News & Citizen

Serving the People of Lamoille County with News Since 1881

Volume 123     No 10 No 5569            May 24,   2007 Thursday                           Morrisville, VT 05661                        Web Edition

Child Care Apprentices Learn on the Job and in the Classroom by Amy Kolb Noyes MORRISVILLE – Childcare providers and those interested in working in that field got together at Hilary’s Restaurant, in Morrisville, this week for a community event hosted by the Vermont Child Care Industry and Careers Council. The event celebrated the achievements of local people involved in the Vermont Child Care Apprenticeship Program (VCCAP). Continued on Page 2 Hyjinx student organizers (l to r) Heather Vize-Willey, Spencer Morrissey, Julia Broadmeadow and T.J. Burgess gave Governor Jim Douglas a tour of the community arts festival, held Friday, May 18, inside Peoples Academy. Noyes photo Click here to check out the new Lamoille Restaurant Guide Morrisville Sidewalks Getting Repaired by Mickey Smith MORRISTOWN – Through a grant awarded more than a year ago, Morrisville’s sidewalks are getting a much-needed facelift.        Morristown Selectboard Chair Shaun Bryer explained the project was scheduled to have started last year, but the bidding process got a late start and construction season came to an end before the project could get underway. Over the course of the winter, bids were let out and the lowest bid was accepted from Messier’s Concrete, of Franklin. Continued on Page 2 Child Care Apprentices Learn on the Job and in the Classroom by Amy Kolb Noyes MORRISVILLE – Childcare providers and those interested in working in that field got together at Hilary’s Restaurant, in Morrisville, this week for a community event hosted by the Vermont Child Care Industry and Careers Council. The event celebrated the achievements of local people involved in the Vermont Child Care Apprenticeship Program (VCCAP). Continued on Page 2 For Questions or Comments on this web site please contact webmaster at http://www.kingdomsedge.com dan@kingdomsedge.com On her 197th birthday (May 19), curious Waterville residents were looking for Louisa McFarland.  After putting together a couple of questions found during the nomination for Waterville to join the National Register of Historic Places, it is believed the daughter of Osgood McFarland is buried behind the Waterville Town Hall.  Resident Barb Davis remembers the base for a gravestone on her property, which extends behind the Town Hall, and a deed lists the area as the McFarland Cemetery.  Moses McFarland, Louisa¹s brother, sold the former Universalist Church to the town in the same year Louisa died.  Though the members of the aterville Historic Preservation Board did not find the stone, they did meet up with Meg Harris, who farms off Lapland Road.  Harris had found a grave- stone on her property, sending the history buffs up to learn of the death of A. G. ³Georgie²  Wilber ­ who passed away in 1974.  Both finds have the historians eager to find more about their town.  Especially of interest would be the old records of the Universalist church.  There is hope, these records contain proof President Chester A. Arthur was born in Waterville, and not Fairfield. Smith photos Hyde Park and Eden Set Budgets by Staff Final figures for the early June votes on both Eden and Hyde Park school budgets have been prepared. Continued on Page 2 Mailbox Vandalism Victims Sought by Mickey Smith MORRISTOWN – The Morristown Police Department is looking for people who may have recently had their mailboxes smashed. Continued on Page 2 Read all the News, Sports and More Click Here To Subscribe Today Looking for something? Search for: 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

Bright Spot in Brotherhood of Blue

Let me refer in general to the Trooper Plaster affair that, by now, is probably familiar to all who read, listen to radio or watch TV. Looking this case, in which a trooper may have used unreasonable force in handling a relatively docile citizen, the affair from one angle looks like a low point of policing for Vermont. But there is another angle that throws a sharp focus on what I would call a bright spot in what some writers have termed the “Brotherhood of Blue.”

The spotlight is on the police officers who honestly and forthrightly came forward and had reservations about Plaster’s behavior during an arrest last year. Several attitudes of those involved could, at the least, be read from between the lines in the Plaster case affidavits. These police officials obviously answered questions honestly.

 There has been no cover up for Plaster’s alleged behavior. In fact, the age old question of “Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?” or who shall keep watch over the guardians? has been answered in this case. Our police are policing themselves – apparently effectively.

Maybe I’ve read too many mystery stories and seen too many unrealistic cop movies, but it is highly reassuring to see, in such a highly public way, that most of the police are doing the right thing. No doubt force is provoked and necessary during some arrests. It’s a given fact that police don’t routinely deal with the most mannered segment of society. But when violence and force aren’t necessary, it’s clear that we, locally, have some police who clearly know what is appropriate. That is good. That takes a whole lot of the sting out of having a Vermont State Trooper in the news for wrongdoing.

So, if Trooper Plaster (already absent from the scene and apparently gone from Vermont) is ultimately found guilty and hypothetically goes on VSP’s Wall of Shame, it’s interesting that simultaneously someone else who

 reported Plaster’s behavior belongs on the opposite wall with that imaginary list of quiet police heroes.

So, it’s back to the movies for the moral – good has triumphed in Lamoille County.