By TONYA L. POUTRY, Publisher
SOUTH HERO – The first ever Islander was published in April of 1974. It’s hard to believe that, 50 years later, here we are, still publishing a weekly newspaper with no plans to change that in the future.
However, we do have a change to announce.
As last Wednesday’s issue was being delivered, I received a phone call from the company that prints The Islander advising us, that “due to the reorganization of production schedules for our internal newspaper publications we will require to move production of The Islander one day later.”
My first thought was, here we go again. I still receive inquiries as to why the newspaper isn’t available on Tuesdays when we switched to publishing on Wednesday more than six years ago. I am very aware most of us do not like change.
However, change is inevitable.
After contemplating what this means for my staff, customers and community, I found myself looking at the situation as an opportunity.
With most municipal meetings held on Monday nights, the turnaround process for our writers is quite quick. When elections are held on Tuesdays, The Islander has already gone to press and is only able to provide election results online and in print a week later.
A Wednesday production date will allow us to have that information available in print within two days of the election.
Another added benefit of a Thursday publication is that it will allow us to better emphasize weekend activities and events occurring within our area of circulation.
Although change is inevitable, it doesn’t have to be looked at as bad.
Like the switch from Tuesday to Wednesday, we survived. We were able to have board meeting news immediately in the newspaper instead of a week later. Other than readers wondering why there wasn’t a newspaper on a certain day of the week, we were reminded how many people look forward to The Islander and how much it means to our readers.
All of this being said, effective the third week of March, The Islander will now be distributed every Thursday with the first Thursday issue distributed March 21.
The deadline for materials to be submitted will also change. All materials are due by 10 a.m. on Tuesday. We will have an earlier press time, so items sent after 10 a.m. cannot be accepted.
Think of it as going to a local store an hour after they have closed and trying to buy a gallon of milk. The doors are locked, and the employees have all gone home.
Please respect our deadline. It is in place for a reason. Newspapers are created in four page increments. It is not possible to add one page for a late entry. Those four pages are supported by advertising. If we don’t have the advertising to support those pages, we are not able to add them.
I am telling you this because not everyone is schooled in newspaper production and I think it is important that you have an understanding as to how it works.
The newspaper is free, but it is not free to produce.
The bills of the newspaper are the same as any small business. While we are a community resource, The Islander is a business. The room for growth is tremendous, but it can’t be done without the financial support of businesses and our readers.
Many readers want to support the newspaper, but don’t know how. Support can be given by telling an advertiser, “I saw your ad in The Islander;” by considering purchasing a subscription; or by making a donation online or by check.
Another reporter is much needed. Our team’s work load is very full and while we are able to provide the most extensive coverage for our circulation area, we’d love to find the right person to round out our talented group.
Advertising and reader support is necessary to make this happen.
To our long-time advertisers and our very newest, we thank you.
If you’re curious if The Islander works to get the word out about your business, look at any of the ads on these pages and ask them. Give me a call and see how we can help grow your business. Supporting businesses and helping them to prosper is one of our top priorities.
Now to that big ole’ elephant in the room: My ownership of The Islander.
As you may recall, in my last editorial I announced The Islander was for sale. Frankly, I was overwhelmed at the number of people that reached out with concern and surprise, and people that were upset.
I have entertained offers and have had many conversations with prospective buyers, but it appears I am not ready to let go. When I listed the business, I did so with the intention of finding the perfect person to carry on an island tradition, while having incredible enthusiasm for community, a strong belief in the First Amendment along with many other (and probably too many) key qualities. I have met several people that checked almost all of my boxes, but not all of them.
I will revisit the sale of The Islander in the future, but for now I still have gas in the tank and have been incredibly encouraged by individuals in our towns that believe in what community means.
I will close by saying the past 24 years at this newspaper has been rewarding, stressful, fulfilling, overwhelming, joyful, scary and just about every other adjective you can think of.
On the days when I am harassed for doing my job or bullied for not being a puppet, I think of the little girl who saw her picture printed on the cover of the newspaper and is now a photographer. I see Islander articles hanging in frames proudly displayed in homes and businesses. I meet people who offer a fond memory of an Islander article or photograph.
And I think to myself, “I had a part in that.” I get to continue to be a part of that.
Please fasten your seatbelts and put your tray in the upright position, because we are on to the next 50-year journey.

By MIKE DONOGHUE
Islander Staff Writer
GRAND ISLE - The Grand Isle Selectboard has agreed to have a special meeting Thursday night to discuss the substandard delivery and service issues for the town by the U.S. Post Office.
The board plans to discuss what the town and individual residents can try to do in an effort to improve mail service in Grand Isle.
Selectboard member Jeff Parizo at the start of the board’s regular Monday meeting asked to have the post office added to the agenda that night.  Because the topic was not on the original agenda, Parizo said the board could not take any formal action, but he proposed a special or emergency meeting be held this week for the postal issue.
Parizo said he was responding to a front-page story in The Islander last week outlining various problems.  The story noted no mail delivery, no chance to pick up packages, limited to no staffing, and a phone that frequently went unanswered.
Parizo said he does not subscribe to Front Porch Forum, but had been approached by taxpayers asking if there is something the town could do to restore quality postal service. 
He said he hoped the board would draw up a letter with its concerns about the local post office and send it to the Congressional delegation and to the Post Office supervisors.
Parizo said since the selectboard represents all the constituents in the town, he believed something needed to be said. He admitted the town board has no control over the post office.
“I’m not saying we are going to have or make any difference, but I think we need to say something,” Parizo said.
Selectboard Vice Chair Josie Leavitt agreed, but was among those that repeated the town has no legal authority over the post office.  The town can only reach out to the Congressional delegation and others to help put pressure on the post office.
“People are upset and understandably so they are not getting their medications.  Their bills are coming in late whatever,” she said.
She noted that 14 pallets from Amazon were left at the post office on Monday for delivery.
“This has nothing to do with the people that work at the post office. They are doing the best they can,” Leavitt said.
Local resident John Lafayette was among some residents that saw it differently.  He laid the blame at the feet of the local Postmaster, Caroline Costello.  He said he has talked with other postal employees and Costello is unable to keep employees.
“Some of it is the amount of packages and mail coming through.  But the real problem is the postmaster not doing her job.  Nobody wants to work with her,” he said.  Lafayette offered to supply names if the board needed to hear more.
Costello, reached on Tuesday morning at the post office, said she believed she was unable to speak to the media because of a USPO policy.  She said she couldn’t even respond to comments made about her personal performance.
She referred questions to USPO spokesman Steve Doherty in Boston, Mass., who did not respond before deadline.
Doherty told The Islander last week, after the print deadline, that there are no plans to close the Grand Isle Post Office.
“There are no plans to shut down the Grand Isle Post Office. Full retail and PO Box service would still be available there. There is talk of relocating the carriers to South Hero. This is to alleviate space constraints at the Grand Isle facility. Customers should see no difference in delivery operations,” he said in an email last Thursday.
But improvement in delivery operations is exactly what customers say they are seeking.
Leavitt said she had not heard any issues with the postmaster or with the lack of trying to expand the post office to handle the large overflow.
Lafayette was not alone in his concerns.
Denise Abbott Douglas said she recently was on Longmeadow Road and noticed many packages left outside the boxes in the elements.  When she stopped to check on the packages, she noticed some were destined for Grand Isle Rescue.   She said she was concerned their items would be left out in the rain and reached out to try to protect them.
She said the postal service should not be leaving real sensitive items out in the weather.
Douglas said her family had some medication misdirected to the wrong location and fortunately that somebody reached out.
“I think it is a very serious problem,” she said.  Douglas called mail for a rescue squad a “big deal” and it should be under cover.
Local resident Jennifer Morway suggested that the selectboard also offer suggestions and not just complaints.  She proposed the board suggest some extra metal containers for temporary storage.
She noted that the landlord reportedly had made multiple offers to expand the building and the postmaster had done nothing.
Selectboard member Ellen Howrigan said she believed every letter helps. She also had heard there was no response to expanding the size of the post office.
The Selectboard voted unanimously to have the special meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday and for the post office to be the lone topic that night.  Leavitt agreed to work on a draft and share it with the board to save time at the meeting.
Parizo said it should be clear in the letter that a special meeting had to be called because of the postal problems.
He said he hoped the final letter would be printed in The Islander so the entire town will understand the board is trying to work on the problem.
Chairman Couper Shaw agreed he thought the letter would have more meaning if it was signed by the full board and not just coming from one member.
A couple of speakers reported they have had good reactions from members of the Vermont Congressional delegation.  Leavitt said she has heard much from the offices of U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., but not so much U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Local resident Bianca Adams said she has had regular communication with Sanders and Welch about how bad the service is in Grand Isle.  
The sentiment at the meeting was that the residents should keep communicating with the full Congressional delegation if any progress is going to be made.  
Local resident Jean Prouty said a report calling for the closure of the Grand Isle Post Office and moving operations to South Hero was an “asinine comment.”
She noted that Grand Isle had the first rural carrier system and there is a public designation in the historic Hyde Cabin on U.S. 2.
Shaw said part of the turnover in personnel might be due to the pay.  He said nobody wants to work for $19 an hour for 12-hour days.  He said McDonald’s in Essex offers the same pay.
The idea of moving carriers from Grand Isle to South Hero, about 3 miles away, is getting a cold reception.  Grand Isle has about 2,100 residents and South Hero has about 1,700.
The only service that might remain in Grand Isle is for the residents that rent private post office boxes in the lobby on U.S. 2.
The timetable for the possible changeover remains unclear.
Similar transfers of service have been made by the Postal Service in other Vermont communities and they turned into disasters.  One of the worst was what was billed as a temporary shift of business from Williston to Essex, but it continues.
Welch, who had concerns about the U.S. Postal Service when he served in the House, said last week that he still has issues now that he is in the upper chamber.
“Our office is asking for clarity from USPS about service in Grand Isle. Any reduction would be unacceptable, and Sen. Welch remains committed to ensuring good service for every Vermonter,” an office spokesman said last week.

By MICHAEL FRETT
Islander Staff Writer

MILTON – With a chorus of shuffling rakes and brooms, the crashes of trash bags smacking a dumpster and the roar of a chainsaw clearing brand new biking trails, volunteers signaled the start of the summer parks season in Milton this weekend with a volunteer “spruce up” of Bombardier Park.

According to Jenna Tucker Eugair, the director of Milton’s recreation department, the town had made a tradition of formally opening its flagship park with an annual “Park Spruce Up Day,” inviting volunteers to help Milton’s modest recreation staff prepare Bombardier Park as seasonal park maintenance begins.

“It’s a long tradition, at least as long as the recreation department has existed,” Tucker Eugair told The Islander. “It helps get people involved and it helps us, because we don’t have a lot of people.”

This year, a team of around a dozen volunteers joined Tucker Eugair and assistant recreation director Ben Nappi in cleaning out the park’s fieldhouse, tidying up its popular dog park, hoisting tennis nets and, in a wooded area along the park’s western edge, blazing and clearing long-sought mountain bike trails.

Ryan Logan, a Milton resident and “Park Spruce Up Day” volunteer, scraped at the edges of the trails with a rake, clearing out the first leg of a growing network of mountain bike trails in Bombardier Park.

Logan, himself a mountain biker, said he wanted to lend a hand in bringing mountain bike trails “closer to home,” telling The Islander he “jumped at the opportunity” to help a larger group of volunteers with blazing new mountain bike trails through the town’s centerpiece park.

“I like to see them built,” he said, “and helping be a part of that is a wonderful thing.”

Ryan Bushey, another member of the group of volunteers tending to the trails and, as of a brief Saturday game of “Nose Goes,” the group’s anointed spokesperson, said the trails had been “years in the making” and would soon be ready for a “grand opening” planned for the coming summer.

“Milton has great opportunities for recreational activities, and mountain biking has been growing across this state, but there’s a big hole in Milton,” Bushey, another mountain biker, told The Islander. “We thought it’d be great to have something close to home here in Milton.”

According to Tucker Eugair, the project had been warmly welcomed by Milton’s recreation commission and recreation department, fitting neatly into a larger priority for the department involving the promotion of walking and biking trails in the Chittenden County community.

“Trails were one of the top requested things when we did our survey in 2019 and 2020,” Tucker Eugair said, “and we had this amazing volunteer group who approached us.”

After clearing the first leg of trails Saturday, the volunteer group began marking and blazing an eventual second leg to Bombardier Park’s mountain biking trails, paths Tucker Eugair said would also welcome walkers looking to take in the outdoors and explore the park’s forest.

Across the park, despite some initial hiccups, Nappi, the town’s assistant recreation director, and volunteer Rod Moore, the vice chair of Milton’s recreation commission, strung tennis nets over Bombardier Park’s courts that, according to Tucker Eugair, would receive a facelift in the coming months.

​While it would still be a few weeks before the park’s bathrooms could open, due to concerns relating to the ground thawing after the winter, Tucker Eugair said the “Park Spruce Up Day” effectively rang in the department’s summer season, when facilities formally opened and Bombardier Park would get a little more upkeep from staff as local families took to the outdoors.

By MICHAEL FRETT
Islander Staff Writer

NORTH HERO – Collecting at the North Hero Community Hall on Tuesday, conservation groups met with residents in the Champlain Islands to, according to regional conservation district directors, better align conservation resources with local concerns.

Directors for two of the region’s three natural resources conservation districts invited feedback during Tuesday’s forum from groups of residents following a series of charrette-style discussions about conservation concerns in the Champlain Islands and other local issues.

“This is us gathering the needs of our communities,” Lauren Weston, the director of the Franklin County Natural Resources Conservation District, said. “It’s really about gathering what you care about, so we make sure we’re all working toward the same goals and we’re not missing things.”

Natural resources conservation districts are organizations formed under state law to work with landowners and government agencies to support conservation programming in Vermont.

On Tuesday, it was the heads of Franklin and Lamoille counties’ districts coordinating the forum. Together, the two districts, alongside the Grand Isle County Natural Resources Conservation District, compose the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Northwest Vermont administrative zone.

According to Weston, Tuesday’s meeting, one in an ongoing series spanning the three counties, was intended to help regional conservation districts like hers and the Grand Isle County district to better administer grant funding toward local conservation projects.

While Weston said the results of forums like Tuesday’s would not preclude other conservation charges coming from state and federal agencies, she said they would still allow the local conservation districts to better prioritize local concerns as they move conservation resources toward existing projects.

“This is really trying to get at where needs aren’t being met in our existing system,” Weston told The Islander. “From here, we’ll follow the grant cycle and chase opportunities to meet the needs expressed.”

Those needs, according to residents of Vermont’s northwesternmost county, varied widely.

Many of those attending Tuesday’s forums were farmers, who shared concerns about being able to accurately track their environmental impacts, as well as questioned what farming could even look like in the Champlain Islands as agriculture in Vermont largely transitions away from conventional dairy.

“We want to know if it makes a difference,” one farmer said during the meeting’s breakaway discussions. “Wouldn’t you want to know?”

Others shared concerns about being able to publicly access the region’s natural resources, as well as balancing growing development pressure in parts of the Champlain Islands with environmental needs.

John Chesarek from the Friends of Northern Lake Champlain said his breakaway group talked about protecting water quality particularly as it related to phosphorus, a common nutrient that, in excess, can nurture the sometimes toxic blooms of cyanobacteria – or “blue-green algae” – choking parts of Lake Champlain every summer.

“Where is the phosphorus coming from?” he said, summarizing his group’s discussion. “Is it the farms draining into the areas where we’re sampling or is it coming from somewhere else?”

Along those same lines, others asked about whether the resources available for conservation projects would be able to reach the farmers, homeowners and municipal governments charged under state and federal laws with managing certain water quality impacts related to stormwater runoff and erosion.

Others still noted an apparent “mismatch” in the Champlain Islands between its celebrated agricultural economy and ongoing challenges with food insecurity in a county where, according to U.S. Census Bureau data cited by Feeding America, somewhere around 8% of the population and 10% of children were considered “food insecure.”

According to Weston, the director of Franklin County’s natural resources conservation district, meetings like those in North Hero last week would be recurring, taking place twice a year between the region’s three counties as conservation officials look to better understand conservation needs on the ground.

​For those unable to make any of the districts’ meetings, a survey was also circulating online where people can share their concerns. That survey can be found at https://www.franklincountynrcd.org/local.
​
“Conservation districts do great work,” Weston said. “It’s good to have this input so we’re as effective as we can be.”

By MICHAEL FRETT
Islander Staff Writer

SOUTH HERO – Not even a sheet of ice can keep some islanders from a morning swim in Lake Champlain.

​Since at least November, a group of Island residents have taken to Lake Champlain every few days, bonding initially over a daily winter swimming challenge that has gradually grown into a chance to hang out along the island’s shores.

“It’s become something we do every couple of days,” Matt Bartle, the owner of Wally’s Place and co-owner of Two Heroes Brewery in South Hero, told The Islander. “Now I just enjoy it.”

In the weeks and months since, the regular icy dips in Lake Champlain have become something Bartle said he and others enjoy, even prompting a “fear of missing out” whenever life keeps the Wally’s Place founder and Two Heroes Brewery co-owner from visiting the lake’s shores.

The group typically gathers at a member’s home on Lake Champlain. Typically, a few members wade out earlier than others to widen the gaps in the ice to accommodate the whole team. On days when the sun is out and there is little wind, Bartle said conditions can even feel warm above the water.

“You get used to it,” Bartle said.

While already a longstanding practice in much of the world, wintertime dips in lakes and ponds is becoming an increasingly popular activity among both professional athletes and everyday swimmers as some experts tout possible health benefits associated with chilly swims and others look for community activities like Burlington’s almost three decades old “Penguin Plunge” to brighten dour winters.

Some evidence exists showing cold water dips could positively impact people’s circulatory system and cut down the risks for chronic diseases like diabetes, as well as benefit the physical chemistry influencing people’s mental health, but much of the often-cited evidence for cold water swims is anecdotal and few existing studies appear conclusive.

Published research on cold water swimming is also often quick to note the practice comes with its own risks, particularly the chance for an immediate shock associated with icy lakeside dips.

For locals like Bartle, there are health benefits they are “all sort of aspiring to,” but the regular winter dips in Lake Champlain have been beneficial in other ways. Bartle described it as a “confidence booster” and “revitalizing,” as well as a chance to frequently socialize with a handful of fellow South Hero locals.

“For me, it’s been strangely addictive,” Bartle told The Islander. “For those of us who have children, we go over to this person’s house and it’s like a coffee hour – if you will.”

​“Mostly,” he added with a laugh, “it’s just cold.”

By MIKE DONOGHUE
Islander Staff Writer

Twenty one schools across Vermont, including in Alburgh, Milton, Colchester and Swanton, were subjected this morning to false reports of active shooters or gun incidents.
 
“These calls were a hoax—an act of terrorism designed to create chaos and stoke fear that can be exploited," Gov. Phil Scott said in a statement. 
 
“These events are unnerving for everyone – students, teachers, parents and Vermonters. We can use this energy to come together because unity is the most powerful way to ensure terrorists do not achieve their goals," Scott said.

Public Safety Commissioner Jennifer Morrison said there were 21 schools impacted by the calls starting at 8:30 a.m.  They covered 10 of the 14 counties and ranged from Alburgh to Brattleboro and from Bennington to Derby. 
She said it appeared to be a large-scale swatting scenario and the investigation was continuing.
 
The bogus report in Alburgh was initially made to the Town Offices and not the school, according to Grand Isle County Sheriff Ray Allen.  He said he thought the caller apparently wanted somebody else to make the 911 call, which are recorded.
 
Allen said he had a couple of deputy sheriffs at the Alburgh Community Education Center (ACEC)  within a couple of minutes.  The deputies confirmed it was a hoax.
 
The other 20 false reports were called into police agencies, Morrison said.

Authorities are still sorting out the hoax calls, but perhaps the most serious one appears to have been received in Montpelier, where the report said two people had been shot at the high school,  police said. 

Colchester Police said they received a report at 9:39 a.m. that several students and a teacher were injured.  Officers responded, did a sweep of the school and cleared from the scene about 10:15 a.m., Chief Doug Allen said.

He said by coincidence Colchester Police was hosting a training session involving other departments and those officers also responded to the emergency call. 

Milton High and Missisquoi Valley Union High School in Swanton also received threats, police said.  

Rice Memorial High School in South Burlington, which has students from the Champlain Islands region, also had a similar call, Police Chief Shawn Burke said.
 
"No acts of violence have been discovered," Burke said.  The officers cleared from Rice about 10:15 a.m.

Scott, along with law enforcement and education officials hosted a noon news conference to outline what they knew.  Also on hand were key legislative leaders.

When asked about giving attention to the publicity-seeking hoaxer, Scott said transparency trumps other options when it comes to major incidents.

Education Secretary Dan French said other schools besides the 21 may also take safety steps today.  
 
Grand Isle Supervisory Union Superintendent Michael Clark said local officials reacted swiftly.
 
"Our GISU Administration worked with the Grand Isle Sheriff’s Department and our admin staff at ACEC and the other schools in GISU to quickly determine that our buildings were safe and that we followed our safety protocols.  Out of an abundance of caution we will have indoor recess today," Clark wrote. 
 
"These calls appear to be associated with ongoing nationwide hoax phone threats of school shootings, bomb threats, etc. and the Vermont Intelligence Center is not aware of any credible threats related to these phone calls," he noted.
 
"As always, the GISU will continue to take precautions around the safety of our students and staff. If there are any updates or new information, we will be sure to share that with each of you. We are grateful for our partnership with the Grand Isle Sheriff's Department," Clark said.

Scott also appreciated the work of police responding to all the emergencies.  
 
“I want to thank the Vermont State Police, local law enforcement and emergency response offices across the state for acting quickly and professionally based on the initial calls. 
 
“My office, the Agency of Education, Vermont State Police, Vermont Intelligence Center and local partners will continue to monitor this situation closely, and in the days ahead, after all the facts are gathered, we will debrief on this incident to strengthen our response," the Governor said.

By MIKE DONOGHUE
ISLANDER STAFF WRITER

The Grand Isle Supervisory Union District officials are banning fans from attending elementary school basketball games for the remainder of the season in the wake of a brawl involving adult fans at a junior high game earlier this week in Alburgh.
 
The fight became a national story when one of the adult fans on his way home was stricken about 45 minutes later and died, officials said.  The cause of death remains unknown.

Superintendent Michael Clark told The Islander today that the ban covers the final two weeks of the basketball season for games hosted by teams from Alburgh, Grand Isle, North Hero and South Hero.
 
There was no word about any impact on away basketball games played in nearby counties.
 
The GISU announcement, which came during the lunch hour, will have an immediate impact on games this afternoon when Grand Isle is scheduled to travel to Alburgh for contests between their 5th and 6th grade girls at 4 p.m. and the boys at 5 p.m.

The announcement letter from the school district noted athletics plays an important role in education.
 
"However, given the current environment, we also recognize that an immediate change must happen. To ensure the safety of all of our learning community, including students, faculty, staff, administration and the community who participates as spectators at our events, we have made the difficult decision to end spectator attendance at GISU home games for the remainder of the basketball season," the letter said.
 
The letter was signed by Clark, the 4 elementary school principals covering the buildings in Alburgh, Grand Isle, North Hero and South Hero, along with other district officials, including for business, facilities, human resources and technology.

The brawl happened during a 7th and 8th grade game when Alburgh hosted St. Albans City Elementary on Tuesday evening.  About two dozen adults were involved in the melee on the court during the second half of the boys game, according to video of the event. Some adults were involved in the fighting, while others appeared to try to be stopping it. 
 
Vermont State Police were summoned shortly before 7 p.m. for a report of a fight, but did not arrived until about 7:45 p.m. because some troopers were dealing with a car crash on Interstate 89, records show.

One of the adults believed to be involved in the incident was on his way home about 7:45 p.m. when he started feeling poorly, officials said. Russell Giroux, 60, was on U.S. 2 in Alburgh when he activated his OnStar alert system in his car and an ambulance brought him to Northwestern Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead, state police said.

The initial autopsy report does not have a cause of death and Vermont's Chief Medical Examiner Office said it was waiting for test results, including toxicology, police said.

By MICHAEL FRETT
Islander Staff Writer
ALBURGH – Voters approved Alburgh’s school district budget in a special election on Tuesday.
According to Donna Bohannon, Alburgh’s town clerk, voters approved the school district’s revised annual budget 85 to 58 in an election that saw a low turnout typical for special elections in Alburgh.
“For a revote, that’s pretty normal,” Bohannon said of the relatively low turnout seen Tuesday.
Voters in Alburgh originally defeated a previous budget proposal on Town Meeting Day, voting 170 to 152 against the annual budget funding both the Alburgh Community Education Center and affording tuition for high schoolers taught outside of Alburgh.
Following the budget’s defeat in March, school officials trimmed the school district’s proposed budget by $100,000, thinning the school’s annual operations and maintenance budget.
The revised $6.8 million education budget included funding for a new math interventionist position and for expanding a part-time guidance counselor position into a full-time position, as well as funding to cover the 10% increase in teacher health insurance premiums seen statewide.
In an interview with The Islander earlier this year, Alburgh’s school board chair, Michael Savage, said the revised budget would still likely be able to cover periodic maintenance needs at the school as well as programming needed to address COVID-19’s impact on Alburgh students.
Despite a lower equalized per pupil count and common level of appraisal, two variables in the complicated formula used by Vermont to determine education tax rates, the education tax rate in Alburgh is estimated to fall to just shy of $1.50 for every $100 of assessed property value.
In all, 192 elementary and middle school students are currently educated in the Alburgh Community Education Center.

By MICHAEL FRETT
Islander Staff Writer
 
GRAND ISLE – Grand Isle’s selectboard on Thursday backed an effort to explore potentially developing an outdoor ice skating pavilion doubling as a summer sports and performance space in Grand Isle, agreeing unanimously to endorse a grant application seeking funding to study the pavilion.
 
Brought by Grand isle residents Roth Perry, Levi Kraemer, Ralf Schaarschmidt and Ashley White, the proposed pavilion is only in an exploratory phase, currently working on fundraising for an engineering study exploring the feasibility of developing such a space in Grand Isle.
 
The selectboard asserted as much during Thursday’s hearing, stressing the hearing was regarding only a $60,000 planning grant the nonprofit organization formed to develop the pavilion needed selectboard support to access. The nonprofit would fundraise to cover the grant’s 10% match.
 
“I don’t believe we were considering a binding commitment at all,” selectperson Eric Godin said. “This was just to make these guys could get their paperwork rolling with these grants.”
 
Perry, a volunteer coach, said the idea for the pavilion stemmed from a lack of a reliable public skating rink in Grand Isle. A natural outdoor rink had been set up locally in the past, but according to Perry, inconsistent winter weather made it difficult to plan classes and programming for the rink.
 
“You’d go and you’d prep it, and then you’d have a warm-up that weekend,” Perry told The Islander after Thursday’s hearing. “You couldn’t have any programming.”
 
Initially looking at an artificially chilled rink covered with a pavilion, Perry said the idea “snowballed,” eventually evolving into a year-round space that would include a stage for performances and the ability to convert the rink into courts for other sports like pickleball and tennis during the warmer months.
 
According to the group of residents floating the pavilion idea, surveys distributed over social media and through several local organizations have pointed to there being overwhelming support for the pavilion project, with around 90% of the 290 responding residents signaling some interest in using the facility.
 
Organizers said the positive response seemed to show locals agreed that there was, in Perry’s words, interest among Grand Isle residents for more recreational opportunities on the island and “more opportunities to meet people.”
 
“I think people are really craving community,” White, one of the four organizers pitching the pavilion to Grand Isle’s selectboard Thursday, added during a subsequent interview with The Islander.
 
In the weeks since the idea was first proposed, the pavilion has also drawn support from the Grand Isle Recreation Commission and local pickleball association, as well as the Island Stage Vermont Theater and the Champlain Islands Farmers’ Market, Perry told the selectboard during Thursday’s hearing.
 
“There is a paucity of venues in the islands for theater,” Noni Stuart, the president of Island Stage, told Grand Isle’s selectboard. “Really, the only viable theater is in North Hero, and that’s a wonderful space, but we don’t have anything further south, and I just feel like this might give us an opportunity.”
 
Judy Steacy, speaking for Island Arts, echoed Stuart’s sentiments during Thursday’s hearing.
 
“We have the barn up in North Hero, but we’re looking maybe expand as well and have different performing arts we could bring to other communities,” Steacy said. “If that was something we could expand upon, that would be great.”
 
While initially imagined for either Donaldson Park or the town-owned land abutting Grand Isle’s town office and fire station, Perry and several other residents involved with the nonprofit organization sponsoring the pavilion said they would also be open to building on private property as well.
 
Part of the study sought by the pavilion’s supporters was deciding where the pavilion could ostensibly be built in Grand Isle, something Perry stressed was not explicitly focused on town property, and already town interests in potentially developing land near its offices ruled out housing the pavilion nearby.
 
Focus had fallen on Donaldson Park, however, an area where, in previous meetings, local officials had discussed attempting to drive up traffic to help discourage vandalism in the park and an area, Perry told the selectboard, recreation commissioners hoped more people would regularly use.
 
While the proposed pavilion drew vocal support from some during Thursday’s hearing, others expressed concern with potentially siting the new pavilion on town land, citing in particular the town’s possible responsibility for the project should Donaldson Park come to host the pavilion.
 
Perry and others associated with the project asserted the pavilion’s construction and maintenance would be independently supported through fundraising by their nonprofit organization, the Islands Community Pavilion Organization, pledging new taxes would not be needed for the new pavilion.
 
Josie Leavitt, the selectboard’s vice chair, said any future construction in Donaldson Park would be prefaced by a memorandum of understanding between the town’s government and the pavilion’s nonprofit outlining maintenance responsibilities, insurance liabilities and other details.
 
“There are lots of ways to protect the town in terms of ensuring there is no rise to property taxes and, you know, the tax base in general,” Leavitt said.
 
Announcements regarding the grant application the selectboard endorsed Thursday, a Vermont Community Development Program grant, will likely not be made until this coming June.