Architects Say Joint Project Site Cheaper
 by Amy Kolb Noyes

MORRISVILLE - A year after the project was originally endorsed by
voters, the combined town and library complex has proved to be the less
expensive of the two options identified by the adjunct Municipal
Facilities Committee, by nearly a half-million dollars. The committee
brought in an independent architect to compare the costs of the
library/town project at and near the current library site to renovating
the old Union Carbide building into town offices. A majority of
committee members have been vocally in favor of the Union Carbide
option. Several selectboard members have publicly supported the combined
library project.
On Town Meeting Day 2004, Morristown voters passed a $2.8 million bond
vote for a new municipal building to be built in conjunction with the
town library addition/renovation project. A petition was filed with the
town, forcing a re-vote on the project. Two months later, the project
was defeated by an eight vote margin. The citizens committee was formed
to take a closer look at alternative sites.
The committee hired architect John Hemmelgarn, of Black River Design, to
compare acquisition and building costs of the two final options.
Hemmelgarn worked with Robie Stoner, of Northern Architects, who
designed the library addition/renovation project. While Hemmel-garn's
report was dated February 11, 2005, the findings were not made public
until two weeks later, at a midday meeting in Montpelier.
The report compares costs in categories including general expenses;
sitework; structural systems; building envelope; partitions and
finishes; other (vault, specialized equipment, elevator, etc.); HVAC and
plumbing systems; electrical systems; data and communications systems
and general conditions. Although construction costs came in at around
$316,000 less for the Union Carbide site, the total cost difference
including acquisition costs came out with the combined town/library
project costing $490,720 less.
Municipal Facilities Committee chair Paul Griswold said his committee
questions some of the report's findings, and will be requesting
additional information on "numerous items." Although he hesitated to
give specifics, Griswold said Hemmelgarn used standard construction
costs figures taken from manuals. Griswold said he would like to know
more specific information as to the types and amount of materials being
quoted. He explained Hemmelgarn presented "a tremendous amount of
information" during the two-hour meeting in Montpelier. Since then,
committee members met to digest that information, and have come up with
many questions.
"We are intent on making it as accurate as we can make it," said Griswold.
The selectboard has also met and reviewed the comparison report, and
discussed the original task assigned to the Municipal Facilities
Committee. The selectboard has asked the committee to attend the next
selectboard meeting on Monday evening, March 14, at the Morrisville
Water & Light conference room.
According to Town Administrator Francis "Tag" Taginski, the selectboard
authorized the committee to spend $2,500 plus reimbursable expenses to
hire an outside architect to analyze the projects. That budget, totaling
nearly $3,000, plus at least $3,500 for Northern Architects' work on the
report, has been expended. Therefore, Taginski said the selectboard
would need to authorize expending additional funds if the committee were
to work further with Black River Design.
Meanwhile, the Municipal Facilities Committee will hold its own meeting,
at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 10, at the conference room upstairs from
the Town Clerk's office. Both meetings are open to the public.

Watershed Council's Last Meeting
by Amy Kolb Noyes

Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation Watershed Coordinator
Jim Ryan has been working to create the first Lamoille Watershed Plan.
Like town and regional plans, a watershed plan dictates management goals
for the water bodies within the watershed. For instance, the finished
plan might help decide where it is most appropriate to locate structures
such as dams. One major component of the watershed plan is categorizing,
or "typing" all surface water within the watershed, according to how the
water bodies should be managed. In creating a "typing petition" for the
watershed, Ryan has had 40 meetings with selectboards, conservation
commissions, planning commissions, and other town officials in the
Lamoille River watershed. He will be presenting that information in
Morrisville next week to the Lamoille Watershed Council.
The Lamoille Watershed Council is a group of interested parties that has
been weighing in on the plan as it is being created. The council will be
holding what's expected to be its last meeting on Tuesday, March 15, at
6 p.m., at the Tegu Building, on Portland Street, in Morrisville. Ryan
anticipates the council will morph into a group called the Lamoille
Watershed Association. About a year ago, grant funds were used to hire a
coordinator to create such an association. Faith Ingulsrud was hired for
that position, and Ryan stated she would be on-hand at the council's
final meeting.
Ryan said the next step toward adopting the plan will be formal
DEC-sponsored public hearings on the Lamoille Watershed Plan and typing
proposal. He estimated that first set of public hearings would take
place late this spring. The Secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources
will then weigh recommendations from the council and town officials;
scientific data; and town plans and zoning language for waterways before
making any final decisions and signing off on the typing petition. After
the secretary's signature, the petition will be submitted to the Water
Resources Board (soon to be renamed the Water Resources Panel of the
Natural Resource Board). Ryan stated the Water Resources Panel will also
hold formal public hearings on the draft plan, before it is adopted as
an official document.

Peoples Academy Skiers Medal at Junior Olympics

In the first day of racing at the 2005 Junior Olympics in Truckee, CA,
three PA skiers earned spots on the podium for the Freestyle Sprint!
Jennie Bender took first in the J1 Girls category, Hannah Dreissigacker
took first in the OJ Girls, and Ben Hickory took third in the OJ Boys.
The New England team had two other gold medals, a silver and two bronzes
- so they are off to a great start in the Team Points Competition!
The Sprint is an intense one kilometer race. The day started with all
racers skiing a qualification time trial. The top 24 skiers in each
category moved on to a series of elimination heats. In the
quarterfinals, the top two finishers, in each of four heats, progressed
to the semifinals. The top two in the semis advance to the 4-skier final.
The 2005 Junior Olympics are being held at Auburn Ski Club which is
located near the top of Donner Pass, near Truckee, CA. The snow is
plentiful - over 15 feet deep in places. The day started cool and clear
and warmed up rapidly, reaching over 50 degrees by midday. This meant
that conditions became softer and softer as the day went on, which was
an added challenge for the skiers.
The JO's continue on Wednesday with a longer Freestyle (Skate) Race. For
complete results of all JO races visit www.juniorolympics2005.org.

Students and Faculty Benefit From Grant

by Alicia Morissette

HYDE PARK - The Hyde Park Elementary School (HPES) is in its second year
of a three year federal Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) Grant, and the
benefits have been tremendous.
Kim Fellows is the lead teacher of the CSR grant, with Principal Ilene
Levitt and teachers Terri Ayers and Tami Hugulet comprising the rest of
the Leadership Team. The focus of CSR is professional development, which
means the grant is to be used to "help teachers improve instruction,"
said Ilene Levitt.
The $83,000 per year grant was initiated by former Principal Joe
Teegarden and former Superintendent Bob McNamara to aid students in
literacy and math, but is now executed by Fellows and her Leadership Team.
Last year, HPES used some grant money to hold school-wide and staff-wide
guided reading, where students read material and discussed content.
According to Levitt, this system was "individualized for children's needs."
Assessment tools such as the Primary Observation Assessment (POA) and
the Qualitative Reading Inventory (QRI) allowed teachers to assess
students needs on an ongoing basis instead of having only one annual test.
HPES also used funding to hire Consultant Fran Romeo, who "brought
improvement to spelling curricula," stated Fellows. This improvement
breaks the English language into its different developmental stages to
allow individualized study, which accommodates every student.
By having teachers use the same system of instruction, students do not
have to learn a new style of learning for each teacher, and "teachers
aren't alone," said Fellows.
Another use of the CSR grant money has been to provide substitute
teachers when teachers must use school time each month to attend the
special classes or training seminars. This includes the extra training
teachers have received in the area of math.
A three credit math course has been brought to teachers by members of
the Leadership Team who have attended courses at St. Micheal's College.
Teachers do not have to pay for these classes, the classes are held at
HPES and they are tailored specifically for HPES staff.
Kim Fellows' position is also almost fully funded by CSR. Fellows
primarily coordinates the grant and teaches her colleagues, but she also
teaches a few children.
So far, the results have been very good. Levitt stated that the
environment is wonderful, and everyone is "extremely respectful of each
other." To sum it up, Levitt stated: "It's the best school environment
I've ever worked in."
"Teachers are very introspective... and have a real plan for classroom
instruction," stated Fellows. Also, discipline log numbers are "way
down," according to Fellows. Kim believes this is due to the fact
teachers are teaching at students levels, "so stress is better managed."
Levitt stated HPES has "always been in the 90% of second grade
assessment," but she is seeing improvement in the upper grades as well.
Next year, HPES will be training four teachers in Math Recovery, which
targets first graders who are at risk of failing. These students will be
taken out of their regular classroom for half an hour for six weeks and
will work one-on-one and in groups.
Joey Hawkins, a written language consultant, will also be training
teachers school-wide in August. So far, these are the definite plans,
but HPES proposes doing more.
In the future, when the CSR grant comes to an end, Levitt has no
worries. She stated, "We are building the capacity of our staff... and
we have structures in place" that will continue beyond the grant.

VFW Honors Outstanding Citizens

by Alicia Morissette

HYDE PARK - The Hyde Park VFW 7779 celebrated two valuable members of
our community Tuesday night, March 8, The gathering was small, but the
work the honorees performed was big.
Robert "Bob" Boivin received the Certificate of Appreciation for his
hard work heading the fundraiser for Nancy Stewart. Nancy has had to go
as far as Boston, MA, to have surgeries done on her eyes. Boivin helped
raise funds for her operations, of which she had three during only two
months.
Then Hyde Park VFW #7779 and Auxiliary and honored Alan Lehouiller, of
Johnson, for his fundraising for local troops, which was reported in
earlier articles of the News & Citizen. Lehouiller raised a lot of money
by asking local businesses to donate $500 to help the families of local
troops being sent to war.
After receiving his award, Lehouiller stated he appreciates all the help
of the businesses who contributed to the fundraiser.
Paul Woodard, senior vice commander of VFW 7779, said the ceremony came
about, because everyone wanted to "give them the respect they deserve."
Yet, VFW 7779 has also done some good work. The women's Auxiliary has
made supplies for the Veterans Administrative Hospital in White River,
has made mittens for needy school children and has supplied flags for
fire departments, the courthouse and Johnson Elementary School after its
flag was stolen.
Tuesday's celebration concluded with a beef dinner in honor of the
recipients. The fact that the ceremony was still held despite the
treacherous weather is testimony to the respect VFW 7779 has for its
very deserving community members.


Principal Breaks Arm During Outdoor Activities

by Alicia Morissette

Around noon on Thursday, March 3, Waterville Elementary School (WES)
Principal Bonny Grant was participating in the school's winter sports
program when she broke her arm.
Grant ended up falling on the ice while skating, and was taken to Copley
Hospital. Grant's arm was found to be fractured, and she was told she
might need surgery.
Soon after, Grant was told, in fact, she would need to undergo surgery
to fix her arm. Due to this surgery, Grant is not expected back at WES
until Monday, March 14.


Hannaford Thief Will Be Apprehended

by Alicia Morissette

MORRISTOWN - On February 15 at approximately 6:00 p.m. an unknown woman
walked out of the Hannaford grocery store with a cart of groceries she
had not paid for.
The total cost of the theft was $25, but the woman had attempted to
steal approximately $300 in groceries. According to night manager JR
Phillips, the woman attempted to walk out of the store with a full cart
of groceries when a cashier asked her if she had a receipt. The woman
told the cashier she had just thrown the receipt out. After a slight
altercation, the woman left the cart and proceeded to walk out of the store.
Phillips had been called up to the front of the store, and by the time
he reached the area, the woman had walked back inside. According to
Phillips, the woman turned around and ran out of the store when she saw
him.
Phillips managed to get her license plate number and described the woman
as being approximately 5'6" with dirty blond hair and was in "rough shape."
Morristown Police Chief Richard Keith stated the getaway vehicle had
temporary plates, but since they had the number Phillips had written
down, it would only be a matter of time before the state Department of
Motor Vehicles identified the name of the registered owner.

Hannaford Thief Will Be Apprehended

by Alicia Morissette

MORRISTOWN - On February 15 at approximately 6:00 p.m. an unknown woman
walked out of the Hannaford grocery store with a cart of groceries she
had not paid for.
The total cost of the theft was $25, but the woman had attempted to
steal approximately $300 in groceries. According to night manager JR
Phillips, the woman attempted to walk out of the store with a full cart
of groceries when a cashier asked her if she had a receipt. The woman
told the cashier she had just thrown the receipt out. After a slight
altercation, the woman left the cart and proceeded to walk out of the store.
Phillips had been called up to the front of the store, and by the time
he reached the area, the woman had walked back inside. According to
Phillips, the woman turned around and ran out of the store when she saw
him.
Phillips managed to get her license plate number and described the woman
as being approximately 5'6" with dirty blond hair and was in "rough shape."
Morristown Police Chief Richard Keith stated the getaway vehicle had
temporary plates, but since they had the number Phillips had written
down, it would only be a matter of time before the state Department of
Motor Vehicles identified the name of the registered owner.