FREE contest winner facebook contest ECRWSS September 6 - 12, 2017 PRSRT STD The FREE US Postage FINAL CHANCE TO WIN! Share our Eat & Coupon to Stay post for a PAID Permit #90 Country Girl chance to win a Diner goes to White River Jct., VT coupon to The POSTAL CUSTOMER Gayle Farrar Grafton Inn! Publishing for 56 Years! SEPTEMBER 06, 2017 | WWW.VERMONTJOURNAL.COM VOLUME 56, ISSUE 15 Rockingham and Bellows Falls joint Chester board meeting BY AMANDA WEDEGIS ibly low vacancy rate,” an isolated problem; The Shopper Hawthorne explained. other public buildings “Not just on our ground such as the Rocking- BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – The joint floors space but our up- ham Meeting House meeting of the Rockingham Select per floors. A lot of that is have had people smok- Board and the Village Trustees took due to tax credit money ing on the property. place Tuesday evening, Aug. 29 in the that has been leveraged This brought discus- Sept 16 & 17 Lower Theater of the Opera House. by various buildings.” sion of drafting a no The meeting opened with pub- Saxton River Artisans, smoking ordinance lic comments. Citizen Douglass one of the new busi- around public build- See Details on Pages 2B & 3B MacPhee raised concerns about the nesses, moved into the ings and how such old YMCA building on Atkinson space between the Rock an ordinance would Street. Recently, the nearby sidewalk and Hammer and Vil- be enforced. When was closed due to shingles falling lage Square Booksellers concerns were raised from the roof. MacPhee expressed and opened on Sept. 1. about excluding smok- Hiring of joint concern on the likelihood that the The Newberry building ers in downtown ar- building could cave in come winter mural is complete, and eas, Trustee Deborah and pose a hazard to the nearby el- the owners are working Wright responded, ementary school playground. “When inside the space, which is “This is Vermont. town finance it goes, it’s another historic building expected to open in No- Aren’t we supposed to in the village of Bellows Falls that is vember. be healthier, greener, gone, that we might have been able BFDDA also pur- more energy efficient?” to save if we’d done something about chased new banners for Solutions include director on hold it earlier,” MacPhee said. downtown. The banners designating smoking The joint board addressed the con- are a variety of colorful New mural on the old Newberry building. areas or designated BY AMANDA WEDEGIS the need for a competent financial cerns, but the YMCA board of direc- designs that are not cus- PHOTO BY AMANDA WEDEGIS footage away from The Shopper person to manage the department. tors still owns the building. tomized or seasonal so buildings. A no smok- The budget concerns affect more Mary Helen Hawthorne, executive they will have a longer usage. was the discussion of drafting a no ing ordinance will be drafted in BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – Dur- than the fire and police depart- director of the Bellows Falls Down- Town Manager Shane O’Keefe smoking ordinance. Following the the following weeks. ing the joint board meeting held ments. The Bellows Falls Downtown town Development Alliance, updat- added that sprinkler systems will be Rockingham Old Home Days on No regular joint board meeting on Aug. 29, Town Manager Shane Development Alliance requested ed the board on new businesses mov- put in place in the village square be- Aug. 5, participants complained is scheduled for the present but a O’Keefe mentioned to the board $7,500 for operating expenses. The ing into the downtown area. “We’re ginning late October. about smoking around the Waypoint special meeting will be announced that the search for a new finance village trustees annually allot $5,000 really fortunate to have an incred- Also on the joint board agenda building during the event. This is not as needed. director is in a holding pattern. to BFDDA, but the association re- O’Keefe is following the advice quested the additional $2,500 to ac- of the village attorney in light of commodate new expenses. the unfair labor practice claim The trustees are wary of moving Celebrating 250 years of against the village of Bellows forward with allocating money and Falls. making budget cuts without some- The Local 4437 International one providing the numbers. Ques- Association of Firefighters filed tions were raised about whether community and freedom the unfair labor practice claim on they can interview and narrow Aug 22, alleging that the village down the applicant pool even if they BY TRINA MENARD community it helped sustain. soldiers locked trustees called for a town meet- cannot move forward with hiring The Shopper Westminster is the oldest chartered all the offend- ing about the budget without no- until the claim is resolved. shire town, countryseat, in Vermont. ing landowners tifying the fire department or giv- Select Board member Ann DiBer- WESTMINSTER, Vt. – On Aug. 26, Being a shire town required two in jail and left ing them a chance to negotiate. nardo stated, “We have used the fi- the First Congregational Church of things. The first requirement was a them. The Tory On Aug. 9, the trustees voted to nance director in the past for other Westminster celebrated their 250th courthouse, and the Court of Com- soldiers came cut four full-time fire personnel things rather than just projecting anniversary. The community and mon Pleas was established in 1766. back, unlocked by December to accommodate budgets or giving numbers. They congregation endure in freedom and Second was a church. The First Con- the jail, fired on budget cuts. A Fire Department have become very valuable. We peace. The Rev. Sami McRae, pas- gregational Church of Westminster the colonists as Implementation committee has have used them as the town manger tor of First Congregational Church was founded June 11, 1767. they came out formed to further discuss options when the town manager is away or of Westminster, is the apple of her Westminster was an ideal settle- and killed Wil- for the department. writing grants. He helped write the congregation’s eye. She mills about ment with wonderful proximity to liam French However, until the unfair labor fire grant a couple of years ago for the celebration being greeted by her the Connecticut River and was much with a gunshot practice claim is resolved, hiring the new truck. We need a full-time parishioners, as she makes her way revered by the local Native Ameri- to the head of a new finance director is on finance director.” around. cans. This led to a turbulent coloni- spilling some of hold. O’Keefe agreed to address these First Congregational Church of zation period. During the revolu- the first blood “We have a financial problem questions with the village attorney. Westminster is the happy meeting tion, Westminster landholders found of the Revolu- in the village,” trustee member “The attorney’s advice is to not pro- place of some 25 residents. The day themselves on New Hampshire land tionary War. James McAuliffe argued. “We’ve ceed until we reach some agree- was commemorated with activities grants but paying taxes to Tory courts Two years stopped a process whereby we ment on this unfair labor practice,” for the kids, tours of the church fea- from New York. In March 1775, 100 later, in the need a knowledgeable, financial O’Keefe explained. A concerned turing history on the stained-glass unarmed landowners in Westmin- same Westmin- First Congregational Church of Westminster. person running our books. [The citizen agreed with his sentiment windows, music by Westmoreland ster took a stand against the courts, ster courthouse PHOTO BY TRINA MENARD village] had to take action on wa- about following attorney advice. Town Band, a cookout and bake sale, which were threatening to take their in 1777 the ter and sewer rates, and we still “We absolutely need it,” said Myl- and silent auction. Pastor Sami, Lucy farms before the profits of fall harvest. Vermonters established the Vermont sovereign republic. Earliest mem- have not been able to get the cash es Mickle, village president, “but at Matteau standing committee mem- The desperate colonists blocked the Constitution and declared her a free bers of the town were expected to flow information that we need to the same time I respect legal cau- ber; and Westminster Selectwoman way so the judge couldn’t get into the and sovereign republic, and she re- purchase a pew at the church and have in order to make intelligent tion. We’ve shelled out a lot of mon- Nancy Dalzell regaled a story of 250 courthouse to call court into session mains the only state of the United paid yearly dues to the church on decisions on rates.” ey over the years for legal costs, and years of church commitment to the and foreclose their farms. Loyalist States that self-constituted itself a that pew. The village trustees expressed if we can avoid that, I’m in.” Kathi Byam’s 60 years with the flute What love sounds like BY KAREN ENGDAHL thought the flute was easy to carry said, she dreamed of opening a flute an engineer at J&L and Kathi started in many areas: problem- The Shopper to school and the rental was most studio “up near the top of a high build- her flute studio. solving, math, language, reasonable,” she laughed. “My father ing” where passersby would hear the “At first, I just taught my daughter,” being organized. And then SPRINGFIELD, Vt. - Kathi Byam eventually saw I was good at it and got beautiful music and “be awestruck.” she said, “but eventually I added oth- there’s the beauty in what knew the flute would be her instru- me a private flute teacher.” She also hoped to strike awe into the er students and started my degree in you hear.