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by Bob Nuner

Tax collectors must negotiate a fine line. Although traditionally unpopu-lar, they are the ones who make sure

a municipality has the funds to operate. On the other hand, officials know taxpayers may simply be unable to pay bills when they’re due.

Property-tax delinquency rates can be seen as an economic indicator of sorts, and many local tax collectors are reporting lower de-linquency rates recently. Whatever their rate of success, the area tax collectors we spoke with use a variety of tools, including pay-ment plans, publication of delinquent names in town reports, penalties and interest, and tax sales to try to get their towns the money owed them.

Diminishing DelinquenciesWhen Carole Dawes began collecting

taxes in Barre in 2008, delinquencies ran in the neighborhood of 6 to 7 percent, or “even higher,” but are “now generally well under 6 percent,” she said, a “pretty significant de-crease.” The rates for the last seven quarters were 4.66, 3.5, 4.67, 4.87, 5.07, 5.12 and then a sudden bump to 5.78 percent. The sudden spike in the last quarter, however, she said, had to do with a supreme-court decision about confidentiality of tax bills, which for-bade the city from notifying the escrow firms that have a responsibility for about a quarter of Barre’s tax-bill payments. The problem has now been fixed by the legislature, allow-ing information sharing with attorneys, real-estate agents and escrow companies.

Dawes also suspects that Barre’s compli-ance has improved because they’ve gone to quarterly tax sales. “Other communities tax

sale everything” at the end of each tax year, she said. In a tax sale, a municipality auctions off property on which taxes are owed in order to recoup the debt.

East Montpelier’s Karen Gramer looked at delinquencies over the last three years and also found improving trends. The de-linquency rate in mid-May this year was 8 percent less than in 2011, which, in turn, was 9 percent lower than the total delinquent in 2010. She noted, however, “I think more peo-ple have become delinquent, but the amounts are smaller, and they are paying less [per installment payment].” She added, “We’re always agreeable to a payment plan.”

Craig Eilers, of Moretown, doesn’t have an explanation for his town’s recently dimin-ished delinquencies. “You just never know. This past year was less than most,” he said. He has collected taxes for eight years. For him, a lowered delinquency rate is “nice to see,” and it saves unpleasantness.

Montpelier’s tax-collection efforts appear quite successful; Finance Director Sandra Gallup noted in a background report to the city council that on June 30, 2011, the city’s past-due taxes amounted to 0.7 percent of the total billed, or $141,000. The previous year, the unpaid amount at mid-year was higher: $169,000. Gallup praises longtime tax collector Beverlee Pembroke Hill, who recently retired from her position as Mont-pelier assistant city manager. In an e-mail, Gallup wrote, “Our tax delinquency is very low—Bev does a great job.”

Berlin’s Patty Lewis attributes her tax-collecting success to a partnership with es-crow firms and the state. “The Town of Berlin has a collection rate on current taxes of approximately 95 percent,” she said. “A lot of this is due to mortgage companies requir-

ing taxes to be escrowed; I believe another key element is the fact the State of Vermont sends the property-tax adjustment payments directly to the town now.”

In Middlesex, the delinquency situation is not as positive. Tax collector Cindy Carlson said, “There has definitely, in the last two years, been an increase” in delinquencies, but it was mostly in payments from large landowners, “which skewed the numbers.” Asked why, she conjectured that a possibility included changes in ownership. She noted, “We have habitual late payers,” but “just a small number of late payers that are new.”

Waterbury town manager Bill Shepeluk said he has not seen appreciable differences in annual delinquency. Waterbury’s taxes bill out at about $12 million a year, and Shepe-luk said that by the end of the calendar year, “pretty much 97 percent of the taxes have been paid in full.” For those who haven’t paid, letters go out in January and February. With 2012 tax bills due to go out, of the $12 million billed in 2011, only about 1.2 percent is outstanding, and that includes penalties and interest, so it’s probably, without interest, less than 1 percent unpaid. Taxpayers who don’t pay are often the same year in, year out, and there are back taxes to 2008, but Shepluk doesn’t consider it a significant amount.

Strategies and ConsequencesEach town uses a variety of incentives and

consequences to encourage timely payment. Two kinds of fees are usually collected on de-linquent taxes: penalties and interest. Penal-ties, which may be up to 8 percent of the total owed, following state regulations, often go to compensate the tax collectors. Interest, on the

see TAXES, page 4

Connecting Montpelier and nearby communities since 1993 | JULY 19–AUGUST 1, 2012

IN THIS ISSUETHE MEN

AND THE BOYS

Henry IV, Part I, at Unadilla

16

MUCH ADO ABOUT WATER

Montpelier and Berlin negotiate pond’s future

6

POSITIVELY FLOOREDGrange to put in new,

local boards for dancing

7

RIDE BIKES, SAVE EARTH

Pedaling for awareness

9

Photo by Robbie Harold

The Tax Collectors’ BALANCING ACTThe Tax CollectorsBALANCING ACTBALANCING ACT

Illustration by Tim Newcomb.

PAGE 2 • JULY 19 – AUGUST 1, 2012 THE BR IDGE

• NEW CONSTRUCTION

• RENOVATIONS

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Kitchens • Bathrooms • Flooring

Tiling • Cabinetry • Fine Woodwork

THE BR IDGE JULY 19 – AUGUST 1, 2012 • PAGE 3

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HEARD ON THE

STREETPublic Meeting to Hear Streetlight Plans

With help from Efficiency Vermont, a volunteer Montpelier streetlight committee that has been meeting for about a year and a half has produced a detailed report.

The report contains four recommended actions. First, that the city replace its current mercury-vapor streetlights with new light-emitting diode (LED) fixtures. Mercury is a hazardous material, and for that reason mercury lights are no long being produced. Second, that the city arrange for the removal of 96 streetlights on lease from Green Mountain Power Corporation (GMP). Removing these streetlights cuts costs and adds to efficiency. Third, that the city eliminate all high-wattage fixtures and replace these with more efficient LED lights. Fourth, that the city continue its lease arrangement with GMP as the best financial, maintenance and safety option.

Tom McArdle, assistant director of the Montpelier Public Works Department, and Paul Markowitz from Efficiency Vermont, the streetlight committee’s chair, said that the city would save $20,000 a year, that it would improve outdoor light quality and efficiency, and that GMP would install, maintain and fix the new lights. Montpelier would incur no capital costs.

The city’s public works department will be putting notices on poles that are going to be removed. The streetlight committee will present its streetlight study at a public meeting on Wednesday, August 1 at 7 p.m. in the Memorial Room in City Hall. All Montpelier residents are welcome to attend.

Montpelier is among a handful of Vermont communities making the change to LED fix-tures. If you have questions or comments in advance of the August l meeting, please contact Tom McArdle at 262-6275 or by e-mail at tmcardle@montpelier-vt.org.

Sarah Jarvis Moves Out of District, City Council

After an upcoming move to another part of Montpelier, District 2 councilor Sarah Jarvis’s seat will open up at the end of August. Exactly how the council will fill the position is

as yet undetermined. The council has received at least two letters of interest so far, according to City Manager Bill Fraser, and it’s expected that at the July 18 council meeting (after press time), Mayor John Hollar will have proposed a process for filling the vacancy. This might include advertisement, interviews with interested candidates and resulting appointment by the council. An advantage of this transition, Fraser points out, is availability of time. With adequate notice of the change, District 2 can retain full representation on the council.

Lawsuit Seeks Ballot Access for Independent Candidate

Montpelier attorney Charles Merriman has filed a legal complaint against the State of Vermont and Secretary of State James Condos regarding Vermont ballot-access fairness

in the case of independent candidates for U.S. president.Merriam’s complaint applies to former mayor of Salt Lake City Ross C. “Rocky” Anderson,

whose name the Vermont secretary of state declined to place on the general-election ballot for November 6.

Merriman points out in his lawsuit that both Vermont law and additional discretionary petition filing requirements—requirements not compelled by Vermont law—place indepen-dent candidates for president at a distinct and unfair disadvantage and, indeed, violate their rights under the U.S. Constitution.

Vermont law requires major party and independent candidates to submit “statements of nomination” signed by at least 1,000 voters. But independent candidates are required to obtain “certification by the town clerk of each town where the signers appear to be voters.” Major-party candidates do not have to present this additional certification. Going after these individual town certifications became a stumbling block for the Anderson campaign. He got town-clerk certifications for about 730 of the names on his petitions and was refused a spot on the November general-election ballot.

Major party candidates are allowed to “cure,” or fix, their petition defects. But this right is denied to independent candidates. The Merriman lawsuit is asking the Vermont Superior Court for speedy injunctive relief so that Rocky Anderson and his vice-presidential running mate, Linda Boyd, can have their names on the general-election ballot.

Energy Investment Corporation Acquires Biomass Center

Montpelier’s Biomass Energy Resource Center (BERC) has been acquired by the Ver-mont Energy Investment Corporation (VEIC) and is moving to Burlington. BERC,

once a federally sponsored biomass-utilization advocacy, which became a nonprofit after federal budget cuts, promotes biomass use, that is, wood chips or pellets, for thermal energy uses to supplant fossil fuels like heating oil. [See “Fuel for the Future?” January 19].

VEIC is a nationally recognized energy adviser with expertise in enhancing efficiency, particularly in electrical energy use. BERC Executive Director Brenda Quiroz Maday says that two of BERC’s staff will move to Burlington, and decisions are still pending about two contract positions. Telecommuting is an option for the staff, she said. BERC’s website shows seven or eight staff positions, plus a staffer in Wisconsin, but Maday says changes have been under way since before she was named executive director last August.

According to Maday, changes in direction accelerated after staff planning sessions in January. One option proposed was merger. BERC perceived that customers wanted more integrated energy services. While BERC offered thermal energy solutions, they didn’t focus on electrical energy efficiency. Maday hopes that BERC’s strengths in thermal energy can be augmented by VEIC’s pioneering work in electrical efficiency. She called the merger “very, very natural.”

When asked if BERC board president Scudder Parker had a role in the search for merger partners, she indicated that he had recused himself during the search, given his position as VEIC’s senior program manager.

—first and third item by Nat Frothingham; other items by Bob Nuner

P.O. Box 1143, Montpelier, VT 05601Phone: 802-223-5112 | Fax: 802-223-7852 montpelierbridge.com; facebook.com/montpelierbridge

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Copyright 2012 by The Montpelier Bridge

Just poked my head into the rich hardwoods next to the house for a change of scene. Not much light filters through the dense canopy to the ferns and wild ginger below,

and it is cool and quiet. But I know already I won’t see a favorite, the July bloom of wild leeks, thousands of small lightbulb onion flowers brightening up the forest under-story. This year they did not bloom! First time in the 33 years that I’ve been here. Soon they’d be setting their shiny black seed. Another no-show are the shadbush berries next to the house. It usually takes the birds almost all month to strip and eat every last one. But if next spring and summer are cooler and wetter, I’ll bet we’ll be back on schedule. Hey, better close the car windows, it’s starting to rain!

—Nona Estrin

Nature Watch

ADVERTISE in Our Upcoming Issues!August 2: nonmailed issue advertising deadline: Friday, July 27

August 16: mailed issue advertising deadline: Friday, August 10

September 6: nonmailed issue advertising deadline: Friday, August 30

Contact Carl or Carolyn: 223-5112, ext. 11, ccampbell@montpelierbridge.com or carolyn@montpelierbridge.com

PAGE 4 • JULY 19 – AUGUST 1, 2012 THE BR IDGE

Montpelier Structural IntegrationAchieve greater ease in posture through a series of body work.

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other hand, goes to the municipality.Barre charges a 3 percent penalty for the

first 30 days, plus 1 percent interest on the outstanding balance per month. After 30 days, an additional 5 percent penalty kicks in, but interest remains at 1 percent, less than the 1.5 percent allowed by the state. Dawes noted that Barre took a revenue hit when voters recently reduced their rates below the state-allowed maximum. The more lenient regimen “put a $20K hole in our budget,” she said.

Middlesex’s interest rate per month is even lower: 0.7 percent. Carlson said, “We’ve talked to the board about changing [the interest rate],” but they have declined to revisit it. She suggested that the reluctance to increase the rate reflected the board’s sen-sitivity to taxpayers’ difficulties.

Berlin’s Lewis tries to work with people to make payments happen. “[I] offer automatic payments, either monthly or quarterly,” she said. “This helps many taxpayers budget their tax payments over a 12-month period.” While late installment payments incur inter-est, the town does not impose a penalty on the total tax until the end of the tax year.

Moretown’s policy is to give people about six months to pay or make arrangements to pay, at which point he gives tax bills to an at-

torney. “That seems to get everybody’s atten-tion,” Eilers said. Moretown did offer some abatements following Irene, and it expe-rienced complications handling delinquent taxes when town records were flooded. Eilers says the town is still recovering in terms of its records, and “last year, people got a pass, but only because of a natural disaster. . . . My goal is not to have a delinquency balance before the next tax year starts.”

Waterbury also gave abatements following Irene, for up to eight months for some 60 to 70 properties, and some other properties received abatements for one to five months. Shepeluk notes that, since the economic downturn, people come in explaining that they’re underwater on their mortgages, or they’ve lost their jobs. Some can only pay the interest on what they owe and can’t yet make the principal, but they pay on a regular basis. That concerns Shepeluk, because, adding the town’s 8 percent penalty plus the 1 percent per month, interest can add up to more than the cost of a credit-card charge rate, but some folks are either maxed out on their cards or can’t qualify for credit cards, so they are stuck paying interest.

Duxury town clerk Ken Scott attributes a slight increase in delinquency for 2011 to Tropical Storm Irene. Residents in Duxbury who don’t pay their taxes on time are listed in the town report, he said, adding, “Sixty to

70 percent of people usually have paid in full by the end of the calendar year.”

Duxbury’s tax deadline is the second Fri-day in October. If people can’t pay on time, the tax collector makes an effort to reach people immediately and work out a payment plan. The town will go a year without a tax sale if taxpayers can make regular payments that wrap up by September.

Worcester’s Sandra Ferver said that her town is trying to strengthen nonpayment consequences, working to change a perceived tendency to let things slip. “We’re making a more focused effort than we have ever. . . . There were folks who were several years behind. . . . We’re more committed [now] to tax-sale consequences,” she said.

Not Just Property TaxesIn Montpelier, both Gallup and Hill also

called out overdue water and sewer fees as delinquency culprits. Gallup reported to the council that, “Delinquent water and sewer fees the end of FY11 totaled $167,000, which is $7,000 higher than the level of unpaid water and sewer bills in FY10.” A report by Hill in the 2012 annual report acknowledged a low rate of property-tax delinquency ($50,000 outstanding on total tax bills of slightly over $7 million) and at-tributed some of that success to Vermont’s real-estate tax-assistance program, in which

homestead owners receive Act 60 assistance on the education portion of their taxes (av-eraging $2,000 per property for over 1,200 Montpelier property owners); however, she warned taxpayers that unpaid water and sewer fees were “higher than I believe they should be, and people need to know that delinquent water and sewer bills can also result in a tax sale, as they are a lien on the property.”

At the End of the Tax Collector’s Day

In Montpelier’s 2012 annual report, Hill writes, “Bottom line, I spend lots of hours each week making sure a big portion of our revenues are collected—taxes, water and sewer. The importance of keeping revenues current needs no explanation.”

The incentive to the municipality of col-lecting tax revenue is obvious. For the tax-payer, avoiding penalties, interest and noto-riety are incentives. For tax collectors, the 8 percent penalty may be compensation. Gal-lup points out, however, that letting proper-ties ride and just collecting interest on out-standing principal does no favor if taxpayers end up deeper in the hole each passing year, without prospect of catching up. Tax sales, she suggested, can put a merciful end to a painful process.

TAXES, from page 1

THE BR IDGE JULY 19 – AUGUST 1, 2012 • PAGE 5

Advertise! 223-5112

by Peggy Munro

Student loans, that lynchpin of college financing that so many students—and their parents—access, are poised to be-

come the next chapter in this country’s his-tory of financial mismanagement. The same factors that led to the subprime mortgage meltdown four years ago are now at play in the student-loan market: prices soaring far in excess of inflation, stagnant wages and a labor market that cannot, or will not, create enough adequately paid jobs to service these debts.

The student-loan industry is a lending tinderbox that only lacks a spark. We are teetering on the precipice of another finan-cial disaster, and a partisan Congress finally obliged and kept interest rates on new loans at 3.4 percent, postponing the day of reck-oning until June 30, 2013. Even with this temporary fix, though, the problem of rising loan balances and default rates remains. We do not yet know the total amount of bad debts: many loans that will be defaulted on are currently in deferral and have no pay-ments due.

The facts are these: tuition rates have increased at rates double, or even triple, the rate of general inflation, and students have borrowed to make up the difference. It is not the cost of education, per se, that has spiraled out of control, but rather a higher education one-upmanship game that is unparalleled. Money is thrown at the most desirable stu-dents in the form of merit scholarships, rais-ing the price for the rest. In addition, schools insist on building, rebuilding and outbuild-ing, without regard to the increased burden all this new infrastructure places on tuition rates. Then there are inflated professorial and administrative salaries that are designed to attract the most celebrated faculty to these institutions. And, in the case of pub-lic colleges and universities, harsh economic realities and lower tax revenues have led to higher-education budgets being slashed, larger class sizes and a decrease in the num-ber of students who actually graduate in four years, as opposed to five or even six.

The result is that the cost borne by the average student, and the associated debt for those without infinite family resources, has increased at a far greater rate than general inflation would warrant, and the situation could become much worse. On July 1, 2013,

federally guaranteed student-loan interest rates are scheduled to double, from 3.4 per-cent to 6.8 percent, bringing the monthly cost per $1,000 borrowed from $9.84 to $11.51. For those with modest balances, this is probably not an issue, but when you owe $25,000, $50,000 or even $100,000, the monthly payments will be crippling. No lender would ever lend these amounts for a car or house without proof of income and employment, but for an education, ability to repay seems inconsequential.

To put these numbers in perspective, my total college cost (four years of private under-graduate and one of private graduate school) was approximately $47,500 in 1977–1982 dollars. When I left graduate school in 1982, I had no job, no prospects and $15,580 of student-loan debt.

Based on the inflation rates over the in-tervening 30 years, today I would reasonably expect that same education to carry a price tag of $114,000. If only it were so. Instead, the combined tuition, room, board and ex-penses cost for my alma mater for the aca-demic year just ended was almost $60,000, or $300,000 over five years (and that’s with no year-to-year increases). Apparently, the cost of my education has increased at almost three times the rate of inflation.

These numbers are further affected by the question of just who is borrowing money for school. Students at for-profit universities are the worst offenders, accounting for 50 percent of defaults but only 10 percent of students. These schools aggressively recruit by floating promises of an education paid for by federally guaranteed loans, but at the end of the rainbow, the well-paid job implied at the beginning is as elusive as the proverbial pot of gold. More traditional public and pri-vate nonprofit schools are far from blameless, either, as budgets for scholarships are sliced and diced at the same time that increasing sums are spent on bricks and mortar.

Congress has postponed, but not fixed, the student-loan crisis, but there are steps that it can take to prevent an irreparable break-down: extend the 3.4 percent interest rate on federally guaranteed loans indefinitely; require all schools to spend a minimum of 5 percent of the average value of their endow-ment on need-based scholarships, the same as is required of other endowed charities; extend the average repayment period for stu-dent loans and cap the monthly payment at 10 percent of discretionary income; and provide more paths to repayment, such as working a public sector job in a disadvan-taged community.

Economists warned of the mortgage bub-ble before it happened, and no one paid attention. With that debacle still fresh in our minds, we should be taking preventive actions to stop the student-loan crisis before it starts. It would be refreshing if, for once, we prevented a meltdown before we see it on CNN breaking news.

Margaret Atkins Munro, EA, is a licensed tax professional living in Essex Junction. She is the author of 529 & Other College Savings Plans for Dummies and coauthor of Taxes 2009 for Dummies and Estate & Trust Ad-ministration for Dummies (coauthored with Kathryn A. Murphy, Esq.).

Student Loans

Money Matters

PAGE 6 • JULY 19 – AUGUST 1, 2012 THE BR IDGE

by Steven M. Cliche

The Montpelier City Council and the Berlin selectboard met in front of a packed house of concerned citizens

July 16. The main item on the docket was the ongoing negotiation over what will hap-pen with Berlin Pond. Since the Vermont Su-preme Court ruling in May that struck down an ordinance banning recreational access to

the pond, it has become a hot spot for boat-ers. This has drawn a heated response from the community on both sides of the issue.

The Montpelier City Council had heard a plea at its June 27 meeting from Montpelier resident Eric Esselfson to take bolder actions on the current Berlin Pond situation. Es-selfson urged the council to think in terms of their grandchildren’s children when mak-ing decisions on the best way to manage the

pond and the current influx of anglers, and he likened the idea of allowing boat access to “Russian roulette.” Esselfson then went on to warn of a possible didymo infestation. Didymo is an invasive form of algae whose microscopic spores can pass from one body of water to another on the bottoms of boats. Mayor John Hollar said that state regulators have been clear in their belief that unregu-lated, nonmotorized boat access poses no

threat to the health of the pond or residents who drink the water.

At the meeting with the Berlin select-board, however, Hollar reiterated Montpe-lier’s stance that the overall goal as far as the council is concerned is to restrict access as much as possible in order to conserve and keep the water safe for those who drink it.

The Berlin selectboard, which 45 days ago voted to post the 85 feet of land that the town owns and to enforce a parking ban on those parked at the culvert on Mirror Lake road, did what many saw as a 180 on the subject. Selectboard Chairman Brad Towne suggested expanded access, calling for a well-known parking area on the pond to be the new boat-launch area. Hollar responded that if expanded access was indeed what the town was going for, that he was in agreement, but his opinion was still that the majority of the council and the citizens of Montpelier were against it.

Berlin resident Doug Hill pointed out what he thought appeared to be flip-flopping on the part of the selectboard, stating, “You were going to post the 85 feet; that didn’t happen. You were going to restrict parking; that didn’t happen. What’s been going on in the 45 days since the last meeting?”

Towne responded that the selectboard had chosen to wait until they could gather further input on the subject. When pressed by Hol-lar to come up with a decision on whether or not the town was for allowing expanded access, Towne and the other members of the board fell short of giving a direct answer.

After the meeting, city councilor Alan Weiss voiced his frustration with Berlin’s inability to decide on what they’d like to do with their 85 feet of the pond. He sees Montpelier’s acquisition of that land and the closure of the culvert on Mirror Lake Road as the two key points in going forward with the plans to protect the pond.

Hollar also voiced his hope that Berlin would soon make a decision, stating, “It seems clear that most of the board is divided on the subject. It’s up to them to decide at this point what the next move is. It’s more than Montpelier can handle alone.”

Council Approves Beginning Negotiations on Carr Lot

Berlin and Montpelier Discuss Pond Issues

by Bob Nuner

The Montpelier City Council has moved to begin negotiations with Alan Carr toward the city’s purchase

of the Carr lot downtown. The motion fol-lowed a discussion at the council’s July 6 meeting.

The Carr lot has undergone hazardous-material remediation this summer in prepa-ration for future development. The city now has an assessment of the lot in hand, devel-oped following federal guidelines and based on the presumption of a clean lot, with no unaddressed environmental problems.

Meeting attendee John Russell questioned the appraisal’s accuracy. City Manager Bill Fraser explained that should the lot turn out to require more remediation, the extra cost would be reflected in purchase negotiations. Russell urged transparency in the city’s deal-ings about the lot, and Mayor John Hollar agreed that the city would be as transparent as possible, given the constraints of negota-tion. Hollar noted that the city will not learn Carr’s plans for the lot until negotiations begin.

Complaints of District-Heat Project Pace

The council has received a letter from the state laying out its offer for the district heat project. The state asked that the letter be kept private until negotiations were complete. The council went into executive session at its July 6 meeting to discuss the letter.

Outside of the executive session, mem-bers of the energy committee and property owner Russell discussed the project, express-ing frustration at what they perceived to be the city’s slowness. Russell, who owns three downtown buildings that could connect with the planned biomass heat system, pointed out that oil prices are rising unpredictably, challenging owners and tenants alike in managing their expenses. He said, “The city council needs to show some leadership. . . .You’re not walking away from money; you’re walking into money.”

Resuming after the executive session, Hol-lar said that although the state wanted a reply from the city by July 9, he had ques-tions about the state’s proposal and would seek clarification on the city’s responsibilities and contractual agreements with the state. The council would gather that information and make a decision at the July 18 council meeting. Hollar emphasized that he felt that the city and state were not far apart.

Fiber Internet and Tax RatesThe council agreed in its consent agenda

on July 6 to purchase a fiber Internet con-nection. After a $4,000 capital cost to extend the fiber connection from City Hall to the fire house and police station, there will be, as councilor Thierry Guerlain noted, an ad-ditional cost of $267 per month for fiber access.

In order for tax bills to go out on time, the council needed to approve the tax rate. As the state education rate came in essentially

as budgeted, the rate was approved. (The overall rate is $2.3595 for residents, $2.4339 for nonresidents. The municipal portion is $0.9586. Montpelier’s overall rate includes a school tax rate of $1.3109 for residents and $1.3853 for nonresidents, plus a sewer benefit of $0.02 and debt service of $0.07 for the bonding that funds the work to separate sanitary and storm-water sewers.)

Permits for Outdoor SeatingThe council is working on a new permit

that Montpelier business owners would need to acquire in order to place outdoor seating within the public right-of-way. The $100 permit, which the city plans to start offering next year, would allow businesses without the benefit of sidewalk space to expand out onto the pedestrian pathway as long as they adhere to all ADA requirements.

Guerlain argued at the June 27 council meeting that the fee should be reduced or dismissed completely on the grounds that Montpelier businesses already pay enough to operate year-round, without having an extra expense tacked on. Guerlain was also per-plexed over some of the wording in the per-mit that states that a business-holder would not be allowed to have “outdoor accessories” or “condiments.” Mayor John Hollar called on the council to submit revisions to the permit to be presented at the July 18 meeting (after press time).

Reporting contributed by Steven M. Cliche.

THE BR IDGE JULY 19 – AUGUST 1, 2012 • PAGE 7

by Nat Frothingham

The Capital City Grange features “the best dance hall in New England,” according to its website.

Dancing—contra dancing, Afro-Carribeandance, drumming and dance from Mali, and traditional dance—has been a popular activ-ity at the Grange for years, and after several decades of spirited dancing, the dance-hall floor has been danced down so completely that it needs to be ripped out and replaced.

“We’ve run right through to the tongue-and-groove flooring, and the nails are ex-posed,” said Patty Giavara, president of Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall. Friends of the Grange is a nonprofit orga-nization that is raising money and taking charge of the dance-floor project, along with a number of other critical improvements to the Grange building.

The current floor is maple, and “we are going to replace it with Vermont maple,” Giavara said. “It’s being cut and milled by someone who has been dancing for more than 30 years. It’s being milled and dried; it’s currently being dried in Bristol. When they mill it, they are going to mill it so the thickness above the tongue and groove is 25 percent thicker than a standard hardwood floor.”

Replacing the dance floor will take about a month. According to Giavara, “Volunteers will unload the wood and leave it there for a week to acclimate. We’ll do that in October. We’ll let it sit for about a week, and then

we’ll have professionals install, sand and fin-ish the floor.”

All told, the floor replacement project will cost the Grange “in the neighborhood of $20,000,” Giavara said.

Friends of the Grange has already raised $10,000, including a $5,000 pledge from the Contra Dance Umbrella, which in recent years has been not only an active dance-hall user but now a partner with the Grange in preserving and maintaining the building and garnering community support for a range of

renovation work.In addition to the $10,000 on hand or

pledged, Friends of the Grange has held a couple of fundraising events, and contribu-tions have begun to come in from indi-vidual contributors, along with special gifts to honor members of the dance community who have died.

In the next few months Friends of the Grange will be applying for some grants to regional foundations that support commu-nity projects. “That would be money for the

next round of projects, such as updating the kitchen and windows,” Giavara explained.

The major renovation project right now is replacing the dance floor, but Friends of the Grange is planning to make the entire build-ing compliant with Americans with Disabili-ties Act (ADA) requirements. At the moment the upstairs dance hall is ADA-compliant, but the downstairs kitchen, bathrooms and cafeteria are not. A mechanical lift is needed to make it possible for anyone to use the kitchen and also go up on the stage.

“We see it as a community space,” said Giavara of the Grange, noting that the hall has been rented for a range of activities: meetings of all kinds, plays and perfor-mances, wedding receptions, church and memorial services. The Grange itself has a potluck once a month, and for the last couple of years a canning workshop has been held there.

As the lumber for the floor works its way through the milling process from Vermont forests to Montpelier, the Friends of the Grange is putting out a general call for contributions for the project and for needed ADA improvements in the coming years.

To make a contribution to the cost of replac-ing the Grange dance floor and other current improvements, please write a tax-deductible check to “Friends of the Capital City Grange Hall” or “FCCGH” and send it to FCCGH, P.O. Box 31, Northfield Falls, VT 05664. Friends of the Grange will confirm receipt of your donation and ask if you want it to be made public.

Capital City Grange to Replace Dance Floor

Contra dancers fill the Capital City Grange hall. Photo courtesy Marj Power.

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Grange HistoryThe Grange itself, also known as the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, got its start in Washington, DC, in 1867, after the Civil War, and

became a nationwide farming advocacy movement at a time when freight costs from the nation’s unregulated railroad monopolies threatened America’s farming communities. Today, the Grange continues to press hard on such issues such as free trade and farm policy,

but, more generally, the Grange supports family life, strong rural communities and America’s democratic traditions. Ac-cording to a national Grange website, across the country the Grange counts some 200,000 members in 37 states.

The Capital City Grange was formed in the late 19th cen-tury, and the current Grange building was constructed by an all-volunteer membership group in 1953. The local Grange, an all-volunteer organization, still owns the building. As part of its mission, the Grange is providing a community space for dances, meetings, music, theater and other performances, as well as private events.

—Nat Frothingham

Still from a video documenting the construction of the Capital City Grange in 1953. Photo courtesy Marj Power.

PAGE 8 • JULY 19 – AUGUST 1, 2012 THE BR IDGE

Tiny BitesFinding more acres of farmland is a high priority for those who want Vermont to grow

more of its own food. Surprisingly, just a few acres of farmland can be as valuable as a hundred-acre field. Creative and innovative arrangements between landowners and farmers can make small plots available for food production. This Saturday, July 21, learn more at Leasing Your Land to a Farmer: An Informational Workshop for Landown-ers and Community Groups. Sponsored by Land For Good, the Vermont Land Trust and the UVM Center for Sustainable Agriculture, this workshop is for private landowners interested in making their land available to farmers for agricultural production, and for members of community organizations interested in assisting local farmland owners to keep agricultural land in active production. There is a growing need for affordable land for new and expanding farmers in Vermont. Farming on land held by nonfarmers can be a win-win opportunity for owners and farmers.

The workshop runs from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Big Picture Theatre in Waitsfield, with a farm tour following. Details at landforgood.org/workshops.

Sure, you know how vegetables are grown. But how are the seeds that start those vegetables selected and grown? Find out at the High Mowing Trials Garden Tours this Sunday,

July 22, in Wolcott. Gardeners and professional growers alike are invited to join the staff of High Mowing Seeds for fun, educational Trials Field Walks. The High Mowing Organic Seeds Trials Garden serves as a rigorous testing ground for selecting the standout varieties offered in their annual seed catalog. This tour runs from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Additional tours are scheduled for Sunday, August 19, 11 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; and Wednesday, September 5, 4 to 6 p.m. Directions at highmowingseeds.com.

Farmers’ market season is in full swing, and in anticipation of National Farmers’ Market Week (August 5 to 11), the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Vermont (NOFA-

VT) is sponsoring the Farmers’ Market Film Challenge. NOFA invites anyone to create a short film that shows why you love your local farmers’ market. Videos uploaded to the contest YouTube channel by August 1 will be entered into the competition. Judges will award videos that creatively encourage viewers to visit their local farmers’ markets. Details at nofavt.org.

The new Celebrate Vermont festival, August 23 to 26 in Stowe, will celebrate life in Vermont: food, farms and forests; our deep sense of place; and our local markets and

creative economies. The four-day event includes a food court, chef demonstrations, music performances, and informative workshops on topics such as attracting wildlife to your prop-erty, gardening 101, bee health, wild edibles and more. The events are hosted by a variety of Stowe locations. Complete schedule and details at celebratevermontfestival.com. Mark your calendar now!

Shop, eat, learn! On selected Saturdays now through fall, two great Montpelier institu-tions—the Capital City Farmers Market and the New England Culinary Institute

(NECI)—are teaming up to help market visitors learn how to cook fabulous meals with the fresh food available at the market. The cooking demonstrations are held at the farmers’ market (60 State Street) from 10 a.m. until noon; NECI chef instructors and students will use seasonal ingredients in simple recipes, providing visitors with tasting samples and recipes so you can make it at home. Meet at the demo tent toward the back of the market on July 21, August 4, August 11, September 8 and October 13. Visit montpelierfarmersmarket.com for more information about events at the market.

Congratulations to Websterville’s Vermont Butter & Cheese Creamery, which took home three gold Sofi awards, including Best Product Line, at the Summer Fancy

Food Show’s annual competition in Washington, DC. The awards are given by the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade. Since 1984, co-owners Bob Reese and Allison Hooper have steadily built their business, bringing goat cheeses and European-style dairy products to the U.S. market. “We have won each of these categories in the past,” says Reese, “but to win all three in one year is unprecedented for us. We are elated.”

—compiled by Sylvia Fagin; send food news to sylviafagin@yahoo.com

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THE BR IDGE JULY 19 – AUGUST 1, 2012 • PAGE 9

by Sylvia Fagin

It may not be easy running the biggest restaurant in downtown Montpelier, but it is definitely satisfying for Fred Bashara

III, the owner and executive chef of J. Mor-gan’s Steakhouse.

The full-service restaurant in the Capitol Plaza hotel seats over a hundred diners at a time and frequently serves more than 200 meals on a busy weekend night. Bashara is pleased to be able to offer patrons an experi-ence that’s unique in our small city.

“We get a lot of out-of-staters who say, ‘You don’t see this atmosphere a lot of places in Vermont,’” Bashara says. “For them, it’s familiar to home. People say our restaurant looks like it belongs in Montreal or Boston.”

The J. Morgans menu offers something for everyone, literally. The four-page menu contains a huge range of appetizers, in-cluding shrimp cocktail, stuffed portabella mushrooms, and housemade potato chips loaded with bacon and gorgon-zola cheese. There’s almost a dozen pasta entrees, like lobster mac and cheese, veal piccata, and smoked salmon alfredo.

Seafood features prominently on the menu; diners can choose from shrimp scampi, steamed Maine lobster or blackened scallops. But this is a steakhouse, after all, and the steaks are what Bashara is most proud of.

“Most steakhouses have one cut,” he says. “We have about 18 choices of steak cut, and that’s not including lamb, pork, chicken. . . . We sell all the bone-in steaks you can think of. We wanted to offer something no one else does.”

In fact, when asked to name his favor-ite item on the menu, Bashara names the bone-in filet. “I’m a steak lover. I love our bone-in steaks, because you don’t get them anywhere.” Bone-in filets are especially nice because the meat stays tender on two sides and doesn’t dry out, he says.

Serving hundreds of diners a week means being able to expose all those diners to Vermont’s local food products. “We do a tremendous amount of business with Ver-mont Butter & Cheese Creamery, Cabot and Highland Sugarworks,” Bashara says. “We

go through 100 gallons of maple a year—we cook with it and use it in our vinaigrettes. We serve Misty Knoll chicken, and bread from Red Hen and La Panciata.”

The restaurant strives to use local produce whenever possible, Bashara says, ordering from Black River Produce and Upper Val-ley Produce, two distributors that deal with Vermont farmers. And “I go to the farmers’ market when I can, for specials,” he adds.

Like other large-volume restaurants, sourc-ing local meat, especially steak, is his big-gest challenge. “I’ve tried to use local meats,” Bashara says, recalling a couple of Vermont meat producers. “They keep up for about two months, then they can’t keep up with the vol-ume. There’s only one supplier in Vermont who can keep up, but they sell to Whole Foods, too, and our customers won’t pay that price.”

Meat prices are up anyway, for reasons far outside Bashara’s control; like many restau-rant owners who’ve been in the business a

while, he’s watching with a concerned but sanguine eye. “Meat prices are the high-est now that they’ve been in 30 years,” he says, due to elevated grain prices caused

by corn being used for ethanol, by drought, and by big superstores getting into meat sales. “There’s not much I can do about it. Right now we’re tightening up a little bit. We haven’t raised our prices yet; our margin’s a bit smaller. We’re waiting it out. Things go up and down.”

Bashara has been with the restaurant since its beginning 17 years ago, so he’s seen a lot of ups and downs. Overall, though, he’s happy with the way the restaurant has evolved, especially since its half-million dol-lar renovation last year.

“I’m ecstatic to walk in here every day and see this for what it is,” he says. “We wanted a place that was good for families and kids. Our goal was to give people a tremendous variety and large portions at a decent price. We’ve done that.”

Sylvia Fagin writes about local food and agriculture from her home in Montpelier. Con-tact her via her blog, Aar, Naam ~ Come, Eat, or at sylviafagin.wordpress.com, or follow her on Twitter: @sylviafagin.

J. Morgan’sBig-City Menu, Local Sources

Food

Biking Through Vermont for Climate-Change Awareness

Four bicyclists—above, from left, Anna Kruseman, Shea Riester, Lily Gutterman and Monique Gallant—are all college students or recent college graduates who

are spending seven weeks this summer pedaling across Vermont, meeting local people, volunteering on local service projects and spreading the word about the dangerous consequences of global climate change and the need to take action.

The team is part of a larger Climate Summer bicycle outreach, sponsored by the non-profit organization Better Future Project, which is sending bicycle teams to Vermont and the other five New England states.

“We didn’t know we were going to Vermont until the training,” one of the Vermont four said. “We’re lucky, because Vermont is beautiful.”

There’s nothing cushy about their seven-week trip, though. None of the bicyclists are paid. “We live on five dollars a day per person,” a team member said. “We are camping primarily in churches.” Above all, one participant says, “We’re not allowed to ride in cars or any vehicle powered by fossil fuels.”

Asked about the trip so far, Kruseman talked about a meeting in Bradford with Nancy Rae Mallery, who publishes the Green Energy Times and who uses solar heat and hot water to live completely off the grid.

Gutterman mentioned meeting Todd Tyson, who runs a “grease car” collective in Tunbridge. She also talked with a high-school student who is working on the farm at Two Rivers Center in Montpelier and also helping to restore a barn.

The Vermont Climate Summer participants are pitching in on local service projects that include trail maintenance, weeding a school garden, installing a bike rack at the public library in Bradford and weatherizing windows at Trinity Church in Montpe-lier.

The Vermont team’s generosity has not gone unnoticed. In fact, that generosity is being reciprocated; team members ticked off a list of small and large things that they have received already: two dozen eggs, a box of strawberries, three heads of lettuce.

“We got taken out to lunch by the pastor of Journey Church in South Royalton,” one team member said. “We got a lot of fruit from the woman at the thrift shop in Bradford.” Then there was free maintenance on a bike. “I got a free doctor’s visit,” said Gallant. And the Hunger Mountain Coop and Montpelier Shaw’s contributed food gift cards.

During their seven weeks in the Green Mountain State, the team is visiting seven communities. They’ve already completed week-long stops in South Royalton and Bradford, and they are just ending a stay in Montpelier, where they’re camping out at Trinity Church on Main Street. Future stops include Vergennes, Burlington, Rutland and Brattleboro.

—photo and story by Nat Frothingham

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PAGE 10 • JULY 19 – AUGUST 1, 2012 THE BR IDGE

Hands-On Gardenerby Miriam Hansen

Long hot sunny days with hardly a drop of rain are especially brutal if you don’t have a good watering system.

We’ve been watering almost every day, mov-ing sprinklers and dragging hoses around the garden and greenhouses. Easy-to-use brass quick-release connectors (Tractor Supply) for the sprinkler and gun attachments make life easier, as does a shut-off valve at the end of each hose. We anchor the sprinkler on top of a 5-gallon bucket using a good-size rock. This gets the water up high enough to sprinkle all the beds regardless of crop height and prevents a wall of water from buffeting and damaging leaves.

We’ve been picking snap, English and snow peas since the end of June. Harvest-ing peas is a stealth affair, a study in light and shadow. They hide, plain and simple. I always go both ways up and down each row. It is a lovely, shady place to be on these blistering days, surrounded by the Shirley and lettuce poppies that follow our peas like volunteer companions. I always leave enough poppy seedlings to shade the peas’ roots and attract pollinators to the pea patch.

I was recently told how to use poppies in flower arrangements. Cut the poppies just before the bloom is fully open, then dip the cut stem into boiling water or sear it with a match for 10 seconds or so. Even though the flower can’t take up any water, this seals the stem so it retains the water the stem contains. Fragile Shirley poppies will hold their petals three to five days. I can’t wait to try this with oriental poppies next spring.

I’ve been freezing broccoli for about 10 days and have been pleased with Blue Wind (Johnny’s) and Green King (Fedco). Both have produced large, tight heads and abun-dant, huge side shoots. I’ve got more Blue Wind, Diplomat and Fiesta seedlings started under lights in the basement to keep them cool. They should be ready to go out by the end of the month.

I’ve been removing tomato suckers (shoots that grow between the main stem of toma-toes and the growing tip) to keep the plants to two stems (leaders). In my zeal I suckered a row of paste tomatoes that I received as a gift, only to discover that they are determi-nate tomatoes that should not be suckered. No matter, like weeds, I’m sure new suckers will grow, and the plants will bush out.

Like many of you, we had a pretty massive cucumber-beetle infestation on squash and cucumber plants. We used pyrethrin, a wide-spectrum botanical insecticide, to knock the population back and have been hand picking since then. Now that the winter squash are flowering and zucchini and cucumbers are in relentless production, we’re not concerned when we see the odd cucumber beetle. It is useful to know that there are a number of

nematode species (microscopic worms that live in the soil) that parasitize pest insects in their larval form, and one of them is effec-tive on cucumber-beetle larvae. Very useful to commercial growers; I haven’t yet had enough of an infestation to warrant the ex-pense, but I’m glad to know they’re available if we need them.

The milky spore disease we applied two years ago has really decimated the Japanese beetle population. Last year at this time we were on constant patrol picking the beetles off into a container of soapy water. They were ubiquitous on roses, beans and raspber-ries. This year we squish them when we see them, but they’re not that numerous.

A friend was lamenting the bitter taste of the lettuce she grew. I wasn’t surprised, given the hot, dry weather we’re having. Lettuce likes cool, wet weather. Where do we find re-lief on a hot day? We find it in the shade. All my lettuce is growing in the shade of some other plant. We’ve been enjoying bumper crops of sweet, delicious lettuce since March. I’m on my fifth or sixth planting. I’d like to take credit for a brilliant strategy, but the truth is, these planting decisions were mostly born of my manic frugality.

I can’t stand to waste an inch of space. On the negative side, this mania can result in my crowding plants. On the positive, it leads me to pop quick-growing plants like lettuce into every available crevice. And most of these crevices provide shade. In the lee of peas, broccoli, peppers, shallots and brussels sprouts, I’m growing lettuce. When I pull out bolting spinach, tatsoi or a sprawling napa cabbage, I pop in four or five let-tuce seedlings. Lettuce is always heading up somewhere.

The raspberries and blueberries are coming in fast. We stretched netting above the blue-berries to stave off the birds and are happy to see that our cat is holding the chipmunks at bay. If you’re having a problem with mammals, we bought some Bonide Shotgun Repells-All that is guaranteed to work or your money back. The list of ingredients includes putrescent egg solids, but it mostly just smells like garlic. They claim it works by irritating the offending mammal’s nasal pas-sages. They are not harmed; they simply go away. We used it to get rid of a wood rat and her family that had taken up residence in our compost piles. We’re going to try spraying it on a hosta that the deer can’t seem to resist. If it works on deer, I’m sold. Happy gardening and happy harvesting!

Miriam and her husband, David, live in East Montpelier, where they produce most of their own vegetables, berries and meat on less than 1/4 of an acre. Your questions and com-ments are welcome. You can reach Miriam at freshair460@gmail.com.

Heat and Shade

Tell them you saw it in The Bridge!

THE BR IDGE JULY 19 – AUGUST 1, 2012 • PAGE 11

Upcoming EventsFRIDAY, JULY 20Keepers of the Night with Michael Caduto. The popular author and storyteller performs nocturnal legends, stories, songs and chants that transport listeners to dark places. For all ages. 2 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard children’s library, Montpelier. Free. 223-4665.No Strings Marionettes presents Jack and the Beanstalk. Family-friendly traditional puppet theater. 7–9 p.m. Old Town Hall, Brookfield. Free. nostringsvt.com.Ron West Tribute Concert. Honor the memory of one of Vermont’s finest fiddlers. Guest performers include Matt Bean, Adam Boyce, Janice and David Carr, Lee Deyette, Franklin Heyburn, Sarah Hotchkiss, Sandy Kerin-Weaver, Ed Lemery, John Mowad, Roger Perrault, Mark Sustic, the Sap Run Fiddlers and more. Dancing and refreshments. 8 p.m. Canadian Club, Route 14, Barre. $8–$10 suggested donation; no one turned away. 877-343-3531 or vtfiddleorchestra.org. Hosted by the Vermont Fiddle Orchestra and the Northeast Fiddlers Association. Extempo: Live Original Storytelling. Tell a 5-to-71 ⁄2-minute, first-person, true story from your own life! Sign up in advance, and come with your story already practiced to deliver it smoothly without the use of notes. No theme. 8 p.m. The Blue Barn, 117 West County Road, Maple Corner (Calais). Free to partici-pants; $5 otherwise. 223-0184 or extempovt.com.

SATURDAY, JULY 21ReUse Fair and Tag Sale. Artists and craftspeople display recycled and repurposed wares, plus live music, a “tasteful” tag sale, kids’ activities, a bike safety check, food and information on recycling, reusing and saving energy. 10 a.m.–3 p.m. Vermont College of Fine Arts green. plantinghope@gmail.com. Presented by Planting Hope and ReSOURCE.Reading: Poet Gary Moore. Woodbury resident Moore will share his work, having recently returned to lyric poetry after many years of writing verse drama and other plays. Open reading and light refreshments follow. 11 a.m. Cutler Memorial Library, Route 2, Plainfield. Free.Low-Cost Rabies Vaccine Clinic. Protect your pets and your community: vaccinate! Dogs must be on leashes and cats in carriers. Bring most recent vaccination certificate if applicable. 2–3:30 p.m. Central Vermont Humane Society. $10 rabies vaccine, $10 distemper vaccine, $25 microchips. cvhumane.com.Shape-Note Sing. Ian Smiley leads tunes from The Sacred Harp. All welcome; no experience necessary. 6:30–8 p.m. Tulsi Tea Room, 34 Elm Street, Montpelier. By donation. Ian, 229-4008 or vtshapenotesingers@gmail.com. Event happens every first and third Saturday.Contra Dance. All dances taught; no partner necessary. All ages welcome. Bring shoes not worn outdoors. 8–11 p.m. Capital City Grange, 6612 Route 12 (Northfield Street), Berlin. $8. 744-6163 or capitalcitygrange.org. Event happens every first, third and fifth Saturday.

SUNDAY, JULY 22Hike with the Montpelier Section of the Green Mountain Club. Moderate hike to the top of Butterfield Mountain in Orange. Eight miles total: 5 miles on logging roads and 3 miles of bushwhacking. Meet at 10 a.m. at Montpelier High School. Leader: Thomas Weiss, 223-5603.Trials Field Walk at High Mowing Seeds. For profes-sional growers and home gardeners. Get a guided tour of some of the more than 800 vegetable, herb and flower varieties being grown, compared and evaluated in the four-acre High Mowing tri-als garden. 3:30–5 p.m. High Mowing Seeds, Marsh Road, Wolcott. Free. highmowingseeds.com.

Rural Vermont Raw-Milk Ice-Cream Social. Bring the family and and join raw-milk enthusiasts for an evening of homemade ice cream, music, guest speakers and a celebration commemorating Rural Vermont’s 50th dairy class. Above, hang-ing out at a previous year’s social. 6:30–8:30 p.m. Flack Family Farm, 3971 Pumpkin Village Road, Fairfield. Free. Rain or shine. 223-7222 or ruralvermont.org.Goddard Award Ceremony for Peter Schumann. The college bestows the second annual Presidential Award for Activism to Bread and Puppet founder Peter Schumann. Bread and Puppet was the theater in residence at Goddard from 1970 to 1974. Part of the Master’s in Interdisciplinary Arts commence-ment. 7 p.m. Goddard College, 123 Pitkin Road, Plainfield. goddard.edu.

MONDAY, JULY 23Manicure Clinic. Manicures and simple hand massages by Aysha Tuthill, a cosmetology student doing a service project for seniors under the supervision of Community Connections. Bring your own polish if desired; a limited selection will also be avail-able. 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 58 Barre Street. $10 suggested donation. Reserve your 45-minute appointment at 223-2518.Advanced Medicare Workshop. Free, in-depth workshop for those seeking further explanation on advantage plans, supple-ment insurances and other Medicare issues. 3–4:30 p.m. Central Vermont Council on Aging, suite 200, 59 North Main Street, Barre. Free. Register at 479-0531. Event happens every fourth Monday.Renewable Energy Workshop. With Colin Sorenson from Local Energy. Discuss your renewable energy options and

learn about state and federal incentives and local initiatives that promote renewable energy. 6–7 p.m. Hunger Mountain Coop com-munity room, Montpelier. Free. Register at 223-8004, ext. 202, or info@hungermountain.com.Sexual Health for Herbalists and Other Health-Care Providers. With Dana Woodruff, community herbalist and educator. Create safe, fun and inclusive space to explore sexuality, gender, safer sex, consent and communication. 6–8 p.m. Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism, 250 Main Street, Mont-pelier. $10 VCIH members, $12 nonmembers; Onion River Exchange hours accepted. Register at 224-7100 or vtherbcenter.org.Adult Book Group. Copies of the book available at the library. New members welcome. 7–8 p.m. Jaquith Public Library, Old Schoolhouse Common, Marshfield. 426-3581 or jaquithpubliclibrary@gmail.com. Event happens every fourth Monday.Lecture with Sana Musasama. New York City clay artist Musasama discusses how her experiences in Cambodia among young girls rescued from the slave trade have affected her work and art. 8 p.m. Phantom Theater, 970 Dump Road, Warren. By donation. phantom theater.info.

TUESDAY, JULY 24Druid Festival. Explore magic, healing, ceremony and the spirit of nature. Workshops, food, sacred land, compassionate community and the annual Lughnasadh Harvest Festival! Fam-ily-friendly event. Come for five days, the weekend, or just for the ceremony Saturday night. Event continues through Sunday. Dreamland, Worcester. $30/day adults, free for children; optional meal plan. Register with Fearn, fearnessence@gmail.com.Open House and Ribbon Cutting at 58 Barre Street. Celebrate the completion of this innovative project with the Capital City Housing Foundation, the Montpelier Senior Ac-tivity Center and the City of Montpelier. 2–3 p.m. 58 Barre Street, Montpelier. 223-2518.Medicare and You. New to Medicare? Have questions? We have answers. 3–4:30 p.m. Central Vermont Council on Aging, suite 200, 59 North Main Street, Barre. Free. Register at 479-0531. Event happens every second and fourth Tuesday.Wild Edibles Slide Show. With George Lisi, naturalist, and Annie McCleary, director of Wisdom of the Herbs School. View images of local wild edibles of wetlands, rich woods, open fields, thickets and garden edges, and learn sustainable harvesting principles, how to put wild edibles by for winter and ways to offer gratitude to the plants. 5:30–7 p.m. Hunger Mountain Coop com-munity room, Montpelier. $2 co-op member/owners, $3 nonmembers. Register at 223-8004, ext. 202, or info@hungermountain.com.Healing Summer Meal. With Lisa Masé of Harmonized Cookery. Followed by a live concert broadcast with Hanumen and Kirtan Soul Revival, performing world music, mystic poetry and mantra chanting. Benefits the Call and Response Foundation. 6 p.m. WGDR Radio, Plainfield. For tickets, visit brownpapertickets .com/event/254847. Vermont’s Declining Bumblebees. Educator Larry Clarfeld has been surveying Vermont bumblebees with the Ver-mont Center for Ecostudies. Learn about the project, why bumble-bees are important and what is being done to help save them. 6:30 p.m. North Branch Nature Center, 713 Elm Street, Montpelier. By donation. 229-6206.Dream Big with the Swing Peepers. Matthew Witten and John Hadden perform interactive songs and stories to take families on a fun and participatory journery through the world of nature and universal human experience. Sing, move, laugh, dance and join the Swing Peeper energy. 6:30 p.m. Cabot Public Library. 426-3581 or jaquithpubliclibrary@gmail.com. Cosponsored with the Jaquith Public Library.Summer Music from Greensboro: Russ Barenberg Quartet. Acoustic guitarist, composer and Grammy nominee Russ Barenberg, fiddler Brittany Haas, bassist Todd Phillips and guitarist Todd Lombardo perform original music inspired by blue-grass, jazz, and American and Celtic fiddle and dance traditions. 8 p.m. Church of Christ, Wilson Street, Greensboro. $20 adults, free for youth under 18. 533-2301 or summermusicfromgreensboro.net. Event happens every Tuesday through August 14.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 25Traveling Summer Story Time. Kellogg-Hubbard Library’s story time comes to Maple Corner. 10:30 a.m. Maple Corner Community Center. 223-4665.Another Way Summer Concert. An all-ages, free con-cert, with a wide range of musical styles represented. Refreshments provided. 2–4 p.m. Unitarian Church, 130 Main Street, Montpe-lier. Free. Will, 595-2987.Authors at the Aldrich: Paul Heller. The Barre histo-rian talks about his book Granite City Tales. 6 p.m. Aldrich Public Library, Barre. aldrich.lib.vt.us. Event happens every Wednesday through August 22.Middlesex Summer Concerts: Jenni Johnson. John-son, a self-described music stylist and entertainer, glides seamlessly from Cajun to blues, soft jazz to rock and roll.6:30 p.m. Martha Pellerin-Andy Shapiro Memorial Bandstand (next to Rumney School), 433 Shady Rill Road, Middlesex. Free. 229-0881. Event happens every Wednesday through August 15.

TheaterSLEEPING BEAUTYThis version offers surprises and new characters and plot lines. Performed by students of Rutland High School’s cocur-ricular theater program, Summer Encore Theater. For kids age 4–11. Friday, July 20, 10 a.m. Waterbury Congregational Church. Free. 244-7036 or waterburypubliclibrary.com.

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAMPresented by the Shakespeare in the Hills Summer Camp Players, who have been studying the play for the past two weeks.Friday, July 20, 7 p.m., and Saturday, July 21, 2 p.m. Outdoor tent, Goddard College, 123 Pitkin Road, Plainfield. $8 adults, $5 children. 454-9334 or shakespeareinthehills.com.

MOST LIKELY TO . . .Part of the Vermont Playwrights Circle’s new play-reading series. In this tale by Peter C. Murray, an FBI agent gets more than he bargained for when he goes un-dercover at his 20th high-school reunion.Tuesday, July 24, 7 p.m. Lost Nation Theater, 39 Main Street, Montpelier. By donation. Kim, 229-0112, or vermontplaywrightscircle.org.

AT UNADILLA THEATRELocal actors perform Gilbert and Sullivan’s Yeomen of the Guard and Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Part I.Yeoman through July 28; Henry IV through August 4. Thursday–Saturday, 7:30 p.m.; additional Yeoman shows July 22, 24 and 25. 501 Blachly Road, East Calais. $20 adults, $10 children 12 and under. Tickets at 456-8968. unadilla.org.

GOD OF CARNAGECutting, poignant parenting comedy.Through July 29. Thursdays and Sundays, 7 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m.; 2 p.m. matinee Sunday, July 29. Lost Nation Theater, 39 Main Street, Montpelier. $25 Thursday, $30 Friday–Sunday, $10 age 6–11, $5 discount for students and seniors. Tickets at 229-0492 or lostnationtheater .org.

AT QUARRYWORKS THEATERSmokey Joe’s Café, a musical; and The Ugly Duckling, a children’s show.Smokey Joe’s through July 22, Thurs-day–Sunday, 7:30 p.m.; 2 p.m. matinees Saturday and Sunday; Duckling July 28–August 5, Saturday 2 and 5 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m. Quarry Road, Adamant. Free, but space is limited: reservations at 229-6978. adamant.org.

SUMMER PRIDE AT CHANDLERDramatic readings of the plays Still Fighting It, The Homosexuals and The

Children’s Hour, followed by discussion between the audience and cast and a re-ception. Above, scene from The Children’s Hour.Through July 22. Friday–Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Chandler Music Hall, 71–73 Main Street, Randolph. Advance: $17 adults, $12 students; day of: $20 adults, $15 students; three-play pass: $34 adults, $24 students. Schedule and tickets at 728-6464 or chandler-arts.org.

see UPCOMING EVENTS, page 12

PAGE 12 • JULY 19 – AUGUST 1, 2012 THE BR IDGE

Summer Concerts in Barre: Dave Keller Band. 7–8 p.m. Currier Park; rain location Universalist Church, 19 Church Street. Free. thebarrepartnership.com. Event happens every Wednesday through August 22.Story Tour: Fun, Fantastical Tales from Around the World. Annie Hawkins’s stories captivate and delight all ages. 7–8:30 p.m. Old Town Hall, Brookfield. Free.Ecstatic Dance. Freestyle boogie with DJ using Gabrielle Roth’s mediative dance form, 5Rhythms. 7–9 p.m. Plainfield Community Center. $5–$10 donation. Fearn, 505-8011 or fearnessence@gmail.com. Event happens every fourth Wednesday, and first and third Wednesdays at the Worcester Town Hall.

THURSDAY, JULY 26Brown Bag Concert Series: Green Mountain Swing. Big-band music. Noon. Christ Church courtyard, State Street, Montpelier. By donation to the courtyard fund. montpelier alive.org/brownbag.Event happens every Thursday through August 30.Free Community Dance Party. Celebrate the 22nd anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act with live music by the Inaccessibles, Vermont Center for Independent Living’s house band, plus giveaways and deals from local merchants. 5–7 p.m. Behind the Vermont Center for Indepen-dent Living, 11 East State Street, Montpelier. Mark, 229-0501 or mkaufman@vcil.org. vcil.org.Opening of New Galleries at the Vermont Histo-ry Center. Check out The Emergence of the Granite City: Barre, 1880–1940 in the Barre Heritage Gallery and Icons, Oddities & Wonders in the Special Collections Gallery. Refreshments served, accompanied by Scottish, Italian and French music. 5–7 p.m. Ver-mont History Center, 60 Washington Street, Barre. Jackie, 479-8514.Ukulele Group. All ages and abilities welcome. 6–8 p.m. Montpelier Senior Activity Center, 46 Barre Street, Montpelier. 223-2518. Event happens every second and fourth Thursday.Herbal First Aid Salves for (Im)migrant Justice. With Dana Woodruff. Explore (im)migration, both past and present, then create an herbal first-aid salve to take home and to send to No More Deaths/No Más Muertes, a humanitarian aid organization providing food, water and first aid to those crossing from Mexico into Arizona. 6 p.m. Plainfield Community Center. $5–$50 suggested donation; Onion River Exchange or REACH hours accepted. Dana, dandelion778@yahoo.com.Free Concerts in Waterbury. Country music. 6 p.m. Rusty Parker Memorial Park, Waterbury. Sponsored by the Rotary Club. Event happens every Thursday through August 16.Free Summer Concert Series in Marshfield: Dana and Susan Robinson. Two guitar-playing, banjo-frail-ing, fiddle-sawing, harmony-singing troubadours interpret the American experience. Food available for purchase. 6:30 p.m. Old Schoolhouse Common gazebo, 122 School Street, Marshfield. Free. 426-3581 or jaquithpubliclibrary@gmail.com. Event happens every Thursday through August 9.Ecumenical Group. Songs of praise, Bible teaching, fellowship. 7–9 p.m. Jabbok Center for Christian Living, 8 Daniel Drive, Barre. Free. 476-3873. Event happens every second and fourth Thursday.

Green Mountain Dog Club Monthly Meeting. Learn about the club and events. All dog lovers welcome. 7:30 p.m. Commodore’s Inn, Stowe. 479-9843 or greenmountaindogclub.org. Event happens every fourth Thursday.

Nature at Night: Mesmerizing Moths. Moths come in an amazing diversity of colors and patterns. Check bait stations to look for colorful underwing moths and see what nocturnal beau-ties show up in UV light. Above, a ghost moth. For all ages. 8–10 p.m. North Branch Nature Center, 713 Elm Street, Montpelier. $5 nature center members, $10 nonmembers, $3 children. 229-6206.

FRIDAY, JULY 27Whooo’s Out at Night. Sandal Cate from the North Branch Nature Center presents a fun, activity-based program on owls and other nocturnal animals. For kids age 3–6. 10 a.m. Waterbury Congregational Church. Free. 244-7036 or waterburypubliclibrary.com.Learn About Bats with Jerry Schneider. Get in-troduced to local and tropical bats via slides and taped bat calls. Understand the vital role of bats and learn about bats in attics, building bat houses, vampire bats, migration and hibernation. 10:30 a.m. Jaquith Public Library, 122 School Street, Marshfield. 426-3581 or jaquithpubliclibrary@gmail.com. Cosponsored with the Cabot Public Library.Who Do You Think You Are? Straight Talk for Teens Workshop. Local author and speaker Keith Leon shares his personal experiences of growing up in the streets of Los Angeles, then opens the floor to the teens to ask questions or speak openly about any topic. Refreshments provided. 1–4 p.m. Big Picture Café & Theater, 48 Carroll Road, Waitsfield. Free. 595-3700 or keith@bakeyourbook.com.Fairy Door Workshop. Invite magical beings into your home, yard or any place you choose by decorating a fairy door. For all ages. 2 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard children’s library, Montpelier. Free, but supplies are limited: preregistration required. 223-4665.Cooking ‘Fun’damentals: The Whole Chicken. With Jeff Egan, Hunger Mountain Coop’s kitchen manager. Breaking down a whole chicken is a fun and easy way to stretch your dinner dollars. Egan demonstrates and demystifies this fundamental culinary skill. 5–6 p.m. Hunger Mountain Coop com-munity room, Montpelier. Free. Register at 223-8004, ext. 202, or info@hungermountain.com.

Lecture on Visual Art: Pictures at an Exhibition. Canadian artist Luis Jacob discusses a recent survey exhibition of his work. 7 p.m. Noble Lounge, Vermont College of Fine Arts, Montpelier. vcfa.edu.Square Dancing with Jennifer Steckler and Her Majesty’s Streak-o-Lean. Dare to be square at this dance that welcomes both beginners and experienced folks. 8 p.m. Old Town Hall, Brookfield. $5 suggested donation.Young Choreographers. Three nights of new talent! Young area stars rock the barn with original dances from modern to hip-hop. 8 p.m. Phantom Theater, 970 Dump Road, Warren. $15. phantom theater.info. Continues Saturday, July 28, and Sunday, July 29.

SATURDAY, JULY 28Hike with the Montpelier Section of the Green Mountain Club. Difficult trek in the southern presidentials of the White Mountains, summiting Monroe, Franklin, Eisenhower and Pierce. Car spotting required. Contact leader Paul DeLuca, 476-7987 or pdeluca420@msn.com, for meeting time and place.Onion River Century Ride. Pedal 111, 68 or 35 miles to benefit the Kellogg-Hubbard Library, followed by a barbecue and celebration. Voted best century ride in Vermont by Vermont Sports readers. 8:30 a.m. $50 before July 20, $65 after; or raise pledges and receive Darn Tough socks or a ride jersey. Register at 223-3338, tinyurl.com/onionrivercentury or at the library.Open House with Lefty Kreh. The fly-fishing legend and educator answers questions and signs books. Special events throughout the day. 9 a.m.–5 p.m. The Fly Rod Shop, 2703 Water-bury Road, Stowe. 253-7346 or flyrodshop.com.Finding Fabulous Ferns. Join us for a close look at com-mon ferns found along the pathways of our fields and forests. No prior knowledge required, just your curiosity. Hand lenses available. Easy walking. 10 a.m.–noon. North Branch Nature Center, 713 Elm Street, Montpelier. $10 nature center members, $15 nonmembers. 229-6206.Drawing Herbs: A Botanical Exploration. With Jesse LoVasco, family herbalist. Pay close attention to leaf patterns, flowers, stems and details of herbs in the garden and in the wild. Open to all levels. Bring pencils, eraser, paper and a magnifying glass; dress for the weather. 10 a.m.–noon. Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism, 250 Main Street, Montpelier. $10 VCIH members, $12 nonmembers. Register at 224-7100 or vtherbcenter.org.Rally to Support Medicare/Medicaid. Representatives from Vermont’s congressional delegation and the Green Mountain Care board bring rally-goers up to date on the current threats to these critical programs. 11 a.m.–noon. State House steps, Montpe-lier. John, 229-4734, or Jane, 229-0850.Stand-Up Paddleboard Demo Day. Try the fastest growing paddle sport: it’s fun, easy, great exercise and gives you a whole new perspective on the water. All boards and equipment provided. 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Wrightsville Beach Recreation Area. Free. Weather permitting: contact Clearwater Sports to confirm at 496-2708 or clearwatersport@madriver.com.Workshop: Making Books Come Alive. Norwich University professor Mich Kabay offers tips and tricks for reading out loud effectively and engagingly. People of all ages welcome to share, practice and perform. 11 a.m. Cutler Memorial Library, Route 2, Plainfield. Free.

UPCOMING EVENTS, from page 11

Support GroupsBEREAVEMENTBereavement Support Group. For anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one. Every other Monday, 6–8 p.m., through August 20. Every other Wednesday, 10–11:30 a.m., through August 15. Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice, 600 Granger Road, Barre. Ginny, 223-1878.Bereaved Parents Support Group. Facilitated by Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice (CVHHH). Second Wednesdays, 6–8 p.m. CVHHH, 600 Granger Road, Berlin. Jeneane Lunn, 793-2376.Survivors of Suicide. Facilitated by Cory Gould. Third Thursdays, 5–6:30 p.m. Board room, Central Vermont Medical Center, Fisher Road, Berlin. Karen, 229-0591.

CANCERKindred Connections. For anyone affected by cancer. Get help from Kindred Connections members who have been in your shoes. A program of the Vermont Cancer Sur-vivor Network. Call Sherry, 479-3223, for more information. vcsn.net.Living with Advanced or Metastatic Cancer. Second Tuesdays, noon to 1 p.m. Cancer Center resource room, Central Vermont Medical Center. Lunch provided. 225-5449

Writing to Enrich Your Life. For anyone affected by cancer. Third Tuesdays, noon to 1 p.m. Cancer Center resource room, Central Vermont Medical Center. 225-5449.Cancer Support Group. Third Wednes-days, 6 p.m. Potluck. For location, call Carole MacIntyre, 229-5931.Man-To-Man Prostate Cancer Sup-port Group. Third Wednesdays, 6–8 p.m. Conference room 2, Central Vermont Medical Center. 872-6308 or 866-466-0626 (press 3).

DISASTERHurricane Irene Support Group for Recovery Workers. Get peer support and help processing emotions, strengthen relationships and learn coping skills. Every other Monday, 3:30 p.m. (next meetings July 23 and August 6). Unitarian Church, 130 Main Street, Montpelier. 279-4670.Hurricane Irene Support Group. Share your story, listen to others, learn coping skills, build community and support your neighbors. Refreshments provided. Wednesdays, 5:30 p.m. August 1 (continues August 15 and September 12 and 26). Berlin Elementary School. 279-8246.

KIDSGrandparents Raising Their Chil-dren’s Children. First Wednesdays, 10 a.m.–noon, Barre Presbyterian Church, Summer Street. Second Tuesdays, 6–8 p.m., Wesley Meth-odist Church, Main Street, Waterbury. Third Thursdays, 6–8 p.m., Trinity United Methodist

Church, 137 Main Street. Child care provided in Montpelier and Waterbury. Evelyn, 476-1480.

HEALTHBrain Injury Support Groups. Open to all survivors, caregivers and adult family members. Evening group facilitated by Marsha Bancroft; day group facilitated by Kathy Grange and Jane Hulstrunk. Evening group meets first Mondays, 5:30–7:30 p.m., DisAbility Rights of Vermont, 141 Main Street, Suite 7, Montpelier, 800-834-7890, ext. 106. Day group meets first and third Thursdays, 1:30–2:30 p.m., Unitarian Church, 130 Main Street, Montpelier, 244-6850.NAMI: Connection. A peer-led, recov-ery-oriented group for individuals living with mental illness. First and third Thursdays, 6–7:30 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier. 800-639-6480 or connection@namivt.org.Celiac and Food Allergy Support Group. With Lisa Masé of Harmonized Cookery. Second Wednesdays, 4:30–6 p.m. Con-ference room 3, Central Vermont Medical Center. lisamase@gmail.com.Diabetes Discussion Group. Focus on self-management. Open to anyone with dia-betes and their families. Third Thursdays, 6:30 p.m. The Health Center, Plainfield. Free. Don, 322-6600 or dgrabowski@the-health-center.org. Diabetes Support Group. First Thursdays, 7–8 p.m. Conference room 3, Central Vermont Medical Center. 371-4152.

RECOVERYTurning Point Center. Safe, supportive place for individuals and their families in or seeking recovery.• Alchoholics Anonymous, Sundays, 8:30 a.m.• Making Recovery Easier workshops, Tues-

days, 6–7:30 p.m.• Wit’s End Parent Support Group, Wednes-

days, 6 p.m.• Narcotics Anonymous, Thursdays, 6:30 p.m.Open daily, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. 489 North Main Street, Barre. 479-7373.Overeaters Anonymous. Twelve-step program for physically, emotionally and spiritually overcoming overeating. Fridays, noon–1 p.m. Bethany Church, 115 Main Street, Montpelier. 223-3079.

SOLIDARITY/IDENTITYMen’s Group. Men discuss challenges of and insights about being male. Thursdays, 6:15–8:15 p.m. 174 Elm Street, Montpelier. Interview required: contact Neil Davis, psycholo-gist-master, 223-3753.National Federation of the Blind, Montpelier Chapter. First Saturdays. Lane Shops community room, 1 Mechanic Street, Montpelier. 229-0093.Families of Color. Open to all. Play, eat and discuss issues of adoption, race and multi-culturalism. Bring snacks and games to share, and dress for the weather. Third Sundays, 3–5 p.m. Unitarian Church, 130 Main Street, Mont-pelier. Alyson, 439-6096 or alyson@suncatchervt .com.

THE BR IDGE JULY 19 – AUGUST 1, 2012 • PAGE 13

Connect the Dots Dance. Val Medve and Martha Kent call English and Scottish country dances to tunes by Carol Comp-ton and Joanne Garton, then, after a potluck supper, Medve calls traditional New England dance to the Homegrown Chestnuts house band. No experience needed. English/Scottish, 2:30–5:30 p.m.; traditional dance, 7:30–11 p.m. Capital City Grange, 6612 Route 12 (Northfield Street), Berlin. $10 English/Scottish, $18 tradi-tional, $15 both. 899-2378, 879-7618 or 225-8921.Worst. Song. Ever. Perform a cover version of a bad pop song. Bring your own musical instrument(s) or sing it a cappella. Sign up in advance. Audience voting and prizes for best, worst and more. Part of the Barre Heritage Festival and Homecoming Days. 7 p.m. Espresso Bueno, 136 North Main Street, Barre. Free. 479-0896 or playtrivia@gmail.com.Young Choreographers. See Friday, July 27, for description and information.

SUNDAY, JULY 29The Friends of the Tunbridge World’s Fair Annual Meeting and Duck Race. Meeting, 12:30 p.m.; duck race, 1:30 p.m. Tunbridge Fairgrounds. Tickets at the gate; benefits the handicapped shuttle program at the fair. 889-3750.Milarepa Festival Day. Featuring the Drepung Monks Tibetan Cultural Pageant, a performance of ritual chanting and dance by monks from one of Tibet’s great monastic universities. Refreshments served. Families welcome. 1–5 p.m. Milarepa Center, Barnet. Free. 633-4136 or milarepacenter.org.Circus Worx. Brent McCoy returns to Phantom to fix an hour’s worth of ordinary problems with a toolbox full of props, breathtaking circus feats and plenty of spontaneous audience in-teraction. 4 p.m. Phantom Theater, 970 Dump Road, Warren. $15. phantomtheater.info.Poetry Slam with Slam Master Geof Hewitt. For all ages and writing experience. Bring two original, 3-minute poems. 6 p.m. Aldrich Public Library, Barre. aldrichpubliclibrary.org.

Goddard College Concerts: Suzanne Vega. Since the 1980s, Vega (above) and her neo-folk style have ushered in a new female, acoustic, folk-pop singer-songwriter movement including Tracy Chapman, Shawn Colvin and the Indigo Girls. Doors open at 7 p.m. Outdoors at Goddard College, Plainfield. $25 in advance. wgdr.org. Young Choreographers. See Friday, July 27, for description and information.

MONDAY, JULY 30Growing and Wildcrafting Herbs for Your Home Apothecary. With Larken Bunce, core faculty and codirec-tor of the Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism. Spend time outdoors learning about easy-to-grow and easy-to-find medicinal plants. 5:30–8 p.m. Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism, 250 Main Street, Montpelier. $10 VCIH members, $12 nonmembers. Register at 224-7100 or vtherbcenter.org.Ray Vega Sextet. Outdoor concert featuring jazz trumpeter Ray Vega. Picnicking is welcomed and encouraged. 7 p.m. Moun-tain View Country Club, Greensboro. $10 adults, free for kids under 18. Linda, 617-818-5830.

TUESDAY, JULY 31Where’s Waldo Party. Don your stripes and thick black glasses to celebrate the Where’s Waldo program running through July in downtown Montpelier. Waldo finders are eligible for prizes. 2 p.m. Kellogg-Hubbard children’s library, Montpelier. Free. 223-4665.Summer Music from Greensboro: The Walsh-Drucker-Cooper Trio. Violinist Eugene Drucker, cellist Roberta Cooper, pianist Diane Walsh and guest flutist Karen Kevra perform chamber and solo works by J.S. Bach. See Tuesday, July 24, for time, location and more information.

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 1Lecture on Visual Art: American Indian Con-temporary Artists: Installations & Performance Works. California performance and installation artist James Luna talks about his 30-year experience giving voice to Native American cultural issues through art. 4:15 p.m. Noble Lounge, Vermont College of Fine Arts, Montpelier. vcfa.edu.Introduction to Nutrition Response Testing. Alicia Feltus, clinical nutritionist, discusses five hidden barri-ers to health. Learn how food sensitivities, immune challenges, metals, chemicals and scars may be blocking your ability to heal. 5:30–6:30 p.m. Tulsi Tea Room, 34 Elm Street, Montpelier. Free, but please register at 917-4012.Authors at the Aldrich: Sue Halpern. The Vermont science writer talks about her book Can’t Remember What I Forgot. See Wednesday, July 25, for time, location and more information.Middlesex Summer Concerts: New Nile Orches-tra. Ethiopian singer/dancer Kiflu Kidane and his band have been performing high-energy world music for more than 15 years

Live MusicBAGITOS28 Main Street, Montpelier. All shows 6–8 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 229-9212 or bagitos.com.Every SaturdayIrish/Celtic session, 2–5 p.m.Every WednesdayAcoustic blues jam with the Usual SuspectsFriday, July 20Bad Mr. Frosty presents JC & Caesar, 7 p.m.–closeSaturday, July 21Tom Wetmore (jazz), 11 a.m.–1 p.m.The Watch Poets, 7 p.m.–close.Sunday, July 22Arnie Rosen and Steve Tapper, 11 a.m.–1 p.m.Tuesday, July 24Open mic, 6:30 p.m.–9:30 p.m.Thursday, July 26Bad Mr. Frosty presents Burke & Company Friday, July 27Robert WilfongSaturday, July 28Briana WhiteSunday, July 29Andrew Donovan, 11 a.m.–1 p.m.Thursday, August 2Colin McCaffrey with special guest Lizzy Mandel

BIG PICTURE THEATER48 Carroll Road (just off Route 100), Waitsfield. Most shows by donation. 496-8994 or bigpicture theater.info.Wednesday, July 25Valley Night with Lobo Marino and Dave Watkins

Wednesday, August 1Valley Night with Folk by Association (above), 7:30 p.m.

BLACK DOOR44 Main Street, Montpelier. All shows start at 9:30 p.m. with $5 cover unless otherwise noted. 225-6479 or blackdoorvermont.com.Friday, July 20The Party Crashers (funk/soul)Saturday, July 21The Galt Line (Americana/swing)Friday, July 27The Stereofidelics (indie)Saturday, July 28Bossman (neo-reggae)

CHARLIE O’S70 Main Street, Montpelier. 223-6820.Every TuesdayKaraokeFriday, July 20Teleport (indie)Saturday, July 21The Mumbles (soul)Friday, July 27Mouthbreather, Dashboard Hibachi, Nuda Veritas

CIDER HOUSE RESTAURANTRoute 2, Waterbury. 244-8400Every SaturdayDan Boomhower (piano), 6 p.m.–close

FRESH TRACKS FARM 4373 Route 12, Berlin. 223-1151 or info@freshtracksfarm.com.Friday, July 20Karen Krojacic and Jon Rose, 6–9 p.m.Friday, July 27Miles & Murphy, 6–9 p.m.

NECI ON MAIN: THE CELLAR118 Main Street, Montpelier. All shows 6–9 p.m., no cover. 223-3188 or necidining.com.Thursday, July 26Chris Lamphere (acoustic rock/blues)

NUTTY STEPH’S CHOCOLATERIERoute 2, Middlesex. All shows 7–10 p.m. unless otherwise noted. 229-2090 or nuttystephs.com.Every ThursdayBacon Thursdays, hot music and live conversa-tion, 6 p.m.–midnight

SKINNY PANCAKE89 Main Street, Montpelier. 262-2253 or skinnypancake.com.Every SundayOld-time sessions with Katie Trautz and friends, 4–6 p.m. (intermediate to advanced players welcome to sit in)Sunday, July 22Brittany Haas and Lauren Rioux (Appalachian fiddlers)Sunday, July 29Phineas Gage (good-time acoustic joy)

Art & ExhibitsCALL TO ARTISTS: HANDCRAFTERS Vermont Hand Crafters, Vermont’s oldest and largest juried craft organization, seeks new members. Application deadline is July 27 for August 2 jury session. More information at vermonthandcrafters.com.

CALL TO ARTISTS: ART ON THE FENCE Serious adult and youth artists wanted for Stowe’s outdoor art show in August. Twenty-five juried spaces available. Contact Scott for more information, 253-1818 or scott@greenmountainfineart.com, or visit stowevibrancy.com.

ALDRICH PUBLIC LIBRARYThe Barre Paletteers’ 56th annual summer show. Milne Room, Aldrich Public Library, Barre. July 26–28. Reception Wednesday, July 25, 5:30–7:30 p.m. paletteers.us.

CITY CENTERAssemblage, collage, prints, paintings and poetry by Joan Davidson and Cora Brooks. 89 Main Street, Montpelier. Through August 4. artresourceassociation.com.

CHANDLER GALLERYRed Fields & Yellow Skies: The Art of the Landscape, group show by 12 state- and nation-ally renowned artists. 71–73 Main Street, Randolph. Through September 2. 431-0204 or outreach@chandler-arts.org.

CONTEMPORARY DANCE & FITNESS STUDIOPastels of Italy and Vermont by Jeneane Lunn. 18 Langdon Street (third floor), Montpelier. Through July 28.

THE DRAWING BOARDBarns, Waterscapes, and Florals, expressive and vivid paintings by Jayne Shoup. 22 Main Street, Montpelier. Through July. 223-2902 or drawingboardvt.com.

GIFFORD MEDICAL CENTER Photographs by Bruce Small of West Brook-field. 44 South Main Street, Randolph. Through August 1. 728-2324 or giffordmed.org.

GOVERNOR’S GALLERYCurves, Naturally!, quilted fiber art by Greens-boro artist Judy B. Dales. 109 State Street, fifth floor. Through July. Photo ID required for admission. 828-0749.

GREEN BEAN ART GALLERYJourney & End, works by Tica Netherwood. Right, Cut Glass. Capitol Grounds, 27 State Street, Montpelier. Through July 29. curator@capitolgrounds.com.

KELLOGG-HUBBARD LIBRARYOn the first floor: Wings, photography by Bry-an Pfeiffer. On the second floor: Wowie Maui, watercolors, oils and acrylics by Jeanne Evans. 135 Main Street, Montpelier. Maui through August 27; Wings through August 29. Reception for Wings August 2, 6–7:30 p.m. 223-3338.

MADSONIAN MUSEUM OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGNWalter Dorwin Teague: His Life, Work, and Influence, a wide breadth of work by the man who designed numerous Kodak cameras, the Bluebird Radio, Steuben glassware and more. 45 Bridge Street, Waitsfield. Through August. madsonian.org.

STUDIO PLACE ARTSOff the Wall, sculptural works made from a variety of media flying off the walls, ceiling and pedestals; Baled to Abstraction, paintings by Robert Chapla; and a 75-year retrospective of D’Ann Calhoun Fago’s work. 201 North Main Street, Barre. Through September 8. Reception Friday, July 20, 6–8 p.m. 479-7069 or studioplacearts.com.

SULLIVAN MUSEUMTol’ ko Po Russky, Pozhaluista (“Russian Only, Please”), chronicling the history of the Russian school at Norwich University, 1968–2000. Norwich University, Northfield. Through Janu-ary 2013. 485-2183.

TULSI TEA ROOMTextures of the Earth, photos by Christian Tubau Arjona, a Spanish artist living in Vermont. 34 Elm Stree, Montpelier. Through September 21. 223-0043

VERMONT COLLEGE OF FINE ARTSGraduate exhibitions. College Hall gallery, 36 College Street, and Alumni Hall, corner of East State and College Streets, Montpelier. July 31–August 3, 10 a.m.–7 p.m. College Hall Gal-lery & Alumni Hall. Reception July 30, 8 p.m., College Hall gallery. vcfa.edu.

see UPCOMING EVENTS, page 14

PAGE 14 • JULY 19 – AUGUST 1, 2012 THE BR IDGE

Weekly EventsACTIVISMWeekly General Assembly for Occupy Central Vermont. Saturdays, 3–5 p.m. Outside City Hall, Montpelier; rain location Kellogg-Hubbard Library. Agendas and locations at occupycentralvt.org. Heather, bettypageturner@gmail.com.

BICYCLINGOpen Shop Nights. Have questions or a bike to donate, or need help with a bike repair? Come visit the volunteer-run community bike shop. Mondays and Wednesdays, 5–7 p.m. Tuesdays, 6–8 p.m. Freeride Montpelier, 89 Barre Street, Montpelier. By donation. 552-3521 or freeridemontpelier.org.Weekly Rides at Onion River Sports.Come in proper physical condition depending on ride, bring water and a snack and dress appropri-ately for weather. Helmets required. Anyone under 15 must be accompanied by an adult; anyone under 18 must have a signed parental permission form. MondaysCyclocross Cruise, 6 p.m., 1- to 2-hour, moder-ate, casual cyclocross ride, climbing and descend-ing beautiful dirt roadsTuesdaysCycling 101 with Linda Freeman, 5:30 p.m., all levels welcomeWednesdaysMountain Bike Ride, 5 p.m. or 6 p.m., interme-diate to advanced rides on different area trails each week; for carpooling and more information, e-mail kip@onionriver.com Onion River Racing Wednesday Night World Championships, 5:30 p.m., fast ride with town line sprints and competitions for bragging rights, route announced at ride time; onionriverracing.comThursdaysOnion River Racing Thursday Night Nationals, 5:30 p.m., pace is zone 1 and 2, no-drop ride, route announced at ride time; onionriverracing.com.

BOOKSOngoing Reading Group. Improve your reading and share some good books. Books chosen by group. Thursdays, 9–10 a.m. Central Vermont Adult Basic Education, Montpelier Learn-ing Center, 100 State Street. No meetings July 26 and August 2. 223-3403.

CRAFTSBeaders Group. All levels of beading experi-ence welcome. Free instruction available. Come with a project for creativity and community. Sat-urdays, 11 a.m.–2 p.m. The Bead Hive, Plainfield. 454-1615.

FOODAdamant Co-op Friday Night Cook-outs. Great food, wonderful conversation and more ambiance than you can shake a cream-cheese chocolate brownie at. Sausages, jumbo hotdogs, marinated portabellas, salmon cakes, seasonal salads and decadent desserts. Fridays, 5:30–7 p.m., through July 27. $8–$10. Adamant Co-op, 1313 Haggett Road. Rain or shine. Call 223-5760 for this week’s menu items.

★ Plainfield Farmers’ Market. Local vegetables, fruits, meat, maple syrup, prepared foods, plants, body-care products, medicinal herbs, crafts, drums, knives, special appearances by Cutler Memorial Library and more.Fridays, 4–7 p.m. Mill Street Park, corner of Mill and Main Street, Plainfield. Through October 5. 454-8614 or info@clearyfamilyfarm.com.★ Capital City Farmers Market. On July 21: New England Culinary Institute demo and tasting. On July 28: Demo on stretching your food dollars by David Moyer of the Vermont Foodbank. Vegetables, milk, cheese, eggs, meat, maple syrup, fine crafts, prepared foods, plants and more. Live music all summer. Saturdays, 9 a.m.–1 p.m. 60 State Street (corner of State and Elm), Montpelier. Through October 27. Carolyn, 223-2958 or manager@montpelierfarmers market.com. Gospel Brunch: A Community Meal. All-you-can-eat buffet of fresh fruit, bread, salmon and local meats and cheeses. Mimosas and other drinks available for purchase from both Red Hen and Nutty Steph’s. Sundays, 10 a.m.–2 pm. Nutty Steph’s and Red Hen Baking Company, Route 2, Middlesex. $10 adult, $5 children 12 and under. nuttystephs.com.

GAMES Apollo Duplicate Bridge Club. All welcome. Partners sometimes available. Fridays, 6:45 p.m. Bethany Church, Montpelier. 485-8990 or 223-3922.

HEALTH★ Free HIV Testing. Vermont CARES offers fast oral testing. Thursdays, 2–5 p.m. 58 East State Street, suite 3 (entrance at the back), Montpelier. vtcares.org.

KIDS & TEENSThe Basement Teen Center. Cable TV, PlayStation 3, pool table, free eats and fun events for teenagers. Monday–Thursday, 3–6 p.m.; Friday, 3–11 p.m. Basement Teen Center, 39 Main Street, Montpelier. 229-9151.Story Time at the Waterbury Public Library. Mondays, age 18–36 months. Wednesdays, age 0–18 months. Fridays, age 3–6 years. 10 a.m. Waterbury Public Library. Free. 244-7036.★ Crafty Afternoons. For kids age 7–11. On July 24: duct-tape crafts. On July 31: rag coasters and bowls. Tuesdays, 1–2:30 p.m., through July. Waterbury Congregational Church. Register with the Waterbury Public Library at 244-7036. waterburypubliclibrary.com /childrensprograms.php.Library Activities for Kids• Story time, Tuesdays, 10:30–11:30 a.m.• Crafts, first Tuesdays, 3:30 p.m.• Games, second Tuesdays, 3:30 p.m.• Lego club, third Tuesdays, 3:30 p.m.• Teen Advisory Group meeting, fourth Tues-

days, 3:30 p.m.• Chess club, Wednesdays, 5:30 p.m. (call Rob-

ert, 229-1207, for information) • Young Adult Nights (games, movies, food,

crafting and more for youth age 10–17), third Fridays, 6–9 p.m.

Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier. Free. 223-4665.Events for Teens and Kids at the Aldrich Library. Free lunch every day Monday–Friday, no-obligations teen book club

on Mondays, Wednesday teen game nights, and crafts and events for kids on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Lunch, noon; crafts, 1 p.m.; teen events, 5 p.m. Lunch and crafts through August 17. Aldrich Public Library, Barre. 476-7550.Youth Group. Games, movies, snacks and music. Mondays, 7–9 p.m. Church of the Crucified One, Route 100, Moretown. 496-4516.Story Time and Playgroup. Story time: for children age 0–6. Playgroup: story, art, song, nature activities and cooperative games. Dress for the weather. Story time: Mondays, 10 a.m. Play-group: Wednesdays, 10–11:30 a.m. Jaquith Public Library, 122 School Street, Marshfield. 426-3581 or jaquithpubliclibrary@gmail.com.Summer Storytime. With Bill Palin. Stories, critters, crafts and snack.Wednesdays, 10 a.m. Ainsworth Public Library, Main Street, Wil-liamstown.. 433-5887 or ainsworthpubliclibrary.wordpress.com.Cub Capers Storytime and Songs. For children age 3–5 and their families. Tuesdays, 9:30 a.m. Children’s room, Bear Pond Books, 77 Main Street, Montpelier. 229-0774.Morning Playgroup. Storytelling inspired by seasonal plants, fruits and herbs with in-house astrologer Mary Anna Abuzahra, plus crafts, games and activities. Walk follows. All ages wel-come. Tuesdays, 10 a.m. Tulsi Tea Room, 34 Main Street, Montpelier. Free. tulsiteallc@gmail.com.Second-Language Story Time. Tales in American Sign Language, plus monthly special events with native speakers. Tuesdays, 3 p.m. Cutler Memorial Library, Route 2, Plainfield. Free. 454-8504 or cutlerlibrary.org.Story Time at Onion River Kids. Outdoor adventure tales and childhood classics. Sundays, 10:30 a.m. 7 Langdon Street, Montpelier. 223-6025.

LANGUAGEEnglish Conversation Practice Group. For students learning English for the first time. Tuesdays, 4–5 p.m. Central Vermont Adult Basic Education, Montpelier Learning Cen-ter, 100 State Street. No meetings July 24 and 31. Sarah, 223-3403.Lunch in a Foreign Language. Bring lunch and practice your language skills with neighbors. Noon–1 p.m. Mondays, Hebrew. Tuesdays, Italian. Wednesdays, Spanish. Thurs-days, French. Fridays, German. Kellogg-Hubbard Library, Montpelier. 223-3338.

MUSICSing With the Barre Tones. Women’s a cappella chorus. Mondays, 6:30 p.m. Alumni Hall (second floor), near Barre Auditorium. 223-2039 or rjmorgan1956@comcast.net.Waterbury Community Band Con-certs in the Park. A varied program of marches and other concert band selections. Good neighbor benefit concert, at Waterbury Congregational Church on August 16, 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays, 7 p.m. Concerts alternate between Rusty Parker Memorial Park in Waterbury (July 24) and Waterbury Center Park (July 31). Free. Through July. Bill, 223-2137 or info@waterburycommunityband.org. ★ Summer Song Circle. Soulful mountain rhythms for singers of all ages and ability levels, led by Carly Joynt. Bring drums, songs or just your voice. Wednesdays, 6:30–8 p.m., through August 15. Yoga Mountain Center, Montpelier. By donation. Carly, carly.joy.nt@gmail.com.

Capital Band Concert. Bring a lawn chair or blanket and enjoy live music with your neigh-bors. Want to play along? Bring your instrument, music stand and a chair. Wednesdays, 7 p.m. State House lawn near the Pavilion Building. Free. Through August 15.Norwich University’s Summer Caril-lon Concert Series. Bring a picnic and a lawn chair for free outdoor concerts on Norwich’s 47-bell Charlotte Nichols Greene Memorial Car-illon. Rain or shine. Demo and tour of bell tower follows. Saturdays, 1 p.m., through August 4. Free. Diana, 485-2318 or dweggler@norwich.edu.

SPIRITUALITYChristian Science. God’s love meeting hu-man needs. Reading room: Tuesday–Saturday, 11 a.m.–1 p.m.; Tuesdays, 5–8 p.m.; and Wednesdays, 5–7:15 p.m. Testimony meeting: Wednesdays, 7:30–8:30 p.m., nursery available. Worship service: Sundays, 10:30–11:30 a.m., Sunday school and nursery available. 145 State Street, Montpelier. 223-2477.Deepening Our Jewish Roots. Fun, engaging text study and discussion on Jewish spirituality. Sundays, 4:45–6:15 p.m. Yearning for Learning Center, Montpelier. Rabbi Tobie Weis-man, 223-0583 or info@yearning4learning.org.Christian Meditation Group. People of all faiths welcome. Mondays, noon–1 p.m. Christ Church, Montpelier. Regis, 223-6043.Shambhala Buddhist Meditation. Instruction available. All welcome. Sundays, 10 a.m.–noon, and Wednesdays, 6–7 p.m. Program and discussion follow Wednesday meditation. Shambhala Center, 64 Main Street, Montpelier. Free. 223-5137.Zen Meditation.Wednesdays, 6:30–7:30 p.m. 174 River Street, Montpelier. Call Tom for orientation, 229-0164. With Zen Affiliate of Vermont.

SPORTSRoller Derby Open Recruitment and Recreational Practice. Central Vermont’s Wrecking Doll Society invites quad skaters age 18 and up to try out the action. No experience necessary. Equipment provided: first come, first served. Saturdays, 5–6:30 p.m. Montpelier Recre-ation Center, Barre Street. First skate free. centralvermontrollerderby.com.Coed Adult Floor Hockey. Equip-ment provided. Sundays, 3–5 p.m. Montpelier Recreation Center, Barre Street. $5. 363-1531, bmfloorhockey@gmail.com or vermontfloorhockey.com.

YOGASliding-Scale Yoga Classes. With Lydia Russell-McDade. Build strength and flexibility as you learn safe alignment in a nourishing, support-ive environment. Each class weaves in inspirations from nature and Tantric philosophy. Mondays, 5:30–6:45 p.m. Plainfield. $5–$20 suggested donation. saprema-yoga.com.Rhythmic Flow Vinyasa. With Lori Flower. Outdoors if weather permits. Tuesdays, 6–7:15 p.m. All Together Now, East Montpelier.Through the summer. $5–$15 suggested donation. 324-1737 or sattvayoga.wordpress.com.

★ indicates new or revised listing

across New England. See Wednesday, July 25, for time, location and more information.Dream Big with Owls and Their Calls. Meet two live owls from the Vermont Institute of Natural Science and learn more about these fierce predators in the night sky. 6:30 p.m. Jaquith Public Library, 122 School Street, Marshfield. 426-3581 or jaquithpubliclibrary@gmail.com. Cosponsored with the Cabot Public Library.Summer Concerts in Barre: Great Brook Blues Band. See Wednesday, July 25, for time, location and more information.Ecstatic Dance. See Wednesday, July 25, for description.Village Harmony Teen Concert. Twenty-five bold and talented teen singers, led by Larry Gordon, Mary Sherhart and Luke Hoffman, perform South African songs and dances, shape-note tunes, village music from Bosnia, Croatia and Bulgaria,

1930s and ’40s jubilee gospel quartets, and renaissance works. 7:30 p.m. Unitarian Church, 130 Main Street, Montpelier. Sug-gested donation: $10 adults, $5 students. 426-3210.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2Brown Bag Concert Series: Starline Rhythm Boys. Rockabilly. See Thursday, July 26, for time, location and more information.Nature Hikes with Onion River Kids. 3:30 p.m. Location varies: call 223-6025 for details. Event happens every first and third Thursday through August.Science of Mind Principles. Study group for inquiring minds of all faiths. 6–8 p.m. Universal Rivers of Life, 28 East State Street, Suite 4 (second floor), Montpelier. 223-3427 or robin@universalrivers.com. Event happens every first and third Thursday.

Free Concerts in Waterbury: Jenni Johnson and the Junketeers. Blues, jazz, motown and funk. See Thursday, July 26, for time, location and more information.Free Summer Concert Series in Marshfield: At-lantic Crossing. Traditional and original acoustic tunes from New England. Food available for purchase. See Thursday, July 26, for time, location and more information.Waterbury Mindfulness Series. For flood survivors and recovery workers. Learn simple stress-reduction and mindful-ness techniques, including foot reflexology, mandala making and guided meditation. Refreshments provided. 6 p.m. St. Leo’s Hall, Main Street, Waterbury. 279-4670. Continues Thursday, August 16.

UPCOMING EVENTS, from page 13

SUBMIT YOUR EVENT! E-mail calendar@montpelierbridge.com.

THE BR IDGE JULY 19 – AUGUST 1, 2012 • PAGE 15

ClassesOUTDOORSWILDERNESS RETREATS FOR ADULTS What in your life is calling you? Retreats com-ing fall 2012. For information and registration contact Fran Weinbaum, vermontwildernessrites.com, fran@vermontwildernessrites.com or 249-7377.

TAI CHITAI CHI CHUAN IN MONTPELIERBeginners’ class; Cheng Man-ching simplifi ed Yang-style. Course taught by Patrick Cavanaugh of the Long River Tai Chi Circle. Course begins Friday, September 7. 7–8 p.m. Bethany United Church, 115 Main Street, Montpelier. Patrick, 451-8395 or patrick@longrivertaichi.org.

WRITINGWRITING COACHAre you struggling with beginning, continu-ing, fi nishing? Do you need tools and rules to keep you working from concept to completion? Art really is long, and life really short. WRITE NOW is what we have. Th irty years writing and coaching writers in all genres. Free consultation. tamarcole21@gmail.com, 225-6415.

ClassifiedsREAL ESTATEOFFICE SPACE FOR RENTIn downtown Montpelier. Available August 1. Private offi ce plus shared conference room and storage. $212.50 plus $20–$25 utilities per month. Kathy, 229-5754.

RENTAL WANTEDQuiet lady, mature, seeks rental of small aff ord-able house, duplex, or ground-fl oor apartment with heat and snow removal included. Non-smoker. Garage desired. References. October occupancy. 619-420-3312 or scribelive@gmail.com.

SERVICESHOUSE PAINTERSince 1986. Small interior jobs ideal. Neat, prompt, friendly. Local references. Pitz Quat-trone, 229-4952.

TRUCK FOR HIRECall T&T Repeats, 224-1360.

THRIFT STOREST&T REPEATSBikes, name-brand clothes, small household furniture and more. At least two free parking spaces for T&T customers. 116 Main Street, Montpelier, or call 224-1360.

TRINITY COMMUNITY THRIFT STORETuesdays and Th ursdays, 10 a.m.–4 p.m.; Satur-days, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. Trinity United Methodist Church, 137 Main Street (use rear entrance), Montpelier. 229-9155 or tctsvt@yahoo.com.

JOHN M. PETERSOND.O., P.C.

Osteopathic Manipulative TreatmentIndependent Medical Examinations

4Practicing in Montpelier since 1984

Office hours by Appointment229-9418 • 72 Barre Street

Love Playing Piano

ages 4 to 104 | loveplayingpiano.org

Since 1972Repairs • New floors and walls Crane work • Decorative concrete Consulting • ICF foundations

114 Three Mile Bridge Rd., Middlesex, VT • (802) 229-0480 gendronbuilding@aol.com • gendronconcrete.com

Monday, July 23Speaker: Jessica Edgerly, Suncommon Corporation“Homeowner Alternative Energy Systems”

Monday, July 30Coordinator: Rotary President Lindel JamesClub Assembly

Monday, August 6Offi cial Visit: Rotary District Governor Sonny Holt

Monday, August 20Speaker: Mark Hudson, Vermont Historical Society“Hail to the Chief: Th e American President in Vermont”

For more information, call Rotary President Lindel James at 229-5050.

You Are Invited to Join Us for Lunchat the Montpelier Rotary Club

Rotary meets most Mondays (except holidays) at 12:15 p.m. at the Capitol Plaza Hotel, 100 State Street, Montpelier.

Tell them you saw it in The Bridge!

PAGE 16 • JULY 19 – AUGUST 1, 2012 THE BR IDGE

Community Herb Workshopsat Vermont Center for Integrative HerbalismSexual Health for Herbalists and (other) Health Care Providerswith Dana Woodruff, community herbalist/educatorMonday, July 23, 6–8pm • $12/$10 members, ORE hours accepted

Growing & Wildcrafting Herbs for Your Home Apothecarywith Larken Bunce, core faculty/co-director VCIHMonday, July 30, 5:30–8pm • $12/$10 members

Drawing Herbs: A Botanical Exploration with Jesse LoVasco, artist and herbalistSaturday, July 28, 10am–noon $12/$10 members

250 Main Street, Suite 302, Montpelier

Pre-registration required for all workshops.

Contact 224-7100 or info@vtherbcenter.org.

For workshop details and descriptions, visit

vtherbcenter.org

The Paletteers’ 56th Annual Summer Art ShowJuly 26–28, 2012Milne Room, Aldrich Public Library, Barre

Artists’ Reception on Wednesday, July 25, 5:30–7:30 p.m.The public is invited — come and meet the artists!

✒ visit us at www.paletteers.us

by Robbie Harold

If I could take only one Shakespeare play to a desert island, it would be Henry IV, Part I, which would make for better box

office these days if it were called Rebel Sons and Badass Daddies.

Henry IV is a guy play, with its bawdy comedy, dark treachery and swashbuckling sword fights. For all that and for its tense family drama, its gorgeous language and its memorable charac-ters, women will rel-ish it, too. How can you not be gripped by the tragedy of two characters you’ve fallen in love with having to fight each other to the death? (The Hunger Games, anyone?)

Unadilla Theater, always worth the scenic trek to East Calais, has added a new per-formance space, the Second Stage Theater, and this production promises to be a perfect inaugural. With its thrust stage and cockpit-style seating, the new theater will provide an intimate Shakespeare viewing experience not unlike the great Globe itself. Watch out for all those clashing broadswords.

Henry IV is a history play, but history is the least of this vast entertainment. As director Tom Blachly reminds us, this is the play that introduced Sir John Falstaff, Shakespeare’s embodiment of the life-force, that “reverend Vice . . . that villainous, abominable mis-leader of youth,” the fat, fallen knight who, with his fun-loving, hard-drinking pack of troublemakers, introduces the teenage rebel Prince of Wales to “all the good lads in East-cheap.” These lowlifes, cutpurses and worker bees, when Prince Hal is King Henry V, will follow him “once more unto the breach” to victory in the battlefields of France.

For now, Hal (played with brio and sub-tlety by Ian Young, home from drama stud-

ies at NYU’s Tisch School) is slumming in the taverns and brothels of London with Falstaff (Unadilla veteran David Klein, who brings a twinkly-eyed, manic gusto to the role) and his peeps while his father, King Henry IV (Young’s own father, Peter), ago-nizes over multiple assaults on his own ill-gotten throne.

“For Hal, it’s as if he grew up being told it would be his job to take over the family business,” Peter Young says, “only to find

out that his father is a Mafioso and he got the business by killing and robbing people.”

Hal’s rebellion, as Young sees it, comes from growing up with a distant father

who can only see him as an heir and not as a beloved child. Hal is being forced into a future kingship he never wanted, to “pay the debt I never promisèd.” Falstaff, who deeply loves Hal despite their constant exchange of insults, gives him the emotional nourish-ment his father has denied. What choice will Hal make when filial duty summons him to the battlefield?

The rebels who want to topple King Henry are a motley assortment, led by the fiery, fierce and witty Harry “Hotspur” Percy (Aaron James, who sparkled as Mercutio in Shakespeare in the Hills’ Romeo and Juliet). Hotspur will “quarrel on the ninth part of a hair” if he feels his honor’s being chal-lenged—this happens a lot—and he’s been dissed by King Henry, whom he helped to the throne. It’s payback time, and Hotspur’s allies include the wizardly Welsh prince, Owen Glendower (Vince Rossano, seen as Prospero in Unadilla’s Tempest), whom he loves to de-flate: “I can call spirits from the vasty deep,” boasts Glendower.” “And so can I, or so can any man,” Hotspur shoots back. “But will they come when you do call for them?”

There are only three women in this play, but they pack a wallop in their brief stage time. Dawn Rose Kearn is a worthy sparring-partner to Hotspur as Lady Percy—their exchanges sizzle with erotic energy—while Ellen Keene adds sparkle to the tavern scenes as Mistress Quickly, whose ladyship is of the, ahem, evening variety.

Abigail Houghton is Glendower’s daugh-ter, now Lady Mortimer, whose Welsh words and songs enchant everyone around her, especially her husband, Edmund Mortimer (Vincent Broderick), whom the rebels con-sider their rightful king. Blachly hooked Houghton up with John K. Bollard, a lead-ing scholar of medieval Welsh, to get the language and music right.

In keeping with the theatrical cliché that “there are no small parts, only small ac-tors,” there promise to be no small actors in this production. Ron Lay-Sleeper brings the ferocity (and accent) of a Glasgow soccer

hooligan to the role of the Douglas, one of Hotspur’s rebellious allies.

And I predict the show will be stolen by young Ian Keene, playing Francis, one of the barkeeps at the Boar’s Head tavern. Prince Hal and his confederate Ned Poins (Con-nor Walker) mess with his head for fun, but Keene’s Francis shines in the exchange.

Trevor Tait is keeping the stage combat thrilling and safe, while Ellie Blachly, newly returned from textile studies in Europe, is building what promise to be lavish period costumes for the show.

Henry IV, Part I, opens at Unadilla’s Sec-ond Stage Theater on Thursday, July 19, and continues on July 20, 21, 26, 27 and 28, and August 2, 3 and 4. All performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 for general admis-sion, $10 for children 12 and under. For res-ervations and information, call 456-8968 or check out the theater’s website at unadilla.org.

Bard’s Game of Thrones Kicks Off Unadilla’s New Theater

Ian Young as Hal and David Klein as Falstaff in rehearsal for Unadilla’s Henry IV, Part I. Photo by Robbie Harold.

Preview

Advertise! 223-5112

THE BR IDGE JULY 19 – AUGUST 1, 2012 • PAGE 17

by Cassandra Hemenway Brush

Take four parents, two dysfunctional couples, four extreme personalities and an explosive situation—one

couple’s child has beaten the teeth out of the other couple’s child—stick them all in a living room, and sit back to watch what hap-pens. That’s the gist of Yasmina Reza’s Tony Award–winning comedy, God of Carnage, showing at Lost Nation Theater through July 29, and it’s portrayed beautifully by the LNT cast.

In his director’s notes, Kim Bent describes what inspired Reza to write this play, which LNT describes as “The Honeymooners meet Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.”

“The spark that led to God of Carnage was struck when [Reza] learned the parents of a boy who had knocked out the teeth of her son’s friend never enquired about his condi-tion. Did they not care? Did they not know what happened? If they had expressed con-cern, what form would it have taken? How would a meeting between them have gone? . . . In God of Carnage the image of a slippery slope is invoked several times as Reza imag-ines a plausible answer to these questions, all the while charting a treacherous descent to a primal level of soul searching.”

Half the comedy in LNT’s version of this play is not in the dialogue so much as in the moments between dialogue—the expressions and physical acting that tell volumes more than the lines preceding it. Mary McNulty (Annette Raleigh) and Dan Renkin (Alan Raleigh and the fight choreogra-pher—yes, there’s a fight scene) play the uptight professional couple—he a sleazy lawyer, she in “wealth management.” Renkin plays that guy we all know—the one with the cellphone that takes precedence over anyone and anything going on around him, while McNulty skillfully

portrays the way a spouse may react to the constant interruption of a digital device dur-ing loaded family moments. It doesn’t take

much—the purse of lips, the tensing of the body, the ob-noxiously oblivious never-ending con-versations—for the audience to get right inside the marriage.

Molly Pietz Walsh (Veronica Novak) and Christopher Colt (Michael Novak) play the parents of the victimized boy. Walsh is convincing as the author of a book on Darfur, the voice of in-

tellectualism and civility—also shown in its most obnoxious light—and the mother of a kid who’s missing teeth because of the alter-cation with the Raleighs’ son. I can’t imagine Colt as anything other than the guy who sells toilet mechanisms and fondu pots, who “Yes, dear”s his wife even as he undermines her and confesses to being a “F—— ing Neanderthal” halfway through the play.

The play itself takes four more or less civil people and goes to the most extreme that each of them may reach given the circum-stances. It reminds me of a lighter version of David Mamet’s Oleanna, in the uncom-fortable tension that builds as the charac-ters progress to worse and worse versions

of themselves, saying out loud the darkest things they may have only been thinking, and ultimately get violent with each other. It plays with the notion of civility, peace and conflict, using humor as the vehicle to drive home its point that even those of us who try to teach peaceful solutions to our children are as vulnerable as anyone to descents into the most primal of human behavior.

God of Carnage will play Thursday, July 19, through Sunday, July 22, and again from Thursday, July 26, through Sunday, July 29. For details about show times and ticket prices, go to lostnationtheater.org or call 229-0492.

Viewing the CarnageParents Go Extreme in Lost Nation Theater’s Comedy

The wives (played by Molly Pietz Walsh and Mary McNulty) tussle over a bag as their husbands (played by Dan Renkin and Christopher Colt) enjoy the fight. Photo courtesy Francis Moran Photography.

Summer Music from Greensboro

Karen Kevra, Artistic Director

ALL CONCERTS:8 p.m. at the United Church of Christ on

beautiful Caspian Lake, Greensboro, Vermont

ADMISSION: subscription $85, general

$20, under 18 free

TICKETS at The Miller’s Thumb Gallery, Breezy

Avenue, Greensboro

FOR INFORMATION, go to summermusicfromgreensboro.net

JULY 24 ROSS BARENBERG QUARTET — Acoustic guitarist, composer and GRAMMY nominee Russ Barenberg is joined by three of Nashville’s fi nest—Brittany Haas on fi ddle, Todd Phillips on bass, and Todd Lombardo on guitar—for an evening of “exquisitely origi-nal” acoustic instrumental music drawn from bluegrass, jazz, and American/Celtic fi ddle and dance traditions.

JULY 31 THE WALSH-COOPER-DRUCKER TRIO —“Musical Off erings of Bach,” chamber works and solo works by J.S. Bach performed by Emerson String Quartet violinist Eugene Drucker, cellist Roberta Cooper, pianist Diane Walsh with fl utist Karen Kevra.

AUGUST 7 ELI NEWBERGER’S GERSHWIN CONSTELLATION — Eli Newberger, a founding member of the New Black Eagle Jazz Band brings six extraordinary musicians for an all Gershwin night of jazz. Eli New-berger, tuba & piano; Bob Winter, piano; Jimmy Mazzy, banjo & vocals; Randy Reinhart, cornet and trombone; Ted Casher, clarinet & sax; and Herb Gardner, trombone and vocals.

August 14 CZECH-MATE — featuring Vladimír Bukač, viola virtuoso, and member of the renowned Talich Quartet in a program of mostly Czech music. He will be joined by fl utist Karen Kevra and pianist Jeff rey Chappell in works by Dvorak, Martinu, Stamitz, and Brahms.

reensboro

joined by fl utist Karen Kevra and pianist Jeff rey Chappell

from

Review

PAGE 18 • JULY 19 – AUGUST 1, 2012 THE BR IDGE

From the Mayor

by John Hollar, mayor

The Montpelier Community Fund: A new way to fund local, nonprofit organizations.

Montpelier has a long and proud his-tory of providing generous taxpayer sup-port for nonprofit organizations. The city

charter allows organizations to seek funding through ballot initiatives, and Montpelier voters traditionally have supported most of these proposals.

In recent years, however, the process has become unwieldy. There were 29 separate funding items for nonprofit organizations on last year’s Town Meeting Day ballot. The increasing volume of requests made by ballot initiative presents a number of challenges:

• Voters do not have adequate informa-tion or time to evaluate each of these requests. Often voters are not aware of funding requests until they enter the voting booth.

• Voters do not have the opportunity or ability to weigh these proposals against other potential recipients of municipal funds.

• There is no process in place to evaluate the purposes for which the appropriated funds are intended, or if they are actu-ally spent for those purposes.

I have proposed that the city council adopt a new system for allocating municipal funds to nonprofit organizations, similar to what is currently used in Plainfield and Marshfield. Under this proposal, the city would create a separate fund, called the Montpelier Com-

munity Fund (MCF). This fund would be managed by a board of Montpelier residents who would be appointed by the city council. In the first year, 2013, the city would appro-priate to the fund the approximate amount that was placed on this year’s ballot for non-profit organizations—about $100,000. Citi-zens would be encouraged to make personal contributions to the fund.

The Kellogg-Hubbard Library, which re-ceived $293,975 from a ballot initiative last year, would continue to receive funding ei-ther through direct city appropriations or ballot initiatives.

The MCF board would solicit applications from nonprofit organizations for grants from the fund. The board would take into consid-eration any prior amounts that organizations have received through ballot initiatives, since many nonprofit entities have come to rely on annual city appropriations. The board would also consider the extent to which the grant benefits Montpelier, its residents and the public good.

The MCF board would be responsible for determining that grant funds are used for the purposes for which they were approved.

Under our city charter, nonprofit entities would continue to have the right to place funding initiatives on the ballot. To ensure

that the new MCF did not simply add a new mechanism to the existing process, I would propose that funding would be available only to those entities that choose not to petition for funding through a ballot initiative for that year. The MCF fund would also be re-duced by the amount to which ballot items are approved, to ensure that the city retains control over the total amount of funds that are appropriated.

I believe this process would be preferable to the current ballot initiative process in several ways:

• It would create a rational process by which funding requests are considered within the context of an overall budget, with funds allocated based on the needs that are intended to be addressed.

• It would allow for the subsequent review of grants to ensure that they were spent as intended.

• It would relieve voters of making fund-ing decisions on an ad hoc basis with little information.

• It would maintain the city’s commitment to funding nonprofit organizations.

I welcome your thoughts about this proposal. Please contact me at jhollar@montpelier-vt.org.

New Ideas, New People and New Accessibility

A Message from City HallThis page was paid for by the City of Montpelier.

From the City Manager

William Fraser, city manager

July marks the 22th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Americans with Disabilities Act

gives civil-rights protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age and religion. It guar-antees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in public accommodations, employment, transportation, state and local government services and telecommunica-tions. It was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H. W. Bush.

Municipal Compliance: Title II prohib-its disability discrimination by all public entities at the local (i.e., school district, municipality, city, county) and state level. Public entities must comply with Title II regulations by the U.S. Department of Jus-tice. These regulations cover access to all programs and services offered by the entity. Access includes physical access described in

the ADA Standards for Accessible Design and programmatic access that might be obstructed by discriminatory policies or procedures of the entity.

Montpelier is presently finalizing an offi-cial transition plan, which will describe the city’s schedule to become fully compliant with the ADA. In 2009, the city council appointed an ADA committee to oversee this transition plan and to provide a forum to resolve accessibility issues.

In recent years, the city has made, or is in the process of making, the following changes to improve accessibility for all: automatic doors at the accessible entrance of City Hall; improved pedestrian crossing signals at State and Main Streets, Route 2 and Route 12, and State Street and Bailey Avenue; restriped and widened white lines at Route 2 and Route 12; on-street acces-sible parking added at Main Street near School Street, three spaces added in the North Branch lot, three spaces restored in the Capitol Plaza lot, and two spaces added in the 60 State Street lot, with no-parking signs installed in all access aisles; acces-sible toilet stall and changing rooms and shower-stall chairs at the rec department pool house, as well as improved accessible route from pool house to pool; way-finding signs; two fully accessible apartments, a three-stop elevator and an accessible com-munity and laundry room at 58 Barre Street; automatic doors at Montpelier High School, and a spiral pocket park at 10 Bald-win Street.

In addition to physical improvements, city departments are implementing policy and operational changes to make city ser-vices more accessible. For example, the city increased accessible-parking fines at the rec-ommendation of the police chief to reflect the new fee structure ($200 ticket) set by state statute for illegally parking in acces-sible parking spaces; the police department has enacted two new policies related to using force and working with persons with diminished capacities to improve service provision to people with disabilities; the police department has completed an access

assessment for its programs, services and facilities. The Building Code Office no longer charges for building permits to make access improvements to properties. All new building hardware is lever-style or otherwise compliant, all new counters in businesses include an accessible-height counter.

The city’s ADA committee, in conjunc-tion with the Vermont Center for Indepen-dent Living, will be hosting an awareness day in downtown Montpelier on Saturday, July 21, to commemorate the anniversary of the bill’s passage into law.

City Hall ChangesAlthough there has been prior public-

ity about both of these individuals, City Clerk/Treasurer Charlotte Hoyt and Assis-tant City Manager Beverlee Hill both have officially retired from city government as of June 30. Both of these women have been extraordinarily dedicated and productive city employees. I thank them both for all they have done in their full-time roles over the years.

Fortunately, neither of them are going very far. Both will be separated from employment for the full month of July as required by the Vermont Municipal Employees Retire-ment System (VMERS). Each of them will return to work for the city in part-time roles based in the finance department beginning in August. The city clerk’s position was filled by election in March, but Charlotte will continue as the of-ficial city treasurer on a part-time basis. Bev has vacated the assistant city manager position but will con-tinue her work collect-ing delinquent taxes, water bills and other accounts receivable, as well as other adminis-

trative tasks. Both of these changes are part of an overall reorganization plan which was included in this year’s budget and officially implemented when the treasurer’s position changed from an elected position to an ap-pointed position this year.

We are currently advertising for a new assistant city manager, who will take over Bev’s role overseeing the senior center, eco-nomic development, community activities and specific project management, as well as adding communications work, oversight of the justice center and possibly other op-erations, more in-depth policy and analysis work, and other general management as-signments. This position will not be filled until after the city’s budget review commit-tee issues its report in September.

City Council ChangesDistrict 2 city councilor Sarah Jarvis

recently announced her resignation because she was moving out of the district. She will remain on the council through the meeting of August 22. The city charter requires that the remaining council mem-

bers appoint someone to complete her term, which expires in March. As of

this writing, the council had not yet established a formal proce-

dure for selecting a replace-ment, but it is likely that the vacancy will be advertised, and the council will receive

expressions of interest by a date certain. Details

will be announced on the city’s website once they are final.

As always, thank you for reading this article and for your

interest in Montpelier city government. Please contact me at 223-9502 or wfraser@montpelier-vt.org if you have ques-tions, comments or con-

cerns.

THE BR IDGE JULY 19 – AUGUST 1, 2012 • PAGE 19

With the first half of 2012 already behind us, we can evaluate how this year’s vol-ume of real-estate transfers compare to those at this point in time last year.

For the purpose of discussion, I’m talking about residential real-estate transfers but not including condos, multifamily properties, vacant residential lots, acreage or mobile homes on rented lots.

According to the Northern New England Real Estate Network (MLS) stats for the State of Vermont, volume of residential transfers is virtually identical thorough the first half of 2012 for Washington, Lamoille and Grand Isle Counties compared to 2011 figures. All of the other counties in the state experienced first-half increases of at least 9 percent in their number of residential transfers. And the counties of Caledonia, Essex, Orange and Orleans all experienced increases of residential transactions greater than 25 percent over 2011. Overall, Vermont’s average increase sugared off at about 15 percent.

I’m thinking that the year-over-year comparisons for the rest of the year will be out of whack because of the weather events that affected the second half of 2011.

Fixed-rate primary-residential mortgages continue to be readily available at 4 per-cent interest (30-year term) or less to qualified buyers. There are 593 active residential listings available in Washington County alone. Eighty properties are under contract, pending closing.

—Lori Pinard

REAL-ESTATE UPDATE

Pearson Living Trust Ribolini, Stephen & Patricia 171 Barre Street 4/9/2012 170,000 Multi (3)O’Brien, France RJ 47 East State St LLC 47 East State Street 4/10/2012 315,000 Multi (6)Dehner, Gerard & Ann Liggett Family Trust 15 North Park Drive 4/16/2012 282,000 SingleMcKeever, Mary C. Philbrick, Michael 89 Robinhood Circle 4/20/2012 199,000 Single Sarah Longman Payne Estate Payne, Jennifer K. 18 Valerie Avenue 4/24/2012 150,000 SingleBecker, Lesley A. Davis, Gregory R. & Brennan, Susan S. 14 Colonial Drive 4/24/2012 284,900 Single Michelsen, Constance R. Thompson, Barbara S. 35 Hebert Road, unit 2 4/30/2012 172,900 Condo

Real Estate TransactionsSELLER BUYER ADDRESS DATE PRICE TYPE

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PAGE 20 • JULY 19 – AUGUST 1, 2012 THE BR IDGE

Get your real estate listed in the paper! Contact Carl, 223-5112, ext. 11, or ccampbell@montpelierbridge.com.

Montpelier Cape2-BR Montpelier cape with hardwood flooring, fireplaced living room (woodstove insert), and sunny corner dining room. Updated kitchen. Den/family room. Large fenced lawn with perennial plantings and stone wallaccents. $259,900. Lori Pinard, Century 21 Jack, 223-6302, ext. 326.

Montpelier Farmhouse5-BR Montpelier farmhouse with a separate 3-rm ground-level apt on 15+/- mostly wooded acres. Dead-end street location with views of the Worcester Range. Detached 2-story, 2-c garage. Garden space with raspberries! Fenced dog pen. $299,500. Lori Pinard, Century 21 Jack, 223-6302, ext. 326.

Berlin PondBeautiful 3-br, 3-bath home with dramatic loft master bed-room. On quiet end of Berlin Pond neighborhood. Very moti-vated seller asking $379,500—below appraised value. Call 229-1922 for showing.

Charming Old Cape3 blocks from State House; acre of land, backs up on hundreds of acres of undevelopable for-est. 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, huge kitchen. $279,000. 279-5816.

West Berlin FarmFarm for sale in West Berlin. 9 acres with pasture and 500+ ft. river frontage. +/-2100 sq. ft. farmhouse with garage. 4 bed-room, two baths. All systems recently upgraded. 498-8411.

High-Tech, Off-GridResidence on 29 acres in East Montpelier. Long driveway gives secluded privacy, yet only 10 mi. to Montpelier. Open layout with natural woodwork. Detached 2-story barn with semi-finished second floor offers many pos-sibilities. Pond, perennial beds, fruit trees. $325,000. Lori Pinard, Century 21 Jack, 223-6302, ext. 326.

Affordable One-Level Living!Spacious and light 3BR, 2-ba Montpelier home. Central A/C! Well-equipped kitchen with extra built-in storage. Fireplace. 10’x16’ deck. Living room with cathedral ceiling. Private master bath. Oversized carport and storage shed. $124,500! Lori Pinard, Century 21 Jack, 223-6302, ext. 326.

Berlin CapeImpeccably maintained 3-BR, 2-ba cape with open floor plan, gas fireplace, ground-floor BR and bath. Fully equipped modern kitchen with pantry. Rec room plus separate den. 2-car garage. Deck with woodland views and privacy. Nicely land-scaped lot on a dead-end street. $275,000. Lori Pinard, Century 21 Jack, 223-6302, ext. 326.

East Montpelier Lovely, historic, tastefully furnished cape. 2 Bdr., 1.5 bath. Serene setting close to town. Beautiful herb/perennial gardens. Perfect for short-term, relocation or vacation rental. Reasonable rates. 449-7200.

No photo available

Start Your Own B&B!Stunning 12-room home by the longest Vermont waterfall. Dozens of charming features—private, spacious, light filled. B&B potential. 15.5 + acres, cook’s kitchen, octagon gazebo. Organic gardens. $520,000. Marshfield. Marlene, McCarty Real Estate, 229-9479.

East Montpelier Stone HomeWonderful 3.4 acres with meadows/view. Spacious rooms, marble and brick fireplaces, Master bedroom w/bath. Sunroom, pool, BBHW heat and oversized two-car garage. $299,000! Marlene, McCarty Real Estate, 229-9479.

On the WinooskiA comfortable and well-kept historic end-of-road home with 285 feet of river frontage. Beau-tiful perennials, barn/garage. Enclosed sun porch. Marsh-field . . . must see! $174,900. Marlene, McCarty Real Estate, 229-9479.

Groton State ForestOn 10 acres, back from the road. Hiking, biking and VAST trail. Stocked swimming pond, apple trees, maple. New appliances, standing seam roof. Some finishing needed. $169,000. Marlene, McCarty Real Estate, 229-9479.

Old East MontpelierCharming antique 1850 cape has been moved onto new foundation with updated systems. Old E. Montpelier Center — 3 miles from Montpelier. Three acres. Abuts miles of ski trails and walking paths. $227,000. Marlene, McCarty Real Estate, 229-9479.

Montpelier MeadowBeautifully maintained Montpelier house/condo in the Meadow. Three floors, 5 bdrms, 1.5 baths, large storage shed, with new roof, skylight, refrig-erator, oil heating system and storage tank, pellet stove, two porches and more. 223-1125.

INVEST-igate This One!Mixed-use building in the Cen-tral Business I zoning district in downtown Montpelier. 3 residential apartments and one office/retail storefront. Greatnatural light and mostly ex-posed wood flooring. $259,000.Lori Pinard, Century 21 Jack, 223-6302, ext. 326.

Condos in the MeadowRiverside condos, beautiful wildlife, kayaking out door. 3 bed, 1 bath, living room, din-ing room, great location, short walk to downtown, Meadow neighborhood, Hubbard Park; 1200 and 1800 sq.ft. 777-1217.

THE REAL ESTATE PAGESSponsored by: Century 21 Jack Associates, 223-6302

THE BR IDGE JULY 19 – AUGUST 1, 2012 • PAGE 21

Sponsored by: Century 21 Jack Associates, 223-6302

THE REAL ESTATE PAGES

by Jeremy Lesniak

“I didn’t know I could do that.” It’s some-thing I hear from people often. This phrase usually follows my demonstra-

tion of some technology trick that saves them time or otherwise makes their lives easier. To me, these things I demonstrate are simple, but to those that are unaware of the function, they’re magic. It is not difficult to gain this level of understanding with technology; it simply requires some practice.

Practice is a word one would rarely use with technology. Sure, we “use” technology, but how often do we “practice” with it? Ev-eryone should practice. I don’t mean that you should conduct texting sessions with your cellphone in order to improve your speed. By practice, I really mean experiment. To spend some time with your technology that doesn’t have a goal. Some might say this is “playing” with your technology, and they’re not far off. This approach is part of what makes children so much better with technology than most adults.

How might you start? First, if your device came with a manual, look through it. If your manual comes on CD, you may find it best to print it. However, don’t expect to learn much from these. Most manuals contain little detail. The best information will come from friends and Internet forums. If you have friends that use similar technology, ask them what their favorite tip or trick is. They’ll be happy to share, and you’ll probably learn something. There are likely many forums on the Internet dedicated to your devices, but the key is spending a bit of time in order to find one that seems appropriate. Some are for very advanced users, while others are for

novices. These are often overlooked by most people but can be immensely valuable.

A World Without GreenThe federal government wants to do away

with cash, primarily because it’s the currency choice for those that skirt the law—drug dealers, prostitutes and tax evaders. We’re rapidly moving towards a cashless society, relying on technology for the movement of funds. With a digital history of everyone’s finances, the government would know ev-erything about your spending. Consider that line on your Vermont tax return that asks how much you spent, tax-free, in New Hampshire last year. It would no longer be necessary. You could just receive a bill from the state. Is this ridiculous? That’s the wrong question, because this is going to happen.

Rather than invite fear and concern, my purpose is to educate you. These systems might seem bizarre or unnecessary, but it’s important that everyone understand them. Here are a few things you should be explor-ing, if only to protect yourself.

Online banking. While not a criminal’s favorite way to steal, understanding how your bank’s online systems work is impor-tant. How else will you spot the anomalies in your accounts?

Mobile payments. There are systems popping up, like Square (squareup.com), that allow for credit-card payments anywhere you can use a smartphone. Learn how they work so you can spot a scam.

PayPal. If you use eBay, you’re all but required to have a PayPal account. Under-standing PayPal is key to identifying those scam e-mails that many of us receive.

Google Wallet. One of many services hoping to turn your cellphone into your payment system at stores. This is already done in other parts of the world. Google Wallet is new and relies on the Near Field Communications technology, which isn’t yet common. For more information: wikipedia .org/wiki/Google_Wallet.

As with so much of technology, un-derstanding is necessary for safety. Feel free to e-mail me if you have questions: jeremy@vermontcomputing.com.

Jeremy Lesniak founded Vermont Comput-ing (vermontcomputing.com) in 2001 after graduating from Clark University and opened a store on Merchants Row, Randolph, in May of 2003. He also serves as managing editor for anewdomain.net. He lives in Plainfield.

I Didn’t Know that I Didn’t Know

Tech Check

Advertise! 223-5112

PAGE 22 • JULY 19 – AUGUST 1, 2012 THE BR IDGE

Climate-Change Discussion at Food Works Anniversary Celebration

Global climate change was a much-discussed subject at a 25th anniversary celebration of the Montpelier organization Food Works at the Capitol Plaza Hotel on July 7.

Three speakers addressed the worrying issue. Bill McKibben, a worldwide leader in the grass-roots struggle to deal with global climate-change issues, cited a concatenation of recent extreme weather events caused, he’s convinced, by climate change. He led off by remembering Tropical Storm Irene. Then he went on to cite more recent events: Tropical Storm Delilah in Florida, with 20 inches of rain; a vanished snow pack and forests ravaged by the pine-bark beetle—part of the recent and ruinous out-of-control forest fires in New Mexico and Colorado; a freak wind and rain event that started in Indiana and swept right through in a straight line to Washington, D.C.; the current, record-breaking heat and drought conditions in the American Midwest, with worries about the lowest carry-over of food and grain stock in recent history. Further away is the recent and sudden heavy flooding in Russia along the Black Sea coast.

Ben Hewitt, a Vermont hill farmer and author of the book The Town that Food Saved, de-scribed a near-local situation in all likehood caused by global climate change, an infestation of army worns that are eating and destroying hay fields in nearby New York State.

The third speaker was Rachel Nevitt, an organic farmer at Full Moon Farm in Hinesburg, who called attention to the worrying Vermont weather swings this year, with temperatures at her farm as high as 85 degrees since March. “Zucchini is almost done. Strawberries ended on June 28. Now, we have blueberries on July 7,” she said.

We can either attend or not attend to these extreme weather events and what causes them—global climate change—but not attending seems hardly a responsible choice.

Getting Help for Chandar Hall

Eleven months after Tropical Storm Irene, many of our friends and neighbors are still try-ing to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives. Consider the case of Chandar Hall.

Before Irene, Chandar was a 38-year-old woman in excellent health. She owned her own home in Northfield. She was also a group-home counselor in good standing with Washington County Mental Health (WCMH) in Montpelier, and she had been employed by WCMH for 12 years.

After Irene, “I had 5 feet of water in my basement,” Chandar said. But she was carrying flood insurance with a $1,000 deductible and received a payment of about $4,000. Chandar cleaned up the basement herself, with help from friends. The insurance paid for what was obvious, fixing the furnace and part of the cost of a new oil tank. But they never carried out a thorough inspection, and they never instructed Chandar about what to do. Because she had flood insurance, she did not apply for help from FEMA.

The illness effects from the flood started almost immediately. “The week after the flood, I noticed I was thirsty, thirsty, thirsty,” Chandar said. “I was getting headaches every day.” At Thanksgiving, she was having kidney pains, and her appetite was suppressed. At Christmas, Chandar was diagnosed with intractable migraines. After Christmas, because of worsening health, she took a short-term disability leave from her job. On May 23, she lost her job of-ficially. When she applied for unemployment benefits she was denied, because she was too sick to work.

In June, she left her Northfield house for two and a half weeks. When she went back to her house, her illness intensified. “I was really wicked, wicked, wicked more sick when I went back,” she said.

When Community Action did a test, Chandar found out that she had mold.Chandar has now moved to Burlington and is temporarily staying in a hotel there. But she

can’t stay much longer because of the expense. She’s afraid to move into a shelter. She’s now covered by VHAP, the Vermont state health-insurance program. She has applied for federal disability, but that’s a long process. She’s also applied for public housing, both in Winooski and Burlington. There’s a two-year waiting list in Winooski, and a six-year waiting list in Burlington.

Chandar is seeing a neurologist. She recently saw an infectious disease specialist. But no doctor has been able to completely diagnose her physical problems. She herself believes she’s a victim of a toxin known as “airborne apergillus.”

“I woke up this morning at 4 a.m.,” Chandar said, with pain throughout her body. She falls asleep in the middle of the day. Already she’s lost 66 pounds. “And I eat. But it seems like I lose weight every day.”

Chandar said she can feel the bones in her body as her flesh disappears. “My body is break-ing down so much,” she added.

Many of us talk loosely about our “friends and neighbors.” When we see a disabled car on the side of the road with a stranded driver, instinctively we want to help. This impulse to help comes both from compassion and from a certain knowing that tomorrow it could be our car on the side of the road, and we could need help. In that knowing spirit, let’s get Chandar the help she needs. Two of Chandar’s friends have set up an emergency fund.

Any reader of The Bridge who wants to help can send a check to Chandar Hall, P.O. Box 2021, South Burlington, VT 05407. (Please include your return address so that Chandar can send you an acknowledgement.)

Editorial

Roses for LolaTo the Editor:Thank you, Nat Frothingham, for the

reflective piece on the celebration of Lola Aiken’s 100th birthday at the State House, a grand and wonderful event that delighted Lola enormously [“A Perfect Occasion,” June 28]. Lola followed it up by riding in a convertible in the July 3 parade with Miss Vermont. Guess who was the most beauti-ful? Thanks also to Cassandra Brush for the wonderful piece about Lola’s 100 years of life [Lola Aiken, Centegenarian!” June 21].

I want to point out something that has been missed by most about Lola’s birthday roses. Our goal was to collect over 100 roses to celebrate each year of Lola’s magnificent and beautiful life. In fact, there were more than 150! Unfortunately, the roses were located at the rear window of the Cedar Creek Room and were blocked by the crowd. We now wish we had placed them around the NECI birth-day cake and been able to capture a photo with Lola in their midst. I’ve included a photo of the stunning roses accumulating before the event started (above). After the party, the roses were distributed to some of Lola’s favorite haunts—including the State House, the Gary Home, Westview Meadows and the Coffee Corner—and to many of those who helped with this wonderful celebration. I also want to publicly thank Sandy Vitzthum and Barbara Prentice, who were the other two of the three women who pulled this all together.

Thanks everyone from the bottom of my heart and Lola’s, too!

—Dot Helling, Montpelier

Brown for CouncilTo the Editor:After several years of very dedicated and

thoughtful service to Montpelier, city coun-cilor Sarah Jarvis will be stepping down from her seat in District 2 later this summer.

I have submitted my name to the city council—the body that makes this appoint-ment—to be considered to serve out the unexpired term until the election at city meeting in March. At that time, the voters of District 2 will decide who will represent them for the next two-year term.

I would be very interested in contributing to the city by serving out Jarvis’s term until next March. I recognize that the city council is engaged in a wide variety of complex is-sues, including the proposed transit-center development, the district heating plant, a possible expansion of the bike path, and the upcoming municipal budget, which will be prepared this fall and winter.

While there is a lot going on, I believe I could hit the ground running on many of these issues. Having lived in Montpelier for almost 20 years and having been a founder, reporter, managing editor and part owner of The Bridge, I have developed a familiarity with the wide range of issues facing the city of Montpelier. I have also interacted with and developed many positive relationships

with residents from across the city, as well as the owners of businesses and nonprofit orga-nizations that are so critical to our vibrant and treasured downtown.

I would very much like the opportunity to serve the residents of District 2 as their rep-resentative on the Montpelier City Council until the next election.

—Jake Brown, Montpelier

Replace Pump Station AntennaTo the Editor:Our Hebert Road/Judson Drive neighbor-

hood has houses that sit near a wastewater-pump-station antenna. It is 50 feet from my daughter’s bedroom and emits pulsed radio-frequency radiation every 30 seconds. When I discovered that many of my neighbors had serious illnesses in their families, I started to do some digging. I found that there is substantial research indicating that this type of nonionizing radiation is harmful, particu-larly to children. My neighbors and I have been asking the council since February to remove just this antenna and replace it with another source of data transmission, such as cable, phone, fiber-optics or cellular technol-ogy. At their May 9 meeting, the city council agreed to set up a committee to review the issue. The committee comprised councilors Angela Timpone, Tom Golonka and Thierry Guerlain, public works director Todd Law, health officer Bob Gowans, and a few resi-dents from our neighborhood.

The full committee met twice. Feeling like all options were not being explored, I called nu-merous engineers, systems integrators, public- works directors and wastewater-treatment-plant superintendents. I found, and presented to the committee, that cities across the coun-try are indeed using sources other than radio antennas for their pump-station monitoring.

On July 5 this committee met again, but this time the residents were excluded. The coun-cilors issued the residents an ultimatum: the city would either change the polling (how fre-quently the antenna emits an radio-frequency signal) from every 30 seconds to every two to three minutes, or do nothing at all.

There are problems here. The meeting where the most important part of the discus-sion took place did not include the residents. So much for transparency. Reducing the polling will still mean that 30 times an hour my family and others are exposed to this radiation. Other alternatives have not been thoroughly researched, even ones that would solve the problem for less than $7,000. That seems a small price to pay for the health and safety of a neighborhood.

I appreciate Councilor Timpone’s efforts to represent her constituents’ concerns. How-ever, the council seems uninterested in listen-ing to the cost-effective options available. This issue was on the council’s agenda for Wednesday, July 18. We hope that the resi-dents will be heard and a real solution will come to fruition.

—Lara Merchant, Montpelier

Letters

Sign Up for Emergency Notification Service

Montpelier offers a new service to inform people about emergencies, but if your phone isn’t listed in public sources (that is, if you’re not “in the book,” as they

say), the city can’t notify you unless you subscribe. You can sign up at the montpelier-vt.org home page. Scroll to the bottom of the page, click on “Blackboard Connect;” then click on “Sign me up!” where you can enter several phone numbers or other ways (e-mail or pager) to let you know that something is up.

THE BR IDGE JULY 19 – AUGUST 1, 2012 • PAGE 23

by David Abbott

Judging by the Montpelier City Council’s recent municipal budget initiatives, the values of a majority of the council and

those of a super majority of the electorate appear to be in serious conflict. This not a healthy relationship for our community.

Over the past 10 years, voters have ap-proved municipal and school budgets by majorities ranging from two-thirds to three-quarters. This year both budgets, despite an effort by some to foment a tax revolt, were approved by more than two out of three vot-ers, and all 34 money articles were approved, many by an equal or greater margin.

In preparing for the development of the next municipal budget, the council has taken actions that threaten to prioritize budget cutting ahead of other, higher, priorities long held by the community.

It has created a citizens’ budget commit-tee whose charge is to “compare the costs and effectiveness of Montpelier’s municipal services with those provided by comparable communities. The committee is authorized to make any recommendations it believes are appropriately related to its charge.”

In doing so, the council has (at least temporarily) turned the keys to the mu-nicipal-budget-preparation process over to a committee on which a majority are citizens who signed the November 16, 2011, letter to city government citing an unsustainable trajectory in municipal taxes and spending. It is very troubling that the council would as-sign this responsibility to a committee whose majority is already on record with respect to essential elements of its charge. At the very least, this committee needs to approach its work with an open mind.

The council is developing the details of a plan that would serve to pressure Mont-pelier’s nonprofit organizations to refrain from petitioning voters directly for financial assistance via the ballot. The plan would create a capped pool of money and a panel to distribute those funds to nonprofits request-ing assistance.

If a nonprofit chose to ask the voters directly for funding, the amount requested would be subtracted from the amount in the pool of funds available to others, thereby setting nonprofit against nonprofit. It would substitute the judgment of a panel for that of the voters in determining which nonprofits are worthy of financial support on the prem-ise that the voters are ill informed in making these decisions. This premise is wrong. We are aware of the value contributed to our community by the nonprofits we support. We know that they assist our neighbors in need and enrich the cultural and educational life of our city.

The council appears to be guided by the assertions that proponents of municipal bud-get reduction have made during the past year. These assertions need to be examined closely before we move forward in the prepa-ration of the next municipal budget. They include the following:

That the current trajectory of city spend-ing and taxes is not sustainable. City Man-ager Bill Fraser wrote in the March 1 Bridge, “Over the past 12 years, the city council has proposed budgets that have held an average increase to 1.45 percent per year as compared to an average inflation rate of 2.54 percent per year. In four of those years, there was no proposed increase.” This means that, in con-stant dollars, municipal budgets proposed by the council have decreased over that time. The trajectory has, in fact, been downward, not upward.

That Montpelier is not affordable because of its municipal tax. There are two prices to consider in determining whether Montpelier is affordable: the cost of real estate and the cost of real-estate taxes. If Montpelier is a rel-atively expensive place to live, it is so because people want to live here. Free market choice has driven up the city’s real-estate values.

Municipal taxes are higher in Montpelier than in surrounding towns because we sup-port services that distinguish us from our neighbors. People are attracted to Montpe-lier, in part, because of the quality of life made possible by these services. Even moder-

ate cuts in the city budget would, over time, cause Montpelier real-estate values to fall as services deteriorated or were lost altogether.

There is a strong case to be made that Montpelier is an affordable place to live once one is living here. There are significant sav-ings to be realized by living in the city.

Quick fire-department response times and fire hydrants located throughout Montpelier offer casualty-insurance–premium savings in the hundreds of dollars over premiums for property in the country.

Living in the city results in many fewer miles driven and, perhaps, one less automo-bile needed by families. Savings can amount to several thousands of dollars each year. For a 7-mile commute to Montpelier, for example, the annual calculation might be 330 trips times 14 miles times 51 cents per mile (the figure now used by the state) equals $2,356. If a second car is required, add thou-sands more for fuel, registration, insurance and depreciation.

For those who itemize on their federal and state taxes, the amount that Montpelier citizens pay in taxes for municipal services is

deductible. The extra costs listed above that are associated with living in the country are not tax deductible.

Ambulance and police response times in the city are one-half to one-third of those for people living in the country. These few minutes can mean the difference between life and death.

The last assertion is that tax cuts can be the product of a “socially liberal and fiscally conservative” philosophy. Perhaps. But when tax cuts, which benefit the wealthy dispro-portionately, begin to erode services, upon which the least affluent are most heavily de-pendent, the veil of “socially liberal” begins to fall away.

The citizens of Montpelier hold values higher than tax cutting. It is the council’s duty to ensure that our municipal services are sustained and enhanced by best practices and the efficient use of tax dollars. Its higher obligation, however, is to govern in a man-ner that is consistent with and promotes our culture of civic generosity.

David Abbott is a Montpelier resident.

City Council Shouldn’t Compromise Montpelier’s Culture of Generosity

by L.K. Walker

I’ve been in Vermont a few years now, but I’d never been to a Montpelier Fourth of July parade. How to describe the unique

blend of people, acts, floats and paraders? Queer, in the original sense of the word, meaning strange and odd, and, too, queer in today’s sense of the word, as oriented with an acceptance-of-everyone attitude that is pervasive in this small capital. This state capital with the enormous pagan fertility festival on its State House lawn every Beltane and a goddess of agriculture perched on its golden dome.

It’s possible to describe the flow of old tractors and vintage cars in the parade, the winning ice-hockey team on a flatbed, and the stream of punchy solar cars.

Favorites beyond these jump out in stark relief of what it is that makes America grand in its deepest roots. Not those hyperpatri-otic, nationalistic roots, but the ones that left oppression to come and live free. That America. Which includes the huge-mistake- making, Indian-killing, Black-enslaving America, too. But it’s the one that did those things and eventually saw the errors of its ways and is still trying to correct them. The America within each of us that can own up to mistakes and try to rectify them, and then sweep everyone upward together.

There was the group of teens with signs reading, “Words hurt.” The Downs syn-drome teen, smiling and waving as he walked down the street in his red-white-and-blue finery held a sign saying, “Retard Hurts,” and the black boy with the huge red-and-white striped Cat-in-the-Hat hat held a sign that read, “Nigger Hurts.” They were not referencing these cruelties with “the n-word” or “the r-word.” They wrote them out loud, so you had to say them in your head when you read them, and you felt hit—in that visceral way those words hit you. You take a little of the poison in so you can remember, in order to overcome.

And then the librarians. The gang of men and women who run the beautiful down-town edifice of the Kellogg-Hubbard Li-brary. They pushed their wheely carts down the street, empty of books. When the parade stopped, every 10 or 20 feet, they put on their act, a spirited, perfect little pas de cinq, with full formations and in-and-out line dancing, a synchronized, wheeling dance number.

The politicians came around, too, running for state senate or auditor or Congress. All the different districts and an embarrassingly

high amount of names we did not know, even here, in our small democracy. But there is no one, in my opinion, in any office, anywhere in this entire country, that is filled with a more truth-telling, honest, unsuperior, com-mon-sense, fighting spirit than Bernie Sand-ers, who transcends the political and goes

right into the truth of what needs to hap-pen in every arena, were they not domi-nated by the deafen-ing sound of money changing hands. Bernie walked down

the street, with his little gang of family and friends and staff. And I couldn’t help it; I’d been clapping and cheering all along, but seeing him there—Bernie, walking down the street and waving and smiling, our very own Mr. Smith goes to Washington, right here in front of me on Main Street on July 3, celebrating everything that makes this coun-try great—I let out a high, piercing holler. A ululation of joy. A yodel of fierce pride.

He passed right by me and waved and looked me in the eye. He saw me yodel for him, and he smiled in thanks. I got choked up at that, verklempt, and kept waving and cheering and then hollered again at the top of my voice, giving back that powerful surge of energy he gives this country every day.

There is truth out there. There is wisdom too, integrity, knowledge, courage. And he is our senator.

That was the essence of the parade for me. Bernie Sanders and the librarians. Free knowledge and applied wisdom. That, to me, is the essence of true independence.

At the end of the parade, when the last unicycle wheeled by, the crowds folded into the street and started walking toward the State House lawn. “Yay,” someone yelled as the people passed. Someone still on the sidelines and glowing with the excitement of the recently passed parade. “Yay, the regu-lar people. Yay, you guys, the normal folk. Great job. Awesome you,” she cheered as the crowds streamed by. The people in the street were confused at first, but then they smiled. Oh, she’s cheering to us. Right. We the people. We’re the ones we’re cheering for. A few of them waved back. They all smiled now, cheered to be the ones cheered for. America the beautiful. And then we all went and watched the fireworks together.

L.K. Walker writes in every possible genre and teaches Energy Medicine and yoga at Norwich University and in workshops around the country. You can find more of her work at lkwalker.com.

I Love a Parade

Opinions

Absences at Montpelier Schools

Kim Scott is taking family leave for the upcoming school year, as the Scott family grew in the month of June. Kim and Andy Scott, both teachers at Main Street

Middle School, welcomed Evelyn Noelle Scott to their family on June 27. Both mother and daughter are doing well.

Lyman Castle is taking a leave of absence to teach in an international school in Jor-dan. Lyman has contributed significantly and in varied ways to the Montpelier High School community. The district looks forward to his return.

—Richard Sheir

Primary Voting Under Way

The Vermont secretary of state’s office reminds citizens that primary-election vot-ing is under way and voters may go to town clerks’ offices to vote or may request

absentee ballots to be e-mailed to them from now until Monday, August 27.Those running for office are reminded that the deadline to report contributions of

$500 or more, from now until the election in November, is the 15th of each month.—Bob Nuner

PAGE 24 • JULY 19 – AUGUST 1, 2012 THE BR IDGE