Jul 19-25, 2017
In Rural Vermont, the Landline Is Still a Lifeline; ‘Dr. Blacksmith’ Brings Heavy Metal to the Maritime Museum; Because Beer, a Tour of Vermont’s Nanobreweries
Cover Story
End of the Line? As Vermonters Cut the Cord, Rural Phone Customers Hear Static
Morgan Wade gathered her tool bag, her bug spray and the spare phone she keeps in a clear plastic box and headed down to the end of her half-mile driveway in Canaan last month. Standing in hip-high weeds, she unscrewed the cover of a gray box attached to a telephone pole, plugged her phone into…
Middlebury’s Coriander Aims to Please
The herb coriander, also known as cilantro, is polarizing. Some prize the fresh, bright flavor of the leaves, which add a refreshing zing to dishes such as shrimp tacos, Indian chutneys and Moroccan chermoula sauce. Others detest the stuff, claiming it tastes like soap. Distaste for the delicate, lacy leaves is, at least in part,…
Two Restaurants Now Serving Up CBD-Laced Food
On July 20, Burlington’s Monarch & the Milkweed café made news when it began selling cannabidiol (CBD)-infused truffles. The next day, Green Goddess Café announced that it, too, would start selling smoothies, fresh-pressed juices, lattes, baked goods and other snacks containing CBD in August. The Stowe restaurant is best known for its wholesome, often organic…
Obituary: Arthur S. Paré, Shelburne
Arthur S. Paré of Shelburne died Wednesday afternoon, July 19, 2017, at Burlington Health and Rehabilitation Center. He was 85. Born and raised Burlington, he was the only child of the late Armand and Mary (Stone) Paré. Mr. Paré attended Pomery-Taft Elementary School and graduated from Cathedral High School. He went on to receive his…
Obituary: Bill Klock, 1933-2017, Shelburne
William Henry Klock, a potter, woodworker and teacher, passed away on June 11, 2017, in Truro, Cornwall, England, as the result of a cerebral hemorrhage. He was 84. Bill was born in Orwigsburg, Pa. on May 6, 1933, the son of Henry and Mabel Klock. When he was 4, the family moved to Valley Stream,…
Obituary: Everett Leo Lamson, 1936-2017
“My name is Leo Lamson and I killed the Easter Bunny.” Everett “Leo” Lamson, 81, of Wesley Chapel, Florida, and formerly from the Waterbury, Vermont, area, left for happier hunting grounds on Friday, July 14, 2017, surrounded by his family which included his wife, all his children, and many of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Leo…
Seriously: Live Green and Die, Database Danger and Grand Theft Goat-O
In this episode host Bryan Parmelee digs into the future of burials, sorts a troublesome database and checks in with Allie the alpine goat. CREDITS Written, filmed and edited by: Bryan Parmelee Artwork/photography courtesy of: Marc Nadel, Bryan Parmelee, dreamstime.com, archive.org Logo/art direction by: Don Eggert Backdrop mural by: Anthill Collective Music/audio by: Bryan Parmelee,…
The Parmelee Post: Brewers Fest Exit Inspires Burlington’s First Annual Leap Frog Relay
It’s safe to assume that none of the revelers at the Vermont Brewers Festival at Burlington’s Waterfront Park last Saturday knew they would play a part in establishing the state’s newest annual relay race. Witnesses said it all began to unfold shortly after the end of the fest’s fourth and final four-hour beer-tasting session of…
Soundbites: So Far, So Good
Now that summer is in full bloom, you’ve probably mapped out your seasonal concert agenda. Between local and regional festivals, free concerts in various parks and the bounty our local clubs offer year-round, you’ve likely had to make yourself a freakin’ Excel spreadsheet to keep track of everything. If so, it’s time to add a…
Hunter Eddy’s Updated Classic Paintings at the Supreme Court
Hunter Eddy fills the Vermont Supreme Court Gallery with 28 oil paintings and one charcoal drawing that befit the gravitas and grandeur of the location. His works are not somber in subject matter, but they have a weightiness not common in contemporary work. The Vermont artist’s paintings are more than simply reminiscent of the Italian…
They Shoe Horses, Don’t They? A Farrier Tells All
Name: Deanna Stoppler Town: Underhill Job: Farrier Every job has its ups and down, but how many people absolutely love what they do despite the risk of getting kicked or stepped on by a 1,000-pound animal? In farrier Deanna Stoppler, horses have met their match — and their biggest fan. Stoppler, 37, owns Horse and…
Tip Top Café Changes Its Name to Thyme
Eileen McGuckin worked at White River Junction’s Tip Top Café for about five years before buying the place in August 2013. Now, after four years, she’s given it a new name. But regulars needn’t fear: Thyme will carry over all of Tip Top’s staff, along with its usual business hours and style of cooking. McGuckin…
Montpelier Pop-Up Serves Cans ‘n’ Clams
For 30 years as a fine-dining chef, Joe Buley was “itching” to realize a simple idea he couldn’t shake: cans ‘n’ clams. Now he has achieved that goal with a Saturday pop-up of steamers, lobster and beer at picnic tables at 57 Maple Lane in Montpelier. Buley’s commercial kitchen, Joe’s Kitchen at Screamin’ Ridge Farm,…
License, Registration and Pronoun: Troopers Take Transgender Training
In between shifts Monday afternoon, 13 Vermont State Police troopers, outfitted in beige and green, tentatively discussed their preferred pronouns. “Bob,” said Sgt. Bob Lucas. “Uh, ‘he.'” “I’m Steve. I go by ‘he,'” said Trooper Steve DiGregorio, a youthful officer. “My name is Andy,” said Cpl. Andy Leise, the only one who seemed at ease…
Who Chooses That Annoying Music on Ice Cream Trucks?
If Ivan Pavlov were alive today and conducting his now-famous research on behavioral conditioning, he could ditch the dogs altogether and instead study the saliva-inducing properties of ice-cream-truck songs on children. Whether it’s Scott Joplin’s “The Entertainer,” the Sherman Brothers’ “It’s a Small World” or the old English nursery rhyme “Pop Goes the Weasel,” those…
Letters to the Editor (7/19/17)
‘Homeless Advocate’? [Re “Walters: Advocate for the Homeless to Challenge Sanders for Senate Seat,” July 7]: If Jon Svitavsky truly plans to challenge Sen. Bernie Sanders, I hope John Walters goes beyond simply transcribing delusional quotes and does a little reporting. Here are a few questions he should ask the “homeless advocate”: 1. How do…
Three and a Half Feet Under: Cemeteries Are Wary of Green Burials
Fred Cheyette plans to be buried in a hayfield next to his house in the town of Orange. His body will be wrapped in a simple cotton sheet and placed three and a half feet deep in the earth, with an oak sapling planted atop the grave. “So my body feeds the tree,” said the…
‘Dr. Blacksmith’ Lights a Fire at the Maritime Museum
The rhythmic clang of a hammer striking metal echoed through a tool-packed workshop on a recent morning at the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum in Vergennes. With each hammer blow to the anvil, a glowing orange rod of hot iron bent, twisted and fanned out, slowly transforming from inanimate object to something organic looking, perhaps a…
Free Will Astrology (7/19/17)
CANCER (June 21-July 22): I predict that, four weeks from now, you will be enjoying a modest but hearty feeling of accomplishment — on one condition: You must not get diverted by the temptation to achieve trivial successes. In other words, I hope you focus on one or two big projects, not lots of small…
Cambrian Rising: A Massive Project Advances Quietly in the Queen City
If Burlington developer Eric Farrell was nervous before an Act 250 preliminary hearing on July 10, he didn’t show it. The 70-year-old stood on a new rooftop veranda built atop the former Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington orphanage on North Avenue, wearing one of his signature floral button-down shirts. He chatted easily with the three…
Grace Amber’s Artwork Is Literally Trash
In Rubbish! The Archaeology of Garbage, authors Cullen Murphy and William Rathje write, “Art derived from garbage will surely thrive for as long as garbage is around to provide a source.” This certainly seems accurate, but for Vermont-raised artist Grace Amber, trash is more than raw material — it’s a way of interacting deeply with…
A Brief Guide to Upcoming Vermont Album Releases
Seven Days frequently receives tips about upcoming local album releases — sometimes well in advance of anything concrete we can report. After following up on some solid leads we’ve gotten this year, these 10 Vermont-based bands/artists gave us the skinny on their forthcoming works. Bison Get In Release date: July 27 facebook.com/bisontheband One of the…
Battery Street Jeans Brings ‘Girls! Girls! Girls! to Town
What would you think if you saw the phrase “Girls! Girls! Girls!” emblazoned on the side of a building in neon-bright colors? Most likely: strip club. But muralist Emily Herr has a different response in mind. On July 25, the Richmond, Va.-based artist will bring her mobile studio to Burlington for a traveling series called,…
Eat This Week, July 19 to 25, 2017: Wet and Wild
To kick off Vermont Brewers Festival weekend, Foam Brewers hosts its second annual celebration of wild ales. Sample funk-forward suds from an all-star brewery lineup that includes the Alchemist, Bissell Brothers Brewing, Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project, Hill Farmstead Brewery, SingleCut Beersmiths and others, along with eats from Farmers & Foragers, Maudite Poutine and Sweet…
Movie Review: Witness the Birth of a New Comedy Star in ‘The Big Sick’
I like to think that, had I moved to LA, as I talked about doing throughout my twenties, and taken even a lackadaisical whack at realizing my dream of working in the movie business, I could’ve been Judd Apatow. I could’ve been the guy who redefined film comedy. I could’ve been envied for my Midas…
Ask Athena: I Found Gay Porn on My Dad’s Computer
Dear Athena, A few years ago, I used my dad’s computer. I accidentally came across a porn site he’d been to. That’s fine, but it was a gay porn site: men on men. He’s been married to my mother for almost 30 years. I’m sad, confused and shocked about it. I called a crisis hotline.…
Movie Review: ‘War for the Planet of the Apes’ Remains Sneakily Subversive Franchise Fare
With nationalist and nativist movements on the rise outside the theater, there’s something both quaint and refreshing about another Planet of the Apes sequel. Alone among recent blockbusters, these films repeatedly ask us to root against the characters who look, act and talk like us. And they succeed — though, granted, Andy Serkis’ masterfully human…
Album Review: Chad Hollister Band, ‘Stop the World’
(Pacific Records, CD, digital download) Chad Hollister seems like a really nice guy. If there’s one thematic element that connects his ever-growing catalog — which dates back to his 1998 mononymous debut, Chad — it’s positivity. Even his more downcast songs are uplifting. To build a career on sunshine and rainbows is surely commendable, especially when…
Summer Pride Theater Returns to the Chandler
For the next two weekends, Vermont Pride Theater at Chandler will host its seventh annual Summer Pride Theater Festival, featuring plays with LGBTQ+ themes. This year boasts “something for everyone”: a family farce, an ER drama and a series of playlets for those who enjoy short-form entertainment. The lineup includes two regional premieres and one…
Album Review: Vazy, ‘The Field’
(Self-released, CD, digital download) Vazy — given name Brad Veysey — has been an integral part of the hip-hop scene in Springfield, Vt., for years. The drummer, producer and talented MC’s latest album, The Field, is both a solo statement and a swan song. Veysey isn’t exactly retiring, but his focus is on his family…
A Rash of Goat Thefts Has Vermont Farmers Scratching Their Heads
Someone’s been baaaaaad. Vermont authorities and farmers alike are scratching their heads over a recent rash of goat thefts. Amber Connolly found eight of her goats were missing last week from her farm in Randolph, while Sarah Nolin reported to police the June 4 theft of five goats and a male sheep from her 220-acre…
Deaths Prompt Review of Swimming, Safety Programs for New Americans
The last thing Hillary Gombar told Ali Muhina before the 11-year-old boy left her house in Winooski on July 11 was, “Find out from your mom if your sisters can go swimming.” Gombar, a mother of two, had met Ali at the Winooski Memorial Library in January. The Somali boy, who lived a few streets…
These Two Ladies Created a Site for All Things Literary
Care to hear a Pulitzer Prize winner read from his latest book or a MacArthur “genius” fellow recite her poems? Anyone with a hankering to listen to literary luminaries has numerous local opportunities. Until recently, however, attracting fantastic talent to this sparsely populated state seemed easier than getting the word out about such events. In…
New Exhibit Chronicles Haiti Films of Two Vermont Artist-Activists
Independent curator Margaret Coleman first met longtime Burlington activist and filmmaker Robin Lloyd in December 2015, when they were seated side by side at a women’s dinner hosted by a local artist. Today, Lloyd is perhaps best known for her work with the city’s Peace & Justice Center. But as they talked, Coleman realized Lloyd…
VNA Provides Day Care to New American Elders
In a sunny room at the Adult Day Program in Colchester, Harka Rai sat hunched over a coloring page. The 81-year-old Bhutanese man had colored the central floral design red and blue and was moving on to a different section of the page. His wife, Dhan, sat next to him. She, too, was engrossed in…
Fighting the Feds: Vermont Officials Resist Trump Election Commission
Vermont officials are preparing for a battle with President Donald Trump’s election integrity commission. Last month, the panel sought extensive voter data from all secretaries of state. After the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit, the commission froze its request pending resolution in court. Secretary of State Jim Condos has called the commission “a sham”…
More Beer! Tiny Vermont Breweries Off the Beaten Path
Hey, hey, the Vermont Brewers Festival is this weekend. It’s news to exactly no one that in the past few years, Vermont’s beer scene has ballooned in scope and size. Since 2014, Vermont Brewers Association membership (only a partial accounting of the state’s brewers) has increased from 40 to 51; according to a 2016 study,…
Burlington’s Bangkok Bistro Reopens in New Spot
Five years after Bangkok Bistro closed its restaurant on Burlington’s Church Street, a new version with a tweaked name — Bangkok Bistro in the Alley — will open by the end of July in the alley off Church Street, across from Red Square. The address of the restaurant is 191 College Street, the former Burlington…
