Archive - Nov 2, 2006

Editor’s note: During the current political season some lawmakers have proposed repealing the current law for funding schools and creating some new funding system with the goal, proponents say, of providing property tax relief. We took a look at the impact of Act 68 in one Addison County school district to provide some data that would be useful in debate over that proposal.

By ANDY KIRKALDY

VERGENNES — In 2002, the last year before the passage of Act 68, the Vermont school financing law that raised the state sales tax to provide property tax relief, Addison Northwest Supervisory Union residents sent almost $10.4 million to Montpelier in school tax payments.

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By JOHN FLOWERS

MIDDLEBURY — Ana Solis desperately wants you to know who she is.

But she can’t tell you.

As one of the estimated 500 migrant workers now toiling on farms throughout Addison County, Ana Solis (not her real name) must be content to work in the shadows of a milk stall, or risk running afoul of loosely-interpreted federal immigration laws that would require her and her family’s deportation to Mexico.

“I like this country and the economic opportunity available here,” said Solis, who with her husband has worked on the same Addison County farm for the past three years.

“But there are times when we feel like prisoners,” she added, as she bounced her American-born, 16-month-old daughter on her knee. “We have the right to work, and nothing more.”

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By JOHN FLOWERS

ADDISON COUNTY — Addison County voters will go to the polls this Tuesday, Nov. 7, to decide five local House races, a slew of contests for statewide offices, and various local referenda — including a $10.3 million bond proposal for major renovations to Otter Valley Union High School.

The following is an election overview for each of the legislative districts in Addison County, along with a rundown of other initiatives that many area voters will field on election day:

State Senate, Addison County and Brandon

For the first time in recent memory, both of the Senate seats representing Addison County and Brandon are uncontested. Incumbent Sens. Claire Ayer of Weybridge and Harold Giard of Bridport, both Democrats, appear assured of additional two-year terms, barring an epic write-in campaign by an eleventh-hour candidate.

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