The complete community record for this issue of the Cabot Chronicle. Feature stories are linked to their own pages; the remaining stories are preserved here in full. Reprinted with permission from the Cabot Chronicle.
Original issue: Download the December 2008 pages (PDF)
Advertisements, classifieds, the community calendar, puzzles, and statewide/national wire items are omitted from this record.
In This Issue
- School Board OK’s Bus Safety Seats — By Peter B. Dannenberg
- One Question for Kitty Toll — By Allison Joyal
- Cabot Road Crew: Slow Down for Winter Driving — By Susan Alexander
- Cabot November Election Results — By Allison Joyal
- Cabot Planning Commission Seeking New Members — By Gary Gulka
- Button-Up Workshops — By Peter B. Dannenberg
- Free Home Radon Test Kits — By Gary Gulka, Cabot Town Health Officer
- Cabot School Honor Roll — 2008–2009 First Quarter
- Obituary: James C. Batten — East Hardwick
- Obituary: Elwin W. Brown — Walden
- When Life Gives You Pumpkins — By Cia Considine
- Coupon Clipping Counts — By Cia Considine
- Twin Valley Senior Center News — By Marvie Domey
- Meet New Member Rita Copland — By Marvie Domey
- Meet Twin Valley Board Member Mary Etta Chase — By Marvie Domey
- A Good Match — By Susan Freeburn
- Curds & Whey — By Bonnie S. Dannenberg
- Why Shop Locally This Holiday Season? — By Shannon Wilson
- Try iGive.com — By Shannon Wilson
- Friends of Cabot Library
- Cabot Roamer’s Celebrate! — Cabot
- Christmas Letter — By Peter Dannenberg
- Feature Will the Circle Be Unbroken? — By Bonnie S. Dannenberg
- Musical Notes — By Kenny B
- Art and Politics — By Barry Goldensohn
- Cabot Christmas (As Time Goes By) — Cabot Historical Society
- The Cabot Chronicle Gets Creative — From the Editor
- Winter Solstice — By Allison Joyal
- Cabot Maple Festival Revived
This pilot record includes the full text of the issue's public records (election returns, honor roll), its remembrances, and several community columns. The remaining stories are added when the full year is processed with column-aware text extraction.
Cabot November Election Results
By Allison Joyal · Cabot
In Cabot there are 968 registered voters and 805 ballots were cast, including 217 absentee ballots.
President and Vice President
Barack Obama & Joe Biden (D) — 543 · John McCain & Sarah Palin (R) — 238 · Ralph Nader & Matt Gonzales (I) — 7 · Bob Barr & Wayne A. Root (L) — 4 · Write-In — 7 · Blank — 2
Representative to Congress
Peter Welch (D/R) Hartland — 597 · Thomas Hermann (P) Barre City — 46 · Jerry Trudell (EI) Charleston — 37 · Mike Bethel (I) Bennington — 22 · Chris Ericson (I) Chester — 15 · Jane Newton (LU) Londonderry — 8 · Write-In — 3 · Spoiled — 2 · Blank — 70
Governor
Jim Douglas (R) Middlebury — 380 · Anthony Pollina (I) Middlesex — 239 · Gaye Symington (D) Jericho — 154 · Sam Young (I) Glover — 9 · Tony O'Connor (CRE) Derby — 5 · Peter Diamondstone (LU) Brattleboro — 2 · Blank — 9
Lieutenant Governor
Brian E. Dubie (R) Essex — 395 · Thomas W. Costello (D) Brattleboro — 299 · Richard Kemp (P) Burlington — 55 · Ben Mitchell (LU) Westminster — 11 · Blank — 38 · Write-In — 2
State Treasurer
Jeb Spaulding (D/R) Montpelier — 674 · Don Schramm (P) Burlington — 54 · Murray Ngoima (LU) Pomfret — 13 · Blank — 60
Secretary of State
Deb Markowitz (D) Montpelier — 524 · Eugene J. Bifano (R) Warren — 171 · Leslie Marmorale (LU) Vershire — 12 · Marjorie Power (P) Montpelier — 44 · Blank — 50
Auditor of Accounts
Thomas Salmon (D/R) St. Johnsbury — 566 · Martha Abbott (P) Underhill — 138 · Jerry Levy (LU) Brattleboro — 11 · Write-In — 2 · Spoiled — 1 · Blank — 82
Attorney General
William H. Sorrell (D) Burlington — 493 · Karen Kerin (R/L) Royalton — 144 · Charlotte Dennett (P) Cambridge — 72 · Rosemarie Jackowski (LU) Bennington — 12 · Write-In — 1 · Spoiled — 1 · Blank — 78
State Senator
William "Bill" Doyle (R) Montpelier — 346 · Ann E. Cummings (D) Montpelier — 315 · Phil Scott (R) Montpelier — 306 · Laura Day Moore (D) Barre Town — 283 · Kimberly B. Chenet (D) Middlesex — 266 · John R. Gilligan (R) Barre City — 137 · John Bloch (P) Montpelier — 102 · Dwight "Slippery Slim" Duke (L) Marshfield — 54 · Write-In — 4 · Blank — 590
State Representative
Kitty Beattie Toll (D) Danville — 524 · Linda L. Vance (R) Danville — 234 · Write-In — 4 · Blank — 39
High Bailiff
Philip Anthony (R/D) Northfield — 602 · Write-In — 6 · Blank — 191
Cabot School Honor Roll — 2008–2009 First Quarter
Cabot School is very proud of the students who earn high grades and are on the Honor Roll. The Honor Roll is published after each marking period.
Honor Roll requirements: High Honors — no grade below 90, minimum 90 average. First Honors — all A's and B's, no grade below 85, average of at least 87.5. Second Honors — all B's, no grade below 80, average of 80–89.
High Honors
Grade 12: Lillian Alexander, Ella Belenky, Jesaiah Feltus, Ashley Foster, Julia Gulka, Hakon Hanson, Whitney Richardson, Nicholas Rushman, Mariya St. Cyr
Grade 11: Ashley Ambroz, Dore Elaine Grier, Theron Lay-Sleeper, Dylan Tetreault
Grade 9: Aaron Bushey · Grade 8: Daniel Hoyne-Grosvenor · Grade 7: Donoghue Burke
First Honors
Grade 12: Samantha Brown, Shane Gochey, Seth Graves, Johnathan Maxfield
Grade 11: Caitlin Celley, Brittany French, Amber Graves, Samantha Lewis-Rock
Grade 10: Trevor Banister, Jena Bastress, Carrie Harvey, Tyler Placey-Noyes, Charlotte Robison
Grade 9: Susanna Paye, Rebecca Rossell · Grade 8: Timothy Mueller-Harder
Grade 7: Joseph Ambroz, Olivia Bellavance, Lars Hammer, Shelby Marcotte, Carter Maxfield
Second Honors
Grade 12: Diana Cogger, Victoria Harshman, Nevada Kohler, Maria McClellan, Meriah Nunn, Samantha Talbert
Grade 11: Robert Lanphear, Justin Rich
Grade 10: Lyndsay Christman, Sadie Marcotte, Shelby Maurice, Elisha Tebbetts
Grade 9: Caleb Domey, Kelly Gochey, Cassidy Kittridge · Grade 7: Wesley Ameden, Nell McQueeney, Sarah Woodman
Obituary: James C. Batten
East Hardwick
James Carleton "Jim" Batten, 82, a lifelong member of the East Hardwick community, died Tuesday, November 4, 2008 at the Fletcher Allen Medical Center in Burlington.
He was born March 17, 1926 in Morrisville, the son of the late Carleton and Susan (Joslyn) Batten. He graduated from Lyndon Institute in the class of 1944 and continued his education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.), graduating in the class of 1951 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.
He entered the Army Air Force on August 21, 1944 in Rutland. He served his country as an airplane radio mechanic throughout the United States and in the south Pacific. He received a World War II Victory Medal, an American Campaign Medal, and an Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal for his efforts. Corporal Batten was honorably discharged on August 6, 1946 at Fort Dix, N.J. On August 16, 1952 he married Anne C. Kelly in Millers Falls, MA. They lived most of their married life in the East Hardwick area.
Jim worked on the family potato farm for seven years prior to his employment as an Armament Test Engineer at General Electric in Jericho, until he retired in 1988. He later retired from Wildcat Busing in 2003. He enjoyed reading, the family cats, and the time that he spent with his children, grandchildren, and great-granddaughter.
Survivors include his wife, Anne, of East Hardwick; two children, Robert Batten and his wife, Lydia, of Jericho, and Barbara and her husband, Greg Schoolcraft, of Peacham; five grandchildren, Nathan Batten, Lucas Batten, Brady Batten, Kristen Schoolcraft Speen and her husband Michael, and Blake Schoolcraft; one great-granddaughter, Peyton Speer; and nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by an infant daughter, Susan Jean Batten, and by his dearest friend, classmate, and Best Man, Cola Hudson, who died in January 2008.
Funeral services were held on Saturday, November 8, 2008 at the Northern Vermont Funeral Home, Hardwick, with the Rev. Judy Waible of the United Church in Hardwick officiating. Burial with military honors followed in the Sanborn Cemetery in East Hardwick. Contributions in his memory may be made to Lyndon Institute, P.O. Box 127, Lyndon Center, Vermont 05850.
Obituary: Elwin W. Brown
Walden
Elwin Wendell "Brownie" Brown Sr., 94, of Walden, died peacefully on Thursday evening, November 20, 2008 at his residence.
He was born November 1, 1914 in Belvidere, the son of the late Wilbur and Julia (Greenwood) Brown. On June 5, 1937 he married Margaret Eva Green in Eastford, CT.
In his earlier years he was employed in the construction business as a heavy equipment operator on interstate highways, for Lane Construction in Meredith, CT, Pulazzia Construction in New Hampshire, and A.J. Orlando Construction. He later worked for H.G. Wood Lumber Mill in Bath, N.H., and Britton Lumber in Ely, Vt. For nine years he owned and operated Brown's Sawmill in Walden. He retired in 1980. He was a member of the International Union of Operating Engineers.
Elwin enjoyed his workshop, making wooden toys for gifts, fishing, snowmobiling, gardening, country music, and attending Antique Gas Engine Shows. Other enjoyments included traveling, especially trips to Alaska.
Survivors include his wife of 71 years, Margaret, of Walden; a daughter, Barbara Chambers of Chelsea; two sons, Elwin W. Brown Jr. of Valparaiso, Indiana, and Allen Brown of North Hyde Park; 6 grandchildren; 13 great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandson; and nieces, nephews, and cousins. He was predeceased by a brother, Newton Brown, and a sister, Katherine Brown.
A Memorial Service was held on Sunday, November 30, 2008 at the Walden Methodist Church in Noyesville. In lieu of flowers, contributions in his memory may be made to the Vermont Cancer Center at the University of Vermont, Health Science Research Facility, 149 Beaumont Avenue, Burlington, Vermont 05405-0075.
Cabot Roamer's Celebrate!
Cabot
The Cabot Roamers celebrated their first year of bicycle touring with pizza, new hats featuring the Cabot Roamers logo, and a packed house at the Willey Building on Tuesday, October 21st. Mark Bromley showed a slide presentation with music showing the many rides, cookouts, camping trips, and school safety sessions that everyone participated in throughout this past spring and summer.
Special thanks to Mark for organizing and overseeing a total of 18 Cabot Roamer events; to Lori Augustyniak and Kathleen Hoyne of the Cabot Coalition for organizing and funding support; to Ed Lewis, 6th grade teacher at Cabot School, for sharing his biking safety knowledge at two mandatory safety sessions; and to Libby Hale for securing new bike helmets for 44 participants. Thanks also to Anna Bromley, Aaron Bushey, and Daniel Hoyne Grosvenor for their youth leadership role on trips and for writing a grant, which was awarded from United Way.
Thank you to all the adults who helped in so many ways: Alison Ameden, Will Ameden, Lori Augustyniak, Brett Bellavance, Raquel Bigelow, Anna Bromley, Jacie Bromley, Mark Bromley, Robert Burke, Sam Bromley, Richard Bushey, Tom Considine, Emily Dale, Ben Davis, Alicia Feltus, John Grosvenor, Cecelia Gulka, Jennifer Mattson, Gary Gulka, John Hammer, David Hale, Libby Hale, Ben Hewitt, Kathleen Hoyne, Julia Kaptan, Ed Lewis, Matt Moody, Charles O'Conner, Mathew Robison, Chris Tormey, Mary Ann Tormey, Sam Tormey, John Vara, Tim Walker, and Brian Woodman.
Thanks to all the youth who participated in the many events and rides this past summer: Wesley Ameden, Wyatt Ameden, Olivia Bellavance, Jena Bastress, Tiger Bastress, Donavon Bigelow, Aaron Bushey, Henry Bushey, Hugh Bushey, Willa Burke, Heidi Cookson, Gwen Considine, Robin Considine, Zachery Colbeth, Kate Davis, Eli Hale, Lars Hammer, Seth Herrick, Amber Hough, Dakota Hough, Sam Mattson, Caleb Maxfield, Jeremy Maxfield, Nell McQueeney, John Miner, Jamie Miner, Alan Moody, David Moody, Mazie O'Conner, Lyrica Stelle, Tyler Placey Noyes, Fox Winters, Charlotte Robison, Maelily Robison, Brooke Tetreault, Megan Walker, Abigail Woodman, Sarah Woodman, Daniel Hoyne Grosvenor, Jeremy Hoyne Grosvenor, Timothy Mueller-Harder, and Clementine O'Conner.
For information about Cabot Roamer's events, contact Mark Bromley or Kathleen Hoyne at the Cabot Coalition. Bike on!
A Good Match
By Susan Freeburn · Marshfield
Kathleen Higbee has been together with Lynn-Anne Nunn from the start. For about three years now, Kathleen and Lynn-Anne have been getting together on a regular basis, maybe once or twice a week. They cook, play cards, do crafts, talk horses, watch TV — or just hang out. Just like friends. Because they are, in the truest sense of the word, friends.
They were matched together at the start of the Cabot Coalition Mentoring Program three years ago, and have been together ever since. While they already shared a common ground in their love of horses, they have both brought new skills and insights to their relationship. Kathleen has shared her love of cooking with Lynn-Anne, and they often bake together. Lynn-Anne has entered her apple pie in the Cabot Apple Pie Festival competition, and won in her category three years in a row.
Kathleen emphasizes that being a mentor doesn't have to take you out of your normal routine; just do what you normally do. Watching TV, a game of cards, making dinner, and shared conversations are a good way to start; shared interests can develop over time. Among the benefits she attributes to a good mentor–mentee relationship are more self-confidence in the youth, more comfort with their peers, a willingness to try new activities, and a more outgoing personality. She emphasizes that a mentee isn't necessarily an “at-risk” youth; the program is open to all who wish to join.
Lynn-Anne says she enjoys visiting Kathleen after school. In a small town like Cabot, she says, where there's limited after-school activity, it's fun to go to Kathleen's; they bake breads, have snacks and tea, sometimes go out to eat, work on schoolwork, and at holiday time have made Christmas baskets. She would encourage any of the young people in town to enjoy the benefits a mentoring relationship offers.
For more information about becoming a mentor or having a mentor, please contact Kathleen Hoyne at the Cabot Coalition.
Curds & Whey
By Bonnie S. Dannenberg · Marshfield
Introducing a new column to end the old year. Cabot residents know curds are the thick part of coagulated milk — the good stuff; whey is the watery part we often spray on fields as fertilizer. Here's how you participate: curds indicate praise, or thumbs up; whey indicates thumbs down. This column will only work with your input.
Curds to Libby Hale, Rebecca Nally, and the Recreation Field Committee, for the great work they're doing.
Whey to the person who vandalized the Recreation Field this summer. Not cool.
Curds to the Reverend Bill Cobb and his “Elves Workshop.”
Curds to the CSPAC school fundraising committee. Amazing accomplishment.
Curds to the PTSO fundraising committee. To date they've raised about $2,000 toward playground equipment for pre-school through second grade.
Curds to Mark Bromley and his work with the Cabot Roamers, bike trips for kids.
We at the Cabot Chronicle would like to send our warmest thoughts to Jeff Downs of Joe's Pond Country Store and Lesly LaPan of the East Calais General Store. Both stores were robbed last week; both storekeepers have long been supporters of our newspaper and our community.