The Burlington Free Press from Burlington, Vermont • Page 12

W)t Turlington Ifree JjresK Towns CONTACT US Mail: Burlington Free Press, P.O. Box 10, Burlington, Vt. 05402 E-mail: townsbfp.burlingtonfreepress.com Thursday, May 12, 2005 Towns Editor Jessica Hyman 660-1849 or (800) 427-3124 Page 2B Essex Junction Community Calendar fans urged to take part in plan Merger By Victoria Welch Free Press Staff Writer Essex and Essex Junction residents interested in serving on a committee charged with drafting a merger plan for the town and village may submit letters of interest to their respective municipal offices, town and village officials said this week. The 10-member committee will be composed of three residents from the town and the village, and two members of the Essex Town Selectboard and the Essex Junction board of trustees, trustee Deborah Billado said Wednesday. tees and Selectboard," James said.

Alan Nye and Linda Myers will be the Selectboard members of the committee, James said. The trustees have not determined who will serve as their representatives to the committee, Billado said. The boards agreed to add a stipulation that neither James nor Village President Lawrence Yandow Jr. could serve as a member of the committee. Contact Victoria Welch at 651-4849 or vwelchbfp.burlingtonfreepress The committee groundwork was laid out Monday evening, during the first merger meeting between the two boards.

Members of the boards established the committee purpose and time frame, with the hopes that residents of both town and village could vote on a merged charter in March or April, Billado said. "This issue has been beating the communities for 40 or 50 years now. I just think the emotional wreckage on the communities can never be calculated," Billado said. "We don't know where we could have been today had this been resolved 30 or 40 years ago. Something needs to happen one way or the other.

We think the best route is to let the taxpayers tell us." The boards hope to have a committee established by July and begin meetings by late summer, said Tom James, chairman of the Essex Town Selectboard. "It feels very good to have things started, to have gotten such a decisive vote from the voters and then to have the cooperation between the trus Natural Talents Photos by AND DUBACK, for the tree Press Students from Stafford Technical Center in Rutland (from left), senior Griff Mahoney of Fair Haven, junior Will Marsh of Rutland, junior Calista Bromley of Clarendon and senior Matt Hayes of Brandon, answer quiz questions at the wildlife station during the statewide Envirothon environmental education competition Wednesday at Shelburne Farms. Burlington Retirement Board: 8:30 a.m. today, City Hall. Children's Garden Plant and Bake Sale: p.m.

Friday, Burlington Schools Central Office, Colchester Avenue. Charlotte Lecture and Workshop: Friday and Saturday, Charlotte Congregational Church. Rev. J. Philip Newell of Edinburgh, Scotland will lecture on "Listening for the Heartbeat of God," 7:30 p.m.

Friday, donations accepted; workshop on "'Celtic spirituality 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, $40. 425-3176. Chittenden County Winooskl Valley Park District: Board of Trustees, 4:45 p.m.

today, Ethan Allen Homestead, Burlington. Yard Sale: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 80 Kirby Road, South Burlington. Proceeds benefit Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf Lunch Program.

Anne Corley 864-6316. Kans for Kids Bottle Drive: Until Saturday, drop off at M.T. Bellies, Dorset Street, South Burlington. Proceeds benefit KidSafe Collaborative, the YMCA, and Kids on the Block. 863-9626.

Chittenden East Supervisory Union Mount Mansfield Facilities Committee: 6:30 p.m. today, Browns River Middle School, Jericho. Mount Mansfield School Board: 7:30 p.m. today, Browns River Middle School. Chittenden South Supervisory Union Williston School Board: 6:30 p.m.

today, Williston Central School. Colchester Fire District No. 2: Prudential Committee, 7 p.m. today, Mal-: lefts Bay Fire Department. Essex Junction Unified Union Meeting: 7 p.m.

today, Center for Technology Essex. Middle School Movie: p.m. Friday, Brownell Library. "Freaky Friday." Rated PG-13. Free popcorn and soda.

Pajama Story Time: With Kenneth Mulder, p.m. Friday, Brownell Library. All ages. Register at 878-6956. Huntington Property Taxes: Due at the Town Clerk's Office until 4 p.m.

Monday. Mailed payments must be postmarked May 15 or sooner. JerichoUnderhill Hydrant Flushing: Today. If water is discolored let run until it clears. Library Trustees: 7 p.m.

today, Deborah Rawson Memorial Library. Milton School Board: 5:30 p.m. today, Elementary School District training room. Shelburne Planning Commission: 7:30 p.m. today, Town Center Meeting Room 1.

Baby Time: 10:15 a.m. Thursdays, Pierson Library. For newborns to age 2. Informal time to share the world of books. South Burlington 'Book Discussion: 10:30 a.m.

to-' day, Senior Center, 7 Aspen Drive. "The Story of Lucy Gault," by William Trevor. Sponsored by the South Burlington Community Library. Underbill! Property Tax Payments: Due Monday. Drop box available at the new town hall entrance until midnight.

Postmarks not accepted. Westford Unified Union Meeting: 7 p.m. today, Center for Technology Essex, Essex Junction. Williston Recreation Committee: 7 a.m. today, Town Annex.Library Centennial Celebration: 1 p.m.

Saturday, Old Brick Church. "Teddy Roosevelt: Mind, Body and Spirit," presented by actor Ted Zalewski. 878-4918. Merger committee Essex and Essex Junction residents interested In serving on a committee to form a merger plan may submit letters of interest to their respective municipal managers. Village residents may send letters to Charles Saf-ford, Village Manager, 2 Lincoln Essex Junction.

Town residents may send letters to Pat Scheidel, Town Manager, 81 Main Essex Junction. Letters of interest must be received by June 3. Brief serves on many boards, including Brandeis University, Aspen Institute, the Foundation for Women's Resources, Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government, and Save the Children. Vermont Woman Newspaper is a statewide monthly dedicated to providing a woman's perspective.

Tickets for the May 22 event cost $25. Call 861-6200 or go to www.vermontwoman.com for more information. Summer starts right in Essex parks programs ESSEX The Essex Parks and Recreation Department has scheduled several events this month: Leg Bail 5-Mile Run: Saturday, Indian Brook Reservoir. Registration forms are available at 81 Main St. and online at www.essex.org.

Fly-Fishing Clinic: Wednesday, Indian Brook Reservoir. Picnic Pizzazz: 3-7 p.m. May 21, Essex High School. Get ready for summer by learning how to take the average picnic or backyard barbecue to a new level. To register, call 878-1342.

S. Burlington yard sale to benefit food shelf SOUTH BURLINGTON A South Burlington resident is holding a yard sale this weekend to benefit the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf Brown Bag Lunch Program. The food shelf provides bag lunches each day in the summer to children, homeless people and families, youth groups and the working poor. The sale will be from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday at 80 Kirby Road. For more information, call Anne Corley at 864-6316. Historical Society to bring great flood of '27 to life RICHMOND The Richmond Historical Society's May meeting will include a talk by Nicholas and Deborah Clifford on the great flood of 1927, The presentation will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday in the community meeting room at Richmond Free Library. It will chronicle the events of the flood, which struck Vermont and much of the Northeast.

A number of Richmond's covered bridges were lost, and flood-waters reached well into the village areas of Richmond and Jonesville. It took a two-year effort to rebuild from the disaster. i Deborah Clifford is a local historian and author; Nicholas Clifford is a professor of history emeritus at Middlebury College. They are working on a book about the flood. The talk Is free and public.

For more information, call 434-3654 or 434-6453. Jericho series turns to future of housing JERICHO The Village of the Future community discussion series continues from 7 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, in the Fireplace Room at Deborah Raw-son Memorial A panel of housing experts from the area will talk about housing needs, present examples of village housing development, and explain how other towns are addressing housing concerns. The presentation will be followed by an open discussion about housing possibilities in Underhill Flats. For more information, contact Bob Robbins at 899-2436 or robbinstogether.net.

In Tom Brennan to host scholarship spelling bee Business and community teams will go head-to-head today during the ninth annual Zonta Spelling Bee at Cham-plain College's Alumni Auditorium. The event benefits the Champlain College Single Parents Program scholarship fund. The master of ceremonies will be former University of Vermont basketball coach Tom Brennan. The single-parents program provides support to single parents who are working toward a college degree and juggling family responsibilities on a low income. Zonta International is a service organization of executives in business and the professions working together, across political and social boundaries, to advance the status of women worldwide.

reception starts at 6 p.m. and the spelling starts at 7. Admission is $10. Call 860-2747 for more Letter carriers to collect food donations Saturday The National Association of Letter Carriers, In conjunction with the U.S. Postal Service, will collect nonperishable food Saturday.

Food donations left at home mailboxes will be taken to the local post office and delivered to a local food bank or pantry. Items such as canned meats and fish, canned soup, juice, pasta, vegetables, cereal and rice are suggested. Out-of-date items or those in glass containers cannot be accepted. For more information, visit www.nalc.orgcommun foodrive VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: The Chittenden Emergency Foods Shelf In Burlington needs volunteers to sort food from the letter carrier drive. The food shelf is expecting more than 25,000 pounds of food, said director Wanda Hines.

"Traditionally, this is the largest food drive of the year." Volunteers should go to the food shelf at 228 N. Wi-nooski Ave. from 1 to 6 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call 658-7939.

Richmond staff changes will be final May 19 RICHMOND The Select-board has approved final changes to the clerk and treasurer's office staff. Longtime Clerk and Treasurer Velma Plouffe will become treasurer May 19, and her assistant, Linda Parent, will become clerk. Melanie Farr was added to the staff May 6 and will be assistant to both clerk and treasurer. "We hope the transition is seamless," Selectboard Chairwoman Fran Thomas said. "Our goal is to have the customer-taxpayer see no difference." Town Administrator Ron Rodjenskl Jr.

said the town came in under its $92,700 budget figure for the office salaries. He estimated the new structure will cost the town about $88,000. Ann Richards to speak at Vermont Woman event Ann Richards, governor of Texas from 1990 to 1994, will be the featured speaker for the Vermont Woman Newspaper lecture series event at 4 p.m. Sunday at the Sheraton Burlington Hotel and Conference Center In South Burlington. A longtime advocate for civil and individual rights and economic justice, Richards Envirothon tests students' knowledge of environment By Andrea Posig Free Press Correspondent SHELBURNE About 55 students from five Vermont high schools attended the Envirothon, an annual environmental education competition held Wednesday at Shelburne Farms.

The competition, which was first held in Vermont in 1996, tests the students' ecological knowledge in a variety of subject areas including aquatics, forestry, soils and wildlife. "The Envirothon helps high school students feel connected to the earth and learn about concepts of environmental science," said Carrie Riker, Envirothon coordinator. "It may even get them interested in careers in this field." Students from Essex High School, Missisquoi Valley Union High School, Peoples Academy, Stafford Technical School and Websterville Baptist Christian School participated. Several of the schools entered two teams. The program begins in the classroom at the beginning of the school year, includes a one-day training session in April, and culminates in May with the daylong Envirothon competition.

At the competition, students spend the day working together to complete 45-minute tests at five stations, which include aquatics, forestry, soils and wildlife, and a 15-minute oral presentation on a current environmental topic. In addition to promoting teamwork, the competition pushes the students to expand their environmental knowledge, said Thorn Villars, a soil scientist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service who helped head the Envirothon soil station Wednesday. "The amount of information necessary to learn is almost as dense as an introductory college course," Villars said. "It really is a challenge for the students to learn all of this material." The experience is not only enriching for the students; it also gives environmental professionals the chance to interact with one another, said Marie Caduto, an agricultural resource specialist with the Vermont Natural Resource Conservation District and one of three women in charge of the aquatics station. Amy Picote, who works in the water quality division of the Department of Environmental Conservation and helped head the aquatics station, agreed.

"The Envirothon is exciting for the students, but it's also great for us to see these high school students really inter- ested in environmental issues," Picote said. At some schools, Enviro-thon-related topics are built into the science class curriculum; at others, preparing for Students answer quiz questions at the aquatics station Wednesday. Teams of Vermont's top high school science students applied reasoning strategies, knowledge and experience to solve environmental problems during the event. Envirothon winners Top score in aquatics: Stafford Technical Center, Rutland Top score in forestry, soils, wildlife, orals and team spirit: Essex High School First place overall: Essex High School Second place overall: Stafford Technical Center team 1 Third place overall: Peoples Academy Team 1, Morrisville For more information, or to participate in next year's Envirothon, call 888-9218. the competition is primarily an extracurricular activity.

"We practiced several nights a week for about one or two hours," explained Envirothon participant Tucker Campbell, 15, of Missisquoi Valley Union High School. The event was coordinated by the Vermont Association of Conservation Districts, which worked in conjunction with several other state agencies to raise funds for and staff the event. The winning team, Essex High School, will advance to the national competition, which will be held in Missouri in July..