Flower pots to enhance pedestrian safety

On Thursday, the Woodstock Economic Development Commission (EDC) along with many volunteers were out on The Green filling large terracotta-looking flower pots with soil and flowers. The flower pots were then set out around the Village to enhance pedestrian safety by creating crosswalk bump outs.

The crosswalk bump outs are used so that drivers can spot pedestrians much easier, and the barriers can be used for small-scale town beautification efforts. The idea was presented to the EDC in April by Joe DiNatale.

Read more about the story in the July 25 issue of The Vermont Standard.

Services set for Woodstock town manager

Long time Woodstock municipal manager Philip B. Swanson passed away  after courageous battle with leukemia early Thursday morning at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., according to Greg Camp from Cabot Funeral Home in Woodstock.

The service will be held on Sunday, July 28, at 3 p.m., at the North Universalist Chapel Society, located at 7 Church St. in Woodstock. There will be a reception immediately following on the back lawn.

As more details are made available we will post them.

Extreme heat expected through the weekend

The hottest air of the 2019 summer season so far is expected to impact Vermont starting Friday and into the weekend. Temperatures are forecast to be in the upper 80s to low-mid 90s with high humidity, making it feel like 100 degrees or more. These conditions create a serious risk for dangerous and sometimes deadly heat-related illnesses, such as heat stroke. The National Weather Service and Vermont health and emergency management officials want people to know how to stay safe as the thermometer climbs.

During hot weather, your body’s temperature control systems can have a hard time keeping up, and your temperature can get dangerously high. It’s important to drink more fluids than usual and to take extra breaks in the shade or cool indoor locations.

Certain people are at a higher risk of heat-related illness. People who work or exercise outdoors, as well as older adults, infants and young children should take extra precautions. People who are overweight, have a chronic medical condition, are taking certain medications, or are using drugs or alcohol are also at special risk.

Watch for symptoms of heat illness — muscle cramps, heavy sweating, nausea, headache or light-headedness. Most heat illnesses can be treated with fluids and by resting in a cooler place. If symptoms persist or get worse, or someone you are with seems confused or loses consciousness, dial 9-1-1 and get immediate medical help.

Learn more about symptoms and first aid at weather.gov/safety/heat-illness.

Welch calls for impeachment of president

Statement of Rep. Peter Welch:

I have concluded that President Donald Trump should be impeached.

I do not arrive at this conclusion lightly. The power of impeachment granted to Congress by our Founding Fathers should not be casually employed. In our democracy, every deference should be given to the outcome of every election.

However, after 30 months in office, President Trump has established a clear pattern of willful disregard for our Constitution and its system of checks and balances. His presidency has wrought an unprecedented and unrelenting assault on the pillars and guardrails of our democracy, including the rule of law on which our country was founded.

Instead of embracing the fundamental responsibility of every American president to unite our country, this president has unleashed a torrent of attacks on fellow citizens based on their race, gender, religion and ethnic origin.

Instead of respecting the constitutional principle that no person, including the President of the United States, is above the law or beyond accountability, this president attacks our courts and judges and stonewalls Congress in the exercise of its Article 1 oversight responsibility.

Instead of strengthening the institutional pillars of our democracy, this president is methodically tearing them down. He fired the FBI Director and made every effort to derail the Mueller investigation. He calls for the jailing of political opponents and pardons political allies. And at every turn, he demeans, attacks and discredits the free press, dangerously labeling it as the enemy of the people.

And instead of ensuring fair elections, this president and his administration have labored to limit the fundamental right of Americans to vote and welcomed the assistance of hostile foreign powers in his campaigns.

America’s democracy is resilient, but it is also fragile. Its stability and progress depend on the consent of the governed, a respect for the rule of law, and the capacity of our leaders to inspire trust and confidence in each other and in the federal government.

On January 20, 2017, President-elect Donald Trump stood on the West Front of the United States Capitol, placed his left hand on two Bibles, raised his right hand, and swore to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” I have concluded that he has failed to honor that solemn oath which, in my view, merits impeachment under our Constitution.

Lane Bryant photo shoot in Woodstock

There’s never a dull moment in Woodstock. This morning Bohemia Productions of New York City was doing a photo shoot in front of the Unicorn store and Woodstock Pharmacy. The shoot was for the upcoming Lane Bryant winter catalog, according to the producers. Lane Bryant offers ingenious solutions and pioneered fashion for larger women who didn’t have a place to shop with retail and outlet stores as well as catalog and online shopping. They also shot photos at the Woodstock Inn and Resort, the Woodstock First Congregational Church, Collective and Ellaways Attic.

For more on the story, check out the July 18 edition of the Vermont Standard.

Select Board postpones vote on STR zoning amendment

The Woodstock Select Board postponed their decision on an exemption for short term rentals (STR) in zones for five acres and forestry reserves on Tuesday. They want to wait for permanent zoning amendments for STRs currently under consideration of the Planning Commission.

The Select Board was considering whether to remove an exemption that would require short term rental owners in the residential five acre and forest reserve zones to acquire a conditional use permit, like in the rest of the town and village, and to adhere to local rules and regulations that apply to STR throughout Woodstock. The Planning Commission had requested that the Select Board remove the exemption in order to create a level playing field for STR owners.

The Planning Commission will meet on Wednesday, Aug. 7, at 7:30 p.m. They will be dedicating the meeting to permanent zoning regulations for STR.

Somali author to speak at Bookstock

Bookstock is almost here. One of the featured writers is a Somali who chronicled his torturous journey to America. According to his new memoir, “Call me American,” Abdi Nor Iftin fled from war-torn Somalia to Kenya and made it to the United States with the help of a group of journalists and a family from Maine. Vermont Standard Correspondent Heather Steliga conducted a recent Q&A interview with Nor Iftin and he shared with her some of the struggles that he faced while growing up during the Somalian Civil War. Nor Iftin told Steliga that “America saved him” and he is enjoying his new-found freedom in Portland, Maine.

To read about Abdi Nor Iftin’s life, check out the July 18 edition of the Vermont Standard.

Locals activists gather for vigil for migrants

On Friday night, local activists held a candle light vigil at the North Universalist Chapel Society in Woodstock in conjunction with vigils being held nationwide organized by Lights for Liberty, a grassroots coalition protesting inhumane conditions at detention camps. More than 600 events were planned around the world. The event was led by Rev. Dr. Leon Dunkley and included singing and people sharing how they felt about the conditions in detention camps.

For more, read the July 18 edition of The Vermont Standard.

Bookstock hosts its 11th festival

Bookstock, the Green Mountain Festival of Words, will host 45 authors at its 11th annual literary festival in Woodstock on July 26-28. They include 11 novelists, 22 non-fiction authors, and 12 poets. In addition will be dance and musical performances and the annual juried exhibition of book art produced by ArtisTree.  Festival events are free and open to the public.

Jordan Engel, Bookstock coordinator, said, “We want everyone to discover something new and important for themselves. So we designed a festival for all tastes and ages.”

The venues of the festival are mostly very close to the town’s beautiful Green. On the Green will be a massive second hand book sale, a virtual reality demo tent, a “hire-a-poet’ tent, twenty exhibitors, a food court and live music. Some 25 area non-profits and businesses put on or support the festival.

For more information, visit bookstockvt.org.

Motor vehicle crash in Pomfret

A teenager crashed her 2008 Volvo on Pomfret Road last Monday, according to State Police.

Kathryn Meellee Fredrickson, 18, of St. Louis Park, Mn. was heading south on Pomfret Road when she lost control of her car. The rear tires slid off the west side of the road and she continued to travel with her rear tires off the road until the vehicle collided with a mailbox, street sign and telephone pole. Speed was a contributing factor to the crash, according to State Trooper Joseph Pregent.

The right rear door, quarter panel, and right rear control arm on her Volvo were damaged. Frederickson was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash and no injuries were reported, Pregent said.

Trustees will hold short term rentals public hearing July 29

On Tuesday, July 9, the Woodstock Village Trustees voted 3-2 to create a 90-day moratorium on new applications for short term rentals in the Village to allow the Planning Commission a chance to draft an official ordinance.

Town Manager Phil Swanson had been concerned that the public hearing on June 27 had not been warned properly. On advice received from the town’s lawyer, Joseph McLean, Esq., and Kevin Geiger, Senior Planner at Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission, the Trustees will be holding another public hearing for comments about the short term rentals moratorium.

The public hearing will be held on Monday, July 29 at 8:15 a.m. in the Town Hall. After the public hearing, the Trustees will read a motion prepared by McClean then vote again, according to Trustee Chair Jeff Kahn.

“I don’t foresee anything changing,” Kahn said. “The moratorium doesn’t affect those in the process of getting a permit. The moratorium wouldn’t go into effect until after the [July 29] public meeting.”

For more on this story, read this week’s Vermont Standard.