Shelburne News - 3-2-23

Semi-bound No. 1 girls’ basketball team faces Essex

Page 10

Shelburne Fire Department celebrates its first 100 years

The story of the Shelburne Fire Department begins nearly a century ago — on Town Meeting Day 1923.

Like many small communities nearly 100 years ago, it is more than likely that Shelburne residents relied heavily on help from neighbors to extinguish fires in town, but it wasn’t until 1923 that town records show the first documented formation of an official fire brigade.

Shelburne resident Tom Tompkins recounted a booklet that was published for the 1963 Shelburne bicentennial, “Part of it the fire department had written that said, ‘much of the department’s early history is shrouded in mystery as no records were kept before its reorganization on Dec. 3, 1942,’” he said.

For years, the town had equated the beginning of the fire department with its reorganization in 1942, but according to Tompkins, who has lived in Shelburne for 62 years, the department has nearly two decades of rich history prior to that.

“When I joined the fire department in 2006, I was pretty much retired and I had time on my hands. When I joined, they were saying that (the fire department) started in 1941,” he said. “I thought to myself, ‘That’s not accurate.’ So, I went over to the town offices and in the vault are all the old town reports going way back. I went back as far as 1923.”

It was there that Tompkins discovered that on Town Meeting Day 1923, residents of Shelburne petitioned the local government to see if money could be voted for the purchase of equipment for fire protection. Voters approved the expenditure of $500 at that meeting and a “fire committee” was appointed with the department’s first known

Winter wonders

Page 12

Shelburne driver faces no charges in fatal accident

was traveling north on Shelburne Road. The investigation revealed no negligence on the part of Simmons, police say.

Following a four-month-long investigation, the Shelburne Police say a Shelburne man will face no charges in connection to a fatal single motor vehicle crash that killed a pedestrian in October.

Nathan Miner, 60, of Shelburne was struck by a 2013 Nissan Leaf driven by Craig Simmons, 46, of Shelburne, who

Miner was intoxicated and wearing dark-colored clothing when he left the sidewalk and crossed in front of oncoming traffic, according to police.

Shelburne Police first responded to Shelburne Road and Harrington Avenue at 7:22 p.m. on Oct. 12, assisted by Hinesburg police and Vermont State Police

Crash Reconstruction Team. Miner was transported to the University of Vermont Medical Center’s emergency room by Shelburne Fire Department and Shelburne Rescue Squad where he died of his injuries five days later.

Shelburne police and the state police reconstruction team completed the investigation Feb. 7 and forwarded their report to the Chittenden County State’s Attorney Office for review.

Everybody reads

Shelburne students hold read-a-thon

Third-grader Shea Sweeney wants to read “a hundred” books this month. His classmate, Theo Johnson, has an even more optimistic goal: 5,672.

The students are two of dozens looking to meet their reading goals as part of the Shelburne Community School’s first read-a-thon, a month of literacy-geared events going on until March 10.

The read-a-thon is a way to track students’ reading, encourage them to read more and to raise money for the Shelburne Parent Teacher Organization. A bedtime story party, character or author costume day and a book club are all set to follow last Thursday’s event — a book swap — where the two third graders were eyeing books and enjoying food. Piles of books on tables lined the hallways at the school and oodles of art supplies lay on tables in a busy room that night.

“I’m just excited because I want to try and find a Roald Dahl book,” said Sweeney, who is Caitlin Barbell’s homeroom.

He and Johnson have reading goals that are through the roof.

But some have tempered outlooks. Phoebe Heller-Goodrich, in Kevin Kareckas’ homeroom, hopes to read a more practical five books this month. Heller-Goodrich likes reading and would be reading reada-thon or not.

Still the event provides a little more motivation. “But I’m not in

it to win it or anything,” the fifth grader said.

The theme of the event is “Everybody Reads” because the school wants to send the message that everybody is a reader, whether they are an adult, a kid or a teacher, AnnMarie Anderson, parent and PTO member, said.

How it works is the kids will track their reading time outside of school, and their collective minutes will be displayed on a bulletin board in the front lobby using a thermometer graphic the fourth graders designed. Community members can check the scores or donate to the cause online, too.

There are no individual winners of this competition, Anderson said. “We’re all celebrating reading together.”

Friends and family can choose to sponsor a child’s reading — with the money going toward the PTO. However, Anderson said, “the goal is really to get everyone reading, and that’s a secondary goal. I think it’s a great opportunity to promote reading for everyone, and to show children that parents and friends read too, and also to encourage kids and families to read more at home.”

For kids too young to read independently, family members can still read aloud to them and have the minutes count toward the cause.

The read-a-thon is one of the first big in-person events the school has had since the COVID19 pandemic started, replacing the role book fairs used to have.

“We’re always encouraging students to pick up a book and find their passion in reading for pleasure and reading for information,” school principal Alison Celmer said.

“The students are already very engaged in reading ... But we do also have a smaller population who

are not that excited about picking up a book and they don’t access it that often,” Celmer said. “So, this is another way to kind of reach those kids as well.”

If students find themselves with a bit of reading paralysis, they have many places to turn. “In addition to many adults in the building who are all resources for the kids, we have a literacy team,” Celmer said. “We have our school librarian and all the classroom teachers.”

Additionally, students only need to look at the hallway walls to find book recommendations posted by teachers and other adults in the school.

“There’s a buzz around the building right now of exchanging great book titles,” Celmer said, heightened by the upcoming February break, when the kids will get some down time to sit with the books they have been hearing about.

With a name like read-a-thon, it’s hard not to picture students racing each other to the finish with the most books read. Nobody’s winning or losing this time, but the idea of a contest seems like an extra push for some of the kids.

“It’s something to do for fun,” Sweeney said during the book swap festivities, “and also a little friendly competition.”

Deniz Dutton is a reporter with the Community News Service, a program in which University of Vermont students work with professional editors to provide content for local news outlets at no cost.

‘If Flowers Come Up’ now on display at the Pierson

“If Flowers Come Up,” a collaboration of original artwork from Lisa Kent of Shelburne and Jennifer Ashline of Winooski will be on display at the Pierson Library through Friday, April 14.

Kent works entirely in soft pastel, one that can offer amazing texture, luminosity and layering through pure pigments. She is captivated by the local landscapes and flora throughout the seasons and can be found painting daily at Frogs End Studio in Shelburne.

Ashline works in several

News from Pierson Library

mediums, including pastel, acrylic and oil. She is a local medical provider and self-taught painter, working out of her home studio, Lovewell Art Studio in Winooski.

Both Kent and Ashline will hold an opening reception at the Community Room of the Pierson Library on Thursday, March 2 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Celtic Cats

Celebrate the season with the Celtic Cats.

The University of Vermont’s Celtic Cat Irish dance team performs at the Pierson Library on Friday, March 3 at 6:30 p.m.

There’s no need to register for this free event, which is appropriate for all ages. Join us for a stomping good time!

Friday, March 3rd at 6:30 pm

Wednesday series

On Wednesday, March 8, at 6:30 p.m., the Town Hall hosts the second installment of the Wednesday Series, “The Most Costly Journey: Stories of Migrant Farmworkers in Vermont Drawn,” presented by Julia Doucet and Andy Kolovos. This non-fiction comic anthol-

Business Notes

Wake Robin names new chief executive

Meagan Buckley, of Richmond, has been named president and CEO of Wake Robin in Shelburne.

Buckley has served as the director of health and resident services for five years and held the interim president and CEO role prior to her appointment. She is a licensed nursing home administrator who held leadership positions within the industry before joining Wake Robin’s staff.

“Meagan has a proven track record, knows the community very well, and is able to get things done effectively, with compassion, poise, and a wonderful sense of humor,” board chair John Maitland said.

Buckley succeeds outgoing president and CEO Martha Maksym, who led the retirement home for three years before retiring, including through the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.

“I am beyond excited to take over this role and look forward to continuing as a member of the Wake Robin family, which is filled with lovely, caring, and kind people. I thank the community for its trust in me and look forward to our next chapter together,” Buckley said.

Shelburne News

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Contact: 1340 Williston Road South Burlington, VT 05403 (802) 985-3091

Brrr...

Watershed grant benefits teachers

The Lake Champlain Basin Program recently awarded an education grant to the University of Vermont Lake Champlain Sea Grant program to create the Watershed Alliance Teacher and Researcher Partnership.

This new partnership will support middle and high school teachers employed by schools in the Lake Champlain Basin in Vermont and New York to foster connections with researchers and integrate watershed science into classrooms. The year-long program includes hands-on learning opportunities aboard UVM’s state-of-the-art research vessel

Marcelle Melosira, involvement in ongoing water research projects and development of educational materials and lesson plans.

Although there is no cost to participate, space is limited. Teachers will be selected through an application process that is open until Friday, Feb. 24, at bit. ly/3HOMnhX. Selected applicants will be notified in March.

The intensive summer session, July 31 through Aug. 4, will take place at several locations, including the Marcelle Melosira and the university’s Rubenstein Ecosystem Sciences Laboratory. Teachers will work alongside research-

ers to conduct field assessments, water quality monitoring and limnological sampling of Lake Champlain and learn about the watershed’s unique characteristics.

During this initial week, they also will begin to brainstorm ideas for a watershed Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics-based unit and match with a researcher to develop their new curriculum. These individual lessons and corresponding materials will be compiled into a larger curriculum to be shared with other teachers in the Lake Champlain basin.

OPINION

Shelburne option tax will diversify reliance on property taxes

Guest Perspective

Michael

At the annual spring retreat in April 2022, the Shelburne Selectboard directed the finance committee to investigate the use of a local option tax to generate additional and diversified sources of revenue to augment the town’s current reliance on property taxes.

This was in light of the anticipated $60 million plus dollars in capital expenses facing Shelburne in the next five to seven years. The committee presented information to the board that portrayed a local option tax as a favorable way to diversify and augment revenue sources.

In October, the selectboard voted to put the issue to the voters at Town Meeting Day. The following is intended to be a factual and objective presentation of this information. The selectboard, in voting to put this issue to a vote, signaled the appropriateness of the tax as a means of meeting the financial needs of Shelburne.

What is a local option tax?

Vermont law allows a municipality to impose a 1 percent tax in addition to the already-existing statewide taxes on sales, meals, rooms and alcohol transactions within its physical boundaries.

A Shelburne local option tax would be applied to the same list of items and services currently taxed by the state through its statewide taxes on sales, meals, rooms and alcohol that occur within the town’s geographic limits.

These sales are typically determined locationally by the selling establishment’s

zip code. While the local option tax adds 1 percentage point to the current statewide taxes for these transactions, many basic necessity goods are exempted from the option tax as well as the state sales tax.

A local option tax is collected only on taxable retail sales, room rents, and sales of meals and alcoholic beverages. The following items are examples of purchases not subject to the local option tax: Clothing and shoes; food and food products; non-alcoholic beverages; gasoline and diesel fuel; retail electricity and heating fuel; agricultural supplies; motor vehicle purchase or rental; medical equipment and supplies; over-thecounter drugs; feminine hygiene products; and other special purpose non-taxed goods.

Tax generation, spending

Initial annual local option tax revenues are projected to be approximately $940,000, net of administrative fees to state. The tax is collected by merchants on taxable items and both state and option taxes are filed with the state. The local option tax is administered by the state, not by the town or merchant. It is anticipated that somewhere between 30 percent and 75 percent of the tax would be paid by visitors to Shelburne.

A Shelburne option tax would diversify the community’s high reliance on property tax revenues and would help diversify and significantly expand the amount of town revenue sources for needed and looming infrastructure and capital improvements.

A prospective Shelburne local option tax would also help introduce an additional and dependable revenue source generated by all users of town services, including visitors, businesses and residents alike who

Letters to the Editor

all stand to benefit from the expenditure of prospective option tax revenues.

The Shelburne Selectboard approved a local option tax expenditure policy at its Oct. 11 meeting. That policy states:

“It is the policy of the Shelburne Selectboard that revenues derived from local option taxes be dedicated to the following purposes: capital expenditures/projects; debt reduction; reserve funds for future capital projects; repairs or other emergency needs related to a disaster as declared by the Selectboard or State or Federal agencies; and/or land conservation/open space protection for creation and/or utilization of public space.”

Visitor activity

Shelburne has substantial and growing commerce from visitors and tourists. Precise data on visitor and tourist sales is

not collected. Shelburne Farms, Shelburne Museum and Vermont Teddy Bear draw about 300,000 visitors each year.

Economic data indicates that visitors account for a substantial share of Shelburne’s retail, meals, rooms and alcoholic beverage sales. Over 5 million vehicles per year pass through Shelburne on Route 7.

The following are examples of the types of services Shelburne provides to both visitors and residents: police, fire and rescue services; library; public dispatch; roads; administration; recreational activities; wastewater and stormwater facilities; and bike and walking paths.

Michael Ashooh is chair of the Shelburne Selectboard. For more information about the proposed Shelburne tax proposal, go to shelburnevt.org; tax.vermont/gov/ business/lot; and bit.ly/3ZouqxZ.

Local sales taxes are unnecessary

To the Editor:

The Shelburne Selectboard’s request to institute a local option tax is unnecessary and damaging. It’s a regressive tax on those least able to pay and those on fixed incomes. In addition, 30 percent of the funds plus a fee go to the state.

Why impose this tax in this difficult economic time of inflation where it is outpacing wage growth and a potential recession exists? Unlike neighboring towns, Shelburne has no large commercial capacity. Twelve months of the year Shelburne pays the full tax; for five months tourists pay.

An earlier selectboard wisely rejected a sales tax as being unnecessary. That fact remains true today.

The problem in Shelburne is spending. A wastewater upgrade is projected at $30 million. The water department seeks $1.1 million in the current budget and has imposed a stormwater fee. A new fire house

has taken approximately $400,000 and will have to be re-estimated at a value greater than the original $10 million. There is no use designated for the present firehouse with its associated cost.

The Chittenden Solid Waste District and the Champlain Water District have combined bonds of $42 million. Shelburne has spent a considerable money on the release of two police chiefs, lawsuit fees for the salt fiasco and a former development director.

The only way a Shelburne taxpayer can affect their taxes is with their vote on the town budget. This year’s tax increase is 4.5 percent. The budget is $10.6 million and with additional items it totals $11.7 million.

The town has American Rescue Plan Act funds of $2.2 million. Why is this not adequate? Enough is enough.

A regressive sales tax on those least able to pay in a slightly commercialized town is an unnecessary and inappropriate option.

for all your Special Events

Senate looks to ban sale of flavored tobacco, vape products

From the Senate

With town meeting a week away, we are nearly halfway through the legislative session. The week leading up to town meeting and the week after are extremely busy for legislators as we work to complete important legislation and meet with constituents during town meeting break. March 17 is crossover, when all Senate bills must be ready to move to the House and all House bills must be ready to move to the Senate.

Among many issues before the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare is the disturbing trend of nicotine addiction among middle and secondary school students. Bill S.18 will follow the example of Massachusetts, California and many cities and counties across the country to ban in state sales of flavored tobacco and vape products.

The Vermont Department of Health, American heart and cancer associations and researchers tell us that there was increased youth e-cigarette use of 14 percent between 2017-2019. Young adults also increased their use, and the numbers are growing.

The Vermont Principals Association indicates use of flavored vapes is so prevalent that school

districts are spending money to set up expensive vape sensors in bathrooms and other places in schools. We recently heard from Leland and Gray students about efforts to curb use of flavored tobacco and vapes.

Former Champlain Valley Union High School students shared struggles with their costly addiction to nicotine.

Young and adult smokers indicate they began their use of e-cigarettes or tobacco with flavored products including menthol. Flavors including menthol are added to vape liquids and tobacco to make them taste better than plain tobacco. Tobacco companies are marketing these flavors with catchy names such as bubble gum, strawberry, “cinnamon fire” or green apple. Menthol is added to all tobacco products. Menthol masks burning sensations, cools the throat and suppresses coughs. The false word on the street is that menthol helps people quit. The reality is that menthol and other flavor additives are known to increase addiction to nicotine.

According to the Vermont health department, “Menthol makes starting easier and quitting harder.” Nicotine increases (dopamine) euphoria associated with addiction through a process known as up-regulation. Menthol enhances this, thereby enhancing addictive behavior.

Summer Camps

2023 GUIDE

Promote your program in our Summer Camps guide for targeted exposure to a local audience of kids and parents as they make plans for the upcoming summer season. This advertising section is a go-to guide for summer camp and recreation researchers, making it the ideal place to outline your offerings and secure more early enrollments.

Publication Dates: March 9 and April 6

Deadlines: Thursdays before each issue

Contact: Stowe Reporter/News & Citizen at 802-253-2101, Shelburne News/The Citizen at 802-985-3091 or The Other Paper at 802-864-6670 for information or to advertise your camp (ask about multi-paper, half-price color and Burlington Area Newspaper Group deals).

People addicted to nicotine seek more e-cigs or more tobacco. They need to smoke or vape more frequently or earlier in the day.

Kids hooked on nicotine negatively affect their brain development. They also may have difficulty getting through a class without more nicotine and nicotine addiction can lead to other lifelong addictions. Electronic cigarette and tobacco companies target marketing to youth. They also target women, the Black community and LGBTQ peple, who represent a higher proportion of those addicted to flavored products.

We all know there are health consequences such as lung cancer, heart disease or emphysema. These are very costly but

preventable diseases. We know that some retail establishments will be affected with loss of sales when S.18 goes into effect. Retailers suggest that the state will lose up to $75 million in tax revenue. Does that compare with benefits for young Vermonters or savings from business productivity or health care costs? The health department indicates that annual worker productivity losses in Vermont total $326 million, $404 million in health care costs and $93.7 million in Medicaid.

Over $11 million is spent on tobacco-related Medicare costs. Vermont has a nationally recognized 802 Quit Program that includes menthol quit support. Should S.18 pass the Senate and House this session, we can look

for successful outcomes like those experienced in Massachusetts. Importantly, youth and adult tobacco and vape use rates should decrease significantly. Kids can return to interests in art, music, languages, science, sports and others things rather than sneaking into corners to vape. Taking health and welfare seriously is important for all of us. We are especially hopeful for next generations.

Please contact me should you have comments about this article.

Ginny Lyons, a Democrat from Williston, represents South Burlington, Charlotte, Hinesburg, Shelburne and several other towns in the Chittenden-Southeast Senate district.

X-Files: Look, up in the sky

Somewhere along the line, within the last year or so, I’ve begun watching X-Files reruns while Helene is out or otherwise engaged, following the close encounters of FBI Agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully as they wade through the vast gulf of unexplained phenomenon that has forever inundated earthly dreams and nightmares. Having never watched the original show, I’m nowhere near done — nine

seasons, lots of catch up — so the series provides me with some delightfully escapist fun, until recently that is, when the lines between fantasy and reality blurred considerably, rendering our skies — if not unfriendly — then certainly suspicious. Is the invasion we’ve all secretly feared since childhood finally underway? UFOs — unidentified objects that fly — or drift, depending on whether they’re solid material, balloons or something else, have invaded North American airspace, their ominous presence further mysti-

The Secret to Your Summer Camp’s Success

fied by a series of official cliches, explanations and euphemisms designed to transpose language into something meaningless. From “radar anomaly” to “neutralize” any perceived threat to “domain awareness gap”, crafty attempts all, to express ignorance without sounding ignorant.

While I can probably assure you, at midweek anyway, that a full-blown invasion appears unlikely, the vapid military explanation of what’s going on does not engender confidence, offering instead recollections of the Air Force’s “Project Bluebook”, which devoted 17 years to collecting, analyzing and reporting thousands of UFO sightings, ultimately coming up empty: No evidence of “extraterrestrial vehicles.” The world though, begged to differ with their conclusion, as UFOs and especially Area 51 became a fascination for true believers everywhere, pinpointing Nevada as the ultimate destination of the very foreign spacecraft supposedly recovered at Roswell.

Vermonters needn’t travel cross country to fuel our fantasies or confirm our convictions. Crossing the Connecticut River into New Hampshire’s White Mountains should suffice, bringing believers to the site of the first widely publicized report of an alien abduction near Franconia Notch in 1961. According to Yankee Magazine, Betty and Barney Hill of Portsmouth were driving home at 10:30 p.m. on Sept. 19, stopping for a closer look when they saw bright lights in the sky assuming it was a shooting star.

What they later described as “humanoid figures” through

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&

the illuminated windows, prompted their speeding away but the craft followed, swooping so low they stopped the car. Waking up 35 miles south, they were unable to account for two hours of “lost time” aside from vague recollections under hypnosis of being brought aboard the ship and examined by the occupants.

The Hills’ story fueled early speculation of whether we were alone in the universe and what it all meant, teasing a measure of credibility for a number of 1950s movies ranging widely from unintentionally funny — “Plan 9 From Outer Space,” to thought provoking — “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” to downright frightening — “The Invasion of the Body Snatchers.”

Considering the uptick in sightings the last several years from dependable observers such as airline crews and fighter pilots, it’s no wonder a 2020 study out of the UK revealed half the adults surveyed are convinced we’ll make contact with aliens in the next 50 years with one in five worried for their lives, fearing that contact will be in the form of an invasion. The most rationale fear expressed by 71 percent of respondents was that of their fellow humans, panicked and dangerous amid the expected chaos.

Amid U.S. fighter jets having downed four still unexplained “objects” the past two weeks, while China spins the entire issue as evidence of America’s decline, CNN reminds us that an intelligence report released in January — before any of this happened — found a significant increase in UFO sightings, mostly by Navy and Air Force pilots and personnel, almost double those reported in the previous two decades.

The later investigation was able to identify many of those objects as balloons or “balloon-like entities,” unmanned aircraft such as drones, with an unspecified number listed as “sensor irregularities” or failures by either people or equipment. However, at least 171 sightings remain mysterious

according to another word salad of an organization: The “All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office”, established last summer by the Pentagon. Whether or not any of this is a cause for worry is basically immaterial considering the utter nonsense millions of us worry about already.

Although given our national personality, protecting our right to out-of-proportion panic as though it’s an emotional bank vault, it’s implausible these fears will ever be put to rest, but author Fred Kaplan, writing on Slate this week, comes close. Suggesting that while questions remain, particularly about the last three eliminated objects, Kaplan writes that a couple of things are quite possible: The Chinese have been doing this for quite a while and, until this month, radar operators haven’t been looking for these things.

While we assume military intelligence picks up everything passing through our airspace, that’s neither remotely true, nor is it a sign of incompetence. “Thousands of objects are passing through the lower regions of outer space” Kaplan explains, including satellites, meteors and various debris, “and if NORAD tracked them all they might be overwhelmed, perhaps taking their eyes off the truly plausible dangers.” Balloons flying at the speeds they do, simply don’t fit into the detection algorithm.

Walking down a muddy road on a sunlit afternoon I wonder how Mulder and Scully would handle this high-altitude dust up or if they’d even consider it worthy of becoming an X-File since no alien abductions have been reported. Ostensibly, I’m scanning the trees, wires and the near violet skies for the barred owl I suspect is keeping squirrels off my bird feeders but as my gaze drifts slightly upward — who knows, right? — I realize that our physical bodies don’t need to be abducted at all to jump start a frenzy. Our minds will do just fine.

Is the invasion we’ve all secretly feared since childhood finally underway?

Community Notes

Shelburne Age Well hosts Grab and Go meal

Age Well and St. Catherine’s of Siena Parish in Shelburne are teaming up to provide a meal to go for anyone age 60 and older on Tuesday, March 14.

Meals will be available for pick up in the parking lot at 72 Church St. from 11 a.m. until noon and are available for anyone 60 or older.

The menu is beef round, boiled potatoes, cabbage and carrots in beef stock, wheat dinner roll with butter, leprechaun cake with frosting and milk.

To order a meal contact Sheryl Oberding at soberding@yahoo. com or 802-825-8546. Deadline to order is Wednesday, March 8. If this is a first-time order, please provide your name, address, phone number and date of birth.

If you haven’t yet filled out a 2022 congregate meal registration form, bring a completed registration form with you or send one to: Age Well; 875 Roosevelt Highway, Ste. 210, Colchester VT 05446. Forms may also be downloaded at bit.ly/3Xtebih

More information on this program can be found on agewellvt.org.

Shelburne farmers market sets winter dates

The next Shelburne farmers market is Saturday, March 11, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory.

The last farmers markets will be held March 25.

St. Catherine of Siena hosts Red Cross blood drive

Give the lifesaving gift of blood at the Shelburne community blood drive on Tuesday, March 21 from noon to 5 p.m. at the St. Catherine of Siena parish hall in Shelburne.

This blood drive is our way of giving neighbors an opportunity to help save lives.

To give, call 1-800-733-2767 or visit http://RedCrossBlood.org and enter Shelburne to schedule an appointment.

Enjoy Age Well meals at Charlotte Senior Center

The Age Well meal for Thursday, March 2, is 10-11 a.m., at the Charlotte Senior Center and features diced beef with potatoes and burgundy wine sauce, broccoli florets, Craisin muffin with butter,

CVU teams win robotics state championships

On Feb. 12, Champlain Valley Union High School hosted the Vermont FIRST Tech Challenge Robotics Championship, an international high school robotics competition, and the school’s teams won.

Teams create robots to complete different challenges, work to connect with and mentor others and showcase their work at competition.

Nineteen teams from all over

strawberry shortcake with cream and milk.

You must have pre-registered by the prior Monday by contacting 802-425-6345 or kpughe@charlotteseniorcentervt.org

The suggested donation is $5. Check the website for last-minute cancellations at https://bit. ly/3IruDLi.

Shelburne Players present comic ‘Robin Hood’

Join The Shelburne Players for its 40th production, “The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood,” Friday to Sunday, March 17-19 and March 24-25.

Show times are at 7 p.m., with

Vermont participated in this year’s event, including two teams from CVU: the Varsity RoboHawks and the JV RoboRedhawks.

Due to their performance in the judged engineering portfolio presentation and extensive outreach helping to establish six FIRST Lego League robotics teams in the Champlain Valley School District middle schools, the varsity RoboHawks won the

Sunday matinees at 2 p.m., Shelburne Town Center, 5420 Shelburne Road.

“It sure is hard to be humble when you are a swashbuckling, egocentric super-hero. But our gallant guy-in-green tries his best as he swaggers through ‘The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood,’ a frantically funny, Monty Pythonesque retelling of the classic,” say the Players.

This time around, the legendary legend, in his never-ending quest to aid the needy, encounters a lovely damsel-in-distress (oddly obsessed with skin conditions); an ever-scheming sheriff who would rather bowl a strike than hit a bull’s-eye; a gold-hoarding,

Inspire Award.

The award recognizes the team with the best designed robot, teamwork and community outreach. It also comes with an invitation to the World Championship in Houston.

The two Champlain Valley Union teams cruised through the qualifying rounds, then sailed through the semifinals. The two teams worked together in an alliance and faced a

strong alliance between Essex and U32. Each alliance won a match, forcing a tie breaker.

The CVU teams, working together, won by just four points, and gave the JV robotics team a slot alongside their varsity counterparts to the world championship in April.

Check out robohawks5741. com to find out how to help support efforts to get the teams to Houston.

bad-guy monarch wannabe; and a good-natured gadfly who manages to make their way into every scene, whether they belong there or not. Combine them with an expandable band of spoon-wielding Merry Men — or Women — whose collective IQs equal six, and you’ve got an irreverent jaunt through Sherwood Forest you won’t forget. Tickets at shelburneplayers. com.

Cochran’s brings back Nordic cross race

On Sunday, April 2, Cochran’s Ski Area will hold its annual Nordic ski cross. This fun and challenging competition is for all

ages and includes uphill, downhill, slalom gates, jumps and obstacles — all on one pair of skis. Bring the whole family to watch. The race also includes a free pancake feast with hot slopeside syrup for all competitors and a shorter course for kids. Prizes awarded for top three in all age categories.

The fastest eight men and fastest eight women compete headto-head in an all-out chaotic gun for the finish. Tickets are $25 per person at cochranskiarea.com. Start time is 11 a.m. for kids and 12:30 p.m. for adults.

For more information contact mrand@gmavt.net or call 802-3737204.

“These are the Trees that I Trust,” by artist Lisa Kent

LIBRARY NEWS

continued from page 3

ogy presents stories of survival and healing told by Latin American migrant farmworkers in Vermont.

Writing workshop

On Thursday, March 10, also at 6:30 p.m., in the large community room at the library, participate in a free humor writing workshop, “From Flat to All That: Bringing Dimension to Your Story,” hosted by local Vermont author Chris Tebbetts.

Town meeting poem

Shelburne poet laureate Rob Broder, who is program coordinator at the Pierson Library, was asked to write and read a poem at town meeting. See sidebar at right.

On Shelburne Road

On Shelburne Road

There’s a wire

Where pigeons

Congregate and coo.

Sometimes there’s a hawk

Holding a pigeon in its talons Doing what hawks do.

On Shelburne Road

There’s a cafe

Where coffee brews

And pastries bake.

Old friends

Order to-go

For a walk near the lake.

On Shelburne Road

There’s a shed

Where a few skunks

Call home.

Ignore them, someone suggests Let them be would be best, They’ll move out on their own.

(and they did.)

On Shelburne Road

There’s a library, A museum, And a bookstore too, A brewery, a vineyard, A factory that makes teddy bears, There’s so much to do.

On Shelburne Road

There’s some weather Making the town Silent and still No cars or people, Six more weeks

Predicts Punxsutawney Phil On Shelburne Road

There’s a house Inside a family

All cozy and bright. Bedtime stories

Put little ones to sleep… I bid you all goodnight.

Be sure to visit our advertisers and tell them: “I saw your name in the Shelburne News.”

No. 1 CVU faces Essex in semifinals

LAUREN READ CORRESPONDENT

Girls’ basketball

Top-seed Champlain Valley hung on for a 48-37 win over No. 8 Rice in the Division I girls’ basketball quarterfinals Friday, Feb. 24.

The Redhawks used a 15-2 run in the second quarter to pull away and then held off the Green Knights to book a spot in the DI semifinals.

Addi Hunter had 14 points to pace the Redhawks, while Shelby Companion chipped in with 10. Merrill Jacobs added eight points for CVU.

No. 1 Champlain Valley will face off against No. 4 Essex on Monday at the University of Vermont’s Patrick Gymnasium in the semifinals at 8 p.m.

The two teams did not face each other in the regular season but the Redhawks have yet to lose to a Vermont opponent this year.

Boys’ basketball

The boys ended the regular season on a high note, beating Rice 53-50 on Saturday, Feb. 25, to secure the No. 1 seed in the DI playoffs.

Alex Provost had 16 points and eight rebounds to lead the Redhawks, while Logan Vaughn scored a double-double (10 points and 12 rebounds). Sam Sweeney and Kyle Eaton each chipped in eight.

The team ended the season with a 19-1 record secured it a first-round bye in the upcoming tournament.

The Redhawks faced the winner of No. 8 Mount Mansfield and No. 9 Burlington in the quar-

Yoga for mobility

Join instructor C. Jane Taylor for an accessible, fun, energizing yoga flow that brings students out of their daily grind and into their true nature of goodness. Get your heart rate up a little, and then wind down and relax in a balanced class designed to make you feel better

terfinals on Friday, March 3, at 7 p.m.

CVU beat both Mount Mansfield and Burlington in the matchups in the regular season.

Boys’ hockey

The boys’ hockey team traveled to Cairns Arena to take on South Burlington in the DI quarterfinals on Wednesday after press deadline.

The Redhawks earned the No.5 seed in the postseason with a 7-10-3 record.

CVU, which lost three of its last four games, looked to rebound from a 3-2 loss to the Wolves late in the regular season. South Burlington won two of the teams’ matchups and tied the third.

The winner of the quarterfinal advanced to the semifinals where No. 1 Rice waits. That game will be played on Saturday, March 4, at 6:45 p.m.

Girls’ hockey

Despite a late-season losing streak, the Champlain ValleyMount Mansfield girls’ hockey team earned the No. 4 seed in the playoffs and a home quarterfinal game.

The CougarHawks (12-7-1) took on No. 5 Essex (6-12-2) in the quarterfinals on Wednesday at 5:15 p.m. after deadline.

Late in the season, CVU-MMU beat Essex 4-1. The two teams also battled to a 3-3 tie earlier.

If the CougarHawks can hold off the Hornets upset bid, CVU-MMU will advance to take on No. 1 Spaulding (19-0-1), which beat them 3-0 in the final game of the regular season.

That matchup will take place on Friday, March 3, at 5 p.m.

Shelburne Parks & Rec News

than when you came in the door. All-levels welcome. Bring a yoga mat and a cotton blanket or large beach towel.

Taylor has been practicing for more than 20 years and has been assisting the University of Vermont with yoga teacher training for nine years. She teaches with alignment, humor and ease.

Registration deadline is Wednesday, March 22. Sessions are held in the Shelburne town gym on Tuesdays, March 28 to May 2 from 9-10 a.m. The fee is $80.

Youth lacrosse

The Shelburne Youth Lacrosse registration deadline is Monday,

March 6.

There are programs for kids in kindergarten through eighth grade. The fee is $55.

For kids through second grade, a mini stick is included in the price of registration. For kids in grades three to eight, players must provide their own equipment and they are required to have a current

U.S. Lacrosse membership ($30 annual fee).

Spring, summer camps

Registration is now open for spring and summer camps and programs. More at shelburnevt.org/160/ parks-recreation.

FIRE DEPARTMENT

continued from page 1

members: B. Harris Maeck, W. H. Bacon and Henry Harrington.

According to records, Maeck, a local businessman, served as spokesman for the committee and seemed to have provided some of the money to get the service started.

Although the date is unclear, sometime immediately following that town meeting vote, a new Ford Model T one-ton truck chassis was purchased from Hinesburg Ford dealer Mead and McKenzie for a total of $500. A. F. Shattuck was paid $20 for painting the truck, T.J. White received $12 for his labor and Shelburne Farms provided $40.99 in supplies and labor.

Although there are no known photographs to show exactly what this first fire truck looked like, Tompkins was able to speculate based on extensive research that the Ford chassis would have been cab-less and without rear fenders, which records show were later added.

Tompkins spent months of his free time compiling town records, receipts and first-hand experience to pin down the exact history of the department and compiled his findings into a nearly six-page document that can be viewed on the department’s website.

“They would sometimes list every doggone expenditure. So, I can say OK, the original truck had this,’ or ‘they paid so much for that. So and so did this.’ It’s pretty interesting,” he said.

When the Shelburne Fire Department was officially chartered in 1941, the town built a building behind the town hall to serve as a dedicated fire station and town garage that housed the fire truck, town plow and cost a total of $3,833.13 to build.

According to Dorothea Penar, a member of the Shelburne Historical Society, this older frame station was later demolished and rebuilt in 1983 on Shelburne Road where the department operates to this day.

Also in 1941, a new fire truck — a 500-gallon-per-minute pumper made by the Buffalo Fire Equipment Corporation on a GMC chassis — was bought. Due to government wartime priorities, it wasn’t delivered until early in 1942 when the town paid $3,152.20 for it.

The fire truck’s GMC chassis was purchased from “FitzPatrick Garage” for $707.70. A total of $2,444.50 was then paid to the Buffalo Fire Appliance Corporation for the conversion and outfit-

ting of it.

“We were one of the earlier departments from the area to have gotten that first fire apparatus,” Tompkins said.

That first year as a chartered department, members responded to 10 fire calls monitored by a phone at the Shelburne Farms Inn front desk and a siren mounted on the schoolhouse roof served as the fire signal.

The total number of alarm cycles gave these early firemen an idea of where to respond: three cycles indicated the emergency was in the village or toward Burlington; six that it was south of the village; nine that it was in Shelburne Falls or points east; and 12 that it was on Shelburne Point.

Shelburne’s original fire truck was finally sold on Aug. 9, 1943, for $50. Tompkins explained in his report that no one knows exactly who purchased it or where it ended up, but by then “it was presumably rather the worse for wear and certainly obsolete after almost 20

years of service to the town,” he wrote.

Since its inception in 1923, this department has been entirely volunteer-run with a small stipend allocated in the town budget for the firemen each year — this 30-member squad still diligently responds to nearly 300 emergencies each year.

“In my opinion, it’s an amazing institution,” new member Mark Healey said. “I grew up in New Hampshire that had all paid careers and full-time fire departments. So, when I moved here and found out that it was volunteer and then learned over the course of the year that it’s 100 percent volunteer and so professional and dedicat-

ed. It’s really an amazing asset to the town and the people of Shelburne.”

“It’s 100 years since the moment on that Town Meeting Day and here we are coming up to another town meeting,” he added.

To read the full history written by Tompkins visit bit.ly/3SQxtND.

“It’s 100 years since the moment on that Town Meeting Day and here we are coming up to another town meeting.”

— Mark Healey

Winter wonders: icicles, snow doughnuts, hair ice

The Outside Story Susan Shea

A few winters ago, I snowshoed along a trail that led below a series of cliffs with rows of huge, hanging icicles. These icicles were up to 40 feet long, with colors ranging from blue-green to yellowish-brown. In some spots, the icicles extended from clifftop to base, forming thick columns of ice. This spectacular display was created by water from melting snow and underground seeps dripping off the cliffs, refreezing and building up over time. Minerals leached out of rock and soil can contribute to the colors of icicles.

Although less spectacular, icicles on buildings form in the same way. When sunlight or heat emitted through the roof of a poorly insulated building melts snow in subfreezing temperatures, the water refreezes as it drips. Because of the influence of sunlight, more icicles tend to grow on sunny, south-facing sides of buildings and cliffs than on shaded north sides.

An icicle begins its life as a single drop of water hanging from an object in cold air. As the drop starts to freeze, a thin outer shell of ice forms. Water continues to flow down the sides in a thin film, creating more freezing and allowing the icicle to lengthen over time. Actively growing icicles have liquid drips at the tip and a narrow, liquid-filled tube inside. Naturally-occurring salts and other minerals in the water cause ripples on the outside of an icicle. Icicles also develop when rain falls in air slightly below freezing, and rainwater dripping from branches and wires creates an accumulation of small icicles. The rate of growth of an icicle in length and width is a

function of air temperature, wind speed and water flux. Icicles can grow as fast as one centimeter per minute.

While icicles are a common seasonal sight, other winter weather phenomena are more unusual. On warmer winter days, I’ve occasionally seen long tubes of snow, either hollow or filled, on steep slopes. These are snow rollers, or snow doughnuts. For these unique shapes to form, there must be a top layer of fresh, sticky snow, a substrate such as ice or powder that the top layer doesn’t adhere to, a temperature just above freezing

SHELBURNE

and a wind. On hillsides, gravity aids in their formation. Snow rollers can also occur in fields and on frozen lakes where a strong, sustained wind does the work. As a strip of snow rolls down a hill or is blown across a field, it turns over, accumulating more snow and creating a layered, cylindrical, shape.

“The Vermont Weather Book,” by David Ludlum, describes hundreds of snow rollers in fields near Burlington, Vermont, that were up to 13 inches in diameter and 18 inches long. The National Weather Service once reported a

large occurrence of snow rollers on an Idaho prairie that were up to 2 feet in diameter. Most snow rollers are smaller, some as small as a tennis ball. The weather service considers snow rollers a rare meteorological event because they need a specific combination of conditions to form.

Another interesting, uncommon cold weather phenomenon is hair ice, also called ice wool or frost beard. These are thin filaments of ice that grow out of rotting logs and are packed together in soft curls and waves resembling human hair. Hair ice occurs on humid nights in

SHELBURNE

northern forests when the temperature is slightly below freezing. This ice often melts in the morning, although it sometimes maintains its shape for days. In 2015, Swiss and German researchers discovered a species of fungus that grows on dead tree bark and can cause hair ice to develop. When ice forms on the surface of a log and the water inside the log remains liquid, the temperature difference produces suction that draws water out of the wood pores and grows the “hair.” Chemicals released by the fungus shape the ice into strands.

Along with the challenges of icy roads and snow shoveling, winter offers a host of wonders if you take the time to look.

QUARTERLY WATER & SEWER

PAYMENT

Due Monday, March 13, 2023

Payments must be RECEIVED or POSTMARKED by MIDNIGHT, March 13, 2023.

Late payments are subject to penalty and interest.

Payments can be left in lock box at Police Department Dispatch until Midnight, March 13, 2023.

PLEASE NOTE: The Police Department cannot provide any information regarding accounts or receipts for payments.

If any questions please call 985-5120

Office hours for payment in person are

Monday - Friday 8:00 am - 5:00 pm

Police Department is open 24/7

3RD FY 22-23 PROPERTY TAX INSTALLMENT

Due Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Payments must be POSTMARKED or RECEIVED in the TOWN OFFICES by MIDNIGHT, March 15, 2023.

Late payments are subject to penalty and interest.

Payments can be left in lock box at Police Department Dispatch until Midnight, March 15, 2023.

PLEASE NOTE: The Police Department cannot provide any information regarding your tax account or receipts for payments.

Office hours for payment in person are

Monday-Friday 8:00am-5:00pm

If any questions, please 985-5120

Susan Shea is a naturalist, writer and conservationist based in Vermont. Illustration by Adelaide Murphy Tyrol. The Outside Story is assigned and edited by Northern Woodlands magazine and sponsored by the Wellborn Ecology Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, nhcf.org.

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ARIES

March 21 - April 20

Take a few deep breaths before forging ahead with a plan that you have in mind, Aries. You might need to think things through a little more in the days to come.

TAURUS

April 21 - May 21

Taurus, when a new opportunity arises, you may feel like a sh out of water until you get into a routine. After that learning period, things will come more easily.

GEMINI

May 22 - June 21

Gemini, do not wait around for change to come. Sometimes you have to get the ball rolling yourself. Put plans in motion and gure out who will join you.

CANCER

June 22 - July 22

Cancer, right now is a big waiting game, and that could have you feeling a bit frustrated. If you are ready for action, take on a hobby or something else to stay busy.

LEO

July 23 - Aug. 23

Leo, you may get wind that others are talking about you when you are not around. Remember that all publicity is good publicity. You’re on their minds and that’s important.

VIRGO

Aug. 24 - Sept. 22

Virgo, after a few tumultuous months, you nally get into a groove and forge a new path for yourself. You may be surprised by what comes your way.

LIBRA

Sept. 23 - Oct. 23

You may joke about something that someone else takes very seriously, Libra. Be careful with your words to avoid offending someone you care about.

SCORPIO

Oct. 24 - Nov. 22

You may have a lot of ideas, Scorpio, but it is essential to gure out funding if those plans are to be put in motion. This includes home improvements.

SUDOKU

Here’s How It Works:

Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must ll each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can gure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The more numbers you name, the easier it gets to solve the puzzle!

SAGITTARIUS

Nov. 23 - Dec. 21 Sagittarius, it’s time to embrace your love of culture, as you need to start pushing the creative side rather than the analytical one. Visit a museum when time permits.

CAPRICORN

Dec. 22 - Jan. 20 Opportunity awaits if you know where to look, Capricorn. A new business venture could be right around the corner. Start thinking of ways to get involved.

AQUARIUS

Jan. 21 - Feb. 18 Aquarius, big project is nished and you could not be happier. That pressure may have been weighing you down and now you have more free time.

PISCES

Feb. 19 - March 20 Pisces, your own mind could be your only obstacle this week. Clear this mental hurdle and enjoy the challenges ahead.

CROSSWORD

CLUES ACROSS

1. Relaxing place

4. Plant by scattering

7. A type of explorer

12. Unique traits

15. Lady

16. Dismayed

18. Railway

19. Type of whale

20. Sodium

21. Manning and Lilly are two

24. Where golfers begin

27. Entrapped

30. In uential punk artist

31. Hebrew calendar month

33. Car mechanics group

34. Undesirable rodent 35. Minneapolis suburb

37. Witch

39. Get free of 41. A written proposal or reminder

42. British School 44. Country on west coast of Africa

47. Cool! 48. Information 49. __ route 50. Jim Nantz’s network

52. Something to register (abbr.)

53. Give cards incorrectly

56. One who’s learning on the job

61. Stevenson adventure novel

63. Taking careful notice

64. CNN’s founder

65. Speak badly of

CLUES DOWN

1. A person with unusual powers of foresight

2. Single sheet of glass

3. Portrays a character

4. Expresses happiness

5. Acquires

6. “The Martian” author

7. Degree

8. 60-minute intervals

9. A detective’s pal

10. Group of nations (abbr.)

11. Popular Georgia rockers

12. Fencing swords

13. Basement

14. Samoan monetary unit

17. Male parent

ANSWERS

22. Finnish lake

23. A smooth fabric

24. Arctic explorers (abbr.)

25. Mild yellow Dutch cheese

26. Very willing

28. Expressed pleasure

29. Lasso

32. Hindu model of ideal man

36. Move your head in approval

38. Ill-__: gained illegally 40. Die 43. Accused publicly 44. Precious stone

Individual thing or person

Behaved in a way that degraded

Derogatory term

No seats available

Liability

Popular beverage

Tough outer skin of fruit

58. __ Spumante (Italian wine)

59. Troubles 60. Negative 62. Camper