Heating up
House fire
The Vermont Climate Council takes its show on the road
Home a total loss, man hospitalized, after fire Sunday evening
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April 24, 2025
Weekly news coverage for Charlotte and Hinesburg
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Second CVU student leaves amid threat of deportation BRIANA BRADY STAFF WRITER
Champlain Valley School District and the surrounding communities continue to feel the impact of changes in processes and attitudes toward immigration at the federal level. On Friday, the district learned that a kindergartener and their family are planning to leave the country and return to Ecuador. This is in addition to two high school students who are choosing to leave after President Trump ordered the end of humanitarian parole protections for Cubans, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans and Haitians. The high school students, who are from Nicaragua, were informed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that they would face deportation if they stayed in the country beyond the end of the month. Although a judge in Boston put a stay on the order, the two seniors are still choosing to leave rather than face an uncertain future. Christina Daudelin, a student and community engagement facilitator with the district who has been organizing support for the students, said that, similarly, this kindergartener and their family are choosing to leave. Unfortunately, she said, this puts them in a precarious financial situation. “Due to the significant cost of coming to the U.S. and now having to leave, the family could use the support of our commuSee IMMIGRATION on page 12
PHOTO BY BRIANA BRADY
Hinesburg beekeepr Ken Brown lost only 20 percent of his colony over the winter, better than the national average.
Springtime is buzzing for Hinesburg beekeeper’s BRIANA BRADY STAFF WRITER
Outfitted in his white jacket and mesh hood, Ken Brown levered open the top of one of his hives last Thursday. The insects buzzed peacefully around his arms. Brown keeps bees in his backyard in Hinesburg, and he was checking to see how many of his bees had survived the winter. Brown bought his first two hives for $25
in 1988 from his home’s previous owner. The bees have been buzzing in his yard ever since. Now, he has 31 nuclei, or nucs — mini-colonies that are partially developed. Brown raises and cares for the nucs before selling them, mostly to small-time beekeepers who might harvest honey from a few hives that they keep in their yards. This year, he had a pretty good survival rate. As he checks the hives, he repositions the bricks holding down the tops.
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“The hives where the brick is upright, I’ve seen enough activity to feel confident that the bees are surviving. My count is about 24 out of 31.” Brown’s survival rate is much higher than what other beekeepers have been seeing across the country. According to Project Apis m., a nonprofit focused on honeySee BEES on page 8