Saving the Binghamville Church
Some
buildings in a town are like anchors. They serve as solid reminders of the
common ground that a settlement¹s townspeople hold‹bonds of community, shared
interest, and mutual vision. No matter a family’s politics or religious
beliefs, these spaces serve to unite us as humans. It is here that we share spaghetti and attend crafts sales, here
that we catch up on the school budget and the weather. Here, we compare garden
notes, complain about this year¹s lack of rain, and comment about the presence
of new houses on our roads, or about the size of our neighbor¹s pumpkins. When such places are in trouble, our
collective imaginations shudder.
Receiving the letter in the mail detailing Binghamville United Methodist Church¹s urgent need to raise $30,000 for a new roof this past Saturday, I found myself deeply affected. Since the day I moved into my house on Fletcher Road nearly four years ago, the church has served as a reminder to all that we hold in common and dear. Though I do not personally attend services there on Sunday, it is a comforting sight as I wind around the bend toward Cambridge, a reminder of our town¹s history, a symbol of 100 years of former townspeople’s hopes and faith. I often wonder how many weddings have been held there, how many funerals? In addition, the church has been there when I needed it. The weekend after the World Trade Center bombings in 2001 found my family feeling aimless and confused. Not sure how to express my own feelings of vulnerability, concern, and confusion following the attacks, I found myself wishing for a company of townspeople, of those with whom we share common ground. Nine a.m. on September 16th found my husband, son, and me sitting in the pews at the church, listening to a visiting speaker. I don¹t remember her name, but I know that she made me feel comforted and safe, protected for the moment by the shelter of the familiar and known. In addition, the service and its attendees gave me faith. Sitting amid my neighbors restored my sense of calm and gave me hope.
Sitting at my desk on a Saturday late in October when the leaves on the old
maple in my back yard have already fallen, I am trying to avoid thinking of a
life without the Binghamville Church.
The church is one constellation that I don’t want to live without. I
don¹t want to think about the absence of the church bells, as they sound off
the hours, of their distant echo, coming to me across the woods, road, and
hills, gathering as Thoreau said the "sounds of the vale" as it goes.
I’m writing today because I have faith in community. I’m writing because I believe that we can make a difference by
coming together to raise money for the restoration of the church roof. As the church’s Board of Trustees chair
Charles Tinker writes in his letter, "if we are to preserve the building,
the roof must be replaced now." I
plan not only to send a donation to the church but to offer my services as a
grant writer. I urge all townspeople to
help in whatever way that they can, no matter how small. It is a time for action. In Marianne Moore’s poem, "The Steeple
Jack," she writes of her affinity with a town. Her piece seems a fitting way to end, the last word hovering as
it does on a word that I hold dear in a post 9-11 world: "hope."
Dürer would have seen a reason for living
` in a town like this...
The hero, the student,
the steeple-jack, each in his way,
is at home.
It could not be dangerous to be living
in a town like this, of...people
who have a steeple-jack placing danger-signs by the church
while he is gilding the solid-
pointed star, which on a steeple
stands for hope.
Linda Young is a writer who lives in Fletcher. She will contribute a column to the newsletter and is particularly interested in local history, community-building, and town issues. If you have a column idea, please email her at blyoung@sover.net.
Congratulations, Kim!
Kim Tantlinger, the 17 year-old daughter of Bill and Ellen Tantlinger of Shaw Road, was the second runner-up in the 2003 Miss Vermont Teen USA pageant held November 2nd and 3rd at the Radisson Hotel in Burlington, VT. The pageant had 37 contestants and was judged on poise and appearance during personal interviews, swimsuit and evening gown competitions. Kim is a freshman in college studying Communications and Public Relations.
Northwestern Vermont Regional Road Map
The Northwest Regional Planning Commission, in cooperation with the Islands and Farms Regional Marketing Organization and Franklin County Industrial Development Corporation is pleased to announce the development of a Northwestern Vermont Regional Road Map. The map covers both Franklin and Grand Isle Counties, with special insets of St. Albans, Swanton, Enosburg Falls, and Richford. It includes 911 road names, points of interest, and State and Federal lands. The map was developed through a process known as the Regional Block Grant partnership, which is a statewide process to encourage Regional Planning Commissions, Regional Development Corporations, and Regional Marketing Organizations to work together to address common regional needs. The project partners agreed that a regional transportation map would benefit local citizens and visitors and assist in business recruitment. For a free copy of the map, call the Commission at 524-5958.
The
Principal’s Corner
As winter’s darkness descends, it always helps to count your blessings. Although being a public servant means that you’re always involved in some kind of controversy, it seems healthy to consider the good things that occur in your professional life. In a season of darkness, each positive event is like a candle flame - comforting and warm. For those of us working in school, it is the children that bring so much light into the darkness. For even on the gloomiest day, their smiles, innocent perspectives and never ending energy are enough to lift even the heaviest spirits.
Each week I have the pleasure of teaching a reading class in one of our third and fourth grade classrooms. Called “Junior Great Books,” the class is basically a book discussion group in which quality literature is read to students, who are then asked to analyze the writing to derive t he author’s intent. We don’t ask silly questions like, “How many times did the Big Bad Wolf try to blow down the brick house?” Instead we pose questions that are open to interpretation and then ask the students to support their opinions by referring back to the text. The funny thing is that I, the teacher, seem to learn as much about each story, and about the intelligence and wisdom of my discussion group, as my students do.
After all, the very best learning experiences are those that passionately engage both student and teacher. Our group invariably ends up debating, defending, disagreeing, and building upon each other’s opinions. Sometimes a planned half an hour discussion lengthens into an hour and fifteen minutes. Time flies as we
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Principal’s Corner (continued from page two)
engage each other in the “group discovery” process. There’s never a right or wrong answer; so long as an opinion can be supported, it is acceptable to us. It’s a terrific way to end each week.
Every chance I get I
visit the classrooms to observe our excellent teachers at work and to sample
the activities that engage our students.
In the past weeks I’ve seen a rocket launching performance (5/6 science),
watched first and second graders learn touch typing, observed a math class
estimate how long it would take to tap their fingers a million times ( 3 to 5
days) . They then extrapolated that it
would take 10 to 12 years to reach a billion taps. As with the reading group, the right answers were less important
than the process used to get there.
Listening to the children describe their strategies was
fascinating.
If I really need to lighten up, I monitor the lunchroom. The children are a riot. I’ve seen 37 different ways to eat a potato puff. I’ve heard every silly joke known. How do the same bad jokes and riddles that we traded when we were kids turn up in a twenty-first century school?
Recess duty provides many bright moments as children madly dash around the playground immersed in fantasy games, or seriously competing in the Fletcher original, World Cup Soccer matches. Recess give a teacher the chance to spend some quality time just being with the children, engaging in casual conversation and seeing them in a less formal setting.
School Board Meeting Excerpts
September 18 (Unapproved):
· Approved payment of invoice for asphalt work.
· Approved request to use school for private instrumental music program.
· Reviewed School Data Presentation
· Approved up to $3,000 to upgrade cameras and lighting for security system.
· Discussed fuel oil purchasing plan.
· Discussed Facility Maintenance Plan.
· Completed final reading and accepted Capitalization Policy.
· Adopted Comprehensive Assessment Plan.
· First Reading of Student Attendance and School Crisis and Prevention Policies.
· Discussed personnel issues; increased preschool position by .10.
Town Office News
The General Election was on November 5th, here at the Town Office. The turnout was great! Fletcher had 80% of our voters show up! The results for Fletcher are: Congress: Meub-121, Sanders-293; Governor: Douglas-206, Hogan-42, Racine-172; Lt. Governor: Dubie-186, Pollina-123, Shumlin-108; St. Treas: Labarge-147, Spaulding-240; Sec. Of State: Bertrand-154, Markowitz-249; Auditor of Accts: Hyde-168, Ready-222; Atty Gen.: Drown-114, Sorrell-219; State Senator: Collins-157, Kittell-234, Rosenquist-116, Shea-102; State Representative: Allard-209, Gregoire-188, Howrigan-271; High
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Town Office News (continued from page three)
Bailiff: Blouin-221, Johnson-161. Our Town Justices are: Lars Baris, David Clark, Roger Dreher, Frank Driscoll, Jan Hilborn, Phil Ide, and Tammy Langlois. Congratulations!
The Office will be closed on November 28th and 29th for Thanksgiving. AND in December we will close at noon on the 24th and the 31st and, of course, we are closed all day on the 25th and January 1st, 2003, for Christmas and New Years!!!!
As a reminder to all -- my Holiday Party is December 7th…come on out and have some fun and kick off the Holiday Season! As I’m writing this….I’m looking at a foot of snow….YUCK, I think winter has arrived!!!! :-( HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!
The Zoning District
Editor’s Note: I asked Bill if he would write an article explaining the difference between the Town’s former Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) and the new Development Review Board (DRB). He kindly agreed, and also offered to write a “fairly regular” article. If you have questions about zoning that you would like Bill to address, please send them to him at the Town Office or to me at the newsletter address. While he cannot answer questions about a specific property in the newsletter, he can answer questions about a general situation. His column is meant to be an educational forum and will not constitute an official zoning ruling.
Zoning
It is my observation that many people are confused about the zoning process and what the roles of the various boards and officers are, and it's easy to see why. This month, I will describe the purpose and function of each.
At the town level, there are three main entities involved in overseeing zoning: the Planning Commission, the Development Review Board (DRB), and the Zoning Administrator. These entities have specific zoning matters under their authority as defined by a fourth, and ultimately, superior, player, the State. It may not be widely known, but the State Legislature delegates powers to the towns, and towns are not permitted to assume any authority not specifically delegated by the legislature (more on that later).
The Planning Commission's duties include preparing a town plan, writing zoning bylaws, and other functions directly related to land use and other long-term planning for the town's needs. The Zoning Administrator (ZA) is the person responsible for the day-to-day oversight of the zoning bylaws. His responsibilities include review and disposition of zoning permits, enforcement of zoning bylaws, and assisting the public with zoning questions. The Development Review Board (DRB), as its name suggests, is charged with overseeing all issues concerning development that require a level of scrutiny greater than that allowed to the ZA. These include appeals of ZA decisions, conditional use approval, variances, subdivision review, and others.
As I mentioned previously, the State has a major involvement in local zoning. Many requirements of our zoning bylaws are specifically mandated by State statute. These include access to development, the 15-day waiting period after permit approval, enforcement procedures, the criteria for variances and many
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Zoning District (continued from page four)
more. The State also has specific requirements for town plans, board procedures, permit recording - practically every move local officials make is predetermined by State statute.
There are also other, very important participants in the zoning process: you, the public. In future months, I will use this space to give explanations of other aspects of zoning, in the hope of shedding more light on this subject.
New Bylaws
On October 25th, Fletcher voters approved new zoning bylaws. The bylaws became effective as of that date. Copies are available at the Town Clerk's office and soon will be available online at the town web site which can be seen at http://www.bivio.com/fletchervt/files/Main.html. If you have any questions about the new bylaws, please contact me and I'll do my best to answer them.
Planning Commission
Now that the Fletcher zoning bylaws have been approved, we are turning our attention to updating the town plan. We welcome your participation in this effort and hope you will offer us your ideas and concerns. At this time we are forming an outline of each section of the plan, assuring that we include all the mandatory elements as required by the State's enabling legislation. The Planning Commission meets the first Thursday of each month and will devote a portion of our meeting to public comment.
We will be gathering information from various sources around town to help us make our decisions. If you would like to discuss the plan or any planning issues with one of our members privately, you are welcome to contact any Planning Commission member individually. We are: Randy Henninger, Peg Kinne, William O'Brien, Eastman Root, Suzanne Stritzler, and Cheryl Vreeland.
Select Board Meeting Excerpts
September 30 (Approved):
· Discussed questions by Rugg Road residents about Town taking over only a portion of the road; Board will render decision at next meeting.
· Discussed potential hazard of accumulated gravel on sharp curve at Fairfield/Mayotte Road intersection and request for short length of pavement to mitigate; Board will take under advisement as project for next year.
· Continued discussion of trapping nuisance beavers; State permits trapping as long as poison is not used. Board expected to grant permission to trap at North Road next meeting.
October 7 (Approved):
· Discussed complaints about grading of School and Metcalf Pond Roads.
· Raised possibility of turning the 4-way Binghamville intersection into a 4-way stop due to poor visibility and lack of yielding/stopping by traffic.
· Noted need for additional gravel on Rugg Road before Town can accept upper portion to Irish’s driveway as Town Road.
· Reviewed year-to-date road budget.
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October 7 Excerpts (continued from page five)
· Noted that traffic study and road and culvert inventory should be available in one November.
· Resident requested right-of-way through a town-owned property at southern end of Metcalf Pond.
· Discussed of nuisance beaver trapping; no decision.
· Discussed need for overhead branch and tree cutting on roads.
· Reviewed applications for Road Crew position.
· Received complaint about horses in Metcalf Pond swimming hole and creating possibility of water contamination.
· Set regular meeting dates for Select Board of 1st and 3rd Monday of each month.
· Discussed town-owned land parcels; intend to prepare proposal for consideration at next Town Meeting.
· Received complaint about problem with barking dogs on Mayotte Road.
October 21 (Approved):
· Executive Session to interview candidates for Road Crew position; no action taken.
· Discussed right-of-way request from last meeting; agreed to visit site before next meeting.
· Discussed Binghamville intersection; need to gauge public sentiment; will contact State engineer for informal survey.
· Discussed status of Rugg Road.
· Received permit request for private road access off Ellsworth Road.
October 28 (Approved):
· Noted new Zoning Regulations and Subdivision Bylaws became effective as of October 27, 2002.
· Discussed progress on possible changes to Binghamville intersection.
· Discussed speeding problems through town center and other places. Sheriff’s Office patrol cost too high; State Police could patrol. Town needs to have fine schedule in place for Town to keep any fine monies. Board will explore.
· Discussed request for right-of-way access across town property; no decision.
· Received and discussed letter regarding potential, partial, town takeover of Rugg Road. Resident noted takeover of upper portion only would leave financial responsibility for lower half to resident.
· Received complaint about private driveway causing flooding of adjacent property; considered a property matter between landowners.
Pre-Sort Standard U.S. Postage PAID Cambridge, VT Permit No. 4
Pre-Sort Standard U.S. Postage PAID Cambridge, VT Permit No. 4
