News & Citizen

Serving the People of Lamoille County with News Since 1881

June 26 2009 Thursday                           Morrisville, VT 05661                        Web Edition

Hyde Park Appoints New Town Clerk by Mickey Smith The Hyde Park Selectboard has chosen Kim Moulton to be the new interim town clerk, replacing Gary Anderson who retires as of June 30. Continued on Page 2 Hyde Park's new Town Clerk Kim Moulton.                 Smith photo Todd Geraci reads his program as his fellow graduates give him a round of applause. Smith photo Superior Court Needed to Allow Geraci to Graduate by Mickey Smith Through a conference call from Grand Isle, Superior Court Judge Gregory Rainville upheld a temporary restraining order (TRO) filed to allow Todd Geraci, 18, to walk with his class at Peoples Academy's 161st graduation ceremony. Continued on Page 2 Putting the Lamoille on the Archeological Map by Mickey Smith CAMBRIDGE –  “It's a very dynamic river,” said Corbett Torrence, a visiting professor at Johnson State College, “let's put the Lamoille on the archeological map.”Continued on Page 2 A broken Lavana arrowhead, one of the earliest styles of arrowhead, found at the Boyden Farm in Cambridge, where JSC students are doing an archeological dig.              Smith photo Peoples Academy Celebrates the Success of the Class of ‘09 by Krystilyn Atkinson Even though the rain forced the Class of 2009 to celebrate their success inside, the graduates were as excited and enthusiastic as ever. With this 161st ceremony held in the gym and a screening of it in the auditorium, everyone had a place from which to witness the final step in the students’ high school careers on Thursday night. Continued on Page 2   NICE  PICTURE!!  Do  wish to purchase a full copy reprint of a photo that appeared in the News & Citizen?  Link Here! Read all the News, Sports and More Click Here To Subscribe Today Copyright © 2004 News&Citizen Inc. All rights reserved. Have a press release? edit@newsandcitizen.com e-mail correspondence concerning advertising should be addressed to news@newsandcitizen.com

News & Citizen P.O. Box 369 Morrisville, Vermont 05661  802-888-2212 edit@newsandcitizen.com webmaster dan@kingdomsedge.com

Thing Look This Way to Me

Editorial by J.B. McKinley 6-18-09

Millions Spent –

Not One Penny for Libraries?

Probably some readers saw the Associated Press piece that ran in several newspapers quoting Morristown Centennial Librarian Mary West and Vermont stimulus money czar Tom Evslin last week. In essence it noted that though the Morristown library earnestly bulled its way to the front of the pack with a hand held out in an effort to construct its long-awaited building addition – nothing trickled down into that hand.

The fact is that Centennial Library trustees met with the state librarian Martha Reid more than a month ago and the handwriting was on the wall then. To paraphrase, Martha said, I’m sorry... maybe, hopefully, we can get some money for broadband access...but that won’t help you [because the Centennial Library got access many years ago].

But, never mind Morristown’s problems, what about libraries across the board in Vermont? Here we are in a depression, more and more people are using libraries, more and more people are frustrated with public schooling and are now homeschooling which puts demands on libraries. About 10 percent of Americans are now homeschooled. Meanwhile libraries quietly soldier on with tiny, often shrinking budgets.

What do I mean? Well, Vermont once had five state run Regional Libraries that leant books in great numbers to our smaller libraries. Not now they don’t. Three are closed. The fourth, Midstate in Berlin, closed June 26. The fifth, Northeast Regional, has a brief respite and is open three days a week for librarians, schools and homeschoolers – for awhile – because libraries such as the Jeudevine in Hardwick made such a fuss over the closing.

The closing of Midstate and Northeast mean about 180,000 books are readily available only by interlibrary loan.

You know, said Northeast Regional’s Michael Roach, the fact that libraries have pinched pennies forever has not served us well. There’s no fat to cut.

Okay, you get the message and as I contemplate it, it sounds like whining. I submit that would be true, except that you should watch the papers and listen to see and hear exactly what your federal stimulus money is being spent on. Sure, it’s roads, water and sewer systems, energy efficiency and schools, even state parks will get millions. Here’s the challenge, see if you can find anything about stimulus money going to a library.

Though President Obama specifically mentioned library building in the same breath as school building in at least one speech in the Midwest when touting the stimulus package, when things sugared off in Vermont the spending policy may have had a new slogan. “Not one penny for libraries!”