PA Students in Switzerland
by Alicia Morissette

MORRISVILLE - Sixteen students from Peoples Academy (PA) and six
students from Stowe embarked on a trip to Switzerland from February 12
until February 26.
The trip was the result of a foreign exchange type of agreement. Last
fall, students from Switzerland visited the students at PA and Stowe,
and in exchange, the students from PA and Stowe went to Switzerland six
months later.
PA French teacher Van Carr said students only had to pay for their bus
to Boston, MA, the flight to Switzerland and whatever spending money
they took. Students did not have to pay for food or lodging while in
Switzerland, which significantly cut expenses for students. The trip
cost approximately $1,000 per person.
When they arrived in Switzerland, Carr and his students stayed at
Chateau D'oex for two days, and during that time students got a taste of
Swiss culture. Carr asked if some of the French singers at Chateau D'oex
would sing some of the songs the students knew, and the singers agreed.
One PA student, Jesse Baker, actually went up with the entertainers to sing!
After their adventures at Chateau D'oex, each person went off to his or
her Swiss home. Consequently, each student had a different experience.
PA student Avrill McDowell stayed with a family that was from Sri Lanka,
and said the family spoke either their native tongue or English.
During their first week, students attended classes at Andre-Chavanne.
Avrill said, "half the classes were in French and half were in English."
Both Avril and Jesse agreed that there was nothing to decorate the walls
or the building, and the walls were all white.
Punctuality was a must, according to Carr. Avrill added, "if the door is
shut you don't go in." The teachers also had no relationships with their
students, according to Avrill. The students go into the classroom to
learn, and students do not approach teachers after class with questions.
There was also a lot of diversity in the school, because those attending
came from different parts of the world, like Avrill's host family. Some
of the students' parents worked at the United Nations (UN) building and
everyone spoke four or five different languages.
Despite the punctuality, Jesse described the culture as "very laid
back." Students received an hour and 20 minutes to eat lunch and take a
nap. The school schedule also varied, like a college, said Avrill.
Students did not stay in the classroom. They visited the UN building,
the Olympic Museum and the Red Cross Museum. In addition to this,
students went to CERN, the famous physics lab that has been working on
anti-matter, just as author Dan Brown described it in his bestseller The
Da Vinci Code.
There was also a two-day trip to the "mini-Alps," as Avrill called them.
Everyone took a gondola up to the top of a mountain and rode
mini-bobsleds down. Carr jokingly added he still had frostbite on his toes.
Some stereotypes turned out to be true. Jesse said the landscape was
like "only things you see in pictures." Avrill said, "chocolate was
everywhere." Chocolate was in large bowls on kitchen tables, and people
ate it all the time. Avrill said it was definitely much better than the
chocolate here; "you could taste the chocolate flavor."
The other big difference between Switzerland and Lamoille County was
transportation. Carr, Jesse and Avril said Switzerland has a great
public transportation system. The busses are very clean and a lot of
people rely upon busses to get around.
People who did not use public transportation had very small cars. Jesse
said if they had cars our size, they would not be able to fit into the
parking spaces. Carr added, "gas is extremely expensive."
Overall, the trip was "the experience of a lifetime," said Jesse. Carr
added that he was glad the students were able to to visit Switzerland
and get a taste of the culture and speak the language. The trip was such
a success, Carr is already planning the next exchange.

Date Set for Union Vote
by Amy Kolb Noyes

A vote has been scheduled for Friday, April 1, wherein the 13 employees
of the Morristown Highway Department will decide if they want to
unionize. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 300
already represents employees of the Morristown Police Department, the
Morrisville Department of Water & Light and Stowe's Highway Department.
A majority of Morristown Highway Department employees would need to vote
in favor, for the IBEW Local 300 to represent the highway workers for
exclusive bargaining purposes.
Balloting will take place from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m., on April 1, in the
conference room at Morrisville's municipal office. If all employees
participate, it will take seven "yes" votes for the department to unionize.
If the union is voted in, members of the highway department would then
negotiate with the union, to determine if individual union membership
will be mandatory or voluntary for employees.
Whether or not highway department employees decide to become an open or
closed shop, the highway superintendent would be exempt from union
membership. Morristown currently has no highway superintendent. The town
is now in the hiring process for a new department head.
The secret balloting will be conducted by the Vermont Labor Relations
Board. Both the town and the union are allowed to have an observer at
the polls and at the counting of the ballots. Employees not scheduled to
work that day may request an absentee ballot, according to Vermont Labor
Relations Board Executive Director Timothy Noonan.

12/15A Intersection Study Complete
by Amy Kolb Noyes

MORRISVILLE - A comprehensive study on alternative plans to improve the
intersection of Routes 12 and 15A, in Morrisville, was released this
week. The draft study, compiled by Resource Systems Group, Inc., of
South Burlington, focused on improving safety and reducing traffic
delays in the area where Route 15A, Route 12, Copley Avenue, Summer
Street and Richmond Street come together. Planners will present the
study's findings at a public hearing next month.
The study was commissioned because the intersection, involving two state
roads, has been identified as a "high crash location" by the Vermont
Agency of Transportation. In addition, traffic backs up at that
intersection during peak hours. A traffic study concluded approximately
8,800 vehicles per day pass through the intersection. Because of the
awkward angles at which the various roads come together, the study
states that junction has "31% more conflict points than a typical
four-legged intersection."
Five alternatives were examined, including traffic signals, a
roundabout, road realignments and creating one-way traffic flow
patterns. Lamoille County Planning Commission Senior Transportation
Planner David Pelletier noted the various options are not mutually
exclusive. In fact, the first alternative is to address traffic at the
Main Street/Portland Street/ Congress Street intersection, which causes
backup delays at the 12/15A intersection during peak traffic times.
The study suggests placing a fully-actuated traffic signal, with vehicle
detection at each approach, at the four-way stop in the center of the
village. In addition, 100-foot left-turn only lanes would be delineated
on Main Street, turning onto Portland and Congress streets. The draft
study states, "Based on field measurements, the left-turn lanes can be
added in both directions without impacting the existing curb lines or
losing any existing on-street parking...The left turn lanes remove
left-turning vehicles from the traffic stream to allow through and
right-turning vehicles to pass, thus maximizing the signal's green time."
Other identified alternatives deal with realigning traffic flows in the
area of the Route 12/ Route 15A intersection. Two scenarios would
realign the Route 15A (Park Street) approach to come into a four-way
intersection with Summer Street, Route 12 (Elmore Street) and Upper Main
Street. Upper Main Street would have a left-turn only lane onto Park
Street. Likewise, Park Street would have a right-turn only lane onto
Upper Main Street. In one alternative, this intersection would be
controlled with a traffic signal. Another alternative suggests stop
signs for Park Street and Summer Street, with traffic flowing freely
between Main Street and Elmore Street.
Another alternative is to construct a roundabout with approaches from
Elmore Street, Park Street, Upper Main Street and Summer Street. The
study concluded the roundabout alternative "has the least amount of
delay and shortest vehicle queues of all three alternatives." However,
Pelletier noted the roundabout design would infringe upon a private
property on the corner of Summer and Main streets. Therefore, he said, a
roundabout is not a likely option.
The study also looked into a number of options that were not
recommended, including one-way traffic flows, gating the bottom section
of Copley Avenue for busses only, and creating a new entrance to Copley
Avenue from Route 12. Rerouting one-way traffic through village
neighborhoods, including Court, Union, and Summer streets, connecting
with two-way traffic on Congress Street was deemed undesirable due to
increased traffic (about 2,500 additional vehicles per day) in
residential areas. The options involving changes to Copley Avenue were
met with resistance by the school board.
The intersection study also examined the possibility of realigning
Richmond Street farther down Park Street, away from the intersection
area. The study states, "...the relatively low traffic volumes using
Richmond Street do not alone justify its relocation...However, if the
town pursues an expansion of the library or relocation of the Town Hall
requiring the realignment of Richmond Street, it should be relocated as
far east on VT 15A as possible to separate it from traffic movements at
the VT 15A-VT 12-Summer Street intersection."
By way of final recommendations, the study concluded a traffic signal
should be installed at the intersection of Main/Portland/Congress
streets as a first approach. In addition, Routes 12/15A should be
realigned using either the four-way intersection with a traffic light or
a roundabout. The study also concluded federal surface transportation
program dollars, administered through VTrans, would likely be made
available for the intersection realignment.
Any large-scale realignment of the intersection would likely require the
relocation of the Jacob Walker monument, that sits alone on the grass
triangle west of Academy Park. Planners say the veterans memorials in
Academy Park will not be disturbed.
The next step in this planning process will be a public meeting at which
the draft intersection study will be presented and public input on its
finding will be gathered. Pelletier said that meeting will likely be
scheduled toward the end of April. A final report on the study will then
be compiled.

Brooklyn St. Construction to Begin Again
by Amy Kolb Noyes

MORRISVILLE - Within a month, work crews will begin preparing for the
next phase of construction on Brooklyn Street. Residents and motorists
will well remember last summer's noise and backups due to a water main
replacement project along Brooklyn Street between Bridge Street and
Harrel Street.
The town was originally scheduled to construct new sidewalks along the
same stretch of Brooklyn Street toward the end of the last construction
season, immediately following the village's water main project. However,
complications and delays arose with the water main project, pushing the
sidewalk project back a season. Mobilization is now scheduled to begin
on Monday, April 18, on the sidewalk project.
The mobilization phase of the project involves erecting construction
signs and snow fence, as well as drilling test holes and conducting the
project's initial layout, according to Morristown Administrator Tag
Taginski. That phase is expected to run through the end of April.
Weather permitting, Taginski said construction on the project should
begin during the first week of May. A construction meeting of all the
involved parties has been scheduled for Thursday, May 5.
Dubois Construction, of East Montpelier, will be building the new
sidewalks. Taginski said they plan to be completely finished with the
project in mid-September. That time schedule also includes the
installation of a stormwater separator, by the intersection of Brooklyn
Street and Professional Drive, which is part of a separate project to
control stormwater runoff in Morristown's north end shopping district.
Taginski said the town has made a concerted effort to plan the project
with the concerns of residents and motorists in mind. Some traffic
delays will be inevitable, however, as part of the project will entail
limiting Brooklyn Street to one-way traffic while heavy machinery works
in the roadway.
Dubois & King, the engineering firm that designed the project, will have
a resident engineer on-site during the construction phase of the
project. Taginski said Resident Engineer Bob Alexander will also keep a
local office at the Agricultural Building, on Sunset Drive. People with
issues regarding the construction project will be able to call Alexander
at the Morristown office.

Sugaring in Belvidere
by Alicia Morissette

March 18, 19 and 20 were the days in which people could tour sugarhouses
across Vermont and see what sort of sugary goodies can be made from sap.
Some sugarhouses were only open on Saturday and Sunday, and some were
not open at all.
The Green Mountain Maple Sugar Refining Co., Inc. (GMMSR) was not open
to the public, but is a large operation. GMMSR is at the top of Boarding
House Hill Road in Belvidere, and is owned by Joe Russo, who has a
unique way of sugaring and is concerned with conserving Vermont's
natural resources.
After founding GMMSR on November 12, 1991, Russo has been creating new
equipment that has helped sugarmakers and the environment. His newest
invention, the Russo Economizer, was tried for the first time on Monday,
March 21, and will "decrease the time and energy used in maple syrup
production," said Russo. He also added that his invention will be
patented soon.
Russo's method of turning sap into sugar requires a lot of steps, a lot
of time, a unique technique and some help. Russo lives in the sugarhouse
during the sugaring season, and is helped by two people, who are there
full-time and year-round. Randy Dezotelle is the manager and Michael
Lemire is the assistant manager.
During the season, Dezotelle and Lemire are responsible for tapping
thousands of trees. This year, they have tapped 47,000 trees, and each
year they increase their number by 10,000. According to Dezotelle, they
have between three and 12 people helping them on snowshoes, but the
number of employees vary, because Russo, Dezotelle and Lemire "can't
figure on help showing."
The trees are drilled with battery powered drills instead of gas drills
and are tapped with a 5/16 inch spout instead of a 7/16 inch spout,
which is "better for tree health," said Dezotelle. Plastic lines are
then run from the spouts.
The sap is then pumped from the lines by ten 10-horsepower pumps, which
"create a vacuum," explained Russo. The sap is drawn into seven
three-inch lines, delivered to a sap releaser which pumps the sap out of
the vacuum into tanks that can collectively hold 80,000 gallons of sap.
Just on Sunday, March 20, the tanks had collected 30,000 gallons of sap.
Then much of the sap's water is removed via reverse osmosis and this
"permeate" is brought to the boiling pan, the place where Russo's unique
technique of boiling takes place.
A 250 horsepower high pressure steam boiler is used to evaporate the
rest of the water from the permeate. The steam travels through stainless
steel pipes which end up in the boiling pan. This method, said Russo,
"never burns the pan."
The final product is released from the draw-off center, which actually
calculates when the maple syrup is done. Two valves open, and the syrup
is let out. According to Russo, GMMSR can potentially make six 50 gallon
drums of syrup per hour, but they usually produce three 50 gallon drums.
To ensure the highest quality product, Russo keeps everything the sap
touches clean and all of the inside equipment the sap comes in contact
with is stainless steel.
All of GMMSR's power is provided by a 300 horsepower electrical
generator, and Russo uses a wood boiler to heat the building and the hot
water. The water and heat are crucial, partly because Russo lives in a
back room in the sugarhouse during the sugaring season!
GMMSR's entire building and sugaring set-up was designed by Russo, who
has a food engineering degree from Delaware Valley College in
Doylestown, PA. Between his degree and his knowledge of sugaring, Russo
has the ability to create new equipment to better the sugaring process.
When Russo is not inventing new things and sugaring between the months
of February and April, he is a hotel manager for an ocean liner and
lives in Australia. It's a very different from sugaring; Russo said,"I
go from a tuxedo to Carhartt's."
Rick Marsh has a different lifestyle from Russo, but he and his wife,
Diane, love maple sugaring, too. Rick is a fifth generation sugarmaker,
who is continuing the tradition his family has been following for 95 years.
Located on Route 15 in Jeffersonville, the Vermont Maple Outlet has been
in business for 16 years. The normal business hours are 9:00 a.m. until
5:00 p.m., but on March 19 and 20 the Marshs held special activities
between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
According to Diane, she and Rick were open to show visitors the boiling
process, give wagon rides into their trees behind the store, showed
educational videos about the progressive history of boiling. Of course,
maple cotton candy, sugar on snow, maple creemees and maple cream
doughnuts were for sale.
Rick said, "this is the first year the sap's going to flow" during open
house, and his prediction was accurate. Last year, the Marshs saw
approximately 1,200 people, according to Rick. This year, there were
more people "due to the weather," according to Diane.
The official Vermont Maple Open House weekend was started four years ago
by the Vermont Sugarmakers Association, of which Rick is the vice
president. He explained that in order to be part of the list in a Ski &
Maple Map, sugarmakers pay a fee which depends on several factors.
The size of the producer, the business status of the producer and the
number of taps the producer has, among other factors, determines the
fee. Rick said he pays $50, but he operates both a retail and wholesale
business and has a lot of taps.
The Vermont Maple Outlet promotes a "maple theme," which coincides with
the Marshs' "support of Vermont companies" and products, said Rick.
To Rick, maple sugaring is a time-honored tradition, but he has
incorporated scientific innovations, such as reverse osmosis. Reverse
osmosis "cuts boiling time down drastically," Rick commented. Modern has
met tradition.