Archive - Oct 21, 2010
A time to hunker down or move forward? Shumlin for governor
In the race for governor, Vermonters have rarely had the opportunity to choose between two leading candidates with such stark differences on the issues.
FERRISBURGH — With a new Vermont law in place promising four years of tax breaks and a one-time cash bonus for school districts that consolidate, an Addison Northwest Supervisory Union board committee has begun holding public meetings to once again test one-board governance waters.
Legislators are trying to encourage school consolidation across Vermont through Act 153 as a cost-saving measure.
MIDDLEBURY — It was back in June of 1980 that Eli Olinick celebrated what is believed to have been the first Bar Mitzvah ever in Addison County, held in Middlebury College’s Warner Hemicycle.
The traditional Jewish ceremony would prove more than Olinick’s symbolic transition to religious adulthood. It would become the catalyst for the organization of Addison County’s Jewish community, Havurah, which this year is marking its 30th anniversary.
ADDISON COUNTY — The Mount Abraham Union High School garden began its first year at about 600 square feet. Now, as it wraps up its second year, the garden has doubled in size.
Mount Abe is just one of many schools in the county that have been taking the first steps toward incorporating more local food and nutrition education into their curriculums, in some cases bringing academic studies a little closer to technical agricultural programs.
MIDDLEBURY — The UD-3 board on Tuesday heard from more than a dozen teachers and community members who requested that any cuts to the 2011-2012 budget not affect direct educational services to students.
Some advised the board to target extra-curricular activities and administrative positions in the Middlebury district, while others suggested school directors put away the budget cutting knife altogether.
ADDISON COUNTY — An estimated 50 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 29 turned out to vote in the 2008 presidential elections, setting national records for youth turnout.
In the lead up to the elections this November, though, clerks in Addison County say they haven’t seen a huge rush of younger voters registering.
“I haven’t had any young kids come to the counter (to register),” said Vergennes city clerk Joan Devine, thinking back to the past couple of months. “Just our regular people — ones who have moved into town.”
BRISTOL — Imagine what Main Street Bristol will look like 10, 20 or 50 years down the road. Now imagine what the downtown area could, or should look like and one will come close to the task that the Bristol Planning Commission has been assigned.
On Tuesday, Bristol planners sat in the conference room of the temporary town offices trudging their way through piles of color-coded maps and complex terms while deciphering the subtle differences between definitions like “Village Mix” and “Village Business.”
