Commentary and Letters
December 1, 2011, page 2-3.....Does Charlotte Want to Install Local Energy Infrastructure,
Yes or No? 
After following this season’s many public meetings and discussions about how and where to install local energy infrastructure in Charlotte, I can see that we all could benefit from some educational sessions about how to use the Charlotte town plan and regulations to help guide us toward local energy production. But first we need to clearly survey ourselves about whether or not Charlotters are really on board. I get the sense from all the recent comments and discussions that some are just not on board. Why are some saying this proposal was rushed, this proposal was an industrial scale operation, a scenic blight, a conservation blight, etc.? Why this exaggeration, this hyperbole? Let’s move on and begin with some housekeeping.
 I call upon the town Planning Commission to step up and coordinate a public education effort that begins with asking if local energy production is desired as noted in the current town plan.  I ask for this, straight away, because of the Planning Commission’s alarming vote to not support the solar array proposal at Thompson’s Point because it is conservation land that should be protected in perpetuity.  Not acceptable!  This Planning Commission decision is a “loud” clue that the town plan is not well understood by the P.C. and is being misinterpreted for reasons unbeknownst to this reader. Some other community naysayers justified their nays, as well, with statements that the Thompson’s Point open space land should be kept open in perpetuity. This is simply not justified when reviewing the Town Plan.
When reading the town plan it is important to note that it contains two sections, our history and our future.  The regulations go on to regulate what Charlotte has planned for its future, while the history section provides historical context.  While the history section makes mention of the town’s historic desire to keep the Town Plan lands open forever, the future section goes on to refine that thought by stating that all conservation district lands (of which Thompson’s Point acres do not hold perpetual easements) should now be carefully assessed for their conservation values and be used according to the new town bylaws and restrictions. Today Charlotte has exceptionally high-quality Geographic Information System conservation maps that clearly characterize conservation values, as well as regulation lists that are used to assess all land use plans for impacts to conservation areas of high public value.  The Selectboard and Conservation Commission had many meetings to transparently share their conservation evaluation and decision making process.  This was not a rushed process and we should all thank the Selectboard and Conservation Commission for their many, many donated hours related to this solar plan review. So where did the Planning Commission go awry? I don’t know.
 The same naysayers also focused on scenic impacts as if to suggest that landscaping could not solve this viewscape issue. And not one naysayer could comment on negative scenic impacts from their  home views. So why did the ball get dropped? I don’t know, but I am wishing, with a larger than ever amount of optimism, that Charlotte will genuinely want to produce local energy, add to our local economy, and be part of Vermont’s larger green economy. This has to do with community health and making Charlotte livable for our children and our children’s children.
 Let’s find out soon by surveying ourselves and updating our Town Plan accordingly.
 
Marty Illick

Charlotte News brings memories of farm scenes

Today the Charlotte News was in my mailbox. Thank you to whoever has given me this favor to get the Charlotte News. This 19th of November is the 29th year that my husband died suddenly at 5:30 a.m. of heart failure on the farm where he lived 42 years. He loved that farm and died there 29 years ago.
I loved it also, and I lived 36 years as his wife and four more alone until I finally sold it. I have so many good memories about the farm, where I did so much to earn money to help pay the bills.
I think so much about the children that I cared for besides raising my six children. One in particular was Emily, who one morning found herself alone and was disappointed. She asked: “Is Ker coming today?” I said, no. “Any other children coming?” “I don’t think so,” I said. Raising her voice, “Will we be doing something special today?” “Yes, Emily,” I said. “We are taking a trip to the garden.” I gave her a small bucket. I took a big one to the garden in the barnyard as we did not have cows anymore.
As we arrived at the garden a robin flew away to perch on a fence post. It was not happy to see us as it had a nest near the barn roof. There it was making funny noises. I said to Emily, “Talk to mother robin! Tell her we will find some worms in the garbage so she can feed them to her babies.” We could see four little heads sticking out of the nest. The robin understood well and stopped the scary noise she was making. So Emily found worms and went to work putting them on the cement floor under the nest.
We went as far as we could in the garden so mother robin could come pick the worms to feed her babies.
Then I saw that there were a few strawberries ready to pick. “Oh,” I said, “we will have strawberry sandwiches for lunch.” Emily was surprised! “I never had strawberry sandwiches.” “OK,” I said. “I’ll show you how to make them.” So, back at the house I showed her how to: Put slices of bread in the toaster, just enough to dry the bread. Spread a little butter on the toast, slice some berries over the butter and then sprinkle a little sugar that I had in a saltshaker. She did it very well all herself. She did a very good job for a four-year-old. She enjoyed eating them also.
Then, time for a nap. I said, “Today we are not reading a story. We will write one.” Emily told me in her own words, “The Trip to the Garden,” as I wrote them down.
She became Emily Dousewicz. What a girl she was! I think she lives in Charlotte as Mrs. Brad Douscewicz.

Sincerely,
Germaine LeClair

A special thank you to CVU students

On 11/11/11 the CVU Student Council hosted a Rave at the school. Raves in general have a bad reputation; not this one. This one had heart and soul. It was in honor of Joe Shook, a student who passed away over the summer. Joe adored music, and he loved to dance, so this was a very fitting tribute to his memory. Students who attended were greeted at the door with a smiling picture of Joe - it set the tone for the evening. Everyone had fun, they were respectful, and most importantly, they raised money for the Partners In Adventure Joe Shook Scholarship Fund. The fund allows children and young adults with disabilities to attend summer camps provided by Partners In Adventure. Admission at the Rave was $5, but many students added more to the donation box, and the evening raised just over $1,500. As a para-educator at the school, I could not be more proud of our students. Thank you!

Sheila Kazak
Board Co-President
Partners In Adventure

Praise for Puncuation

Very serious matters regarding the possible installation of solar panels on town-owned property and related environmental matters are well covered in The Charlotte News. This letter adds praise for totally correct spelling when referring to  “Thompson’s Point.”  Starting In the 1960s, the late Colonel Elbridge Colby, a Point resident, waged literary warfare to insure the retention of the apostrophe. He did lobbying and won a victory from the state’s library board about this punctuation nicety. Your usage upholds a grand tradition!  

Kay Teetor

VELCO’S herbicide application is not a transparent operation

You bet those herbicides migrated away from the substation! And they stayed around in the surface water -- the waters of the state -- for at least a month, long enough for the Agriculture Department to find them.
In 2009, a small group of residents of Lynrick Acres was able to get the attention of the Public Service Board about VELCO’s intention to treat the Charlotte substation near wetlands with four herbicides, a drift retardant and another chemical product called a “surfactant.” VELCO had already violated terms of its Certificate of Public Good by treating the Blissville substation next to a wetland in 2007 and 2008 with herbicides.
In July 2011, after the Public Service Board relented, VELCO had the Charlotte and Shelburne substations treated with four herbicides. In August, one month later, Agriculture staff found three of the four herbicides in nearby surface water at the Charlotte substation. These herbicides can harm plants and amphibians at very low concentrations.
No one notified us of the treatments, in spite of requests for notification. I learned about it after the fact from the Agency of Agriculture. I am thankful for its tests, completed just before Hurricane Irene destroyed the state laboratory in Waterbury.
I expect to attend the next meeting of the Vermont Pesticide Advisory Council to seek more oversight and will let the Selectboard know of any developments on this issue. You can see more detail on this situation at my website, earthcommunityadvocate.info.

Sylvia Knight