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MONDAY EDITION ADDISON COUNTY Vol.INDEPENDENT 31 No. 20 Middlebury, Vermont Monday, December 9, 2019 40 Pages $1.00 Vergennes hires new manager Bird lover Hofman comes from recognized city post in Georgia • A Brandon woman who By ANDY KIRKALDY VERGENNES — Vergennes fell into birding was named has hired a native of the Albany, 2019 Citizen Scientist for N.Y., area as its new city her work. See Page 2. manager. The candidate chosen late last week has experience this year as a city manager in Christmas meal Georgia and prior experience offered in Bristol as an interim manager, finance director, budget consultant and • For three decades this code enforcement officer in restaurant has invited towns in Georgia, South Carolina anyone who needs it to and New York. dinner. See Page 28. Daniel Hofman, a 2012 graduate of the University of Albany who in 2018 earned a Master’s in Public Men’s hoop Administration from the same institution, is expected to begin faces challenge working in his new post on Jan. • The Panthers played twice 1, according to Mayor Jeff Fritz. this past weekend, including Hofman was one of two facing a tough opponent on finalists the Vergennes City the road. See Page 24. Council interviewed this past Wednesday, and Fritz said (See City manager, Page 23) Students: Pay Hunger hits college-age college staff students, too a living wage Studies identify a By CHRISTOPHER ROSS Tubman film & MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury College hidden Vt. need racial justice junior Connor Wertz did not mince words in By JOHN FLOWERS Mead Chapel on Thursday afternoon. MIDDLEBURY — Hunger • A social justice group “This morning, the Trump administration often conjures images of a family is bringing ‘Harriet’ to cut access to food stamps for 700,000 people, huddled together over bowls of and the first metric that The New York Times meager soup, while cobwebs Middlebury for one day gave was how much money that would save only. See Page 15. grow over an empty larder. the government,” he told a crowd of more But hunger has many faces than 200 students, plus a handful of faculty — including those of college and staff. “The same values that are behind students, some of whom aren’t MIDDLEBURY Trump cutting hundreds of thousands of food able to consume enough food as COLLEGE JUNIOR stamps are the same values that let Middlebury they pore over course material. CELIA GOTTLIEB (See Students, Page 31) That phenomenon — food Independent photo/Steve James insecurity among college students (See Food insecurity, Page 22) PAGE 2 — Addison Independent, Monday, December 9, 2019 ANWSD citizens’ petitions reworked By CHRISTOPHER ROSS VERGENNES — The Rural School Alliance, which seeks to prevent the closure or reconfiguration of any Addison Northwest School District school without voter approval, has begun circulating petitions throughout the district, with clarified language and a new deadline. “We’ve updated the peti- tions to make the wording clearer and to bring it more in line with the petitions other Vermont school dis- tricts are using to achieve similar goals,” said Addison resident and RSA member Caetlin Harwood. The RSA is calling for a district-wide vote on Town Meeting Day and plans to collect signatures from at FOUR MEMBERS OF the Rutland County Audubon Society have now won the Julie Nicholson Citizen Scientist award, including, least 7% of the registered from left, Marv Elliott, Sue Wetmore, Sue Elliott and Roy Pilcher. voters in each of the school district’s five municipalities — Addison, Ferrisburgh, Panton, Vergennes and Brandon birder earns statewide recognition Waltham. By law they need By LEE J. KAHRS Vermont’s premier natural Scientist by The Vermont Center and South America conducting signatures from 5% of the BRANDON — Brandon’s science organizations. for Ecostudies. The Norwich- research and monitoring wildlife district’s voters, regardless favorite birder has received Sue Wetmore has been named based wildlife conservation while also encouraging and of town of residence. a high honor from one of the 2019 Julie Nicholson Citizen organization works across North relying upon citizen engagement. As noted in the online The group is heavily involved edition of the Independent’s in a number of conservation Dec. 2 story, the RSA revised projects, including protection their petitions’ wording just FREE ON-SITE EVALUATIONS efforts for the common loon, before distributing them. Bicknell’s thrush and Bobolink, Whereas before they indi- as well as maintaining an online cated that “The closure must biodiversity resource called be supported by a majority the Vermont Atlas of Life and of the voters residing in participating in public bird each of the five towns in the counts and surveys. district,” it will now say that Reached by phone Monday, “School reconfiguration or Wetmore, 75, said the award was closure must be approved by (See Sue Wetmore, Page 7) (See ANWSD, Page 3) We're open and ready to help with your C hristmas NOW ALSO OFFERING HEAT PUMPS AND WHOLE HOUSE BATTERIES shopping needs! Bristol Electronics is proud to announce that they are a factory authorized 256 Grove St. (Rte. 7) • Brandon & trained installer of Fujitsu cold climate heat pumps Tuesday thru Saturday • 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and Sonnen whole house batteries. If you have been considering solar, heat pumps or whole house batteries, please give us a call to discuss your options. 802 . 453 . 2500 • BristolElectronicsVT.com Tues. -Sat. 256 Grove St. (Rte. 7), Brandon 10 to 5 802-465 8436 Addison Independent, Monday, December 9, 2019 — PAGE 3 Ferrisburgh seeking full-time assistant clerk/treasurer By ANDY KIRKALDY of assistant to the selectboard. “It’s really critical to have a hours a week performing clerical done by the town’s professional FERRISBURGH — After That person could, board separate note-taker. Anyone who tasks for the town’s board of appraisal firm. some discussion of alternatives, members said, attend meetings has attempted to take notes and listers. Under a new proposal Because the listers’ proposed the Ferrisburgh selectboard has and provide a direct link to town participate in the meeting has from the listers, lister Brian 2020-2021 budget came in decided to advertise for a new employees on items that require learned that lesson,” he said. Goodyear will work on an hourly lower than their current budget, full-time assistant town clerk quick action. The new office hire, unlike rate for the board to handle that Cousino described the change as and assistant treasurer to replace Instead, Ebel said, they agreed Cousino, will not work eight work and some work now being essentially revenue-neutral. Pam Cousino, who on Jan. 1 with Cousino’s suggestion will replace the retiring Gloria that she and the new hire take Warden as Ferrisburgh Town turns attending board meetings Clerk. themselves, while also taking Board members had in comp time off during the week November discussed possibly to avoid overtime. splitting Cousino’s “She is going to duties between part- be planning (on), time workers, but at “She is going and have whoever their Dec. 3 meeting to be planning the new hire is have Chairman Rick Ebel (on), and an understanding said they agreed have whoever that there will be, with Cousino to the new hire evening meetings,” bring aboard another Ebel said. “It was full-time employee. is have an great to hear that.” Ferrisburgh’s understanding The problem that clerk and treasurer that there will the board aimed recently became be, evening to solve is a lag hired, not elected meetings. It time between their positions. was great to meetings and the Ebel said Cousino time when minutes told the board “she hear that.” are available to definitely needs — Chairman town workers. For somebody full-time Rick Ebel example, Ebel said, to work with her to if there were an manage the daily operation” in insurance claim the board needed the town offices. to “activate or respond to” in “What seemed to make the a timely manner employees most sense at this juncture, with would not necessarily know all of what we’ve been talking immediately to act on it. about, and I was satisfied with “It’s worked OK and well the conversation with her, is most of the time the way it has moving forward at this time to been, but it’s been clear there has fill the position as what she’s been a gap,” he said. currently in, the assistant town The board does not want to clerk and assistant treasurer,” he have its minute-taker do double said. duty, or ask the clerk or her One of the reasons the board assistant to do that job, and the had considered splitting the position of minute-taker will be position was to create the job retained, Ebel said. ANWSD (Continued from Page 2) and Campaign Finance, the last the majority of the voters in the day for the school board to post towns affected by the reconfigu- a warning for the annual meeting ration or closure.” is Feb. 2. Petitions will be available The campaign is a response to for perusal at several locations the ANWSD’s recent proposal throughout the district, including to close Addison Central School the Ferrisburgh, Panton and and Ferrisburgh Central School, Waltham town offices, West which voters in those towns Addison General Store, Addison rejected on Nov. 5. Four Corners Store, Gilfeather’s Barring any amendments to Fine Provisions in Ferrisburgh, its charter, the school district, BJ Farm Supply in Panton and 3 which already has the authority Squares Cafe in Vergennes. to reconfigure school building The group plans to present populations at its discretion, the signed petitions to ANWSD will gain the authority to close clerk Glory Martin by Jan.

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