Haunted house
Sky mavericks
Group puts on the scare with social mission
Eastern red bats begin fall migration
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South Burlington’s Community Newspaper Since 1977
the OCTOBER 27, 2022
otherpapersbvt.com
VOLUME 46, NO. 43
Chittenden Solid Waste District asks voters for new sorting facility Current operation ‘extremely inefficient’ COREY MCDONALD STAFF WRITER
Congratulations, you tossed your empty milk jug into your blue bin and left it outside with other recyclable materials to be picked up by a hauler. You’ve done your part. That jug is off to Williston — to the bustling, frenetic facility off Industrial Avenue where employees use outdated technology in a musty, dark and confined building to sort through hundreds of tons of recyclable material every day to package and sell to a volatile commodities market. If it sounds wildly over-capacity, it’s because it is. The Chittenden Solid Waste District Materials Recovery Facility, or MRF, is “extremely inefficient,” executive director Sarah Reeves said, COREY MCDONALD
See RECYCLING page 12
Ethan Hausman, business operations manager with Chittenden Solid Waste District, shows a tour group where bales of recyclables are kept due to a lack of appropriate storage.
Rabies on the rise throughout Chittenden County LIBERTY DARR STAFF WRITER
The Department of Health is urging residents in Chittenden County to take extra precautions due to a greater than expected number of ground-dwelling animals in the county testing positive for rabies. The advisory comes after 10 animals have tested positive for
rabies in the county since July 10, including eight raccoons and two skunks. The total includes five animals in South Burlington, two in Burlington, and one each in Charlotte, Shelburne and Colchester. According to state public health veterinarian Natalie Kwit, this development should raise an alarm in the county. Data from the health department show that, in a typical year, the department could expect
to see about one to two rabid animals from Chittenden County, usually bats. “It’s important that residents take reasonable precautions, such as avoiding contact with wild animals, reporting animals that are acting sick or aggressive, and vaccinating their pets for rabies, so they can enjoy being outside and appreciate wildlife from a safe distance,” Kwit said.
Kwit was able to confirm that two more animals have tested positive for rabies since last week, bringing the total to 12 animals. In response to this uptick in cases, U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services has taken additional measures, including hand vaccinating over 700 raccoons, skunks and foxes for rabies before releasing them back into the wild during their routine
annual fall trapping program that ended on Oct. 14. The USDA will continue their rabies surveillance in Chittenden County by submitting animals to the Vermont Health Department laboratory for rabies testing. If you see a wild or stray animal acting strangely, or are concerned about a rabies exposure, call the Vermont Rabies Hotline at 800-4RABIES.