Mar 25-30, 2015
Vermont’s Newest — and Soon-to-Be Biggest — Sugaring Operation Is Banking on Maple; Vermont’s Solar Power Struggle; Photo Cyber Connections in Stowe; Alice Levitt Meets Her Meat
Cover Story
Sweet Deal: A Giant Sugaring Operation Banks on Maple
A young man stood expectantly in front of an evaporator, his face illuminated by the orange glow coming from the steel contraption that boils maple sap down into syrup. After checking and rechecking to see if the syrup was ready, he opened a valve, releasing a rush of sweet-smelling, golden liquid into a container. “Oh,…
Obituary: Jared Hall, 1942-2015, Starksboro
Jared Gardner (Jed) Hall of South Burlington passed away following a lengthy illness on Wednesday, March 25, 2015 at the age of 72. He was born May 30,1942, in Claremont, New Hampshire, the youngest son of the late George E. and Nancy (Brooks) Hall. He was raised in Scarsdale, New York and graduated from Edgemont…
Obituary: Laura Brown, 1955-2015, Burlington
Laura Brown, the Herb Woman of Winooski and proprietor of Purple Shutter Herbs, picked an auspicious day of celestial events to depart Earth: March 20, day of the vernal equinox, the Super Moon and a solar eclipse. Within a half-hour of the sun crossing the equator to renew the cycle of plant life in the…
Obituary: Curt M. Evans,
Curt M. Evans left us to go to a far, far better place. We will miss him. Curt was born on Martha’s Vineyard, moved to Vermont in 1951 and graduated from South Burlington high school. Two years later he signed up with the Navy during the Vietnam War and was awarded an honorable discharge. Curt…
Obituary: Richard Lemieux, 1931-2015, Burlington
Richard Lemieux, 83, passed away Wednesday March 25, 2015 at Starr Farm nursing home with his family by his side. He was born in Burlington on October 1, 1931 to Richard and Eva (Pratt) Lemieux. Richard was a member of the US Navy serving in both Vietnam and Korea. After he retired from the Navy,…
Obituary: Sister Olive Lettre, SP, 1918-2015, Winooski
Sister Olive Lettre, SP, 96, died Friday, March 27, 2015 at Our Lady Providence Residence in Winooski, Vermont. Olive Cecile Lettre was born in Berlin, New Hampshire on December 4, 1918, the last child in a family of sixteen children. Her father, Joseph, and her mother, Anna Fornier, were devout Catholics and their home reflected…
Obituary: Patricia (Moody) McDonald Decarreau, 1937-2015, South Burlington
Patricia (Moody) McDonald Decarreau, 77, died Monday, March 23, 2015 at the University of Vermont Medical Center with her loving family by her side. She was born in Burlington on August 18, 1937, the daughter of James and Rose (Vezina) Moody. She graduated from Burlington High School and Champlain College. She was married in Burlington…
Quick Lit: The Return of Jason Green by Suzi Wizowaty
As a subject for fiction, the death of a young child is a hard sell. The aftermath of such a loss is perhaps an even harder one. Yet Burlington author — and former Vermont state rep — Suzi Wizowaty has taken on both those subjects in her third novel, The Return of Jason Green, published…
![A Storybook Life [SIV392]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/episode392.webp?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
A Storybook Life [SIV392]
3/12/15: John Churchman is not your average farmer. A fine art and stock photographer for decades, John and his family live on a “picture farm” in Essex. Sweet Pea is a bottle lamb who just turned one and has found quite a following on social media. John recently raised enough money on Kickstarter for a…
Talking Art With Photographer Jamie Cope
The view from the window in Jamie Cope’s living room is the epitome of Vermontiana: tall pines in the foreground, a half-dozen snow-smattered peaks in the background, the spires of Montpelier churches nestled in a mid-ground vale. It cries out to be admired, painted, photographed. Yet Cope, with the mechanical assistance of her trusty Hasselblad,…
Opinion: Republicratic Values: Cuts to the Poor
The budget of the majority party makes drastic cuts to social services. It slashes already meager supports to the poor. It demands concessions from government workers and consolidates agencies, which means eliminating jobs. The budgeteers resist the executive’s modest efforts to rationalize health care spending and increase the number of people covered by the state.…
Letters to the Editor (3/25/15)
Geography Lesson [Re Off Message: “Marijuana ‘Kingpin’ Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison,” March 19]: I just want to clarify: Montgomery is in Franklin County, not the Northeast Kingdom. The NEK is composed of Orleans, Caledonia and Essex counties. Angela Lee St. Johnsbury Amazing Video My best friend sent me a link to [Stuck in…
The Snaz, Running Away From Home
(Self-released, CD, digital download) The ready-made narrative surrounding Brattleboro’s the Snaz is that the band is young. Like, really young. As in, parents-driving-them-to-gigs-at-bars young. And, sure, the fact that the members of the quartet are barely old enough for a driver’s license is obviously intriguing. That’s particularly true when considering the many fine qualities of…
I Thought My Wife Was Staring at Another Man
Dear Athena, My wife and I went to a party. I saw a man and his wife show up — we did not know this couple — and for some reason I thought that this is a guy who women would look at. As the party went on, I noticed my wife staring at him.…
Ben Carr Music Project, Unyielding
(Self-released, CD, digital download) When does cultural appropriation in music go too far? Generally, we deem it OK when, say, a northern-bred country singer croons in a southern accent. Sure, the faux twang might be seen as contrived, but few would call it offensive. Madonna adopted a British accent for a while, and we all…
A New Sex-Toy Shop Spices Up Middlebury
Plenty of things come to mind when one thinks of Middlebury, but vibrators, cock rings and salted-caramel lube probably aren’t among the first ones. The picturesque shire town of Addison County has long drawn crowds for leaf peeping, skiing, craft brews and college visits. Now, though, visitors craving a less vanilla thrill can find one…
Free Will Astrology (3/25/15)
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The term “jumped the shark” often refers to a TV show that was once great but gradually grew stale, and then resorted to implausible plot twists in a desperate attempt to revive its creative verve. I’m a little worried that you may do the equivalent of jumping the shark in your…
WTF: What’s With the Dome-Topped Mansion on St. Paul?
Ever notice that handsome stone apartment house situated on a large lot on Burlington’s St. Paul Street near the South End roundabout? It appears to have an astronomical observatory on its roof. WTF? Yes, that’s exactly what the place is — or rather, was. The 161-year-old Italianate building has an exterior of quartzite quarried from…
The Gunman
Many people of my generation regard Sean Penn as our Robert De Niro — the serious actor, the tough guy, the top banana. But the fact is, the two-time Oscar winner (De Niro has also won twice) has made relatively few films of significance, given that his career dates back to the mid-1970s. He’s averaged…
Poetry About Things at the Sheldon Museum
Last November, Bill Brooks, executive director of the Henry Sheldon Museum of Vermont History in Middlebury, offered six local poets a tour of the museum’s “somewhat idiosyncratic” collection of Vermont artifacts. First Brooks ushered the poets through the current exhibits; then he introduced them to parts of the archive, founded in 1882, that visitors do…
What We Do in the Shadows
Pop culturally speaking, vampires are dead — and no, not undead, either. Vampire spoofs, satires and ironic meta-fests are likewise long past their heyday. So there’s nothing timely or particularly original about the New Zealand vampire mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows. Yet it’s one of the funniest and most fun film comedies of…
The Museum of Everyday Life Explores Dust
Last week, a curious call to artists caught our attention and quickly evoked the question, “Does this really qualify as art?” The quirky call came from Clare Dolan, the self-described “chief operating philosopher” of the even quirkier Museum of Everyday Life in Glover. The self-service museum is housed in an unheated, unlocked barn beside her…
Michelle Sarah Band Cook Up a Recipe for Success
It’s easy to start a band. But the challenges of taking it public mean most quickly fade away. Others settle into a comfortable routine of low-key gigs and steady rolling. And then there are bands that, blessed by a combination of talent and personal drive, endure and even grow. With a series of Vermont shows…
Stowe’s Fotovisura Connects Photographers Worldwide
Last year, when Lynne Warberg posted her black-and-white photos on the photo-sharing website fotovisura.com, the site’s creators, Adriana Teresa Letorney and Graham Letorney, knew immediately that hers was a story worth telling. Warberg, a 64-year-old retired professional photographer from Port Charlotte, Fla., spent two decades documenting her son, Sam, and his struggles with bipolar disorder…
News Quirks (3/25/15)
Curses, Foiled Again David Fanuelsen, 39, and Dean Brown, 22, stole construction equipment worth $8,000 from their employer, according to police in Key West, Fla. The boss, Stace Valenzuela, identified the workers as the thieves because he had overheard them planning the theft after Fanuelsen unintentionally butt-dialed him. “Talk about bumbling idiots,” Valenzuela said. (Reuters)…
Captain Jonas Breaks the Vermont State Police Brass Ceiling
After college, Ingrid Jonas worked as a domestic-violence victims’ advocate who sometimes resorted to what she described as “in your face” tactics. There was one time, for instance, when she and others picketed outside a Burlington bar, chanting the name of a police officer they believed had failed to properly respond to sexual assault there.…
Soundbites: Villanelles Return, Madaila Rocked and Folk Goes Home
It’s kind of a quiet week on the local music front. But as we peer into April and beyond, it seems that will change, and soon. In the meantime, let’s burn through some random news and views with an old-school, rapid-fire edition of Soundbites. Buckle up. Given the firestorm of hype around Madaila — with…
Health Connect Leaves Low-Income Vermonters Struggling
As 2014 drew to a close, 24-year-old Alissa Carberry hoped that her insulin pump wouldn’t need to be replaced. Carberry has Type 1 diabetes, a chronic disease that requires expensive medication and constant monitoring. On paper, she was lucky: She had insurance through her employer, Burlington Children’s Space, so her monthly insurance premiums were covered.…
UVM Campus Smoking-Ban Proposal Sparks Debate
Some cigarette smokers show respect and others are rude, as Haley Agront sees it. The 19-year-old University of Vermont student won’t smoke in front of children. She lights up mostly in designated smoking areas, such as the one on the side of the library, where she sat on a bench between classes last week, nursing…
Terasem Foundation Aims to Explain Its Cyberconscious Mission
How would you tell the story of who you are to your family, friends, future generations, even alien life-forms? What are the crucial influences and experiences that make you unique? Assuming you could even identify the disparate elements that came together to make you distinctly you, would you be willing to compile and preserve them…
Communities Demand More Say on Solar Projects
As Jim Walsh drove from Ferrisburgh to New Haven last week, he pulled over repeatedly to point out each new solar cluster along Route 7. In some places, they seem to be popping up like dandelions. That one, the New Haven selectboard member said of a 17-acre array, was originally proposed to be bigger and…
The Nile Project Delivers a Pan-African Message
As it courses from Lake Victoria to its sprawling delta at the Mediterranean Sea, the Nile River passes through no fewer than 11 countries. For each, the river is a lifeline. But that lifeline is so fragile that the United Nations has singled out eastern Africa as a region where increasing water scarcity portends dire…
Prohibition Pig Expands Draft List and Menu
Two weeks ago, Winooski’s Four Quarters Brewing made a splash when it introduced the crowler: a 32-ounce disposable can filled to order, much in the same way as a growler. Now Waterbury’s Prohibition Pig is jumping on the can-wagon. According to owner Chad Rich, the crowler machine should arrive this week. This weekend or next,…
Date Certain: Shumlin Sets a Health Connect Deadline, But Why?
Four weeks after Vermont Health Connect sputtered to a start in October 2013, Gov. Peter Shumlin summoned reporters to his Montpelier office to “apologize for the challenges that we’ve been facing. “I take full responsibility for them,” he said. “I will continue to fix them.” Asked precisely when the online insurance marketplace would function as…
A Dancer’s Einstein-Inspired Work-in-Progress
What do physics and dance have in common? Albert Einstein didn’t have anything to say on the subject as far as we know, but Marly Spieser-Schneider has set out to prove that the two are a match made in heaven. The Burlington choreographer will present a work-in-progress on Wednesday, April 1, at the FlynnSpace. The…
The Life, Death and Afterlife of a Vermont Steer
On a day in early February, Charlie stuck close to home in Plainfield, munching on hay just downhill from where Highland cattle lolled their fuzzy, square heads. He doesn’t like to be far from his mom, Janet Steward, who owns Shat Acres Farm and Greenfield Highland Beef with her husband, Ray Shatney. When Steward approached,…
Isan-Style Thai Coming to Randolph
Vermont is home to dozens of Thai restaurants — some more authentic than others. After a while, the menus start to blur together with their familiar Bangkok-style cookery: pad Thai, drunken noodles, curries, more noodles. But in early April, husband-and-wife team Steve and Nisachon “Rung” Morgan will bring a new kind of Thai cooking to downtown…
Nepali Dumpling House Opens in Burlington
Over the past three years, Jamaican jerk chicken, Somali injera and stews have been on offer at 78 North Street in Burlington. Since last Saturday, momos — or a variation thereof — have taken over the menu. The storefront previously known as Cool Runnings, and then as African Safari Market, is now Nepali Dumpling House.…
