Archive - 2009
January 15th
By JOHN FLOWERS
MIDDLEBURY — Proposed 2009-2010 spending plans for six of the Addison Central Supervisory Union’s (ACSU) seven elementary schools are on target for increases of less than 2.4 percent, thanks to what administrators are calling some conservative budgeting and a one-time accounting change for busing services.
By KATHRYN FLAGG
BRISTOL — Shabana Basij-Rasikh was six years old when the Taliban took power in her native Afghanistan, banning women and girls from attending school or obtaining an education.
So, soon after, Shabana became “Shaban,” dressing as a boy in order to attend a secret school where one teacher covertly tutored 140 girls.
By KATHRYN FLAGG
SUDBURY — Plans for the Leicester/Sudbury/Whiting community school fizzled on Saturday when Sudbury residents narrowly defeated a measure for planning funds by a vote of 66-60.
The measure, which voters initially knocked down 54-44 on Nov. 10, would have contributed $7,000 to the tri-town effort to draw up plans for the potential school.
By ANDY KIRKALDY
RIPTON — The Middlebury Union High School Nordic skiing team enjoyed its only home meet of the winter with three top-20 finishes in the girls’ race and two top-20 placements in the boys’ event in excellent conditions at Middlebury College’s Rikert Ski Touring Center on Saturday. Otter Valley’s Rainer Kenney also cracked the boys’ top 20.
By Karl Lindholm
Where’s Waldoboro?
Only about 50 miles from Lewiston, where I was staying with family for the holidays. So the morning after Christmas I headed down the coast to Waldoboro, Maine.
January 13th
By JOHN FLOWERS
MONTPELIER — State and local lawmakers had some harsh words for Gov. James Douglas’s priorities for 2009, an agenda that includes scrapping the state’s current education funding law, level funding public schools and revamping Vermont’s environmental permitting system.
By KATHRYN FLAGG
ADDISON COUNTY — After bracing for a dismal holiday shopping season this year, many local retailers were pleasantly surprised to see sales hold steady and in some cases increase slightly over last December’s figures.
MIDDLEBURY—By now, François Clemmons is an old hand at planning Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations. At the height of the Civil Rights movement, Clemmons helped make large, annual vigils in King’s honor a success in New York City. Since then, the current Alexander Twilight Artist-in-Residence at Middlebury College has seen countless MLK events come and go. But, far from being rote or routine, this year’s celebration promises to hold a deeper meaning than usual for many observers.
