The Citizen - 12-12-24

Habitat works deal with Laster developer

PATRICK BILOW STAFF WRITER

An application for another phase of Joe Laster’s development appeared before the Hinesburg Development Review Board last week, although the board did not make a decision.

The first part of the project, Phase 1A, was approved three

years ago along with the project’s preliminary master plan and encompasses eight lots on the property.

Laster, an Atlanta, Georgia-area developer, has finished laying the groundwork for those eight lots, including building the 800-foot Tractor Road off Mechanicsville Road, sidewalks and street trees and a wastewater system.

The second part of the project, Phase 1B, proposes 17 housing units on 11 lots, including seven single-family homes, two duplexes, a triplex and conversion of one single-family home from the first phase to a two-unit dwelling. That single-family home will be devel-

See LASTER on page 10

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Crime steadily rises, stolen vehicles spike In Hinesburg

PATRICK BILOW STAFF WRITER

Hinesburg is a small rural town with rolling hills, a few remaining dairy farms and longtime neighbors, but despite the community feel, crime has been steadily rising over the last three years and one infraction stands out among the rest.

“It seems like every week there’s a stolen car or a car recovered or something going on that hasn’t traditionally gone on,” Hinesburg police chief Anthony Cambridge said.

Over the weekend, five stolen cars were recovered in Hinesburg, including three at one location on Tyler Bridge Road, and three people were arrested for trespassing and stealing them.

Last month, someone stole a 2006 Jayco RV from a driveway on Ledgewood Lane when the owner was home. That person was eventually arrested after the vehicle was found on North Road, and police discovered another stolen vehicle related to the original crime.

In some cases, frustrated vehicle owners have set out on their own to recover their property before calling the police. One incident in November resulted in a vehicle pursuit and another ended with a brief standoff after police finally caught up to the carjacker.

There have been 51 cases of

vehicles stolen or recovered in Hinesburg this year, according to Cambridge. Last year there were 12; in 2022 there were four and in 2021 there was only 1.

Overall, crime rates in Hinesburg are also increasing. Officers have responded to 2,433 cases so far this year. There were 2,106 cases in 2023 and 1,566 cases in 2022.

Cambridge said cases are not only rising but also becoming more severe.

Gone are the days of proactive community policing, like helping with car lockouts or car seat installations.

“Instead, we’re dealing with car thefts or, you know, we go to make a traffic stop and the car flees,” Cambridge said. “The cases are just becoming more intense.”

During his 12 years with the Hinesburg Police Department, Cambridge has noticed spikes in crime, but it was always easy enough to get to the root of what was going on because the incidents were often related.

In most cases, there would be a repeat offender or a notorious individual causing trouble, so the police would arrest that person, or they’d move on, and that crime spike would even out.

“But we have no idea who

See CRIME on page 10

Good Times Café, bakery expand to South Burlington

LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER

Good Times Café has been a staple in the Hinesburg community for decades and now its owners, Travis and Maryam Counter, plan to open a satellite of their beloved restaurant in South Burlington.

The couple officially took over the business — which has been a central place to grab a bite in Hinesburg for over two decades — in 2019 and has been serving pizzas, salads and Creole-style grub ever since. Around the same time the couple purchased their restaurant just off Route 116, Maryam launched her bakery, Matryoshka’s Bakery, which specializes in French macarons sold to several select restaurants across Chittenden County, including Chef’s Corner in Williston and Leunig’s in Burlington.

provide a few new dishes.”

“I’m ready to also be in a professional kitchen,” Maryam added later, letting out a laugh.

The couple will be renting a rear portion of the property — shared with a bank in the front — at 1330 Shelburne Road, which at one point was home to Uno Pizzeria & Grill before the pandemic. They hope to extend offerings to include breakfast, coffee and other pastry goods once they open after the start of the new year.

“We thought, why don’t we just kind of merge and create one big building and business out of it, we can both cross-brand it and utilize that space.”

— Travis Counter

She has been operating her business out of their home in St. George, so the new location will offer space to expand the bakery operation while also creating more offerings for the restaurant.

“It’ll be an extension of the café as well as Maryam’s bakery, but we will actually be adding a little more to it, giving a little more diversity to our menu,” Travis said. “We are so limited based on our kitchen here, size-wise. We’ll be able to offer more options and elaborate on the Cajun menu and

“We’ve always wanted to grow, but Hinesburg has been slow to grow,” Travis said, adding that’s what led them to the search in South Burlington. “Maryam wanted to do a bakery or some sort of coffee shop. Then we just happened to stumble across the Uno space, and it was a little bigger than she wanted. We thought, why don’t we just kind of merge and create one big building and business out of it, we can both cross-brand it and utilize that space.”

While Travis has nearly 30 years of experience working in the restaurant and hospitality world, Maryam said she got into baking naturally as a mother of three. The duo’s oldest is now a lead cook in the kitchen at Good Times Café.

See GOOD TIMES CAFÉ on page 16

The Hinesburg Community Resource Center served over 100 Thanksgiving meal kits to local families this year. This annual tradition is made possible by donations from indi-

viduals and local businesses and provides a holiday meal to those in our community facing food insecurity.

Volunteers, the Charlotte-Shelburne-Hinesburg Rotary, and Lantman’s Market also help to support this effort.

In addition to Thanksgiving meal distribution, the Hinesburg Community Resource Center offers a range of essential services, including:

• Food assistance: groceries and fresh produce to families facing food insecurity.

• Emergency financial assistance: support for unexpected expenses like rent, utilities and medical bills.

• Friends of Families: opportunities for families to connect and build strong relationships.

• Medical equipment lending: access to essential medical equipment at no cost.

• Community resources: connections for individuals and families to a variety of services and support.

To learn more or to get involved, visit hinesburgresource.org or call 802-482-4946.

Passion 4 Paws finds homes for more dogs than ever

Shover said.

In her 20 years of rescuing dogs, Robin Shover says she’s never seen so many needing a home.

“It is such an epidemic that people don’t even understand how bad it is, especially right now,” she said.

Animals across the U.S. are experiencing longer stays in shelters, according to the group Shelter Animals Count.

Shover is the founder of Passion 4 Paws, a Shelburne-based, nonprofit, volunteer-run rescue organization. She says a variety of factors are responsible for the increase.

“I think it’s due to the inflation of mental health and people just not being accountable for their commitments,” she said.

After personally rescuing dogs for 10 years, Shover started Passion 4 Paws in 2014. Since then, she says the organization rescued over 3,000 dogs.

Passion 4 Paws relies on volunteers willing to help, whether fostering dogs or transporting them. It partners with shelters in areas like Greenville, S.C., to bring dogs to Vermont. Volunteers agree to transport them, and dogs typically live with foster families temporarily until they can find a permanent home.

However, with the recent influx of dogs and growing financial constraints for many families, it’s hard to find foster homes for every dog. Some dogs stay at local boarding facilities.

Donations are crucial to funding and caring for the dogs. Several local partners help fund their work; other donations come from small and large fundraisers, like one held at Burlington Country Club earlier this year.

“The bar is high, but we know we can do it. Our community has been amazing, and they love us,”

“There’s not a job in this world I could choose that would be more rewarding than this one,” said Morgan McCuin, vice president of Passion 4 Paws.

McCuin joined Passion 4 Paws after adopting a dog with them in her junior year of college just a few years ago. From there, she became more involved in fostering and running the organization’s website and Facebook page.

Adoptions are the highlight of the rescue. Passion 4 Paws held an adoption event on Nov. 17 at Heritage Toyota in South Burlington, where four dogs were adopted.

For McCuin, events like these make the rescue work so rewarding.

“I also love adoption events,” McCuin said. “We do this big clap, and Robin is in charge of our big clap every time a dog gets adopted. It’s my favorite thing.”

McCuin said it’s hard not to fall in love and take home each

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dog herself. She currently has six dogs staying with her. Out of the eight dogs she has fostered, she has “failed” three times and adopted them.

McCuin and Shover said the past year has been tough, struggling to raise enough money to save the influx of new dogs.

For Shover, every dog counts. “The most rewarding part of rescue is saving one life,” she said. “Even when we’re full, if we think that we can stretch the boundaries a little bit to save one more life, we do it because that’s why we do it.”

If you are interested in fostering or dog sitting with Passion 4 Paws, you can find the application link form.jotform.us/ form/41284459827162.

Check out dogs available for adoption at passion-4-paws.org.

Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, on assignment for Shelburne News

EARLY

DECEMBER 26

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DEADLINE: Thursday, Dec. 19, 10 a.m.

Hinesburg Police Blotter: Dec. 3-10

Total reported incidents: 43

Arrests: 4

Dec. 3 at 8:13 a.m., police helped a citizen with a civil issue.

Dec. 3 at 8:47 a.m., police conducted a welfare check on Shadow Lane.

Dec. 3 at 5:00 p.m., two cars crashed on Route 116.

Dec. 3 at 6:09 p.m., a car drove off the road on Silver Street.

Dec. 3 at 6:26 p.m., a three-car pileup occurred on Silver Street.

Dec. 3 at 6:33 p.m., two cars drove off Baldwin Road.

Dec. 3 at 6:50 p.m., a welfare check was conducted on Birchwood Drive.

Dec. 3 at 7:01 p.m., two cars crashed on Route 116.

Dec. 3 at 8:30 p.m., officers helped someone with their brokendown car on Route 116.

Dec. 4 at 7:00 a.m., an alarm went off on Commerce Street.

Dec. 4 at 8:35 a.m., an officer assisted the Williston Police Department with a two-car crash on Oak Hill Road.

Dec. 4 at 8:58 a.m., officers responded to a motor vehicle complaint on Route 116 and arrested Joshua Jerger, 37 of Starksboro, on an in-state warrant. He was also arrested for operation without the owner’s consent, driving with a criminally suspended driver’s license, unlawful trespass and violation of conditions of release.

Dec. 4 at 12:03 p.m., someone

made an electronic threat to another person.

Dec. 4 at 4:40 p.m., an officer helped someone with their broken-down car on Richmond Road.

Dec. 4 at 8:42 p.m., an officer assisted the Shelburne police with an investigation.

Dec. 5 at 12:45 p.m., an officer assisted the Middlebury police with a stolen vehicle investigation.

Dec. 5 at 4:23 p.m., an alarm activated on Partridge Hill.

Dec. 6 at 6:00 a.m., officers assisted Homeland Security with a warrant in Starksboro.

Dec. 6 at 12:01 p.m., officers arrested Steven Gabaree, 32 of Hinesburg, at a residence on Patricia’s Place for grand larceny, unauthorized titling of a motor vehicle, registering a motor vehicle of which applicant is not the owner, five counts of forgery and seven counts of false pretenses or tokens.

Dec. 6 at 5:37 p.m., someone vandalized property on North Road.

Dec. 7 at 7:45 a.m., officers investigated a vehicle complaint on Southwest Shore Road.

Dec. 7 at 7:46 a.m., an alarm activated at Champlain Valley Union Highschool.

Dec. 7 at 10:26 a.m., someone reported suspicious activity on Old Route 116.

Dec. 7 at 5:23 p.m., an officer assisted the Middlebury police with a

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Serving the community of Charlotte & Hinesburg A publication of Vermont Community Newspaper Group LLC thecitizenvt.com

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stolen vehicle investigation.

Dec. 7 at 5:41 p.m., officers investigated a report of suspicious activity on North Road and arrested Trevor Lacross, 33, of Grand Isle, for unlawful trespass.

Dec. 7 at 6:48 p.m., two cars crashed on Lincoln Hill Road.

Dec. 7 at 8:25 p.m., someone stole a car from Hillview Terrace that

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Dec. 7 at 8:33 p.m., officers investigated who stole the vehicle from Hillview Terrace.

Dec. 8 at 8 a.m., an officer assisted the Williston police in finding a stolen vehicle.

Dec. 8 at 11:31 a.m., someone crashed their car on Patricia’s Place.

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Dec. 8 at 11:45 a.m., a report of stolen property on Shelburne Falls Road led police to a residence on Tyler Bridge Road, where three stolen cars were recovered from Williston and Montpelier. Joshua Emmons, 39 of Starksboro, was arrested for

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OPINION

Peanut’s Law, hounding and the fish and wildlife board

Guest Perspective

Alana Stevenson

Public safety and the treatment of animals is a bipartisan issue. Multiple people in Vermont have been attacked by bear hounds. The hounds did not first ask whether these individuals were Republican or Democrat. Companion dogs, considered family members by conservative and progressive owners, have been attacked by bear and coyote hounds. Hounds who run through private property after animals do not care if the property owners are Republican or Democrat.

Hounders who trespass on private property while chasing unleashed hounds do not first check whether those properties are owned by liberals or conservatives. Whether you are Republican or Democrat, a bear or coyote chased for hours and many miles by a pack of hounds is not going to avoid your property out of respect for your political affiliation.

The safety hazards hounding present, trespassing by hounders, the cruel treatment of hounds and the unjust cruelties inflicted upon animals chased and attacked by hounds are nonpartisan issues.

Dog owners are expected to control their dogs. Yet, hounders release unleashed hounds into the woods to chase wild animals and pursue hounds from their pickup trucks.

The style of collar hounds wear does not control their direction or behavior, regardless of the navigation system a hounder uses. Just as the GPS you use when you drive does not control your car, a GPS cannot control an off-leash dog. If hounders are required to control hounds, the “sport” of hounding can no longer exist. This is why the hounding of bears, bobcats, coyotes, foxes and raccoons must be banned.

Recently, you may have heard about the seizure and killing of Peanut, the squirrel, and Freddie, the raccoon, in New York. The Department of Environmental

Conservation invaded a private residence and confiscated and killed Peanut, along with Fred, because the right paperwork wasn’t in place.

In response, New York assembly members Jake Blumencranz (Republican) and Matt Simpson (Republican) drafted legislation called Peanut’s Law: Humane Animal Protection Act. This bill would allow a 72-hour waiting period in which notice and appeals can take place prior to any seizure and euthanization of wild animals by the state, with safeguards to protect animal sanctuaries and wildlife rehabilitation facilities. Any “euthanasia” of seized animals would be performed by a licensed veterinarian. There is no better example of

We need a Peanut’s Law in Vermont, hounding bears to be banned, and the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board to be dismantled.

government overreach than how the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department operates. Fish and wildlife officials can walk onto private property unannounced and confiscate and kill wild animals, even under the care of licensed wildlife rehabilitators. The department can penalize veterinarians for helping injured wildlife and prevent members of public from assisting hurt animals, even when it is safe or easy to do so.

Regarding euthanasia, the department’s standard method is carbon monoxide poisoning. This doesn’t meet American Veterinary Medical Association guidelines. Vermont Fish and Wildlife is supposed to manage wildlife for all Vermonters. Instead, the

department caters to hounders. The board is a small group of individuals selected by the governor. Gov. Phil Scott backed John Rodgers for lieutenant governor. Rodgers called hounding a “Native American tradition” and has wanted to establish a hunting season on cats. Board members don’t need any academic credentials and can override department biologists.

The board refused to follow the Legislative Committee for Administrative Rule’s requests to address public safety concerns regarding coyote hounding. The department and board oppose any restrictions or regulations placed on them but can pile regulations on the public and licensed wildlife rehabilitators, who receive no money from the department.

We need a Peanut’s Law in Vermont, hounding bears to be banned, and the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board to be dismantled.

Alana Stevenson lives in Charlotte.

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In consideration of these nineteen days

In Musing

Carole Vasta Folley

Nineteen days remain until the end of the year. That is all I will focus on right now. Really, for me, it’s all I can focus on presently, although many would recommend I should only pay attention

to today, the hour or the minute of right now. Others would advocate for thinking ahead and the necessity of making a plan for next year.

Me? I’ll hold firm on the 19 days. I shall consider each one an opportunity. Not in a self-help catchphrase, seize-the-day, kind of way, but more in simply being

aware of each day, its passage of time. My time. My life. Nineteen dawns and 19 dusks. Approximately 57 meals, 152 hours of sleep, if I’m so lucky, and the myriad of things that come in between. I want to notice all of it, as much as I can. Nineteen days seems a reasonable amount, an achievable goal for my driven-todistraction self. It’s a good compromise between “the power of now” and masterminding the future.

This could be a gargantuan task or even mission impossible, because almost two weeks into these 19 days rests Christmas. You know, the holiday that starts when you take your Thanksgiving turkey out of the oven? The commercialized Yuletide that strong-arms the meaning of the season and wears out your credit card? That one.

This means I will add to my overstuffed life decorating, shopping, attending events, making dinners, baking cookies and pies and, oh, don’t forget to buy a tree. I’ll probably throw in a bevy of carols and most definitely celebrate the winter solstice. A real

Deer camp, hunting great Vermont traditions

To the Editor:

At dusk in November, lights will flicker on in thousands of deer camps in the hills, dales and deep woods throughout rural Vermont as hunters gather for Vermont’s unofficial 16-day holiday otherwise known as rifle season.

Many hunters take a two-week vacation so they can be at camp for the entire rifle season. Some are so in love with the hunting way of life that they will hunt deer in more than one state. Some camps are many decades old, some a century or more. Generations of family and friends have been part of camp lore.

Come Saturday morning, after a big hunter’s breakfast at camp or at a local breakfast spot, hunters will filter into the woods, some under the cover of darkness, in hopes of bagging the ever-elusive white tail buck at first light. Soon, shots will ring from the hills.

If a hunter hears nearby shots, he or she hopes it was one of their campmates who bagged a first-day buck. Or, if the shots missed, the hunter hopes the deer is heading

must this year as it honors the return of light, hope in the face of darkness. This mightily ups the ante for my 19-day endeavor. OK, life, I see you — all provoking and anxious-making. But, no, I’m not going to bite. In fact, you’re on! I will now take this 19-day consciousness-thing as a challenge. I’ll even raise the stakes and add in a few extra gauntlets as well. Maybe in the next 19 days I’ll get a colonoscopy or have a busted boiler? Imagine the dire possibilities.

“Wait a minute! Hold on there,” my better-self yells. And she’s right. Please, there’s no need to add probing procedures or furnace failures to the holiday season. I’m more than content to stick with simply paying close attention to each day of the 19 days left in this year. I do not want extra stressors. No need to be all “Games of Thrones” about it, after all, life is already generous in its struggles and plot twists. So, what will my plan be? Well, first let me rid myself of any faddish, hackneyed ways to proceed. There’ll be no “19 Steps to Awareness,” no gratitude

Letters to the Editor

on its way.

Shortly after dawn, deer reporting stations in small towns throughout Vermont will come alive with hunters reporting their bucks per state law. The stations record weight and other information. Many also run buck pools and post photos of each successful hunter. There is a buzz from all the activity that opening day creates.

Even though in recent years there has been an option to report deer online, there is still something special about the camaraderie and pageantry surrounding these check stations, and many folks are eager to see, be seen and swap stories at these social hubs.

Back at camp, it will be a festive 16 days where participants hunt hard — some harder than others — eat hearty and enjoy leaving life’s daily problems far behind. Rural businesses throughout the state benefit from all the hunters suddenly in their midst — tourist revenue for non-tourist towns.

Camps generally have a large dining area to accommodate everyone, and many heartwarming and hilarious hunting stories get told around those tables. Wild

journal, no mantras and absolutely no cleansing. Or fasting! I’m counting on the eggnog and tourtière for fortification.

Instead, my plan is uncomfortable to practice and revealing to admit. Here it is: I don’t know. I don’t know how I’ll suddenly manage to be mindful and present for 19 days in a row. Currently, for me, this is a good thing. Believing I have to know how to do something ahead of time has been the incessant fool’s errand of my life. When I’m willing to be uncomfortable not knowing how and still endeavor toward a goal, it turns out to be the magic formula I’d been missing all along. There are so many things in my life I’ve wanted but because I didn’t know how, I let them go, until they were nothing but an echo of desire in absentia. I have learned the long, hard way it is in the not-knowing where the how is found.

I look forward to the discovery. How will I notice each of these next 19 days of the year? This precious 456 hours? Check back next year. I can’t wait to tell you.

Carole Vasta Folley is an award-winning columnist and playwright. Visit carolevf.com.

game meals are common. Camp participants range from kids to some of Vermont’s oldest citizens and from first timers to those who only join us in memory.

Steve McLeod Bolton

Steve McLeod is former executive director of the Vermont Traditions Coalition, and president of the Champion Lands Leaseholders and Traditional Interests Association.

Gun sense: Is Burlington above the law?

To the Editor:

On Nov. 18, the Burlington City Council passed a resolution and then adopted an ordinance to ban possession of firearms in any establishment that sells liquor. By taking those two actions, Burlington City Council broke Vermont law, known as the pre-emption statute. The law is clear:

“Except as otherwise provided

To live right, we should contemplate death more

Guest Perspective

Bob Stannard

“The Definition of Faith is acceptance of that which we imagine to be true, that which we cannot prove,” wrote Dan Brown in “The Da Vinci Code.”

Similarly, Jim Morrison wrote, “Planet Earth; nobody gets out alive.”

As I get older it’s hard to not think about dying. What’s the exit plan for this adventure? Will it be like racing through an airport and just making the plane, or will it be more like an agonizing 25-hour layover? And when you finally board, what’s that flight going to be like? Will it be a smooth ride off into the clouds or perhaps an overabundance of turbulence?

The fact is that I don’t know, you don’t know, nobody knows. We’ve been told forever that there’s a heaven and there’s a hell. If you’re a good person you go to heaven. If not, you end up

LETTERS

continued from page 6

by law, no town, city, or incorporated village, by ordinance, resolution, or other enactment, shall directly regulate hunting, fishing, and trapping or the possession, ownership, transportation, transfer, sale, purchase, carrying, licensing, or registration of traps, firearms, ammunition, or components of firearms or ammunition.”

By enacting that statute, the Legislature wisely decided that Vermont would not become a patchwork of conflicting ordinances that change at town lines, thereby ensuring uniformity and consistency of firearm laws as Vermonters travel around the state.

Burlington is experiencing more violent crime, and Vermonters, in general, are bypassing the city for shopping and entertainment. Many Vermonters believe this shift in crime is the result of the questionable move by the city council to defund and reduce the size of the Burlington Police Department, coupled with the desire to never incarcerate people even though they may repeatedly do bad things.

For many law-abiding citizens, the result of these changes regarding the punishment of criminal activity, both minor and major, has encouraged more people who have never owned a firearm to purchase one. It has also encouraged gun owners, law-abiding people who can pass background checks without any problem, to conceal carry

in hell for all eternity.

Like many of you, I spent my early days going to church. At the age of 14 I was confirmed at the United Church of Christ in Dorset. The Sunday following my confirmation my dad, who was a deacon of the church, asked me if I’d be attending church that day.

It was June and the fish were biting. I said, “I don’t know, dad. I think I’d like to go fishing.” His reply was, “I don’t blame you.”

It was one of those moments that did not seem all that important at the time, but as the years have ticked by, I realized that it might’ve been the most pivotal moment of my life — a life that’s been pretty darned full of pivotal moments.

As a result of that one, terse exchange with my dad — like many exchanges with dad — I never went back to church. I think it was because I’d rather be outdoors roaming the woods or sitting and fishing on the bank of the West Branch of the Batten-

kill. As time went on, I came to realize that it was the woods that would serve as my church. The woods were my spiritual haven, or heaven, if you will. I spent a great deal of time wandering around Owl’s Head, Green Peak and Mother Myrick. Owl’s Head, or as some like to call it, Mt. Aeolus, was my go-to mountain. It’s a lovely bump on which to ponder on the maturations of life.

As I get older it’s hard to not think about dying. What’s the exit plan for this adventure?

At 48, thanks to my recently deceased friend and sensei, Jon Bottomms, I entered the world of martial arts. From him I learned that martial arts are not so much about fighting — it’s not about fighting at all — as it is about learning to be aware. Not just aware of any physical danger, but to be aware of living — and dying.

From him I learned that Tibet-

an monks would spend hours meditating on every conceivable way of dying. I can hear what you’re thinking. “This is really morbid.”

Actually, it’s not. It can be quite comforting. The reason to do this was to show to an attacker that you could not be killed by them, because in your mind you were already dead. You have meditated on death. You have experienced death and therefore death is no more fearful than sitting in a chair.

See STANNARD on page 13

Sly Tips for Gas Safety This Winter

for their own protection.

In recent memory, there has been only one well-publicized incident of a woman shooting a man outside of a bar in Burlington. She pulled a pistol from her purse and then committed cold-blooded murder.

The creation of a gun-free zone, which is not enforced, will be nothing more than a false sense of security for anyone who chooses to enter an establishment that sells liquor. Passing a law that says “no guns allowed” does nothing more than create a zone of illusionary protection, which is no protection at all. Beyond that, this is not just “guns in bars,” it bans guns in any establishment that sells alcohol, which would also mean restaurants and other venues.

In a utopian world, there may not be any need for firearms, but in today’s world that is not the case. Innocent people are being horribly affected by violent crime across Vermont and especially in Burlington, and people have a right to defend themselves.

Now, it would seem appropriate for Vermont’s attorney general to inform the Burlington City Council that it has broken Vermont law, with these actions properly set aside as being illegal.

Chris Bradley President and executive director Vermont Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs

How to Detect a Gas Leak

Natural gas is normally odorless. VGS adds an odorant similar to the smell of rotten eggs, so it can be easily recognized.

You may see a white cloud, mist, fog, bubbles in standing water, or blowing dust, or vegetation that appears to be dead or dying for no apparent reason.

You may hear an unusual noise like a roaring, hissing, or whistling.

If you suspect a leak:

Move immediately to a safe location. Call VGS at 800-639-8081 or call 911 with the exact location. Do not smoke or operate electrical switches or appliances. These items may produce a spark that might result in a dangerous condition. Do not assume someone else will report the condition.

Protect Meters and Vents from Ice and Snow

Don’t push or pile deep snow around meters and ensure whoever removes snow from your property knows meter and appliance vent locations. Use extreme caution when clearing snow and large icicles near meters and vents. If your meter gets encased in thick ice, please call us.

More safety information here:

Have a happy and safe holiday season!

BY

Solaris Vocal Ensemble offers ‘A Joyful Sound’ Ring in the season with Solaris Vocal Ensemble as it presents “A Joyful Sound,” featuring guest artists Northern Bronze Handbell Ensemble.

Concerts will be held Saturday, Dec. 21, at 7:30 p.m. at

the Waterbury Congregational Church, 8 North Main St., in Waterbury, or Sunday, Dec. 22, at 4 p.m. at College Street Congregational Church, 265 College St., Burlington.

“A Joyful Sound” will feature festive holiday selections for voices and instruments and five octaves of handbells. The concert

Business Notes

Coldwell Banker real estate agencies merge

Coldwell Banker Classic Properties is merging with Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman.

This partnership will further strengthen the services and tools available for both consumers and agents, according to a press release.

“We are excited to join Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman,” Sue Aldrich, owner of Classic Properties, said.

“This merger is a natural fit,” Leslee MacKenzie, president and owner of Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman, said. “Both firms share a deep commitment to Vermont communities, and together we are elevating the resources and reach available to home buyers and sellers across Vermont and especially deepening our capabilities in central Vermont.”

Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman, established in 1958, operates in Chittenden, Franklin,

Grand Isle and Addison counties.

With the merger, Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman will welcome Aldrich, Alex Aldrich, Janel Johnson, Ken Jones, Lorraine Checchi, Nate Ball, Barbara Taylor Blythe, Theresa Murray-Classen and Craig Durham to its team.

The combined firm will operate as Coldwell Banker Hickok & Boardman, with its headquarters in Burlington, and offices in East Montpelier, St. Albans and Vergennes.

Vermont credit unions plan to join forces

Green Mountain Credit Union in South Burlington and Opportunities Credit Union in Winooski plan to merge.

The combined organization would have approximately $165 million in assets.

Bob Lake, CEO of Green Mountain Credit Union, and Glenn Von Bernewitz, chair of the

Community Notes

opens with a new arrangement of “Joy to the World” by Solaris’ composer-in-residence, James Stewart.

An array of songs of Christmas and Hanukkah by Eleanor Daley, Andre Thomas, Dan Forrest, Neil Ginsberg, Elaine Hagenberg, Alice Parker and Robert Shaw join a variety

of wind, string and percussion instruments to reflect the joyous sounds of the season. Learn more at solarisensemble. org.

Charlotte fire, rescue service welcomes Santa Santa’s coming to the Char-

lotte Volunteer Fire and Rescue Service on Sunday, Dec. 15, 4:30-5:30 p.m., 170 Ferry Road.

Come help Santa light up CVFRS. Enjoy cocoa and a candy cane, and write your letter to Santa before he arrives around 5 p.m. to turn the switch on the new seasonal light display.

Opportunities Credit Union board of directors, expressed their enthusiasm for the proposed merger in a joint statement: “This anticipated merger represents an exciting step forward for both organizations. By joining forces, we would enhance our ability to provide comprehensive financial services to our members while maintaining the strong community focus that defines both credit unions.”

The combined organization would maintain branches in Burlington, South Burlington, Winooski, Berlin and Rutland, and would serve more than 10,000 members.

The merger is subject to approval by both state and federal regulators, as well as by the memberships of both credit unions. A target of mid-2025 has been set as a completion date for the merger.

Lake said no immediate job losses are anticipated.

Green Mountain Credit Union was founded in 1959. Opportunities Credit Union started in 1989.

OUR OFFICES WILL BE CLOSED ON THE HOLIDAYS.

WISHING YOU AND YOUR FAMILY A JOYFUL HOLIDAY SEASON AND A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR!

EARLY JANUARY 2 DEADLINES

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DEADLINE: Thursday, Dec. 26, 10 a.m.

continued from page 1

these people are anymore,” said Cambridge. “There are so many different people involved, and these cases don’t seem to be related. I’ve seen things escalate over the last five years, but the last year, especially the last six months, have gotten tremendously worse.”

Some of the individuals arrested over the past six months are from Hinesburg, but most are from nearby towns, according to police incident reports from the last few months.

Cambridge said most of the stolen cars recovered in Hinesburg were used to get from one place to another, then abandoned.

In some cases, the stolen cars were also used to commit other crimes like theft. There is a corner at the Hinesburg Police Department for stolen items that were recovered from stolen vehicles. Cambridge said officers have no idea where the items came from or if the owners even know the items are missing.

“Hinesburg is changing but it’s still a great community. I think transparency is important during a time like this.”

— Anthony Cambridge,

While some vehicles were stolen and found in Hinesburg, most were stolen elsewhere and recovered in Hinesburg. Of the three cars recovered on Tyler Bridge Road over the weekend, two were from Montpelier and one was from Williston. The individual arrested, Joshua Jerger, is from Starksboro.

The recent spike is straining an already-lean police force in Hinesburg. Complicated cases require days of investigation, hours of paperwork and stressful moments in the field, and recent budget issues for the town could make the situation worse as the selectboard considers making personnel cuts in the department.

Two years ago, Hinesburg entered into an agreement to offer police services in Richmond, a town that at the time was struggling to staff a full department. Under the agreement, Cambridge became the acting chief for both towns, report-

ing to two selectboards and overseeing roughly 80 square miles of police coverage.

Despite this arrangement, Richmond intended on eventually hiring more officers and rebuilding its department, but Cambridge, a resident of Richmond with more than a decade of service in Hinesburg, would remain chief for both towns.

The agreement was advantageous for both towns. Richmond had its first steady police presence in years and Hinesburg was pulling in around $400,000 a year from Richmond for policing in the town, according to Cambridge.

Hinesburg, which currently has six officers, came to rely on that reimbursement, but that money was always earmarked for more officers in Richmond, and starting next year, it will start flowing back to Richmond for recruiting.

LASTER

continued from page 1

oped as a spec home.

The latter phase will also include a small public park that connects with neighborhood sidewalks. Two larger parks will be

The chief hopes to hire four officers in Richmond starting next year, but that means less revenue for Hinesburg, which is struggling with other budget shortfalls after two major flooding events this summer.

Now, as Richmond rebuilds, Hinesburg is considering cutting at least one of its officers, according to selectboard chair Merrily Lovell, depending on Richmond’s recruiting efforts and the status of its contract with Hinesburg. Budget talks are still ongoing, and no decisions have been made.

“I think it’s unfortunate for the police department and the town,” said Cambridge, who added that he also recently lost an important administrative role at the department due to budget cuts. “Nobody wants to see a department go backwards.”

Cambridge hopes the situation

will rebound. His vision for policing in Hinesburg and Richmond is to have eight officers and an administrative person for both towns.

But in the meantime, he’s been working to keep up with a rise in crime in both places.

A big part of that effort is communicating criminal activity to the community, which he’s starting to do through Facebook. Last week, he posted a message highlighting the car thefts and reminded people to bring their keys inside with them at night, dispelling rumors that the cars were hotwired.

“We don’t want to scare people,” Cambridge said. “Hinesburg is changing but it’s still a great community. I think transparency is important during a time like this and, you know, I’d advise a little more diligence when it comes to things like car keys.”

incorporated into later phases of development on the back, forested half of the property.

Laster announced during last week’s meeting that Habitat for

Humanity will develop one of the lots in Phase 1B. Robin Pierce, Habitat’s real estate and development construction manager, said the organization is working out a deal to purchase the lot from Laster, although nothing has been finalized.

During the public comments section of the meeting, Carl Bohlen, chair of the Hinesburg Affordable Housing Committee, urged Laster to consider higher density development as the project continues. Hinesburg’s planning director Alex Weinhagen has echoed a similar sentiment as most of Laster’s project lies in the village growth area.

Laster declined to comment on the application until the Development Review Board has made a final decision.

BLOTTER continued from page 4

unlawful mischief and unlawful trespass.

Dec. 8 at 12:33 p.m., officers assisted someone with their brokendown car on Richmond Road.

Dec. 8 at 4:02 p.m., a citizen was assisted with a civil issue.

Dec. 9 at 7:00 a.m., an officer investigated a traffic hazard on Route 116.

Dec. 9 at 9:59 a.m., someone reported suspicious activity on Enos Road.

Dec. 9 at 11:43 a.m., officers assisted the Chittenden County Sheriff’s Department with serving an eviction notice on North Road.

Dec. 9 at 6:40 p.m., suspicious activity on North Road was investigated.

Dec. 9 at 7:17 p.m., someone crashed their car on Pond Road.

Going deep: winter lives of salamanders

The Outside Story

Jenna O’del

In the cold October air, my classmates and I gathered around the square oak board placed on the ground more than a year earlier. Carefully, we lifted it and peered underneath. Against the dark brown soil, two shiny lines caught our attention: salamanders.

Both were eastern red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus), the most abundant salamander species in the Northeast. One had the classic red stripe running down its back; the other was a less common lead morph, sporting a speckled black back without the stripe. If you look under logs in a forest during much of the year, you’re likely to find red-backed salamanders sheltering between nighttime forays to hunt mites, ants and other small prey.

Coverboards, like the one we lifted to find these two salamanders, replicate natural habitat and allow researchers to collect data on various species. In the fall 2019, I was part of a wildlife monitoring class at the University of New Hampshire, working under professor Jennifer Purrenhage to study the seasonal movements of terrestrial salamanders. Every week, a few of us would check under the coverboards.

Salamanders are most conspicuous in early spring, when a number of terrestrial species migrate en masse on rainy nights, moving through the forest and, all too often, crossing roads to access breeding pools. Yet terrestrial salamanders have other, less spectac-

ular seasonal movements, including summer and fall migrations, and those that are vertical, up and down in the earth.

All salamanders are ectotherms, meaning their body temperature fluctuates with the local air or soil temperature. As amphibians, they also are at constant risk of desiccation. Heat regulation and access to water are key to their survival.

In summer, as trees leaf out and ground dries, many salamanders move downward, where the temperature is cooler, and soil moisture keeps them hydrated. They resurface in autumn, as rains replenish soil moisture. By mid-November, however, the spaces beneath the boards were empty. The salamanders had disappeared.

As winter approaches, salamanders once more must adapt — to the most challenging season of all. Many terrestrial salamanders head underground for the coldest months. In addition to red-backed salamanders, this group includes four-toed salamanders, so named for only four toes on each hind foot, red efts (the juvenile form of eastern newts), and members of the mole salamander (Ambystoma) genus: the aptly named spotted salamander, Jefferson salamander and the blue-spotted salamander.

To survive, these species must migrate below the frost line, which, depending on air temperatures and the presence of insulating snow, can be more than 5 feet down. Deep in the earth, they’ll settle in, their bodies staying just above the freezing point and soil moisture keeping them from drying out.

Not all salamanders take shel-

ter in the ground, however. The adult eastern newt overwinters in bodies of water, which may be as big as Lake Champlain or as small as a stream. There, the newts will remain active, even if ice forms on the water. They often congregate near seepages, “where groundwater comes through the surface,” Jim Andrews, coordinator of the Vermont Reptile and Amphibian Atlas, said. These upwellings provide additional protection from freezing and greater dissolved oxygen content. Andrews has received reports from cross-country skiers who witnessed “literal-

ly hundreds of newts” gathering where groundwater kept ponds from freezing.

The salamander most active in our region during winter is the little seen but spectacular mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus). “We get reports here in Vermont from ice fishermen that catch them on ice fishing baits,” Andrews said, also noting mudpuppies have come up in trawls in the Great Lakes. Mudpuppies, a foot or more long, are famous for their external red gills that look like excessive ear hair.

These gills reflect mudpuppies’

status as fully aquatic amphibians, and they efficiently harvest oxygen from the water. In highly oxygenated winter habitats — for example, rivers that remain open to the air — mudpuppies are more active in winter than in summer, because cold water holds more oxygen and predaceous fish are less active. There’s yet a third group of salamanders, a happy medium between terrestrial and aquatic salamanders, which depend on the relative warmth of stream water to

With snow all around, stick season was in the air

Stories from Stick Season

Editor’s Note: Local photographer Paul Rogers, who grew up in Stowe, last year took our readers through a journey of Stick Season in a series of essays (bit.ly/4egqfeM) detailing his travels throughout the area looking for images to photograph for his ongoing exploration of Vermont’s fifth “season.”

A new-to-Vermont friend once gained insight into our culture from local radio.

“I think I get it,” he would tell me, after listening to “Trading Post” and the iconic “Music to Go to the Dump By” on WDEV. Perhaps it was the informality, the low-key irreverence or the casual but purposeful familiarity that could only come from a small-town state and one of its oldest radio stations.

The Friendly Pioneer – one of WDEV’s nicknames – was good at that, providing a soundtrack to my young life as I grew up. Memories of the Old Squier’s poetry and the mooing that started every “buy, sell, trade, or swap” program are still with me. Even now, it’s likely that rural youngsters — and quite a few dairy cows at milking time — hear those same voices.

Another of the independent station’s gems was a special broadcast early on the opening day of rifle season. In 2018, long-time announcer Dana Jewell resurrected the tradition after a decade’s absence, corresponding to his own stint away from the station. His was the voice of deer camp for many Vermonters, broadcasting across the state from the ABCD Deer Camp in Duxbury. The program included live reports and entertainment from the field and record-spinning from the station’s main studio on Waterbury. Hearing classic recordings such as “The Second Week of Deer Camp” was a sure thing.

It’s a kick to photograph offbeat events for my stick season project, even if it interferes with my sleep. Along with every other opening day participant, I got up at dark-thirty and started my journey to daybreak that year.

My Outback had never been up that Washington County dirt road before. If I lost my wellmarked road atlas, I’d likely never find it. Hunters must have been praying, for there had been significant snow over the past

week, including a few fresh inches for opening day. The white stuff would make for great animal tracking, but it made drivin’ to camp a bit sloppy.

A small, alphabet-soup name sign on the small building told me I’d found the right place. The lights were on. It was time to enter and add this slice of life to the photo archives. Though pitch-black and wintry outside camp, it was bright and toasty warm inside. The smell of traditional breakfast offerings wafted from an electric range. A wall-mounted political sign from the 2006 election cycle reminded us that Gov. Jim Douglas was welcome there. In fact, Douglas had been an opening-day radio guest in the past and current Gov. Phil Scott would stop in a year after my visit.

broadcaster’s return to WDEV had been welcomed by listeners, but the revival of the opening day broadcast would be a gift.

His musical guest for the morning was none other than the multi-talented George Woodard — the only farmer within earshot who carried a Screen Actors Guild card. He and I had been acquainted for years.

Dana Jewell was the voice of deer camp for many Vermonters, broadcasting across the state from the ABCD Deer Camp in Duxbury. The program included live reports and entertainment from the field and recordspinning from the station’s main studio on Waterbury.

I’d photographed him on stage, while recording music with his close friend Rusty DeWees and at his Waterbury Center farm. That morning at camp, he carried an old guitar and a joke book — tools of his trade at the ABCD Deer Camp.

I recognized Jewell’s radio voice as we met. Lightweight headphones rested around his neck and his field microphone waited on the multi-purpose kitchen table. The experienced

A handful of camp owners and regulars enjoyed the antics of Jewell and Woodard in person before venturing into the woods at daybreak, coffee in hand to wash away the fuzziness of an early morning.

As light began to dawn in Central Vermont, I knew that my “establishing shot” of the event would be a blue-light-dominated outdoor scene: pickup trucks on the snowy road, camp behind with windows glowing yellow orange. That natural cool light period at both dawn and dusk — known to photographers as the blue hour — would last only about 10 minutes. I knew that the timing had to be right, but I also reckoned that Jewell intended to interview me. So, it seemed reasonable that an outdoor photo task would keep me out of the spotlight. I would be wrong.

I liked the low-light, tripod-mounted photos that I was getting and felt no need to hurry. But when I could come up with no more excuses I had to go back inside. Jewell was still at it. Had he prolonged his show so we could converse? During our brief talk, he likely asked about stick season and my photography, but it was a blur. The one thing I do remember was playing

word games — how the ABCD Deer Camp was more active at that early hour than an allegorical CBD Deer Camp.

My best outside photo from the morning shows a typical Vermont deer camp in 2018. It reveals not only the camp but transportation. It also shows a lot of snow there in the blue light of dawn. My stick season project walks a fine line in late autumn, one that runs between fall foliage and the first lasting snow of winter. But let’s face it, we do get snow during stick season.

Seasonal definitions notwithstanding, we can’t really know whether any given accumulation will stick around. So, we’re not talking about calendar or meteorological seasons, but practical, commonsense ones. As a result, snow sometimes gets in my way — and in my photos — before stick season abruptly ends in a blanket of white.

Snow was just what the hunters needed, and it was what I got on my journey to the ABCD Deer Camp in Duxbury. Stick season was all around us. And on that day, stick season was also on the air.

STANNARD

continued from page 7

There is a 500-year-old saying that goes something like this. “When you step out of your house there are 10,000 attackers waiting for you.” Quite a thought, right? I spent many years thinking about this and meditating on every conceivable way to depart this life. I won’t go into the infinite possibilities, but you get the picture.

Once you experience dying through meditation, the actual event becomes almost passé. You have already lived through dying, thus there is no real surprise, mystery or fear of death.

We spend all our time living and practically no time at all contemplating dying, which I do find to be quite amusing. We all die, but we really don’t like to talk about it much, do we? What’s your final day going to be like? What happens when your body’s all done? Some believe, with no evidence whatsoever, that we go to some happy place and hang out with Elvis. Others pray that they don’t end up burning in hell for all eternity.

No one, not one single person, has any idea what happens. Master escape artist Harry Houd-

OUTSIDE STORY

continued from page 11

keep body temperatures just above freezing. The northern two-lined salamander (Eurycea bislineata), with dark brown stripes, will often hide in saturated soil under rocks and logs on stream edges. And the reddish-brown northern dusky salamander (Desmognathus fuscus) will usually seek out mucky and mossy seepage areas during winter.

Jenna O’del is a biologist and science writer based in Rhode Island. Illustration by Adelaide Murphy Tyrol. The Outside Story is assigned and edited by Northern Woodlands magazine and sponsored by the Wellborn Ecology Fund of New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, nhcf.org.

ini declared that if there was a way to come back, he’d figure it out. We’re still waiting. We all believe what we want to believe, and it doesn’t matter.

What does matter is the fear of the unknown. It’s fear that holds us back. It’s fear that allows us to be controlled by

others; many of whom are driven by non-altruistic motives. Think about how different life might be if we could just overcome our fear of dying.

It’s not an impossible task. It only takes a little courage. Courage to wander off into the woods and meditate and imagine what

TOWN OF CHARLOTTE

REQUEST FOR BIDS

The Town of Charlotte is requesting bids for the building of, site preparation for, and installation of a wooden storage shed, located at Charlotte Central School.

SCOPE OF WORK

1. Build approved 8’x12’ shed design, no windows, with wooden siding, and large lockingdoor.

2. Prepare site for shed installation, including putting down base material and leveling area.

3. Transport and installation of the shed at Charlotte Central School.

INSURANCE REQUIREMENT

The selected bidder shall provide, prior to starting work, a certificate of insurance naming the Town of Charlotte as an additional insured with liability coverage of no less than $1,000,000. The Certificate must also include Workers Compensation Insurance, and Automobile Insurance for vehicles used to transport any necessary equipment/machinery.

BID DEADLINE & SUBMISSION:

Bids should be either mailed, or hand delivered, to Nathaniel Bareham, Town Administrator, at the Charlotte Town Office, P.O. Box 119, Charlotte, VT 05445, no later than 4:00PM on Monday, 2024.

BID

Bidder’s Name: ________________________________________

Bidder’s Address: ______________________________________

Bidder’s Phone Number: ________________________________

Bidder’s E-mail Address: ________________________________

Cost Estimate: $ _______________________________________

Estimated Time of Completion (if approved on 12/16/24) ___

For additional information, or to request a walkthrough of the site, contact either Zac FarnhamHaskell, at recreation@townofcharlotte. com, or Nate Bareham at townadmin@townofcharlotte.com.

THE TOWN OF CHARLOTTE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO ACCEPT OR REJECT ANY OR ALL BIDS FOR ANY REASON, AND MAY NOT NECESSARILY SELECT THE LOWEST BID.

159 FERRY ROAD P.O. BOX 119, CHARLOTTE, VERMONT 05445-0119

PHONE: (802) 425-3071 • FAX: (802) 425-4713

your last day will be like. From there the rest is easy. Enjoy the ride and happy holidays. Bob Stannard has been a

Vermont political commentator for over two decades. He is an author, musician and former state legislator and lobbyist.

REQUEST FOR BIDS

The Town of Charlotte is requesting bids for the repair/replacement of an electrical box that services the Charlotte recreation skating rink and warming hut.

SCOPE OF WORK

1. Repair/replace electrical pedestal holding electrical box.

2. Install meter/panel combo unit (200 amp rated).

3. Replace underground service wire.

4. Reconnect the power line to warming hut, repower up pump, and splice warming hut power wire.

5. Install ground rods in warming hut.

6. Coordinate with GMP to disconnect electrical service, then turn back on after inspection.

7. Coordinate with state for state inspection.

INSURANCE REQUIREMENT

The selected bidder shall provide, prior to starting work, a certificate of insurance naming the Town of Charlotte as an additional insured with liability coverage of no less than $1,000,000. The Certificate must also include Workers Compensation Insurance, and Automobile Insurance for vehicles used to transport any necessary equipment/machinery.

BID DEADLINE & SUBMISSION:

Bids should be either mailed, or hand delivered, to Nathaniel Bareham, Town Administrator, at the Charlotte Town Office, P.O. Box 119, Charlotte, VT 05445, no later than 4:00PM on Monday, December 16th, 2024.

BID

Bidder’s Name: _________________________________________

Bidder’s Address: _______________________________________

Bidder’s Phone Number: _________________________________

Bidder’s E-mail Address: _________________________________

Cost Estimate: $ ________________________________________

Estimated Time of Completion (if approved on 12/16/24): ____

For additional information, or to request a walkthrough of the site, contact either Zac Farnham- Haskell, at recreation@townofcharlotte. com, or Nate Bareham at townadmin@townofcharlotte.com.

THE TOWN OF CHARLOTTE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO ACCEPT OR REJECT ANY OR ALL BIDS FOR ANY REASON, AND MAY NOT NECESSARILY SELECT THE LOWEST BID.

To advertise in the service directory email: Advertising@thecitizenvt.com or call 985-3091

159 FERRY ROAD P.O. BOX 119 CHARLOTTE, VERMONT 05445-0119 PHONE: (802) 425-3071 • FAX: (802) 425-4713

JOIN US FOR

Join your Burlington community in celebrating the holiday season on the Church Street Marketplace, where free events bring magic to our streets, and shopping in person helps your local businesses and downtown thrive. We hope to see you soon!

PARKING

Enjoy 99¢/hr meter parking in the downtown core (Zone 5803), now through January 4! Plus, park for 2 hours FREE at the Downtown Garage when you start a ParkMobile session. Parking is always FREE on Sundays throughout the year.

The Charlotte Grange’s line dancing classes this fall — the last one was held Dec. 4 — drew healthy crowds. Taught by Andrea Warren, owner of Good Time Line Dancing, the one-hour classes started with a warm-up dance, followed by two beginner dances taught in small segments building up to doing the whole dance together at the end.

GOOD TIMES CAFÉ

continued from page 2

“After becoming a mom of three — my degree was in early childhood education in Russia — I started teaching myself how to make macaroons, and I got obsessed with it. I couldn’t stop,” she said.

Matryoshka, she said, means, “like a mother,” in Russian, which pays homage to the things she loves most: her family, the motherland and being a mother.

“This is like my dream,” she said. “I feel like because it’s become harder to go back home and I haven’t seen my family in eight years, I kind of wanted to bring home here.”

The duo has raised nearly $18,425 in crowdfunding to fund the venture, most of which needed to be raised due to the devastation of their business during the second round of historic flooding in Hinesburg last summer.

Although Hinesburg experienced some minor damage during the July 2023 flood, this year’s flooding — almost exactly to the day — brought the town some of the highest rain totals in Chittenden County with about 6.5 inches of rain happening overnight. Floodwater damaged nine roads and

even more private roads and driveways.

For Good Times Café, located on a low point in town with proximity to a storm-drain runoff, the team experienced a substantial loss of products stored in the basement. Travis said water reached at least waist level during the storm’s worst points.

“The whole backyard turned into a lake, and it went in through the entrance, and we lost a lot. We had to pull from our reserves, so that’s where the crowdfunding came into play,” he said, adding that businesses don’t qualify for Federal Emergency Management Agency relief funds.

Through their crowdsourcing fundraiser — which ends Dec. 15 — the team has committed to giving contributors nearly 120 percent back in credits to spend on Good Times Cafe favorites, Matryoshka’s Bakery macarons, and more.

“It was definitely one of those things where we always wanted to give back to the communities,” Travis said. “I always look at nothing in this world is free, and I don’t expect to have something for free, so I would like to give back as well. The support helps us go a little further.”