The following photos are weekly winners of the Vermont Standard Winter Photo Contest.

Please vote for your favorite weekly winner! Polls close on Tuesday, February 21 at noon.

The grand prize winner will receive a dinner for two and an overnight stay at the Woodstock Inn & Resort

Scroll down to view the photos in full, click on image to see it larger.

Week#1- Diane Atwood, Woodstock

Week#2- Antonia Zito, Woodstock

Week#3- Samuel M. Pervis IV, Woodstock

Week#4 – Carolyn Water, Illinois – Photo taken in Brookfield, VT

Week#5 – Sarah McDerment, Quechee

By Curt Perterson, Standard Correspondent

Everyone in rural Vermont has an opinion about the Vermont Use Value Appraisal Program, commonly referred to as, “Current Use.”

And for good reason, according to Sam Schneski, County Forester for southern Windsor County as well as Windham County. There are 18,462 land parcels in Current Use statewide, 2,488 in Windsor County. More than 90 percent in Windsor County, 248,548 acres, is forestland. During 2016 55 new Windsor County properties were enrolled.

Schneski was the first speaker at the “Logging and The Landowner” forum hosted by Ottauquechee Natural Resources Conservation Division at Billings Farm in January.

Our forests make Vermont beautiful. The objective of Current Use is to keep forest and farmland from being developed. Many activities bring people into the forest, and, of course, the woods provide habitat for everything from insects to black bears and moose.

Landowners with over 25 acres of forest can enroll by having a consulting forester develop a management plan to be approved by the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation and updated every 10 years, including long-term management goals, a description of forest condition, a map and a management time schedule. Landowners have to file annual Forest Management Activity Reports and submit to periodic inspections by the county forester The benefit to the landowner is Current Use tax status for the enrolled forest.

“Current Use taxation is based on how the land is used, not on its potential development value,” Schneski said. “So it helps keep land as working forests and farms.”

The landowner’s residence and two acres are taxed at full market value – only the working forest receives favorable tax treatment. Assessments average about 13 percent of that for residences and non-enrolled property. If a 100-acre woodland assessed at $100,000 is taxed at a rate of 2 percent, taxes would be $2,000. In Current Use it would be valued at $13,500 and be taxed at $270.

Under Act 60 the State reimburses towns for the difference in revenue resulting from Current Use devaluation on their Grand List, so others’ property taxes are not higher because of lower taxes on Current Use forestland.

Technically since state funds compensate for Current Use tax reduction, every taxpayer is contributing. Economic gains from maintaining the beautiful woods are large, and everyone benefits. Northern Woodlands advocacy group estimates logging operations alone represent $1.4 billion annually, tourism $1 billion, snowmobiling $500 million, and fishing, hunting and wildlife attractions $375 million.

Schneski said if the landowner gets behind in the scheduled work under his plan, FP& R gives him one year to catch up or leave the program. Landowners pursuing activities counter to their plan, such as clear-cutting, risk the County Forester recommending removal from enrollment and repayment of revenue reimbursements made on their behalf.

Moderator Ray Burton, retired State Land Forester and Perkinsville resident, said the next three speakers would be the three parties involved in a forestry project: A logger, a landowner and a forester.

John Adler

Adler teaches “the game of logging,” developed by Swede Soren Eriksson, who modeled his system after American football.

“Players meet and agree what each is to do next, and they go into the woods and do it. Then they return, meet, adjust the next action, and do their jobs again,” Adler explained.

All players must communicate regularly about an objective on which they all agree and a strategy that they all understand and endorse. Players include the landowner, forester and logger.

“Loggers need complete information, on-site reconnaissance with the forester as they mark trees and boundaries,” Adler said. “And timing – you can cut trees any time, but you can only extract them from the woods 50 percent of the year.”

Safety is paramount. Adler knew personally four loggers killed by overhead hazards, called “widowmakers.” The best times to mark dangerous hangers are when there is less foliage.

Burton introduced Merle Bushkin of Brownsville, a transplant from New York as “a disgruntled landowner.”

Bushkin harvested his 150-acre tract in four phases, none happily. As Brownsville was his second home at the time, he hired a consulting forester with responsibility for the projects. Although with each failure, he became more engaged, thinking it would make up for his absentee management. The logging contractors he hired didn’t do what they contracted, and instead of breaking even, he suffered thousands of dollars in additional costs for cleanup, removing abandoned logs and repairing an antique sugaring arch a logger failed to protect.

His advice? Be there, know whom you are hiring and frequently check their work.

Patrick Bartlett, a consulting forester from Barnard, deals with 12 local logging contractors and assists 40 – 50 timber sales per year.

“I deal solely with land that is in Current Use,” Bartlett said. “It’s more about managing people than about managing trees.”

He estimates revenue very conservatively, which keeps his clients happy – 95 percent of his jobs pay more than projected.

“People like a pleasant surprise. They do not like bad news,” he said.

He employs tricks of the trade that serve him well. He advises clients to leave an open trail through their forested property so they can walk through the woods and enjoy it after the loggers leave, and insists loggers post signs on narrow back roads warning that log trucks are using them.

When a project is about to begin he writes a letter to the local newspaper editor advising neighbors when and where work is going to be.

This article first appeared in the February 2, 2017 edition of the Vermont Standard.

By Curt Peterson, Standard Correspondent

KILLINGTON – The Killington Select Board held an emergency meeting at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 3, to approve acceptance of a petition filed after the Select Board had signed the official Town Warning on Jan. 24.

The legal deadline for petitions is Jan. 30, so the Board met to accommodate the unexpected but legal petition, and the final official Warning had to be posted on Feb. 5, which was a Sunday.

“M. B.” Neisner, who is running unopposed for Town Moderator, filed the petition, which asks voters to consider returning from the current Australian ballot system that was adopted in 2011 to the traditional voice-vote method of voting at Town Meeting.

If the Article is approved, it would go into effect at the next regular or special Town Meeting, in March 2018 or sooner if the Town were to have a special meeting before then, according to Town Manager Deb Schwartz. The Select Board voted unanimously on Feb. 3 to include the question as Article 7 on the Town Warning.

After the meeting Select Board Chair Patty McGrath said the number of votes counted were about 350 using the Australian ballots, whereas about 200 residents attend the Town Meeting to exercise hand votes, drawing the conclusion that the current system provides more participation.

She noted, for instance, that a fire alarm call during Town Meeting can instantly reduce the number of voters as firefighters leave to respond, and that, because many people have to work on Town Meeting Day, the hand-vote system favors retired people who may have a different point of view on tax and budget issues than those who are working.

In an email to this reporter, Neisner claimed the select board has misled voters in the past about the budget, and he said a floor vote provides the chance to make changes to the budget at the meeting.

“A floor vote allows changes in the budget (along with other questions) as opposed to an up or down vote,” Neisner wrote. “In addition, most voters are uninformed as to what is being done in our town and just vote assuming that the selectboard and town manager have thoroughly reviewed and understand the budgets, especially those voters who actually pay property taxes.”

In other news, Kate Wanner, Project Manager for The Trust for Public Land, and Chris Mattrick, ranger for the Green Mountain National Forest, requested a “letter of approval” from the Select Board referencing the TPL’s purchase of 230.53 acres of land in Killington to add to the GMNF property. The Killington purchase would be part of a 2,800 tract, referred to as “Rolston Rest,” that TPL has contracted to buy from at least three owners. Almost all the land is heavily forested, but there are also wetlands and headwater streams.

Besides the Long Trail, the tract contains part of the Catamount Trail and buffers the Appalachian Trail, all popular hiking routes. Green Mountain National Forest is within a day’s drive of 80 million people.

The State of Vermont had purchased 57.7 acres of the land to protect the Long Trail, and is now ready to sell it for addition to the GMNF.

According to Wanner TPL is purchasing all the timber rights on the land, which will also be turned over to GMNF, who will apply ecologically sound harvesting strategies to the forests.

“Rolston Rest … supports breeding bear habitat, a high density of moose, and a deer wintering area,” says a TPL brochure. “Threatened long’eared bat, turkey, grouse and other species also thrive in the area.”

Wanner said TPL won’t purchase land in towns that object, so the Select Board’s letter of approval is an important part of the process. The Select Board unanimously approved a motion to provide the letter.

The Rolston Rest tract transaction is being funded in part by the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, but TPL needs to raise an additional $400,000 in private money to complete the purchase.

Schwartz announced the town has signed a contract to purchase the new Pierce Fire Truck in time to affect a 3 percent, or approximately $30,000 savings prior to a scheduled price increase.

During a recent visit to Killington U. S. Congressman Peter Welch offered to look for federal funds that might help the Killington Volunteer Fire Department with the fire truck purchase. Although his visit was scheduled for a half-hour, Welch spent over 60 minutes with town officials reviewing Tropical Storm Irene FEMA support and other infrastructure issues.

Schwartz reported the town was paying off a $400,000 tax anticipation note on Feb. 8, saving taxpayers about $300 in interest charges by retiring the debt early.

By Virginia Dean, Standard Correspondent

Using only hand and fusion tools, six teams of sculptors will bring the Woodstock Green alive this weekend with their knowledge of snow carving, propelling the viewer into the abstract and the real, the modern and the mythical.

From creatures of fantasy to authentic castles, these artists will convey their talents, some even nationally recognized, and apply them to large, single blocks of snow standing some 6 to 10 feet high. The snow is collected from the ground around the Green after a winter’s worth so far of ample snowfall.

Importantly, it’s all about the weather (perfect conditions are a cloudy, below freezing, windless day) and the snow, according to event organizer gallery director at the local ArtisTree Community Art Gallery Adrian Tans.

“We definitely need it to be cold and snowy but there has to be the right timing as well,” said Tans. “Local resident Jerry Murphy with his machinery actually moves the snow. He’s the linchpin in all of this, spending the better part of the day moving the snow around. We have 8 foot tall-6 foot wide blocks of snow/ ice made by his tractor and lots of volunteers stomping it. It’s a goofy, weird thing to do, and any community member is welcome to join in.”

Indeed, this stomping takes place days before the actual event, with each giant block ending up weighing approximately two and a half tons.

Teams of not more than three will begin sculpting at 9:30 a.m. promptly on Friday, Feb. 17. Each team has about 60 hours to finish its sculpting, with “tools down” at 12 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 19.

Sponsored by Woodstock’s Pentangle Council on the Arts, and although most are not being revealed at this time, each sculpture reflects a story that each artist wants to tell.

Tony Perham of Woodstock works on his sculpture on the Green during the Woodstock’s Vermont Flurry. (Gareth Henderson Photo)

Today, she has just returned from US Nationals again with Woodstock’s Tony Perham and Hartland’s Jonathan “Mugsy” Logan. The team placed fourth.

“It’ll be great to be sculpting on home turf again,” said Runde. “And we’re excited to follow up our finish at Nationals with another fun idea. We’ll be sculpting a Tea Rex that takes a beast generally considered threatening and turns it right around with the stereotypical trappings of refinement. We’re planning to sculpt the T.rex as realistically as possible but with his best ascot and little bowler hat, not to mention teacup.”

The only catch, Runde related, is that there is something wrong with the limbs of the T.rex, making it difficult to do what he is designed to do – the details of which, before the exhibit, are still a secret.

The US National Snow Sculpting Competition brings together fifteen teams of snow sculptors in the country and displays their work live in Lake Geneva.

Perham – born in Minneapolis, MN, but raised in Vermont is a stayat- home dad during the day and server at a casual fine dining restaurant at night – is heading up their piece for the Flurry this year. This is his fourth year sculpting.

Perham became involved in snow sculpting several years ago when building a snowman with his daughter transformed into an activity more meaningful – a kind of endurance art in the “super fun” medium of snow.

Runde is a full-time professional artist (realist painter). While predominantly a portrait painter, she also does sidewalk art, 3D or otherwise for private events, chalkboards permanent and/or temporary, and other commissions. This is her fourth year sculpting.

“Snow sculpture is an endurance art,” said Runde. “It’s best when you can stay out late to get the max hours in. Chiseling away at a ton of snow all day, not to mention locating the sculpture in there, takes a lot of focus and resolve.”

Logan splits his time between Vermont and Massachusetts. He is a full-time chef and part-time wood carver. This was his second competition.

This will be Runde and Perham’s third Flurry.

“Over Presidents Day Weekend, the Woodstock Village Green is transformed into a celebration of winter and the visual arts,” according to the Pentangle Council on the Arts website. “Cheer on professional snow sculpting teams as they compete to create large, stunning sculptures, and be amazed as these works of art come to life over a three-day period.”

Visitors can even vote for their favorite “Peoples’ Choice” sculpture, to be announced Sunday, February 19 at 1 p.m. Voting ends at 12:30 p.m.

The event is scheduled from Feb. 17-19 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Admission is free.

By David Miles, Sports Correspondent

It was home cooking at its finest as the WUHS Snowboarding teams both concluded the regular season by taking first place at a GS at Suicide Six last week. South Burlington finished second in the boys’ competition and Black River was runner-up for the girls. Mill River boarders were third in both fields.

“The course was steep and it got icy quickly,” said Coach Dave Bloch. “All the schools struggled with the pitch on the Face. We tried to take a more strategic approach and it paid off.”

The Woodstock boys placed five in the top 10. Evan Bloch (in his first GS of the season) took third place and Evan Hotchkiss was fourth. Hotchkiss slid through the finish line after falling and getting up again.

“It was a pretty cool thing to see,” said Bloch of his senior’s adventures.

Also in the top 10 for the Wasps were Alex Blaiklock in fifth, Gabe Bango in ninth and Devin Mumford, in his first year on the team, claiming tenth.

Britney Poljacik not only was the highest finisher among the Wasps, she topped the entire girls’ field. Also placing for the girls were MacKenzie Dalton in 5th, Rose O’Brien in 6th and Grace McKeon in 11th.

“It was nice to be on our home turf after traveling around the state for several weeks,” said Bloch. “That’s a nice way to end the regular season.”

The boarders are now off until the state competition. It will be held at Killington in a couple of weeks, over two days, on March 1-2.

This article first appeared in the February 16, 2017 edition of the Vermont Standard.

By Gareth Henderson, Standard Staff
Mary Beth Banios accepted a three-year contract as the new superintendent of the Windsor Central Supervisory Union on Wednesday, according to WCSU Board Chair and Search Committee Co-Chair Paige Hiller.
The contract includes an annual salary of $135,000, Hiller confirmed in a Wednesday phone interview.
Banios, the assistant superintendent at Shrewsbury Public Schools in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, was one of two finalists for the superintendent position.

On Wednesday, Hiller praised the depth of experience Banios brings to the position, along with her “really approachable style” that was evident at a recent forum with parents and community members.
She said Banios is someone who can help the SU achieve its goal of “becoming one of the top 3 or 5 school districts in the state.”

“I think our biggest concern was having a [candidate with] lot of depth, to take what has been built so far and upping it a notch,” Hiller said.

The impact of Act 46, a controversial Vermont education reform law, will figure heavily into the new superintendent’s work. At town meeting in March, SU towns will vote on a local Act 46 plan that would create new unified district with a new governing board. Some in the SU have opposed the change, while others have urged support.

At the forum earlier this month, Banios noted there’s a “cultural aspect to change management.”
“If the merger was to go forward and be successful, I think attention needs to be paid to those kinds of things,” she said, speaking of the Act 46 proposal.

This article appears in the February 23, 2017 edition of the Vermont Standard.

The Woodstock Union High School students are in Senegal Africa working in two orphanages, to teach and exchange ideas in a rural school, plant native fruit trees at the schools, participate in wildlife conservation projects, and visit the island of Goree where, from the 15th-19th centuries, the largest slave-trading center on the African coast was found.
The trip is scheduled from Feb. 18 to March 1.

The WUHS Students planted trees at the Fatick School as well as a local elementary school nearby. Over 100 trees will have been planted by the end of the week. The school community prepared a huge celebration which included a special dance by the students,  a presentation of some pictures and speeches by the principal and the teachers.

Flood Watch for Vermont – be attentive to rising rivers and streams

WATERBURY – The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a Flood Watch for all of Vermont through this weekend. Rain, snowmelt, and thawing river ice could cause localized flooding in areas of Vermont from Friday evening through Sunday night.

NWS says the greatest flood threat will occur during or shortly after heavy rainfall. The flood threat will also be elevated close to rivers where there exists a potential for ice breakup and jams. Those who live near waterways should monitor water levels and seek high ground should flooding occur.

Vermonters are reminded to stay clear of any floodwaters on roads by driving safe routes that are over high ground, and never driving across a flooded road. A car can be swept away by unseen currents or due to washouts on flooded roads.

Monitor traditional and social media for forecasts and other information.

NWS also says the rain and warm temperatures will weaken all ice surfaces and venturing out onto lakes and rivers is not recommended. We emphasize extreme caution as Vermont has seen multiple deaths this winter due to individuals falling through thin ice.

The Vermont Division of Emergency Management & Homeland Security and other state agencies are monitoring the weather and will staff the state Emergency Operations Center to assist communities if needed.

Cities and towns can contact the DEMHS Watch Officer through established protocols at any time should they need resources.

For weather, road, or emergency updates sent directly to your e-mail or cell phone sign up for Vermont Alert at http://www.vtalert.gov.

Forecast information: www.weather.gov/btv or www.weather.gov/aly.

Monitor social media for additional information:
DEMHS on Facebook: www.facebook.com/vermontemergencymanagement
DEMHS on Twitter: twitter.com/vemvt (@vemvt)
VTrans on Facebook: www.facebook.com/vtransontheroad
VTrans on Twitter: twitter.com/511vt (@511vt)
National Weather Service Burlington on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NWSBurlington/
National Weather Service Burlington on Twitter: @NWSBurlington
National Weather Service Albany on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NWSAlbany/
National Weather Service Albany on Twitter: @NWSAlbany

By Gareth Henderson, Standard Staff

Two motorists were rushed to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center following a two-car crash on Route 4 near Echo Ledge Road in West Woodstock on Friday, February 24, 2017. Traffic was held up in both directions until about 1 p.m.

Woodstock Police said a white Hyundai Santa Fe driven by Kenneth R. Hendrick, Jr., 26, of Bridgewater, was traveling eastbound on Route 4 and struck a brown Toyota RAV4 that was heading westbound and driven by William A. Moeller, 77, of Plainfield, New Hampshire. The accident was reported at about 11:40 a.m.

Moeller suffered “incapacitating injuries” in the accident, and Hendrick suffered “non-incapacitating injuries,” according to Woodstock Police Sgt. Joe Swanson. He said both men were transported to DHMC for evaluation and treatment.

Swanson was unable to give further specifics on the injuries Friday afternoon. Police believe Hendrick’s vehicle may have crossed the center line and struck Moeller’s vehicle, according to preliminary findings referenced in a  Woodstock Police news release.

The crash remains under investigation at this time. Anyone who witnessed the accident is asked to call the Woodstock Police at 802-457-1420.

The Plainfield, New Hampshire, man in Friday afternoon’s two-car accident on Route 4 in West Woodstock has died. Later on Friday, William A. Moeller, 77, succumbed to the injuries he sustained in the accident, Woodstock Police said in a news release. (8:51 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 25)

Two motorists were rushed to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center following a two-car crash on Route 4 near Echo Ledge Road in West Woodstock on Friday, February 24, 2017. Traffic was held up in both directions until about 1 p.m.

Woodstock Police said a white Hyundai Santa Fe driven by Kenneth R. Hendrick, Jr., 26, of Bridgewater, was traveling eastbound on Route 4 and struck a brown Toyota RAV4 that was heading westbound and driven by William A. Moeller, 77, of Plainfield, New Hampshire. The accident was reported at about 11:40 a.m.

Moeller suffered “incapacitating injuries” in the accident, and Hendrick suffered “non-incapacitating injuries,” according to Woodstock Police Sgt. Joe Swanson. He said both men were transported to DHMC for evaluation and treatment.

Swanson was unable to give further specifics on the injuries Friday afternoon. Police believe Hendrick’s vehicle may have crossed the center line and struck Moeller’s vehicle, according to preliminary findings referenced in a  Woodstock Police news release.

The crash remains under investigation at this time. Anyone who witnessed the accident is asked to call the Woodstock Police at 802-457-1420.

By Curt Peterson, Standard Correspondent

Killington’s Town Meeting process spreads over two days. The information meeting and vote on the Killington Elementary School 2017-2018 budget will take place at the school at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, March 6. The town government information meeting is also at the school on Monday, March 6, and starts at 7 p.m. At that time votes will be taken on the issues listed in the Town Meeting Warning.
On Tuesday, March 7, the polls at the Town Offices on River Road are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. to vote via Australian ballot for candidates.

Article 1 of the Town Warning lists the offices up for election. Only one election is contested this year – Selectman Ken Lee’s re-election bid is challenged by Jim Haff. Haff has run unsuccessfully in the past against both Chris Bianchi and Patty McGrath for their seats on the Select Board.
In Article 2, voters will be asked to approve reducing the number of property tax installment payments from 4 to 3. If approved, the new payments will be due Aug. 15, Nov. 15 and Feb. 15. The current 10-day grace period will continue with the 3-payment plan – if tax bills are paid within 10 days of the due date no interest or penalties will be charged – after the 10 days extra fees are charged retroactively.
Article 3 asks voters to approve the proposed 2018 fiscal year budget, in which total expenditures would be $4,508,505. A sum of $179,000 will be applied from the previous budget, $2,829,605 will be raised from property taxes and $1,499,900 from non-property tax revenue.
This is an increase of $353,166 over last year’s budgeted expenses. Selectmen estimate the 2018 non-school tax rate to be $.3623, which would be a $.0289 increase over the 2017 $.3334 rate.
The proposed budget includes the much-discussed $100,000 commitment to support a 2018 FIS Women’s World Cup Ski Race event, should one be staged in Killington. According to Town Manager Deb Schwartz, this line item accounts for $.0133 of the $.029 increase in the new proposed tax rate.
Other drivers of the increase, according to Schwartz, are the addition of a full-time office assistant and a significant increase in property/casualty insurance premiums.
Voters will also be asked to rescind the 1 percent retail sales tax portion of the Killington Options Tax on meals, alcohol and accommodations. The tax would continue during the 2017-2018 budget year if Article 4 is approved, but disappear as of July 1 2018.
A special meeting was held to add Article 7, inspired by a petition to change from the Australian ballot system for approving the Town Articles back to the traditional voice vote system. The petition was circulated and signatures solicited by M. B. Neisner, who is running unopposed for Town Moderator.
This article first appeared in the February 23, 2017 edition of the Vermont Standard.

WEST WINDSOR – The fire marshall and local firefighters Monday morning were investigating the scene of a fire that damaged this home on Route 44 in West Windsor. No further information was available at this time. Check back for updates.

(Nancy Nutile-McMenemy Photo)

The Woodstock Union High School students are in Senegal Africa working in two orphanages, to teach and exchange ideas in a rural school, plant native fruit trees at the schools, participate in wildlife conservation projects, and visit the island of Goree where, from the 15th-19th centuries, the largest slave-trading center on the African coast was found. The trip is scheduled from Feb. 18 to March 1.

WUHS Students went to the National Renaissance Monument in Dakar, Senegal Africa, which is an enormous statue representing the slave past, the current freedom and the future hope.

Students pose in front of the monument. (photo provided)

Read these stories and more on the eEdition, new edition available Wednesday nights, pick it up a copy on the newsstands Thursdays or subscribe.

Sophie Sheppard runs for the finish line with her flag sled at Quechee Club’s annual Cardboard Box Derby on Friday. (Rick Russell Photo)

Lady Liberty

Top Stories
Brownsville Comes to Grips with Loss of Store
by Virginia Dean, Standard Correspondent

Voters to Decide Act 46 Plan Next Week
by Gareth Henderson, Standard Staff

Investigation into Fatal Crash is Ongoing
by Eric Francis, Standard Correspondent

Hartland Trucker Awakened by Huge WRJ Fire
by Eric Francis, Standard Correspondent

Zuckerman: 2016 Election Inspired New Activism
by Curt Peterson, Standard Correspondent

Fire Heavily Damages West Windsor House
by Eric Francis, Standard Correspondent

Local Brothers Headed to NCAA Nordic Championships

There is a Story in Every Car Passing in the Night
by Chuck Gundersen, You Never Can Tell

Book Title States Obvious: ‘Never Spank a Porcupine’
by Vivian Moore, Sharon News

Bruce Shoebottom hands a puck to kids before the start of the Boston Bruins Alumni vs the Union Arena Bears game at Union Arena in Woodstock, Vermont on Saturday, February 25, 2017. (Herb Swanson Photo)

Alpine Roster Announced for Districts
by David Miles, Sports Correspondent

Ski Patroller, Therapy Dog Volunteer for 2017 Vermont Special Olympics
(Special Olympics Schedule of Events)

Bruins Alumni Game, 2017
The Union Arena hosted the Bruins Alumni hockey team in a game against the Union Arena Bears, a team made up of coaches and parents of the Bear tournament teams as well as some local Woodstock players.

WUHS Boys Basketball vs Windsor – Senior Night, 2017
Woodstock Union High School boys basketball team held their senior night game versus Windsor.

Lt Gov. Zuckerman, Talk in Hartland
Lieutenant Governor David Zuckerman, talks to a crowd in Hartland during a public forum.

Quechee Cardboard Box Derby
The 21st Annual Quechee Cardboard Box Derby was held on Friday instead of Saturday this year due to weather predictions.

VINS Owl Festival, 2017
Vermont Institute of Natural Science held its annual owl festival on Saturday, February 25.

Jay Nash & Jack Snyder in Throwdown at Suicide Six
A musical performance at Suicide Six in South Pomfret featured local musicians Jack Snyder and his band with the final set performed with Jay Nash.

By George Calver, Standard Correspondent

WEST WINDSOR – School taxes and the proposed purchase of a new fire truck are two of the key issues up for discussion at this year’s town meeting in West Windsor.

Voters will gather at Story Memorial Hall in Brownsville on Tuesday, March 7, at 9 a.m. to consider all town and school board articles. They will also vote for a Select Board member to replace Selectman Tom Kenyon, who will be retiring from the board. As of Wednesday, no one had formally announced any plans to seek the soon-to-be open selectboard seat.

This year, the selectboard proposes the approval of general expenses of $544,169 and a highway budget of $682,648 for the upcoming fiscal year. That represents combined expenses of $1,226,817, an increase of $52,687 from last year’s total. This converts to an increase of about 1.5 cents per $100 of assessment, but the final municipal budget could increase to approximately 5 cents per $100 of assessment if voters give the thumbs up to a $275,000 proposal for the purchase of a new fire truck for the Volunteer Fire Department.

As proposed under Article 8, funds of up to $275,000 would be borrowed for the purchase of the fire truck and then repaid over a period of five years.

The proposed increase of $32,106 in general expenses is widely dispersed over most line items, except for the cost of insurance and bonding which will increase by $9,000 – from $56,000 to $65,000.

If voters approve, the town highway budget will bump up by just over $12,000, the bulk of which stems from an increase of $15,000 in employment benefits. The cost of that line item last year was $65,000, compared to $80,000 for the upcoming year.

Selectboard Chair Dick Beattie said of the town’s budget, “It’s a bit of an increase, but basically we tried to ‘flat line’ it even though we had to deal with increase in wages and compensation in the highway department.”

The School Board is proposing a decrease of 7.55 percent from last year’s education budget, making a total proposed school district budget of $2,751,564. The school tab for taxpayers last year increased by more than 15 percent. In the newly proposed school district budget, the decrease of about $388,000 comes predominantly from a decrease of $352,977 for special education.

If voters approve the town’s combined budget and the school district budget, taxpayers will be looking to fund $3,978,381 through taxes, compared to $4,314,653 last year. That’s 8.15 percent lower than last year, if the purchase of a new fire truck is not factored in, and even if the voters give the “go-ahead” for the fire truck, a property assessed at $200,000 would see a tax savings of about $125.

This article first appeared in the February 23, 2017 edition of the Vermont Standard.

By Michelle Fountain, Standard Correspondent

The discovery of a 37-year-old vote that merged the town and village highway departments has caused the Select Board to put forward a budget for 2017/2018 that unites those departments again. That change, along with a loss of revenue, accounts for most of the increase in the budget from last year’s $4,888,958 to the proposed $5,451,711.

The tax rate to cover this larger budget is an increase of 5-cents per $100 of assessed value over last year. For an individual with a $250,000 property, the tax will be up $125. About $50 of that increase is for the unified highway budget.

In 1980, the voters of Woodstock town and village voted 659-270 to merge the town and village highway departments. They ran as a combined department for four years, then there was a vote to separate into two departments again that was defeated 635-307. Yet, somehow, the departments were separated again by 1985 and no one remembers how or why.

“I found it by accident,” Municipal Manager Phil Swanson says of the article that passed in 1980. He was looking for something else and stumbled upon it, then traced it through to the present day to see that it was never repealed.

“Whoever wrote the budget for ’85 kept them (the highway departments) separate. It’s been that way ever since,” Swanson says.

“I brought it to the Select Board and the Trustees and they decided that it was what the town wanted to do and felt they should write the budget that way,” Swanson says.

The 1888 legislation that established the separate town and village of Woodstock, specified that the town return 2/3 of the highway tax that village residents pay to the town, back to the village for their highway costs. The village then had to raise additional funds through their budget to pay for the roads they had to maintain, including Route 4.

“Everybody will pay the same rate for town highway services,” Swanson says of the way the budget works with a unified highway department. The end result is that village residents will see their overall (town and village combined) tax rate decrease, while town residents will see an increase.

“It has never seemed fair that village residents pay an additional tax for roads that we all use,” Select Board Chair Preston Bristow says in his comments in the Town Report as he explains the change back to the unified highway department.

“Non-tax revenues are down,” Swanson says regarding the other increases in the budget. There is no surplus being carried over from last year, which often offsets some portion of any increase. Last year there was also $62,000 in timber sales from the town forest that is not in this budget.

The ambulance department is up from $338,950 last year to $402,500 due to increased benefits costs and the addition of a full-time paramedic. The fire department budget is up from $118,600 last year to $149,200 primarily due to the need to get more coverage for fire alarm calls. “This budget proposes a two-hour minimum call-out,” Swanson says noting that volunteers were previously paid only one-hour to respond to a fire alarm tripping at a home. Noting that not all fire alarms are false he says of the increased minimum, “It is a reward for people who answer the call.”

The contract that the town has with the Woodstock Village Police department for police services will see the town increase from paying 33 percent of most police expenses to 37 percent this year to better reflect that amount of time the police force spends on calls from the town, according to Swanson.

The budget includes replacing sidewalks at Vail Field that Swanson calls “tripping hazards.” That money has already been set aside by previous articles ($25,000 each year) as part of eventual improvements at Vail including new tennis and basketball courts.

The budget also includes an increase in fuel to begin using the new snow dump off Maxham Meadow Way, but since fuel and utility costs are down, this does not really impact the budget.

Voters will gather on Saturday, March 4, to consider this budget and will also have Australian balloting on Tuesday, March 7 to consider all articles and to vote for Select Board members. Incumbent Preston Bristow and Sonya Stover are vying for a three-year term on the board, and Jill Davies is running unopposed for a two-year term.

This article first appeared in the February 16, 2016 edition of the Vermont Standard.

By Virginia Dean, Standard Correspondent

READING – For the fiscal year July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018, voters in this town will be asked to approve a budget of $1,665,995 of which $630,255 is to be raised in taxes to meet the town’s expenses and obligations and to authorize the select board to set a tax rate sufficient to provide the same.

Town meeting will take place on Saturday, March 4, at 9:30 a.m. at Reading Elementary School. Australian Ballot voting will be on Tuesday, March 7, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Reading Town Hall.

The requested amount for the new town budget is a $23,112.50 increase, or 3.8 percent, over last year’s amount to be raised in taxes of $607,142.50, board members said.

The increase is primarily due to two bridges that need to be replaced in South Reading, an action that was unable to be completed in the construction period in 2016, board members related.

“The engineering study that was requested by the Agency of Transportation was completed in July,” Board Chair Robert Allen said. “By the time we were able to get the projects quoted, reviewed and awarded, it was mid-October. We had decided to do the bridge on the Town Farm Road because the water in the North Branch of the Black River was the lowest that we can recall in many years.”

Because the town was beyond the acceptable dates for working in or around a stream, the Agency of Natural Resources would not give it the permit to proceed.

“Getting a permit between now and June 30 is doubtful so everything is moving to the 2017/2018 fiscal year,” board members said.

In addition, based on the four proposals received, select board members discovered that the amount of $550,000 budgeted last year was roughly $250,000 short to do both bridges.

“You will see in the budget that we have carried the current budgeted income and expense amounts forward and have added $250,000 to the total expense,” board members said.

Voters will be asked to allow the Reading Board of School Directors to expend $1,039,665 that is the amount the school board has determined necessary for the ensuing fiscal year. This is a $19,882 decrease, or a 1.9-percent drop, from last year’s school district budget of $1,059,547.

It is estimated that this proposed budget, if approved, will result in education spending of $17,383 per equalized pupil. This projected spending per equalized pupil is .14 percent, or $24, higher than spending for the current year.

Voters will be reviewing two special articles on Saturday, March 4.

Article 4 is the standard election of town officers, and they are elected from the floor.

Articles 7-15 asks voters to raise $49,800 for special appropriations to be allocated to nine different organizations, including the purchase of the Reading Historical Society lot that is adjacent to the Library property, as well as appropriations for Windsor County Partners, Spectrum Teen Center, Visiting Nurse & Hospice, and the Ottauquechee Community Partnership.

This article first appeared in the February 23, 2017 edition of the Vermont Standard.

By Gareth Henderson, Standard Staff

Next week, voters in the Windsor Central Supervisory Union will decide on whether to become a newly unified district under the state statute Act 46, as outlined in a plan put forward by the WCSU’s Act 46 Study Committee.

The lengthy ballot item included in each of the six WCSU towns’ school district warnings, calls the new entity the “Windsor Central Unified Union School District.” Also next Tuesday, Plymouth will vote on whether to join the proposed unified district.

Each of these towns will decide this matter by Australian Ballot.

One of the major changes under the proposal, is that elementary schools in Barnard and Reading would become pre-K-4 schools, sending Barnard 5-6 grade students to Prosper Valley School and Reading 5-6 grade students to Woodstock Elementary School.

Furthermore, an 18-member board would govern the unified district, which would bring the current SU’s elementary, middle and high schools under the same governance structure.

The 93-page plan is viewable in its entirety at wcsu.net, with other related documents.

Proponents of the plan say its unified governance model would lead to greater equity in educational opportunities, more operational efficiencies district-wide, and greater educational success for the overall region.

Opponents say smaller districts, like Barnard and Reading, would lose control over education in their communities.

For the unified school district to move forward precisely as laid out in the local Act 46 plan, voters in all six WCSU districts – Woodstock, Reading, Barnard, Pomfret, Bridgewater, and Killington – would have to all vote in favor of the new district next Tuesday, according to Justin Shipman, the chair of the Act 46 Study Committee.

However, a unified district in some form could still happen with fewer than six school districts favoring the move.

By law, four or five towns voting in favor of this particular merger plan could become a unified district themselves. In that case, Shipman noted, there may need to be a proportional adjustment to the set-up of the unified school board.

As currently proposed, that 18-member board gives each district two members on the board, with the exception of Woodstock, which would have six members. That total of 18 includes two members for Plymouth, should it join the new district. The arrangement of the new board is according to Vermont state statute, which requires that “board membership must be structured to meet proportionality requirements of the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S Constitution.”

According to state law, any district voting on the proposed Act 46 merger is allowed to submit a petition for reconsideration or rescission within 30 days of the merger vote.

Any district that votes against the Act 46 plan and chooses to remain outside of the newly formed union district, would still be required to comply with Act 46, including a requirement to: “submit a proposal to the State Board, individually or with other districts, to maintain its current structure, work with other districts in some way other than merger, or merge with other districts to form a different governance structure,” according to information on the Vermont Agency of Education’s website.

If the local Act 46 plan is approved, Shipman explained, the unified district would not go into operation until July 2018.

“Until July 2018, the current local boards are operating, setting budgets,” he said. “Zero restructuring in the first year.”

He added, “It allows a year of transition planning for this new board, to figure how to implement inter-district choice, how to make this transition smooth and beneficial to students.”

Act 46 is an education reform law passed in 2015. According to the state Agency of Education’s website, Act 46 “provides opportunities for school districts to unify existing disparate governance structures into sustainable systems of education delivery that are designed to meet identified State goals while recognizing and reflecting local priorities.”

More information on Act 46 and its merger requirements is available at http://education.vermont.gov/vermont-schools/school-governance. Click on “Governance Laws.”

This article first appeared in the March 2, 2017 edition of the Vermont Standard.

By Curt Peterson, Standard Correspondent

BARNARD – Barnard officials have scheduled the School Meeting at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, March 7 at Town Hall, before the Town Meeting, which will follow “whenever the School Board Meeting is finished,” according to Select Board Assistant Preston Bristow. The two meetings traditionally alternate “who goes first” one year to the next.

There is no prequalification requirement to run for office in Barnard. Hopefuls announce their candidacy and make a pitch for votes at Town Meeting.

All votes on issues and for election to Town office are done with a hand vote, so there are no printed ballots.

The Town Warning lists the proposed budget as follows: $771,020 for general municipal expenses, of which $552,520 will be raised from property taxes, and $1,025,463 for highway and road expenses, of which $748,948 will be raised from property taxes.

The current 2016-2017 fiscal year budget is $609,830 municipal, and $948,446 highway and road expense.

Bristow attributes the increase in municipal spending to the $125,000 per year loan payment anticipated for the new Emergency Services Facility, $14,000 increase in administrative line items that include establishment of a $10,000 contingency account, $12,000 increase in solid waste management due to recycling requirements, and $5,000 for needed additional Town Hall maintenance and repair.

The highway budget is over $1,000,000 for the first time, Bristow said, because of two projects: The Mt. Hunger Road bank slide and the Broad Brook box culvert. Although most of their cost is covered by grants, the town will be responsible for additional funding for its portion.

The Select Board was reluctant to estimate a non-school tax rate until the budget is approved at Town Meeting. The increase in the amount to be raised from property tax is a little over 11 percent, which would mean the property tax rate would probably increase by that percentage as well, assuming the Barnard Grand List evaluation remains about the same.

The Barnard School Board proposed budget is $1,214,247, which is $15,564 per “equalized” pupil.

The current 2016-2017 fiscal year budget is $1,224,896, or $14,986 per equalized pupil.

While the total school budget has actually decreased by $10,650, an anticipated increase in per pupil expense would result from applying it to fewer students in the coming year.

There is one article on the School Board Warning that will require an Australian ballot process – whether or not Barnard should join with Killington, Pomfret, Plymouth, Bridgewater, Reading and Woodstock to form a New Unified District as part of school consolidation under Act 46.

A caveat within the Article mentions that Bridgewater and Pomfret, who already combined to form the Prosper Valley School District, may vote to form their own New Unified District, which would omit them from the seventown proposal.

This article first appeared in the February 16, 2017 edition of the Vermont Standard.

By Norwood Long, Standard Correspondent

POMFRET – The 245th annual meeting of the Town of Pomfret has been warned for Tuesday, March 7, 2017, at 9 a.m. in Pomfret Town Hall. The Pomfret school district meeting will follow later, also in Town Hall.

The Town Meeting Warning shows that four of the five selectboard seats are up for election, along with a number of other elected posts. One of the four selectboard seats up for election is for a three-year term, while the rest are for 1 year with one of those finishing out a three-year term.

Two lister posts and two auditor posts are up for election as well.

This year’s selectboard report in the Town Report includes the statement: “With the assistance of the Auditors and Listers, the Board has researched and developed viable options for ensuring the work of these two very important Boards will continue to be competently performed in the event that these Boards cannot be fully staffed by elected officials.”

The town’s proposed expenditures for fiscal year 2018 total $1,358,378 (that includes highway – $906,500; town – $343,571; and appropriations in warning articles – $108,307), according to Selectboard Chair Michael Reese.

Last year’s proposed town expenditures totaled $1,358,491 (that includes highway – $896,055; town – $401,689; and appropriations in warning articles – $60,747).

Reese said the proposed expenditures for 2018 are $311 less than last year, including all warning articles presented by third party petition.

He said expenditures proposed by the Selectboard for 2018 are $47,673 less than last year. Much of that difference is that the funding of the fire department is by article instead of the budget, Reese said.

The amount to be raised by taxes, for town expenditures for fiscal year 2018, is $963,053, including third party appropriations. That represents a $1,247 increase, or .13 percent, over last year’s amount to be raised by taxes, which was $961,806.

For the school district meeting, the Prosper Valley school budget of $1,650,695 is up about 7 percent over last year’s $1,540,907, with virtually all of the increase in special education. Pomfret’s estimated share of the school budget has increased about 9 percent, from $848,342 last year to $922,671 this year.

Articles to be voted on by Australian ballot include a proposal under Act 46 to form a preschool to grade 12 unified school district (the “Windsor Central Unified Union School District”) encompassing all the 6 schools now sending pupils to Woodstock High School.

This article first appeared in the March 2, 2017 edition of the Vermont Standard.