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Eager Equestrians
How deer contribute to the spread of invasives
Local equestrian team places at regional finals
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February 23, 2023
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Weekly news coverage for Charlotte and Hinesburg
thecitizenvt.com
Draft state rule would regulate wake boats on Lake Iroquois
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COREY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER
Joe Allen’s home in Hinesburg is near the Lake Iroquois dam, with a steep shoreline and a “tiny beach” on the property. When wake boats motor across the 247-acre lake, the resulting waves cause all sorts of disruption. “I’ve seen small children get knocked down by these waves, (and) they make it a challenge to people walking on the neighbor’s floating docks,” he said. Allen was one of more than 60 people — and at least a dozen Hinesburg residents — who voiced their support during a public meeting last week on a draft rule that would significantly regulate the use of wake boats on
Vermont’s lake and ponds. Wake boats are motorboats designed to specifically produce large waves for wake boarding and wake surfing — the fastest growing segment of the watercraft and recreational boating industries, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association. “I’m sure wakeboarding is a lot of fun, but it should be done on large bodies of water,” Allen said. Other states — Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Oregon, for example — have rules in effect regulating use of wake boats. But a new draft rule that the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation has prepared “would be by far the most restricSee WAKE BOATS on page 11
Charlotte’s cannabis control commission questions state process LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
PHOTO BY AL FREY
CVU gymnasts show their poise and prowess on the beam and a variety of other events during a recent round competition.
The Charlotte selectboard convened as the town’s cannabis control commission for the first time on Feb. 13 after receiving their first cannabis license application since the selectboard voted itself to be the control commission in November. On Feb. 1, the town received a referral from the state’s Cannabis Control Board regarding a mixed cultivator tier 1 license from Vermont Cultivars LLC which has already received state approval with a condition that the town’s
cannabis control commission indicate approval. Although municipality authority over applications is limited, members of the control commission expressed their frustration with how much information is kept from the commission once the application is received. “I find it strange that it’s confidential, the person’s name and contact information,” said commission member Lewis Mudge. “It’s abnormal.” “I want to join in on that, that is totally unacceptable,” said member Louise McCaren. “All it See CANNABIS on page 11