'Kind of Like Christmas' Home Health Aids on the Front Lines
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25 years Shake on it Called off The Ripton coffeehouse’s silver The handshake has been lost to More summer traditions are being anniversary will not pass by coronavirus precautions, and Karl canceled because of this darned unnoticed. See Arts + Leisure. Lindholm misses it. See Page 1B. virus. See Page 2A. ADDISON COUNTY INDEPENDENT Vol. 74 No. 19 Middlebury, Vermont Thursday, April 30, 2020 40 Pages $1.50 New Bixby Home health aids chief back on the front lines to her roots Nurses can’t do their jobs 6 feet away By JOHN FLOWERS Catharine Hays brings NEW HAVEN — When you see one of those roadside signs thanking an extensive résumé healthcare workers for their massive By ANDY KIRKALDY contributions during the COVID-19 VERGENNES — The new pandemic, make sure your positive director of the Bixby Free Memorial thoughts extend beyond the Porter Library studied in Switzerland and Medical Center campus and into the Washington, D.C.; worked high- very homes of the patients. That’s powered government and corporate where you’ll find a lot of unsung jobs in D.C. and New Jersey; and heroes — Addison County Home then held influential positions in the Health & Hospice (ACHH&H) nonprofit and academic worlds in workers — who are helping COVID New York City and Philadelphia. patients recover from the disease Catharine Findeisin Hays also where they live. spent her early years on an Addison ACHH&H’s 107 full- and part- family orchard, Yankee Kingdom, on time aids, nurses, social workers, the shores of Lake Champlain, and speech therapists, personal care the 1980 graduate of Georgetown assistants, homemakers and other University had always wanted to professionals have cared for a total CEO DEB WESLEY return to Vermont. of nine COVID-positive patients “I’ve been thinking about it for a thus far. That’s in addition to Every member of the ACHH&H while now and actually went back up their many other clients who need crew has performed admirably there in the dead of winter to make constant help for other ailments, during the pandemic, according to sure that I wasn’t fantasizing about ranging from wounds to post- agency CEO Deb Wesley. my childhood when I was making operative care. “This team is very special and snowmen and everything,” said Addison County, as of the last has been since the day I arrived,” Hays in a phone interview from her Vermont Department of Health she said. “It was the unknown, and Mendon, N.J., home. count, has had a total of 61 COVID- no one knew what to expect (with “So I always thought my whole positive patients since the outbreak COVID). Not a single person has life that I would get back to Vermont. began in mid-March. (See Home health, Page 14A) I just wasn’t sure when. So this feels like the right time.” The Bixby board recently hired (See Bixby, Page 12A) School districts plan Hair stylists for very large deficits waiting out This year looks bad; next looks worse By JOHN FLOWERS in large amounts of red ink being the pandemic MIDDLEBURY — There are splashed onto school district By CHRISTOPHER ROSS WOWTOYZ EMPLOYEES REBECCA Chauvin, front, and Melody Miller helped select, organize, less than two months left in the ledgers throughout the state. The VERMONT — Collectively, pack and ship out the thousands of toys the Vergennes company has donated to children in 2019-2020 academic reason: State revenues Addison County and Burlington. The company has worked with schools, childcare providers and year, which will are way down, due to Vermont residents have grown nonprofits to distribute the donations. more than 7 miles of hair since Photo courtesy of WowToyz go down in history quarantining, layoffs mid-March, when Gov. Scott for having featured and business closures ordered the shutdown of hair salons much of a semester forced by COVID-19. and barbershops in order to help of empty classrooms. And less revenue slow the spread of the coronavirus ‘Kind of like Christmas’ And Addison Central means less state aid for pandemic. School District education to Vermont We have grown shaggy and our City distributor is donating thousands of toys learned on Monday public schools. roots are showing. that this academic year Here’s a snapshot For the do-it-yourselfers among By ANDY KIRKALDY at home due to the coronavirus to WowToyz Vice President for will also stand out for of the problem, as us there is plenty of advice online VERGENNES — By the pandemic will each be receiving Sales Jody Pierce. having delivered some relayed by ACSD board about how to cut or color or end of this week thousands of two or three age-appropriate The spark for the donations of the worst financial member Peter Conlon, otherwise alter our own hair — or children throughout Addison toys through their schools, care was lit several weeks ago with a news, ever. who’s a Vermont House fix the mistakes we made the first County — and their parents and providers and other sources that phone call from WowToyz owner Barring a miracle BRITTANY representative and time around — or marvel or laugh guardians — will have gotten even include police departments. Frank Berk to his friend Julie — or at least a federal GILMAN serves on the House at others. welcome surprises. About 7,000 children, Basol, executive director of the decision that would Education Committee: (See Hair salons, Page 11A) Thanks to donations from including about 1,000 in Vergennes Partnership. Berk, a allow federal stimulus money to Vermont’s Education Fund is Vergennes educational toy Burlington, will have new toys Charlotte resident, told Basol replace education-related revenues headed for a $69 million deficit distributor WowToyz, kids stuck by the end of the week, according (See Donation, Page 9A) lost to the coronavirus pandemic this fiscal year, and that’s assuming — fiscal year 2020 could culminate (See ACSD, Page 13A) Seamstress sewing By the way masks for fun, We got a bit of news from Mike Kiernan, the emergency charity and survival department doctor who runs a side business planting flower By JOHN FLOWERS High School graduate eventually gardens around solar arrays to WEYBRIDGE — Molly Smith joined her mom’s business, making support bees, butterflies and has learned firsthand that if you an array of high-end jackets, as other pollinators. He gave a little give, you can receive a lot in return. well as coats, vests and accessories. thumbnail update of the business, The talented clothing designer Their wares can be found online at called Bee the Change, pointing and maker decided to produce Marylynnoshea.com. out that the acreage of pollinator- and donate face masks around a When the coronavirus cut its (See By the way, Page 11A) month ago, when the COVID-19 swath across the county, Mary and pandemic took the starch out of her Molly found themselves without family’s online clothing business, many orders to fill and a lot of time Mary Lynn O’Shea Studio, named on their creative hands. Index for her mom. “Obviously, the need for that Smith is still making free masks kind of luxury item kind of died Obituaries ........................6A-7A for the health care industry, but has with this pandemic,” Smith said Classifieds .......................7B-8B also seen her own line of snazzier during a recent Zoom interview. Service Directory ............5B-6B masks take off and provide her “We also make our living doing Entertainment ..... Arts + Leisure with a much-needed income during art shows. It became clear pretty Opinion ...........................4A-5A the pandemic. quickly that all those (shows) were Activities .........................1B-2B Smith, now 30, was just a child going to be cancelled.” when she began accompanying They regretfully laid off their her mom to craft and art shows three part-time employees in late throughout the country. She’d March. WEYBRIDGE NATIVE MOLLY SMITH has been spending most of her waking hours making face masks clearly inherited her mother’s crafty Smith started looking around for donation and for sale during the COVID-19 pandemic. talents. The Middlebury Union (See Seamstress, Page 12A) Photo courtesy of Molly Smith PAGE 2A — Addison Independent, Thursday, April 30, 2020 Chancellor Spaulding resigns MONTPELIER — Vermont through the challenges ahead.” State Colleges System (VSCS) The board of trustees was Chancellor Jeb Spaulding, who due to consider next steps for was embroiled in controversy last leadership at its Wednesday week over plans to close some evening meeting, which took colleges, on Tuesday announced place after the deadline for the his intention to resign from the post Addison Independent. Plans were after more than five years leading under consideration to appoint the organization. Spaulding was set VSCS General Counsel Sophie to formally submit his resignation Zdatny to lead the Vermont State to the Board of Trustees at a Colleges System for a short meeting on Wednesday evening. period as interim chancellor, until Spaulding has led the organization a longer-term interim chancellor through a time of significant can be identified and selected. challenges and disruption in higher “We deeply appreciate Jeb’s education. These challenges have extended career in service to been intensified by the global Vermont and Vermonters. We at COVID-19 pandemic, a VSC press the Vermont State Colleges System release said, causing more strain on JEB SPAULDING have valued his contributions as organizational finances and leading our chancellor, and we wish him the chancellor to make the recent and from underserved and rural well as he charts his next course,” controversial recommendation to communities has the opportunity to said Board of Trustees Chairman close three VSCS campuses, which attain an affordable post-secondary J.