Letter to the editor: Thank you for supporting the Ilsley Library bond

On behalf of the Ilsley Public Library Board of Trustees and the Ilsley 100 Project team, our thanks to the citizens of Middlebury for your vote of confidence in passing the article in Tuesday’s election to fund a portion of the library’s renovation/expansion project through a public bond.

I am a grandmother and concerned about the future of democracy for the benefit of my grandchildren and others. I believe we need to lower the voting age to 16.

It’s important for the state of Vermont to have a safe and comfortable facility to treat traumatized juveniles. Addison County and the City of Vergennes may well be the best location for that to occur.

Thanks, and gratitude to our Town’s Officials on behalf of the Greater Buttolph Neighborhood, many of whom have been working for years to ensure the safety of our school children walking and biking to our 3 schools, which are all linked by our neighborhoo … (read more)

It begins with a faint flutter, like a rustle of paper. Enough to make you stop and listen, wondering if you might have imagined it. 

Youngster urges Middlebury residents to vote yes on Ilsley Library update because it will be a big improvement at a good price.

It’s not often that residents of any town can gladly approach a significant bond issue knowing all parties involved have excelled at crafting a $16.99 million library renovation project down to a very manageable $4.4 million payment for taxpayers to retir … (read more)

Houseless or unhoused gives no respect for the experience or depth of pain of someone who lacks a stable, safe place to live. Homelessness was painful.

When I look at the world it’s easy to feel heartbroken and paralyzed at the chaos. Granted, I’m a born pessimist, but I’m sure many of you share my despair about climate change, the war in Ukraine, the strife in Israel and Gaza, and the huge number of peo … (read more)

Residents of the Slate Valley Unified Union School District, which serves Orwell and the northwestern part of Rutland County, face tough sledding in getting its school budget passed on a third attempt next Thursday, May 9.

Over the winter, I heard about an intriguing vegetable-growing technique called “lazy gardening.” As far as I knew, that was the kind of gardening I’d been doing for two decades.

One day, a young first-year student comes up to me and says, “Yo, brotha Hector, why can’t you take me under your wing?”

I will vote to support the bond on May 7.

The Ilsley Public Library is consistently one of the most frequently used libraries in the state, but its 100-year-old building is in deteriorating condition.

Please, Middlebury, say yes on May 7 to funding a renovated and expanded Ilsley Public Library! For years, despite the severe limitations of its current building, Ilsley has been among the most visited libraries in the state.