Cavendish Update 12/13/19: GMUSD, SB, News, Job, Events

CHECK THE CAVENDISH VT FACEBOOK PAGE DAILY FOR THE LATEST NEWS You don’t have to be a Facebook subscriber to see this page.

12/13/19 Cavendish Update
1. GMUSD Board Meeting 12/12/19
2.Cavendish Select Board Meeting 12/9/19
3.Cavendish Related news
4.Immediate Job Opening
5. Events

1. GMUSD BOARD MEETING 12/12/19: At last night’s Green Mountain Unified School District (GMUSD) board meeting, various members responded to Twin Rivers Supervisory Union (TRSU) superintendent, Meg Powden’s, recent criticism of the of the Financial Committee, (the entire board), saying they were not collaborating with administrative initiatives. Cavendish representative, Kate Lamphere, was quite clear that the board takes its oversight role seriously and did not appreciate Powden’s comments. Other members commented that the budget proposed by the TRSU for GMUSD, almost $1.3 million over last year, was something the communities couldn’t afford and the voters wouldn’t support.

Item #7 on the agenda, identified as “CTES Library,” was a primary concern for many in attendance. As Cavendish rep Doug McBride pointed out, it’s not CTES’s library but rather a public library, which CTES has the good fortune to use. As it is, CTES only contributes approximately 2% (approximately $2,000) to the Library’s budget of $100,000. McBride also noted that the library trustees own the building and its contents and have a 99 year lease on the ground it sits on. In short, the board can’t just dictate to them.

Both the library trustees who were present, and GMUSD board members agreed the best effort was to work together. Board chair Joe Fromberger summed up the situation -a patron was openly carrying an unloaded gun in the library when the school was closed-by saying it was being blown out of proportion.

Lamphere, who has a child at the school, felt that everything should be done to protect the safety of the students, and basically, if it cost an additional $50,000 or more to ensure students safety, that would be worth it. However, as other members of the audience noted, the school has many other vulnerabilities that have nothing to do with the library. In fact, Lamphere did note that maybe the issue should be addressed at the community level.

Lamphere’s comment may be more accurate than people realize, as one of the most effective programs in the world in stopping shootings and other types of violence, is Cure Violence. This program uses disease control methods to stop all forms of violence by: detecting and interrupting conflicts; identifying and treating the highest risk individuals; and changing social norms. It may make the most sense if community, library trustees and school work collectively in adopting this type of approach.

2. CAVENDISH SELECT BOARD SPECIAL MEETING 12/9/19: Cavendish SB Meetings are videotaped by Okemo Valley TV and available at their website. In addition, minutes are available at the Cavendish Municipal website.

At the December meeting, Tierney Rd once again dominated. This time the Tierney Road Residents Against Quarry came to rebut Maureen Savages’s Letter to the Editor. The comments & concerns of this group are outlined in a Letter to the Editor as well as in the VT Journal’s article Cavendish Select Board meeting continues to discuss Tierney Road quarry. Note: Letters to the Editor reflect the views of the writer only.

Items Discussed/Voted on:
• Approved Cooperative Agreement between the State of Vermont ANR Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation and the Town of Cavendish. (Proctor Piper Trail Project)
• Approved a Special Event Permit for a three year anniversary celebration at DG Bodyworks in Proctorsville for Dec. 14th from 5:15-9:15.
• Approved note in the amount of $195,000 for 24 months at a rate of 2%, to account for Fire Districts tax rate calculation shortfall.
• Heard from external organizations requesting funding for the FY2019-2020 budget. Decisions on amounts of funding take place during the January budget hearings, the first meeting takes place on January 7, Tuesday at 6 pm. Other budget meetings will be held on January 9th, 13 and 16.
• The town health officer, Doris Eddy, has written an emergency health order to Mr. Gattorna whose rental property at 1052 Main St. has no water due to frozen pipes.
• The Town has hired Ron Davis as the assistant water/waste water operator.

3. CAVENDISH RELATED NEWS
TRSU superintendent criticizes GM board budget decisions: Two Rivers Supervisory Union’s Meg Powden used her superintendent’s report at Thursday’s board meeting to chastise the Green Mountain Unified School District (GMUSD) Board of Directors for what she said was its attitude toward a number of administration initiatives. Referring to a recent GM finance committee meeting in which the panel (made up of the entire board) opted not to fund several administration priorities, Powden said it was clear to her that the spirit of collaboration is no longer there. The TRSU is pushing for consolidated food and transportation services. Chester Telegraph

Senior Solutions Programs: Vicki Mastroianni, Cavendish resident, was recently videotaped by Okemo Valley TV discussing the various programs for seniors as well as volunteer opportunities for our area. You can watch the video by clicking here.

'Worse For Care': Elder Abuse And Neglect Is A Well-Kept Secret In Vermont: Vermont families who rely on eldercare homes often know little about their track records, despite state inspections that document problem after problem. Families make crucial care decisions in the dark. Vermont Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living (DAIL) publishes its citations in inspection reports online, but the reports are uploaded in no particular order on a hard-to-find page. Seven Days and Vermont Public Radio found that one in five of the inspection reports was missing from the state's website. And although the state's eldercare homes must post their most recent inspection reports inside their facilities, the documents can be overlooked and hard to interpret. They also do not make note of previous citations. VPR The joint VPR/Seven Days investigation "Worse for Care" looked into the indignities, injuries and deaths at Vermont eldercare facilities.

4. IMMEDIATE JOB OPENING: Driver/helper 15-20 hours per week. Call 802-226-8131

5. EVENTS
DECEMBER 14 (SATURDAY): Christmas Tree Sale at Proctorsville Fire Dept. 9-4, Santa arrives at 10 with free coffee and homemade doughnuts!

DECEMBER 15 (SUNDAY): Christmas Tree Sale at Proctorsville Fire Dept. 9-4

DECEMBER 21 (SATURDAY): Winter Solstice

DECEMBER 22-DECEMBER 30 (SUNDAY-MONDAY): HANUKKAH

DECEMBER 24 (TUESDAY); Christmas Eve

DECEMBER 25 (WEDNESDAY): MERRY CHRISTMAS

For information on upcoming events, go to the Cavendish Connects Calendar. For area events, check the Okemo Valley Chamber of Commerce calendar.

IF YOU READ THIS PLEASE HELP SUPPORT CAVENDISH CONNECTS