THEATER, STORYTELLING,
COMEDY
Jan. 22: Bueno Comedy Showcase. A handful of talented
comics, from here and away, doing longer sets. 8:30 p.m.
Espresso Bueno, 248 N. Main St., Barre. $6. 479-0896.
events@espressobueno.com. espressobueno.com.
Performing
Arts
Jan. 2224: 35th annual Madrigal Dinner: The Return of

the Admiral. North Country Chorus and its Madrigal Dinner guests re-visit Spain as the adventures of Christopher Columbus continue. Guests will enjoy an
evening of music, mirth, magic, dance and a sumptuous feast. Jan. 22 and 23, 6:30 p.m.; Jan. 24, 4:30
p.m. Doors open 30 minutes before performances. Monroe Town Hall, NH. $30. Limited seating.
Tickets: tickets.catamountarts.org, 748-2600, 888-757-5559. northcountrychorus.org
Jan. 23: The Perils of Mr. Punch. An all-ages puppet production. Live music, sing-a-longs, classic
jokes and gags, audience participation. With a two-person orchestra, specializing in early jazz music
and American folk songs. After the show the audience is always invited back stage to try their hands at
puppetry. 1 p.m. Plainfield Opera House. 18 High St., Plainfield. $5. 472-8987. moderntimestheater.
com
Jan. 23: Chelsea Comedy Showcase. Check out a stand up comedy featuring comics from all over
Vermont, including winner of VT's Funniest Comedian, Kendall Farrell. Hosted by Sean Hunter
Williams. 810 p.m. The Wagon Wheel, 1 Maple Ave., Chelsea. $5 suggested donation. 522-5531
Jan. 28: Comedian Etta May. The reigning Queen of Southern Sass. 7:30 p.m. Spruce Peak Arts
Center, 122 Hourglass Dr., Stowe. $2038. 760-4634. sprucepeakarts.org
Jan. 29: WORD!CRAFT. A traveling, monthly, participatory, spoken word/hip-hop event for all
ages. This months theme is Resolutions, so whatever that means to you, bring it in written and/
or improvised verse. You can also just come to listen and support lyrical artists. 6:3010 p.m. The
Pit, WGDR Radio Station, Goddard College, Plainfield. Free; donations accepted. mcmycelium74@
gmail.com
Jan. 29: The Tell Off. Waterbury Winterfest presents the fifth annual storytelling tournament of
champions! Winningest raconteurs of Season V of Extempo plus one wildcard tell original,
first-person, true stories live on stage without notes or reading. Audience voting & cash prizes! 7 p.m.
Waterbury American Legion, 16 Stowe St., Waterbury. $10. 244-7174. storytelling@extempovt.com.
extempovt.com
Jan. 30: Vermont Pride Theater presents Love! Valour! Compassion! Join Vermont Pride Theater
at Chandler for the first Vermont presentation of Terrence McNallys 1994 play Love! Valour!
Compassion! in a staged reading to benefit Vermont CARES and the HIV/HCV Resource Center. A
talkback after the reading will give audience and performers a chance to ask questions and share their
reactions. 7 p.m. Chandler Music Hall, 71-73 Main St., Randolph. Advance: adults $17; students $12.
At door: adults $20; students $15. 728-6464. chandler-arts.org
Feb. 47, 1114: Alls Well That Ends Well. Tom Blachly directs the comedy by William Shakespeare. 7 p.m. Plainfield Opera House, 18 High St., Plainfield. Adults $12; students/seniors $10.
229-5290
Feb. 6: Mid-Winter Follies. A community variety show benefitting The Bridge. Featuring storyellers Tim Jennings and Leanne Ponder, jazz singer Allison Mann, singing duo Nancy and Lily Smith,
clown Ivan Jermyn, singer-songwriter Michael T Jermyn, poet Reuben Jackson, Susan Reid and
more. 7:30 p.m.; doors open 7 p.m. Montpelier Room at The Capitol Plaza, 100 State St., Montpelier.
Advance: adults $12; seniors $10; children 12 and under $5. At door: adults $15; seniors $12; children
$8. Advance tickets can be purchased with credit card by calling 223-5112, ext. 12, or with cash or
check at The Bridge office at Vermont College of Fine Arts, Stone Science Hall, Room 104, 62 Ridge
St., Montpelier.
Live Music
Calendar of Events
La Puerta Negra. Ages 21+. 9 p.m. 44 Main St.,

Jan. 23: Myra Flynn Band, $8.
Jan. 29: Sara Grace, $5.
SPECIAL EVENTS
Jan. 22: Jazzyaoke. Sing the standards to a live
six-piece jazz band; all lyrics provided. 7:30 p.m.
The North Branch Caf, 41 State St., Montpelier.
$5. 552-8105. info@wooo.tv. wooo.tv
Charlie Os World Famous. 70 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 223-6820.

Every Mon.: Open Mic Comedy Caf, 8 p.m.
Every Tues.: Karaoke Night, 9:30 p.m.
Jan. 22: Abby Jenne & Doug Perkins, 6 p.m.;
Fantastic Partnerz, 8:30 p.m.
Jan. 23: Amy Levere & Will Sexton, 8:30 p.m.
Jan. 24: Sunday Soul Kitchen (soul music/free
soul food)
Jan. 25: Comedy Caf Open Mic hosted by
Hillary Boone, 8 p.m.
Jan. 26: Godfather Karaoke, 9:30 p.m.
Jan. 27: Os Weird Pub Quiz, 5 p.m.
Jan. 29: Squid Parade (prog. rock) 8:30 p.m.
Sweet Melissa's. 4 Langdon St., Montpelier. Free

unless otherwise noted. Other shows T.B.A. 2256012. facebook.com/sweetmelissasvt
Jan. 23: Jim Goss CD Release Party, 6 p.m.;
Hillside Rounders, 9 p.m. $5
Jan. 24: Kelly Ravin, 6 p.m.; Live Band Rock &
Roll Karaoke, 8:30 p.m.
Jan. 25: Cobalt, 8 p.m.
Jan. 26: Erica, 5 p.m.; Open Mic Night, 7 p.m.
Jan. 27: The Shanty Rats, 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 29: Mark LaGrand, 5 p.m.; Michelle Sarah
Band, 9 p.m. $5.
Jan. 30: Dave Langevin, 5 p.m.; Jeff Salisbury
Band, 9 p.m. $5.
Jan. 31: Kelly Ravin, 6 p.m.; Live Band Rock &
Roll Karaoke, 8:30 p.m.
Espresso Bueno. 248 N. Main St., Barre. 4790896. Free/by donation. events@espressobueno.
com. espressobueno.com.
Jan. 23: The Odd Wednesdays (new wave/progressive) 8 p.m.
Feb. 5: Belle of the Fall (indie/folk) 7:30 p.m.
Whammy Bar. 7 p.m.; Fri. and Sat., 7:30 p.m. 31

County Rd., Calais. Thurs., Free. whammybar1.
com.
Every Wed.: Open mic
Jan. 22: Two Cents In The Till
Jan. 28: Ron Sweet
Jan. 24: Capital City Concerts presents Canciones Calientes. Chamber music inspired by Latin
song and dance from Brazil, Argentina, Spain
and France. Joining Grammy-nominated flutist
Karen Kevra are pianist Jeffrey Chappell, soprano
Mary Bonhag and double-bassist and composer
Evan Premo. 3 p.m. Unitarian Church, 130 Main
recent W-2 or year-end pay stub. 5:30 p.m. U-32,

930 Gallison Hill Rd., Montpelier. Free. www.
vsac.org/schedule.
U-32 School Board Meeting. Open to the public

and community members are always welcome to
attend. 6 p.m. U-32, Rm. 131, 930 Gallison Hill
Rd., Montpelier. 229-0321.
have tallied nearly 100 species, including gems

like King Eider, Razorbill, and Snowy Owl.
Open to any interested teens let us know early
if you're interested in joining the team! North
Branch Nature Center: 229-6206.
VENUES
Film Screening: This Changes Everything.

Screening and panel discussion about the impacts
of climate change and how we can transform our
economic system. Panelists: Representative Tony
Klein, EIV Campaign Director Tom Hughes and
Energy Consultant Gabrielle Stebbins. 68 p.m.
Unitarian Church, 130 Main St., Montpelier. Free.
Debt of Honor Film and Discussion. Debt of

Honor examines the way in which the American government and society as a whole have
regarded disabled veterans throughout history,
beginning in the aftermath of the Revolutionary War through todays continuing conflicts
in the Middle East. 7 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard
Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier. 223-3338.
kellogghubbard.org
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 27
Marijuana: Legal and Regulated. Laura Subin,

J.D., Director of the Vermont Coalition to
Regulate Marijuana will discuss why she believes
it is time to end the prohibition of marijuana in
Vermont. Doors open 12:30 p.m. for those wishing to bring a brown bag lunch; program starts
1:30 p.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 58
Barre St., Montpelier. Free for OLLI members; $5
suggested donations for others. 223-2518
How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents
Book Discussion. Julia Alvarezs first novel gives
voice to four sisters recounting their adventures
growing up in two cultures. Discussion led by
University of Vermont professor John Waldron.
Books available at the library. 6:30 p.m. KelloggHubbard Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier.
223-3338. kellogghubbard.org
Montpelier City Council Meeting. Second and
fourth Wed., 6:30 p.m. City Council Chambers,
Montpelier City Hall. 39 Main St., Montpelier.
montpelier-vt.org.
Waterbury Historical Society Winter Meeting.

The program will be about the Waterbury Center
Grange painted curtain that has been donated to
the Waterbury Historical Society. 7 p.m. St. Leo
Hall, Main St., Waterbury. 244-8089.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 28
American Art in the 1930s: The Worst of

Times. Join art historian Debbie Tait for a
presentation on American artists in the 1930s.
12:30 p.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center,
58 Barre St., Montpelier. Free; open to the public.
223-2518
Jennifer Armstrongs "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" (Part 1 of 4). Veteran polar
explorer Ernest Shackleton sailed south from
England in 1914 with the goal to lead the first
team to cross the continent of Antarctica on foot.
Shackleton failed in this mission but his epic
struggles with ice, wind, cold and the unforgiving southern ocean made him a legend in his
own time. Hear Shipwreck at the Bottom of the
World read aloud in four one-hour installments
(Jan. 28, Feb. 4, 11, 25). Discussion follows. 6:30
p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St.,
Montpelier. 223-3338. kellogghubbard.org
Green Mountain Dog Club Monthly Meeting.
Learn about the club and events. All dog lovers
welcome. Fourth Thurs., 7:30 p.m. Commodores
Inn, Stowe. 479-9843 or greenmountaindogclub.
org.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 29
Superbowl of Birding XIIl. Jan. 2930. Winter's

premier birding competition is back! This annual
birding marathon has us visiting all the avian
hotspots on Plum Island and Cape Ann, MA. In
the past, NBNC's youth and young adult teams
Jan. 23: The Big Band Bhangra Brass Band

& Book Bash. Live dance band party, celebrating the publication of One Imagined Word
at a Time, a premier anthology of work from
participants in Vermonts Writers for Recovery workshops. 7:30 p.m. Flying Stage inside
ReSOURCE-VT, 30 Granite St., Barre. $10.
Tickets: brassbandbookbash.eventbrite.com. More
info.: 552-3481, diana@reboprecords.com
Jan. 23: The Nobby Reed Project. Blues trio.
7:30 p.m. Spruce Peak Performing Arts Center,
122 Hourglass Dr., Stowe. $20 advance; $25 day
of show. 760-4634. sprucepeakarts.org
Parlor Game Night. Parlor games usually involve

teams, friendly competition and lots of laughter. If
you've ever played "Charades," you've experienced
one kind of parlor game. There are countless
others. You're sure to have fun if you come with
an open mind and are willing to be a little silly.
6:308:30 p.m. Montpelier Senior Activity
Center, 58 Barre St., Montpelier. Free; open to the
public. 223-2518
SATURDAY, JANUARY 30
Superbowl of Birding XIIl. Jan. 2930. Winter's

premier birding competition is back! This annual
birding marathon has us visiting all the avian
hotspots on Plum Island and Cape Ann, MA. In
the past, NBNC's youth and young adult teams
have tallied nearly 100 species, including gems
like King Eider, Razorbill, and Snowy Owl.
Open to any interested teens let us know early
if you're interested in joining the team! North
Branch Nature Center: 229-6206.
Plutoids, Centaurs & Cubewanos: Myths of
the New Solar System. With Dr. Kelley Hunter.
Hear stories of newly discovered planetoids past
Pluto, with funny-sounding names from around
the world. 1011:30 a.m. Jaquith Library, Marshfield. Free. 426-3581.
SUNDAY, JANUARY 31
Ice on Fire. The bigger-than-life winter festival

returns to the open fields at NBNC. Participate
in wonderful winter activities including a parade,
storytelling, winter games and outdoor theater
and a huge closing bonfire. 25 p.m. North
Branch Nature Center, 713 Elm St., Montpelier.
Suggestion donations: adults $3; children $1; family $5. 229-6206. northbranchnaturecenter.org.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 1
Parent Meet-Up. Come meet other parents, share

information and chat over light snacks, coffee
and tea. First Mon., 1011:30 a.m. Hayes Room,
Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier. Free. mamasayszine@gmail.com.
Classic Book Club. New members always welcome. Most first Mon., 68 p.m. Cutler Memorial Library, 151 High St. (Rte. 2), Plainfield. Free.
454-8504. cutlerlibrary.org/resources/bookclub.
Women's Writing Workgroup. Quiet, supportive
space for women to write who otherwise have difficulty finding the time or space to do so. Writing
prompts provided or bring your own projects.
Drop in first and third Mon., 6:308:30 p.m.
River Arts Center, 74 Pleasant St., Morrisville.
$5 suggested donation. Register: 888-1261 or
riverartsvt.org
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 2
ADA Advisory Committee Meeting. First Tues.

City managers conference room, City Hall, 39
Main St., Montpelier. 223-9502.
Poetry Clinic. The first hour of the clinic will be
devoted to generative poetry writing exercises; the
second hour will be devoted to respectful critiques
of work you bring to or make in class. Every first
and third Tues., 68 p.m. River Arts Center, 74
THE BRIDGE
St., Montpelier. $1525. capitalcityconcerts.org.

Tickets also available (cash or check) at Bear Pond
Books.
Jan. 30: The Vermont Civil War Songbook.
Singer Linda Radtke, accompanied by pianist
Arthur Zorn, shares songs popular in Vermont
during the Civil War. The Unitarian Church of
Montpelier hosts this Vermont Humanities Council event in honor of the 1866 dedication of the
Church building. 7 p.m. Unitarian Church, 130
Main St., Montpelier. Free.223-6373. ucmvt.org
Jan. 30: Archie Shepp. The new 2016 NEA Jazz
Master and Goddard College Alumnus, Archie
Shepp (BA '59). 8 p.m. The Haybarn Theater at
Goddard College, 123 Pitkin Rd., Plainfield. $25
advance; $30 at door. 322-1685. meg.hammond@
goddard.edu. goddard.edu/event/archie-shepp-inconcert/
REHEARSALS
Jan. 25: Mad River Chorale Rehearsals. 7 p.m.
The concerts will be May 6 and 7, locations to be
determined. Harwood Union High School, 458
VT-100, Moretown. 496-4781. madriverchorale
Pleasant St., Morrisville. $5 suggested donation.

888-1261. riverartsvt.org
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3
Bereavement/Grief Support Group. Open to
anyone who has experienced the death of a loved
one. 1011:30 a.m. Conference Center. 600
Granger Road, Berlin. Free. 223-1878.
Grandparents Raising Their Childrens Children. First Wed., 10 a.m.Noon. Barre Presbyterian Church, Summer St. 476-1480.
Off Target: What Hollywood, Journalists and
Shooters Get Wrong About Guns. With Professor Mark Timney. An Osher Lifelong Learning
Institute program. Doors open 12:30 p.m. for
those wishing to bring a brown bag lunch; program starts 1:30 p.m. Montpelier Senior Activity
Center, 58 Barre St., Montpelier. Donations.
pdaggett@myfairpoint.net.
Cancer Support Group. First Wed., 6 p.m.
Potluck. For location, call Carole MacIntyre
229-5931.
U-32 School Board Meeting. Open to the public
and community members are always welcome to
attend. 6 p.m. U-32, Rm. 131, 930 Gallison Hill
Rd., Montpelier. 229-0321.
Montpelier School Board Meeting. 7 p.m.
Montpelier High School library, 5 High School
Dr., Montpelier. 225-8000.
John Quincy Adams: A Spirit Unconquerable!
Veteran actor Jim Cooke will portray Americans
sixth president, John Quincy Adams as part of the
Vermont Humanities Councils First Wednesdays
lecture series. 7:30 p.m. State House, Montpelier.
Free. vermonthumanities.org/first-wednesdaysmontpelier/
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4
MBAC Meeting. Meeting of the Montpelier

Bicycle Advisory Committee. First Thurs., 8 a.m.
Police Station Community Room, 534 Washington St., Montpelier. 262-6273.
Plutoids, Centaurs & Cubewanos: Myths of
the New Solar System. Kids program with Dr.
Kelley Hunter. Hear stories of newly discovered
planetoids past Pluto, with funny-sounding names
from around the world. 3:304:30 p.m. Jaquith
Library, Marshfield. Free. Pre-register: 426-3581.
Volunteer Opportunities: Central VT Adult
Basic Education. Find out about CVABEs
volunteer opportunities in the Barre/Montpelier
area. This is also a chance for current volunteers
to share their experiences and inspire others.
4:305:30 p.m. CVABE, Barre Learning Center,
46 Washington St., Barre. 476-4588.
Jennifer Armstrongs "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" (Part 1 of 4). Veteran polar
explorer Ernest Shackleton sailed south from
England in 1914 with the goal to lead the first
team to cross the continent of Antarctica on foot.
Shackleton failed in this mission but his epic
struggles with ice, wind, cold and the unforgiving southern ocean made him a legend in his
own time. Hear Shipwreck at the Bottom of the
World read aloud in four one-hour installments
(Jan. 28, Feb. 4, 11, 25). Discussion follows. 6:30
p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St.,
Montpelier. 223-3338. kellogghubbard.org
Diabetes Support Group. First Thurs., 78 p.m.
Conference room 3, Central Vermont Medical
Center. 371-4152.
T H E B R I D G E
Calendar of Events
Visual Arts
EXHIBITS
Jan 2531: VCFA Student Exhibitions. During

the MFA in Visual Art's annual winter residencies, VCFA's campus always comes alive with artistic energy thanks to the work of our students,
faculty and guest artists. 10 a.m.5 p.m. Vermont College of Fine Arts, Alumni Hall, College
St., Montpelier. Free; open to the public. http://
vcfa.edu/news/mfa-visual-art-announces-winter2016-residency-exhibitions-and-public-lectures
Jan. 2731: VCFA Graduating Student Exhibitions. MFA in Visual Art program. 10 a.m.5
p.m. Vermont College of Fine Arts, College Hall
gallery, Montpelier. http://vcfa.edu/news/mfavisual-art-announces-winter-2016-residencyexhibitions-and-public-lectures
Through Jan. 31: Blake Larsen, Introducing
Color. Color saturated abstract expressionist
and abstract figure paintings. Sat.Sun., noon5
p.m. Bundy Modern Gallery, 361 Bundy Rd.,
Waitsfield. 583-5832. info@bundymodern.com
Through Jan. 31: Missy Storrow, Traveling. Watercolor. Artist reception: Jan. 29,
57 p.m. Green Bean Visual Art Gallery in
Capitol Grounds, 27 State St., Montpelier.
bob@capitolgrounds.com
Through Feb. 5: The Paletteers of Vermont
Winter Art Show. Opening reception: Jan. 26,
5:307 p.m. Aldrich Library, Milne Room, 6
Washington St., Barre. paletteers.us
Through Feb. 5: Expressive Energies in Painting. Collaborative exhibit of paintings by Jack
Sabon and Maggie Neale expressing energies,
external and internal. City Center main hall, 89
Main St., Montpelier. colormuse@gmail.com.
sabonart@yahoo.com
Through Feb. 6: Joseph Salerno, Dark Woods.
Paintings. Opening reception: Jan. 21, 48
p.m. Vermont Student Center Gallery, 98 Pearl
St., Johnson. josephsalernostudio.com
Through Feb. 10: Tina Grant. Photographs
most are stunning close-ups of birds. Gifford
Medical Center gallery, 44 S. Main St., Randolph. 728-7000.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5
Central Vermont Medical Center Job Fair. Meet

recruiters and managers. Lern about the wide variety of career opportunities available at CVMC.
10 a.m.4 p.m. CVMC, Conference rooms 1
and 2, 130 Fisher Rd., Berlin. UVMHealth.org/
CVMC/Jobs
Death Caf. Group discussion about death with
no agenda, objectives or themes. First Fri., 11:45
a.m.1 p.m. Twin Valley Senior Center, Rte. 2,
Blueberry Commons, E. Montpelier. Bring your
own lunch or eat at the center for $4. 223-3322.
Coffeehouse. Enjoy live music and share your own.
Fellowship, potluck snacks and beverages. First Fri.,
79 p.m. Trinity United Methodist Church, 137
Main St., Montpelier (park and enter at rear). Free.
244-5191, 472-8297 or rawilburjr@comcast.net.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6
Snowshoe Waterbury with Green Mountain

Club. Winter Trails Day at Green Mountain Club
Through Feb. 20: Studio Place Arts Winter

2016 Exhibits. Reception: Jan. 23, 35 p.m.
Gallery hours: Tues.Fri., 11 a.m.5 p.m.; Sat,
noon4 p.m. SPA, 201 N. Main St., Barre. 4797069. studioplacearts.com
Main floor: From the Center for Cartoon Studies Archives, A 10 Year Anniversary Exhibit.
Second floor: Athena Petra Tasiopoulos,
Beyond Mixed media works on paper.
Third floor: Andy Frost, Paintings on the Tour
for World Peace
Through March 1: Peggy duPont. Paintings
in this collection are inspired by the Vermont
landscape. Morrisville Post Office, 16 Portland
St., Morrisville. 888-1261. riverartsvt.org
Through March 1: Tom Cullins and Kelly Holt,
Alternatives. Photographs and mixed media.
The Gallery at River Arts, 74 Pleasant St., Morrisville. 888-1261. riverartsvt.org
Through March 1: Caroline McKinney,
Humans and Other Animals. Watercolor
portraiture. River Arts Center, Common Space
Gallery, 74 Pleasant St., Morrisville. 888-1261.
riverartsvt.org
Through March 12: Northern Vermont Artists
Association Member Show. A diverse selection of artwork including Robert Brunelle, and
Janet Bonneau. Opening reception: Jan. 21,
57 p.m. Gallery hours: Tues.Sat., noon4
p.m. T.W. Wood Gallery, Center for Arts &
Learning, 46 Barre St., Montpelier. 262-6035.
twwoodgallery@gmail.com. twwoodgallery.org
Through March. 19: Salvage. Artists repurpose,
reposition and reimagine salvaged materials to
bring new meaning to found objects. Opening
reception: Jan. 30, 57 p.m. Chandler Gallery,
71-73 Main St., Randolph.
Through March 30: Annie Tiberio Cameron.

Wilderness images taken on artists solo camping
sojourns 19912006. Vermont Technical College, Hartness Library Gallery, 124 Admin Dr.,
Randolph Center.
Through March 31: Elizabeth Billings and
Michael Sacca, Close to Home. Billings will
display her site-specific installations inspired by
the elements of nature and technology. Saccas
exhibit of detailed photographic images marries the two disciplines conceptually. ArtWalk
reception: Feb. 5, 47 p.m. I.D. required for
admission. The Governors Gallery, Pavilion OfHeadquarters, Waterbury Center. greenmountainclub.org
National Federation of the Blind, Montpelier
Chapter. First Sat. Lane Shops community room,
1 Mechanic St., Montpelier. 229-0093.
ART LAB! Embrace your creativity on a winter day
and join us to create beauty. Knit, crochet, bookbind, felt, make soap and enjoy! 9 a.m.5:30 p.m.
Orchard Valley Waldork School, 2290 VT-14, E.
Montpelier. More info. and registration: ovws.org.
456-7400
Capital City Indoor Farmers Market. Over
30 vendors in all, more than half of them selling
farm products. 10 a.m.2 p.m. Montpelier High
School, 5 High School Dr., Montpelier. montpelierfarmersmarket.com
Northeast Storytellers. Writers, readers and
appreciators of prose and verse meet regularly
the first Saturday of every month. The public is
welcome to attend and new members are always
encouraged to join. 11:30 a.m.2 p.m. Catamount
Arts, 115 Eastern Ave., St. Johnsbury. 751-5432.
First Shot!
A full day of beginning instruction

in the meditative art and basic form
of Kyudo, or Zen Archery, will be
offered on Saturday, January 23rd,
from 9:30 - 4:00 in the basement of
the Barre City Auditorium. Along
with learning the technical aspects of
the form, participants will be introduced to its more meditative dimensions: focusing on breathing, letting
go of self-critical thoughts and embodying a relaxed mind. The day will
culminate in the student's 'first shot'
which becomes the foundation for
further practice. Please contact Tom
@ 802-279-2891 and visit breathingmindkyudo.com.
fice Building, 109 State St., 5F, Montpelier.
Through March 31: Kate Gridley, Passing

Through Portraits of Emerging Adults.
Life-sized oil portraits. ArtWalk reception: Feb.
5, 47 p.m. Vermont Supreme Court Gallery,
111 State St., Montpelier.
Through April 10: Intimacy + Materiality.
Explores material and pronounces the handmade or methods of making through the lens of
contemporary studio, social and design practices.
Opening reception: Jan. 22, 68 p.m.; artist
talks 6:30 p.m. Helen Day Art Center, 90 Pond
St., Stowe. 253-8358. helenday.com
)Through April 10: Carole Frances Lung aka
Frau Fiber, Peoples Cloth Trade Show: The
t-shirt is the problem. Through her alter ego
Frau Fiber, Lung utilizes a hybrid of playful
activism, cultural criticism, research and spirited
crafting of one of a kind garment production
performances. Opening reception: Jan. 22,
68 p.m. Helen Day Art Center, 90 Pond St.,
Stowe. 253-8358. helenday.com
Through April 15: Lynn Newcombs Etchings:
The Power of Black Ink; Two Decades of Printmaking. Tools, bridges and abstract etchings.
Gallery hours: Mon.Fri., 10 a.m.4 p.m. White
River Gallery (in BALE building), 35 S. Windsor St., S. Royalton. lynnnewcombvt.com
Through June 30: Saddle Up! Norwich Cavalry: Training, Touring and Tactics on Horseback. The story of the Norwich Cavalry and its
establishment is full of wonderful images of the
days when equines were part of the daily life at
the University. Reception: Jan. 22, 3:305:30
p.m. Norwich University, Sullivan Museum and
History Center, 158 Harmon Dr., Northfield.
485-2183. academics.norwich.edu/museum/
Through July 19: Blue Ribbons & Burlesque:
The Country Fair Photography of Charles
Fish. Black and white photographs capture nature and nurture, theatrical illusion, the pursuit
of excellence and even the guilty pleasures of fair
food. Vermont History Museum, 109 State St.,
Montpelier. Free with admission to museum.
828-2180. vermonthistory.org/calendar
SPECIAL EVENTS
Jan. 21, 28: Open Art at The Front. Guided by

artist Melora Kennedy, create collages and other
assembled art pieces. Ages 16+. 5:307:30 p.m.
brookequillen@yahoo.com.
Osteoporosis Education and Support Group.
For those who have been diagnosed with osteoporosis or osteopenia, have a family member
who has been diagnosed or want to learn about
osteoporosis. Learn from a variety of guest speakers and medical specialists. First Sat., 13 p.m.
Community National Bank, Community Room,
Crawford Rd., Derby. 535-2011. mary@betterbonesnek.org. betterbonesnek.org.
Espresso Brain-o. Muster your best small team,
and come eat, drink and think your way through
a dynamic live trivia game. 7 p.m. Espresso
Bueno, 248 N. Main St., Barre. $5. 479-0896.
events@espressobueno.com. espressobueno.com.
Send your listing to

calendar@montpelierbridge.com
Deadline for next issue is Jan. 28.
Send information for events
happening Feb. 4Feb. 20.
The Front Gallery, 6 Barre St., Montpelier. Free.

meldan@together.net. thefrontvt.com
Jan. 2224: Create and Communicate with
Color. Chandler Gallerys Circle Painting Festival and Pop Up Exhibit. With Hiep Nguyen.
Hiep, Chandler Gallery and the Vermont Art
Teachers Association invite anyone who loves
color to a participatory community Circle Painting festival Jan. 23, 10 a.m.1 p.m. Artwork
from the festival and a training session for Vermont art teachers will be on display Jan. 23 and
24, 10 a.m.4 p.m. Art party, Jan. 23, 67:30
p.m. Circle Painting training session Jan. 22, 9
a.m.3 p.m. Chandler Center for the Arts, 71-73
Main St., Randolph. 431-0204.
Jan. 23: Artist-in-Residence Allyson Mitchell
Lecture. Mitchell will give a talk called Killjoy's
Konundrum: The Problematics of Feminist
Cultural Production. 7:30 p.m. Vermont College
of Fine Arts, Noble Lounge, Montpelier. http://
vcfa.edu/news/mfa-visual-art-announces-winter2016-residency-exhibitions-and-public-lectures
Jan. 25: Presentation of Civil War Painting to
State House. The Second Vermont Regiment at
Bull Run by landscape painter James Hope is an
eyewitness depiction of the bloody battle of July
21, 1861 along Bull Run creek. The painting is
being donated to the State House by Howard
Coffin, author of four books on Vermonts Civil
War history. Coffin will speak about the painting at 3:30 p.m. in the Senate Chamber at the
close of the Friends of the Vermont State House
annual meeting. The painting will then be hung
in the Cedar Creek Room, where a reception will
follow. Vermont State House, Montpelier.
Jan. 28: MFA in Visual Art Program Symposium. Featuring guest speakers Chris DeLaurenti and Skawennati. 9 a.m.noon. Vermont
College of Fine Arts, College Hall Chapel,
Montpelier. http://vcfa.edu/news/mfa-visual-artannounces-winter-2016-residency-exhibitionsand-public-lectures
Feb. 5: Opening Reception for Art Walk Exhibition. See the latest work of artist members
of The Front, Montpeliers only collective art
gallery. Stop in for some snacks and art viewing
during Art Walk. 48 p.m. The Front Gallery, 6
Barre St., Montpelier. hannah@draw-lucky.com.
thefrontvt.com.
We publish all free and some bydonation area community events at no

charge ongoing classes, workshops,
conferences and for-profit events that
charge attendance fees may be listed
in our classified section for a fee.
Exceptions may be made for artsrelated events that will be placed in the
Performing Arts, Visual Arts or Music
sections. For a paid classified listing
or to purchase an ad, contact Michael
Jermyn at michael@montpelierbridge.
com.
If an ad for an event is purchased, the
event will be listed in the calendar
regardless of event type. This does not
apply to purchase of a classified listing.
Call 223-5112 ext. 12 with questions.
Weekly Events
ART & CRAFT
Beaders Group. All levels of beading experience
welcome. Free instruction available. Come with
a project for creativity and community. Sat., 11
a.m.2 p.m. The Bead Hive, Plainfield. 454-1615.
Calendar of Events
Fri.: St. Augustine Church, 18 Barre St.,

11 a.m.12:30 p.m.
Sun.: Last Sunday only, Bethany Church, 115
Main St. (hosted by Beth Jacob Synagogue),
4:305:30 p.m.
Lunches for Seniors. Mon., Wed., Fri., Noon.
Twin Valley Senior Center, 4583 U.S. Rt. 2, E.
Montpelier. $4 suggested donation. 223-3322.
twinvalleyseniors.org.
Feast Together or Feast To Go. All proceeds

benefit the Feast Senior Meal program. Tues. and
Noontime Knitters. All abilities welcome. Basics Fri., noon1 p.m. Live music every Tues., 10:30
taught. Crocheting, needlepoint and tatting also 11:30 a.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 58
welcome. Tues., noon1 p.m. Waterbury Public
Barre St., Montpelier. Seniors 60+ free with $7
Library, 28 N. Main St., Waterbury. 244-7036.
suggested donation; under 60 $9. Reservations:
262-6288 or justbasicsinc@gmail.com.
Drop-in River Arts Elder Art Group. Work
on art, share techniques and get creative with
others. Bring your own art supplies. For elders
60+. Every Fri., 10 a.m.noon. River Arts Center,
74 Pleasant St., Morrisville. Free. 888-1261.
Turning Point Center. Safe, supportive place
riverartsvt.org.
for individuals and their families in or seeking
recovery. Daily, 10 a.m.5 p.m. 489 North Main
St., Barre. 479-7373.
Sun.: Alchoholics Anonymous, 8:30 a.m.
Open Shop Nights. Volunteer-run community
Tues.: Making Recovery Easier workshops,
bike shop: bike donations and repairs. Wed., 46
67:30 p.m.
p.m.; other nights. Freeride Montpelier, 89 Barre
Wed.: Wits End Parent Support Group, 6 p.m.
St., Montpelier. 552-3521. freeridemontpelier.
Thurs.: Narcotics Anonymous, 6:30 p.m.
org.
Early Bird Bone Builders Class. With Cort
Richardson. Osteoporosis exercise and prevention program. Wear comfortable clothing and
sturdy shoes. Light weights provided or bring
Lunch in a Foreign Language. Bring lunch and
your own. All ages. Every Mon., Wed. and Fri.,
practice your language skills with neighbors.
7:308:30 a.m. Twin Valley Senior Center, Rt. 2,
Noon1 p.m. Mon., Hebrew; Tues., Italian;
Wed., Spanish; Thurs., French. Kellogg-Hubbard Blueberry Commons, E. Montpelier. Free. Cort:
223-3174 or 238-0789.
Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier. 223-3338.
HEALTH & WELLNESS
BICYCLING
BOOKS & WORDS
English Conversation Practice Group. For

students learning English for the first time. Tues.,
45 p.m. Central Vermont Adult Basic Education, Montpelier Learning Center, 100 State St.
223-3403.
Ongoing Reading Group. Improve your reading
and share some good books. Books chosen by
group. Thurs., 910 a.m. Central Vermont Adult
Basic Education, Montpelier Learning Center,
100 State St. 223-3403.
BUSINESS, FINANCE,
COMPUTERS, EDUCATION
Computer and Online Help. One-on-one computer help. Tues. and Fri., 10 a.m.1 p.m. Waterbury Public Library, 28 N. Main St., Waterbury.
Free. Registration required: 244-7036.
Personal Financial Management Workshops.
Learn about credit/debit cards, credit building and repair, budgeting and identity theft,
insurance, investing, retirement. Tues., 68 p.m.
Central Vermont Medical Center, Conference
Room 3. Registration: 371-4191.
FOOD & DRINK

Community Meals in Montpelier. All welcome.
Free.
Mon.: Unitarian Church, 130 Main St.,
11 a.m.1 p.m.
Tues.: Bethany Church, 115 Main St.,
11:30 a.m.1 p.m.
Wed.: Christ Church, 64 State St.,
11 a.m.12:30 p.m.
Thurs.: Trinity Church, 137 Main St.,
11:30 a.m.1 p.m.
Bone Building Exercises. All seniors welcome.

Every Mon., Wed. and Fri. 7:30 a.m. and
10:4511:45 a.m. Twin Valley Senior Center,
4583 U.S. Rt. 2, E. Montpelier. Free. 223-3322.
Tai Chi for Seniors. Led by trained volunteers.
Every Mon. and Fri., 12 p.m.; Mon. and Wed.,
5:306:30 p.m. Twin Valley Senior Center,
4583 U.S. Rt. 2, E. Montpelier. Free. 223-3322.
Living Strong Group. Volunteer-led group.
Sing while exercising. Open to all seniors. Every
Mon., 2:303:30 p.m. and every Fri., 23 p.m.
Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 58 Barre St.,
Montpelier. Free. Register: 223-2518. msac@
montpelier-vt.org.
Sex Addicts Anonymous. Mon., 6:30 p.m.
Bethany Church, 115 Main St., Montpelier.
552-3483.
Overeaters Anonymous. Twelve-step

program for physically, emotionally and spiritually overcoming overeating. Note meeting days
and locations. Every Tues., 5:306:30 p.m. and
Sat., 8:309:30 a.m. at Episcopal Church of the
Good Shepherd, 39 Washington St., Barre. 2493970. Every Mon., 56 p.m. at Bethany Church,
115 Main St., Montpelier. 223-3079.
Tai Chi Classes for All Ages. Every Tues. and
Thurs., 1011 a.m. Twin Valley Senior Center,
Rte. 2, Blueberry Commons, E. Montpelier.
Free. 223-3322. twinvalleyseniors@myfairpoint.
net
Weight Loss Support Group. Get help and support on your weight loss journey every Wed., 67
p.m. Giffords Conference Center, 44 S. Main St.,
Randolph. Free. No registration required. Open
to all regardless of where you are in your weight
loss.
HIV Testing. Vermont CARES offers fast oral

testing. Thurs., 25 p.m. 58 East State St., Ste. 3
(entrance at back), Montpelier. Free. 371-6222.
vtcares.org.
KIDS & TEENS

The Basement Teen Center. Safe drop-in space
to hang out, make music, play pool, ping-pong
and board games and eat free food. All activities
are free. Mon.Thurs., 26 p.m., Fridays 3-10
p.m. Basement Teen Center, 39 Main St., Montpelier. BasementTeenCenter.org
Read to Clara. Sign up for a 20-minute slot and
choose your books beforehand to read to this
special canine pal. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135
Main St., Montpelier. Sign up ahead: 223-4665
or at the childrens desk. kellogghubbard.org.
Story Time and Playgroup. With Sylvia Smith
for story time and Cassie Bickford for playgroup.
For ages birth6 and their grown-ups. We follow
the Twinfield Union School calendar and do not
hold the program the days Twinfield is closed.
Wed., 1011:30 a.m. Jaquith Public Library, 122
School St., Marshfield. Free. 426-3581.
jaquithpubliclibrary.org.
Story Time for Kids. Meet your neighbors and
share quality time with the pre-schooler in your
life. Each week well read stories and spend time
together. A great way to introduce your preschooler to your local library. For ages 25. Every
Thurs., 10:30 a.m. Cutler Memorial Library, 151
High St., Plainfield. 454-8504. cutlerlibrary.org.
Lego Club. Use our large Lego collection to
create and play. All ages. Thurs., 34:30 p.m.
Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier. Free. 223-3338. kellogghubbard.org.
Drop-in Kinder Arts Program. Innovative
exploratory arts program with artist/instructor
Kelly Holt. Age 35. Fri., 10:30 a.m.noon.
River Arts Center, 74 Pleasant St., Morrisville.
888-1261. RiverArtsVT.org.
Teen Fridays. Find out about the latest teen
books, use the gym, make art, play games and if
you need to, do your homework. Fri., 35 p.m.
Jaquith Public Library, 122 School St., Marshfield. 426-3581.
Musical Story Time. Join us for a melodious
good time. Ages birth6. Sat., 10:30 a.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, 135 Main St., Montpelier.
Free. 223-3338. kellogghubbard.org.
Mad River Valley Youth Group. Sun., 79 p.m.
Meets at various area churches. Call 497-4516 for
location and information.
MUSIC & DANCE

Barre-Tones Womens Chorus. Open rehearsal. Find your voice with 50 other women.
Mon., 7 p.m. Alumni Hall, Barre. 223-2039.
BarretonesVT.com.
Dance or Play with the Swinging Over 60
Band. Danceable tunes from the 1930s to the
1960s. Recruiting musicians. Tues., 10:30 a.m.
noon. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 58
Barre St., Montpelier. 223-2518.
Monteverdi Young Singers Chorus Rehearsal.
New chorus members welcome. Wed., 45 p.m.
Montpelier. Call 229-9000 for location and more
information.
Piano Workshop. Informal time to play,
refresh your skills and get feedback if desired
with other supportive musicians. Singers and
listeners welcome. Thurs., 45:30 p.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 58 Barre St.,
Montpelier. Free; open to the public. 223-2518.
msac@montpelier-vt.org.
Ukelele Group. All levels welcome. Thurs., 68
p.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 58 Barre
St. 223-2518.
Gamelan Rehearsals. Sun., 79 p.m. Pratt Center, Goddard College. Free. 426-3498. steven.
light@jsc.edu. light.kathy@gmail.com.
THE BRIDGE
RECYCLING
Additional Recycling. The Additional Recyclables Collection Center accepts scores of hardto-recycle items. Mon., Wed., Fri., noon6 p.m.;
Third Sat., 9 a.m.1 p.m. ARCC, 540 North
Main St., Barre. $1 per carload. 229-9383 x106.
For list of accepted items, go to cvswmd.org/arcc.
RESOURCES
Onion River Exchange Tool Library. 80 tools
both power and manual. Wed., 46 p.m.; Sat.,
911 a.m. 46 Barre St., Montpelier. 661-8959.
info@orexchange.com.
SOLIDARITY/IDENTITY
Womens Group. Women age 40 and older
explore important issues and challenges in their
lives in a warm and supportive environment. Facilitated by psychotherapist Kathleen Zura. Every
Mon., 5:307:30 p.m. 41 Elm St., Montpelier.
223-6564. Insurances accepted.
SPIRITUALITY
Christian Science Reading Room. You're invited
to visit the Reading Room and see what we
have for your spiritual growth. You can borrow,
purchase or simply enjoy material in a quiet study
room. Hours: Wed., 11 a.m.7:15 p.m.; Thurs.
Sat., 11 a.m.1 p.m. 145 State St., Montpelier.
223-2477.
A Course in Miracles. A study in spiritual transformation. Group meets each Tues., 78 p.m.
Christ Episcopal Church, 64 State St., Montpelier. 279-1495.
Christian Counseling. Tues. and Thurs. Daniel
Dr., Barre. Reasonable cost. By appt. only:
479-0302.
Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults. For those
interested in learning about the Catholic faith, or
current Catholics who want to learn more. Wed.,
7 p.m. St. Monica Church, 79 Summer St.,
Barre. Register: 479-3253.
Deepening Our Jewish Roots. Fun, engaging text study and discussion on Jewish
spirituality. Sun., 4:456:15 p.m. Yearning
for Learning Center, Montpelier. 223-0583.
info@yearning4learning.org.
SPORTS & GAMES

Roller Derby Open Recruitment and Recreational Practice. Central Vermonts Wrecking
Doll Society invites quad skaters age 18 and up.
No experience necessary. Equipment provided:
first come, first served. Sat., 56:30 p.m. Montpelier Recreation Center, Barre St. First skate
free. centralvermontrollerderby.com.
YOGA & MEDITATION

Christian Meditation Group. People of all faiths
welcome. Mon., noon1 p.m. Christ Church,
Zen Meditation. With Zen Affiliate of Vermont.
Wed., 6:307:30 p.m. 174 River St., Montpelier.
Free. Call for orientation: 229-0164.
Shambhala Buddhist Meditation. Group meditation practice. Sun., 10 a.m.noon; Tues., 78
p.m.; Wed., 67 p.m. New location: Center for
Culture and Learning, 46 Barre Street, Montpelier. Free. 223-5137. montpeliershambala.org.
Sunday Sangha: Community Ashtanga Yoga.
Every Sun., 5:407 p.m. Grateful Yoga, 15 State
St., 3F, Montpelier. By donation.
Send your listing to

calendar@montpelierbridge.com
Deadline for next issue is Jan.28.
Send information for events
happening Feb. 4Feb. 20.
T H E B R I D G E
Classifieds
CLASSES
NUTRITION
TAI CHI
Hwa Yu Tai Chi winter-spring semester starts
February 1, twelve weeks/$120. Payment plans
available. New students welcome. Mondays
5:00-6:00 pm, in the Taplin Room, Christ
Church, 64 State St, Montpelier.
Instructor Ellie Hayes has been teaching Tai
Chi since 1974. 456-1983, info@elliehayes.net
10 DAY GUIDED CLEAN EATING CLEANSE

Start your year off right with 10 days of clean
eating: boost your energy and get back on
track with nourishing foods! Guided through
one-on-one phone consult, informational
guide, food plan, recipes, and ongoing email
support. Adaptable to all dietary preference
and lifestyles. Optional connection with group.
January 18-27, $60. Contact Kim McKellar,
Certified Integrative Health Coach, mckellarwellness@gmail.com
FAMILY & KIDS

PLUTOIDS, CENTAURS & CUBEWANOS:
MYTHS OF THE NEW SOLAR SYSTEM
with Dr. Kelley Hunter
Hear stories of newly discovered planetoids
past Pluto, with funny-sounding names from
around the world. Free.
Jaquith Library, Marshfield, 426-3581
FAMILY PROGRAMSaturday, January 30,
10-11:30am
KIDS PROGRAM, Pre-registerThursdays,
February 4, 11, 18, 3:30-4:30pm
HOUSING WANTED
HOUSING WANTED
Nice lady desires nice cottage to rent, long
term. Clean, quiet, references. (619) 420-3312.
Evenings best.
JOB OPPORTUNITY
CARDIOLOGIST
Central Vermont Medical Center, Inc. seeks a
Cardiologist (non-invasive) to work at Central Vermont Medical Center in Berlin, VT
& treat/diagnose various types of heart disease & defects as well as perform a variety of
tests & procedures to assist in diagnoses of &
treatment of cardiac disease. CVMC does not
have a catheterization lab. Must have MD,
DO, or for. equiv. deg. + Cardiology Fellowship training & have (or be eligible for) VT
med. license. Must also be BC/BE in Cardiology, possess valid DEA certificate & be able
to obtain hosp. privileges.
Send CV & cover letter with salary requirements to:
Sarah Child,
Manager of Physician Services,
Central Vermont Medical Center,
P.O. Box 547
Barre, VT, 05641
P.O. Box 1143, Montpelier, VT 05601

Phone: 802-223-5112
Fax: 802-223-7852
Editor & Publisher: Nat Frothingham
Managing Editor: Carla Occaso
Calendar Editor, Design & Layout:
Marichel Vaught
Copy Editing Consultant:
Larry Floersch
Proofreader: Garrett Heaney
Sales Representatives: Michael Jermyn,
Rick McMahan
Distribution: Tim Johnson, Kevin Fair, Diana
Koliander-Hart, Daniel Renfro
MHS Student Intern: Kirby Occaso
Editorial: 223-5112, ext. 14, or
editorial@montpelierbridge.com.
Location: The Bridge office is located at the
Vermont College of Fine Arts,
on the main level of Stone Science Hall.
Subscriptions: You can receive The Bridge
by mail for $50 a year. Make out your
check to The Bridge, and mail to The Bridge,
PO Box 1143, Montpelier VT 05601.
montpelierbridge.com
facebook.com/thebridgenewspapervt
Twitter: @montpbridge
Copyright 2015 by The Bridge
Rocque Long
Painting
Insured
30+ years professional
experience
local references.
802-223-0389
Design & Build

Custom Energy-Efficient Homes
SERVICES
Additions Timber Frames
SNOW PLOWING & SANDING

Residential and commercial snow plowing and
sanding. Removal of snow or push back snow
banks. Fully insured. Serving Central Vermont
area. Reasonable rates, call 802-279.2417.
Watershed Construction and Restoration
Weatherization Remodeling
Kitchens Bathrooms Flooring
Tiling Cabinetry Fine Woodwork
WORKSHOPS
VERMONT CENTER FOR INTEGRATIVE
HERBALISM (252 MAIN ST.);
PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED
Wild Carrot Seed for Natural Contraception
February 3rd 6-8 pm; $12
Herbs, Spices & Foods for Romance
February 10th 6-8 pm; $16
Introduction to Indigenous Ethnobotany
February 22nd 6-9 pm; $17
for details and registration, visit vtherbcenter.org
Text-only class listings and

classifieds are 50 words for $25.
To place an ad, call Michael,
223-5112 ext. 11.
New Construction
Renovations
Woodworking
General Contracting
223-3447
clarconstruction.com
Since 1972
Do What You Do Best.
Repairs New floors and walls

Crane work Decorative concrete
Consulting ICF foundations
114 Three Mile Bridge Rd., Middlesex, VT (802) 229-0480
gendronbuilding@aol.com gendronconcrete.com
Bookkeeping Payroll Consulting
802.262.6013 evenkeelvt.com
The Center for Leadership Skills

BUSINESS & LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Lindel James coaching & consulting
Tell them you saw it in

The Bridge!
Taking You from Frustration to Enthusiasm

802 778 0626
lindel@lindeljames.com
lindeljames.com
Opinion
THE BRIDGE
Educational Reform: Another Brick In the Wall?

Hey, teacher, leave those kids alone Pink Floyd
he Act 46 forum at the Kellogg Hubbard Library

was a refreshing change to the usual debate and I
definitely appreciated Dave Kelley's caution that
theory is no substitute for reality. Even so, focusing only
on the details of legislation is not adequate when there are
many big picture issues that make our present reality.
ECONOMICS: Our school system was designed during
the industrial age by ultra-wealthy robber barons who decided that cheap factory workers would be trained at the
expense of the taxpayer. Now, with our factories gone overseas, we have lost the taxes from this labor source. The corrupt real estate/stock market crash has also ruined the tax
base. Now austerity is the new mantra to shave and saveone example of this is loss of government jobs last summer.
School austerity cuts are, strangely, being done in the name
of "the children"- the same children of parents who became
unemployed when we trashed the working class.
regular folks were hooked on opiates because opium is a

component of prescription pain killers. As I understand,
these pain killers were often given to folks who injured
themselves on the job. The resulting addiction is affecting
the middle class, which is in turn affecting the costs of
medical insurance, yet another drain on the economy. So,
instead of having responsible physicians proscribing opiates
in controlled amounts, we have irresponsible harmacuticals
dumping drugs on unsuspecting patients. Our economy,
and thus school funding, suffers from this in a way that
school reform can not fix.
Our public school system is perceived as a step to the better life thru college. The big crash and the college debt
crisis have put that myth in the grave. Meanwhile, it is the
finest colleges that have the biggest drug usage because
wealthy students do go to college to party before they enter
their world of upperclass privilege. Serious students are
Our ridiculously expensive national priorities are also not finding other options through less prestigious institutions.
helping. This includes the cost of our prison industrial ME BEING CAUSTIC: Lastly, to paraphrase a comment
made by educational reformer John Gattom we do not
complex which connects to another issue:
DRUG ABUSE: This was discussed at the forum, but send children to school for 12 years because it takes that
not coherently. Our current drug problems are partly an long to teach them, but because it takes that long to break
artifical construct of hypocritical laws, cultural prejudices, their spirit. School sucks, not because teachers are bad or
and elitist privilege. Our country's "drug problem" started overworked, but because it is not natural for the human
at the turn of the last century when our government de- mind to be told what to think. Learning is a healthy extencided that qualified doctors could not give perscriptions sion of curiosity- with some people are more curious and
to addicts. These addicts were fully functional, responsible expressive than others. Neither intelligence nor initiative
people of the working classes that happened to be hooked, can be enforced upon the mind. Our system ignores this
but were otherwise harmless. Now, a century later, in last and has, throughout its history, by substituting genuine
years "State of the State Address" Shumlin admitted that learning with artificial conditioning. First there was the
devotion to industrial agenda and the belief in the "survival
Opinion
A
by Gerard Renfro
of the fittest" ideology. Then came commiephobia and

the traumatizing effects of "duck and cover" training in
school. Now we have jettisoned all that and, as was admitted at the forum, we are focusing on making our children
"competitive" for the global market so they can "get ahead".
The simple truth is that our educational curriculum is so
boring that students, already cynical about adults and our
collective future, do not care much about curriculum. We
now "teach to the test" just so schools can have standards
of achievement, however meaningless.
We want to believe that there is some kind of cure for
education that we will find if we only keep striving. This is
the same failed myth that has been applied to agriculture,
medicine, transportation, militarism and many other institutions. We are ignoring the realities (historical and current) that overwhelm school consolidation theory; yet we
fixate on legalistic technicalities. Anyone with an ounce of
common sense can see that consolidation is not about "the
children". It is about justifying the decay of our educational
system. I do not expect anyone to "do" anything to fix the
above issues as they are too large and too deeply entrenched
into our economy. However, if the Bridge is going to sponsor a discussion about school reform, let us be honest about
the depth of the problem we are facing.
Have something important to say?

We want to hear it!
Send it to us at:
editorial@montpelierbridge.com
Entrepreneur Asks Economic Questions

by Wavell Cowan
widely acknowledged economic problem of this political year is the increasing gap
in wealth between the so-called 1 percent and the rest of us. Economic inequality was
recently explored in the Jan/Feb 2016 issue of Foreign Affairs. In one of the essays the
author quoted the so-called Bossuet paradox God laughs at men who complain of the consequences while cherishing the causes. It struck me that this was a precise description of the
situation in our economy today.
The articles on inequality highlighted the problem, but the solutions offered were all, in effect,
trial and error patches. Nowhere were why questions asked. It seems that the nature of the
economy is so cherished, that is, so accepted, that it is immune to serious questioning.
Fundamental to the operation of an economy is the nature of the units of production created
to deliver goods and services, and how the money supply is to be made available to fully utilize
the productive energies of our citizenry.
We complain of economic consequences such as inequality, but cherish the present form Two scientifically legitimate why questions that challenge what we cherish, but for this reaof the market economy that causes such inequalities. The common suggestion in the above son cannot be asked without derisive responses, are:
referenced articles and in what passes for political discussion these days, is that these consequences can be avoided by proper government regulation. Nowhere is it suggested that the 1. Why does our economy still overwhelmingly support largeness in the units of producbasic structure of the economy itself is the cause, and that fundamental change rather than tion that deliver goods and services to the population, when modern technology now makes
that unnecessary?
piecemeal regulation is required.
A professional lifetime as an independent scientist using basic research to understand causes 2. Why is money creation still left in the hands of the private banking sector when modern
of fundamental industrial problems allowed me as an entrepreneur and businessman to suc- technology now makes that unnecessary?
cessfully create new process equipment and test instruments now widely used throughout the I have explored these two questions in my newly published book, Escaping an Evolutionary
Pulp & Paper Industry. What these experiences taught was that when something doesnt work Dead-End. Should The Bridge be willing that these not to be asked questions, be publicly
well the usual approach is to come up with trial and error patches. These only shift problems, posed, those willing to accept them as being scientifically legitimate can satisfy their curiosnever solving them. Alternatively, asking the proper why questions and seeking scientifically ity by visiting authorwfc.com.
valid answers typically identifies the need for fundamental changes, not patches. This in
turn frees the imagination to come up with the ideas needed to implement such changes.
T H E B R I D G E
Editorial
T
he legislature appears to be moving

swiftly to consider a number of bills
that could have the practical result
of making Vermont the first state in the
Northeast to legalize marijuana and then
regulate it, grow it, manufacture it, sell it
and tax it.
Were not talking small potatoes here. In
writing the proposed legislation, lawmakers
noted three things.
First, marijuana has been criminalized in
the United States for over 75 years. Second, that making possession of marijuana a
crime hasnt lessened its use. And third, that
studies show that an estimated 80,000 Vermonters are past-month users of marijuana.
So its been out there for years and
years. So making possession of marijuana
a crime hasnt discouraged its use. Then,
since an estimated 80,000 Vermonters are
past-month users its broadly popular,
even though its illegal.
At the present time the Judiciary Committee of the Vermont Senate is currently taking testimony on two bills: S.95 that would
regulated and tax marijuana and S.241 that
deals with possession and cultivation of
cannabis and the regulation of commercial
establishments.
In summary, the bills would legalize the
possession of small amounts of marijuana
for persons in Vermont who are 21 years of
age and over. The proposed new legislation
would also create a state-appointed control
board to register, supervise and regulate
various establishment to cultivate, manufacture, test and sell marijuana.
Letters
Support Local Option Tax
Editor:
As a 30-year resident of Montpelier I write
in support of the 1 percent local option
meals, rooms and alcohol tax proposal.
From 1981 to 1986 I lived 100 feet from
the Montpelier City border, in East Montpelier only three miles from downtown.
I used everything that Montpelier had to
offer, plowing, recreation fields, Hubbard
park, local stores and restaurants. I called
the police department when my car was
broken into at the commuter parking lot
and late at night when Gould Hill Road
wasn't plowed. I worked in downtown
and twice a day would walk throughout
town buying lunch or shopping at the local
stores.
I never gave a thought to what services I
used but knew my town property taxes
were lower than my Montpelier neighbors.
The majority of my coworkers did not live
in the city and enjoyed the conveniences of
Montpelier without thinking about who
was paying for their police and fire protection and plowed sidewalks.
In 1986 I moved into the city and started
paying for the services that friends cowork-
Pot: Should Vermont Race to Legalize,

Regulate and Tax It?
by Nat Frothingham
The proposed legislation would also tax
marijuana and lawmakers are calling for
proceeds from the tax money to support
public education campaigns about the
safety risks, not just the safety risks of
using marijuana, but the safety risks of
using alcohol and tobacco as well. Proceeds
from the new tax money would also fund
criminal justice programs, substance abuse
programs, law enforcement, academic and
medical research and other like initiatives.
In addition, the proposed legislation prohibits marijuana use in public places, use
by persons under the age of 21 and drugged
driving. The proposed legislation establishes fines and penalties for violations of
the proposed new law.
Clearly one of the motivations to legalizing
marijuana that has attracted the attention of
governmental officials and some lawmakers
is the states desire to shut down the thriving black market trade in marijuana, a trade
thats estimated at $175 million a year. The
state wants to shut it down, get it out of the
shadows. Then legalize it, run it and tax it.
The Senate has been taking testimony on
the legislation and not everyone is in agreement.
In a January 2016 report, The Vermont
League of Cities and Towns wrote: The
committee took testimony from a wide variety of individuals, officials and interest
groups from law enforcement and physicians to educators and citizens who both
supported and opposed legalization. Both
sides of the debate have been vocal, well
organized and passionate. That comment
speaks to the controversy surrounding the
ers and visitors to Montpelier have come
to enjoy. The population of Montpelier
has decreased over the past years while the
surrounding communities have grown and
use city as the main hub for Washington
County. Our infrastructure is in desperate
shape and burdened not just by residents
but those that use our city.
There are now 17 communities in Vermont
and 9,000 in the country that have enacted
a meals, rooms and alcohol tax
Will consumer habits change? I don't think
that I would go to Pizza Hut to save 50
cents on a $50 meal, instead of Positive
Pie, or Sarducci's. Would I drive to Applebee's when I wanted a meal at NECI or
the Skinny Pancake? NO. Would I drive
to Barre for a beer if I wanted to sit in the
window at Charlie-O's or the Three Penny
Taproom? Never. Would members of the
legislature pack a lunch instead of eating
at the State House cafeteria or one of the
many great restaurants in town to save 10
to 25 cents on lunch. Not really.
Any statement by a restaurant that they
would lose revenue from an additional 1
dollar tax on a $100 meal is ludicrous in
my eyes.
Montpelier residents need to share some of
our municipal tax burden with the thousands of people that use our services every
day. Please support the local option tax.
Bob Gross
Montpelier
What Do You Think?

Read something that you would like to respond to? We welcome your letters and
opinion pieces. Letters must be fewer than 300 words. Opinion pieces should not
exceed 600 words. The Bridge reserves the right to edit and cut pieces. Send your
piece to: editorial@montpelierbridge.com.
Deadline for the next issue is January 29.
proposed marijuana legislation.

Then, according to the report, there is the
time crunch, described as follows, The
committed indicated that if legislation were
to move forward this year, (the committee):
would need to approve a bill by January 29.
Finally, there are matters of prudence and
judgment. The Vermont League of Cities
and Towns report stated that political leaders of both the Vermont House and Senate
were only committed to passing legislaltion this year IF that legislation was well
thought out and intensely vetted. As an
organization, the Vermont League of Cities
and Towns members voted to oppose legalization at its annual meeting last October.
Which brings us to The Bridge and our
bottom line with the bills now on the table.
We favor marijuana reform. We favor ending the hypocrisy around serious, even
deadly substances, like tobacco and alcohol,
that have long been legal but have also often
been abused and whose abusive use has led
to sickness and premature death.
Marijuana is a drug. And according to the
National Institute on Drug Abuse, Marijuana can be addictive. But the studies I
have seen report that marijuana is far less
harmful that either tobacco or alcohol
but still dangerous, when abused.
This paper would not favor marijuana reform until a fool-proof test has been developed to prove whether anyone driving a car
who has abused marijuana is a danger on
the roads.
Thats one demand we would insist upon.
Alternative Energy Siting Flawed

Editor:
Id like to add my voice to the comments
of Dustin Lang regarding the rush to bring
alternative energy sources to the state. These
energy sources are undoubtedly of enormous
import to the future of our state. However,
the process for their advancement seems
deeply flawed with an apparent minimum
of forethought or oversight from state officials. We are left with energy developers galloping around the state, clashing with each
other, pitting neighbor against neighbor, and
making siting decisions with no regard for
town plans or zoning regulations. Negation
of local control is built into the system as the
voices of town councils, select boards and
citizens are suppressed in favor of developers,
frequently with the assistance of the Public
We have a second concern. We are not yet

convinced that marijuana should be legalized, sold and taxed until cities and towns
and schools across the state have the resources to handle the impacts of marijuana
legalization, sales and taxation.
Lets also remember that were not dealing
with small potatoes here. There is big
money at stake.
One section of a very long report written
for the State of Vermont by the Rand Corporation, titled Consider Marijuana Legalization, addressed the question of how
much spending might be generated through
marijuana legalization and sales. That report noted that the income from tourism
spending each year in Vermont comes to
about $1.3 billion. The report went on to
note that seven times as many marijuana
users live within 50 miles of Vermont as
there are marijuana users in the state itself.
The report concluded: So total marijuana
spending by near-neighbors approaches the
$1.35 billion figure.
If we embrace marijuana reform, lets be
aware of the money. And lets not pass
marijuana legislation until we are satisfied
that the people who are appointed to the
Marijuana Control Board and the people
who register to cultivate, manufacture and
sell marijuana can meet and sustain the
rigorous demands of a public trust. Its conceivable, that we could end the black market
trade in marijuana and through a series imprudent choices create a state-regulated monopoly that just might lead to corruption.
We dont want that to happen in Vermont.
Disclosure: Yes, I have smoked marijuana.
Service Board, known for the rubber-stamping of development applications. If Vermont
citizens dont have a voice through their local
governing bodies, we have no voice at all.
I would hope our state officials will have the
wisdom to stand back, take a good look at
this before it goes any further, though I am
not hopeful. It may take continued citizen
outcry to attract their attention. Introducing new technologies to the state is all well
and good, but we also need (quickly) an enlightened system of intelligent development
to implement them. A system that invites
participation of the communities involved
would be a good step in the right direction.
Vermont citizens should not settle for less
let your voice be heard!
Peter Wells
Calais
PAG E 2 0 J A N UA RY 21 F E B RUA RY 3 , 2 016
THE BRIDGE
Poetry
Old Cat Gazes
The old cat gazes
at the world between minutes
I think more of now.
by Reuben Jackson,
host of Friday Night Jazz on
Vermont Public Radio
The Bridge publishes every
1st and 3rd Thursday of the
month, except in July when
we publish only on the 3rd
Thursday. Our next issue
comes out February 4.

The Bridge, January 21, 2016

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Bridge, January 21, 2016

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

M a r ij ua n a L egisl at ion Updat e Page 4

January 21 February 3, 2016

A Community Variety Show to Benefit The Bridge

From far left clockwise: Allison Mann,

Pg. 9 Barre Antiques

Beat the Mid-Winter Blues at the

MONTPELIER Welcome! Get ready to

the United States, at Boston University. He

CALL TODAY FOR

The Law Office of Amy K. Butler,

The other performers, in alphabetical order,

Reuben Jackson, a published poet and

PAG E 2 J A N UA RY 21 F E B RUA RY 3 , 2 016

Cody Chevrolet Congratulates The Bridge

Tell them you saw it in

Follow The Bridge

Like The Bridge on

J A N UA RY 21 F E B RUA RY 3 , 2 016 PAG E 3

The Bridge Just $3,892 Shy

Hibernation Time? Mais, Oui!

Watercolor by Nona Estrin

Advertise in the NEXT ISSUE:

Support The Bridge

All community contributions, whatever

Friends of The Bridge will be periodically acknowledged in future issues of

Send this form and your check to:

PAG E 4 J A N UA RY 21 F E B RUA RY 3 , 2 016

Marijuana Legislation Update: Planning Chair Supports

MONTPELIER Former Vermont Attorney General Kimberly Cheney, chair of

Cheneys view, however, conflicts with

Q & A with Kim Cheney

Former Attorney General

HEARD ON THE STREET

Clean Water Needs in Vermont Estimated at $154 Million

Honoring Joe Tetreault

Cannabis Presentations Planned Jan. 27, Feb. 10 and 16

J A N UA RY 21 F E B RUA RY 3 , 2 016 PAG E 5

The Bridge Presents Education Secretary Rebecca Holcombe

After First-Ever Robbery,

Local musicians Rick

PAG E 6 J A N UA RY 21 F E B RUA RY 3 , 2 016

A Message From City Hall

Local Option Tax to Appear on City Ballot

Budget Forum Support

City Council Support

Communities with Local

Berlin Pond Charter Change

Other Budget Decisions

Local Option Tax Revenue

Photo by Annie Tiberio Cameron

J A N UA RY 21 F E B RUA RY 3 , 2 016 PAG E 7

City To Unveil Comprehensive New Zoning Map and

MONTPELIER The planning commission has completed and is getting ready to

resolve the parking problems in urban core

contends the historic design rules reflect a

land use sense to expand Riverfront along

PAG E 8 J A N UA RY 21 F E B RUA RY 3 , 2 016

Its WHOs Move

to find codes that would be appropriate for injuries these

ing and submersion, might work. But both W69.XX and

J A N UA RY 21 F E B RUA RY 3 , 2 016 PAG E 9

Granite City Groove

RecyclE This Paper!

PAG E 10 J A N UA RY 21 F E B RUA RY 3 , 2 016