Dec 10-16, 2014
Vermont Yankee’s Nuclear Family Assesses the Fallout From the Plant’s Imminent Closure; New Cops Forge Ties in the Onion City; Wildlife Murals at the Moran Plant; Vermont Perfumeries Make Scents; Plum Pudding for the Holidays
Cover Story
Gone Fission: Assessing a Future Without Vermont Yankee
On December 29, the Vermont Yankee nuclear power station in Vernon will unplug from the New England power grid and stop generating electricity. The state’s only nuclear plant has been a fixture in Vermont for so long that it’s easy to lose sight of how much has changed since it went online 42 years ago.…
Obituary: Geraldine Lillian Dexter
Mrs. Geraldine Lillian Dexter, age 90 years, and a resident of this area since 1942, died late Monday evening, December 15, 2014, in the Franklin County Rehab Center with loving family at her side. Born in Colchester on February 17, 1924, she was the daughter of the late Clarence Jay and Lillian Emily (Collier) Purvis.…
Obituary: James Leonard Savage
James Leonard Savage, age 82 years, a lifelong Swanton resident died early Sunday evening, December 14, 2014, at Redstone Villa in St. Albans City. Born in Swanton on, August 19, 1932, he was the son of the late Albert J. and Antoinette (Letourneau) Savage. He graduated from Swanton High School and faithfully served his country…
Obituary: Dorothy Alma Smart
Dorothy Alma Smart, age 86 years, died Saturday morning, December 13, 2014, in the Saint Albans Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center. Born in Swanton on, March 1, 1928, she was the daughter of the late Gaylord and Alma (Lambert) Smart. She attended Swanton schools and in earlier years worked for the Softlite Company. Dorothy’s Roman Catholic…
Obituary: Catherine H. Casden, 1927-2014, Woodmere, N.Y.
Catherine H. Casden died peacefully on December 9, 2014, in the loving care of her son and daughter. She was in a hospice setting in the home of her daughter, Suzanne Casden, in Woodmere, N.Y. Catherine touched many lives with her generous spirit and loving heart. It is no exaggeration to say that to know…
Obituary: Diane LeClair LaMotte, 1949-2014, Burlington
Diane LeClair LaMotte, 65 of Burlington passed away on December 5, 2014 joining her loving husband and soul mate Erwin, who predeceased her on September15, 2014. Diane was born on April 7, 1949 in Colchester to Arthur Rene LeClair, Sr. and Margaret (Hodet) LeClair. Diane enjoyed cross-stitching, knitting, and reading. She was a member of…
Obituary: Barbara Francis (Morgan) Adams
Barbara Francis (Morgan) Adams, 89, passed away on November 29, 2014 in Philadelphia, PA. She was born in Pownal Vermont on July 23, 1925, where her ancestors included some of the earliest settlers of that town and the State of Vermont. Barbara received her education first in Pownal in a one room school for first…
Istanbul Kebab House Moving to Burlington
Come January, the Church Street space housing Das Bierhaus in Burlington will be transformed into new digs for Essex’s Istanbul Kebab House. According to Peter Yee at Yellow Sign Commercial, who brokered the deal, Kebab House owners Vural, Hasan and Jackie Oktay closed the sale this week. “I think it’ll be great for Burlington,” Yee…
Paine Mountain Brewing Opens in Northfield
Back in May, Knotty Shamrock owner Kevin Pecor began construction on a new brewery that would provide suds for his Northfield Irish pub and other area restaurants. By late summer, the brewing equipment was installed and ready to go. And by September, Pecor and his brewers-in-arms — who include Radley Herold and Vermont Pub & Brewery…
The Homesman
Tommy Lee Jones’ face is a national treasure, is it not? Each passing year adds to its pricelessness — not in the way a wine improves, but in the way your father’s baseball glove, forgotten in a musty attic, creases with time. Is there a face on the screen as wizened, as ruined, as made…
Mumbo Jumbo: Milne Fights On, Voters Be Damned
Nearly five weeks after Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin narrowly edged him out at the polls, Republican Scott Milne declared Monday morning that the will of the voters simply doesn’t matter. Surrounded by a dozen family members and friends in the Statehouse’s ornate Cedar Creek Room, the Pomfret businessman called on the legislature to name him…
Soundbites: Of Holiday Shows and Hangovers
Judging by my eggnog-induced hangover last Sunday morning, it appears we’re in the heart of the holiday party season. Also, could you speak quietly for the next 1,200 words or so? And if anyone in the vicinity of Loomis and North Willard streets finds a sparkly red and green sweater with Rudolph’s face on it…
Should I Go Out With My Best Friend’s Brother?
Dear Athena, I have this friend, and she has a brother who is two years older than me. I like him, and she knows that and he knows that. Every time I see him I get really nervous, and when he talks to me, I am shy. He always asks me why I’m sad. We…
The Lynguistic Civilians and the Mangroves, Urban Priorities
(Self-released, digital download) The Lynguistic Civilians have been busier than ever. One year removed from their 2013 album Better Late Than Never, the end of 2014 finds them in the middle of their annual charity-show marathon, the Tossin’ Out Turkeys Tour. They marked Thanksgiving by releasing a sneak-attack project, collaborating with a young band called…
Longtime Guardian Calls Child Welfare System ‘Broken’
More than 1,100 Vermont children who rely on the state for protection have a little-known friend in their corner: a court-appointed guardian ad litem who can offer opinions on their cases in court. Kenn Stransky had been one such volunteer for 17 years. But he resigned last month to publicly criticize the Vermont Department for…
Lowell Thompson, Stranger’s Advice
(Self-released, CD, digital download) Alt-country crooner Lowell Thompson has taken a five-year recording hiatus since 2009’s Lowell Thompson & Crown Pilot. Thankfully, he is back with a 10-track release called Stranger’s Advice. This new effort is less gritty and forgoes the harder country-rock featured on his previous album. The guitars are quieter and the melodies…
Three Vermont Perfumeries Create ‘Wearable Art’
The olfactory assault of pungent perfume has happened to everyone. A woman enters an elevator doused in an invisible cloud of some trendy fragrance; high school boys amble by trailing whiffs of Axe body spray. An insistent salesperson sprays your wrist with a cloying mist that no amount of scrubbing will remove. Wearing perfume doesn’t…
The String Cheese Bandit
November is the doldrums for us local cabbies. It’s the sluggish interregnum between the bustle of October’s foliage tourism and the holiday party season that defines December. Which is why I love a big November “event” — any stage show that’ll lure a couple thousand people to downtown Burlington. A Saturday night concert — the…
Alice & the Magician Brings Aromatics to the Table
This week, guests at Radio Bean’s new Light Club Lamp Shop restaurant will be invited to try Bessie’s Boudoir. It’s a girly-girl drink — a gin martini composed of London dry gin, Lillet, triple sec and elderflower-flavored St. Germain. But Bessie is not so innocent. The ingredient that provides a racy edge isn’t poured but,…
Force Majeure
The perfect family is having the perfect ski vacation. See them pose for photos under the lifts. See stark winter light emphasize Mom and Dad’s patrician cheekbones as they nap beside their two adorable children. See them all dutifully use their electric toothbrushes. Wonder if you are watching a J. Crew catalog come to life.…
LocalStore: Little Citizen
Bridget Huffman picks up a small, gray sweatshirt hoodie and marvels at it. It looks like the kind of funky, rocker-style top that model Kate Moss might wear with a pair of skinny jeans. In fact, Little Citizen, Huffman’s new children’s clothing store in Burlington, carries skinny jeans, too. UK designer-denim line Hudson Jeans makes…
At BCA Series, a Film and Architect Examine Minimal Design
As holiday shopping ramps up, the Architecture + Design Film Series, held at Burlington’s BCA Center, will present a film and lecture that remind people of the finite nature of life on Earth. Investigating tiny dwellings, living off the grid and doing more with less, the film, Microtopia, ultimately questions how much humans really need…
Plum Pudding Brings Holiday Meal to Blazing Conclusion
At Palmer family Christmas dinners, we have a habit of burning the dessert. By the time the plum pudding rolls around, we’re all jolly, stuffed and drunk — on both liquor and holiday cheer. Inevitably, someone — usually our supper host — kills the lights, douses the dessert in brandy and touches it with a match. Slowly,…
NEA Grant for Burlington Chamber Orchestra Means More Music
Last week, the Burlington Chamber Orchestra landed the kind of holiday gift every arts organization would love to receive: a $10,000 National Endowment for the Arts grant, which will fund BCO’s Music for Minors program. The grant will have “a huge impact,” says board president Christina Brooker, given that the 35-member ensemble has an operating…
Mad 12 Dinner to Benefit Farmers
On January 12, 12 Mad River Valley chefs will converge in the kitchen at Waitsfield’s Inn at the Round Barn Farm to prepare 12 courses for 120 diners. How was the ambitious plan for the Mad 12 dinner hatched? “It all comes from one of those conversations you’ve had a hundred times when you run…
Eyewitness: Jeweler Stacy Hopkins
On a December afternoon, a bleak mix of snow, ice and freezing rain coats the sidewalks of South Main Street in White River Junction. The only signs of life are well-bundled passersby, clutching their hats in the wind. Even in the sub-freezing temperature, though, many pause to peer in Scavenger Gallery’s window. Adjacent to the…
Farmhouse Pottery Makes Its Way By Hand
Ever since humans began making pottery, the items they’ve constructed have been a reflection of the culture and concerns of the people who’ve used them. The Greeks put gods on their pots. Island cultures carved sea life into their vessels. In Woodstock, Vt., today — and to much acclaim — Farmhouse Pottery is handcrafting tableware…
Letters to the Editor (12/10/14)
South End Game Reading “Planning With Moxie” [November 26] and reviewing the city’s planBTV website, one gets the impression that the only thing that matters in the South End is the hip vibe on Pine Street. Yes, artists have contributed much to the character and economic vitality of the South End. Their place here should…
Found on Twitter
I love the barcode robe of the downy woodpecker his scannable double checker garb, half ebony, half snow globe impervious to device — no binocs or iPhone app can reveal his inner world, swooping from eon to branch to furled bark, drilling his meal, sipping his sap in late October, late in the day, midway…
Moran Plant Artist-in-Residence Mary Lacy Puts Wildlife on the Walls
Anyone who’s been to Burlington’s Moran Plant in recent years — taggers, vandals, hopeful developers — has seen roosting birds and scurrying raccoons in the long-abandoned structure. But, so far, not too many visitors have witnessed the small herd of animals that appeared this fall inside the looming hulk on the waterfront’s North 40. They’re…
![Auditioning with Kate Wetherhead [SIV380]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/episode380-4-e1755131783767.webp?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
Auditioning with Kate Wetherhead [SIV380]
12/5/14: Vermonter and BHS alum Kate Wetherhead comes home for a Musical Theatre Audition Workshop presented by the Bill Reed Voice Studio. Three workshops were held at Spotlight Vermont in South Burlington over the weekend. Kate appeared on Broadway in Legally Blonde and also writes and stars in a popular web series Submissions Only. Bill…
Free Will Astrology (12/10/14)
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Lord Byron (1788-1824) was an English poet who loved animals. In the course of his life, he not only had dogs and cats as pets, but also monkeys, horses, peacocks, geese, a crocodile, a falcon, a crane and a parrot. When he enrolled in Trinity College at age 17, he was…
News Quirks (12/10/14)
Curses, Foiled Again Ontario resident Kai Xu was charged with smuggling after border agents at the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel discovered more than 50 turtles strapped to his body and hidden between his legs. Acting on a tip about a large box sent from Alabama to a Detroit postal center addressed to Xu, U.S. authorities staked it…
Meet the Brit Who Turned Around Burlington Telecom
Stephen Barraclough, a bearish figure clad in his usual black sweater, sat in a dim conference room at Burlington Telecom’s brick headquarters. He was talking about an impending technological revolution — in a baritone British accent, conjuring up a classic British ritual. Soon, he said, using the internet will be like warming water in a…
Small City, Big Divide: Winooski Cops Seek Community Bonds
The Winooski Police Department’s top commanders descended on the Spring Gardens senior home on Monday morning, armed with pastries and coffee and looking to make friends. Huddled around a few small tables in the common area, the cops fielded residents’ questions about panhandling and traffic at the roundabout, and listened to the seniors’ stories about…
Vermont Artists Tom Cullins and Lois Eby Land Label Gigs
Works by two Vermont artists are currently and coincidentally featured on the bottle labels of beverage companies based in Bridgewater Corners, Vt., and Miami, Fla. Retired Burlington architect Tom Cullins, who has embarked on a new career as a painter, received a commission from Long Trail Brewing to create an abstract design for the company’s…
Francesca Blanchard is Poised to Break Out
Francesca Blanchard is staring down at her acoustic guitar with a look of concentration. To her right, a fire crackles in a large hearth, issuing warmth to a throng of diners at the South End Kitchen in Burlington. Blanchard, clad in a cozy sweater of muted tones, carefully counts the frets on the guitar’s neck…
