The Town of Woodstock Selectboard and the Village Board of Trustees gave their endorsement in the annual performance review of municipal manager Eric Duffy at a brief, special joint meeting of the two governing bodies on Wednesday evening, July 30.

The unanimous acclaim from the two Woodstock boards for Duffy’s work over the past 12 months carried with it a $10,000 bonus for the municipal manager, who has been criticized during the past 10 months by some members of the public over his handling of the demotion of former Woodstock Police Chief Joe Swanson. In late April, Swanson filed a $5 million civil lawsuit against Duffy, the five village trustees, and the selectboard over his demotion from head of the police department to patrol officer. Speakers during public comment at several joint meetings of the selectboard and trustees in recent weeks have expressed both vociferous criticism and support for Duffy as the annual performance review process has proceeded.

A little over 11 minutes into the 19-minute-long special joint meeting of the two Woodstock boards last Wednesday, the selectboard members and trustees went into a closed executive session to discuss Duffy’s performance review. The respective board members emerged from the executive session less than one minute later. Selectboard vice chair Susan Ford, who led that board’s participation in the joint session in the absence of board chair Ray Bourgeois, who was absent due to a family matter, then shared details of the annual review of Duffy’s job performance.

For more on this, please see our August 7 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

The Woodstock Nursery School (WNS), the town’s longest-standing preschool that has been serving families in the local area since 1951, will suspend operations for the coming school year due to the board’s inability over the course of the past two months to recruit a new, state-licensed lead teacher.

The WNS Board of Directors learned in early June that longtime lead teacher Wendy Krygier would not be returning to the licensed childcare facility, which is located in the Woodstock Recreation Center at 54 River Street, for the 2025-26 school year. The nursery school directors immediately notified current and prospective families and enrollees of Krygier’s departure. They stated that the WNS leaders could not guarantee the childcare center’s reopening in the fall if recruitment efforts for a licensed lead teacher replacement for Krygier did not bear fruit by August 1. The WNS leaders are now notifying presently enrolled and prospective families that the preschool will not be opening for the coming school year.

For more on this, please see our August 7 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

According to a release from the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation (FPR), much of Vermont is experiencing abnormally dry summer conditions. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, 72% of Vermont is now in drought. While certain areas have received some rain, it has been inconsistent, leading to elevated fire danger across the state.

The FPR says Vermonters can help keep their communities stay safe by limiting fires as much as possible during dry periods and being aware of nearby fuel sources when considering any outdoor burning activities such as grilling, campfires, debris burning, and smoking.

“We are asking for your help in reducing human-caused wildfires. Campfires should be in a contained ring with a water source close by to manage escaped embers,” says Kathy Decker, Forest Protection Program Manager at FPR. “Be cautious with outdoor equipment that can cause sparks, like chainsaws and lawnmowers, and make sure to fully extinguish and properly extinguish all fires and carefully dispose of all smoking materials.”

A permit from the Town Forest Fire Warden is always required to burn brush or debris. If possible, the FPR advises delaying all outdoor burning until after a soaking rain in order to reduce risk.

For more information about the current fire season and fire safety, check the current wildland fire forecast, follow the US Drought Monitor map of the northeast, and visit the FPR website.

The ongoing expansion of law enforcement services by the Windsor County Sheriff’s Department means a financial win for the town of Woodstock when it comes to dispatching services.

The Woodstock Selectboard voted 4-0 during its July meeting to nearly double the amount charged the sheriff’s department for dispatching services through the town’s emergency communications center.

The new contract jumps the price to $85,000 a year, retroactive to July 1, and will bump up to $90,000 a year in July 2026, according to the new two-year contract.

There also is a provision in the contract that Woodstock can get an additional 3 percent increase in the second year if call volume increases beyond the fiscal year 2026 level.

The sheriff’s department was initially contracted to pay the town of Woodstock $51,000 for 24-hour dispatching for the fiscal year that ended June 30, according to acting Village Police Chief Chris O’Keeffe. 

O’Keeffe and Windsor County Sheriff Ryan Palmer said the contract increase is due to the additional workload flowing through the town’s dispatch services from the sheriff’s department.

For more on this story, please see our August 7 edition of the Vermont Standard.

One of the vital drivers of a healthy economy in Vermont — tourism — has been hammered this year by a significant downturn in visitors to the state, especially from our close neighbors to the north in Canada.

Apparently, Canadians are reacting pointedly to the heated rhetoric and actions of the Trump administration, including the imposition of tariffs of up to 35% on goods coming into the country from the north, effective Aug. 1, and suggestions by President Trump that Canada should become “the 51st state.” Federal and state data, as well as market data provided to Vermont officials by a leading tourism research firm, suggest that Canadians are likely voting with their pocketbooks and travel plans in reaction to the policies emanating from Capitol Hill and the White House.

Border crossings of private vehicles entering Vermont from Canada were down about 8% in February, 30% in March and April, and nearly 40% in May, the most recent month in which complete federal and state data is available through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics and the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development. (ACCD). (The data set includes the number of passengers entering Vermont through the state’s five border crossings, including those travelers of international origin and not just Canadians.)

In June, according to Travel Market Insights, an Albany, N.Y.-based firm that tracks monthly “travel intentions” data, 13.2% of Canadians reported being likely or very likely to visit the United States or were planning a trip within the next 12 months. For comparison, the average for all months in 2024 was 24%. The dip in travel intent by Canadians reached a new low in February of this year and has continued a slow decline ever since, according to the New York-based travel data analysis firm that contracts with the ACCD.

Drawing on data from the government-run Statistics Canada, raw counts of border crossings into Vermont in the first half of this year paint a stark portrait as well. In May, 112,200 passengers crossed the Canadian border into Vermont via checkpoints in Beecher Falls, Derby Line, Highgate Springs, Norton, and Richford. Roughly 6,400 of those visitors from the north arrived in Vermont by bus or train, according to federal and state reports. From the outset of 2025 through the end of May, passenger crossings into the state from Canada totaled 581,200 – a decline of 23.3% from the previous year.

In the local area, virtually all of the buzz about the decline in Canadian tourism is anecdotal — Woodstock and Upper Valley retailers and hospitality providers, as well as business organizations such as the Woodstock Area Chamber of Commerce and the Upper Valley Business Alliance in West Lebanon, don’t track visitors to the region by state or country of origin. “I think we are experiencing a little downturn in shoppers,” Beth Finlayson, the executive director of the Woodstock Chamber, told the Standard on Monday. “But businesses don’t want to appear all doom and gloomy about the situation. We’re still getting steady calls from people about foliage, as well as Wassail,” Finlayson said, alluding to Woodstock’s traditional holiday festival each December.

For more on this, please see our August 7 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

Last Thursday, July 31, a naturalization ceremony took place at the Calvin Coolidge Historic Site in Plymouth. Twenty-four Vermont residents from fourteen different countries became citizens of the United States. During the ceremony, U.S. District Court Judge Mary Kay Lanthier presided, administering the Oath of Allegiance. 

The Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation and the National Society of Colonial Dames of America in the State of Vermont hosted the ceremony. A reception with cookies and lemonade followed the ceremony, as friends, family members, students, military, governing officials, and hopeful Vermonter’s gathered to watch this historic event. 

Opening with remarks from naturalization deputy Sharrah LeClair, followed by a rendition of the “National Anthem” performed by Jennifer Harville Coolidge, great-granddaughter of the late President Coolidge, the ceremony centered around hope and national unity. 

The morning continued as students from across the country gathered on stage to read from Coolidge’s 1924 speech, “Toleration and Liberalism.” As those from the Coolidge Senator Students program took turns reading, the underlying message of Coolidge’s words rang throughout the tent. A president who advocated for diversity and “harmonious cooperation,” Calvin Coolidge’s speech struck a chord with those in attendance. American flags waved among them, and the first seeds of patriotic hope were planted. 

The ceremony proceeded to welcome to the stage all those involved in the naturalization process. As the 24 names were read aloud, families cheered and loved ones cried. 

Galvan Sherpa, formerly of Nepal, told the Standard, “I came here five years ago through the Diversity Visa program. I was living in Canada at the time, and when I decided to come to America, everyone recommended I come to Vermont. I got a job as a behavior interventionist at the Rochester Middle School and began the naturalization process.” 

He added, “It means so much to me to be a naturalized citizen. As a child, I used to listen to American music and watch American sitcoms. I always wanted that to be my reality, and now, almost fifty years later, it is. I knew that one day my dream would come true. Today, I thank God for this amazing opportunity.” 

For more on this story, please see our August 7 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

Oakes & Evelyn, the latest addition to Woodstock’s food scene, is bringing modern farm-to-table dining to the area. Serving breakfast seven days a week, dinner five nights a week, and breathing new life into The Jackson inn, Oakes & Evelyn is filling multiple needs for the community, all while crafting a seasonal menu straight from the garden. 

Restaurant owner and head chef Justin Dain spoke to the Standard about his restaurant and what it has been like to bring his legacy to Woodstock. “The name — Oakes & Evelyn — is family driven,” he explained. “My grandfather is Oakes, and my father is Evelyn. They would have loved this. I know that they are shining down on me, seeing that their name is a part of such a special place.” 

For Dain, crafting a warm and hospitable dining experience that serves fresh and creative dishes is the goal for each plate he prepares.

Dain’s dinner menu is reflective of classic New England cuisine, full of ingredients grown in our state, with some Asian flair. From a classic Atlantic halibut dish with local corn puree and house-made chorizo leeks set in a corn vinaigrette, to fresh oysters, Dain takes classic ingredients and invents a balanced and refined plate. “I also have a restaurant of the same name in Montpellier, and through that experience, I have found that locals start to gravitate toward new food as they begin trusting you — your food, your flavors — and find themselves taking a chance on a meal they may have otherwise never considered. That’s what I hope to curate here in Woodstock. The local population has been so welcoming these past few weeks. I hope that each time they dine, they take a chance on a new meal and end up loving it. My goal is for tourists and locals alike to come in and try new flavors they may not be able to experience elsewhere in Vermont and have a uniquely intimate dining experience.” 

While Woodstock is quickly becoming familiar with dinner at Oakes & Evelyn, many may not know that The Jackson inn also offers a breakfast menu seven days a week. 

Co-owner of The Jackson inn, Jeff Glew, told the Standard, “Our redone dining area is perfectly situated along the garden, toward the back of the Inn. In the morning, when the sun is streaming in, people can enjoy a quiet, delicious meal surrounded by the warmth and seclusion of the property. The space will make locals and tourists alike feel as if they are nestled in the secret gardens of Vermont.” 

For more on this story, please see our August 7 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

Focus, the Vermont photography gallery currently situated at 23 Elm Street in Woodstock Village, will relocate this fall to the building at 19 Central Street in the heart of the village following the upcoming foliage season.

Thalia Tringo, the Somerville, Mass.-based real estate broker who owns the historic 19th-century building at 19 Central Street that previously housed the Woodstock Pharmacy until the venerable drug store’s closure in 2020, reported in an email to the Standard that she signed a lease on the first-floor retail space with Focus gallery photographers and proprietors Loren Fisher, Ron Lake and Bob Wagner last Friday, Aug. 1. Tringo said she had tried unsuccessfully multiple times over the past several years to bring a restaurant into the Central Street location but opted to rent the retail space to the photo gallery when the efforts to locate an eatery there did not bear fruit.

“Unfortunately, the [new occupant] is not a food tenant as I had hoped,” Tringo wrote to the Standard after the lease was inked. “But it is a good second choice: a photo gallery,” she continued. The choice of the Focus gallery to occupy the fabled setting in the center of Woodstock Village is a fitting one, historically speaking, Tringo pointed out. “As you know, there was a photographer’s gallery on the second floor of the building in the 1870s,” the Central Street property owner noted. “Although food was my first choice and I met with many potential food tenants over the past two years, the cost of building out a kitchen in a building that has not had one, coupled with the local staffing challenges, have proven to be significant obstacles,” Tringo added. “I was pleased to offer the space to Focus gallery, since they are local folks with an existing business in need of a new, more visible location.”

For more on this, please see our August 7 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

BarnArts’ 14th Summer Youth Theater production took place last weekend, with local kids ages eight through sixteen performing the full script of Roald Dahl’s “Matilda” as the culmination of a three-week theater camp. The cast performed to standing ovations with original choreography, costuming, and set design, all with the swinging support of a seven-piece band at the Barnard Town Hall.

Linda Treash Photo

Tractor enthusiasts turned out for Billings Farm & Museum’s annual Antique Tractor Day last weekend, with farm visitors enjoying tractor-drawn wagon rides, Tractor Parades, a “Slow Race,” tractor crafts, and pedal tractor obstacle courses.

Photos courtesy of Billings Farm & Museum

The 11th annual Taste of Woodstock will return to Elm Street in the village on Saturday, Aug. 9, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., promising another memorable day of food, drink, live music, and community. With over 40 new and returning booths filling the traffic-free street, this year’s festival continues the tradition that has drawn more than 2,000 attendees annually for the past decade.

The Woodstock Chamber of Commerce once again offers a “taste” of everything the Woodstock community is known for, with Vermont brands, local not-for-profits, and innovative food vendors creating the festival’s signature mix of established favorites and exciting newcomers.

Making her festival debut, Karen Bresnahan of Sticky Chicks will bring maple sugar cotton candy that embodies a commitment to natural ingredients. When Bresnahan initially approached the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce about setting up a booth at Market on the Green to sell arts and crafts, Bresnahan said she was told those spaces were full, but agriculture spots remained open. Uncertain what to do, Bresnahan asked Kitty King at Zack’s Place what was missing from the farmer’s market. Without hesitation, King replied: “Maple sugar cotton candy.” Bresnahan’s immediate response? “Okay, I’ll do it.”

Big Dog Sauce will return for a second year after last year’s successful debut led to partnerships with local butchers and repeat customers traveling from Woodstock to their Hillsboro store. Founded in 2022 by Dan Lloyd and his wife, both diabetics who grew tired of artificial ingredients in commercial products, Big Dog Sauce has built their reputation on what Lloyd called a “very clean label” philosophy. This year, they are bringing three exciting new offerings: a Caribbean jerk seasoning, a New England seasoning blend, and their seasonal blackberry sauce. Every product maintains their strict standards of no artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, or high fructose corn syrup, with everything gluten-free.

Meanwhile, The Olive Table offers nearly a decade of festival experience, with Dianne Hinaris transforming her transition away from financial services into a thriving olive oil business. What started as sharing excess olive oil from her Greek husband’s family has evolved into a beloved festival fixture. Their booth consistently draws crowds eager to taste authentic Greek olive oil directly from the family source, with no middlemen or distributors. Hinaris’s husband, who is from Greece, serves as an engaging educator about olive oil quality, his accent and family stories creating what Hinaris laughingly calls his “groupie” of listeners. They also import honey from Greece, giving festival-goers a chance to taste and learn about both products straight from their origins.

The festival will feature an impressive lineup of other Vermont vendors, including Jeezum Crow Smoked Foods, Howland Good Kettle Corn, Mettowee Maple Valley, Laura White Pottery, Little Coffee Company, Woodstockings, and spirits from Barr Hill by Caledonia Spirits and St. Johnsbury Distillery. Pizza Chef of Woodstock will also serve its food and beverages at the south end of Elm Street.

Vermont bands will provide continuous entertainment from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., while children can enjoy face painting, magician Dylan from 12-4 p.m., and street chalk activities. Local nonprofits, including Friends of the Norman Williams Public Library, the Upper Valley Aquatic Center, and the Woodstock Rotary Club, will participate alongside commercial vendors.

The combination of innovative newcomers like Sticky Chicks and Big Dog Sauce with established favorites like The Olive Table creates a wonderful representation of Vermont’s food culture — where entrepreneurs can honor tradition while pushing creative boundaries, all within the supportive framework of a close-knit community that values authentic, locally-sourced products.

More than 325 guests attended a mini-festival in North Pomfret last Saturday, complete with a creemee truck, picnicking, face painting, ebikes, llamas, and two live sets from eclectic touring band Eggy, plus a late night silent disco by Morgan Peacock.

Photos courtesy of Dave Balter

By Emma Stanton, Staff Writer

On July 14, South Woodstock’s Charles Humpstone (referred to by all as Charley) passed away at the age of 94. Family and friends say he will be remembered for his gentle manner, his sharp wit and humor, his love for literature and the written word, and his staunch advocacy for justice and civil rights. 

Humpstone was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., and attended school in New York and Baltimore before transferring to Putney School in Vermont. He then went on to study at Harvard College and Harvard Law School. Between undergraduate and law school, Humpstone served in the U.S. Marines, completing his service as a first lieutenant.

After graduating from Harvard Law in 1953, Humpstone worked as an associate for White & Case Law Firm in New York City. His daughter, Alessandra Humpstone, spoke to the Standard about this era of her father’s life, saying, “In the early 1960s, we were living in New York, and my father was working for a law firm on Wall Street. He could see the path that was in front of him and decided to turn away from the lucrative career of big law and head instead down the path of civil rights. A friend and fellow lawyer called him one day and said he’d gone to work for the Civil Rights Commission down in Washington and asked if my dad wanted to come along. He did. My father left New York out of a combination of frustration with his current occupation and a genuine wish to be involved in the most important social issue of his life.” 

In 1964, Humpstone became a staff attorney and later Assistant General Counsel of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, working on investigations of voting rights infringement in Mississippi and desegregation progress in southern schools. Alessandra Humpstone continued, “He traveled from Florida to Louisiana to Mississippi to Arkansas to Alabama, trying to uncover voter registration injustices and violations. At that point in the deep south, there was a practice in place to keep Black voters from voting. My dad ended up convincing the state of Mississippi to completely rewrite their voting laws and legislation.” 

Alessandra Humpstone described her father as a fair and just man who instilled a passion for social justice and advocacy in her and her younger sister, Susannah, from an early age. Alessandra Humpstone recounted, “When we were young, my father took us to a peace march in Alexandria, Virginia. I remember it was tricky for my father to be there, since he worked for the federal government at the time, but he raised us to not sit on the sidelines.” 

During this time, Humpstone worked for the U.S. Treasury as Deputy Special Assistant to the Secretary. Following this, in 1969, Humpstone joined the staff of International Research & Technology Corporation (IR&T) — where he subsequently became president. In 1973, he coauthored the book “The Restoration of the Earth” with Theodore Taylor. Alessandra Humpstone elaborated, “My father was very involved in environmental issues before it had become a national concern. His book explains all the aspects of environmentalism we take for granted now, like recycling and carbon emissions — stuff that was new and experimental at the time of its publication.” 

In 1979, Humpstone left IR&T to start his own company, Environmental Risk Assessment Service (USA), and later returned to the practice of law, joining the Rutland law firm of Carrol, George & Pratt in 1992. There, he helped restructure the pro-bono system to ensure the lower-income residents of Vermont receive adequate legal support from the top law firms in the state.  

Humpstone retired in 1996 and spent the remainder of his life pursuing his passions, such as reading, writing, taking cello lessons, gardening, skiing, traveling, eating great food, participating in his community, and spending time with loved ones. Alessandra Humpstone continued, “My dad was an avid reader. He loved literature and history. The work of Anthony Trollope, P.G. Wodehouse, and the ‘Master and Commander’ books by Patrick O’Brien were some of his favorites. As a young man, he spent time in Cambridge near the Nabokov family. That connection had a huge impact on my father; he read every book Vladimir Nabokov wrote.” 

She continued, “Literature opened the world to my father, and in it he found people who cared about language, thought, and ideas, the same way he did. I think the reason he loved Vermont so much, the reason he loved reading, and the reason he cared about these social movements so ardently was because of his own childhood. Although in some regards he grew up very privileged, his adolescence was full of unfairness and unhappiness. I think that upbringing made him want to move away from that kind of life and into a new one. He so enjoyed country living in Vermont. When he moved to South Woodstock, it was inhabited by simple dairy farmers. He loved being around the people in this community.”

In 1960, Humpstone married Suzanne Torchiana, with whom he had two daughters — Alessandra and Susannah. The marriage ended in divorce in 1975. He later married Marty Stephens, moving with her to South Woodstock in 1990. Stephens passed away in 2011, and Humpstone married Beverly Finigan Flynn in 2012. 

Flynn describes her late husband as a simple man who led a simple life. “We traveled together on ski trips to Austria, rode the Orient Express, ate great food. Charles loved to cook; he loved to tend to his garden of tomatoes and sugar-snap peas. But more than anything, he loved to read. Our house is filled floor to ceiling with his books — ancient editions of William Shakespeare, Rudyard Kipling, Louisa May Alcott.” 

Flynn continued, “He loved the quiet and simplicity of Vermont. He volunteered with the local fire station, flipped pancakes for the crew during the Columbus Day brunch, served on the board of trustees for the Norman William Public Library, and served as a member of the South Woodstock Design Review Commission.” 

Fred Barr, former Volunteer Fire Chief for the South Woodstock Station, remembers Humpstone fondly, telling the Standard, “I knew him for a very long time. He was a reliable community member, always cheerful, always willing to help out with the Fire Department. Every community should have someone like Charley. I’ll miss seeing him wave to me at the post office or bringing me some good news, even during the dreariest of days. We’re going to miss Charley a great deal. He was a truly wonderful man.” 

Chip Kendall, current Volunteer Fire Chief at the South Woodstock Station, echoed Barr’s sentiment, saying, “Charles served on the Fire Department board of directors for some time, along with being a member of the station. He flipped pancakes for us every Columbus Day with a smile on his face. I’ll miss his level-headedness and his willingness to treat everyone with respect. He handled every moment of hardship with tactfulness and empathy. He was a very honorable man, whom I feel lucky to have known.” 

This kindness and warmth was also mentioned by his youngest daughter, Susannah Michalson. She told the Standard, “My father loved his community of Woodstock a great deal. He also loved his extended family. My father had stepchildren, step nieces and nephews, and served as leader to all members of the family, blood-related or not. He taught us so many things, from how to find our voice and speak so as to be heard, to how to fight for a fair and just world. My father taught us how to act through love and grace, because behind every accomplishment and action, my father served through love. That love was felt by all who knew him.” 

Michalson shared that her dad was also a phenomenal cook, who would teach anyone interested the proper way to scramble eggs, flip an omelet, or make plum pudding. In the weeks since his passing, Michalson has missed her father’s sense of humor the most. She said, “Right up till the end, my father was ribbing people and joking around. I think I’ll miss his humor the most, calling him up and having a funny conversation. Even as he got sick, he was always able to find the humor in life. It was a very admirable quality.” 

Humpstone had a clear mind and a sharp wit up to the last few days of his life. Both of his daughters expressed their gratefulness to have been able to speak with him and laugh with him in the weeks leading up to his death. “I called my dad a few days before he passed to tell him I was coming up. He knew my voice. He remembered my visit. It was really special,” Alessandra Humpstone said. 

At the end of his life, Humpstone lived at Mertens House in Woodstock. 

Alessandra Humpstone concluded, “It was a dream fulfilled for my father to move to Woodstock and be a part of this community. He lived a very special life and will be greatly missed.” 

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, Aug. 9, at the South Woodstock Community Church beginning at 11 a.m. A reception will follow at the South Woodstock Fire Department.

By Max Fraser, Staff Sportswriter

We will never know what was going through Shane Tamura’s mind when he walked into the lobby of a midtown Manhattan office building just before 6:30 p.m. on Monday, July 28, clad in body armor and carrying an M4 assault rifle. 

Whatever his precise motivations may have been, nothing will bring back the lives of the four people Tamura gunned down as he tried and failed to find the elevators that would take him to the offices of the National Football League; or make whole the body of the fifth victim he critically injured on his way to the building’s thirty-third floor, where Tamura ended his rampage by taking his own life.

But as we process this most recent chapter in our country’s long-running and blood-soaked infatuation with guns, it’s worth pausing over the note found in Tamura’s wallet, hastily scribbled on stationery printed so very futilely with the words “Plan, Pause, Reflect & Flourish.”

“Football gave me CTE,” the rambling note reads at one point, using the common shorthand for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease that has been definitively linked to football and other contact sports in which repeated head trauma is common. “The league knowingly concealed the dangers to our brains to maximize profits. They failed us.”

It would be the grossest negligence to suggest that the NFL was in any direct way responsible for the recent bloodshed that unfolded quite literally on the league’s doorstep.

Political rhetoric aside, guns do kill people; footballs definitely do not.

But what has it been if not an act of societal negligence of the highest order, which has allowed us to tolerate these two terrains of American culture where violence is so deeply embedded that it has been effectively normalized; and which finally and some might say inevitably collided headlong into each other on a summer evening in New York City?

The July 28 shooting was, grimly, already the 254th mass shooting in just the first 209 days of 2025. These public eruptions of violence have left at least 200 people dead and nearly another 1,200 injured, according to data collected by the Gun Violence Archive. And yet they do not even begin to scratch the surface of the gun-related mortality rate in the United States.

Numbers like these vastly exceed those seen in any other country in the developed world. We know this. Yet nothing changes, not after the slaughter of school children in Columbine or Sandy Hook, concertgoers in Las Vegas, parade attendees in Illinois, worshippers in Pittsburgh, college students in Virginia, bowlers in Maine, moviegoers in Colorado — and now, office workers in New York.

Not much has changed, either, since the NFL signed a landmark settlement in 2015, in which the league finally agreed to compensate former players who developed brain diseases stemming from concussions suffered during their careers. This followed years in which the league, as Tamura’s suicide note quite aptly put it, “knowingly concealed” the connection between football, concussions, and CTE, and avoided legal responsibility for the damage done with tactics that mirrored those infamously deployed by Big Tobacco.

In the decade since the concussion settlement, the NFL has trumpeted the more than $1 billion it has issued in settlement payouts, and points to steady decreases in the concussion rate in recent seasons as a sign of a new commitment to player safety and injury prevention.

But a 2024 expose published in the Washington Post revealed that the NFL — whose total revenues exceeded $23 billion in the most recent fiscal year — denies roughly 85% of the total settlement claims it receives, including cases in which doctors have provided diagnoses of brain disease and where postmortem autopsies later reveal definitive evidence of CTE. 

And according to most of the recent data on head and spine injuries in youth sports, concussion rates have been going up rather than down among high school and college football players.

High school was the highest level of football that Tamura played. But during his career as a standout, yet undersized, running back at Golden Valley High School and Granada Hills Charter School in Southern California, Tamura’s former teammates recall him suffering numerous concussions that forced him to miss practices and playing time. A source close to his family who spoke with ESPN after the shooting reported that Tamura was already having painful and persistent headaches during his high school playing days.

By the time he packed his car full of a small arsenal of weapons and drove from his home in Las Vegas to New York City, Tamura, just 27 years old, had spent years seeking out medical treatment for the chronic headaches, cognitive decline, dramatic mood swings, and behavioral changes that have become the familiar — and irreversible — hallmarks of CTE. 

In the aftermath of the shooting, brain doctors have been quick to caution against jumping to conclusions about Tamura’s health — and rightly so. 

But for his part, Tamura was certain about what was going on in his head by the end. “Please study brain for CTE” read the final page of his note.

If Tamura proves to be right about his diagnosis, what are we to do with this information? Football, we know, is a physical sport by its very nature — as is hockey, soccer, lacrosse, rugby, and a half dozen other sports in which concussions are more or less commonplace.

But football is the only sport that seems to have a certain tolerance for violence baked into its DNA. It’s football, after all, that has traded in military metaphors since the days of Walter Camp and the “flying wedge.” It’s football, as the comedian George Carlin put it in one of his most famous routines, that is played like a game of war, with all its talk of “enemy territory” and “ground attacks” and “short bullet passes and long bombs” (unlike baseball, where everybody just wants to be safe at home!). 

By speaking the language of war, football has always run the risk of turning its athletes into something they are not: warriors. Warriors thrive on violence and self-sacrifice. But a 5’7” kid from Santa Clarita, Calif. should not be asked to sacrifice his long-term neurological health for another touchdown on Friday night — no matter the momentary glory it may bestow on the team, school, or country.

As a culture, we know this to be true. But we know that guns kill people, also, and we don’t do enough to put an end to that carnage, either. 

Or rather, our will for change is outmatched by those who know these truths, too, and yet who hold other, more mercenary truths to a higher value: politicians, lobbyists, league commissioners.

If there is something to be said after yet another prayer for the dead, let it be this: enough is enough.

Chris passed away July 31st, the day after his 38th birthday at DHMC after an unimaginable short and hard-fought battle with cancer, surrounded by family and close friends. 

Chris was born on July 30th, 1987 at DHMC to Curtis and Wendy Barr. He was a graduate of the class of 2005 from WUHS.

Chris met Susie Chamberlin the summer of 2012, swooned over a game of horseshoes, they began their life together. They celebrated 13 years together on July 4 this year. In August 2021, they welcomed their beautiful daughter Charlotte into the world, who was the light of his life. Becoming a father was his biggest accomplishment. 

Chris began working for the Town of Woodstock, for the Village Department, July of 2017. He was promoted to Director of Public Works last year, an accomplishment he was very proud of, in which he shared a very close bond to the folks he worked with. 

Chris was many things, but the ones that stood out the most was his true patriotism and a true friend to all. He loved his country and its flag. As an 8th generation Vermonter, he understood what being a real Vermonter meant. He would give the shirt off his back and when he loved someone or something, he loved hard, with everything in him. 

He was an avid hunter and fisherman, enjoying his annual deer hunt with his dad. He never missed an opening morning. 

If you were around Chris, you were listening to music, talking about pistols, hot rods, or Harleys, and could always expect a good laugh. His humor and charm were infectious and he will be sorely missed. 

Chris is survived by parents Curt and Wendy, partner and love of his life, Susie Chamberlin and their beautiful daughter Charlotte, and his ‘brother’ Jacob Crane. 

He was predeceased by maternal grandparents Maxwell ‘Bun’ and Charlotte Maxham and paternal grandparents Stewart and Audrey Barr. 

Donations to his daughter Charlotte’s education fund can be made to Charlotte Barr, 734 Long Hill Rd South Woodstock, VT 05071.

The Cabot Funeral Home of Woodstock is assisting the family. An online guestbook can be found at cabotfh.com.

A Celebration Of Life will be held on Aug. 23, 2025 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the South Woodstock Fire Station.

David R. “Mooner” Cogswell, 59, died Monday, July 28, 2025, at home in Quechee.

He was born January 26, 1966, in Norwalk, Conn., a son of Dennis Cogswell and Judith (Butler) Cogswell. David spent his early years in New Canaan, Conn., where he graduated from high school before receiving his plumber’s training at Wright Tech in Stamford, Conn. David began his career as a master plumber in Connecticut before moving to the Upper Valley in the early 1990s, where he continued his career in plumbing at Dartmouth-Hitchcock for several years. He later worked at A.L. Bellimer Services in Bridgewater until his health prevented him from working. David lived in Fairlee for a time, before living in the Woodstock area and most recently in Quechee for the past 20 years.

David loved animals and operated a rescue for many cats and dogs over the years. In his spare time, he enjoyed spending time outdoors, fishing and riding motorcycles, ATVs and snowmobiles with friends and family at the family’s camp in Bridgewater.

He is survived by his father, Dennis Cogswell of Woodstock; brother, Christopher Cogswell and his wife, Rose, of Florida; his brother, Jason Grady and his wife, Mel; nieces, Celeste and Stephanie; nephews, Andrew and Matthew; an aunt, Lori Flynn of Bridgewater; longtime girlfriend, Tina DeLuca of Quechee; as well as several cousins and many close friends, including LouAnn Cogswell.

A visitation and funeral service was held at the Knight Funeral Home in White River Jct. on Saturday, Aug. 2. Condolences to David’s family may be made in an online guestbook at knightfuneralhomes.com.

Roberto Mario Rodriguez, age 79, passed away peacefully on July 14, 2025, at Mt. Ascutney Hospital in Windsor, Vt. Roberto was born on November 17, 1945, in Santiago, Chile, to Mario Rodriguez and Marjorie Talman Rodriguez. He is survived by his wife, Krysia Rodriguez (Maziec), son Tony, daughter Elizabeth, sister Elizabeth Filleul, brother-in-law Francis Filleul, and nieces and nephews.

He and his family moved to the United States in 1994 and settled in Windsor, Vt. He was a wonderful father and loving husband. As a father, he encouraged his children to explore their creativity and artistic expression. With his wife, they shared a strong bond of mutual love and respect.

As a distinguished museum professional whose career spanned five decades, he held the positions of deputy and executive director at many museums and cultural institutions in Canada and the United States. He was a lifelong car enthusiast who was renowned for his extensive knowledge of automobiles and their histories.

Roberto’s legacy is one of quiet brilliance, dedication, and professionalism. Always a gentleman, he treated family and friends with genuine respect and kindness. Roberto will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him.

Information and details for Roberto’s Celebration of Life Gathering will be shared soon at a later date at Knight Funeral Home’s website where you are invited to share online condolences (knightfuneralhomes.com). Memorial donations are appreciated to the American Lung Association (lung.org).

Mallory Messner Semple passed away peacefully at her home in North Pomfret on July 16, 2025, shortly after her 100th birthday. She is predeceased by her husband of 58 years, John P. Semple (who passed away in 2015); by her sister, Rosemary Messner Kern; and by her brother, Arthur J. Messner, Jr. Born on June 22, 1925, in Rochester, N.Y., she was the youngest child of Arthur J. Messner and Gertrude Mallory Messner. At the suggestion of her father, her given name was her mother’s maiden name.

She attended Columbia School (now Allendale Columbia) in Rochester, then studied at Vassar College, earning her bachelor’s degree in Mathematics in 1945. At her graduation, she held several administrative positions first in New York City, then in Boston. She met her husband John at Boston University, where she was executive assistant to the Art department chair. They married in September 1957 and, with funding from a Tiffany Fellowship, spent a year in Florence, Italy. Upon their return, they settled in Pembroke, Mass. Mallory gave birth to her twins John and Benjamin in 1960, and to her third son, Timothy, in 1962. In 1969, John and Mallory relocated to North Pomfret. The couple would spend the rest of their lives in the 19th-century farmhouse they renovated. Mallory managed John’s career as an artist as he gained regional and then national prominence. John was always the first to acknowledge that he could never have achieved his level of success without his partnership with Mallory. 

Mallory was a wonderful storyteller. For her family, she painted a vibrant picture of her youth growing up in Rochester; of summers spent in rural Ohio at her maternal grandparents’ home; of growing up during World War II; and of the time she and John spent in Florence in the 1950s, while post-war Europe was still rebuilding. Though her early life had been cosmopolitan, she deeply appreciated and loved her quiet rural existence in North Pomfret. Many will remember Mallory for the interest she took in others, for her down-to-earth manner, and for her kindness. Her three sons will remember her with profound gratitude as a mother who deeply loved her children and who devoted herself to their upbringing. There will be no public funeral. Mallory is survived by her sons and daughters-in-law John (Marsha) of Dallas, Texas and Sharon, Vt.; Ben (Terry) of Spokane, Wash.; and Tim of North Pomfret. 

The family gratefully thanks Bayada Hospice Care and VNH/VNA. Anyone wishing to remember Mallory should consider a charitable donation to the Ottauquechee Health Center, Mount Ascutney Hospital Development Office, 289 County Road, Windsor VT 05089.

The Cabot Funeral Home in Woodstock is assisting the family.

Doris Ethel (Potter) Roberts, 91, died on Wednesday July 16, 2025 at the Jack Byrnes Center in Lebanon, N.H. She was born on January 17, 1934 at home in South Pomfret, the daughter of Allan and Ethel (Luce) Potter.

Doris lived in South Pomfret and Woodstock, and for several years wintered in Wachula, Florida. Her parents owned the Teago Garage and there she spent her youth alongside her father acquiring mechanic skills. Over the years, she also spent time at various other jobs, including Houghton’s, Red and White, and Gillinghams. 

Her talents in the kitchen led to several roles; cooking for MIT students at their Vermont retreat, teaching Girl Scouts skills to earn their cooking badge, and creating numerous wedding cakes over the years. She was a docent at the Billings Farm and Museum, and a committed member of the Grange from the time she was a youth until her death. Over the years she was involved in numerous community organizations including the Vermont Extension Service, South Pomfret Home Dem, and Ladies Circle. 

Doris enjoyed gardening, a wide variety of needlework, and square dancing. She canned and froze produce from her substantial garden to see her family through the winters. She won numerous awards through Pomona and State Grange contests for her embroidery, knitting, and crocheting. As a capable seamstress, she made much of her children’s clothing, and sewed many square dance outfits for everyone as well. 

She was predeceased by her parents, Allan and Ethel Potter, her sister, Madine Ballentine, and her husband, Raymond. She is survived by her children, daughter June (Kenneth) of Castleton, son Anthony of Weathersfield; and by her grandchildren, Charles Ward, Timothy Roberts, Matthew Roberts, Hillary Ward, Sarah Roberts, and Molly Haynes; as well as by great-grandchildren Emma, Marshall, Carter, Weston, Josie, Jasmine, and Jace.

A memorial gathering will be held on Saturday, July 26 from 2-4 p.m. at the Pomfret Town Hall. Burial is being held privately. 

While Doris loved flowers, she much preferred a kind word or generous deed, so, in lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Teago Fire Department, P.O. Box 40, South Pomfret, VT 05067 in her memory.

An online guestbook can be found at cabotfh.com.

A memorial service for Charles C. Humpstone, 94, who died on July 14, 2025, will be held on Saturday, Aug. 9, at the South Woodstock Community Church beginning at 11 a.m. A reception will follow at the South Woodstock Fire Department.

The Cabot Funeral Home is assisting the family.

Allan Russell Wylie, of South Strafford, Vt., passed away on July 19, 2025 at the age 84. He was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. on Dec. 13, 1940 to Margaret Ember and Robert Russell Wylie. At the age of three, he moved with his family to Danvers, Mass. He was very active in the Boy Scouts and earned the rank of Eagle Scout. He also delivered newspapers for a number of years. After graduating from Holton High School in 1958 he went to the U.S. Air Force Academy, graduating in 1962 and then moving to Raleigh, N.C. for a graduate degree in Mathematics at NC State.

In 1964, Allan was stationed at the Defense Intelligence Agency and in December of that year he met Janice Heigham. They were married in 1967, shortly before leaving for Colorado Springs, where Allan taught mathematics at the Air Force Academy for four years. Their two sons, Brian and Glenn, were born there. During that time, he served a brief tour of duty in Saigon and then a longer stint in Thailand in 1967-1968. As he was fond of saying, the Air Force figured that if you knew math you must be good with computers, and upon his return from overseas he went to work at the Pentagon on the Unix system. 

In 1982, he retired from the Air Force and moved with his family to South Strafford. He served as a computer consultant at Dartmouth College, and over the next 43 years became active in politics serving on the Orange County Republican Committee. He was deeply devoted to his God and worked tirelessly to support his church, both locally and in the diocese.

He is survived by his wife of nearly 58 years, Jan; son Brian, his wife Liesl, and their two sons, Christopher and Matthew; son Glenn, his wife, Amber, and their son, Justin; and also by his younger brother, Scott, of Springfield, Oregon.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his name to the Dayspring Pregnancy Center of the Upper Valley. A memorial service will be held at the Cabot funeral home in Woodstock, Vt. at 2 p.m. on September 13, 2025.

To our readers,

The Vermont Standard Annual Appeal is the one time each year when we come right out and ask for your help with our mission to preserve quality local journalism for our community.

We believe that an informed public is essential if a community like ours is to have a well-functioning democracy. We think credible journalism – the local news, information, and community connection that only a local newspaper provides – is necessary to maintain the quality of life here.

Unfortunately, newspapers throughout the country are going out of business at a rate of more than two per week, and many of those that are still functioning have been debilitated.

The 171-year-old Vermont Standard is our state’s oldest weekly newspaper and at this point, it’s rather unique. To this day, it continues to provide high-quality journalism in print and online to Woodstock and the surrounding towns that the paper serves -– including Hartland, Pomfret, Bridgewater, Barnard, Quechee, Reading, West Windsor, Plymouth and points beyond. In recent years we’ve taken steps to improve the Standard’s coverage, and it has been repeatedly recognized as the best small weekly newspaper in New England.

It’s worth saving.

Professional, ethical, accurate, and fair journalism that you can trust is needed now more than ever in a society dominated by social media echo chambers, political and social division, and the proliferation of misinformation. As seen elsewhere, losing the local newspaper diminishes residents’ civic engagement and leaves a void in the community that bad actors with a cynical agenda often rush in to fill with disinformation campaigns.

Unlike most others, the Standard is an independent newspaper. We are purpose-driven rather than profit-driven. The Standard delivers a colorful, comprehensive local news report in print each Thursday, as well as online updates all week long. Nearly all articles and photos in the Standard are original reporting by our tiny staff, freelancers and volunteers. The community embraces this paper – circulation is strong and steady.

But, just like newspapers throughout the country, the Standard is struggling to remain economically viable.

The smaller, locally-owned businesses that traditionally supported local news organizations with their advertising have been replaced by chains, big box stores, and online sellers that do not actively support community journalism. Classified ads for homes, cars, jobs, and used merchandise are no longer a substantial source of funding for local news because they are now often run online instead.

The Standard, which already operates on a shoestring, has resisted the strategy embraced by so many newspapers across our nation to further strip down its small operation to bare bones, to the point that it can’t get the job done. Instead, we are striving to preserve the Standard as a quality news operation that can continue doing the job serving our community.

Funding local journalism now largely depends on philanthropic support from civic-minded residents who care deeply about this community and recognize the value the Standard brings to the table.

In the past year, a small local board has established a 501(c)(3) public charity called the Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation to help ensure that our community will always have quality local journalism to inform and connect our neighbors; to help ensure the Standard keeps going. All donations to the foundation are tax-deductible.

Preserving the Standard is obviously important to the Greater Woodstock community. But this also has bigger implications.

Most local newspapers are on the brink of insolvency even though they are still the primary entities America counts on to cover local news and inform our citizens — especially in smaller towns. The newspapers are every bit as important to the functioning, spirit and soul of those towns as their public library, their theaters, their churches, and other vital institutions. We must find a way, both collectively and individually, to keep credible local journalism alive. The future of our communities and democracy depends on it.

If there is any one place in the country where residents truly appreciate and embrace both their community and their newspaper, it’s here. If our community can’t find a way to sustain its local journalism, there’s probably little hope for most others.

We sincerely hope you’ll consider making a contribution to this year’s 2024 annual appeal. Our need is quite urgent, to say the least, and we are profoundly grateful for anything you can do to help us.

The Foundation is a public charity so your gift will be fully tax-deductible.

Your donation will be utilized in the form of project grants to support the Vermont Standard’s mission to inform, connect, and educate our community on issues of public importance.

If you’re able to help, please send a check to PO Box 88, Woodstock, VT 05091. Be sure to make your check out to the “Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation.” Or go to our Vermont Standard THIS WEEK website at www.thevermontstandard.com to make a contribution with your credit card.

Also, if you have a family foundation, we hope you’ll add the Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation (EIN: 93-3287932) to the worthwhile causes you regularly support.

We consider it a great honor that you trust and count on the Standard to cover local news in our community. We can’t thank you enough for your friendship, your readership, and your support of this worthwhile mission we’re pursuing.

Phil Camp, president        Dan Cotter, publisher

By Dan Cotter, publisher 

“So, how’s Phil?”

I get that a lot. Oftentimes, just when I’m about finished talking on the phone with someone from Woodstock or the surrounding towns they inquire about my good friend and partner in publishing the Vermont Standard, Phil Camp – the 88-year-old lifelong resident of our community who is its most enthusiastic booster.

The callers know that he battles the health ailments that often come at his age, and then some. I typically reassure them that he remains unfailingly positive, no matter the challenges that he or the Standard faces.

Not too long ago, a caller signed off by saying something to the effect of, “You know, in our house we regard Phil as a hero.”

That’s not surprising. There’s something pretty darn heroic about a guy who dearly loves his town and has wholeheartedly dedicated the last fifty years to making sure it has a quality news source to inform and connect its citizens. Despite the advertising revenue loss that threatens its viability. Despite the flood, fire, and pandemic that made things even more difficult. Despite his own health challenges. He still wants nothing more than just to see the Standard continue to thrive into the future.

I’m reminded of another local publisher, Tim Calabro at the Herald in neighboring Randolph, who I read about recently in a story published by Seven Days. He bought his hometown paper about ten years ago, but these days, the article said his publisher duties include being the editorial director, selectboard correspondent, staff photographer, newspaper deliveryman in the early morning hours, building repairman, and head of finance, among no doubt many other roles he juggles as he strives to keep the paper afloat.

He told Seven Days reporter Rachel Hellman, “I would be really upset if this community didn’t have a newspaper. I would be OK not being the person who ran that newspaper, but I don’t see anyone else who is particularly willing or capable of doing it. So, I kind of feel like I have to do this for as long as I can.”

And Tim is certainly not alone. Independent newspaper publishers here in Vermont and throughout New England and the rest of the country all find themselves trying to hang in there — despite the intense pressure and red ink — trying to do whatever it takes to continue producing credible, quality local journalism that serves as the glue for their beloved communities.

Some would question why Phil, Tim, and the rest of us are continuing to shoulder the responsibility for keeping local news flowing and the lights on. It’s a steep uphill battle and it’s obviously not for the money (whenever I see my financial planner I simply avoid making eye contact…)

At some level, there’s patriotism and a devotion to what we see as our job to help foster a cohesive, informed community that has a reliable place to turn for fair and accurate information that residents need to make good decisions, both personally and collectively. There’s also Phil’s passion and mine that the Standard should be a news source, both in print and digital formats, where people can get to know about — and be inspired by — their neighbors’ accomplishments; one that reveals and celebrates the many occurrences in our day-to-day lives here that are so uplifting.

And then there’s that point in each week when the Standard rolls off the press, and what started as a blank page just days ago is now full of local news articles, photos, entertaining and educational feature stories, local personality profiles, opinion columns, town correspondents’ reports, announcements, listings of things to do for fun, local obituaries, bits of news and ads from local businesses and organizations, and the stories of our children’s triumphs in school and in sports. 

I think that’s when we are most reminded why we do this.

This is important. The Standard is the only medium that produces this for our community. If we’re no longer viable, all of that will cease to exist.

Whether or not local publishers working against the odds to sustain this weekly miracle are truly “heroic” is probably best judged in the eye of the beholder. But it’s certain that all the responsibility for preserving local journalism can’t fall only on the shoulders of the publishers. That’s just not sustainable. 

As Phil has often said, this paper belongs to the community.

We sincerely hope you’ll consider joining us on this journey by contributing to this year’s 2024 annual appeal. When all is said and done, my friends, you’re the real heroes that our community is counting on. 

Also, if you have a family foundation, we hope you’ll consider adding the Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation (EIN: 93-3287932) to the worthwhile causes you regularly support.

The Foundation is a public charity so your gift will be fully tax-deductible. 

Your donation will be utilized in the form of project grants to support the Vermont Standard’s mission to inform, connect, and educate our community on issues of public importance. 

Our need is quite urgent, and we are profoundly grateful for anything you can do to help us with this mission.

If you’re willing to make a tax-deductible donation to our 2024 Annual Appeal, please send a check to PO Box 88, Woodstock, VT 05091, or go to our Vermont Standard THIS WEEK website at www.thevermontstandard.com to make a contribution with your credit card. Be sure to make your check out to the “Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation.”

By Dan Cotter, publisher

A huge sigh of relief and a fist pump were my first reactions, as well as a gaze skyward as I mouthed the words “thank you!” The tears welling up in my older friend’s eyes were his response when I told him.

Then we shared a long, hard hug.

After lots of research and preparation, and then six months of waiting for the application to be processed, Phil Camp and I recently learned that the IRS has approved the Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation’s application for tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) and deemed the Foundation to be a public charity.

The approval wasn’t in much doubt, really. But now it’s official.

The Foundation was established last August and it is primarily dedicated to preserving the Vermont Standard and its role in informing citizens and supporting democracy in our area well into the future. The Foundation has a board made up of local residents who care deeply about our community and the value local journalism provides. Phil and I are on the board too. Together, we’re working to keep the 171-year-old Vermont Standard going while taking steps to position the paper’s print and digital journalism for long-term sustainability.

Recognizing the critical role the Standard plays in informing and connecting our community, this Foundation wants to avoid letting our area become a “news desert,” as has happened in hundreds of other places throughout the US in recent years. Newspapers like the Standard are currently dying off at a pace of 2.5 per week. Nor do we want to end up like the hundreds of cities and towns where profit-seeking corporations that have no devotion to the public welfare have acquired their local paper and stripped it of its resources, to the point that it is only a pathetic shadow of its former self and incapable of doing its job.

Providing accurate, credible, reliable news and information to its audience is a local news organization’s primary role. A functioning democracy requires an informed, engaged public. The Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation’s board members, advisors and friends will help Phil and I in our mission to raise enough money to keep quality journalism flowing here.

So, I’m glad to report that any donation you’ve made to the Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation to support the Standard’s mission to inform, connect, and educate our community on issues of public importance is indeed tax-deductible dating back to the inception of the Foundation in late August 2023, as all donations will be going forward.

At 88 years old, Phil feels a real sense of urgency about making sure that our community will always have local journalism – especially given the 40+ years he’s dedicated to leading the paper and his unrivaled love for Woodstock and its surrounding towns. We know we’re in a race against the clock. But now, with the Foundation’s charity status and your tax deduction confirmed, we hope there will be even more support from donors and family foundations that will help us accomplish this very important mission.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your encouragement and generosity. If you would like to contribute to our Annual Appeal, please send us a check at PO Box 88, Woodstock, VT 05091, or go to our Vermont Standard THIS WEEK website at https://thevermontstandard.com/annual-appeal/ to make a contribution with your credit card. Please be sure to make your check out to the “Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation.”

“View From Here”

By Sandy Gilmour, Woodstock resident

If you are reading this column right now, that’s good news for the community. It means you probably paid for this paper, hard copy or online, maybe even made a donation to it, and value its contribution to our lives in Woodstock and surrounding areas. We are so fortunate to have the Vermont Standard week in and week out. For years, small-town dailies and weeklies have been closing their doors, leaving communities without a soul. Papers like the Standard are dying off at the rate of two per week across America. 

Such towns are called “news deserts.” Imagine weeks, months and years going by with no professional reporting on selectboards, trustees, school boards, taxes and roads. Zero stories about public school events, sports, student accomplishments, obituaries, gardening tips, neighborly cooking advice, local history, and no reports from towns from Brownsville to Pomfret. 

We would know next to nothing about the interminable Peace Field Farm restaurant delay, the Ottauquechee Trail head fiasco, the high-stakes Woodstock Foundation controversy and the fatal shooting off Central Street, including the bravery of Woodstock Police Sgt. Joe Swanson. In my view, these stories have been really well reported. 

To not get these stories delivered to us every week would be a news desert right in verdant Woodstock, for sure, a gaping hole left to be filled by rumor and mis- and dis-information, the precursors of community dissolution. So we are blessed indeed to have had the Vermont Standard around — nonstop — since 1853, and owned by beloved Woodstocker Phil Camp, now 87, since 1981. 

But as Mr. Camp has pointed out many times over the years, the paper’s solvency hangs on a thread and now more than ever. In hundreds of towns across America, owners, beleaguered by losing subscribers and advertising to social media, simply folded or sold out to hedge funds and private equity firms, whose investors are bereft of community values. Not Phil Camp. He has always said, “I never sold out. I’m never giving up.” He made up for past deficits (difference between expenses, like staff, and income from subscriptions and ads) out of company savings from better times, week after week. He stayed with it after being flooded out by Tropical Storm Irene in 2011 and being burned out by the Central Street fire of 2018 (taking out his camera and snapping photos of the flames and rubble).

The paper was in dire straits when COVID hit, saved by the forgiven federal PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) loans through 2021, when the largesse ended. Then beginning in January 2022, the community stepped up, responding to a fundraising appeal. I was rather stunned to learn from the Standard’s publisher, Dan Cotter, that the paper’s annual shortfall of $150,000-$200,000 is being covered by donations from local Woodstock residents. There are many (and appreciated) donations in the $50-$100-$200 range, but really heavy lifting is being done by donors of means who, Mr. Cotter says, highly value the contribution local journalism makes to communities. Several of these more-than-generous and anonymous donors contribute $20-25,000 and more — each — and, Mr. Cotter says, without any hint of trying to influence coverage. Without them, surely there would be no Vermont Standard in the mailbox or online, just the unreliable grapevine. At the same time, the paper is moving to create other revenue streams, including an online advertising app for Woodstock happenings and a magazine, in addition to improving thevermontstandard.com website for go-to news. 

Still, the operation is bare bones. It seems to me a miracle the paper “hits the streets” without fail every Thursday with some pretty good and important stories that we need to know about, and many features that are good to know about. And there are just two, count them, two, full-time staffers who report stories: the seasoned and prolific Tom Ayres, and Tess Hunter, who is also the managing editor. Ms. Hunter says reporter staffing is the big issue; she has on hand freelance contract reporters that can be assigned to stories if they are available and if they want to spend the evening at yet another unexciting if important selectboard meeting. “It’s a constant juggling act,” Ms. Hunter told me, “between finding the right person for the story and just getting people to say ‘yes.’” Still, she is committed, saying, “Without us making the attempt, there would be no common base of understanding and little sense of the community spirit of the area or the hard news happening within it.”

Volunteer contributors are crucial; regular community writers like Jennifer Falvey (insightful musings on life) and Kurt Stauder (pointed political observations) are popular. Mary Lee Camp’s business column is relentlessly informative. 

Other key staff are listed in the box below — lean and spare!

Publisher and editorial content director Dan Cotter, 64, hired by Mr. Camp in 2018 after years of informal consulting for the Standard, is not a household name in Woodstock, though he is hands-on every issue. He owns a condo in the area and is here about half the month, returning to his home and wife in Chicago for the remainder. He has decades in the industry as an executive and consultant, was head of the New England Newspaper and Press Association, and takes a no-nonsense hard line on newspaper independence and objectivity. It’s an unusual situation but Mr. Camp, still the president of the company, has total confidence in Mr. Cotter and has turned over the Vermont Standard, its operation, assets and its future, to his close friend. Mr. Camp has indeed not “given up,” but hopes to ensure his dear newspaper’s future with this arrangement. 

So where does the Standard go now? Around the country, journalists are reinventing newspapers and online reporting. The most promising seems to be the non-profit model, where deductible contributions from community-minded supporters can be made even as the publication accepts subscription fees and what advertising there is left. There are indications that the Standard is moving in this direction, and the sooner the better, in my view. When I pressed Publisher Cotter on the issue, he responded with this very encouraging comment: 

“In the past couple of years, members of the community have literally kept the Standard alive with their donations — and a handful of them have given very substantial sums, even without the benefit of a tax break. That’s how much they value the role our local journalism plays in the quality of life in our area. We are working now to put the paper on a path to where donors could indeed have a tax benefit. For it is essential to our democracy and our own survival that we have the financial support we need from the community to maintain a news organization — modest as it is — that’s capable of producing good local journalism that adequately informs our citizens.”

I can’t imagine Woodstock without the Vermont Standard. The new business model provides great hope the paper will not only survive but as a Woodstock-based non-profit, continue to expand coverage to benefit all of us in this great community. 

Note: This (unpaid) column originated with me alone! 

Sandy Gilmour is a retired NBC News correspondent who lives in Woodstock.

Throughout the country newspapers are in a fight for their lives.          Here too.

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