News & Citizen

Serving the People of Lamoille County with News Since 1881

Volume 123     No 10 No 5569         August 8,  2007 Thursday                           Morrisville, VT 05661                        Web Edition

A New Morristown Skate Park? by Amy Kolb Noyes MORRISVILLE – What is a young Morristown skateboarder to do? Downtown merchants don’t like skateboarders monopolizing the sidewalks in front of their stores. Parking lots are not safe, nor are the busy streets. Several years ago the town had a skate park at the Oxbow property, but it was damaged by floodwaters, suffered from vandalism and fell into disrepair. Local skateboarder Isaac Graham thinks it is time to try again. Continued on Page 2 Wolcott School Street Center job foreman Bob Bovat (right) gave Governor Jim Douglas a tour Tuesday, August 7, of what will soon be the new town office building.    Noyes photo Gov. Douglas Tours Wolcott’s Changes by Amy Kolb Noyes WOLCOTT – Governor Jim Douglas toured the sites of some big changes in Wolcott Tuesday, August 7. After participating in the unveiling of Buck’s Furniture’s new country storefront, Governor Douglas toured the old School Street school building that a state corrections crew is renovating into town offices.  Continued on Page 2 Click here to check out the new Lamoille Restaurant Guide HPFD To Celebrate 100 Years by Mickey Smith HYDE PARK – For 100 years Hyde Park has benefited from the services of an organized fire department. Now, in celebration of their centennial, the fire department is opening the doors and letting the community in to join in the festivities. Lightning Hits Hess’ Used Cars by Mickey Smith MORRISTOWN – A bolt of lightning knocked out everything phone related at Hess’ Used Cars during Monday afternoon’s storm. For Questions or Comments on this web site please contact webmaster at dan@kingdomsedge.com Cousins Andrew (left) and Ashton Allen cut a ribbon to open the new Morristown Community Nature Trail on the Peoples Academy property.     Photo courtesy of Alice Angney Handicapped Accessible Trail Complete by Amy Kolb Noyes MORRISVILLE – Friday, July 27, was a monumental day for Ashton Allen and his family. It marked the culmination of six years of hard work and frustration. It also marked the opening of a new nature trail for every member of the local community.  Continued on Page 2 Hyde Park Principal’s Resignation is Fifth This Year by Mickey Smith Hyde Park Elementary School Principal Ilene Levitt announced her resignation this past week, bringing the number of principals who have retired/resigned, effective since the end of the school year, to five in Lamoille County.  Continued on Page 2 Lamoille County Pet Care 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

Things Look This Way to Me

Editorial by J.B. McKinley 8-9/07

In the Heart of Lamoille County

Little flags on the power poles declare Morrisville to be in the heart of Lamoille County. True enough, but what does that mean?

Is Morristown simply centrally located in Lamoille or is the town held dear in the hearts of county residents, or is Morristown a bellwether at least vaguely indicating the future path other county towns may soon follow?

If, for a moment, you will believe that Morristown, with its growth pressures, may indicate some central truths valid for the county consider the following. I’ll tell you a story and you may make your own conclusions.

Last weekend my wife and I spent what was a quintessential Vermont summer day in search of lawn sales. We traveled widely and looped through the country from Elmore to Northfield, over several mountains to Williamstown, lunched in Chelsea and found ourselves picking up 89 to head home from South Royalton. For us it was a rare trip away from Morristown and that oft-travelled corridor to Burlington for shopping. We enjoyed some narrow dirt roads, the smell of overhanging evergreens and moist air from roadside brooks. We gazed over long vistas of field and pasture to distant hills. We saw more than a bit of open land without new McMansions or recently built three bedroom ranches with attached garages. We travelled quite a few roads without strip development of any kind. For myself, it was a bit of a wakeup call that Lamoille County has really changed in very few years.

When you sit in an office five days a week subliminally aware of the endless traffic zipping by on Brooklyn Street, the quiet of less travelled byways makes an impact. Sure I know it’s easy to find quiet hideaways in our county, but each year it is less easy.

What are we doing about it? Change is inevitable but to what degree do we wish to channel the coming change? Each of our Lamoille communities has made decisions regarding planning and zoning, schooling and other public functions and facilities. Morristown seems almost to be at a turning point; will Morrisville be a very small city soon? Well,  one thing is clear, growth is here and still coming. Recently two relatively densely planned 44 unit developments have been proposed; apparently developers confidently expect to sell 88 homes. What if those 88 families had to build each on a 10 acre lot? It seems that the impact is massive either way and we can’t just revile zoning boards for obeying the laws they are handed. We can’t simply revile our planning boards for suggesting the regulations. Well, I guess we can, but it’s not a constructive reaction.

What we can do is think about what we want the future to look like for our kids and consider volunteering for some of our boards. It’s my thought that you and I are the true Heart of Lamoille County, not just Morrisville.