Year in review
Timber
Shelburne begins longhaul retooling of zoning
Balsam wooly adelgid poses threat to firs
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Volume 51 Number 52
shelburnenews.com
Year in review
2022 a roller coaster for Shelburne cops COREY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER
Calling 2022 a tumultuous year for the Shelburne Police force would be an understatement. The Shelburne department began the year in shambles, with its police chief on extended leave, more than a dozen officers having fled the department in the wake of the chief’s “failure of leadership,” and one of its only remaining officers on administrative leave over a use-of-force incident that prosecutors were recommending be reviewed for criminal charges. “We all know the police department has had some challenges in the past year,” town manager Lee Krohn said. The story of Shelburne’s roller coaster year starts late in 2021, when the relationship between Krohn and police Chief Aaron Noble began to heat up. After a mass exodus of officers, Krohn eventually notified Noble in December 2021 of the town’s “lack of faith” in his leadership, and Noble leaves the department adrift in January after taking extended medical leave. The situation was compounded after a report compiled by former Vermont State police director Jim Baker — which was only released by the town after The Shelburne News filed a records request, and
ECRWSSEDDM
December 29, 2022
Puffed up
then appealed its denial — painted a damning portrait of Noble’s leadership. Current and former officers in the Shelburne Police Department said the process to select Noble as chief was “suspect,” that there was no “strategic direction” for the department, and that Noble was uncommunicative and “described as checked out and not approachable,” the report read. Noble, after months of uncertainty, signed a settlement agreement with the town, retaining his $102,440 annual salary through Oct. 15, 2023, while keeping all his benefits, including health and dental insurance, through October of this year. He technically remains a consultant with the town but is not doing much consulting work — not entirely surprising since Noble, as part of the settlement agreement, is not allowed on police or town hall premises unless invited by Krohn. Why the town agreed to such a large payout for Noble is not entirely clear. In a statement, the town said that it entered the settlement “in an effort to achieve a peaceful resolution to what could have been a difficult and resource-intensive process.” The speculation is that Noble would’ve been able to sue the See SHELBURNE POLICE on page 9
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A northern red cardinal puffs up to combat the recent bout of below-zero weather.
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