May 6-12, 2015
How Border Control Agents Keep Watch on the Vast U.S.-Canadian Border; Jeremy Holt’s Comic About Race; A Montréal Chef Meats Hen of the Wood; Nectar’s Awards Guitarist Seth Yacovone; A Once Sleepy Winooski Gets Louder
Cover Story
Border Patrol Agents Keep a Lonely Watch on a Vast Expanse
Sitting in a pickup truck on the side of a dirt road in Newport, Border Patrol agent Sean Walsh gazed north past a scrubby field into an unremarkable expanse of woods. Somewhere, inside all those trees, the United States ended and Canada began. It’s actually one of the easier-to-patrol segments of Vermont’s 78-mile international border…
Obituary: Jeannine “Minky” Sullivan, 1928-2015, Essex Jct.
Jeannine “Minky” Sullivan passed away peacefully May 8, 2015 after a long and beautiful life. She was born November 2, 1928 in St. Chrysostome, Canada. Jeannine married the love of her life, Thomas John Sullivan, on September 13, 1952 in Potsdam, New York. After raising eight children, Jeannine worked at JC Penny and made many…
Obituary: Rodolphe R. Corbiere, 1924-2015, Williston
Rodolphe R. Corbiere, 91, died May 3, 2015 in Vermont Respite House, Williston, after a long battle with congestive heart failure. Rodolphe was known lovingly as “Dove” to his family and “Rudy” to his friends. He was born on March 10, 1924, the son of Ovila and Virginia (LaBelle) Corbiere. He was a veteran of…
North Country Books Opens a New Store in Winooski
Winooski may not be the retail mecca of Chittenden County, but local bibliophiles now have another good reason to shop the Onion City. North Country Books, a longtime purveyor of used and antiquarian books, has reopened a physical store for those who prefer to thumb through books before buying them. Unlike the store’s previous incarnations…
In Presidential Bid, Sanders Relishes a Familiar Role: Underdog
In his first public appearance as a presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) looked liked a man who had something better to do. Standing at a podium in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol last Thursday, he informed the reporters gathered before him that he’d entertain only a few questions. “We don’t have an endless…
Author Jeremy Holt Finds Success with Comic Book About Race
Race is a topic that saturates news media, movies, books and the American zeitgeist these days. But back in 2008, publishers wouldn’t bite when Jeremy Holt began pitching “Southern Dog” — a four-part comic-book series that involves panic attacks, werewolves, high school crushes and the Ku Klux Klan, among other things. “Everybody rejected it,” said…
A Norwich Prof Chronicles His Search for Edward Abbey’s Grave
When he died in 1989, environmental writer and activist Edward Abbey left behind a complex legacy. A vociferous proponent of keeping wild spaces wild, Abbey would occasionally toss empty beer cans from his car as an act of “civil disobedience.” An outspoken critic of overpopulation, he fathered at least five children. Even in death, Abbey…
![Waking Windows 5 [SIV398]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sevendaysvt.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/episode398.webp?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
Waking Windows 5 [SIV398]
5/1/15-5/3/15: The fifth annual Waking Windows music festival dominated downtown Winooski over the weekend and attracted about 5,000 people. About 150 bands, DJs and performers were spread out between 12 venues, all of them close to the rotary. Eva spent 3 days at the festival and still only managed to catch about 26 acts -…
News Quirks (5/6/15)
Curses, Foiled Again Tony Jerome Torbert Jr., 20, attracted the attention of authorities in Brevard County, Fla., after he posted an ad on craigslist offering “Legit Counterfeit $$.” Sheriff’s deputies executed a search warrant and seized a printer, a computer and counterfeit currency. (Florida Today) Pain of Progress A 29-year-old California man was diagnosed with…
Back Porch Society, Northern Gothic
(Self-released, CD, digital download) Here’s a brief history lesson: In the 1830s, the United States government forcibly removed tens of thousands of Native Americans from their homes in the southeastern U.S. and moved them across the Mississippi River to the Midwest. Made to walk — repeat: walk — thousands of miles with little food, water…
Letters to the Editor (5/6/15)
Light on Facts The Associated Press erred in citing Norwich as the first town to have all its municipal buildings powered with solar energy [Facing Facts: “Sunny Side Up,” April 29]. An array of 26 solar trackers has powered both municipal and school buildings in Starksboro for the last four years. Peter Marah Starksboro Pretty…
King of Nowhere, Becoming
(Self-released, digital download) When last we heard from Jesse French, the Chittenden County native had just released his promising 2011 solo debut, His Sign in the Sky. The son of local musician and bandleader Ken French, the songwriter and multi-instrumentalist showcased skill and sensitivity beyond his years. Now based in Northampton, Mass., French is currently…
Mamava Pods Make Breastfeeding Easier
Burlington businesswoman Janet Stambolian was scrolling through Facebook in 2013 when a photo of the first-ever Mamava lactation suite, at Burlington International Airport, caught her eye. “It looked like a little spaceship,” she says of the freestanding “pod” for breastfeeding mothers. Stambolian grabbed her phone and called Gene Richards, BTV’s director of aviation, who had…
WTF: What’s With All the Tiny Houses in Burlington?
Tiny spaces may be the 21st century’s hip habitats, but there’s actually nothing new about them. Burlington’s eclectic inventory of buildings includes at least a few in the 500-square-foot range — some of them occupied, some not, and most of them built 90 or more years ago. A local example that occupies a prominent location…
Is It OK to Break Up Via Text?
Dear Athena, I have been casually seeing this woman. Things are OK, but I’m sort of over it, and I’ve met someone else. I want to break up with her, but I sort of want to get it over with and just do it over a text. Or maybe an email is better? Is that…
Seth Yacovone to Receive Nectar’s Lifetime Achievement Award
Seth Yacovone is nearing the end of his weekly Friday happy hour set at Nectar’s, blazing through Dylan’s “Foot of Pride,” when two strings on his acoustic rig snap, one right after the other. “Just give me a second,” he says with a quiet smile, then patiently retunes and finishes the song with four strings.…
Clouds of Sils Maria
At the outset of this English-language French production, one is likely to get the feeling of racing toward someplace fabulous. Everything on the screen is in motion. A hint of hubbub mixes intriguingly with an atmosphere of luxury and glamor. The action takes place in the first-class section of a train. As it zips through…
An Offal Dinner Unites Vermont and Montréal Chefs
Montréal dining is known for its eccentrics. In 1998, the New York Times recognized French Canadian chef Normand Laprise for his “provocative” menus. Since then, outsize personalities have come to represent the city’s envelope-pushing rebuke to old-school fine-dining austerity — be they pork master Martin Picard of Au Pied de Cochon or Frédéric Morin and…
Work: Redemption Center Manager Richard Bradley
Name: Richard Bradley Town: Winooski Job: Redemption center manager, Sammy’s Quick Stop Richard Bradley, 52, has worked a lot of jobs in his life. He’s spent time at Burger King and most of the fast-food joints in the Burlington area. He made a living for several years as an overnight janitor at the University of…
Soundbites: WW5 Recap; Grand Point North Lineup Announced
Roll Up the Windows Well, that was fun. If you skipped Waking Windows 5 in Winooski last weekend, I have some bad news for you: You missed what might end up being the best single weekend of live music in Vermont all year long. No offense to any of the bazillion other fests and big…
Avengers: Age of Ultron
I’m too old for this shit, and here’s how I know: I’m starting to feel like Pauline Kael did when she complained that Raiders of the Lost Ark was edited by a Cuisinart. For 12-year-old me, the pacing of Raiders was ideal. Kids and comics fans everywhere doubtless feel the same way about Avengers: Age…
Vermont Singer Erik Kroncke Makes His Way in Opera
Erik Kroncke of Montpelier has the kind of speaking voice you’d expect from a bass singer: so low in pitch it’s impossible to imitate, but fun to try. On a recent afternoon, the 6-foot-2-inch professional rumbles a polite greeting to this reporter at the Spot in Burlington, and then sits down to … a glass…
Most Dangerous Women; A Vermont Theater Collaboration; Carole Vasta Folley’s Work-in-Progress
If you google “dangerous women,” you’ll likely come up with lists of bad babes. That is decidedly not the theme of Most Dangerous Women, a staged reading taking place this weekend at North End Studio A in Burlington. But its women have most definitely been subversive. Sponsored by the local chapter of the Women’s International…
On Tap: A Conversation With Alchemist Brewer John Kimmich
In 1994, John Kimmich moved from Pittsburgh, Pa., to Vermont with his sights set on working for Greg Noonan at Burlington’s Vermont Pub & Brewery. By late 1995, Kimmich was brewing at that pub, where he met his wife and partner, Jen Kimmich. Eight years later, the couple opened the Alchemist Pub and Brewery in…
Once Too Quiet, Trendy Winooski Has a New Problem: Noise
Winooski City Manager Katherine Decarreau and her predecessors spent years grappling with big problems. They searched for companies willing to invest in the hulking, abandoned mills along the Winooski River that seemed a cruel reminder of how far the city had fallen. They struggled to draw visitors to a downtown bereft of dining and entertainment…
Art Review: Thomas Brennan, BCA Center
If someone calls you “photogenic,” you must look great in your selfies. Even so, you are probably not “producing or generating light,” which is another definition of the word. And “photogenic drawing” is another order of image making altogether. Invented in the 1830s by photographer and inventor William Henry Fox Talbot, the technique generally entailed…
Tax Facts: Shumlin Spins Himself in Circles
Gov. Peter Shumlin must think Vermonters are pretty stupid. For the past week, he’s been prattling on to anyone who will listen about legislators’ relentless quest to raise revenue — and his brave efforts to stop them. “They’re raising taxes on virtually everything in a time when Vermonters are saying, ‘Please, don’t raise my taxes,'”…
J’Ville Craft Brewery and Liftline Brewing Open
Honora Winery & Vineyard winemaker Janice Stuart has a background in plant science, so vineyard management was a natural professional fit for her. But she was always a beer girl at heart. And over the past year, she’s been hard at work bringing J’Ville Brewery — named for its Jacksonville, Vt., location — from concept to…
Vermont Vets’ Home Seeks Funding — and a More Predictable Future
Parked outside a gray clapboard house in Pawlet Village, the green Korean War-era jeep was a dead giveaway. “Come on in,” Steve Leach called out to a reporter. The bearded 61-year-old Army veteran led the way through a foyer adorned with rifles, sabers and canteens and past a mannequin wearing an infantry uniform. In the…
Free Will Astrology (5/6/15)
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Here’s one of the best things you can do for your mental and physical health: Withdraw your attention from the life that lies behind you, and be excited about the life that stretches ahead of you. Forget about the past, and get wildly inventive as you imagine the interesting future you…
Yangser Dorjee’s Himalaya Restaurant Opens in Burlington
On the astrologically auspicious day of May 11, Tenzin and Yangchen Dorjee will begin the soft opening of Yangser Dorjee’s Himalaya Restaurant, a sequel to their popular Plattsburgh Himalaya Restaurant, at 3 Main Street in Burlington, former home of Madera’s Restaurante Mexicano. After a 9 a.m. blessing ceremony, the restaurant will open for lunch at…
Bluebird Tavern Serves Last Dinner
Saturday night dinner was the final service for Bluebird Tavern. “It’s not a complete surprise,” says Nicole Ravlin of People Making Good PR. “It’s certainly unfortunate for all the people who have enjoyed Bluebird Tavern for so long.” In a statement, owner Sue Bette disclosed, “I am extremely proud of all that we have accomplished…
