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(02/27/20 11:00am)
Investigations are ongoing as police look for suspects in an armed robbery in East Middlebury. The initial incident occurred on the night of Jan. 6, when a man wearing green and dark-colored clothing, carrying a handgun, entered Mac’s Convenience Store a few minutes before 9 p.m. The suspect fired a round into the floor before confronting the clerk and taking an unknown amount of cash from the register. Upon leaving the establishment, the suspect fired an additional round at the ceiling, then fled on foot.
On Thursday, Jan. 9, the police were again called to the store to investigate another burglary, in which a suspect forced open a window and a door. The police are withholding what was stolen in this second incident.
For a town that experienced only five instances of violent crime in 2018, the robbery comes as a surprise. “Nothing like that happens out here ... This is usually a pretty quiet village,” said East Middlebury resident Linda Kelton. “It felt like we’ve been invaded – and we still don’t know if it’s someone from town [who is] and living among us, which is pretty unsettling.”
According to the Middlebury Police Department, no-one has expressed to the department feeling particularly unsafe or expressed heightened concern.
Mac’s was previously robbed in 2008 by Addison County Resident Anthony Carosella. According to a Middlebury police report, Carosella, 23, entered the store on Sept. 16 and demanded cash from the clerk while displaying a firearm. He fled the scene with an undetermined amount of cash. That fall of 2008, Carosella was involved in a involved in a conspiracy to distribute heroin and crack cocaine in Vermont that was led by individuals from Bronx, N.Y. During this time, Carosella also held up several pharmacies in Addison and Chittenden counties to steal pharmaceuticals. In 2011, Carosella pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 120 months in prison. He also has to pay $98,460.62 in restitution to businesses affected by these crimes.
In light of January’s robberies, Kelton, the East Middlebury resident, said that she has stepped up security measures at home — she makes it a point to lock doors and turn on her home alarm system every night — and has been more cautious with her belongings following the robbery.
“[The fact that it was an] armed robbery shook us up a little more than if it wasn’t [an armed robbery],” she said. “It made us realize [that] some people are just so desperate that they feel the need to do these things.”
The investigations are still ongoing, and anyone with information about either incident is asked to contact the Middlebury Police Department.
(10/17/19 10:05am)
The ongoing conversation about women in traditionally male-dominated professions was re-ignited at the college this past Wednesday, Oct. 9, with the opening of the “Women and Representation” lecture series.
Ruth Hardy, a Democratic state senator representing Addison County and a visiting professor at Middlebury this fall, kicked off the series with her talk, “Why Electing More Women Matters.”
Drawing on her experience as a state senator and her former role as the executive director of Emerge Vermont, Hardy focused her talk on worldwide statistics surrounding women in elected positions, the importance of electing women to office and potential barriers that deter women from running in elections.
“I started with a little story about when I first gave a talk like this just after the 2016 Democratic National Convention,” Hardy told The Campus. “I had gone [to the convention] and was really excited — I thought we were turning a corner in the whole ‘women in politics’ story and that we were about to elect our first woman president — and then, of course, what came after.”
The United States is ranked 76th in the world in terms of women in national legislatures; it falls far behind Rwanda, Cuba and Bolivia, which are the top three highest-ranked nations for female representation.
Within the U.S., Vermont does poorly in comparison with other states.
“It’s the only state that hasn’t sent a woman to Congress,” Hardy said. “You wouldn’t think so, but we haven’t.”
Hardy laid out the factors that prevent women from getting into politics, from structural barriers to personal ones. For example, women feel they need to be overly qualified to run for office, she said.
As Hardy explained in her presentation, many women face sexism and discrimination, bias in the media, voter bias and sexual harassment — obstacles that female candidates, especially women of color, must overcome but that men rarely encounter.
The lecture series, co-sponsored by Middlebury’s Political Science Department and the Feminist Resource Center at the Chellis House, aims to change the discourse surrounding the portrayal and representation of women, especially in elected positions.
Erik Bleich, chair of the Political Science Department, explained that his department decided to invite speakers around a particular theme decided upon last year. This year’s theme celebrates the 100th Anniversary of Women’s Suffrage.
“I asked [Hardy] to present because she is a dynamic local woman who has long been active in politics,” Bleich said. “Her talk was very well-received.”
The lecture series is of particular relevance because, as Bleich described, “Diversity is more than just an object of study. Institutions at every level function best when they’re at their most diverse, when everyone feels that they are represented and can represent themselves.”
According to Bleich, the “Women and Representation” series provides students with an “opportunity to think about things going on today — the rise of female candidates running for President of the United States, the surge of women running for office in the U.S., the issue of women’s rights around the world.”
“It’s becoming more and more important for political scientists to focus on gender,” he said.
In addition to Hardy, this year’s line-up of featured speakers will include Sabrina Karim, assistant professor of government at Cornell University, and Kimberly Morgan, professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University.
For this first lecture, Hardy did more than highlight the gender inequalities within the U.S. political system: she spoke on the importance of electing women and how electing more women can become a reality.
“Women often make better leaders and better elected officials than men,” Hardy said. “They sponsor more legislation, bring more money to districts, improve the economy in their districts and have better health outcomes for counties and districts represented by women. Women are more collaborative and less partisan.”
Anna Durning ’19.5, who attended the talk, got to know Hardy when she volunteered for her state senate campaign last fall, and was excited to hear of her on-campus lecture.
“In her talk, Ruth did a really good job of bringing together scholarship on women and elections, and her own story of running for office, [for the] school board and then state senate,” Durning wrote in an email to The Campus. “She reminded us that here in Vermont, ‘We love to think we’re better than New Hampshire, but when it comes to women in office we’re not.’”
Durning also mentioned that during the lecture, a frustrating example of the treatment women sometimes face when they hold public roles came up. Durning explained that an older man answered a phone call and proceeded to talk loudly on the phone while Hardy was speaking about barriers that prevent women from running for office.
“In a somewhat small space such as the RAJ conference room, he was essentially speaking over Sen. Hardy, which I felt was incredibly rude and an absurdly well-timed example of how people do not value women’s expertise and experience,” Durning said. The man was eventually asked to leave.
Hardy’s talk had a lot of overlap with the class she is currently teaching this semester, focusing on issues such as the current status of women in politics and different identities of women in political positions — such as women of color, LGBTQIA+ women and Republican women.
Through both her lecture and her class, Hardy hopes to instill a sense of awareness in Middlebury students about Vermont politics and women in office.
Editor’s note: Ruth Hardy is the spouse of Prof. Jason Mittell, The Campus’ academic advisor. Any questions may be directed to campus@middlebury.edu.
(10/10/19 10:02am)
Following months of speculation that a potential deal was brewing, Colorado-based ski conglomerate Vail Resorts announced on Sept. 24 that it had acquired Peak Resorts, owner of the popular southern Vermont ski destination Mount Snow. With the acquisition of Peak Resorts, which operated 17 ski resorts located in the Northeast and Midwest, Vail Resorts now owns 37 ski mountain resorts in the United States, Canada and Australia, according to a Sept. 24 press release.
The 17 new ski areas Vail added to its holdings include Mount Snow in Dover, Vt. and New York’s Hunter Mountain, as well as Attitash Mountain, Wildcat Mountain and Crotched Mountain Resorts in New Hampshire. Vail Resorts is already familiar with the Green Mountain State; the company purchased Stowe Mountain Resort in 2017, and Okemo Mountain Resort in Ludlow last year.
Since 1997, Peak Resorts ski areas have comprised nearly 1,890 acres of skiable terrain that appeal to a wide range of ages and abilities. Many resorts are located near major metropolitan areas.
With companies like Vail occupying such large tracts of skiable land, the ski industry is rapidly changing. The advent of large ski resorts and corporations means that smaller independently run ski mountains are doing their best to keep up with the competition. However, small ski mountains backed by larger companies can offer better ticket prices and deals — such as the Vail Resorts’ Epic Pass, which will now include all of the Peak Resorts.
“We are thrilled that with this acquisition, skiers and riders living in and around some of the biggest cities in the country will now have access to both ski close to home and at renowned mountain resorts around the world—with just one pass,” said Rob Katz, chairman and chief executive officer of Vail Resorts in the September press release.
“We are excited to welcome each of these ski areas into the Vail Resorts family and to continue to invest in what makes them unique,” he said.
Priced at $969 for the whole season, Vail’s Epic Pass is an attractive option for those looking to ski around the world. With one pass, snow-lovers can access mountains around North America, Australia and parts of Europe. Now, with the acquisition of Peak Resorts, more Northeastern, Mid-Atlantic and Midwestern mountains will be added to the growing list.
Given the unpredictable and weather-reliant nature of ski seasons, larger ski resorts thrive on the sale of pre-ordered and reduced rate season passes and bundles — like the Epic Pass — that insure revenue upfront. Lift tickets can be pricey, with some mountains in the U.S. charging over $100 for adult weekday passes.
The Epic Pass and similar deals offered by other ski resorts are fairly well known in the skiing world, and for some Middlebury College students, purchasing the Epic Pass is a no-brainer — especially now that it includes more mountains closer to campus.
Jacob Shashoua ’20 is one student looking to purchase the Epic Pass this upcoming ski season. “I love the idea of having an inclusive ski pass,” Shashoua said. “This [pass] makes skiing around the country accessible. As a college student, the prospect of going to ski at all of these mountains across the U.S. is now more of a possibility.”
However, not all Middlebury students are excited about the Vail deal. Emily Kohutnicki ’20, a member of the Snow Bowl’s Ski Patrol, said the acquisition might bolster infrastructure and sales at mom-and-pop mountains, but might also affect the local ski culture.
“I think that [the acquisition] is good in a way because smaller mountains like Mount Snow, where I grew up skiing, will get a lot more developed with more funding. But, [these larger resorts] no longer foster a sense of comradery and cheap skiing,” Kohutnicki said.
Ski enthusiast Charlotte Bichet ’20 has mixed feelings about Vail’s Epic Pass as well.
“I like the inclusivity of the Epic Pass, but it could drive out smaller mountains. With fewer organizations owning these ski mountains, [companies] can run up prices because there is no longer any competition,” Bichet said.
“Passes like these are running little mountains, like the Snow Bowl, out of business,” Kohutnicki said.
While Bichet is not fully against Vail’s deal with Peak Resorts, she noted that “there is definitely a bit of a give-and-take with these smaller mountains being bought up.”
But amidst all the financial details and legalities of the acquisition, there is one thing that Middlebury students can agree on: There is nothing better than a snowy day on the slopes.
“Regardless of the politics of large corporations buying ski mountains, this business is keeping the slopes of Vermont open,” Bichet said. “And we’re all really excited for the upcoming ski season.”
(10/03/19 10:06am)
This summer, the Addison Northwest School District (ANWSD) received two grants totaling $999,600 to both continue afterschool programming as well as expand its K-6 offerings into Addison and Ferrisburgh central schools.
Ten years ago, the first 21st Century Community Learning Centers Grant, or 21C, was awarded to ANWSD, which funded the Fusion Expanded Learning Program, a set of afterschool activities. ANWSD soon after received another 21C grant to expand its programs to include Vergennes Elementary School students.
The majority of this year’s funding comes from the district’s third 21C grant, a federal prize made possible through the Vermont Agency of Education. The district was also awarded a $40,000 grant from the Afterschool for All grant program, funded primarily through Vermont’s Child Development Division and to be paid over a two-year span.
“It’s a competitive grant,” ANWSD Fusion Coordinator Tara Brooks said of the 21C grant. “The federal government distributes money to each state, and then the state distributes money to local communities. But there has to be a certain amount of need in the local community.”
Brooks noted that to apply for the grant, 40% of the student body has to qualify for free and reduced lunch rates. “[It’s] one of the biggest thresholds,” Brooks said. Two schools in the district, Vergennes Union Elementary School and Addison Central School, meet the free and reduced lunch rate requirements, and the second grant will allow ANWSD to expand to Ferrisburgh.
With its accessible range of programs, ANWSD broadly targets the Addison County community. Families can apply for childcare subsidies and scholarships for both ANWSD afterschool and summer programs. For the Fusion afterschool program, a family could even pay nothing. “You just pay what you can,” Brooks said.
Asia Kruse, Fusion Site Coordinator in Vergennes, noted the program’s commitment to accessibility.
“We will never deny anybody from participation due to financial reasons,” she said. Throughout the year, Fusion has five sessions of around six weeks each, each offering a different set of activities for students in grades 7–12. This session’s courses include Vermont History Day, which is an opportunity for students to create historical projects for presentation at an annual state contest, in addition to theater projects, yoga and a babysitting course. There is also a “Learning Lab” offered each day, where students can get homework help from teachers.
“Research done on the benefits of afterschool programs show that students not only achieve academic success, but it has shown continued success as adults between kids that have access to these programs and kids that don’t,” Brooks said. She noted that grants allow families of all different financial statuses to access afterschool program.
“I feel that the afterschool setting is healing for students, and they can really open up,” Kruse said. “Sometimes they do not necessarily have a positive situation at home…but [when they join afterschool programs] they can find and build connections.”
Jay Stetzel, Director of School Counseling in Vergennes, underlined the importance of afterschool programs in relation to teen drug and alcohol usage.
“In general, we all know that if students are involved in [extracurriclars] offered by their school—sports, programming, whatever it might be — they are less likely to be involved [in risky behaviors],” he said.
Many consider this type of programming to be vital to the town of Middlebury itself. “If we did not have programming, parks and recreation or regular afterschool, there would be a very, very large and unhappy group of citizens living in Middlebury,” said Scott Bourne, Program Coordinator for Middlebury Parks and Recreation Department. “We realize how dependent [families] are on what we do.”
The grants that ANWSD received this summer will further their goal of creating a stronger and more resilient community for all Addison County residents and provide students the resources they need to learn and grow.
“We are trained to give students so many opportunities,” Kruse said. “We will keep fighting for grants to continue and expand our programming.”