Aug 10-16, 2016
Is Milton Vt., a Town on the Rise?; a Marble Museum Goes to Hell for ‘Orpheus & Euridice’; Comedian Jen Kirkman on Love, Laughs and Lies She Tells Herself
Cover Story
Remaking Milton: Rural Town Undergoes a Serious Transformation
There are plenty of jokes about Chittenden County’s northernmost town. How are tornadoes and divorces similar in Milton? Either way, somebody loses a trailer. Why do seagulls fly upside down over Milton? Because there’s nothing worth shitting on. But while some people have been laughing about it, Milton, Burlington’s boomingest bedroom community, has been remaking…
In Memoriam: Derek Schueler, 1992-2013
Days have passed and somehow turned into years. But it still feels like yesterday you were filling our hearts with the generosity of your love and the beauty of your ready smile. Today, like every day, the memories of you grace every minute of our every day and we are eternally grateful for the blessing…
Obituary: Alexandra B. Severance, 1946-2016
Mother, teacher & yogi Radiant, honest & joyful Funny, blunt & worldly Beautiful, simple & elegant Brave in life and in death Loved and cherished Died of Leukemia at home in her bed, with her children by her side. Memorial service TBA
Obituary: Darshana Bolt, 1985-2016
Darshana Bolt, 31, of Burlington passed away unexpectedly on July 13, 2016. She was born on May 6, 1985, in Glens Falls, N.Y., the youngest child of Ben and Jessica Bolt and sister to Sarah Keira, Serenity, Blake, and Robbson; sister-in-law to Carey, Liisa, and Nelson; aunt to Aden and Solaris; niece to Edward, Linda,…
Obituary: Julianne Holland
Julianne Holland (53) died peacefully in her Middlebury home on Saturday, August 13, surrounded by family and friends. She lived life with integrity, passion and conviction. She will be missed by her family, former clients and dear friends in many circles of fellowship around the world. She is survived by her son Adriano Agudelo, sister…
Obituary: Randi Albert Calderwood, 1958-2016
Randi Albert Calderwood passed away on August 13, 2016, at his home in East Craftsbury. A memorial was held at Craftsbury Academy, with the Reverend Deborah McKinley of the East Craftsbury Presbyterian Church presiding. Interment was at the East Craftsbury Cemetery. Randi was born on March 29, 1958, in Nashua, N.H. to Fielda (née Tarbell)…
Opinion: Judge Rainville’s Soft Racism
This opinion piece was written by Seven Days’ former Poli Psy columnist. Kareem G. Louard was driving under the influence of alcohol and weed. He was driving with a suspended license, due to a 2015 DUI charge. Thanks to some possibly extenuating circumstances, Louard’s public defender, Lucas Collins, worked out a pretty good plea deal.…
![Girls Ride Out [SIV454]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/episode454-scaled.webp?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
Girls Ride Out [SIV454]
8/4/16: Girls Ride Out is a monthly bike ride organized by Old Spokes Home and Bike Recycle Vermont. Last Thursday about 25 riders went for a spin with Christine Hill and a blasting boom box on wheels leading the charge. The group started at Old Spokes Home, rode along the new bike lanes of the…
Soundbites: Charlie-O’s Turns 40; Rev. Ben Donovan Returns
We begin this week paying homage to a place that longtime readers will likely recognize as one of this scribe’s favorite local dive bars. The OP? Well, yes. I do love the OP. But that’s not it. Esox? Um … yeah, I enjoy that one, too. But no. The Olde Northender? Another great bar, but…
Two Young Journalists Juggle Work and Life Covering Milton
Courtney Lamdin was at the Milton Veterinary Hospital, just home from a badly needed vacation, when a local resident walked up to her and asked, “Can I talk to you for a minute?” Lamdin had heard rumors about troubles within the Milton High School football team. But thanks to the tipster, and Lamdin’s drive, the…
Of Moose and Maine
Did you ever long to be wanted? Pulling up to the intersection of Church and Main late at night on the Brewfest weekend, I was greeted by a small crowd of people, most of whom wanted me. Granted, this was solely because I was piloting an empty taxi, but still, it was a nice feeling.…
Suicide Squad
As a boy, I watched “Superman” every day after school. You know, the one played by George Reeves. Whom Ben Affleck played so affectingly in Hollywoodland (2006). Later, I watched the Batman series. The one on TV, not the franchise in which the latest incarnation of the Caped Crusader is played by Ben Affleck. My…
Free Will Astrology (8/10/16)
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Let’s assume, for the sake of fun argument, that you do indeed have a guardian angel. Even if you have steadfastly ignored this divine helper in the past, I’m asking you to strike up a close alliance in the coming weeks. If you need to engage in an elaborate game of…
Nine Lives
What do you say about a film starring Kevin Spacey as a talking cat? Frankly, the best qualities of this family comedy from director Barry Sonnenfeld (the Men in Black series) are that it doesn’t exceed 90 minutes and gives Christopher Walken a chance to say the words “poopy box.” Say them he does, with…
New Silo Murals Link Jeffersonville’s Past and Future
Painter Sarah C. Rutherford has changed the face of Jeffersonville — with two gigantic, regal faces that will surely become the town’s defining works of art. Rutherford, 32, created a two-part mural, “The Silo Project,” on the “canvas” of two old concrete silos beside the roundabout formed by routes 15 and 108. The north silo…
Young Couples Find a Healthy Housing Market in Milton
When Cady Goudreau and her fiancé started their search for a first home three years ago, they initially focused on Burlington. But even at the top end of their price range, all they could find were ranch-style homes that needed thousands of dollars in renovations. “So we just said, ‘Burlington is not an option,’ and…
Coming Soon: Jericho Market
Richmond Market & Beverage owner Mike Comeau will launch the fifth location of his popular grocery store and beer hub this month. “We’re shooting for an August 17 opening,” says Comeau, and notes that the upcoming Jericho Market at 364 Route 15 will be among his largest, at just shy of 18,000 square feet. The…
Minter v. Scott: The Race is On
Waterbury Democrat Sue Minter will face Berlin Republican Phil Scott this November in the race to become Vermont’s 82nd governor. Both candidates faced tough competition in Tuesday’s primary election, but both emerged with convincing wins. Incomplete results late Tuesday showed Minter, a former transportation secretary, winning the Democratic nod with 50 percent of the vote.…
Taste Test: Stowe’s Picnic Social
I didn’t know which to drink first: the Blackberry Smash — with Jim Beam and Cointreau soaking into pieces of red plum and crushed berries — or the chile-and-cherry-laced Porch Crawler, made with Don Q Rum. Both drinks seemed equally enticing: jewel-toned, glasses sweating in the summer heat. I was sitting at a DayGlo-orange lacquered…
Milton, By the Skin of My Teeth
Originally published December 8, 2007. I’ve learned to turn down fares from the obviously and totally hammered. However, the “decline” is a decision that must be made before the person gets into the cab. This can be a tough judgment call. Last night, I take the guy. Once he hits the seat, I realize that…
Opera in the Marble Museum: Orpheus and Euridice
If not for its bucolic surroundings, the cavernous small-monuments room at the Vermont Marble Museum in Proctor might be mistaken for an abandoned urban industrial plant. A grid of worn lumber piers supports a high ceiling. A grappling hook hangs from elevated tracks once used to roll huge blocks of marble from one carving station…
Jesse Forest, Lights Out
(Apollo Sounds, CD, digital download) On the cover of his newest album, Lights Out, former Vermonter Jesse Forest sits proudly with his guitar, his signature instrument. He’s a dead ringer for early-career Elvis Costello, but instead of infectious New Wave punk, he plays breezy pop-jazz. Forest is an accomplished performer, composer and arranger, and he’ll…
Case Dismissed: Echoes of National Police Issues in a Vermont Courtroom
High-profile killings of law enforcement officers and citizens have roiled the country and intensified the debate about police relations with minorities. And while Vermont has experienced no tragedies on the order of Dallas, Minneapolis or Baton Rouge, the national debate is having an impact here in ways big and small. Exhibit A is a low-level…
I Feel So Lame Still Being a Virgin
Dear Athena, I’m a young gay guy going into my second year of college, and I have a problem. I met a guy and I really like him, and I have sort of avoided sleeping with him because I am still a virgin. Shouldn’t I be in love with him? I’m nervous, and I haven’t…
Book Review: Half Wild by Robin MacArthur
“I thought then how she looked like she was of this place, like she was some kind of creature or tree that had grown here.” That’s a man’s description of the woman he loves in “Maggie in the Trees,” a story from Half Wild. The evocative phrase “of this place” works just as well to…
Tatlock, Amoeba & Andromeda
(Self-released, CD, digital download) Tatlock is a Charlotte native and Burlington-based hip-hop artist who first appeared on the scene as one half of the Blind Continuum. In 2015, that minimalist duo released Soliloquist’s Dilemma, pairing rap with guitar progressions. Since then, Tatlock has been cultivating the songs for Amoeba & Andromeda, his solo debut. There…
Jen Kirkman on Being “Single-Single”
Jen Kirkman has been called “a thinking person’s comedian.” But the scribes at the Onion’s A.V. Club didn’t bestow that superlative on her merely because she’s a supremely smart, witty comedian and writer — though she is. Rather, they pointed out that she does “comedy for people who live inside their own heads.” Along with…
Timeless Quaker-Made Furniture at Rokeby Museum
Through their commitment to dressing plainly and living simply, the Quakers quietly rebuke contemporary America’s blinged-out culture. A corresponding aesthetic of restraint sets Quaker makers far apart from most practitioners in today’s art world, which spins on an axis of extravagance. Crafting austere everyday objects isn’t a recent innovation by the Society of Friends. Quaker…
Vermont Gas Pipeline Foes Vow to Keep Fighting
The setting was drab: a cramped room attached to a warehouse filled with boxes of paper and filing cabinets. And the arguments about drilling technology, mowing plans and legal minutia were often tedious. Yet the Public Service Board hearing last Thursday turned out to be high drama. The three appointed arbiters — Margaret Cheney, James Volz…
Art Review: ‘A Journey Across Boundaries,’ Chandler Gallery
All art is, in some way, about line crossing. Even the most placid landscape painting or haphazard snapshot privileges the artist’s hand and imagination over the “real.” As if to emphasize this need to cross boundaries, we use the word “transcendent” as a high compliment of creative output. Curators and central Vermont artists M. Angelo…
Lake House Pub and Grille Ups the Menu Ante
Over the past 80 years, Lake Bomoseen’s Lake House Pub and Grille has passed through many hands. This past May, it opened once again with new proprietors. This time, improvements included a spanking new kitchen, a remodeled dining room, an extensive bar and food worthy of the killer sunset view. The new menu features summer…
Letters to the Editor (8/10/16)
Tobacco Ads? I am certainly not going to rave. Rant: I am wondering if I am alone in my disappointment with Seven Days for displaying a full-page ad promoting an additive-free tobacco product in last week’s edition [American Spirit, page 8]. Albeit, there are three captioned disclosures that barely begin to identify risks of any…
Weston Playhouse Upstages Itself
Last weekend, the Weston Playhouse broke ground on its new state-of-the-art theater compound on the Walker Farm in Weston Village. The $10 million capital and fundraising campaigns that began in 2007 will add a $6.5 million black-box theater to the company’s main stage. The grounds will contain flexible performance, rehearsal and community spaces to accommodate…
Developing: Rutland Herald’s Struggles Spill Onto Its Pages
Late Friday afternoon, Rutland Herald owner R. John Mitchell fired news editor Alan Keays for holding accountable one of the community’s most powerful institutions: the newspaper itself. After publishing a piece in that morning’s paper about the company’s inability to pay its own employees, Keays had informed Mitchell and publisher Catherine Nelson that he was…
Milton History Buffs Work to Save Home of Vermont Civil War Hero
Just north of the Milton-Colchester town line, sandwiched between an industrial stretch of Route 7 and a Gardener’s Supply parking lot, sits an old white farmhouse that’s seen better days. A large sign out front, bearing the sepia-toned visage of a 19th-century Union soldier, makes an earnest plea to passing motorists: “Help save my house!”…
Milton’s Metamorphosis: A Plan in Place for a Real Downtown
With its flat, open land, reliable infrastructure and easy access to Interstate 89, Milton has become a manufacturing hotspot, attracting companies that churn out everything from concrete to marijuana. In the past year alone, the Bove family built a new pasta sauce production facility; the petroleum transport company JP Noonan established a trucking center; and…
Vermont Beer Shepherd Distributes Craft Brews
Vermont’s mounting beer tide is spawning more than just breweries. Eight months ago, Waterbury husband-and-wife team Indy and Mark Ewald launched Vermont Beer Shepherd, a distribution company that seeks to connect small breweries with thirsty craft-beer customers. Like many of its clients, Beer Shepherd works on a micro scale, purchasing one or two pallets of…
Milton Diners Take Comfort Food Seriously
From the side of Route 7, the Milton Diner promises ice cream, fried snacks and a shaded patio in brown clapboard siding. I approach the entry and glance at the menu overhead. Fried cauliflower sounds good, but not as much as something cold. Maybe a blueberry sundae special, which the teen behind the counter describes…
Nomad Coffee Brings Caffeine Caravan to Essex Junction
While traveling out west, Andrew Sepic and Nicole Grinstead enjoyed stumbling on pint-size coffee caravans in unexpected places. “They would do great coffee in the middle of nowhere,” Sepic recalls. “There was just room [inside] for a guy and an espresso machine.” After moving to Vermont, the pair found themselves commuting to Burlington on a…
