‘A Click Away’
Speaking of fitness [Wellness Issue, January 15], I wanted to take a moment to thank you for your fantastic online issues. Wednesdays in this household are called “Seven Days Day.”
Due to multiple sclerosis, I can’t always pick the paper up that day. When a recent Friday came around and I still hadn’t read the latest issue, I looked on your website. The articles are much easier to see for those who have vision problems. The zoom button is fantastic. Plus, the colors pop off the screen, making me want to look closer at every ad.
I am no longer frustrated at not being able to see each word. Now I can sip my hot chocolate and watch the snow come down. My health returns to homeostasis.
Namaste. Winter Wednesdays and Seven Days is just a click away. Yippee!
Carol Ann “Sunshine” Wooster
Burlington
Barre Is Better
[Re “Acts of the Apostles: In Barre, Dozens of People Have Perished in the Opioid Crisis. Can a Church for the Addicted Stem the Losses?” December 4]: So many others have said this better and more succinctly than I can or will, but I want to make it clear that while the profile of the work being done in this article is interesting, the depiction of Barre is disappointing and dated. Every community in Vermont is suffering with the nationwide addiction crisis. It doesn’t define Barre, no more than that crisis defines Burlington, or anywhere else, in the way this writing would suggest. This article could’ve featured the same work being done and included a spotlight on all the many ways in which Barre is growing, changing, evolving and focusing on community care. All the new businesses, community spaces, new folks moving here, new energy coming into town. Barre is a multifaceted, multidimensional community worthy of more respect — and much more celebration — than what was given here.
Olivia Dunton
East Montpelier
‘True Christians’
I was crumpling paper to start the fire in the woodstove when I came across this article in Seven Days [“Acts of the Apostles: In Barre, Dozens of People Have Perished in the Opioid Crisis. Can a Church for the Addicted Stem the Losses?” December 4]. Amazing coverage of effective work being done by true Christians on behalf of people who truly need it. Deeply grateful for this inspiring and hopeful story. I’m sharing widely. Excellent work. Thank you, and God bless you.
Mike McDonnell
Rochester
Write About Lydia Clemmons
First, I want to thank Seven Days and writer Dan Bolles for continuing the “Life Stories” series [December 25, 2024]. Reading these stories reminds me of how privileged I am to live among such amazing people.
While I realize it is not possible to profile every Vermonter who passed away last year, I couldn’t help but notice one glaring omission whose story needs to be told. Mrs. Lydia Monroe Clemmons passed away on August 16, 2024, at the age of 101. According to a Clemmons Family Farm statement: At the age of 12, Lydia and her family left Louisiana due to racial discrimination to find better opportunities in the North. Mrs. Clemmons went on to become a nurse and nurse anesthetist. She married Dr. Jackson JW Clemmons, and they moved from Cleveland, Ohio, to Charlotte, Vt. Together they created an enduring legacy that is exemplified in the Clemmons Family Farm, a “cultural heritage asset and a platform for Black history, arts, and economic empowerment.”
The story of Mrs. Lydia and Dr. Jackson Clemmons is one that all Vermonters should know. I recommend that Seven Days take the opportunity to tell it as a feature story in an upcoming issue.
Ken Allen
Burlington
Editor’s note: When choosing “Life Story” subjects, which is indeed incredibly difficult, we look for lesser-known individuals whose accomplishments have been underreported. A number of other media outlets covered the death of Lydia Clemmons. Seven Days has written about her and the Clemmons Family Farm many times over the years.
‘Foodie Memories’
[Re “Simply the Best: Seven Days Food Writers Share Their Favorite Bites and Sips of 2024,” December 25, 2024]: It has to be so very hard if you are a food writer and need to say goodbye to old favorites. I ask readers to remember two: Villa Tragara of Waterbury Center and Five Spice Café of Burlington. We would take every Vermont visitor to both restaurants.
I won’t forget Villa Tragara, with Ellen Degeneres and Anne Heche at the next table. Or seeing Mikhail Baryshnikov at Five Spice after his Flynn performance, or any night there conversing with Jerry about chanterelle-infused vodka or maple syrup-laced Scotch.
Please consider sharing your foodie memories.
Jeffrey Waite
Shelburne
Rethink ‘Special Education’
[Re “Future of Public Education Commission Questions Its Own Future,” January 6, online]: After nearly 30 years of teaching in public schools, case-managing students with a range of challenges, I have been watching the debate regarding the rising costs of education and shrinking outcomes as far as student performance in standardized testing. Special education was a poorly funded mandate at the get-go. Public Law 94-142 went into effect in 1975 as a way to “ensure” equal access to education for students who, previously, had languished educationally, as little resources and understanding of alternative teaching methods were available.
Still, when students struggled academically or behaviorally, special education was, all too often, the default solution because resources for all students are so limited. Medicaid reimbursement money was injected into the formula to cover the costs of providing supports. By the time I ended my teaching career, I had worked in school districts where nearly 40 percent of students were identified for special education or 504 plans because of limited resources.
The cost of sending students to alternative day and residential programs would surprise a lot of people. Classroom teachers are not equipped to handle the level of needs with which they are presented in their classrooms, but the cost of alternative education is substantial. More testing is not the answer. Early interventions, wraparound support for both children and their families, and earlier prevocational programs would make a difference. Early education funding is important. Teacher colleges and universities should also make greater effort to prepare future educators for diverse learners.
Carrie Caouette-De Lallo
Chelsea
‘Truth’ Teller
I find it interesting that Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak is actively suppressing the communications from the Burlington police chief for speaking the truth — a truth she didn’t like [“Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak Will Prescreen Police Press Releases,” January 9, online]. The police department is the only department whose sole job is providing public safety and not just political statements to support her political policies.
The chief is correct that the law-abiding, tax-paying residents of Burlington have been harmed and are continually being harmed by Michael Reynolds. The police department is the only department (not the mayor, not the councilors, not the mental health system, not the court system, not State’s Attorney Sarah George) tasked with responding to community disruptions when residents are frightened or harmed.
There is a concept in retail of “marginal customer discomfort,” meaning how much discomfort a customer is willing to bear before they decide to go elsewhere.
In Burlington, I hope the city councilors are paying attention to “citizen discomfort.” We have long been a compassionate community providing services to disabled and addicted people. At the same time, the residents of Burlington, the taxpayers and the law-abiding citizens have been repeatedly victimized by the antisocial behavior.
At some point in the not-so-distant future, the “marginal resident discomfort” might be greater than the desire to live here.
By now we all know people who have changed their behavior and no longer go downtown, go out at night, or use the parking garages, parks and buses.
Brooke Hadwen
Burlington
This article appears in Jan 22-28, 2025.
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