Readers of the Addison Independent Summer Guide in June got some ideas about what would make a good “staycation” in the Green Mountain State and read about how outdoor musical performances could be paired with picnics to make a fun seasonal activity.

Folks in Vergennes got a scare in early June when a Trump Administration plan to halt youth training programs at 100 facilities nationwide spelled closure of the Northland Job Corps program by the end of the month. Northlands employed 110 people and educated more than 150. It would have been more than 150, but the President’s people had stopped OKing new students earlier in the year. While the feds said the Job Corps programs weren’t achieving their aims, Northlands Director Michael Dooley told the Independent, “We placed 80% of our graduates (in jobs) prior to them leaving the center this year.” There was some hope, since the National Job Corps Association had filed a lawsuit asking a court to temporarily stop the closure of all Job Corps programs. Like many Trump edicts, this one was ending up in court.

In the meantime, Middlebury College officials in June continued to keep a close eye on federal action that could affect the institution’s international community, after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the U.S. would “aggressively revoke” visas for Chinese students.

The Turning Point Center of Addison County on June 3 launched a public health vending machine at its 79 Court St. headquarters in Middlebury. A second machine was planned for Bristol in the fall. Both outdoor vending machines would be filled with what was described as “life-saving items, including naloxone (Narcan), fentanyl test strips, personal hygiene products and wound care supplies.” Free and available 24/7 “without stigma or barriers, access to the vending machines is vital for a safe and supported community,” read a press release about the machines. Turning Point Center is one of 12 peer recovery centers in Vermont that offer support for individuals and their families seeking recovery from substance use disorder and other addictions.

Saying she’s been targeted by a growing number of personal attacks and threats from those opposed to her political views, and citing difficulty in securing enough shifts as a Registered Nurse at the University of Vermont Medical Center, Rep. Mari Cordes resigned from her Addison-4 district seat in June. The Bristol Democrat was moving to take a nursing job in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Middlebury lost a public servant of much distinction when former longtime Middlebury selectboard member John Tenny died at age 77. He was credited with, among other things, catalyzing a closer relationship between the town and Middlebury College. Dozens of prominent buildings and infrastructure projects in Addison County bear his fingerprints. Tenny’s contributions to the shire town will last for many generations, according to those who knew and worked with him.

In early June, crews from six local departments responded to a house fire on Salisbury’s Shard Villa Road. Two residents escaped with minor injuries, but a dog was killed in the blaze. Salisbury firefighters were assisted by departments from Middlebury, Brandon, Whiting, Weybridge and Cornwall. First responders from Middlebury Regional EMS also lent a hand.

While the work to tear down all but the original 1924 structure of Middlebury’s Ilsley Library had started in the spring, in June ground was formally broken on the new two-story addition, which will add 8,000 square feet of space to the Main Street structure.

Bristol’s Devin Wendel in June was named the Northern Vermont Athletic Director of the Year by the Vermont State Athletic Directors Association. The annual award recognizes recipients whose contributions have “significantly impacted school communities and interscholastic athletics in Vermont.” Wendel serves as Athletic Director & Activities Coordinator at Mount Abraham Union Middle/High School and as president of the Vermont State Athletic Directors Association.

In June, there were few if any groups of homeless people to be seen in downtown Middlebury. But advocates for the unhoused said there were still people living outside in the woods or other less-conspicuous spots, choosing a more solitary existence, away from construction and in deference to a new Middlebury encampment ordinance.

In mid-June Vergennes officials were hearing more — and less — about the state’s plan to site in Vergennes a 14-bed locked detention and counseling center for teens with law enforcement involvement. A state official on June 12 wrote to Vergennes Zoning Administrator David Austin and City Manager Ron Redmond that the Department of Buildings and Grounds is no longer interested in pursuing a zoning change needed to build such a facility on a state-owned 8-acre site on Comfort Hill in northern Vergennes.

In Middlebury, folks were seeing the largest subdivision in the town’s history quickly moving from two-dimensional drawings to vertical construction on a 30-acre site off Seminary Street Extension. Stonecrop Meadows is a new neighborhood that is projected to feature around 250 units of affordable, workforce and market-rate homes, both for sale and rent. As Phase One went up, modular structures were being constructed off-site and assembled in Middlebury. The first six-unit building had been sold through the Vermont Housing Finance Agency’s (VHFA) Middle-Income Homeownership Program and were expected to be occupied by late summer.

Near month’s end, farmers around Addison County said cooler weather meant a slower start to this year’s growing season, but they were still optimistic for a decent year. But many would find that the cold start gave way to a parched summer as crops and cows struggled with dry conditions.

After more than a year of construction, Town Hall Theater officials finally unfurled the facility’s new 7,000-square-foot, three-story addition fronting Merchants Row. On June 27-28, the curtain officially rose on the $8.5 million transformation of THT, improvements that will further solidify the facility as the community’s hub for visual and performing arts. The celebration included a variety of entertainment, food, magic shows, stunt performers and a modicum of pomp and circumstance one would expect in saluting an achievement that required many months of planning, fundraising and the artful use of a tricky expansion site above Otter Creek.

Were local residents angry at President Trump in June? It would seem so. More than 2,500 people participated in No Kings Day rallies organized at several Addison County locations on June 14. Attendees brought their signs, voices and energy to what was a nationwide protest of Trump Administration policies that they believe demonstrate an increasingly authoritarian presidency. We saw nice-size crowds in Leicester and Salisbury. More than 700 people flooded Middlebury’s Court Square and its downtown. Still more protesters gathered in clusters along Route 7 from Salisbury to North Ferrisburgh — as well as an estimated 525 in the Vergennes City Park. It was an energizing experience for many.