​By MIKE DONOGHUE
Islander Staff Writer

GRAND ISLE -- Town Clerk and Treasurer Melissa Boutin held off her former assistant Linda Effel for both posts during Town Meeting voting, while Jeff Parizo defeated Rachael Griggs 456-348 in a race between incumbents on the Selectboard.

Eric Godin defeated Ronnie Bushway in a battle of former selectboard members seeking to return to the board for a 3-year term.  Godin won 478-342.

In the race for treasurer, Boutin nipped Effel 428-408 for a 3-year seat.  It was unknown late Tuesday if Effel would seek a recount.

Boutin had a little more breathing space in the race for town clerk with a 455-380 edge over Effel, a former Grand Isle County State's Attorney and Zoning Administrator.

Grand Isle Town Meeting Day was more active this year for a combination of reasons.  The Selectboard meetings have become somewhat contentious in recent months.  Also Effel stepped down as Boutin's assistant on the day she filed to run for office to challenge her boss for both jobs.
 
Griggs, who is finishing her first 3-year term and is board clerk, opted not to seek another 3-year term.  Instead she decided to challenge Parizo, the vice chairman, who was seeking his third two-year term.  That opened up the Bushway-Godin race for the seat Griggs held.

The town reported 849 residents voted, including 711 by early balloting, out of 1,654 on the town checklist

All special ballot items, including town budgets were approved by voters by wide margins.

The Islander, which went to press this week before the polls closed, will have more details in next week's print edition.

​By MIKE DONOGHUE
Islander Staff Writer

SOUTH HERO --  South Hero residents voted 291-182 on Town Meeting Day to give preliminary approval to allow cannabis retailers and associated businesses to operate in the island community.

Specifics for any possible cannabis businesses, including locations, must still be approved by South Hero officials and potentially the state of Vermont.

In the only contested race in South Hero on Tuesday,  Charles Hulse defeated Robert Fireovid 297-103 for a 3-year term on the Selectboard.  Chairman Jonathan Shaw did not seek re-election. 
Shaw said 500 residents voted early or came to the polls on Tuesday out of 1,611 voters on the town checklist. 
 
Besides retailers, the marijuana-related article included others "licensed to engage in cultivation, wholesale, product manufacturing, retail, and testing of cannabis and cannabis products."

Shaw said Riyaz "R.J." Merali, who operates Nadia's, a health and wellness store on U.S. 2, asked the Selectboard to put the question on the town-wide ballot.

Merali, who lives in South Hero, was the owner/pharmacist at the former South Hero Pharmacy in the village until August 2020.

He cited the potential taxes from cannabis-related items that the town of South Hero would be able to share.

"Marijuana is being used in the state of Vermont and the islands," he told The Islander last month.

Merali said his store customers have asked him if he might expand into the cannabis business.  It was unclear how many other businesses might be interested in expanding into the drug business in South Hero.

South Hero was the only Champlain Island town to vote on the cannabis issue this year.  Alburgh, North Hero, Grand Isle and Isle La Motte all opted to pass, but may have to weigh in at some point if they want the decision left to local residents and not the state of Vermont.

The annual South Hero elections were somewhat quiet this year with only the one contested race.

Town Clerk and Treasurer Janet Yates is retiring this month after 29 years working for taxpayers. 

Erin Morse, who has been shadowing Yates, was uncontested for the clerk's 3-year post.

Assistant Treasurer Kim Julow was uncontested in her effort to move up to the 3-year posts of town treasurer. 

Selectboard member Graham "Skip" Brown had announced he was retiring, but filed on the final day when nobody sought the 2-year seat. 

Other seats also were uncontested.

Read next week's The Islander for more Town Meeting Day results.  The Islander went to press on Tuesday before the polls closed.

By MIKE DONOGHUE
Islander Staff Writer
NORTH HERO -- Two convicted felons, wanted for failure to appear in Vermont Superior Court in North Hero,  both remain on the run after judges in two nearby counties struck bail for them.
Instead, the two state judges told police when they arrested the suspects in January to issue new court citations. The defendants ignored them again.
Grand Isle County State’s Attorney Doug DiSabito said both cases are part of an ongoing disregard for proper bail requirements and a breakdown in the current statewide unified judicial system.
DiSabito, in a letter to Chief Superior Court Judge Brian Grearson, said judges sitting in Chittenden and Franklin County struck bail for two dangerous felons after they were caught in January.  Both defendants  subsequently blew off the citations that the judges directed police to re-issue, he said.
Grearson responded in a Feb. 16 email it would take him time to research and connect with all the court officials.  DiSabito responded that he appreciated the effort, but noted “time is of the essence.”  He reported the court in Grand Isle County had been left in the dark and his office was never notified that the felons were arrested and then freed.
DiSabito said the documentation speaks for itself.  It reported:
-- Kristin K. Verchereau,  36, South Hero has eight failures to appear, five felony convictions, seven misdemeanor convictions and was due to appear in court in North Hero in January, but was again another no-show.  An arrest warrant was issued and bail set at $50, but struck when she was arrested.
-- Stephen G. Bessette, 34 of Alburgh has two felony convictions, 14 misdemeanor convictions, eight pending charges and two failures to appear.  He was wanted for both simple assault and violating his conditions of release.  Bessette also was facing two violation of probation complaints -- one for threatening behavior and the other for failing to communicate with his probation officer.  DiSabito asked for $1,000 bail.  Judge Robert Mello 
DiSabito said he learned in early February that both Verchereau and Bessette were at the Anchorage Inn in South Burlington.   When he reached out to South Burlington Police, they told him they had arrested Bessette on Jan. 4, but Judge Martin Maley had ordered the $50 bail be struck.  He told city police to issue Bessette a new citation ordering him into court in North Hero.
Bessette never appeared for his Jan. 14 hearing and the Grand Isle County Court was never notified that the arrest had been made.  
DiSabito said Maley apparently struck the bail based on a memo from Chittenden County State’s Attorney Sarah George where she said she would not seek bail in most cases.
“...George’s polices and guidelines have absolutely no authority or force in Grand Isle County,” DiSabito said in his 4-page letter to Grearson.
DiSabito said he learned Colchester Police had arrested Verchereau on Jan. 12 on the Grand Isle County warrant for failure to appear.  When Colchester Police contacted Judge Howard VanBenthuysen, he  ordered her cited into court and told the arresting officer to explain that bail would be increased if she failed to appear.  Verchereau failed to appear on Feb. 12 in North Hero  as directed by the judge, DiSabito said.
And just like in the Bessette case, the Grand Isle County Court was never notified about Verchereau’s arrest -- nor was his office, DiSabito said.
DiSabito said both the Vermont Supreme Court and the state legislature consider a defendant’s appearance at a court proceeding of paramount importance.
He noted this was the latest snub in a long series that the court in Grand Isle County has endured at the hands of the Vermont Judiciary. 
DiSabito noted that State Sen. Randy Brock, R-Franklin/Alburgh appeared to hit the nail-on-the-head when he recently opined  “this situation is part of a broader problem with the organizational performance of the Judiciary.”
DiSabito noted the Vermont judiciary moved to a unified court system, but has been unable to ensure proper protections.
He said if the Vermont Judiciary can’t fix its own problem, the legislature may need to step in.   He copied Sen. Dick Mazza, D-Grand Isle/Colchester, Brock, his seatmate, Sen. Corey Parent, R-Franklin/Alburgh and Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, chair of the judiciary committee.
Also copied were Reps. Leland Morgan and Michael Morgan, both R-Grand Isle/West Milton, Sheriff Ray Allen and former State Sen. President Pro Temp John Campbell, who now oversees the state’s attorneys and sheriffs in Vermont.

BY MICHAEL DONOGHUE
Islander Staff Writer

ISLE LA MOTTE -- The town of Isle La Motte has plans to postpone its March town meeting after coming to agreement with the Vermont Secretary of State and Attorney General concerning possible flaws in adopting the proposed annual budget and warning the town wide vote, officials said.

The postponement is still subject to the full ILM Selectboard taking formal action to cancel the March 2 vote and coming up with a new plan and voting date.  The new date must be at least 30 days after the Selectboard can sign a new public warning and post it alerting voters about the issues to be considered and also after a publicly warned informational meeting is conducted.

The mailing of town and union school district ballots had been held up in recent days while Isle La Motte and state officials attempted to sort out a few municipal election problems.

Meanwhile officials with the Champlain Islands Unified Union School District were scrambling on Friday to get school ballots in the mail to the roughly 465 Isle La Motte residents on the town checklist. 

The union school ballots were expected to be mailed earlier with the town ballots, but Clerk and Treasurer Sarah Noble said late Thursday afternoon the municipal ballots were on hold until more was learned from Vermont Attorney General T.J. Donovan and Secretary of State Jim Condos.

North Hero and Grand Isle had earlier mailed both union school district and town ballots together.

Attempts to reach Selby Turner, chair of the ILM Selectboard, were unsuccessful. 

Rusty Spaulding, the senior Selectboard member, said the town plans to have at least one informational meeting on Saturday Feb. 27.  Another meeting, which was proposed at the last minute for today, is off.

The Attorney General's office said part of the need to pull the plug on the March 2 vote was due to the Isle La Motte Selectboard never allowing town taxpayers a chance to weigh in at any time during the budget building process in recent months.

If the ILM Selectboard does formally postpone the town vote, it will eliminate one of the other problems expected on Town Meeting Day.  The union school district had agreed on Jan. 19 to have day-long voting on March 2 at the Isle La Motte town offices.

During a Jan. 26 meeting, the Isle La Motte Selectboard voted to have voting on March 2 -- at the same time 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.  --  but at the town's elementary school about a half mile away. 

ILM residents opting for in-person voting would have been required to go to both the school and town offices to cast their respective ballots.

The switch in the town meeting date is due in part to the ILM Selectboard conducting at least three secret meetings the public was never warned were happening, according to Assistant Attorney General Michelle Anderson, who is chief of the Administrative Law Division.

Former Selectboard member Sylvia Jensen filed a complaint at a Dec. 29 Selectboard meeting when she learned the 3-member panel had secret, unposted meetings on Dec. 21 and Dec. 28.  The Selectboard later acknowledged it held a third unannounced budget workshop in January.

When the Selectboard took no action on Jensen's open government complaint, she filed a formal protest with the Vermont Attorney General.   

Turner, as chairman, maintained no board decisions were made on the budget, Anderson said. The Selectboard later acknowledged the work sessions did violate Vermont law and promised to warn future budget sessions.  The Selectboard also agreed to allow the public to weigh in on the budget.

Yet during a Jan. 26 meeting, the Selectboard -- in one single motion -- approved its proposed $535,971 town budget and the official warning for all ballot items.  When Jensen and another resident tried to ask questions, they were waved off and told "no questions."

Will Senning, chief of elections for the Secretary of State's Office, said it was important to hold an informational meeting and take questions.

"They need to take feedback and they need a new warning," Senning told The Islander.

Anderson agreed with Senning in her letter to Turner, as board chair, late Thursday afternoon.

"You agreed to cure any violation by ensuring all such meetings would be open in the future. You further stated that the public would have an opportunity to comment on the budget materials assembled prior to the opportunity to vote on it," Anderson wrote.
 
"Although the Board addressed the matter in a subsequent public meeting and announced that such budget sessions would be open in the future, you did not provide the opportunity for the public to comment on the budget," she said.

"This omission makes the proposed cure ineffective," Anderson said in the 2-page letter that also was sent to Jensen and The Islander.

"Upon further discussion, you agreed to hold an additional public meeting, providing the public with an opportunity to make comments and present questions on the budget," she wrote.
 
 Anderson said for the cure to be effective, the meeting needs to be held prior to the public voting.

"This necessitates a delay in the voting date to comply with applicable election laws," she said.

Anderson said Turner, on behalf of the town, agreed Isle La Motte would take several steps proposed by the Secretary of State's office to ensure the violation is cured and the town complies with Vermont election laws.

"I further advise that you work with the Vermont League of Cities and Towns to update the Board’s training on open meetings, Anderson said at the end of her outlining the corrective steps.

The Islander will update this news story for the print edition.

By MIKE DONOGHUE
ISLANDER STAFF WRITER
GRAND ISLE -- The new communications cell tower at the Grand Isle County Sheriff’s Department is expected to be in operation by early January.
Sheriff Ray Allen said the 180-foot tower is in place and now AT&T needs to add the generator and the antennas to the cell tower.
“We are moving ahead.  By the beginning of the year, we should be in operation,” Allen told The Islander on Monday.
The overall plan calls to expand and improve wireless broadband service for residents and travelers in the area, while also providing a major service upgrade for the sheriff’s department.   The deputy sheriffs were looking for better phone service while patrolling the county in their cruisers, but also needed help with their mobile computers, Allen said.
AT&T is using the top tier of the 4-tier tower, Allen said.  There is no word yet on possible rental of space for the other three tiers, he said.
A Caledonia County company teamed up with a New York contractor to help get the tower in place last Tuesday.
Workers from Classen’s Crane Service of Waterford used an enormous crane to lift sections of the tower.   Project Manager Nick Spaziano of Schumaker Construction of New York took to the air to help guide them into place.
The Vermont Public Utility Commission granted approval this spring for New Cingular Wireless, doing business as AT&T Mobility, to install the communications tower at 10 Island Circle in Grand Isle.
Allen offered to host the cell tower after two earlier proposals by the utility last year for a 140-foot tower for separate lots on Lovers Lane in Grand Isle were not well received by local residents because of neighborhood concerns.
The new 180-foot monopole tower will have a 50-foot-by-50 foot fenced compound.  The project includes an equipment cabinet, underground and overhead utilities and a backup generator.  The pole will have 6 mounted panel antennas.
Allen said the cell tower also will be important for the region because the sheriff’s office is now serving as the new Emergency Operations Center should a disaster hit Grand Isle County. 
Staff Photojournalist Rob Swanson contributed to this news report.

By MIKE DONOGHUE
Islander Staff Writer
NORTH HERO – One of the all-time gems of Grand Isle County -- Shore Acres Inn and Restaurant – will be in new hands by Jan. 15.
Mike and Susan Tranby are selling the 46-acre site with 1,800 feet of waterfront to Neil and Kelly Gillespie, who have been part-time residents of South Hero since 2009.
“It is totally in good hands,” Susan Tranby told The Islander.
“Things moved really quickly,” said Neil Gillespie, who estimated he would eat at the business about once a week.  “We don’t want to change the DNA of the place.” 
The couple was dining earlier this summer at Shore Acres and learned the -inn and restaurant were for sale, Gillespie said. 
Gillespie said he stepped about 15 feet away from their dining table and called an old friend with a long career in the hospitality business to get his thoughts on the property and maybe running the show if the sale went through.
Jason Hanny said he was surprised by the call, but began his research by Googling the inn’s website and The Islander newspaper.   It included a news story with a color photograph of the Tranbys by the front door and saying they were putting the iconic business on the market.
Hanny said he arrived in Vermont four days later from Virginia with his yellow lab, Sawyer. After 30 seconds at Shore Acres he realized that would be his next big career adventure.  The inn has 23 rooms with 19 on Lake Champlain.  
A purchase and sales agreement was negotiated for the property this summer. The proposed purchase price is $2.95 million, Gillespie said.
For the Tranbys, who own 50 percent of the business, they won’t be going far.  They are moving into a home on Station Road that they own, Susan Tranby said.  She and her husband will be available to help the new owners, she said.
Shore Acres was purchased in 1981 by Doug Tudhope and his wife Billie, along with friends Jack and Shirley White.  Tudhope, a former high school social studies teacher and state legislator, wanted to ensure the lakefront property in his home county was not converted into condos.  The Tranbys, who became managers, were eventually allowed to buy half with the Tudhope and White families splitting the other half.
The Gillespies will have full ownership as the Tudhopes and Mrs. White divest, Susan Tranby said.  

Into the future 

 “We are looking forward to it,” Neil Gillespie said in a phone call from the couples South Hero home earlier this summer.
They were married at the historic Old Round Chuch in Richmond in 2005 and later built a home in South Hero.   The couple also lives in Virginia, but Gillespie says summers and skiing remain strong magnets for Vermont.
Hanny said much will remain the same because of the long-term success of Shore Acres, but some new treats will be offered down the road.  
Neil and Kelly Gillespie plan to provide for 60 socially-distant seats inside the main restaurant -- down from the 80 seats pre-COVID-19.  They also will add an outside bar near the water at the north end of the property with picnic tables, umbrellas and more for another 50-to-60 patrons.
A dock also will be added to help accommodate boaters interested in making a stop for a delicious meal or some drinks, Hanny said.   Shore Acres also plans to add some Adirondack chairs with a fire pit near the water to handle another 30-to-40 patrons.
The new watering hole will be known as Bravo Zulu Lakeside bar, Gillespie said.  It means “Well Done,” he said.
After striking the purchase and sales agreement earlier, the new owners have been going through the steps to get square with the state by securing tax permits, opening bank accounts and other steps for a new business.  They are using local contractors whenever possible for any repairs or upgrades.
The Gillespies and Hanny also are reaching out to local and state officials to see what might be needed.  At some point they will appear before the North Hero Selectboard to get a new liquor license for the business.
Hanny and Gillespie said the business plans to offer some nights to local non-profits, including fire departments and rescue squads to host fundraisers.   
The Gillespies also plan to continue the many positive stars that have made Shore Acres a huge success in Vermont, according to Hanny, who will live on the property and serve as general manager.
“We’re super excited and absolutely love this place,” Hanny told The Islander.
The key is to be good neighbors, Hanny said, and Shore Acres will continue to be a welcoming spot.
Gillespie said the business currently employs about 45 people.  The plan is to hire another 20-25 part-time employees – with first chances going to local residents, he said.  If there are not enough applicants from the Champlain Islands, the business will look outside the county, Gillespie said.
They also will be looking to offer various jobs on the premises to military veterans.  Gillespie is a 1977 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy.  After finishing at Annapolis, he did six years of active duty and eventually ending his career as a retired commander in the naval reserve.
He went on to work for a private defense contractor, Booz, Allen and Hamilton, and retired 9 years ago. 
His wife operates Kelly Green Energy, an efficiency consulting firm.
Shore Acres also will be looking to work with colleges that offer internships for those in the hospitality industry.  Interns will be able to learn about the operation of an inn, a top-notch restaurant, a lakefront bar and a scenic wedding site, Gillespie said.
Reports of the sale of the business had been circulating in late summer, but Susan Tranby wanted to wait for some final steps, including inspections to be completed before going public.   Those have all been completed, she said this week.  It is full speed ahead.

By MIKE DONOGHUE
ISLANDER STAFF WRITER

NORTH HERO -- Rep. Leland J. Morgan and his nephew Michael R. Morgan will serve as the two state legislators for the Grand Isle-West Milton district in Montpelier for the next two years.

The state's only recount from the General Election showed a few numbers adjusted across the six towns, but not enough to change the winners announced on Nov. 3.

The outcome ends -- for the time being -- the 18-year legislative career for House Speaker Mitzi Johnson, D-South Hero.  Michael Morgan appeared to win the second of the two seats in the district on election night by 20 votes and Johnson requested the recount.
 
Morgan's lead grew to 21 votes after the recount when Johnson lost 1 vote.

The final recount totals showed:
Rep. Morgan, a Republican from West Milton, remained the top vote getter with 2,778 votes on Friday, picking up two votes above the election night total certified by Secretary of State Jim Condos.

Michael Morgan, also a Republican from West Milton, remained at the 2,627 votes announced on election night.

Johnson finished the recount with 2,606 votes.   She had finished with 2,607 votes on election night.

Democrat Andy Julow remained in fourth place with 2,405 -- up one vote from Nov. 3.

The recount at the North Hero Community Hall began at 9 a.m. and was over by 4:30 p.m. 

Grand Isle County Clerk Susan Bohannon told The Islander she will file a written report with the results early next week with Vermont Superior Court Judge Robert Mello in North Hero, who will be asked to certify the outcome.

The recount went somewhat smoothly throughout the day.  The counters did have to run the ballots from Grand Isle a second time because there was a discrepancy of about 30 votes.  However the second time with a different machine, the Grand Isle numbers matched the election results from Nov. 3.
Bohannon said the recount required masks for all counters, candidates, media, officials and anybody wanting to attend.  Hand sanitizers and gloves also were available.

The Islander will have more details in the print edition next week.

By MIKE DONOGHUE
ISLANDER STAFF WRITER 
NORTH HERO -- The recount for the Grand Isle-West Milton legislative race is set for Friday at the North Hero Community Hall.
Democratic House Speaker Mitzi Johnson, D-South Hero requested the recount when it appeared she fell short of re-election to Republican Michael R. Morgan of West Milton by 20 votes.
The final tally, according to Secretary of State Jim Condos, for the two-seat district showed:
Rep. Leland J. Morgan, R-West Milton, the top vote getter at 2,776 and his nephew, Michael Morgan with 2,627 as the apparent winners.
Johnson, who has served for 18 years in the legislature, trailed with 2607 votes.  Democratic Andy Julow, who lost in the primary four years ago, finished with 2,404.
There was the potential for 11,570 votes for state legislators by 5,785 people voting.  There were 1,146 blank votes, or about 10 percent of the potential total turnout between early voting and in-person balloting.
Michael Morgan carried his home precinct of West Milton with 495 votes, while Johnson took her hometown of South Hero with 759.  Julow was first in his town of North Hero with 365.
That left Rep. Morgan as the top individual vote-getter for each of the three remaining towns: Grand Isle (670), Alburgh (602) and Isle La Motte (184).
Johnson, who has been the Speaker of the 150-member House for 4 years, remains busy trying to get the upcoming sessions ready, even if she is not there.   
The Grand Isle/West Milton race is the lone recount from all the statewide and local contests in the Vermont General Election, Condos said.
The recount begins at 9 a.m. and is open to the public, but with COVID-19 concerns officials are asking people as to whether they need to attend.
“I want this to be as safe as possible,” Grand Isle County Clerk Susan Bohannon told The Islander.
Bohannon said the plan is to require masks for all counters, candidates, media, officials and anybody wanting to attend.  She said hand sanitizers and gloves will be available and physical distancing will be in place.
“We are having the recount at the Community Hall.  It is a much larger space,” Bohannon said.
Two years ago a legislative recount in the general election was held in the upstairs courtroom at the Grand Isle County Courthouse in North Hero.   Four years ago a legislative recount in the primary election was conducted at the Chamber of Commerce Office in North Hero.
Five of the six towns used voting machines this year.  Isle La Motte used hand counting.
Towns with 1,000 registered voters or more are required to use machines, Condos said.  He said about a half dozen towns were able to obtain voting machines this year when COVID-19 relief funds were made available for free to Vermont towns.
Bohannon said vote tabulating machines from Alburgh, Grand Isle and Milton will be brought in to help process all the ballots as each town count is conducted.  One local election official from each of those three towns will help monitor their tabulator, she said.
Bohannon said the three machines should help speed the process.  Two years ago the recount used only one tabulator.
The ballots were due to be delivered to the county courthouse by the six towns on Tuesday.  Teams of one Democrat and one Republican from each town were directed to make the delivery, Bohannon said.  The ballots will be stored in the vault until Friday.  
The Grand Isle County Sheriff’s Department will provide a deputy sheriff on Friday to deliver the ballots from the courthouse down the street to the community hall for the recount and will remain on duty until the work is complete, Bohannon said.
She said she plans to work with Grand Isle County Assistant Judges Joanne Batchelder and Sherri Potvin on Thursday setting up the Community Hall so the counting areas are spread out.
The four candidates were asked to submit possible names to be part of the recount.  As of last week Judge Robert Mello had appointed the following:
Democrats Bob Ayres, Diane Bahrenburg, Leisa Fearing, Susan Davis, Jeff Potvin, Michael Inners, Tim Bourne, Claire LaVoie, Jenn Wood and Harry Parker.
Republicans Rose-Marie Cheeseman, Mary Louise Lombard, Robert Lombard, Robert Griswold, John Larabee, Jeffrey Parizo, Yancy Martell, John LaBarge, Roland Latimer and Wendell Noble. 
Bohannon said she believed the judge would whittle the list to six for each party with the remaining members serving as alternates as needed.
The past two recounts had some theatrics and in one case the vote was overturned.  Four years ago retired State Judge Ben Joseph of North Hero was able to overtake Andy Julow of North Hero in the Democratic primary when South Hero made mistakes recording vote totals.
Two years ago there was some question about whether a ballot bag in South Hero had been compromised, but eventually was cleared, officials said.

By TONYA L. POUTRY, Islander Editor
NORTH HERO – It is quite disappointing to announce the cancellation of the 4th annual Champlain Islands Christmas Parade on Dec. 5th.
Our wish for a community celebration needs to be deferred due to the latest sharp uptick in positive tests for COVID-19 for safety reasons.
The Christmas Parade committee initially decided in late September to go forward with the parade after many considerations of safety for the community and participants of the parade and following the statistics provided by the State, showing a downward slide of the rate of infection.
By parking the parade floats at Knight Point State Park -- instead of the traditional moving event -- and allowing people to view the lights from their slow-moving vehicles, the committee believed this would ensure the safety of attendees and participants. 
Now, just weeks later, we are faced with a surge of cases that cannot be ignored and the sad reality that COVID will not permit the parade to go on. 
The parade committee reached out to the Agency of Commerce and Community Development (ACCD) for guidance as to the best way to proceed given the rising case numbers and where we stand today. The ACCD permits drive thru events, however the guidelines for gatherings does not permit members of multi-households to gather. There is not a way to enforce adherence to these guidelines from the standpoint of participants or attendees of the parade.
There is speculation that following the Thanksgiving holiday and school break for students, the numbers Vermont is currently seeing will continue in an upward tread with a forecasted 153% increase in cases in the next six weeks Commissioner of Financial Regulation Mike Pieciak said on Tuesday.
At his bi-weekly press conference Tuesday, Gov. Phil Scott said “from Oct. 1 to the time of Friday’s announcement, 71% of outbreaks were linked to social events.”
Scott also said, “In the environment we are in, we’ve got to prioritize need over want.” 
“The number of people in hospitals is growing across the country, because some care more about what they want to do over rather than what they need to do to help protect others – keep kids in school, keep people working…” 
Grand Isle county has the second lowest number of COVID infections in the state. The parade committee would like that trend to continue by prioritizing need over want.
“Our hope was to bring some much-needed joy to the community for the holidays.” Jeff Parizo of the Parade Committee said.
“It was the hope of the committee that we could make this event happen in a safe and enjoyable way without increasing the risk of a COVID spread within our community. With guidance from the State, we cannot guarantee the guidelines set forth will be adhered to,” Parizo said.
Some ideas that we have discussed is to start planning now for a fantastic event next year – perhaps the same concept of a parked parade at Knight Point State Park with food vendors, music, activities, and more.
For this year, wouldn’t it be great to decorate a little brighter? Perhaps, still create a float and park it in front of your home or business. 
The Grand Isle Sheriff’s Department plans to have their boat glowing with lights in front of their office in Grand Isle soon after the Thanksgiving holiday.
If you are decorating your home or creating a float – send an email to islander@vermontislander.com to be included in our Holiday Light Tour listing to be published beginning in the Dec. 2 issue of The Islander and feel free to email a photo of your decoration to the above email address to be share in the newspaper and online.