Celebrating Community Service, Larry Hamilton on The Nature Conservancy, and Scott Orr's Reflections on being State Representative
May 20, 2010, page 2 & 8.....

A Note from The News: We Remember

Memorial Day weekend approaches, with its picnics and gardening, boat launching and biking. It is also a time for remembering and commemorating family members no longer with us, or neighbors and fellow citizens now in the armed services or who have made the ultimate sacrifice serving our country.

This May 20, 2010, issue of The Charlotte News is dedicated to the idea of service here in our community, highlighting many of the individuals who are happy to help when needed, and who contribute their time and resources to improving the quality of life for everyone here in Charlotte.

An example is the "Stamp Out Hunger" food drive. Our cover picture this week is of the letter carriers from the Charlotte Post Office, who collected 373 pounds of food during their annual drive on May 8. Left to right, they are Rebecca Price, Sid Claflin and Heather Frink. Also helping but not pictured is letter carrier Brian Frink. The food was given to the Charlotte Food Shelf.

Please join us in celebrating the joys and accomplishments of community service, and consider participating in one of the many volunteer opportunities offered.

Nancy Wood, Editor
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Scott Orr Reflects on Six Years as a State Representative

I’ve decided that three terms are enough. I would like to pursue international work that I planned to do after finishing my Peace Corps service in the late ‘90s, but decided to run for the House instead.
 
The moment that will likely stand out in my memory as the most significant of my six years happened in 2009 with the override of the Governor’s veto of the Marriage Equality bill. I sat right behind Rep. Jeff Young of St. Albans who cast the 100th and deciding vote. As soon as he said, “Aye,” the House chamber just began to crackle with excitement as people, legislators and observers alike, realized that the veto override had been achieved and we were all present for an historic moment in furthering Vermont’s long record of civil rights. That, along with the later override of the Governor’s veto of the budget, proved that the Legislature could move past the Governor’s attempts to obstruct our work on the most significant legislation, which had not been the case in the previous four years I’d been in the House.

On my very first day in 2005 I helped elect the first female Speaker of the House in 50 years and only the second such Speaker in Vermont’s history – another memorable moment. I also really enjoyed when school groups visited the Statehouse from CCS and CVU in my first years, and I hope that’s something that will begin to happen again. I’m also very proud that Vermont’s Statehouse is just as open to the public as it was over 20 years ago when I was a high school intern with longtime Hinesburg Representative Henry Carse. I had the honor of being the last in a long line of interns Henry sponsored from CVU.  

Some of the accomplishments I’m most proud of include the creation of the Farm to School program while I was on the Agriculture Committee during my first term; the work we’ve done in the Human Services Committee towards improving end-of-life care in Vermont; and protecting children and our most vulnerable Vermonters in the difficult economic times we’re experiencing now. One of my disappointments is that I do not feel that the sacrifices in these tough economic times are being shared evenly, with many of those least able having to carry a disproportionate share of the load, but I do have a strong expectation that greater fairness in shouldering this burden will be found with the election of the next Governor.

I also hope for an end of the political gamesmanship, often seemingly just for the sake of posturing without much substantive meaning, of the past six years. There needs to be more of a partnership between the Legislature and the Governor’s office to handle the economic crisis, which transcends politics. This economy doesn’t recognize political boundaries and neither should our solutions. 

In the final hours of this session I began to realize that I’m going to miss working with nearly all the members of the current House. There has been a very collegial atmosphere most of my time there, and I’ve had the privilege of serving alongside remarkable people from a variety of backgrounds. When we passed the Marriage Equality bill, it was without the very high tensions and acrimony seen nine years earlier with the Civil Union debate. When I did a side-by-side comparison of the vote explanations from 2000 and 2009, the contrast was reflective of how today’s Legislature has accepted Vermont’s role in assuring all citizen’s rights are recognized. Particularly, I’ll miss the members of my Human Services Committee who have all worked together constructively in a non-partisan manner.  

So, while I don’t know specifically what I’ll be doing in the near future, I am looking forward to exploring new opportunities to work with others from different nations and cultures in what is becoming once again a world that welcomes the type of involvement that organizations like the Peace Corps or UNICEF offer.

- Scott Orr

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 Fifty Years of Science-Based Land Conservation
by Larry Hamilton

Charlotte folks should know well the letters TNC, which stand for The Nature Conservancy. The wonderful Williams Woods Natural Area on Greenbush Road was acquired by TNC in 1983 and has become a favorite place for walking and nature study. This 63-acre clayplain forest contains the largest and oldest swamp white oaks in Charlotte, and, in spite of heavy blow down of some of the largest white pines and hemlocks in the micro-burst of 2007, still has impressive trees. A small parking area and a nature trail encourage public use.

Within the last few years, two new TNC Preserves have come into being in Charlotte. Two years ago the Arthur Burleigh farm was acquired, in partnership with the Vermont Land Trust and the Charlotte Conservation Fund, and with the support of the Charlotte Land Trust, Lewis Creek Association and Conservation Commission. The farm area will remain in agriculture under oversight by the Land Trust. The forest portion of 127 acres, designated as the Lewis Creek Hill by TNC, is a mesic maple-ash-hickory-oak forest, uncommon in Vermont. And the final closing on the Raven Ridge Natural Area has just occurred. This tri-town property of 362 acres in Monkton, Hinesburg and Charlotte is the newest gem in the crown. It has rare plants, rare mussels, vernal pools, bobcat denning, significant geological features and Lewis Creek headwaters. The preserve is open now to public “passive recreation” such as walking, bird watching, snowshoeing, cross country skiing and nature study. We are indeed fortunate to have these nature islands maintained for us and for our offspring or successors in perpetuity.

TNC is assisting in invasive plant control on town-owned lands and in Thorp Brook estuary. And, there are many TNC reserves nearby which Charlotters may enjoy: LaPlatte River Marsh in Shelburne; Willmarth Woods Natural Area south of Vergennes in Addison; Snake Mountain South (given by Charlotter Gary Pittman) just a tad farther south and east of Route 22A; H. Laurence Achilles (better known as Shelburne Pond) just north of us, east of Dorset Street; Kingsland Bay, adjacent to the State Park; Sloop Island (not far off the ferry dock); the Richmond Rivershore Natural Area; and a new area in eastern Monkton: the Yellow Bogs Natural Area. What richness and variety! Moreover, TNC is a major science partner in the comprehensive Lake Champlain Basin Project.

The Vermont Nature Conservancy celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The birthday party will be its Annual Meeting, and this year it is at nearby Shelburne Farms. It occurs on August 28, and all TNC members in Charlotte (and elsewhere) are encouraged to participate in the festivities. Non-members having an interest in joining the Conservancy are also welcome. Go online to nature.org/vermont for details. Here you may obtain copies of the booklet on the various projects in Vermont.

As a Trustee of the Vermont TNC, I urge readers to support the critically important work of this fine organization through tax-exempt donations. At the very least become a member. This will help to carry out the mission, which is “to protect the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive.”  Basic membership is $25, but all amounts will go toward this endeavor, both locally and globally. The TCN address is 27 State Street, Suite 4, Montpelier, VT 05602-2959.

- Larry Hamilton