Star turn
Gearing up
Local dancer lands role of Clara in ‘Nutcracker”
CVU athletes get ready for winter sports season
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December 15, 2022
LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
A special Charlotte Selectboard meeting Dec. 5 turned contentious as development review board chair Charlie Russell objected to the board’s vote to hire a coordinator to assist the town in transitioning to a municipal fire and rescue service. At the meeting, the selectboard considered a contract given by Gallagher, Flynn & Co., a South Burlington consulting firm, that provided an implementation plan on how to coordinate a smooth transition to a town-run fire and rescue service that members are hoping will be put in place in June 2023. Since 1950, the town has been provided with emergency services by the nonprofit
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Weekly news coverage for Charlotte and Hinesburg
Charlotte moves closer to town-run fire department
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‘Now, you’ve gone too far’
organization Charlotte Volunteer Fire and Rescue Services, or CVFRS, which is run by a board of directors with seven full-time employees, 20 per diem employees and 16 volunteers. The Charlotte Selectboard sought bids in August for consulting proposals to help in the transition but the town only received two bids. The first came from a company in Wyoming for $44,000 — well over the bid request’s $30,000 limit — and another was a $28,000 bid from Rob Mullin, the Charlotte Fire and Rescue Service’s former deputy chief who has been accused of sexually discriminating against women within the department. After both bids were rejected, selectSee CHARLOTTE on page 12
Hinesburg group hopes to restore 200-year-old community building COREY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER
In the mid 19th century, booming population growth quickly followed the expansion of industry in the Champlain Valley, and with it, a need for meeting space to serve the religious needs of the community. Around this time, the Methodists, Baptists and Congregationalists began to build churches. This period of Hinesburg’s history, 1839 to be exact, is when The Vestry was built. It is currently the town’s oldest public building, situated just south of St. Jude’s Church on Main Street. Nowadays, the Vestry is, in some residents’ own words, “that sad old building”
on the verge of collapse. It has sat unused for the past two decades. But a group of residents, formally called the Vestry Community Center, is working to restore and refurbish the building, and bring new life to a structure that served as a prominent community center for at least 150 years. The organization, which recently was given 501c3 status as a nonprofit, hopes to eventually recondition the structure into a space “available for community groups of various sorts, for arts groups and rehearsal spaces,” said Len Duffy, a resident and member of the group. “It’s going to be a major fundraising See VESTRY on page 4
COURTESY PHOTO
Hinesburg police have been having some holiday fun with a series of photos and videos on their Facebook page as they try to “catch” the Grinch around town.
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