Senior reporter John Flowers makes a weekly Tuesday radio appearance on Morning News Service, a program on Waterbury-based WDEV, 96.1 FM. He wraps up recent Addison County news for listeners across Vermont.
ADDISON COUNTY — According to recently released 2010 U.S. Census data, 15 Addison County towns gained residents in the past decade, while the other eight communities’ population bases shrank. The numbers also show that the population on the whole is getting older.
Middlebury, Monkton, Leicester, Ferrisburgh and Bristol saw the greatest increase in numbers in terms of overall population. (See chart below.)
Leicester saw the highest percentage increase, followed by Monkton, Ripton, Orwell and Lincoln.
MIDDLEBURY — Nancy Niedzielski’s husband, Randy, was 55 when he was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2000. He died six years later after a great deal of suffering and after making a final request of his wife: Help their home state of Washington pass a law to allow terminally ill patients to end their lives.
“He didn’t want anyone else to suffer like he did,” Niedzielski said.
MIDDLEBURY — Sara Nesson was a student at the University of Vermont during the late 1990s when she developed an interest in the stories of Iraq War veterans living in Burlington.
That experience led her to Robynn Murray, a teenager from upstate New York who joined the U.S. Army in 2003 as an enthusiastic recruit and returned from a tour in Iraq at age 20 fighting a personal war against the ravages of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
CORNWALL — Route 30 has always been a popular road for cyclists and joggers wanting to mix exercise with an appreciation of breathtaking vistas. But the narrowness of the road and the speed of the vehicles that travel it long made it a risky recreational proposition for people on two feet or two wheels.
Not anymore.
WEYBRIDGE — Weybridge residents on Friday will celebrate their town’s 250th birthday with dessert and a sweet new movie chronicling their community’s history through vintage photos and testimonials from some of their most venerable neighbors.
BRISTOL — Many Bristol residents have repeatedly demanded the town have more geological information about Bristol’s eastern conservation zone before extraction in the area is permitted.
Death-with-dignity deserves its day in the public’s court
As legislative committees meet to prepare agendas for the upcoming session, one piece of legislation deserves consideration and the opportunity for a vote. The issue, known as death-with-dignity, is no stranger to House committees over the past two sessions, but has never been brought to a vote of the full body nor has it been introduced in the Senate.
