Archive - Feb 2010

BRISTOL — The long-simmering issue of sand and gravel extraction in Bristol comes to a head on Tuesday when residents cast votes on a proposed update of the Bristol Town Plan and a new ordinance that would regulate gravel mining.

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ADDISON COUNTY — Finally!

That’s what many in the area said when they woke up Wednesday morning to the first real snow storm in Addison County in more than a month.

Those looking for a scapegoat when it comes to the relative lack of snow this February can just blame the jet stream, a fast flowing, narrow air current that moves from west to east, and influences much of North America’s weather patterns.

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VERGENNES — It’s not often that high school teachers can take a semester away from teaching to focus exclusively on creating a more progressive learning environment.

But that is just what Vergennes Union High School Spanish teacher Kristine Kirkaldy will do next fall. She recently became the second teacher from VUHS to win a Rowland Fellowship, which each year awards $100,000 to up to 10 Vermont secondary school educators to fund a semester researching and developing a project focused on “enhancing the institution’s culture and climate,” according to the foundation’s Web site.

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BRISTOL — There’s a saying that, once something exists online, it can’t be destroyed. A photograph posted to a Facebook account is logged in search records and Internet caches. Pull it down, if you like, but know that a digital copy is probably pinging around in the ether, like it or not.

In a sense, that information is immortal.

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WALTHAM — The Addison County Community Trust (ACCT) is seeking funding for and the support of the town of Waltham to buy and rebuild Gevry Trailer Park as a permanent site for 14 new affordable manufactured homes.

The 2.3-acre park sits on Maple Street on the Vergennes city line and has frontage on Otter Creek. The park’s last tenant moved out last year, said ACCT Executive Director Terry McKnight, who has had his eye on the site for years as a place to provide housing for moderate- and low-income families and seniors.

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FERRISBURGH — Although races for town offices are few and far between in Addison County’s northwestern quadrant, Ferrisburgh voters have a choice between two candidates for the town selectboard: incumbent Bob Jenkins and challenger Kurt Plank.

Jenkins, originally appointed to the board to fill a vacancy, is running for election for the second time. Plank is seeking office for the first time.

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VERGENNES — The No. 7 Vergennes Union High School boys’ basketball team accomplished all of its goals in Tuesday  night’s first-round Division II playoff game against visiting No. 10 Springfield.

The 13-8 Commodores advanced to the quarterfinal round, avenged their loss in the 2009 final to Springfield with a 47-37 win, and helped senior forward Connor Merrill reach the coveted 1,000-point plateau.

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