Can 5,000 Cows Be Wrong?
From the Board of Directors of the Charlotte News
July 1, 2010, pg 2

Dear Fellow Charlotters and Charlotte News Friends,

We are outnumbered, and it’s a good feeling.

A local farmer whose family has been milking cows here in Charlotte for generations recently estimated that we still have “five to six thousand head of cattle” in town. (This would include bovines of all ages and breeds, not just dairy cows, but the number is still a bit of an astonishment.) The bovines appear to dwarf our official human population of 3,569.

Vermont itself can no longer say that cows outnumber people, but Charlotte is a special place, a town where we have preserved much of the beauty and working landscape and rural character that has drawn us or keeps us here. This is certainly not a simple country town, but it is one where farmers and flatlanders and summer people all live and work together as a cohesive community.

No small part of the credit, we believe, goes to our own uniquely independent, community-run newspaper. For more than 50 years, The Charlotte News has been the voice of the town, a forum for multi-generational townsfolk and newcomers alike, a place where the citizenry can unite against undesirable development and join in supporting efforts to improve and maintain our town and its rare quality of life.

A Vibrant Place with an Independent Voice

“Charlotte is the envy of many Vermont towns,” says one longtime resident. “Thanks to the incredible volunteer spirit here and the generosity of our own citizens, we have an award-winning Fire & Rescue squad, a fabulous library, a friendly Town Hall, a vibrant Senior Center, and new rows of shade trees along our roads. We have great ball fields, beaches, tennis courts, nature areas, hiking trails and a truly spectacular shoreline.”

While so many small towns have become mere bedroom suburbs, Charlotters have worked hard to make this a diverse, interesting, livable place, a town that respects its rural heritage, a place with a vibrancy fueled by volunteers and low-profile local heroes who care about their community, their schools, their neighbors and the place they love. This has not always been easy, or cheap, and by some accounts the past few decades have been as tumultuous as any in the history of the town.

One constant is The Charlotte News.

As a not-for-profit organization, the paper aims to operate on a break-even basis. To accomplish this we need the support of community members like you in our annual Summer Fundraiser.

Over a stretch of more than five decades, The Charlotte News has landed free of charge in every mailbox in Town, a biweekly event produced by a crew of volunteers and selfless staff working with an always taut shoestring budget. The Charlotte News has given a forum for all sides in so many town debates and elections that we have lost count. Through articles, letters, commentaries and exchanges on the News website, it often helps the community find a cohesive voice about what this town wants to be and where it is going.

“The Charlotte News keeps this town ticking,” says one veteran observer. “It connects us with each other, it is absolutely essential to all the volunteer groups, candidates and local businesses that need to get a message onto every kitchen table in town. Every issue is a welcome excuse to sit down and see who and what made that week’s paper. It’s not always perfect, but it is ours.”

Keep the NEWS Coming!

Once each year we come to you with an invitation to join in and help with a donation. The Charlotte News could not continue to publish without the annual support of hundreds of our friends and neighbors like you.
Your support can help keep local, responsible, community-based journalism alive and well.

If you have never given before, we hope you will seriously consider becoming a Basic Supporter at less than 50 cents per week. Better yet, become a News Friend, a News Champion, or join the Publisher’s Circle. If you have given in the past, we need your continued support this year, more than ever.

Please give whatever you can; every gift, however large or small, is tremendously appreciated. We promise to repay you with a year of good reading, connections to your neighbors and regular doses of the unexpected.
Finally, please join us in an appreciation of the lush beauty of Charlotte in summer, with herds of cows and horses to remind us of our diversity, our roots and why this is such a great place to live. Thanks for your support and have a great summer.

For the Board of The Charlotte News,
James Lawrence, Chair

PS: Please also send us your e-mail address if you’d like to receive Editor Nancy Wood’s popular NEWS updates when important things happen in town.