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TD Banknorth Donates to Wilkins Ravine
Project
by Amy Kolb Noyes
STOWE – TD Banknorth Vice President Steve Lambert came to
the Morristown Selectboard meeting this week to make a
$2,500 donation toward the next phase of the Wilkins Ravine
stormwater runoff project. The town will use the money as
local matching funds for a 2005 Vermont Agency of
Transportation Enhancement Program grant. The grant was
given for the installation of a stormwater swirl separator
and high flow bypass, intended to clean and control
stormwater before it flows into Wilkins Ravine and on into
the Lamoille River.
The swirl separator will be installed near the corner
of Brooklyn Street and Professional Drive, on land donated
by Demars Properties. This is the next-to-last phase of a
multi-year project to control stormwater runoff in
Morristown’s north end shopping district. Jim Pease has been
spearheading the project, and is anxious to get this major
phase of the project complete. Project engineers have
estimated this phase of the project will cost over $100,000.
TD Banknorth offered to make a donation toward the
project when Pease approached the bank about the final phase
of the watershed project. That final phase involves creating
a stormwater retention pond behind the TD Banknorth office
at Morrisville Plaza. TD Banknorth is currently hooking onto
the newly extended town sewer system. Once that process is
complete, the bank has agreed to allow the town to dig a
retention pond where the bank’s leach- field is currently
situated. That project is likely to happen next year. |
Community Wins
in Chris’ Challenge
by Amy Kolb Noyes
MORRISVILLE – A record number of turkeys was collected this
year in the sixth annual turkey drive to benefit Lamoille
Valley residents this Thanksgiving. The first Chris’
Challenge Turkey Drive was organized by the late Chris
Potter, with the help of others such as WLVB’s Roland Lajoie
and Warren Miller, of The Elmore Store. After Chris’
passing, five years ago, Roland and Warren decided to keep
the drive going in Chris’ name. This year, the Chris’
Challenge Turkey Drive collected 542 turkeys, which are now
being distributed throughout the Lamoille Valley.
Warren said he and Roland hoped to collect 350 birds this year,
knowing it has been a rough year, nationwide. “We were blown
away by 542, and want to thank everybody that contributed,”
Warren commented.
Also helping to make this year’s challenge a success was a
freezer donated by Creed Ice and placed outside WLVB as a
collection site during the drive. MSI, in Hyde Park, donated
space in its walk-in freezer to store the birds until they
could be given out.
The turkeys will be distributed to food banks in
Morrisville, Hardwick, Johnson, Woodbury and Waterbury.
Turkeys will also go toward various community Thanksgiving
dinners, the Clarina Howard Nichols Center and the St.
Vincent dePaul Society.
Vermont Foodbank CEO Deborah Flateman called the local
turkey drive a prime example of how a community can get
together to fight hunger.
“It’s amazing and it keeps growing every year,” Flateman
noted. She added the Thanksgiving turkey conjures up an
image of a family coming together around a table, and it
gives her a good feeling to think all of the 255 families
using food shelves in Lamoille County will be able to get
together around a turkey.
Flateman added hunger is a year-round problem and the
Vermont Foodbank is focusing on getting communities involved
in fighting hunger 365 days a year. She commented, “Every
day is a tough time of year if you’re dealing with this
issue.”
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Johnson Fire
Department
by Alicia Morissette
JOHNSON – The new Johnson Fire Department (JFD) is almost
finished, and its cost was kept low due to the hard work of
firefighters and donations of labor and materials from local
businesses.
“It’s been a long two years,” said Fire Chief
Gordy Smith, “I’ll be glad when we get moved in.” According
to Smith, the official move-in date will be December 3, but
the inside will still not be completely finished.
Duncan Hastings, Johnson’s municipal administrator,
said the firemen “tried to reduce cost” by doing all of the
detail work inside. Smith proudly said three-quarters of the
fire department spent “hundreds of hours” on the building,
and there is still work to be done.
“There are a lot of unsung heroes in the community,”
said Smith. Buzzy Osgood, owner of H O K Masonry, Inc., was
mentioned for his donation of masonry labor, and Dana
McKnight, owner of Carpentry Unlimited, was mentioned for
donating labor and materials for making a sign that will be
placed on an island near the building.
The Long Trail has also supported the new
building by giving scratch-off ticket profits to JFD. On the
inside of the building, Rich and Nicole Whittemore, of
Woody’s Sales and Service, have donated time, material and
appliances, to help reduce the cost.
JFD also organized a number of fundraisers that were
supported by the community, which Hastings said totaled
approximately $60,000! Added to this money is $739,000 from
the insurance payout from the fire and $78,800 from grants,
but the department was still short, so it asked the village
for a bond of $100,000 to finish the much larger building.
According to Hastings, the $100,000 note will be paid
over a five year period and is the only cost to taxpayers
for the new and improved building. Hastings added, the
village trustees “felt that it was an opportunity to look at
long term needs... to try and build for the future... and
avoid additional cost.”
The original estimate for the new building was $1.75 million,
and the finished cost is slightly above that at $1.92
million, according to Hastings’ figures. Only $100,000 has
been transferred to taxpayers.
Smith said the only thing JFD is looking for now is exercise
equipment. Firefighters need treadmills and rowing machines.
Everything else from here on out will be completed by the
volunteered time of the members.
With all of this time and money, the new building has a
lot to offer. After going on a walk-through with Carl
Dennis, site supervisor for DEW Construction, the enormity
of the building is made clear.
On the first floor, there is a small storage area for each
fireman that will include electrical outlets to recharge
helmets and radios. This was built by the firemen. There is
also a bay for each of the seven trucks, including the
antique fire truck. The dispatch office is also located on
the first floor, near the bays, along with a kitchen area
and a meeting room.
The Water Rescue Team, which is only one of four such teams
in the state, will finally have its own equipment room,
which is also located on the first floor.
Another smaller kitchen area is located on the
second floor, in addition to a storage area, an office for
Chief Smith, a meeting room for the JFD Women’s Auxiliary,
another meeting room, a bathroom and shower for both men and
women and an exercise room.
Some new technology is also included in the
building cost. To protect all of the equipment, a high-tech
security system has been installed, and a special strobe
light will be activated by the Lamoille County Sheriff’s
Department when JFD is called.
Smith was excited to say that the first monthly
JFD meeting to be held in the new building will be on
December 29 at 7 p.m. However, the open house won’t be until
late spring or early summer.
With the building almost completed, it has been decided that
the current traffic set-up will remain in place. The only
way to enter the parking lot will be in between the fire
department and the town offices, and the exit will remain
below the fire department.
Since the department building burned, the firemen have
been forced to use a small building near the Water and Light
Department off Railroad Street.
Once the new building is complete, “It will be a home
for all of us,” said Smith.
Many people believe the JFD volunteers deserve the new
building, like Hastings, who said, “What they do for a small
town department is very impressive.”
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Community Wins in Chris’
Challenge
by Amy Kolb Noyes
MORRISVILLE – A record number of turkeys was collected this
year in the sixth annual turkey drive to benefit Lamoille
Valley residents this Thanksgiving. The first Chris’
Challenge Turkey Drive was organized by the late Chris
Potter, with the help of others such as WLVB’s Roland Lajoie
and Warren Miller, of The Elmore Store. After Chris’
passing, five years ago, Roland and Warren decided to keep
the drive going in Chris’ name. This year, the Chris’
Challenge Turkey Drive collected 542 turkeys, which are now
being distributed throughout the Lamoille Valley.
Warren said he and Roland hoped to collect 350 birds this
year, knowing it has been a rough year, nationwide. “We were
blown away by 542, and want to thank everybody that
contributed,” Warren commented.
Also helping to make this year’s challenge a success was a
freezer donated by Creed Ice and placed outside WLVB as a
collection site during the drive. MSI, in Hyde Park, donated
space in its walk-in freezer to store the birds until they
could be given out.
The turkeys will be distributed to food banks in
Morrisville, Hardwick, Johnson, Woodbury and Waterbury.
Turkeys will also go toward various community Thanksgiving
dinners, the Clarina Howard Nichols Center and the St.
Vincent dePaul Society.
Vermont Foodbank CEO Deborah Flateman called the local
turkey drive a prime example of how a community can get
together to fight hunger.
“It’s amazing and it keeps growing every year,” Flateman
noted. She added the Thanksgiving turkey conjures up an
image of a family coming together around a table, and it
gives her a good feeling to think all of the 255 families
using food shelves in Lamoille County will be able to get
together around a turkey.
Flateman added hunger is a year-round problem and the
Vermont Foodbank is focusing on getting communities involved
in fighting hunger 365 days a year. She commented, “Every
day is a tough time of year if you’re dealing with this
issue.”
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Assault Victim
Dumped at Hospital
by Amy Kolb Noyes
MORRISTOWN – Police have arrested four teen suspects after a
severely beaten Stowe teenager was dumped off outside Copley
Hospital. Gregory Cochran, 19, of Morrisville; Adam Barup,
17, of Morrisville; Eddie Badeau, 18, of Johnson and Kyle E.
Miller, 18, of Morrisville, were cited to appear in Lamoille
District Court, in Hyde Park, Wednesday afternoon, November
16, each to face a charge of aggravated assault.
Morristown Patrolman Michael Giaquinto was called to
Copley Hospital at 4 a.m. on Sunday, November 13, after
Daniel Bolio, 19, was left unconscious on the hospital’s
front walkway. Police reported Bolio suffered several broken
facial bones, a broken shoulder and severe bruising.
Although arrests have already been made in this case,
police are still asking for anyone with information on the
incident to call the Morristown Police Department at
888-4211.
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Selectboard
Tackles Reappraisal, Zoning, Budget and More
by Amy Kolb Noyes
MORRISVILLE – The Morristown Selectboard, Monday evening,
November 14, authorized the town listers to begin working
toward a 2007 town-wide reappraisal. Head lister Ted Nelson,
who is a professional home inspector hired by the town, and
Lister Charlie McArthur,
appeared before the board to say the reappraisal conducted
in 2003 will likely be deemed unacceptable by the state in
2007, due to escalating real estate prices. Nelson said
Morristown’s situation is not unique, as Vermont towns are,
on average, needing to reappraise every three years.
In Morristown, Nelson said the average assessment is
65% to 70% of the purchase price. Nelson noted the cost of
construction continues to rise, and is now between $100 and
$400 per square foot, depending on the quality of materials.
Nelson added entry level homes are selling quickly in
Morristown, in the $175,000 to $200,000 range. Sales slow
significantly, according to Nelson, when the asking price is
over $250,000.
Nelson estimated reappraisal costs at $75 to $85 per
parcel. Town Administrator David Crawford noted the state
has been setting aside funds for reappraisals. He said each
parcel, in its property tax, pays $8.50 per year into a
kitty to be used for reappraisals.
McArthur added the reappraisal will take
one-and-a-half to two years to complete. The goal is to have
the new figures in place for 2007.
Selectboard Chair Shaun Bryer commented,
“It seems to me it’s really early to do it again, but I see
why it has to happen.”
In addition to authorizing a reappraisal, the
selectboard also took the action of appointing Larry Hale to
fill a lister vacancy until Town Meeting. To retain the seat
beyond March, Hale will need to run for election at Town
Meeting.
The selectboard, Monday night, also
authorized Police Chief Richard Keith to begin the process
of advertising for a new police officer. The Morristown
Police Department is currently down one officer, due to Eric
Dodge’s National Guard service in Iraq. Chief Keith said
Dodge expects to return home in mid-August at the earliest,
but his return could be delayed into the fall. In addition,
two officers plan to retire next year, on November 1 and
December 1.
“There’s a strong possibility we could be down as much
as three positions at one point,” Chief Keith told the
selectboard. As it is, he said, officers are working
overtime to cover during vacations. Crawford agreed it would
be risky to wait to hire an officer, with pending
back-to-back retirements.
After a lengthy discussion on internally lit signs, the
selectboard set a public hearing date of December 12 for
“zoning ordinance amendments as advertised by the Planning
Commission.” Among the zoning changes proposed by the
Planning Commissions was limitations placed on the use of
internally lit signs.
On another zoning issue, the selectboard opted not to take a
stand in the Environmental Court appeal of a subdivision
permit issued to a pair of developers seeking to sell house
lots on Stagecoach Road, in the field adjacent to the
popular access to Terrill Gorge and Kenfield brook.
Neighboring landowners appealed the subdivision permit
granted by the Morristown Development Review Board. The
selectboard elected to ask the town’s attorney to enter a
motion of appearance with the court in that case.
For its last item of business in open session, the
selectboard began to tackle the budget process. Town
Administrator Crawford distributed a preliminary budget
overview, time schedule and “budget decision list” to the
board. The selectboard will hold its first in-depth budget
work session on Monday, November 28. Department budget
requests will be reviewed on December 12, December 20 and
January 9.
The selectmen have their work cut out for them.
Preliminary budget estimates, including all proposed
projects and budget requests, would total about a 10 cent,
or 12%, increase in the tax rate. Crawford estimated, at
current staffing levels, the most the board could possible
cut the budget down to would be a three to four cent
increase in the tax rate. Monday evening, the board
committed to going forward with the budget at current
staffing levels, and providing employees with a 3.5% cost of
living wage increase and one percent merit raises. Crawford
estimated costs associated with employee benefits, such as
insurance, would increase about 10%.
An aggressive paving schedule and two sidewalk projects are
included in the preliminary budget. State and federal funds
have been made available for those projects. The board
discussed the possibility of tapping into the town’s reserve
fund, which contains about $400,000, for some or all of
those highway projects. Crawford said about $100,000 of the
reserve has already been allocated for other expenses.
Morristown is slated to receive $450,000 in
federal funds toward an estimated $500,000 sidewalk project
to extend the sidewalk from the village to Bishop Marshall
School. The state has pledged $37,500 toward a $75,000
sidewalk repair project on Portland Street. However,
Crawford repeatedly cautioned he believed both those project
cost estimates were far below what the projects would
actually cost to complete.
Crawford also noted, if the town moves forward with an
aggressive paving schedule next year, Morristown could
receive $60,000 to $80,000 in paving money from the state.
Crawford asked the selectmen how much of an
increase they would be willing to budget – a question that
did not bring forth many answers. Bryer commented,
“Obviously, 12% isn’t going to cut it.” He said he though
the board should aim to cut that increase down to at least
six or seven percent.
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PA’s Skid
Monster
by Alicia Morissette
MORRISVILLE – Barb Brody, Peoples Academy’s (PA) driver
education teacher, obtained the Skid Monster, a special car
designed to teach students how to control a vehicle that
goes into a skid, to educate her young drivers before they
might be in that situation.
The car is provided by the Vermont Driver and Traffic Safety
Association and the Vermont Department of Education. It is
also equipped with a special device that is attached in
place of rear wheels, and the Skid Monster can be put into
skid mode by Brody with the touch of a button. The smaller
rear wheels, similar to those on a grocery cart, are
responsible for creating the skid effect.
With a course set up with safety cones to
simulate roads and a bridge near the Copley Gym at PA, Brody
instructed students to drive slowly through the course to
get a feel for the vehicle in skid mode. During this
introduction, Brody told students how to get out of a skid
by finding reference points.
Then the tests began. Students were instructed to drive between
eight and 10 miles per hour, and were asked to navigate
corners on the road in skid mode, simulating a skid on both
right and left turns. Once a student has had some practice
on these corners, he or she is asked to travel straight,
sharply turn the steering wheel to go into a skid and get
control of the vehicle before hitting the “bridge.”
Brody said she decided on this scenario to prepare students
for the nearby Tenney Bridge, which is on a sharp corner.
Although students are asked to navigate this course going no
more than 10 miles per hour, most people navigate the Tenney
Bridge turn at much faster speeds. However, at only 10 miles
per hour, the Skid Monster shows how scary a skid can be.
Since one in five students will have a crash and most first
year drivers will get into an accident, Brody hopes the Skid
Monster will prepare young drivers by giving them firsthand
experience and teaching them not to be scared to the point
of “freezing.” One student described the experience as “very
scary” at first, but once she learned and practiced, she
felt better. That is the point of the Skid Monster.
In order to get the Skid Monster, a teacher must go through
training provided by the state and have a designated area
big enough for a course, which Lindsay Townsend, a retired
driver education teacher and the person who runs the Skid
Monster program for the state, said is a “challenge.”
However, since PA has a large parking lot and Brody is
trained, the Skid Monster will be making an appearance every
spring and fall for both students and teachers. The special
vehicle will also eventually be used to educate community
members, said Brody.
According to Brody, PA Principal Otho Thompson, and Head of
School Rosalie des Groseilliers, were “really supportive”
and helped to make the Skid Monster program happen.
So far, only five schools in the state have
utilized the Skid Monster, though Townsend said four more
schools have expressed an interest in the program. As word
spreads, the program will continue to grow, and the Skid
Monster will be available not only to students, but also to
adults.
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