Archive - May 2012
May 10th
BRISTOL — On Monday, May 14, the Bristol selectboard will hold its first public hearing on the new draft of the town plan. Before the draft can be presented to voters, the selectboard — by state law — must hold two public hearings without altering the plan. The hearing is at 7 p.m. at Holley Hall.
VERMONT — A proposed law aimed at reducing the financial burden of school meals for children in low-income families has been in the Vermont Legislature for two years now. But with huge financial setbacks following Tropical Storm Irene, legislators say it won’t come to a vote this year.
In 2008, legislators passed a bill to provide free breakfasts to all students eligible for the state’s free and reduced-price meal program. Before this bill became law, reduce-priced meal students paid 30 cents per breakfast.
MIDDLEBURY — The Middlebury Union High School girls’ lacrosse team started and finished strong against visiting Burr & Burton on Monday, but in between had to stem a Bulldog rally to win, 18-11.
The 7-1 Tigers remained in first place in Division I heading into games at Champlain Valley (5-2) on Wednesday and at home vs. rival South Burlington (5-1) on Saturday at 11 a.m.
Saturday will bring a rematch of the 2011 D-I final, won by the Rebels, and an April 17 game at SBHS, won by the Tigers in overtime.
As afternoon shadows lengthen and we put away the tools from a day of gardening, I pick our first salad of the year.
The birds are chirping up a storm. The lilacs are in bloom. The convertibles are out. The calendar says it’s May. But it really isn’t spring until I bust out the ol’ Gravely.
Gravely, as any self-respecting yard-maintenance junkie knows, is a brand of lawn tractor. And at the risk of sounding like I have a stake in the company (I don’t), this particular Gravely has more value to me than its simple function of cutting grass.
How should the 2012 session of the Legislature be assessed? I would give the lawmakers a B+ grade: above-average performance, but with room for improvement on some issues and more work to be done on others.
The jail in Vergennes where Congressman Matthew Lyon was imprisoned is long gone. But his legend lives on, in part thanks to another former congressman and current U.S. senator, Bernie Sanders.
When you’re sailing against the prevailing political winds, it can be reassuring to know that others have done so and eventually prevailed.
Maybe that’s part of the reason that Sen. Sanders chose in a recent “Vermont Bernie Buzz” newsletter to highlight Matthew Lyon’s story.
The governor’s take on the session was enthusiastic optimism — as expected. And much of it is deserved.
Considering the damage to roads and bridges and the loss of business caused by Tropical Storm Irene last Aug. 28, and the tepid economy on top of a winter that starved ski resorts of predictable snow, it’s a wonder state residents weren’t asked to increase taxes to rebuild what was lost and replenish drained coffers.
