Current News

Each year the Shelburne Police Department recognizes individual contributions in carrying out traffic safety initiatives.

Patricia G. Ford of Charlotte was the recipient of the Shelburne Police Department's annual "Saved by the Belt Award."

The only time I could be assured of being able to sit down and chat with Mike Poirer, the general manager of Marco's Pizza, was before the restaurant's dinner rush. And so, at 4 p.m. last Wednesday, I did just that.

On Monday morning, April 19, contractor JC Antone began construction on the Mt. Philo Road sidewalk. The new sidewalk will run from Falls Road to Wild Ginger Lane along the east side of Mt. Philo Road. The path on Mt. Philo Road will run approximately a half of a mile.

The landscaped pond, located just outside of the Town Center, has been a labor of love. The site has been designed and maintained by the Shelburne Charlotte Garden Club, along with the Town Building and Grounds Committee.

The Shelburne School Board has announced that Allan Miller has accepted the co-principal position in the middle school. Miller replaces John Bossange, who retires at the end of the school year in June.

Shelburne area quilter, Hope Johnson, has been selected as a semifinalist for the 2010 American Quilter's Society (AQS) Quilt Show and Contest, April 21-24 at the Paducah Expo Center in Paducah, Ky.

It is census-taking time again - it rolls around every 10 years and it seems to come more quickly with each passing decade. When I was a child, I remember listening in the background when the man would come to our house and ask questions about who lived there, what we did for work, etc. I did not know then how important and necessary that information was; it plays a large part in many local decisions.

When a plant shows a change of color and starts to yellow or pale, begins to lose leaves, drops buds or blossoms, what is wrong? What is the cause for plant distress? Is it bugged? Is it suffering from too much or too little water? Is there a nutrient deficiency? Is it getting too much or too little sun? Is the soil too rich or too poor? Has there been an injury to the plant or to its roots?

Earth Day marks its 40th anniversary on April 22. There will be many celebrations and activities happening throughout the country. Thanks to the efforts of our local Natural Resources committee, one of the events taking place in Shelburne is a nature walk on the Shelburne Bay Path trail led by resident and author Marilyn Webb Neagley.

Thursday, April 22 at 6:30 p.m.

Dr. Karambu Ringera of Meru, Kenya, will visit Champlain Valley Union High School on April 19-20 to speak with the community and students at CVU about her work related to the international peace movement.

When the new school year dawns next fall at the Shelburne Community School, teachers, parents, and students will see new and familiar faces. The Shelburne School Board heard about several of the changes at its recent meeting.

Nancy Gerwig, professional dog trainer and walker, says there are two things that are very important when it comes to owning a puppy. The first is to have a well-socialized dog that is not aggressive around other canines. The second is to have a dog that can be trusted to behave off leash. Gerwig said that even if your dog is not off leash very often, it is reassuring to know that if they do get away, they will come back and will not run away or into the road.

Shelburne residents Chris Kapsalis and Sean Folley were first to speak at the Selectboard meeting on Tuesday, April 13, with a presentation regarding the procedures and practices of the Development Review Board (DRB). Their concerns included the transparency of the board with regard to the deliberative sessions. They also noted the complexity of the finding of facts in the DRB's Shelburnewood application.

Leadership is like being at the top of a 30-foot diving board in a dark room and knowing you have to jump. Just as you get ready to jump, the custodian yells, "Can't remember whether I filled the pool or not."

Shelburne entrepreneurs have been busy and are ready for your business. Three Shelburne residents have recently opened three new and different businesses. The businesses run the gamut: a new eatery in Shelburne Bay Plaza, locally designed fashion-forward aprons for the ladies, and a new and improved kennel for canines.

The state's leading hospitality industry professionals gathered at the Stoweflake Resort in Stowe for the 27th Annual Vermont Travel Industry Conference on April 7 and 8. Wind Ridge Publishing of Shelburne was one of the Silver Sponsors of the conference and was represented at the event by its Destination Vermont magazine staff.

The Shelburne Planning Commission met April 8 and voted to hold two public hearings on May 6 to discuss the request of business owners Brianne and Matthew Taylor to change their current zoning designation of Village Core Overlay District to the Village Center Commercial district.

Visiting the new lambs and their moms at Shelburne Farms is a favorite pastime in the spring. And this year there are a lot of lambs to see - more than 100!

Earl Handy is the friendly face behind the counter at Handy's Diner in Burlington. He is not only behind the counter, he is also waiting tables, in the kitchen, and behind the office desk. Earl runs the diner in every sense of the word. Here is some more about his life, career, and family.

Greer's Dry Cleaning, a locally owned and operated dry cleaning service, has long been known for its customer service and community involvement. In keeping with that reputation, Greer's has kicked off a major campaign to benefit the American Cancer Society (ACS). Anyone who opens an auto-pay account with Greer's Dry Cleaning will have 3 percent of the sales donated to the "Making Strides" program.

Christopher L. Dutton of Shelburne was named president and chief executive officer of Vermont Electric Power Company earlier this week following a vote by Vermont Electric Power Company's board of directors.

Champlain Valley Service Corps Of Retired Executives, (SCORE) will present an "All About Franchising" workshop on Wednesday, April 21, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. in Burlington. This workshop will provide helpful guidelines on buying and owning a franchise, discuss misconceptions about franchising, how to find the right franchise for you, and useful information if you are considering selling franchises for your business.

Recently, the Shelburne News welcomed four new students from Shelburne Community School who are going to write articles about their school, the activities going on there, and student experiences. These eighth grade students are Erica Issenberg and Sophie Johnson from the Symphony team, and Connor Gobeille and Neel Bose from the Holden House team. The four students are here because of community service, a program at SCS that enriches the eighth grade on what's going on in their community and how to give back to it. The four new students will be here all semester, writing articles about SCS from the perspective of people who know about it the most: the students.

The 2010 Champlain College Young Writers' Conference will be held May 21-23 at Champlain College. The deadline for applications for the three-day event for high school-age writers is Friday, April 16. Applications are available online at www.go.champlain.edu/write.

On March 30, CVU hosted a community-wide math information night and provided an opportunity for community members to listen, learn, and converse about math education in grades K-8. Math experts from across the state and from within our own Chittenden South Supervisory Union (CSSU) schools presented current research in the field of math education and its implications for instructional "best practice."

The CVU School Board took a short field trip at its last board meeting to the CVU cafeteria to learn about the school's food service. Food Service Director Leo Leforce explained the food service mission statement to the school board, which is to provide high quality, well-balanced, nutritious meals to the students every day.

"Finding True North: Reclaiming Integrity and Courage in Professional and Public Life" Free public address at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 30, at Saint Michael's College Chapel, Colchester

Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery of Shelburne, will be showing "Wanderings: Photographs by Gary Hall, Lynda Reeves McIntyre, and Asa Sourdiffe" April 23-May 25 with an opening public reception on Friday, April 23, 6-8 p.m.

I admit it. I follow too many sports: basketball, hockey, and soccer just to name a few. But my favorite sport, by far, is baseball. I'm such a fanatic I started celebrating Major League Baseball's opening day. Last year I sent family members a care package of peanuts, sunflower seeds, and Cracker Jacks. This year they received baseball movies: "The Natural," "Field of Dreams," "Bull Durham," or "A League of Their Own." My opening day celebration has already come and gone. The regular season is underway: 153 more games to go.

Have you heard the new buzzword in Shelburne? If you've been around youth sports at all, chances are you may have heard about the Positive Coaching Alliance (PCA). Several local youth organizations, including the Northern Vermont Boys Lacrosse League, Shelburne Little League, and CSB Hockey have all endorsed the PCA program and are requiring coaches and parents to participate. Although Shelburne Recreation has not made participation mandatory for parents or coaches, we strongly encourage them to look into the program and learn more about it. You may be surprised at how much you can learn!

A vulnerable heel did in Achilles and a tender Achilles tendon has hampered the start of Emma Hulburd's running career at Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina. A four-time Vermont high school individual state track champion for Rice Memorial, the Shelburne native limped through much of her freshman year at CCU after injuring an Achilles last summer. The injury limited Hulburd's cross country season and she missed the indoor track season after aggravating her Achilles at Thanksgiving.

The Hinesburg Hurricane wrestlers competed in the grades K-6 state final wrestling tournament Saturday, April 10 at Essex High School.

It only took 15 minutes for this reporter to be inspired by high school student-athlete Sean Keenan. It was more than his athletic abilities that impressed me. It was his overall character and intellect, his positive attitude about life, his interests, and his ability to face challenges and solve problems.

by Danielle Frawley The Shelburne Selectboard will make a decision that stands to have enormous impact on the future of the Shelburnewood development at its April 27 meeting: who will next hold the three contested seats on the Shelburne Development Review Board (DRB)? The three DRB members' whose terms expire are Chair Peter Gibbs, Kay Krashaur, and Dick Elkins. All three incumbents have stated their desire to be reappointed. Two of the three DRB members (Krashaur and Gibbs) did not sign the approval for the development's Preliminary Plan Application with conditions, and Peter Gibbs again did not sign the application after the board reconsidered and modified the conditions late last week. When reached for comments last Friday regarding the most recent modifications, John Giebink of the Green Mountain Development Group stated they are not planning to apply for final plan approval for Shelburnewood, but they are also not going to formally withdraw their application. "We don't see that the current board has the appetite to do the project which has been so endorsed by everyone else in the state," Giebink supplied. Four Shelburne residents and the three incumbents are vying for three DRB seats. At the March 9 Selectboard meeting held at Wake Robin, several Shelburne residents stood up asking the Selectboard to appoint new members to the DRB. Many residents voiced opinions that the DRB had been secretive in their decision about Preliminary Plan Application approval in their deliberative sessions. Other community members supported current members and said it has been the practice of the Town to reappoint those board members who wished to be reappointed. Town Manager Paul Bohne said that in the nine and a half years he has been Town manager the incumbents who sought reappointment have continued to serve for another term. Bohne also said that since the DRB was formed in the fall of 2007 there has not been "an abundance of applicants." According to Bohne, residents may apply for the seats up until the April 27 Selectboard meeting. Most other appointments for board seats in Shelburne were made at the last Selectboard meeting on March 23. The decision as to who will serve on the DRB, as well as on the Ethics Committee, and Pierson Library Board of Trustees was postponed to April 27, because all Selectboard members will be present at that meeting, which was not the case at the March 23 meeting. When asked to outline the protocol for the selection process, Bob Roesler, chair of the Selectboard said that the Selectboard asks questions of the candidates, such as, "are all candidates viable and are they coming to us to volunteer for the right reasons? What's in the best interest for the entire town of Shelburne? How do [the candidates] feel they will interpret the ordinances, rules, and regulations?" Roesler went on to say that these candidates "are entrusted with interpreting these ordinances etc. regardless of their own particular opinions. From the board's standpoint it is great to have choices, and we try in those interviews to find the best choice for the Town as a whole."