Soccer star
Summer sounds
Gatorade names Pecor Player of the Year
Music options abound in Chittenden County
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June 29, 2023
Weekly news coverage for Charlotte and Hinesburg
Charlotte halts municipal fire, rescue transition
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CVFRS fire chief resigns effective July 23 LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
Charlotte selectboard chair Jim Faulkner announced at the selectboard meeting Monday that the town is temporarily halting the move to a town-run fire and rescue service — a transition that selectboard members hoped to have in place by July 1. Meanwhile, Justin Bliss, Charlotte Volunteer Fire and Rescue Services’ appointed fire chief has resigned. The $20,000 consulting work for the transistion that was being performed by Gallagher,
Flynn and Co. is also being put on hold. Faulkner said the process has been held up mostly due to a lack of information and recent conversations to switch to a town manager form of government, along with the prioritization of other important town issues. “ The critical reason is we don’t have enough information yet. We’ve been trying to get it,” he said. “But also, when we have the town manager issue pop up in front of us, that made it pretty See CHARLOTTE on page 11
Celebrate Fourth of July in Chittenden County Fire up the barbecues and break out the swim trunks: Summer is officially here. While many families have already started celebrating school graduations and longer, warmer days, some would argue it’s not officially summer until the annual Independence Day celebrations begin. Here are some of the action-packed events around Chittenden County this year.
Hinesburg The theme of this year’s Fourth of July parade in Hinesburg is Family Reunion. The parade on July 4 at 11 a.m. will be led by grand marshals Doug and John
Mead and family. Monday, July 3, will feature a variety of fun events beginning with the Carpenter Carse book sale at St. Jude at 5 p.m. followed by the annual Hilly Hobble Foot Race; register in front of Hinesburg Community School at 6 p.m. The 10K begins at 6:30 p.m., followed by the 5K at 7 p.m. and kids’ 2K at 7:10 p.m. On July 4, the book sale will restart at 9 a.m. while folks assemble for the parade at 11 a.m. at the bottom of Buck Hill Road West and Route 116. Register your float See FOURTH OF JULY on page 9
PHOTO BY NANI CLEMMONS
Multidisciplinary artist Omega Jade reads her book, “Layers of the Heart,” in front of the historic Big Barn, a dairy and hay barn (c. 1780s) on the Clemmons farm that features a weathervane in the shape of a whale, representational of the 11,500-year-old skeleton of a beluga whale unearthed near the farm in the 1800s. Jade is one of the more than 250 registered members of a statewide network of Vermont’s Black artists who collaborate with Clemmons Family Farm. See story on page 3.