The Burlington Free Press from Burlington, Vermont • Page 13

ftfje ftorltngton Jlfree J3ress ERMONT SECTION www.burlingtonfreepress.com Wednesday, July 16, 2003 Metro Editor Ed Shamy 660-1862 or (800) 427-3124 Page IB (111) Quiet paddle 5S; Sam Hemingway City cuts woman's position Norton was cited for messy house WW, Norton lived in the house with her two sons, Andrew, 21, and a 10-year old. She was ar- By John Briggs Free Press Staff Writer Burlington will eliminate a position at its Community Justice Center to save money. Losing her job Aug. 8 will be Ellen Norton, whose house at 354 N. Winooski Ave.

was boarded shut June 11 under an emergency public health order. Harry Snyder, the city's personnel chief, said Norton's position as a restorative justice assistant at the city's Community Justice Center is to be eliminated. Norton, 45, was hired by the city in September 2001. She was placed on paid administrative leave from her $30,075 job after firefighters and police, summoned by neighbors because a smoke detector had sounded for many minutes, entered the house and found filthy conditions. Chief Code Enforcement Officer Ray O'Connor said Norton's house was a public health danger and ordered it shut.

rC "'r A canoeist paddles along beach at sunset Tuesday. Rocks pose hazard at Chimney Comer Leahy gains national support Champ remains mystery Sandra Mansi of Bristol is 60, 26 years removed from the day when her life changed forever thanks to Champ, the Lake Champlain monster. She and her family were out for a drive along the lake July 5, 1977, and stopped for a swim below a bluff overlooking the lake. As she watched her kids splash in the water, she noticed something else swimming out on the lake. Mansi's husband saw the same thing, too, and started yelling at the kids to get out of the water.

Mansi raised her Kodak In-stamatic and snapped off a frame. She then watched as the creature lowered its head beneath the waves and disappeared. "I think I saw some kind of dinosaur that day, I don't know," she reflected this week. "It wasn't a fish. No fish can hold itself up six or eight feet out of the water." The Mansi story and the image of whatever it was she photographed in 1977 is worth recalling, given the publication of new research that attempts to debunk the creature's existence.

Two articles appearing in the Skeptical Inquirer magazine allege there's no proof Champ exists other than the Mansi photo, and the Mansi photo is likely only a picture of a "large bird, known animal, or a floating tree stump." "One cannot draw a conclusion from a lack of knowledge and so, until an actual specimen presents itself, the possibility that any large unknown animal inhabits Lake Champlain remains somewhere between extraordinarily slim and none," was how one of the articles wrapped things up. In 1998, the skeptics had a different theory. In an article published in Discover magazine, three Middlebury College scientists theorized that what people think is Champ might actually be a seiche, a long, peculiar wave rolling underneath the lake's surface. The trouble is, just as no one can prove Champ exists, no one can prove it doesn't, either. That's what makes the hundreds of Champ sightings over the years so intriguing.

It's also what makes Man-si's photograph so significant. Unlike most of those who claimed to have seen Champ, Mansi and her family kept quiet about what they had seen, fearing the notoriety and ridicule they might confront. The photo was made public three years later, and experts who have studied the image assert it is genuine. "The image of him in my mind is still vivid," she said. "If you've ever had a traumatic experience you know what I mean.

It happens so fast, but in your mind it's like slow motion. I can see every detail. It was a gift." As certain as Mansi is of what she saw, she also hopes Champ is never found. "I'm afraid this whole thing could get out of hand someday," she said. "I could not live with the fact that something might happen to him, and I might have had something to do with his destiny." In the meantime, reports of Champ sightings are up this year, according to veteran Champ watchers.

Anybody for a swim? Sam Hemingway is the Free Press state news columnist. His columns appear Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. If you have a comment or tip, phone 660-1850, or e-mail For past columns, go to Ellen Norton a i June 19 in Vermont District Court on misdemeanor charges of reckless abuse of a vulnerable adult and two counts of cruelty by a person having custody of another. Her next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 6.

She couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday. Andrew Norton, according to court papers, has been severely handicapped since birth. He is blind, moderately retarded, unable to speak and, a police affidavit said, needs "intense daily care with routine tasks (and) help with basic functions." Norton's house was "un- See JOB, 3B vestigating the accident. The state Department of Transportation labeled this intersection a "high accident location" the last time it studied where the most accidents occur in the state. In 1995, it was considered the 25th most accident-prone spot in Vermont.

More current and complete records are not available because of a change in the way the department does its filing, department officials said. See ROCKS, 3B 3 to St. Albansy' -kJVIilton Her0 ExitMflf Colchester Chimney ir Corner Malleus 1. I to By David Gram The Associated Press MONTPELIER Sen. Patrick Leahy's role as a key Democratic combatant in fights over President Bush's judicial nominations is giving a national flavor to next year's Vermont U.S.

Senate campaign. Leahy's staff Tuesday filed a 746-page campaign finance report to the Senate secretary's office and the office of Vermont's Secretary of State that showed Leahy has been attracting contributions from around the country. "He's an important figure in terms of being a senior member in the Senate when we need all those Democratic the shoreline of Lake Champlain people to remain in public office," said Sarah Butten-weiser, a Northampton, writer who gave Leahy $1,500. She was one of four But-tenweisers two others were listed as living in New York and one in Belmont, Mass. listed as giving Leahy as least $1,000.

"It's a family with strong Democratic leanings," Buttenweiser said. She cited Leahy's role as ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee as a reason for her contribution. In that position, he has cheered his fellow Democrats and angered Republicans in his efforts to block confirma Lunch lessons It ALISON REDLICH, tree Press near the Shelburne town tion of some of President Bush's most conservative nominees to the federal bench. Jack McMullen, a Republican who lost his party's primary in 1998 and is running again, said in a fund-raising letter to conservatives around the country that Leahy's role in the judiciary fights has made him a "national menace. He has blocked President Bush's best nominees from becoming judges." Leahy's filing showed he had raised $1.22 million during the current election cycle.

He had raised about half that See LEAHY, 3B PETER HUOPPI, Free Press By Andy Netzel Free Press Staff Writer COLCHESTER The rocks scattered about Colchester's Chimney Corner intersection rocks that might be to blame for a Monday dump truck accident aren't a new problem for state authorities. "It's been happening for years," state District Transportation Administrator Richard Hosking said. "It doesn't happen at every intersection, but it does happen here. We have tried everything we can." The rocks are kicked up into the intersection when impatient drivers cut the corner short to make the turn from U.S. 2 onto U.S.

7 South. A Mack dump truck driver was turning right onto U.S. 7 south Monday afternoon when the weight of his load shifted, causing his truck to topple and crush one car and damage three others. One woman was injured. Driver Stanley Tracy, 62, blames rocks in the road for his inability to stop.

Colchester police are in- VERMONT Essex water and sewer rates are on the rise. 2B Economist Thomas Ka-vet (right says Vermont's economy is showing signs of recovering, but the future remains uncertain. 3B LOCAL SPORTS Vermont Expos defeat Tri-City ValleyCats, 8-3, for first road victory. 8B 1 rv 7 jrf" 1 Burlington firefighter Sean Ploof explains the interior of Burlington Fire Department's Engine 2 to Michael Flnnigan (center), 5, of South Burlington, and his brother Bailey, 3, Tuesday afternoon at Roosevelt Park in Burlington. Several firefighters were on hand to present the Roosevelt Park summer lunch and activities program with $2,200 from the Burlington Firefighters Association.

The Campaign to End Childhood Hunger contributed $2,491. Towns, 2B..