Her story
Fast and slow
Destigmatizing cannabis for therapeutic purposes
Moving Vermont forward after devastating flood
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Volume 52 Number 31
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shelburnenews.com
August 3, 2023
Selectboard considers downtown designation LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
Officials are weighing the pros and cons of implementing a downtown designation in Shelburne — an economic development initiative that has been under consideration since 2019. “It goes back in Vermont history to the desire to strengthen and enhance the traditional downtowns, preserve rural environments and prevent unpleasant sprawl,” town manager Matt Lawless said. According to research done by town planning director Aaron DeNamur, there are currently 24 designated downtowns in the state — including Middlebury, Montpelier, Stowe and Vergennes —- with most municipalities on the list having a significantly smaller population than Shelburne. Both DeNamur and Lawless explained that the 2019 Town Plan has a bit of inconsistency on its recommendations regarding downtown designations. Although it specifically says to maintain the town’s current village center designation, there are also many other strategic actions where the downtown designation could offer additional resources and funding sources. “I think there’s a town plan argument to be made either way,” Lawless said. This year alone, the transportation fund through the state has helped to finance a slew of pocket parks, pedestrian bridges and sidewalk and pedestrian enhancements in downtowns throughout the state, said DeNamur, with some grants exceeding $100,000. Municipalities with a designated downtown receive priority consideration for a number of state grants — State Historic Preservation grants and Transportation Alternatives grants — along with priority when See SELECTBOARD on page 12
PHOTO BY AL FREY
St. Johnsbury’s Barrett Somers slides safely into third as Champlain Valley’s Isaac Russell tries to play the ball during a 9 inning, 8-5 state championship win over the Champlain Valley All Stars in the 10-12 Little League final held at Burlington’s Schifilliti Park Sunday.
St. J beats Champlain in dramatic fashion COREY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER
If there ever was a little league baseball game to watch, it was Sunday afternoon’s edge-of-your-seat, winner-take-all matchup that went to the bottom of the ninth — three innings past regulation. Or perhaps it was Saturday’s game, where the 10-to-12-year-old Little League baseball all-stars from St. Johnsbury and Champlain Valley battled through rain and thunder before a late homer forced the decisive Sunday game. Or even Friday, when St. Johnsbury won out 6-4 over the Lamoille County All Star team after a back-and-forth game that was decided in the fifth inning. There was no shortage of dramatics this weekend — where St. Johnsbury went on a three-game winning streak to beat Lamoille and Champlain Valley to advance to the New England Region Tournament in Bris-
tol, Conn. That’s the last stop before the Little League World Series, played Aug. 16-27 in Williamsport, Penn. It was a heartbreaking loss for the Champlain team, which at more than one point throughout Sunday’s game built those kind of dramatic comebacks that only baseball can produce. “It was an emotional time for all of us,” Champlain head coach Mike Niedbur said. “I told them to try not to hang their heads and how proud we were of them.”
Lamoille v. St. Johnsbury St. Johnsbury’s weekend run toward the Little League World Series began on Friday, where a close matchup with the Lamoille all-stars made for a great game. The Lamoille team got on the board early when leadoff batter Stevie Barnes smacked a solo home run to left field for the first play of the game. The scoring didn’t stop there. St. Johns-
bury responded in the bottom of the first after Lamoille walked in a runner. Then, a single by Owen Ruane drove in a run to give Lamoille a 2-1 lead in the top of the 2nd inning. Landon Mosier tied the game for St. Johnsbury at 2-2 after driving in a run but Lamoille then retook the lead in the 3rd inning when Stevie Barnes hit a hard ground ball to first, scoring Conner Mayo. Both teams were tied 4-4 entering the fifth inning when St. Johnsbury pulled ahead. Maddox Stacey’s two-run homer to center field put the team up 6-4 in the bottom of the fifth. Tayton Goodwin then struck out three batters to close it out. “While the loss really stings, they are a great group of boys and tremendous ballplayers and should be proud of what they accomplished together,” Rick Stram, See LITTLE LEAGUE on page 9