The Animal Issue 2021
Dog Camps Offer Training and Off-Leash Adventures to Eager Pups; Moose Are Suffering and Dying. Vermont’s Strategy? More Hunting; Kira Serisky ‘Never Looked Back’; Meet the Best of the Beasts Photo Contest Winners
Obituary: Matthew Christopher Caulo, 1991-2021
Industrious young man had a vision for a self-sufficient rural lifestyle
Obituary: Maize Bausch, 1925-2021
Artist’s work was exhibited throughout Vermont and New England in the 1970s through 2000s
In Memoriam: Jack Carter, 1945-2021
A celebration of the life of Jack Carter of Waterbury will be held on Sunday, August 29, at 2 p.m. in Rusty Parker Park in Waterbury Village. Carter, 75, died on June 21 at his home in Waterbury Center. A former owner of Stowe Street Emporium and a Waterbury Selectboard member, Carter was active in…
Obituary: Glenn Guhman, 1942-2021
Longtime IBM physicist and engineer developed several patents in technology
Obituary: George-Thérèse Dickenson, 1951-2021
Poet, editor and activist lived in Vermont in the 1970s
JAG Productions Gears Up for a New Season at King Arthur Baking
July 21 was a good day for JAG Productions, Vermont’s only group known for producing exclusively Black theater and performance art. The White River Junction-based company announced on that day that it had received a $150,000 grant from Upper Valley nonprofit the Couch Family Foundation. The new round of funding arrived about 10 months after…
Atom & the Orbits, ‘Let’s Rock!’
(Self-released, digital) When someone tells me that they wish to “rock,” I can’t help but flashback to the video for Twisted Sister’s “I Wanna Rock.” You know, the one with the dickhead from Animal House demanding, “What do you want to do with your life?” And if someone literally says “Let’s rock” to me, my…
Book Review: ‘The Empire’s Ruin,’ Brian Staveley
In 2014, Vermont author Brian Staveley introduced readers to the Annurian Empire in the first installment of his Chronicles of the Unhewn Throne trilogy: The Emperor’s Blades. The novel follows the three children of the Annurian emperor — Valyn, Kaden and Adare — after they learn of their father’s assassination and an impending plot to…
The ‘Ghost’ of Franklin County? The ‘St. Albans Messenger’ Is a Shadow of Its Former Self
A lawsuit alleging that the general manager and another top salesperson stole advertising customers on their way out the door is the latest sign of trouble at the once highly respected St. Albans Messenger. Since the O’Rourke Media Group purchased the newspaper from Emerson and Suzanne Lynn in 2018 — and the Lynn family-owned weeklies…
Dog Camps Offer Training and Off-Leash Adventures to Eager Pups
On Wednesday mornings, my husband, Tom O’Connor, and I know not to say the day of the week out loud. We don’t dare even whisper the name “JR.” Then, 10 minutes before JR Miller is due to arrive at our home, we take out the blue body suit that Lenny, our dog, wears in the…
Vermont Employers Who Lean Into Family-Friendly Perks Find That Their Workforce Stays Strong
Two weeks before Meghan Archambault’s maternity leave ended last spring, she received what she described as “a nice little surprise” from Twincraft Skincare, where she works as a lab technician. Twincraft announced the launch of Babies at Work, a program that allows parents to bring children between the ages of 6 weeks and 6 months…
The Documentary ‘Her Socialist Smile’ Explores a Different Side of Helen Keller
Helen Keller (1880-1968) was one of the most inspirational figures of the 20th century. But most people know the writer and activist for her determination to overcome the barriers facing people with physical disabilities in her lifetime, not for her equally fierce determination to replace American capitalism with a system in which the workers control…
From the Publisher: Fly or Die
The combination of age and COVID-19 has opened my eyes to the fragile beauty of birds. Of course I admired them before we were stuck at home last winter. We have a hanging feeder that attracts all kinds, even on the coldest days, and they’re a joy to watch. But during the pandemic they brought…
How Do I Get My Partner’s Dog to Stop Nuzzling Her Way Between Us?
Dear Reverend, Every time I get cozy with my significant other, her dog nuzzles her way between us and starts licking me until we physically separate. How do we get the dog to stop this behavior? Fi-Don’t (male, 38) Dear Fi-Don’t, Dogs are pack animals, and they tend to see their person as the alpha,…
Going Public About the Private Shame of Surrendering a Pet
I knew from the moment I heard the dogs barking outside that something was very wrong. Just as a mother penguin can distinguish the sounds of her own chick from those of thousands in the colony, I could tell from Maya and Ernie’s barks whether they were anxious or playful or announcing the arrival of…
Rev. Sekou Brings the Revolution to Vermont
Internet culture has latched on to a particular line from Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” in recent years. Everyone from Lana Del Ray to comedian Aparna Nancherla has parroted the oft-used phrase “I contain multitudes” in relation to the complexity of the human experience. Another line from that poem comes to mind after conversing with…
Life Stories: Kira Serisky ‘Never Looked Back’
In the spring of 2018, Kira Jaye Serisky (July 9, 2003-February 7, 2021) heard that four kittens had been found in a trailer, along with other neglected animals, in Addison County. The 14-year-old begged her mother to let her foster the little felines. The kittens were suffering from respiratory infections that required frequent trips back…
Wild Leek River, ‘Wild Leek River’
(Self-released, digital) Country music is often associated with the South, but the genre’s universal themes and rural imagery transcend geography. The Green Mountains have long been a bastion of twang. And Vermont-based Wild Leek River’s debut self-titled album is testament to the fact that country music doesn’t just live below the Mason-Dixon Line. Lead vocalist…
Free Will Astrology (8/11/21)
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): According to Leo author Guy de Maupassant, “We are in the habit of using our eyes only with the memory of what people before us have thought about the things we are looking at.” That’s too bad. It causes us to miss a lot of life’s richness. In fact, said de…
Now Playing in Theaters: August 11-17
new in theaters DON’T BREATHE 2: Years after the events of the original horror flick, a resourceful blind man (Stephen Lang) with a dark side must defend himself and the kid he’s raised from a home invasion. With Madelyn Grace and Brendan Sexton III. Rodo Sayagues directed. (98 min, R. Essex, Majestic) FREE GUY: In…
Letters to the Editor (8/11/21)
Economics 101 [Re “Nowhere to Go,” August 4]: The story on Vermont’s housing crisis, while in many ways informative, is nevertheless lacking a crucial, seldom-acknowledged part of the story of how this crisis came to be. Measures taken by the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States, to rescue the economy from every…
Hawk Tastes Freedom, but Comes Down for Steak
After 20 days on the loose, 2-year-old Harris’ hawk Paige is back in her enclosure at the Vermont Institute of Natural Science in Quechee. Paige was bred by a falconer in Texas and arrived at VINS in 2019. She was being trained to free fly so she could be part of the avian rehabilitation center’s…
Meet the Best of the Beasts Photo Contest Winners 2021
Seven Days regularly puts out calls to readers asking for feedback, input or leads. Sometimes those crowdsourced fishing expeditions come up empty. Other times, as when we asked for readers’ experiences waiting for medical care, nominations for Pandemic All-Stars or (in 2019) suggestions on what to do with Burlington’s infamous pit, the responses are robust.…
Moose Are Suffering and Dying. Vermont’s Strategy? More Hunting.
Canaan resident Dan Johnson was taking an early spring snowmobile ride six years ago when a moose walked down the trail toward him and stopped. The animal rested its head on a grooming vehicle that was ahead of him on the trail, and Johnson noticed its side was covered with a lumpy mass. The mass…
A Network of Favoritism Has Flourished in the Vermont National Guard
The first outside assessment ever taken of the Vermont National Guard confirms patterns of misconduct and favoritism within the ranks — and also spotlights serious roadblocks to reform. Adj. Gen. Greg Knight ordered the report in November 2019 as part of his pledge to clean up and professionalize the organization, which has been beset by…
The Animal Issue Is a Collaborative Free-Fur-All
We say this every year, but Seven Days staffers look forward to putting together the annual Animal Issue arguably more than any other single edition. The primary reason is the animals themselves. Everyone loves their critters, be they big or small, fuzzy or scaly. But another reason might be that the Animal Issue is an…
Art Review: Paul Gruhler, Highland Center for the Arts, Greensboro
This story has been updated to reflect the cancellation of several upcoming exhibits due to COVD-19 restrictions. Paul Gruhler, a Craftsbury painter who will turn 80 in September, meant only to make a catalog of his work. A year ago, he floated the idea to his friend Linda Mirabile, principal graphic designer of RavenMark in…
Wheelock Teen to Compete at the Extreme Mustang Makeover in Oklahoma City
Wisteria Franklin was 4 years old when she watched Wild Horse, Wild Ride, a movie about taming wild horses and people who attempt to give the animals a “mustang makeover.” She thought that was “really cool,” she recalled, and decided that’s what she was going to do. “I wanted the crazy kind [of horse],” she…
Obituary: Mark Edmond Evans, 1951-2021
Vermont artist and landscaper was locally renowned for his home gardens
Dog Biscuit Bakery Andy’s Dandys Builds an Inclusive Workplace
Andrew Whiteford would like people to get one thing straight. Despite the fact that his family’s dog biscuit business is named Andy’s Dandys, he has never gone by “Andy.” “Don’t say it!” Andrew said with a wide grin when this reporter dared mention the nickname at the company’s Richmond bakery. On a recent Thursday afternoon,…
Vermont Mealworm Farm Fuels Plants, Pets and People
Would you eat a mealworm? Bob Simpson hopes your answer is yes — or that you’d at least feed some to your chickens. Simpson owns Vermont Mealworm Farm, where he raises roughly 2.4 million of the squiggly insects — the larval form of a species of darkling beetle — in a temperature-controlled room below the…
Café Provence in Brandon for Sale as Owners Look to Retire
After 17 years, Robert and Line Barral have decided to sell Café Provence and Gourmet Provence. The businesses, which hold a prominent place along Route 7 in downtown Brandon, will remain open while the Barrals wait for the right buyer. “It’s funny: Now that we think the restaurant is exactly where it should be, we…
The Magnificent 7: Must See, Must Do, August 11 to 17
Lift Every Voice Saturday 14 The Vermont Suffrage Centennial Alliance takes over the Statehouse lawn in Montpelier for Hard Won, Not Done: Voting Matters, a day recalling the history of the struggle for voting rights and looking forward to work yet to be done. Pulitzer Prize- and National Book Award-winning author Annette Gordon-Reed keynotes, and…
