Property rights?
Author talk
Rural zoning change sparks opposition
Could Charlotte become a ‘regenerative community’?
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June 27, 2024
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Weekly news coverage for Charlotte and Hinesburg
thecitizenvt.com
Residents ask board to yank Russell as chair LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
Two Charlotte residents have asked the selectboard to remove Charles Russell as development review board chair, citing a pervasive hostile environment and “professional misconduct” at meetings. During a special selectboard meeting last week, board members spent an hour in executive session reviewing the complaints, and ultimately decided to tap the Vermont League of Cities and Towns for advice. “We feel that since this is a relatively new situation with the town of Charlotte, we should seek outside advice,” selectboard member Kelly Devine said. “Because not only do we want to be able to deal with this current situation fairly, but we also want to be sure to have a process in place should this happen again.” She emphasized that the selectboard takes the matter seriously, See RUSSELL on page 16
PHOTO BY LIBERTY DARR
Judy Chaves stands at the base of the House Rock Trail at Mt. Philo State Park in Charlotte.
Vermont celebrates 100 years of Mt. Philo LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
For freelance writer and unofficial historian Judy Chaves, the 968-foot climb to the summit of Mt. Philo has been a meditative practice for most of her adult life. Walking five days a week up
and down one of the state’s most popular hiking spots can really begin to reveal the working landscape of a place, while also simultaneously revealing a lot about people in general. “I’ve hiked here with just about everybody in my life. I’ve got a close friend, we meet here
at least every other week, and we just yak our way up and yak our way down. We hardly even know we’re hiking. And that’s true for so many people,” she said. Chaves was in graduate school some 30 years ago the first time she visited Mt. Philo State Park in Charlotte, and she’s just never
stopped visiting. For her, Mt. Philo, and the experience it brings, is personal. So personal that her love of the mountain began a decade-long effort to unravel the history behind one of Vermont’s See STATE PARK on page 2
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