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The Cabot Chronicle

June 2010 · Issue Record

← From the Cabot Chronicle

The community record for this issue of the Cabot Chronicle, extracted from the original pages. Reprinted with permission from the Cabot Chronicle.

Original issue: Download the June 2010 pages (PDF)

Text extracted from the original pages and checked for reading order. Advertisements, listings, the calendar and puzzles are omitted. Where part of a story could not be converted cleanly, it is marked and the full story is in the PDF.

In This Issue

Off The Grid

By Ben Hewitt For Jen and Morgan Churchill, the choice to install solar electric panels on their Cabot home was simple: Houston Hill Road, where they built their house in 2004, has no grid electricity service. “Really, it was a pretty easy decision,” said Jen. “Because honestly, I don’t think we’d want to live without power.” The Churchill’s are part of a growing contingent of Cabot-area residents who have chosen to power their homes alternatively. Some, like Jen and Morgan Churchill, are entirely independent of the utility grid, relying on batteries to store the electricity produced during sunny periods. Others have installed “grid-tie” systems that complement the electricity provided by the grid utility company and, in some cases, provide electricity to the power company. Both groups combine to make Cabot a hotspot of alternative energy. “Per capita, I’d say Cabot has at least 50% more alternative energy than most other Vermont towns,” said Jim Grundy, owner of Elemental Energy. Over the past decade, Grundy’s company has completed at least ten alternative energy installations in Cabot. “I think one of the motivating factors that’s particularly strong in Cabot is independence. People want to be able to run their home autonomously. They don’t want to have to rely on the electrical grid.” That was certainly a motivation for Erik and Karen Mueller-Harder, who installed a grid-tie system five years ago, and have since been able to produce about 70% of their electricity on site. “We’ve always tried to minimize our impact,” noted Erik. “But we also wanted to have a back-up plan for those times when the grid power is down.” Unlike most grid-tie systems, the Mueller-Harder’s installed batteries that allow them to keep the lights on even when the power goes out and the sun isn’t shining. During sunny days, the Mueller- Harder’s solar panels actually make more electricity than they can use; according to Vermont law, Washington Electric, which supplies the Mueller- Harder’s grid power, is required to provide a credit for the excess. In the winter, when there’s less sun and the Mueller-Harder’s are forced to rely on grid utility electricity, they can draw on their credit, which reduces their monthly electric bill.

Part of this story may be missing here. See the original pages, page 1 onward.

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Cabot Around The World

Cabot students and chaperones check “The Chronicle” for the Route 2 bus schedule, as they depart from Le Mont St. Michel, on the Normandy coast. The group arrived safely at JFK Airport in New York City on May 2nd, and opted for a charter bus to bring them all the way home to Cabot. Pictured above are Caitlin Celley, Doré Grier, Cam O’Brien, Peydon Wright, Linda Savoca, Amber Graves, Charlotte Robison, Gwen Considine, Lyndsay Christman, Robin Considine and Sam Lewis Rock. Photo courtesy of Cam O'Brien.

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Cabot Embarks on Planning Process, Seeks Visionaries

Cabot. The name conjures among the best of what Vermont has to offer: an intact rural landscape, a nationally recognized brand, a compact village common surrounded by a recreational and working landscape, a K-12 town school that offers its pupils an engaging, supportive environment in which to learn. These goods we share in common can’t be taken for granted. As much as Vermont is recognized for its quality of life, pressures inside and outside the state are making this quality of life difficult to maintain. The cost of living in Vermont has risen dramatically over the last decade, placing us at the 9th most costly state in which to live. At the same time, the costs of basic goods such as health care, fuel, and education continue to rise. How can Vermonters adapt in a constantly changing world while maintaining – perhaps even strengthening – the best of what it has to offer? Some, but not all, of the factors can be influenced through the planning process – at the state, regional, and local level. The Cabot Planning Commission is beginning the process of updating our Town Plan, with an eye toward creating a blueprint for the economic, cultural, and ecological well-being of our community today and in the future. One of the first steps is to create a portrait of our residents and collect community-wide input around planning issues important to town members. To collect this information, the Planning Commission will distribute a survey – online and in print – as an insert in these pages. Some of the planning topics that will be examined include: natural resources, housing and economic development, historic preservation, roads and utilities, town services, and recreation. Our hope is that, with your input, the Plan will chart a course for the future use and security of our shared and privately held resources, and address such issues as housing development and energy use. The Town Plan also serves a very practical function for the Town: to update its zoning regulations, apply for municipal planning grants, and to have a voice in land use decisions in Town that are subject to Act 250 review, it must update the Town Plan every five years. Cabot’s last Town Plan was adopted in 2003. The Cabot Community Planning Survey will be available June 1st through 30th, 2010, as an insert in this paper and through the Town’s website, www.cabotvt.us. Copies will also be available at the Town Clerk’s office and at the Cabot Library. We hope Cabot residents of all ages will take 15-20 minutes to answer all of the questions in the survey. The more participation there is, the better the Commission will understand the aspirations and concerns of the community, providing valued guidance as we embark on the Town Plan update process. The Planning Commission will build upon your input. A summary of the survey results will be available to the public in time for a town-wide visioning event later this year. The visioning event will be open to the Cabot community, serving as an opportunity for residents to learn more about the Town Plan update process, discuss priorities and concerns

(See Planning Process , Page 2)

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Cabot School Unveils Changes for Next Year

Cabot School board members hosted an open forum to review the intended curriculum and schedule changes for the 2010-2011 school year. Chris Tormey, School Board Chair, opened the forum by reminding participants that the school budget was cut this year by seven percent (the equivalent of over three full-time employees). Tormey acknowledged that “the cuts we made are challenging, but doable.” School staff and volunteers worked together to create the plans, which are not yet finalized. Many positions have been cut back or completely eliminated. The full-time physical education position has been cut to .8 FTE. The full-time industrial arts position has been cut to .4 FTE, teaching primarily grades seventh through ninth. A .8 FTE reduction in special education has resulted in the layoff of Andy Pitt. The .5 AP English position has been cut to .25, and a new teacher will need to be hired. The third grade classroom teacher, Patrice Luneau, has taken early retirement. A bus driver position has been reduced by .5 FTE. (This reduction is not expected to affect bus runs or scheduling for the fall.) A custodial staff position has been reduced from 1.0 to .7 FTE. In the original budget an additional reduction of .2 FTE in science or social studies was required. However, the resignation of veteran science teacher Charlie Wanzer brought a savings, which will be seen in hiring a new teacher, and so this full-time position will likely remain. There are a number of scheduling changes, including the extension of the school day. In the fall, the school will start at 8:05 a.m. and end at 2:56 p.m.

The high school will switch from eight periods a day to seven, with longer class periods and no block scheduling. A conversation has begun with Twinfield Union School about opportunities to collaborate, such as sharing Cabot’s AP Biology class and Twinfield’s Spanish course. Cabot students can also participate in the Vermont Virtual Learning Cooperative (VLC), allowing them to attend internet classes with students from across the state. A new upper elementary multiage classroom model will be launched this fall. Grades three through five will be mixed for half a day. Janet Bird, Mary- Ann Tormey, and a new half-time teacher, will teach mathematics and language arts to each grade individually in the mornings. In the afternoon students will be configured into a variety of multiage groupings to study social studies and science. There is no elementary music scheduled for next year, although the board is investigating options, including collaboration with Twinfield. The board clarified the plans for early education. The Kindergarten teacher remains a full-time position, but details regarding the kindergarten and pre-K scheduled have not yet been determined. No decisions have been made about the technologist position left vacant when John McSweeney passed away this spring. The board is considering whether to hire a school staff person or contract with a service provider. In the meantime, the school board has contracted with a local service provider, Wild Branch Solutions, for the remainder of this school year.

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Off The Grid

Still, unless the price of grid electricity rises substantially (currently about 14 cents per kilowatt hour; the average family of four uses about 29 kilowatt hours per day), it’s unlikely the Mueller- Harder’s will ever see a financial return on their investment. “We plan to live here forever, so maybe if we live long enough, we might make our money back,” said Erik. “But we’ve been vigorously not thinking about it like that.” Most of the alternative power being produced in Cabot is through the use of solar photovoltaic panels, which convert sunlight into direct current (DC) electricity. A device called an inverter then converts the DC electricity into common household alternating current (AC) electricity. This means that even off-grid systems like the Churchill’s can run modern appliances. Jen and Morgan have a refrigerator, television, computer, and stereo, all of which run off their solar photovoltaic system. “We’ve had to adapt some,” said Jen. “We have our washing machine and chest freezer at the barn.” The Churchill’s operate an organic dairy farm on the property owned by Morgan’s aunt and uncle, Mary and Walter “Rusty” Churchill. “We’ve always been energy conscious. We’re just more so now.” In the winter months, with no utility grid to back up their solar panels, the Churchill’s run a gasoline generator to charge their batteries. “We just turn it on before we go up to milk, so we don’t have to listen to it,” said Jen. Both Erik Mueller-Harder and Jen Churchill agree that the major concession to alternative energy is the initial price. Even though the Churchills installed their system themselves, the cost of the components for their modest, 780watt array of photovoltaic panels was nearly $12,000. Recently enacted state incentives are helping drive down the price. Currently, residential grid-tie systems qualify for a rebate of $1.50 per watt, or about 15- 20% of the final installed cost. The state also provides incentives for solar hot water systems, which can heat as much as 70% of a household’s domestic hot water needs and typically require an initial investment of less than $10,000. Still, the potential for electrical selfsufficiency provided by alternative energy has advantages that are sometimes hard to put a price on. “On Christmas morning of 2008, none of our neighbors had power, but we did,” said Erik Mueller-Harder. “We didn’t even know the power had gone out until the next day.”

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What advice did your father give you that you'd like to pass on?

"Most of his advice was not suitable for print. But he did say not to spend your money foolishly, on frivolous things, because someday you might wish you had it."

Carlton Domey “When making a decision, don’t let the decision be made for you. Instead, look at the options, analyze the situation, and go forward from there.”

Charlie Wazner ”Work smart, not hard. Think before you work.”

Scott St. John The Cabot Roamers rode in the Lund Family Foundation’s Mother's Day Fundraising Bike Ride. The ride spanned 30 miles and went through snowy terrain. In front: Mark Bromley. In back: Heidi Cookson, Megan Walker, Robin Considine, Raquel Bigelow, Gwen Considine, Cia Considine, and Tim Walker. Photo courtesy of Mark Bromley.

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&Whey

Little Miss Muffet got tired of sitting on her tuffet, asking for curds and whey.

So one day she just left the Cabot Chronicle curdless and went off to apologize to that spider for insulting it.

We are seeking someone to take over the writing of things worthy of applause and boos relevant to life in Cabot. Do you know what’s happening in town? We are looking for a writer, or collector, of Curds & Whey.

If you want to see the column continue, and believe you can be even-handed in your treatment of issues, or send an e-mail to and offer your services.

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FAST FACT

Many people believe that Europeans drink more responsibly than Americans. In fact, a 2006 study by the European Union found that levels of alcohol use and binge drinking by European teens were much higher than in the United States. The only country that had a lower level of binge drinking was Turkey—where alcohol is forbidden.

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LEGISLATIVE UPDATE. Legislative Session Report

By Representative Kitty Beattie Toll

The 2010 Legislative session adjourned late in the evening on Wednesday, May 12. As a freshman legislator, I was pleased to be part of a group that was able to come to agreement on important issues that needed resolution before adjournment. Not all of the work done this year was perfect, but the Legislature and the Administration concurred on key pieces of legislation to move this state forward in difficult economic times. The Transportation Bill passed both the House and Senate and is supported by the Administration. This budget reflects a record amount of $581 million in transportation projects. This includes approximately $6 million in local funds, $220 million in state funds which includes $13 million in bonding, $275 million in federal funds, and $81 million in stimulus money. Projects consist of $93 million for state paving and approximately $114 million in town, state and interstate bridge construction and repairs. Town highway aid has been level funded at $25 million. However, there are increases to Class 2 town roadway construction and paving projects and additional funding to Town Highway Structures which include culverts and bridges under 40 feet. In the final days of the session, agreement was reached between Legislators and the Administration concerning the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. It is far from perfect, but the agreement will allow the fund to return to solvency within five years. Since January, the state has borrowed $58 million from the federal government and is expected to borrow about $4 million every week to meet our unemployment insurance benefits obligations. This loan from the federal government is interest-free through the end of the year. One piece of good news is that Vermont’s unemployment rate is currently down to 6.5% and statistics show Vermont workers are going back to work faster than workers in any other state in the country. Highlights of the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund agreement include capping the weekly benefit at its present amount, $425, until the fund is out of debt. The average weekly benefit received is approximately $312. The agreement also imposes a one week waiting period before an individual receives benefits; disqualifies a person from receiving benefits while receiving severance pay; increases the taxable wage base (TWB) from $10,000 to $13,000 in 2013 and $16,000 in 2012; limits the maximum yearly benefit to seasonal employees; and can disqualify a person from benefits for a period of 6- 15 weeks if fired for misconduct. The Governor and Legislative Leadership have indicated that there is something for everyone to dislike in this agreement, but it is essential to return this fund to the black as soon as feasible. Without a compromise, borrowing from the federal government to cover this fund would exceed $163 million by the end of 2011. The last time the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund was under consideration for major reform was in 1983. Additional information and resources are available at www.labor.vermont.gov under “UI Reform” under “New”. S.280, an act prohibiting texting while driving, was considered by both the House and Senate earlier in the session, but language was not agreed on and passed until the final days of the session. The bill includes the prohibition of texting of all drivers while operating a motor vehicle and instructs that a person under the age of 18 shall not use any portable electronic device while operating a motor vehicle, except to place a 911 call. The Governor was prepared to veto the 2011 budget; however, in the final hours of the last day of the session, the Administration and Legislature hammered out an agreement. H.789, appropriations for the support of government, also known as the Big Bill, passed with bi-partisan support. The fiscal year 2011 budget challenge was to resolve a $154 million shortfall while preserving essential support for Vermonters. The 2011 state budget makes investments to preserve the health, well being and dignity of Vermonters. Homebased services that are crucial to keeping elderly Vermonters and people with disabilities in their homes were restored. By sustaining Vermont’s Senior Companion Program, Housing and Supportive Services Grants, Foster Grandparent Program and the Neighbor to Neighbor Program, Vermonters can continue to live in their communities. Many Vermonters are sharing the burden of budget reductions. State employees and Legislators accepted a pay cut for 2 years. Teachers made changes to their retirement, saving Vermont $15 million. Participants in Catamount Health will pay higher deductibles. Grants throughout state government will see reductions. Importantly, actions in the 2011 budget will decrease the projected 2012 deficit from $250 million to $122 million. The property tax rate to fund education reflects no increase over last year. The rates are set at $0.86 for residential property and $1.35 for non-residential property, saving property tax payers $20 million across the state. This year the Legislature also addressed the restructuring of the Judicial Branch of Vermont State Government; animal welfare; human trafficking; interstate weight limits; support of the Vermont National Guard; environmental issues; e-waste, and much more. For complete information of all bills and actions, visit the State of Vermont website at www.leg.state.vt.us or contact me at [email protected] or by phone at 684-3671 or 563-2627. I want to thank the voters of Cabot, Danville, and Peacham for giving me the opportunity to represent our communities in Montpelier. It is an honor to serve as your local Legislator.

The fourth graders at Cabot School prepared a presentation of their Farm to School project for the Rural Partnership Conference. The students put together a display for the cafeteria bulletin board highlighting local products served, taste test results, and a class sign-up for future taste tests. This will be a great PR tool to help raise awareness in the cafeteria. Food Service Director, Scott St. John, visited them in their classroom to check out their work. Photo courtesy of 4th grade teacher, Mary Ann Tormey (also pictured above).

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Cabot Farm To School News

The TLC program made granola with oats from Quebec and maple syrup from Goodrich’s Farm. The next day it was taste tested around the school. Here are the results:

Granola Taste Test Results:

Tried It = 89 Liked It = 87 Would Eat It Again = 86 As a result of the taste test, granola is being served for snack and breakfast. The recipe has only five ingredients and is easy to make. (Compare these ingredients to an average cereal box.) We are fortunate to live in a place where foods like oats, sunflower seeds, and maple syrup are local. The maple syrup for this taste test was donated to the Cabot Coalition by Goodrich’s Farm. For the past two months, the Cabot School Food Service Director, Scott St. John, has been using it in his muffins, his carrot and parsnip dishes, and other yummy foods for school lunch and breakfast. Maple syrup is a wonderful sweetener to use, as it is local, goes through very little processing, and is the healthiest sugar to eat. If your family’s maple syrup supply is plentiful, consider donating a jug to the school cafeteria. For more information, call the school at 563-2289 and ask for the kitchen. Or just drop off a jug! There are other exciting foods being served in the cafeteria. The salad bar has been offered on Fridays, and will continue next year. Farm to School committee members have been helping out with the salad bar and taste tests at the school. Cabot Creamery’s Berry Yogurt is being served with breakfast and snack. (It goes very well with the granola.) Whole wheat bagels and pizza crust are examples of the ways whole grains are being served more often. With spring finally upon us in Vermont, folks are planning their vegetable gardens. Did you know that 3SquaresVT food benefits can be used to buy seeds or plants to grow fruits or vegetables? If you want to grow your own food, your 3SquaresVT benefits can help you get started. Purchase vegetable or fruit seeds and plants at stores or farmers' markets that accept EBT cards. Farmer’s Markets that accept 3Squares Vermont include Barre, Montpelier, Morrisville, Waterbury. For a complete list of participating stores and markets, or to see if you qualify for 3Squares, call 1-800-479-6151 or go to www.vermontfoodhelp.com. Our Frugal Tip for the month was contributed by Jeannie McCallum. To make it more seasonal, fresh spring greens could be added to it, or served on the side. Pasta & beans 1 small onion 1 clove garlic 1 can chicken stock 1 can white beans 2 cups of small pasta (Dilalini) 3 teaspoons sage (dried, less if fresh) 6 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 cup water salt & pepper parmesan cheese, grated Saute onions and garlic in 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Add stock, bring to boil. Add pasta, cook 5 minutes, add beans and sage and water. Garnish with parmesan and olive oil.

Cabot’s Farm to School Committee meetings are held on the fourth Wednesday of every month from 4:00 – 5:30 p.m. in the Cabot School Library. The next meeting is on June 23rd. For more information, or to submit your frugal tips, the coordinator can be reached at Cabot School or [email protected].

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LOCAL GRANOLA

Mix Together:

4 Cups Rolled Oats 1/2 Cup Sunflower Seeds

4 Tbls. Vegetable Oil 1/2 Cup Maple Syrup 1 Tsp. Vanilla Spread out on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Take out and stir. Bake again for 5 more minutes. Stir. Bake again for 5 minutes, or until golden brown. Eat with yogurt, milk, ice cream or plain like trail mix.

Optional ingredients include nuts (mixed in before baking) and dried fruits (mixed in after baking). Store in an airtight container.

Developed by Edmunds Middle School

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FAST FACT

Research shows that when the drinking age is 21, those younger than 21 drink less and continue to drink less through their early twenties. The lower rates of drinking before 21 doesn’t mean there are higher rates of drinking after 21. In fact, it’s just the opposite—the amount of drinking is lower.

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Friends of Cabot Library News for June

The Cabot Blooms Garden Tour is right around the corner on Saturday, June 19, from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m., rain or shine. This self-guided tour is guaranteed to brighten your day and put a little spring in your step with a minimum of 8 gardens open for everyone’s viewing pleasure. Tickets for this event are $15 and will be on sale at the library beginning Saturday, June 5, as well as on the day of the event from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tell your friends and family to reserve June 19 to come enjoy a few of Cabot’s finest garden delights. We would like to extend a huge thank you to all who so generously agreed to open their garden homes for this event. We truly appreciate the time and effort you’ve put in to make this event successful. And to those who might like to consider adding their garden next year – please let us know. All gardens are eligible to be included in the event, small, large, or unique. As always, proceeds from this and all other events will be used to supplement activities, equipment, and programs for Cabot’s library. In fact, as hinted in last month’s news, we are happy to report that event proceeds have now helped to make a second purchase – a new popcorn machine for the library’s many new events. Stay tuned, as we consider new ideas and ways to make things even more exciting. Membership has been increasing here at the Friends group, and new members are always welcome. Meetings are held on the secondSaturday of the month at 9:30 a.m. in the Willey Building meeting room, so drop in if you’re in town or at the library that day. Come join one of our meetings to see what we do if you have been thinking of volunteering some of your time. All levels of participation, along with suggestions or comments, are always welcome. Our ultimate goal here at the Friends is to help raise Cabot’s fun quotient a bit more through event and program support at the library, and your help is needed for us to succeed. The more members we have, the more interesting and larger events we can support, thus helping the library with more of their programs and non-budgeted purchases. Help us grow Cabot’s own sustainability efforts through continued support of all local purchases, events, and programs. Your participation is what makes Cabot a community. Our next planned event will be the July 4 book sale. Please phone the library if you have any donations, to arrange for book review and pick-up. Your donations of quality used books, music CDs, audio books, and movie DVDs (or VHS tapes) make our events successful. Mark your calendars for the upcoming June/July scheduled events. It’s one way to show your ongoing support. And don’t forget to introduce yourselves to us. We love meeting you and learning how we can best support our community. See you at this summer’s events.

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From The Cabot Library

This month it is mostly about programming. We will have something for everyone. Come to one, come to all!

State Parks and Historic Sites Passes

We have received our State Parks Pass and new for this year, the Historic Sites Pass. These passes are cosponsored by the Vermont Department of Libraries, the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks & Recreation, and the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation. The State Parks Pass allows one vehicle holding up to 8 people free admittance to a Vermont state park for one day. The Historic Sites Pass allows one family or group up to 8 people free admittance to a Vermont historic site for one day. Some of the historic sites include: Bennington Battle Monument, Eureka Schoolhouse, and Justin Morrill State Historic Site. The passes will be available for a 3 day loan starting on May 22nd.

Game Club

The Game Club will end this year with the winding down of school. The last day will be Tuesday, June 15th. Join us for a final Game Club bash.

Tues., June 15th from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

June 14th is Flag Day. This year we will celebrate Flag Day on June 15th with a book talk given by author Woden Teachout on her book, Capture the Flag. The American flag has played a lively – and often decisive – role in our political life for well over a century. It has been waved by citizens across the political spectrum: left and right, racists and revolutionaries, nativists and civil rights organizers. It has been hoisted, waved, burned, and trampled underfoot. Historian Woden Teachout will talk about how the flag developed into such a potent symbol and how activists and politicians have struggled over its meaning, each hoping to call on its power to express his or her version of the American dream.

Summer Programs

No matter what the weather does, the Library’s Summer Programming will start this month!! This year the themes are: for the 11 year old and younger patron, “Make a Splash Read” and for the 12 to 18 year old patron, “Make Waves at Your Library.” Tuesday, June 29th at 6:30 p.m.

(in Marshfield at the Jaquith Public Library) We kick the season off with a program presented by the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) entitled, Cold Blooded Critters. Slimy or scaly? An assortment of live reptiles and amphibians are presented to discuss the differences between the two groups. Discover why these “indicator species” play such critical environmental roles, as we explore their natural and cultural history. Come see a wood turtle, snake and salamander.

Story Hour

Please note: During the summer, Story Hour will be on Wednesday, starting June 30th, and lasting through July 28th. There will be no Story Hour in August. Children of all ages, parents and caregivers are welcome.

Wed., June 30th at 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.

(Summer Story Hour Start)

Ahoy Readers

Set sail for the library and we’ll book it to the beach. We’ll explore island life, create sand art with beautiful multicolored sand, and look for shells lost in the sand.

Hours Change

Along with Summer Programming come Summer Hours. The Library Hours will change on Tuesday, June 22nd to the following:

Tue 9 am to 2 pm and 5 to 7 pm Program Night Wed 9 am to 2 pm Story Hour at 10:30 am Thu 9 am to 2 pm Sat 9 am to 2 pm Closed Sunday, Monday, and Friday.

A Foreshadowing July programs

Tues. and one Sat. evening

July 6th at 6:30 p.m. River Tracking with Angella Gibbons July 10th at 6:30 p.m. Solo Performance by Katie Trautz July 13th at 6:30 p.m. Pizza and Oceans of Artrageous Fun July 20th at 6:30 p.m. Solo Piano “Conversations with Nature” by Cody Michaels July 27th at 6:30 p.m. Tom Joyce – Magic Man

Wednesday Story Hours

July 7th at 10:30 a.m. Look Out for Turtles! July 14th at 10:30 a.m. Life’s a Beach at Your Library July 21st at 10:30 a.m. Life in a Coral Reef July 28th at 10:30 a.m. Splish, Splash, Water Bash

For our Summer Programming we would like to thank the Friends of the Cabot Public Library and the Cabot Creamery. Also, a special thanks is extended to Susan Green at the Jaquith Public Library. The two libraries are sharing costs for the VINS and the Tom Joyce programs. This allows us to have great programming and still stay within budget.

See you at the Library! Kathleen Hoyne and Anne Walker

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From page 4

Tuesdays from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. Game Club at the Cabot Public Library: All are welcome! Bring your own games or play ours. Snacks provided. Game Club will end on June 15th.

Fridays from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Story Hour at the Cabot Public Library. Come join us for stories and arts/crafts projects!

Tuesday, June 15th at 6:30 to 7:30 pm “Capture the Flag” book talk given by author, Woden Teachout.

Tuesday, June 22nd Summer Hours start:

Tue 9 am to 2 pm and 5 to 7 pm Program Night Wed 9 am to 2 pm Story Hour at 10:30 am Thu 9 am to 2 pm Sat 9 am to 2 pm Closed Sunday, Monday, and Friday.

Tuesday, June 29th at 6:30 pm

(in Marshfield at the Jaquith Public Library) Cold Blooded Critters presented by Vermont Institute of Natural Science.

Wednesday, June 30th

(Our first Summer Program Story Hour) at 10:30 a.m. Ahoy Readers Story Hour.

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CONCERNING EDUCATION Where In Cabot?

To a very great extent, schools succeed in doing this. But our society is disintegrating, and in such a society, the only successful people are self-reliant, confident, and individualistic — because the community life that protects the dependent and weak is dead. The products of schooling are, as I’ve said, irrelevant. Well-schooled people are irrelevant. They can sell film and razor blades, push paper and talk on telephones, or sit mindlessly before a flickering computer terminal, but as human beings they are useless — useless to others and useless to themselves. The daily misery around us is, I think, in large measure caused by the fact that — as social critic Paul Goodman put it thirty years ago — we force children to grow up absurd. Any reform in schooling has to deal with school’s absurdities. It is absurd and anti-life to be part of a system that compels you to sit in confinement with only people of exactly the same age and social class. The system effectively cuts you off from the immense diversity of life and the synergy of variety. It cuts you off from your own past and future, sealing you in a continuous present, much the same way television does. It is absurd and anti-life to be part of a system that compels you to listen to a stranger reading poetry when you want to learn to construct buildings, or to sit with a stranger discussing the construction of buildings when you want to read poetry. It is absurd and anti-life to move from cell to cell at the sound of a gong for every day of your youth, in an institution that allows you no privacy and even follows you into the sanctuary of your home, demanding that you do its “homework.” “How will they learn to read?” you say, and my answer is: “Remember the lessons of Massachusetts.” When children are given whole lives instead of agegraded ones in cellblocks, they learn to read, write, and do arithmetic with ease, if those things make sense in the life that unfolds around them. But keep in mind that in the United States almost nobody who reads, writes, or does arithmetic gets much respect. We are a land of talkers; we pay talkers the most and admire talkers the most, and so our children talk constantly, following the public models of television and schoolteachers. It is very difficult to teach “the basics” anymore, because they really aren’t basic to the society we’ve made.

TWO INSTITUTIONS at present control our children’s lives: television and schooling, in that order. Both reduce the real world of wisdom, fortitude, temperance, and justice to a never-ending, nonstop abstraction. In centuries past, the time of a child or adolescent would be occupied in real work, real charity, real adventure, and the real search for mentors who might teach what he or she really wanted to learn. A great deal of time was spent in community pursuits, practicing affection, meeting and studying every level of the community, learning how to make a home, and dozens of other tasks necessary to becoming a whole man or woman. But here is the calculus of time the children I teach must deal with: Out of the one hundred sixty-eight hours in each week, my children sleep fifty-six. That leaves them one hundred twelve hours a week out of which to fashion a self. My children watch fifty-five hours of television a week, according to recent reports. That leaves them fifty-seven hours a week in which to grow up.

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Finding a New Principal for Cabot School

This summary was taken from the Cabot School website (cabotschool.org). During May a search committee of ten people have been working to identify qualified candidates interested in assuming the position of Principal of Cabot School beginning July1, 2010. The committee has been screening applications, interviewing selected candidates. The top candidates will be forwarded on to the Cabot School Board. The School Board will schedule a time for the finalists to visit the school and meet with students, school staff and interested community members. After interviewing the finalists, the School Board will select one of them to be our school’s next principal. The search committee is comprised of a student, two support staff and three teachers from Cabot School, along with three community members and our new school superintendent, Nancy Thomas. The committee’s work is being facilitated by Brian O’Regan, a former teacher and school administrator with a great deal of experience with search processes. Over twenty individuals have applied for the position since it was first advertised in mid-April. We’re optimistic that this process will be successful in attracting a wellqualified person to take over the challenging job of leading Cabot School. If you have questions about the process or would like to share your thoughts on specific qualifications that our next principal should have, please contact a member of the Cabot School Board at the numbers listed below.

Cabot School Board: Ann Cookson – Linda Gabrielson – 563-2510 David Hale – Niall McCallum – 563-3114 Chris Tormey –

Thanks everyone, Chris Tormey

Chair, Cabot School Board 563-2406

563-3226

563-2842

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Why Schools Don’t Educate

By John Taylor Gatto In 1990, John Taylor Gatto was named New York City Teacher of the Year, and what follows are excerpts taken from his acceptance speech. He is the author of numerous books about schooling and its history, including “Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling” in 1992. We received permission to reprint the following to provide food for thought, as Cabot residents reconsider the way education is provided.

I ACCEPT THIS award on behalf of all the fine teachers I’ve known over the years who’ve struggled to make their transactions with children honorable ones: men and women who are never complacent, always questioning, always wrestling to define and redefine endlessly what the word education should mean. A “Teacher of the Year” is not the best teacher around — those people are too quiet to be easily uncovered — but a standard-bearer, symbolic of these private people who spend their lives gladly in the service of children. This is their award as well as mine. Our school crisis is a reflection of this greater social crisis. We seem to have lost our identity. Children and old people are penned up and locked away from the business of the world to an unprecedented degree; nobody talks to them anymore. Without children and old people mixing in daily life, a community has no future and no past, only a continuous present. In fact, the term “community” hardly applies to the way we interact with each other. We live in networks, not communities, and everyone I know is lonely because of that. In some strange way, school is a major actor in this tragedy, just as it is a major actor in the widening gulfs among social classes. Using school as a sorting mechanism, we appear to be on the way to creating a caste system, complete with untouchables who wander through subway trains begging and sleep on the streets. I’ve noticed a fascinating phenomenon in my twenty-nine years of teaching — that schools and schooling are increasingly irrelevant to the great enterprises of the planet. No one believes anymore that scientists are trained in science classes, or politicians in civics classes, or poets in English classes. The truth is that schools don’t really teach anything except how to obey orders. This is a great mystery to me, because thousands of humane, caring people work in schools as teachers and aides and administrators, but the abstract logic of the institution overwhelms their individual contributions. Although teachers do care and do work very, very hard, the institution is psychopathic; it has no conscience. It rings a bell, and the young man in the middle of writing a poem must close his notebook and move to a different cell, where he learns that humans and monkeys derive from a common ancestor.

OUR FORM of compulsory schooling is an invention of the state of Massachusetts, from around 1850. It was resisted — sometimes with guns — by an estimated 80 percent of the Massachusetts population, with the last outpost, in Barnstable on Cape Cod, not surrendering its children until the 1880s, when the area was seized by the militia and the children marched to school under guard. Now, here is a curious idea to ponder: Senator Ted Kennedy’s office released a paper not too long ago claiming that prior to compulsory education the state literacy rate was 98 percent, and after it the figure never again climbed above 91 percent, where it stands in 1990. I hope that interests you. Here is another curiosity to think about: The home-schooling movement has quietly grown to a size where 1.5 million young people are being educated entirely by their own parents. Last month the education press reported the amazing news that children schooled at home seem to be five, or even ten years ahead of their formally trained peers in their ability to think. I don’t think we’ll get rid of schools any time soon, certainly not in my lifetime, but if we’re going to change what’s rapidly becoming a disaster of ignorance, we need to realize that the institution “schools” very well, but it does not “educate”; that’s inherent in the design of the thing. It’s not the fault of bad teachers or too little money spent. It’s just impossible for education and schooling to be the same thing. Schools were designed by Horace Mann and Barnas Sears and W.R. Harper of the University of Chicago and Edward Thorndike of Columbia Teachers College and others to be instruments for the scientific management of a mass population. Schools are intended to produce, through the application of formulas, formulaic human beings whose behavior can be predicted and controlled.

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The Cabot PTSO is collecting donations for the 4th of July Yard Sale/Rummage Sale

If you have any items that you would like to donate, you can drop them off at the Cabot Gym on July 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. If you have any questions please contact Mary Carpenter at 563-9965.

Anyone interested in having a float

in the parade can contact Kenny Christman or Wendy Barnett, or just meet down by the back street

by 10:30 a.m. at the latest. We are always looking for new recruits! If you would like to volunteer to help with the celebration, please contact

Wendy Barnett at 563-9907. We can use all the help we can get, whether it’s donations or peeling potatoes the day before. What ever you can give us we will take.

Thank you. See you there!

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Graduating seniors were asked the following

Q = What’s your favorite quote?

S = Which song best describes you?

M =What’s your favorite line from a movie?

B =Which was your favorite book growing up?

P =What are your plans for after high school?

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Ashley Ambroz

Q - “Happiness is the feeling you're feeling when you want to keep feeling it.” ~Author Unknown

S - “When I'm Gone” by Simple Plan

M - “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.” ~ Johnny in “Dirty Dancing”

B - “Cinderella”

P - Ashley plans to attend Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts, and pursue a degree in International Business.

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Doré Elaine Grier

Q - “I'm not out there sweating for three hours every day just to find out what it feels like to sweat.” ~Michael Jordan

S - “I'm the Boss” by Lonely Island

M - “Hallelujah, Jaffar” -Boondock Saints

B - “Corduroy” by Don Freeman

P - Doré plans to attend the University of Vermont to study biology. After that she intends to pursue a career in the medical field.

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Gwen Considine

Q - "I am so clever that sometimes I talk so fast that I don't understand a single word I say!" ~Author Unknown

S - "American Honey" by Lady Antebellum

M - "...there's no place like home" ~ The Wizard of Oz

B - "Little House On The Prairie" by Laura Ingalls Wilder

P - Gwen plans to attend VT Technical College for Equine Business.

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Brittany French

Q - "Tell me not of fear." ~Juliet said it in Romeo and Juliet so it’s by Shakespeare.

S - "Bad Reputation" by Joan Jett

M - "slappa da bee-ahss mon" from I Love You Man

B - My favorite books growing up were the “Lord of the Rings.” All of them. LOVE THEM.

P - Brittany plans to attend Ithaca College in Ithaca, NY, to study theater, so that some day she can open a theater school for all ages.

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Caitlin Celley

Q - “All that glitters is not gold.” ~ William Shakespeare

S - “3055” by Olafur Arnolds

M - Noah: “I wrote you 365 letters. I wrote you everyday for a year.” Allie: “You wrote me? “ Noah: “Yes. It wasn't over, it still isn't over.” ~ Movie Unknown

B - “A Collection of Christmas Stories”

P - Caitlin plans to attend the University of VT for business. After that she will get a real estate license, work with her dad, start up her own business, possibly become a millionaire, get married, travel the world to a list of places she has collected over the years, buy a goat, have 4 babies with the love of her life, coach soccer somewhere, buy a Toyota 4runner, and live happily ever after.

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Aubrey Keene

Q - “Challenges make life interesting. However, overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” ~Mark Twain

S - “Barbie Girl” by Aqua

M - “Life's a climb... but the view is great “ -Travis Brody from “The Hannah Montana Movie”

B - “The Adventures of Frog and Toad” by Ted Lobel

P - Aubrey plans to attend Paul Smith's College. Afterwards, she hopes to work in a well known bakery/pastry shop, or open her own.

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Robin Considine

Q - "The elevator to success is out of order. You'll have to use the stairs... one step at a time." Joe Girard

S - "Wild Horses" from the movie Flicka

M - "There's a very good reason she's alive-she's got mustang blood in her. She's a fighter, just like our girl." -Flicka

B - “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett

P - Robin plans to attend VT Technical College for Dairy Management.

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Amber Graves

Q - "Don't regret what you do, regret what you don't do."

S - “Green” by Kissinger

M - "Run Forrest run!" ~ Forrest Gump

B - “Harry Potter” by J.K. Rowling

P - Amber plans to attend the University of Vermont to study Physical Therapy, teaching, or some creative form of entrepreneurship. After college she hopes to “have a job that pays well, and allows me to help others while doing something I love.”

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Timmy Ksepka Jr.

Q - “Sometimes you just gotta look under the tail."

S - “International Harvester” by Craig Morgan

M - “Who’s got munchies tonight, yo?"

B - “Puff the Magic Dragon”

P - Timmy plans to work on the Bothfield Farm.

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Elias Lewis

Q - “Just 'Cause You Feel It, Doesn't Mean It's There “ ~Radiohead’s “There There,"

S - “Before He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood M - “All you sucka MCs ain't got nothin' on me! From my grades, to my lines you can't touch Kevin G!” –Mean Girls B - “Cat in the Hat” by Dr. Seuss and the “Harry Potter” series by J.K. Rowling P - Eli plans to attend the University of Alaska to study Marine Biology and “take over the world…duh.”

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Haylee Smith

Q - "Dream as if you will live forever, live as if you'll die tomorrow." ~James Dean

S - “Wild at heart” by Gloriana

M - "You did it! Congratulations! World's best cup of coffee! Great job everybody! It's great to be here!" - Buddy the Elf from “Elf”

B - “Biscuit” by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

P - Haylee plans to attend Unity College in Unity, Maine, for wildlife captive animal care and education.

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S - “Crazy Town” by Jason Aldean

M - “What do you call a farmer with a sheep under each arm?” “What?” ~ The Dukes of Hazard

B - “Hatchet” by Gary Paulsen

P - Justin plans to spend his time after graduation farming and perhaps attend Vermont Technical College in the fall of 2011.

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Samantha Lewis-Rock

Q - “And in that moment, I swear we were infinite.” ~Perks of Being A Wallflower

S - No song

M - “Flattery will get you nowhere, but don’t stop trying.” ~ James Bond

P - Sam plans to attend the University of New England to study laboratory science.

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Robert Lanphear

Q - “Nothing is impossible if you set your mind to it.”

S - “I’m Still A Guy” by Brad Paisley M - “You boys like Mexico?” -Super Troopers B - “Tracker” by Gary Paulsen P - After high school, Robert will work on getting into his trade – Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) - and making money.

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Dylan Tetreault

Q - "What's up, Doc?"

S - "Don't laugh at Me" by Mark Dolla

M - "Do you want 500 Dolla?"

B - Scooby- Doo

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Congratulations to the class of 2014!

Time sure does fly! I remember Carter

you all were- and still are! Enjoy your summer and head into your high school years with an enthusiastic, positive attitude!

Our attitude makes all the difference in life!

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M O U NTAINE E R 20 10 GAME S C HE DULE

Directions:

From I-89: Take exit 8 towards US-2/Montpelier. Follow Memorial Drive. At the second light (the first may be blinking). turn left. The high school will be on your left and the credit union will be on your right. Go over the river, to the next traffic light . Turn right onto State Street, past the capitol building (on your left), and take the second left. This is Elm Street. Follow Elm Street about 1 1/2 miles and the ball park is on your right, just past the Montpelier Pool. GPS coordinates to Montpelier Recreation Field... N 44.2792, W 72.5722 The Skip Stop Shuttle Bus runs one hour before game time and makes return loops during the 5th, 7th, and after the game. The bus stops at Montpelier High School, the corner of Spring & Elm Streets, Department of Motor Vehicles, and the Montpelier Shaws.

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It’s Not Your Mother’s Class Ring School Rings Now and Then

By Jeanne Johnson Ring Day at Cabot High School was pretty special. Our family eagerly awaited the delivery of a ring that had generated a great deal of conversation in our house. I remember my class ring, which, if memory serves me, cost about $35. Ted believes his cost around $75. Neither of us recall much in the way of choices – stone and possibly metal color, girls or boys model. That was it. That's not the way things are done today. Part of me scoffed at the excess of options. But, it was really fun watching Caleb create a very personal ring. Jostens is the company that builds them for Cabot High School, apparently for generations. Today, you can build your ring online first, so you can play with design elements, change your mind as often as you want, and put together a ring that is really “you”. Using the “Jostens Ring Designer” website, you select your state and school. Then you can choose women's or men's design. Classic school ring style or more stylish. Chunky or delicate. Gold, silver or platinum. With a stone or not. Stones range from a single colored one to diamond clusters – and you can choose real diamonds or cubic zirconia. Emblems on top of the stone, patterns underneath. You can spend from about $40 to several thousand. And it can look like a classic school ring or nothing at all like your parents' jewelry. Then you can customize the sides. Do you want the traditional Cabot mascot, the Husky? And a paw print? What activity will you chose to represent? The selection was huge. And then there's the usual year of graduation, and the opportunity to have your name engraved. The options were mind boggling, but it was fun designing the ring online, seeing the results of each selection and making changes as many times as you wanted. While we tried to be conservative in our choices, the price at the end was still at least twice what I was expecting. But, I was, nonetheless, anxious as Caleb to see the ring in 3-D, and when ring day seemed to take longer to get here than the six weeks we expected, I was more antsy than my son. But the day finally arrived, and the ring was delivered, just as designed. And entirely personal. It was quite gratifying. During the rest of the week, family members from Cabot wanted to see the ring. Ted still had his, and Caleb took the opportunity to compare the rings marked 1982 and 2012. He also had the chance to see his Aunt and Uncle's rings from 1977, and we noted that the husky looks very different over the years. A number of students ordered rings, and many did not. We found the same was true for members of our family. Some held out for college rings, others just didn't see the point in the expense. I thought it really was expensive, more than I thought it would be, but felt he came out with something very special. I believe Caleb agrees, and I hope he continues to value it through the years. It's really amazing how many people still have their high school class rings, even if they don't fit, anymore.

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2010 Cabot State Champions!

We would like to thank everyone who helped the team attend

the 2010 Destination ImagiNation Global Championship. Your participation and donations were invaluable. Unfortunately, we still need to raise a little more to cover the

remainder of expenses. The Destination Imagination Cabot State Champions will continue to raise funds for the 2010 Global Championship through the month of June. If you would like to donate or help in any way, please contact Jane Youngbaer at 563-2289 ext. 225. Remember, all donations are tax deductible.

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Twin Valley Senior Center Needs Your Talent

The senior center wishes to extend a shout out to all amateur musicians. Twin Valley Senior Center invites all student and adult musicians to perform at our Center one day this summer, or more if you like. Whether you play guitar, flute, oboe, violin, ragtime, folk, classical, jazz, blues, soft rock, we want to invite you to play. All it takes is one hour of your time to give our senior citizens some joy and entertainment. We have openings in June, July, and August on Mondays and Wednesday from 1:00 to 2:00 pm. Please consider giving an hour of your time to bring some joy to our Center and seniors. We want to thank everyone who helped support the center by buying our Lucky Bonanza Raffle tickets. Ticket sales helped us raise much needed money to support the center. The grand prize winners were Karen Storey of Plainfield, who won $500, Mary Swann of Marshfield, who won $100.00 (and who, in turn, donated the winnings to the center-thank you Mary), and the $50.00 lucky ticket went to Eleanor Randall of Plainfield. Weekly drawings were won by Stanley Fowler, Tony Caccavo, Linda Wells, Clayton (Tink) Copping, Shirley Boardman, Joyce Copping, Ruth Fowler, Merv Spooner, Ken Chamberlain, Welston Burnham, Aimee Ducharme, Jeanne Ducharme, Mary Ross, Lori Batchelder, Mary Piper, Stephany Searles, Janet Carlson, Mary Etta Chase and David Codling. May 8th we held our 2nd annual Perennial Plant Sale, which also was a success despite the cold, windy, rainy day. Many thanks to the people who donated plants and the people who stopped to purchase the plants. A reminder that winter plays havoc with feet. Let’s get those dancing feet back in shape at the June Foot Clinic, which will be held on June 7 at the Senior Center. Please call 223-1878 to schedule your appointment. On June 5, TVSC will hold its annual Fantastic Yard Sale to benefit the Center and our Meals on Wheels program. If you have items to donate and we need to pick them up, please call Linda at 454- 1263 or Rita at 454-7750. If you wish to drop items off, we will be at Lucky Day, Rte 2 in Plainfield. Lucky Day is located across from Tim’s Convenience store. Look for TVSC big yellow Sale display signs. The sale will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Please stop by to help support the center programs. A large “Thank You” to Todd Berte, who generously assists the center by allowing us to use his property for fundraising, as well as freezer and cooler space for some of our supplies. Because his generosity, we are able to purchase in larger quantities for the center at cheaper rates to help us control our costs. We appreciate all Todd does for us. There are a variety of summer volunteer positions available. From helping with our meals program to assisting with activities to simply being a friend, we need your help. And don’t forget volunteer work during the summer looks great on a college application.

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Ghost Out 2010

Students at Cabot High School organized a Ghost Out to bring attention and hopefully prevent distracted driving crashes among their peers. This year's participants (pictured above) are Daniel Hoyne-Grosvenor, Eli Lewis, Kelly Gochey, Haylee Smith, Shelby Maurice (Event organizer), Aubrey Keene (Event Organizer), Becca Rossell, Sam Mattson, Bradley LaPan, Maelilly Robison and Caleb Domey (as the Grim Reaper). Also participating in the Ghost Out were Laura Nally, Lyndsay Christman, Tim Mueller-Harder and high school teacher Lee Penniman.

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Cabot Participates in Prevention Day at the Statehouse

On April 14, hundreds of prevention advocates from across Vermont visited the Statehouse in Montpelier to bring attention to work that is being done to prevent alcohol, tobacco and other drug abuse. Legislative Representative Kitty Toll (pictured above with Lori Augustyniak, Shelby Maurice, Olivia Bellavance, Jonah Jarvis and Ashley Maurice) lunched with the Cabot group, gave them a tour of the Statehouse and made an official introduction of the group to the legislature.

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Spring Wildflowers’ Color All Too Fleeting

By Thomas K. Slayton Spring wildflowers live hurried lives. They push out of the ground as soon as it begins to thaw, or soon afterwards, and then some of them disappear for the year, shrinking back into their underground root systems soon after the forest canopy closes. They are blooming in the woods and alongside brooks and ponds now, and there you will find the tiny pinkstreaked white blossoms of spring beauties, the dark three-petaled flowers of red trilliums, the bright-white sunbursts of bloodroots and the pale, white and yellow puffs of Dutchman’s breeches. Some spring wildflowers are considered “ephemerals,” because they only photosynthesize for a few brief weeks before the forest leaves bring deep shade to the forest floor. After that, their blossoms quickly wither and disappear. With ephemerals, such as the trout lily, Dutchman’s breeches and spring beauty, the plant itself virtually disappears by midsummer. So, April and May are the months to know and appreciate them. Other wildflowers, like bloodroot, bloom in early spring but continue to grace the forest floor with their deeply lobed foliage year-round. More than 150 years ago, Henry David Thoreau wrote eloquently in his journal of the splendor of these spring days. He studied the flowers of early spring and wrote often about them, mentioning in one entry, “I do not know that the woods are ever more beautiful, or affect me more.” On an early April hike up Irish Hill, not far from my Montpelier home, I found this year’s first spring beauties – tiny pink-streaked white blossoms sprinkled across a dead brown hillside. There were bright green wild leeks sprouting nearby, and the trees were just budding. On the return, beside a brook, I found the egg-yellow composite blossoms of coltsfoot, a non-native flower, opening like miniature suns in the brook-side mud. There were red trilliums, too – “wake robins,” some people call them because of their springtime blooms. However, many in our region have smelled their faint rotten-meat odor, which attracts pollinating insects, and have given them the less delicate name of “Stinking Benjamins.” In colder, higher locations, throughout northern New England, the spring flower show continues into early June. One of my favorite finds was a stand of pink lady’s slipper (also called moccasinflower) during a hike on a trail in New Hampshire. I was walking beside a splashing brook in a high, cold valley in the White Mountains. At first, I saw one small, pink orchid, but then there was a bunch of two or three, then another bunch, and another. And then the forest floor was luxuriously dotted with dozens of pink blossoms in small patches. It was an enchanted grove, made more beautiful by my knowledge that all the Illustration by Adelaide Tyrol. exotic pink blossoms would be gone within a week or two. Another time, as a friend and I descended Camel’s Hump at just the right time of year, we found miniature Zen garden-like arrangements of painted trilliums scattered on both sides of the trail. The flowers were growing randomly in the clearings of the subalpine forest, each plant’s three white petals striped with a single bright pink chevron. Trout lilies are perhaps the emblematic spring ephemerals of northern New England. Anyone who walks in the woods at this time of year has seen them. Their little blossoms hang upside down like tiny lemon-yellow bells. They are so small and delicate that you have to wonder how they survive. But they are, obviously, very successful at surviving. They spread more by expanding their root systems than by the seeds produced by their flowers – a strategy of many wildflowers. In fact, trout lilies are more than just survivors. They are like explorers, entrepreneurs even. I’m sure of that because I have watched a small patch of them make a foothold and then establish themselves in numbers on my moist and shady front lawn. From a single plant a few years ago, they’ve expanded and prospered, and now there are a couple of dozen tiny lily blossoms on my lawn each spring – and new patches are appearing in other damp places on the thin grass. Their seeds probably were carried here originally on the wind from one of the forested hills nearby. They’re doing fine now, probably expanding by producing small bulbs. Last month’s freak snowstorm dumped nearly a foot of wet snow on their first blossoms, but they didn’t seem to mind a bit. They are out there right now, blossoming vigorously in the bright May sunshine.

Thomas K. Slayton, editor emeritus of Vermont Life magazine, is a Montpelier freelance writer. The illustration for this column was drawn by Adelaide Tyrol. The Outside Story is assigned and edited by Northern Woodlands magazine and is sponsored by the Wellborn Ecology Fund of New Hampshire Charitable Foundation: [email protected]

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Where In Cabot?

Answer from page 5 - Cabot School Bread Oven

Cabot School’s eighth grade class, Industrial Arts Program, and Vermont Youth Conservation Corps have all been helping to build a bread oven next to CSPAC on the school campus. A kitchen garden, seating, and shelter are also planned for the space. The Rain Gardens currently being built around campus are also planned for the garden space around the oven. Imagine eating fresh baked food, with garden toppings, while listening to great music being performed on stage at the arts center. See you there next fall.

VYCC members prepare a garden in memory of Cabot School teacher John McSweeney.

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Farm Fresh Milk

South Royalton, VT – Local, safe, organic, pasteurized, farm fresh milk can now be produced locally on Vermont farmsteads, homesteads, and micro-dairy farms using the technology, equipment, and services provided by a local Vermont company. Bob White Systems is bringing the cows back home in Vermont and beyond by creating the equipment and technology for micro-dairy operations to produce locally pasteurized milk that can be sustained by the communities in which the micro-dairy farmer lives. Localvore homesteaders and small scale slow food producers can now milk two to four cows, making safe, delicious milk that can be sold at local farmer’s markets, stores, restaurants, and throughout the community – keeping Vermont milk close to home while generating a viable mix to the growing localvore and slow food community and economy in Vermont with farm fresh milk. In 2006, innovative Vermont dairy farmer, Steven Judge, started a microdairy farm on a hillside pasture in Royalton in a barn he built for four Jersey cows. “Pasteurization equipment is expensive and very difficult to support with only a few cows. This is one reason why the local, micro-dairy milk produced in Vermont is raw, non-pasteurized milk,” Judge explains. “For small farms to be able to choose to pasteurize their milk, they must have it picked up by tanker trucks and shipped to large milk processing facilities – with only one actually being in Vermont. There it is mixed with the milk from many other farms, making it challenging to really know where your milk comes from. And this is why folks say- to produce milk in Vermont, if you have one cow, you may as well have a hundred - the labor and costs are the same...” Judge and his company, Bob-White Systems, are offering farmstead dairies the opportunity to “craft” local milk, and for the past four years have been developing “micro” low impact pasteurizers and bulk tanks that provide the gentle pumping and minimal heat necessary to produce safe milk without compromising milk’s delicate flavor and nutritional value. From this technology, additional equipment, such as portable milking machines and vacuum pumps, and other farmstead dairy related equipment (including technology for small batch cheese production) has been created. The Bob-White Systems farmstead dairy vision does not conclude with the technology and equipment. “We also offer the service and consulting necessary for customers to learn how to use the equipment and also on how to bring the milk to market,” comments Judge. “As the Vermont micro-dairy supplier, one of the most inspiring elements of this work is to help farmstead and homestead farmers generate a business opportunity in their local communities. Soon farmer’s markets, country stores, and restaurants will have the opportunity to offer local milk along with eggs, produce, meats, and other Vermont products.” Bob-White Systems is located at 228 Chelsea Street in South Royalton, which opened in March with a small showroom of the equipment and online at www.bobwhitesystems.com.

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Fowl Offerings NEK Artisans Guild

From June 21 through August 7 the Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild will host a multi-media exhibition celebrating the diverse world of poultry. The public is invited to meet the artists and enjoy wine and cheese at a reception on June 26 from 3:00 to 5:00 pm. The Northeast Kingdom Artisans Guild (802-748-0158) is located at 430 Railroad St., St. Johnsbury, and is open Monday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Artists from the Northeast Kingdom and across the state will express their joy and delight in chickens of all shapes, colors, and sizes as well as ducks and geese domestic and wild, and maybe even emus, guinea fowl, and wild turkeys. Here a chick, there a chick captured in ceramic baking dishes, felted place mats, block prints, paintings in watercolor and oil, hooked rugs, and sculptures. Some of our best photographers will present stunning photographs of wild ducks and geese. If you love to watch the antics of your back yard chickens, if you have ever had your socks nipped at by a couple of domestic geese, if you thrill to see a flock of wild turkeys grazing in an open field, if a raggedy ribbon of honking geese makes your heart skip a beat, this is a show you won't want to miss.

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COMMUNITY NEWS Cabot Village and Town Merger

…separate from all other departments of the town, and all rents and revenue therefrom not necessary for current expenditures therefor shall be placed in a special fund, no part of which may be used for any other purpose. The municipal sewage system, not including the separate storm drain pipe lines, and all extensions thereto shall be maintained separate from all other departments of the town, and all rents and revenues therefrom not necessary for current expenditures therefor shall be placed 1 in a special fund, no part of which may be used for any other purpose. All revenues required to support the municipal water and sewer departments shall be raised in accordance with the applicable local ordinances. Voting for capital improvements for water or sewer service within the areas served by the water and sewer systems shall be in accordance with state law and the applicable local ordinances. If any provision of this plan of merger shall, for any reason, be held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the re- Official Bill as Passed the House and Senate H.794

It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont: The general assembly approves the plan of merger of the Town of Cabot and the Village of Cabot as set forth in this act. The plan of merger was approved by the voters of the Town of Cabot and the voters of the Village of Cabot on March 2, 2010. Effective as of midnight at the end of December 31, 2010, the Village of Cabot, as constituted by No. 172 of the Acts of 1866, as amended, shall merge with and into the Town of Cabot within its present geographic limits, as a single municipal corporation under the name of the Town of Cabot, and the Village of Cabot shall, except as hereinafter specifically provided, cease to exist as a political entity or body corporate and its charter shall be abolished. Upon the effective merger date, all assets of whatever kind, nature, and description, including lands; easements; rights and interests in lands; buildings and other improvements; vehicles, equipment, and other personal property; funds; grants; assessed but uncollected taxes and charges, including water rents and charges, together with the lien rights and enforcement powers of the Village of Cabot therefore; monies; rights, claims, actions, and contracts; rights of action in legal or administrative proceedings; insurance policies; and documents and records owned, claimed, or held by the Village of Cabot shall become vested in and become assets owned by the Town of Cabot without any further act, deed, or instrument being necessary.

Any and all property held in trust by the trustees of the Village of Cabot or any officer thereof shall become vested in the selectboard of the Town of Cabot and their successors, or in the respective officer of the town and his or her successor, as the case may be, and shall continue to be held in trust for the same uses as before the merger, all without any further act, deed, or instrument being necessary. Upon the effective merger date, the Town of Cabot shall assume and be obligated to pay or otherwise perform each and every lawful obligation, debt, claim, bonded indebtedness, and other liability of the Village of Cabot without any further act, deed, or instrument being necessary.

Prior to the effective merger date, the officers of the Village of Cabot shall settle, so far as possible, the financial affairs of the Village of Cabot and, on that date, turn over to the proper officers of the Town of Cabot all records, books, documents, and property of the Village of Cabot. On the effective merger date: The funds and other assets of the Village of Cabot for its general fund, along with its corresponding liabilities, shall become those of the Town of Cabot for its general fund.

The funds and other assets of the Village of Cabot for its water department, along with its corresponding liabilities, shall become those of the Town of Cabot for its water department. All of the other funds, assets, and liabilities of the Village of Cabot except as herein specifically provided shall become those of the Town of Cabot as part of its general fund and of its general assets and liabilities. On the effective merger date, the existing village water use ordinance will become the water use ordinance of the Town of Cabot, and until such time as the ordinance is amended according to law, the appropriate town officers shall perform the duties and responsibilities of the corresponding village officers specified therein. All water rates of the Village of Cabot in effect at the time of merger shall continue in effect until changed in accordance with the water use ordinance of the Town of Cabot. SECTION The governance structure of the Town of Cabot shall not be altered by the adoption of this plan of merger. On the effective merger date, all duties, obligations, and powers of appointment of the village trustees shall be assumed by the town selectboard. The duties, powers, and responsibilities of the village Water commissioners shall also be assumed by 1 the town selectboard. All the functions and obligations of the village clerk, treasurer, and auditor shall be assumed by the town clerk, treasurer, and auditors. Upon the effective date of merger, the so-called village tax, which currently supports the Village of Cabot general fund, shall be discontinued The municipal water system taken over from the Village of Cabot and any additions thereto shall be maintained

Part of this story may be missing here. See the original pages, page 11 onward.

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I’m Happy You’re My Dad

I feel safe when you are with me; You show me fun things to do; You make my life much better; The best father I know is you.

I’m happy you’re my Dad And so I want to say I love you, Dad, and wish you A Happy Father’s Day!

By Joanna Fuchs maining provisions which can be given effect without the invalid provision. To this end, the provisions of this plan of merger are severable. This plan of merger shall not affect the terms of any elected or appointed town official. The terms of all officers of the Village of Cabot shall terminate on the effective merger date. No existing ordinance, regulation, or bylaw of the Town of Cabot shall be altered or affected by the adoption of this plan of merger, except as specified herein. The adoption of this plan of merger shall not alter the existing practices and procedures by which the Town of Cabot elects or appoints its officers, adopts local regulations, bylaws, and ordinances, or approves budgets and bonds, except as specified herein. All ordinances, regulations, and bylaws enacted by the Village of Cabot which are in force on the effective merger date shall remain in full force and effect as ordinances, regulations, and bylaws of the Town of Cabot, until amended, altered, or repealed according to law.

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