Demoted Woodstock Police Chief Joe Swanson has amended his civil lawsuit against the village and top officials to add more claims after an attempt was made to place the veteran officer on involuntary medical leave for an unsubstantiated claim of “severely shaking hands,” according to new filings in Vermont Superior Court.

A complete medical exam by Swanson’s medical doctor proved the village’s claim made last week was invalid and should be added to the $5 million civil lawsuit, according to Linda Fraas, lawyer for Swanson.

She maintained acting Police Chief Chris O’Keeffe and municipal manager Eric Duffy perpetuated a false medical claim in retaliation for Swanson fighting to resume his job as head of Woodstock Police.

“Defendants Duffy and O’Keeffe actions were motivated by retaliation, discrimination and malice, and constitute harassment and creation of a hostile workplace,” Fraas wrote in the amended lawsuit.

The newly amended complaint outlines an odd sequence of events that unfolded leading up to the involuntary paid leave for Swanson last week. Swanson was quickly restored to his demoted post as a patrol officer once a medical doctor cleared him, the records noted.

Duffy had put Swanson on involuntary medical leave on Aug. 20 and provided the former chief up to three weeks to get a medical exam, but Swanson didn’t wait. The following day, Swanson secured a complete medical checkup from Dr. William L. Burch, who has been treating him at the VA Hospital in White River Junction since June 2017. The doctor gave Swanson a clean bill of health, the amended lawsuit notes.

“When I examined him today, I did not discern any hand-shaking and I did not discern any abnormal movements,” Burch said in a letter dated Aug. 21.

Burch also noted that “I can speak to the numerous prior meetings I have had with Mr. Swanson and at no time did I discern significant hand shaking or tremors nor did he report such issues or problems to me.”

Duffy did not respond to multiple phone and text messages about the medical leave and the new legal claim filed against him.

O’Keeffe said this week that he would be unable to comment on any possible confidential medical issues raised in the lawsuit.

O’Keeffe was never named in the initial lawsuit as a defendant, but based on the village’s initial written response, Fraas moved to amend the original complaint to add the acting chief for three legal claims. Now Fraas has added a fourth claim against O’Keeffe.

The initial request to add O’Keeffe is still pending before Judge H. Dickson Corbett, who has been handling the case since it was initially filed.

The amended complaint noted Duffy forced Swanson to share with his doctor the manager’s medical concerns, provide a copy of his police job description and obtain a note verifying he was fit to return to work at Woodstock Police.

Swanson was allowed to return to his demoted position of patrol officer on the overnight shift. 

The lawsuit has now expanded to 286 paragraphs, outlining the misconduct claims alleged by Swanson.

The new filing claims the Vermont Fair Employment Practices Act (VFEPA) was violated when O’Keeffe and Duffy retaliated and discriminated against Swanson by placing him on involuntary medical leave on Aug. 20 “without any objective reasonable grounds to do so under the pretext of concerns regarding his fitness to serve as a patrol officer due to unfounded allegations of ‘shaky hands.’”

For more on this story, please see our August 28 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

A U.S. Department of Defense-authorized military training run by two large C-130 transport planes from the Delaware Air National Guard flew at a height estimated at just 200 feet above the ground in passing over Woodstock Village early in the afternoon of Tuesday, Aug. 19, sparking considerable fear, confusion, and indignation among some local residents.

Wendy Marrinan was standing with her family dog in the driveway of her home when the pair of large U.S. Air Force cargo planes suddenly appeared flying “barely over the top” of her two-story, attached barn on Mountain Avenue, Marrinan told the Standard this week.

“The sight line of perception felt like they did just come out from around the barn. It was so sudden. It seemed like they were on a turn, coming down low after coming around Mt. Tom. That’s sort of the arc that it felt it was on.” Marrinan said, the trepidation still evident in her voice one week after the C-130 flyover. “I could see this brown exhaust coming out, and I started running down my driveway and yelled out loud to no one but my dog, ‘Oh, my God!’ My dog was shaking like a leaf. I was 100 percent sure that I was about to watch a plane crash. They didn’t crash, but I was waiting for it after they left my sightline,” the longtime village resident recalled. “I was waiting for the boom and the cloud of smoke — that’s what really shook me up. And after that, I felt like, ‘Oh, my gosh, this is what war feels like.’”

Jody Eaton is a personal trainer and health coach for many area residents, including Wendy Marrinan. Eaton has a studio on the third floor of the Woodstock Recreation Center on River Street — and it was there that the fitness expert was working with another client over Zoom when the pair of Delaware C-130s zipped into the airspace directly overhead. “I heard what I thought was a plane crash-landing into the Rec,” Easton wrote in an email to a neighbor that she shared with the Standard on Tuesday afternoon. “It was the loudest sound I’ve ever heard [other than a microburst back in 1995.] I hit the ground and covered my ears. I know it sounds dramatic, but it felt frightening.

Sleuthing by the Standard — in close collaboration with two Woodstock Village residents, Bob Cavnar and Sandy Gilmour, both licensed pilots — revealed flight data about the mysterious aircraft, including their close-formation flight path over central and southeastern Vermont, and the original site from which the planes had departed that morning — a jointly operated commercial and military airport in New Castle, Del., just south of Wilmington. Utilizing FlightRadar24, a comprehensive app popular with airline passengers, aircraft pilots, and aficionados of flight, the investigation revealed that the cargo planes that dipped so low in the air over Woodstock were headquartered with the 166th Airlift Wing at the New Castle Air National Guard Base.

Data from the FlightRadar app and website indicated that the planes flew over River and Central Streets in Woodstock Village at about 1:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 19, at a speed of approximately 250 miles per hour and at a height of roughly 200 feet above ground level. Moreover, perusal of the 166th Airlift Wing’s Facebook page, which is managed by the Delaware National Guard Office of Public Affairs, also revealed another interesting aspect to the training mission over Vermont: one of the primary pilots was on his final flight in a C-130, capping an estimated 5,500 hours of military flight hours prior to his imminent retirement. Col. Jeremy Goodwin took to the air in a traditional, ceremonial “Fini Flight” that morning. 

In a detailed email response to queries from the Standard regarding those C-130 training maneuvers over Vermont, Maj. Bernie Kale, the state public affairs director for the Delaware National Guard, who was aboard for the ride with Col. Goodwin and his crew, addressed questions about the nature of the training flights originating from the 166th Airlift Wing. “I appreciate the opportunity to clarify the purpose and nature of the training mission,” Kale wrote to the Standard on Monday. “On August 19, two C-130H3 aircraft from the Delaware Air National Guard’s 166th Airlift Wing, 142nd Airlift Squadron, conducted a scheduled low-level training flight. These flights are a routine and necessary part of Tactical Airlift training conducted by Air National Guard and Active-Duty units nationwide. The training ensures that our crews maintain proficiency in the low-altitude navigation skills required to safely deliver personnel and supplies in both combat and humanitarian operations.

“At no point were Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations or Department of Defense (DoD) flight rules violated,” Kale noted. “Our pilots and aircrew are highly trained to operate in accordance with strict altitude, airspeed, and routing requirements that prioritize both safety and mission realism. While flight tracking applications like FlightRadar24 can be useful tools, they may not always provide precise altitude readings due to barometric settings and system limitations. 

“We recognize that military aircraft can sometimes appear lower or louder than what communities are accustomed to, particularly in regions that do not regularly host tactical airlift training. While these flights are essential to national readiness, we remain mindful of community concerns and work to balance training needs with minimizing impacts on the public,” the Delaware-based public affairs specialist continued, adding, “To address one specific point: While Air Force crews often participate in fini flights for retiring aircrew members, the August 19 mission was still a standard training sortie,” emphasizing those last three words in a bold type.

For more on this, please see our August 28 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

A tax hike for Barnard residents is being discussed to help pay for the final infrastructure projects leftover from the July 2023 floods. The proposed tax increase is intended to pay for the nearly $2 million in projects.

Selectboard vice chair Richard Lancaster told the Standard that the remaining projects that need addressing are a bridge and a bank slide on Chateauguay Road, and another bank slide on Mt. Hunger Road. The selectboard’s rough cost estimate of $2 million includes engineering and repair costs.

At its Aug. 20 meeting, the board voted to advertise a request-for-proposals from engineering firms to take on the leftover projects. The board also voted to request an extension from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for the projects’ completion in the hope that the projects will receive reimbursement from the federal agency.

But according to Lancaster, if FEMA does grant an extension on the timeline of the projects, Barnard will still have to foot the bill in the meantime. One option for paying for that bill is through a matching rise in taxes. “Basically, [we would] have to go to the town next spring and say, ‘Folks, we’re going to raise taxes considerably in order to pay for these projects, with the understanding that we will get a reimbursement from FEMA when it’s all done,’” Lancaster told the Standard.

FEMA reimbursement would likely be received by Barnard between eight and ten months after the completion of both projects — well after the March Town Meeting vote on the budget for the 2026 fiscal year.

As an alternative to raising taxes, the selectboard is also considering a state grant to support the projects, Lancaster said. While state grants would extend the project timeline for Mt. Hunger Road and Chateauguay Road by two years, Lancaster says they could also mitigate the costs of the project and the need to raise taxes. State support would also be valuable in the case that FEMA decides against reimbursing Barnard, which would most likely be because of a delay in construction, Lancaster said. 

Discussion on how to fund the remaining projects will continue at upcoming selectboard meetings. 

For more on this, please see our August 28 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

The Yankee Bookshop, a Woodstock Village institution that first opened its doors 90 years ago in 1935, is expanding into a neighboring retail space on Central Street previously occupied by the Vermont Eclectic t-shirt and gift shop.

The shop’s eighth and current owners, Kari Meutsch and Kristian Preylowski. announced the expansion effort on social media last week. Preylowski spoke about the expansion effort in a phone conversation with the Standard from the bookstore at 12 Central Street on Monday. He reported that construction work in the former Vermont Eclectic space at 12B Central Street in the heart of Woodstock Village is likely to begin within the next few weeks.

“It’s probably going to happen in at least two phases,” Preylowski commented on Monday afternoon. “We don’t have any projected date yet as to when the expanded area will open.” The bookstore co-proprietor added that, “We can probably have something happening in that second space in a couple of weeks. The bigger part would take place closer to holiday time, if not after the new year. So it’ll happen in at least two phases.”

For more on this, please see our August 28 edition of the Vermont Standard

ECFiber officials are claiming a significant victory in the internet service provider’s ongoing legal battle with the Vermont-based ISP’s current operator, the Maine-based Biddeford Internet Corp., also known as Great Works Internet (GWI).

GWI filed a suit on March 25, alleging F.X. Flinn of Quechee, the chair of the ECFiber board, encouraged spying on the ISP operating company and is attempting to “poach” its employees to work for a recently founded and wholly Vermont-based not-for-profit entity called the Vermont ISP Operating Company (VISPO). Responding in June, ECFiber sought a preliminary injunction from the federal court ordering GWI to comply with an operations transition policy that the regional Vermont communications union district (CUD) — the state’s oldest — contended the Maine-based ISP operator is flouting. 

In a 12-point order issued by U.S. District Court Judge Mary Kay Lanthier on Aug. 11, GWI was commanded to follow key aspects of the ECFiber operator transition policy “such as maintaining current ECFiber-owned billing and network management systems and providing access to systems by ECFiber/VISPO-related personnel,” Flinn asserted in a press release emailed to the Standard the following day on Aug. 12. In turn, the ECFiber Communications Union District, which serves more than 30 communities in central and southeastern Vermont, including Barnard, Hartford, Pomfret, Reading, West Windsor, Windsor and Woodstock, “must continue to make all payments owed to GWI and to assume all costs related to the transition, such as training new operating personnel,” Flinn noted, citing Lanthier’s decision.

“Members of the [ECFiber] Governing Board, particularly those on the Executive Committee, breathed a huge sigh of relief on getting this news,” Flinn told the Standard in the Aug. 12 press statement, responding to Lanthier’s decision filed in the U.S. District Court the previous afternoon. “We believe the new owner of GWI simply didn’t understand ECFiber, the depths of commitment found in its grass-roots history, the desire to keep it as local as possible, its status as more of a utility than a business, and its dependence on the tax-free status of municipal revenue bonds. Each of these attributes were threatened by the model GWI insisted we switch to as part of a contract to replace the one set to expire at the end of the year.”

In an Aug. 14 press release issued on GWI’s behalf by Dylan Zwicky, a partner and the vice-president for government relations with the Montpelier-based public affairs and lobbying firm Leonine Public Affairs, the Maine-ISP provider stated that GWI was “pleased with the U.S. District Court’s recent order affirming that GWI will continue operating the ECFiber network through the end of 2025, rejecting ECFiber’s attempt to compel GWI to turn over its operations and proprietary information to a startup shell company, VISPO. The ruling protects the service that GWI has reliably delivered to nearly 10,000 ECFiber customers through the end of the year, safeguards GWI’s proprietary information, and vindicates GWI’s operational independence from ECFiber.”

Despite the Aug. 11 ruling that ECFiber contends largely affirms its legal standing in the case, the U.S. District Court suit continues before Judge Lanthier. In the meantime, the ECFiber/GWI battle is proceeding in the court of public opinion, with Leonine placing advertisements in regional media that excoriate ECFiber and its plans to transition back to a nonprofit, operating with the recently created VISPO commencing Jan. 1.

For more on this, please see our August 8 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

Windsor County Sheriff Ryan Palmer is under investigation by the Vermont State Police for questions about department spending, officials said. 

Adam Silverman, chief spokesman for the Vermont State Police, confirmed a tip received by the Vermont Standard concerning the investigation. 

State Police Major Jeremy Hill, head of the criminal division, also said the investigation was in its preliminary stages, so there was little to share about the case. 

Hill said state police — as standard protocol — have assigned detectives from outside Windsor County to investigate. 

Palmer told the Standard Tuesday he had not been interviewed by state police. 

The investigation comes — by coincidence or otherwise — as two top-ranking deputies departed the sheriff’s department. 

Capt. Paul Samataro, the chief deputy, and Lt. Tom Battista, resigned their department commissions on July 23, Palmer told the Vermont Standard. 

Samataro of Wilmington and Battista of Springfield did not respond to phone and text messages from the Vermont Standard. 

Issues about sheriff’s spending have been an ongoing concern throughout the state through the years. It has surfaced in several Vermont counties because the state law is vague. 

Under Vermont law, the 14 sheriffs operate their departments as part public and part private. The state and county provide minimum funds, and the sheriffs need to raise money to cover many routine expenses, including buying and equipping their police cruisers. 

The County Sheriffs need to make up the rest through public and private contracts that they negotiate. They are allowed to keep up to five percent for their expenses. 

The Vermont legislature has yet to address the weird dynamic, even with periodic complaints.

For more on this, please see our August 28 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

Following five years of collaboration between the superintendents of eight southeastern Vermont supervisory unions and school districts, the Mountain Views Supervisory Union (MVSU) will become a founding member of a newly constituted Board of Cooperative Educational Services, part of a national educational collaborative initiative commonly known as BOCES.

With the unanimous approval of its school board on Aug. 4, MVSU became the first school supervisory union or district in Vermont to officially join a BOCES. Six other supervisory unions and one school district in southeastern Vermont are also expected to join the BOCES collaborative in the coming weeks, including the Windsor Southeast, Windham Northeast, Windham Southwest, Two Rivers, Windham Central, and Windham Southeast supervisory unions and the Springfield School District.

Under Title 16 of state statutes, Vermont law empowers BOCES to provide shared resources and responsive solutions that can cost-effectively meet many short- and long-term challenges faced by school districts across the state. The southeastern Vermont BOCES collaborative is the first of its kind to be established in the state; a number of other supervisory unions and school districts elsewhere in Vermont are considering coming together in a similar collaborative entity. Here in Vermont and nationwide, school unions and districts that are contracted members of a BOCES collective typically gain benefits that include sharing staff resources, professional development initiatives, recruitment and hiring support, consultation, and the pooling of resources for cooperative purchasing, transportation, and other services at reduced costs.

MVSU superintendent Sherry Sousa and school board chair Keri Bristow of Woodstock sat down for a conversation with the Standard on Monday morning to talk about the regional BOCES initiative and the benefits that could accrue from it if the other seven area school unions or districts agree to participate and the Vermont Agency of Education formally sanctions the new BOCES this fall. The new entity, Sousa said, is a by-product of the existing Vermont Learning Collaborative (VLC) that was formed five years ago by the eight pending participants in the southeastern BOCES that is now approaching full legal status.

For more on this, please see our August 14 edition of the Vermont Standard.

In August, the Yoh Theatre players from Woodstock Union High School and Middle School performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the largest performing arts festival in the world. The players spent two weeks abroad, first in London to tour the Globe Theatre and St. Paul’s Cathedral, to see the West End show “The Great Gatsby” (with a 25 million dollar budget!), to take a ride on the London Eye, and to spend time walking and shopping and eating. 

The group went next to Edinburgh and did four performances of 30 neo-futurist plays from “Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind” (30 plays in 60 minutes). Performances were sold out, and players received many accolades for their work. The group attended shows, toured the Stirling Castle, visited Loch Lomond, climbed Arthur’s Seat, attended the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, and learned to know Edinburgh well through a walking tour and many hours spent finding their way to shows, to dinner, to visit shops, and just to enjoy the city.

Sophomore Libby Fraga reminisced about the trip: “For me, coming home from the Edinburgh Fringe Festival has boosted my excitement for the coming Yoh season. Going from performing at the Fringe with a talented group of my peers and being surrounded by theater, to sitting in my bed doing absolutely nothing, has truly put into perspective how much of my life revolves around Yoh theater. I am sure that my fellow Yoh players agree.” 

Yoh Preview Night will be held on Thursday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. The night typically includes an informational meeting for all Woodstock students and parents interested in Yoh (5:30 p.m.), followed by a potluck for Yoh players and parents (6:15 p.m.), and then by the preview performance, in which the shows for the year will be revealed. The preview performance is open to the public, and everyone is encouraged to come. It starts at 7 p.m. and will last for about an hour, consisting of short scenes and songs from each show of the year.

For more on this, please see our August 28 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

On Aug. 31 at Pleasant Street Books, Florida-based violinist Helen Kirklin and Woodstock resident and musician Sonny Saul will play a benefit concert for the Vermont-based organization Migrant Justice. Complimentary drinks will be provided.

According to Saul, Kirklin has enjoyed a career as a classical violist and violinist and is something of a Bach specialist. She will also play some of Saul’s own compositions, as well as feature the music of Duke Ellington.

No admission is charged, but donations will be accepted for Migrant Justice, and Pleasant Street Books will have a matching grant for whatever is raised. Checks may also be mailed to Pleasant Street Books (48 Pleasant Street, Woodstock, VT 05091) with “Migrant Justice” on the memo line. To learn about the work of Migrant Justice, visit migrantjustice.net.

“I saw our old ones dancing on that space,” Earl Hatley recalled of the moment eight years ago when he first set foot on what was then the unused Quechee polo field. “I watched them for a while, and then they all turned and looked at me and smiled, and I promised them we would dance here again. The garden project is that dance.”

Today, Hatley tends rows of corn, beans, and squash on that same field where he witnessed his vision. The traditional Three Sisters plants grow in carefully constructed mounds, their intertwined roots and vines creating the agricultural partnerships that have sustained Indigenous communities for thousands of years. The polo field is now a working garden that feeds Abenaki families while teaching ancient agricultural wisdom to a new generation of Vermont farmers.

This Saturday, Aug. 30, there will be an open house at the gardens, showcasing the full scope of traditional agricultural knowledge while welcoming community members into ongoing cultural exchange. 

Born and raised on the Cherokee Reservation in Oklahoma before becoming an enrolled member of Vermont’s Missisquoi band of the Abenaki people, Hartford resident Earl Hatley understood that meaningful change requires more than good intentions. When he joined the Quechee Lakes Landowners Association’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council five years ago, he brought with him both agricultural expertise and a crucial message about the difference between words and action.

The breakthrough came when the association asked Hatley to write their land acknowledgment statement. After completing the task, Hatley challenged the Indigenous partnership: “Now those are just words. They don’t mean anything, unless your actions also back it up.”

What followed was three years of careful negotiation between Hatley’s newly formed nonprofit, the Ottauquechee Water Protectors Association, and the landowners association. The complexity of securing a land use agreement for the one-acre space adjacent to the polo field marsh tested everyone’s commitment to turning acknowledgment into action.

The garden that emerged reflected sophisticated agricultural knowledge developed over millennia. Four rows run precisely east to west, ensuring even sun exposure throughout the day. Each row spans three feet in width with nine feet between them, measurements that accommodate both traditional planting methods and modern maintenance needs.

The 2024 growing season proved the garden’s practical value alongside its cultural significance. From their carefully tended acre, volunteers harvested enough produce to feed approximately 15 families in the Upper Valley. The surplus was divided between food pantries operated by the Koasek band and Missisquoi band, contributing to efforts that serve hundreds of additional families across Vermont’s Abenaki communities.

But the garden’s impact extends beyond immediate food security. Hatley’s mission includes building seed stocks of traditional cultivars, plants that have adapted to New England’s climate variations over thousands of years. “These seeds have been through all the climate changes for thousands of years,” he emphasized. “If any seeds can survive what’s coming, it would be seeds like this.”

The educational component transforms every volunteer day into a cultural exchange. Students from Dartmouth College and the University of Vermont regularly join work sessions, learning traditional agricultural methods while contributing labor. The community gatherings that follow work days — featuring shared meals and storytelling — create connections that transcend the garden’s fence line.

Presentations at the open house will explain the scientific basis for Three Sisters planting alongside its spiritual significance. Demonstrations will illustrate traditional mound construction and the sacred seven-seed planting method. A video presentation will document the garden’s development from Hatley’s initial vision to this year’s growing season.

Most importantly, visitors will experience the community atmosphere that transforms agricultural work into a cultural celebration. Regular volunteer days combine garden maintenance with shared meals, creating what participants describe as authentic brotherhood and sisterhood focused on collective benefit rather than individual gain. 

For more on this, please see our August 28 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

Woodstock’s annual Garden Day took place last Saturday, featuring garden tours, tastings, family activities, and educational programs at Billings Farm & Museum, Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, and the Woodstock Inn & Resort’s farm-to-table Kelly Way Gardens.

 Courtesy of Billings Farm & Museum

“Puppies & Pooches on Parade” returned to the Woodstock Village Green last Saturday morning, with a crowd of canines and their human friends turning out to support the Norman Williams Public Library. Awards were given to dogs in five different categories, as well as a Best in Show and a Fan’s Favorite.

Rick Russell Photos

The Quechee Scottish Games and Festival returned for the 50th year this past Saturday, bringing locals and visitors the chance to experience a full-fledged Highland Games, complete with piping and drumming competitions, traditional athletic games, highland dancing, sheep-herding demonstrations, and Scottish food, vendors, and a beer tent.

Rick Russell Photo

By Tom Ayres, Senior Staff Writer

© 2025 Vermont Standard, All rights reserved

Longtime community theater luminary and philanthropist Max Comins has purchased a well-known, 4.6-acre tract in Woodstock’s East End with the intent of constructing a state-of-the-art performing arts center in the highly visible location at the eastern gateway to the Woodstock Village center.

Comins’ plan is to construct a state-of-the-art performing arts center — potentially with a substantial visual arts component as well — on the site formerly owned by the Gerrish family, which in years past was the setting for an automobile dealership. In a real estate transaction inked on Aug. 1, Comins acquired the property from former owner Phyllis Gerrish for $1.4 million. The deal is set to close on Nov. 21, pending a new environmental assessment of the now-mitigated former brownfield site, where a substantial gasoline spill occurred in 1973.

Comins, a part- or full-time resident of Woodstock for nearly 40 years, was hugely successful during a brief, seven-year stint as an arbitrage trader with a Wall Street brokerage house in the late 1970s and early 1980s, turning that newfound wealth into a youthful dream that became a reality. Comins purchased the historic Kedron Valley Inn in South Woodstock, refurbished it with his own sweat equity, reestablished a restaurant there that was highly regarded by locals and visitors alike, and served as the innkeeper for the next 18 years. He eventually sold the inn in 2002 and turned back to a daily routine of independently trading stocks and bonds from a comfortable office in his cherished home on Blankey Cottage Lane in Woodstock Village.

At the age of 74, Comins now plans to turn the considerable wealth he has accumulated into a vehicle for his life’s other passions, much as he did when he left Manhattan to become a quintessential New England country innkeeper in his mid-30s. In the coming days, Comins will file all the legal paperwork necessary to fund and form the Max Comins Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational entity with which he is purchasing the Gerrish tract in Woodstock’s East End. 

His newest dream? To erect a world-class performing arts center on the site, also known as Woodstock East, which was granted a Certificate of Completion by the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation in 2012, certifying its successful remediation as a brownfield site. Funding, design, and construction of the proposed performing arts center will be the first major endeavor of the Comins Foundation, fulfilling Comins’ desire to use his life’s blessings to support the arts, community theater, and the Vermont village and town he has called home for the past four decades.

“The Max Comins Foundation will be based on my initial, first-year contribution of $15 million, plus $8-10 million now and another $7-10 million in 2026,” Comins noted in an email to the Standard. “It will be in an irrevocable trust so that I can never take the monies back. Ever. This will help secure the 501(c)(3) status after all the paperwork is approved, and it will allow others to donate and get a tax deduction. The initial goal of the foundation will be the purchase of the Gerrish property, finishing the remediation of the soil, and building a world-class performing and visual arts center as a non-profit for the benefit of the community.” 

For our full story on this, please see our August 21 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

A village privy in East Barnard is filling a need and leaving a legacy

East Barnard is a picturesque town with historic homes, lovely scenery, and a close-knit community, but it has a persistent problem: a shortage of public restrooms. Since late last year, resident Randy Leavitt has been volunteering his time to resolve this situation by custom-building a shelter for a composting toilet outside the East Barnard Church.

The church was built in 1834, but despite being one of the central public buildings in town, Leavitt says, “I don’t know the last time there was a privy outdoors, but I’ve lived in the village since I was an infant and I’m almost 70, and I don’t remember a privy. That means that once people go to church, they don’t have a bathroom. We have tens of church services there in the summer, we’ve had two memorial services, we’re having two weddings there this summer, and we have a pretty popular Christmas Eve service — but no bathroom.”

Randy Leavitt stands on the spot where he is building the privy soon after he started last spring. Robert Shumskis Photo

Realizing the need, Leavitt teamed up with his wife to pitch his idea to the town. “I suggested to the board — my wife Heather is on the board and has been for a long time — that we build a bathroom out back. I explained what it would look like, and I said that I’d be willing to do the work for free if they paid for the materials. So that’s what is happening. We are fundraising for the materials, and we’re about halfway to the $25,000 cost of the whole structure, including the ramp that leads to it from the existing access ramp.”

Leavitt added, “There’s no lock on the door; it will be open for anybody who passes by. That’s why I’m calling it the village privy instead of the church bathroom. There are a lot of hikers and bikers. The village of East Barnard is on a few maps that are popular for bike rides, and there are some hiking trails in the village, so there’s often people hanging around.”

“My goal is to have it done before the end of the building season, whenever that turns out to be,” he says hopefully.

For more on this, please see our August 21 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

As arts programs face unprecedented cuts and traditional education often leaves students disengaged, the New England School of the Arts (NESA) in Lebanon, N.H., stands as a beacon of innovation. Founded during the pandemic by Jennifer Chambers, a former educator at Hanover High School, NESA has spent its first two years proving that when the arts take center stage, academic excellence follows naturally.

“The seed of NESA really came from watching art programming being cut left and right all over the country during the pandemic,” Chambers explained. “We wanted to create a school where the arts were not an afterthought or something that could be shoved outside school hours, but really at the center of the programming.”

What distinguishes NESA is its integrated STEAM curriculum — Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics — where subjects flow seamlessly together through project-based learning. Students discover physics through ballet, understanding the angles and forces at work in dance, then apply those same mathematical concepts to designing theatrical sets or creating scaled bedrooms for Greek gods as part of their study of the “Odyssey.”

“We’re building curriculum as a team,” Chambers said. “You’re not going to go to your science class and have your math teacher not know what’s happening. They know exactly what’s happening, and they’re working to cross-connect and team teach those concepts.”

This collaborative approach has transformed how students view learning itself. STEAM teacher Matthew Huyck says he witnessed a remarkable shift during the school’s inaugural year. When he surveyed students about their feelings toward mathematics at the beginning of the year, he said “indifferent” was the most common response. By year’s end, half the students wanted to accelerate their math progress, with three planning to complete calculus before graduation.

Math and science instructor Matt Huyck works with students on a robotics design. Courtesy of Jennifer Chambers

The magic happens because NESA’s curriculum extends far beyond classroom walls. Students take monthly expeditions to the Stewardship Center in Pike, N.H., connecting mathematical and scientific concepts to real-world applications on ropes courses. They learn from drone expert Tom Frawley about mapping and search-and-rescue operations, knowledge that directly connects to their classroom geography work. These aren’t field trips — they’re integral parts of an education that sees learning everywhere.

The afternoon programming offers something truly unique in the region. While students at most schools finish their arts training after school hours, often staying up until 1 a.m. to complete homework, NESA students take ballet during the school day, receive private voice lessons, and work directly with professional artists and Dartmouth professors. The faculty includes two Dartmouth professors — Kassady Small and Joseph Cooley — providing college-level instruction with an extraordinary 1:2 teacher-to-student ratio.

The school’s reputation for both excellence and accessibility has earned recognition from notable figures, including Vermont’s own Grammy-nominated musician Noah Kahan, who has praised NESA’s approach to creative education.

Learn more about the school at https://www.nesarts.org/

For more on this, please see our August 14 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

By Max Fraser, Staff Sportswriter

This week marks the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year, and that means that the fall sports season is getting underway at Woodstock Union High School and Middle School.

In this issue of the Standard, we take a look at the upcoming season for four of the varsity teams — Boys and Girls Soccer, Cross-Country, and Mountain Biking. 

Stay tuned next week, when we will round out our coverage of the fall season with previews for the Football, Golf, and Field Hockey teams.

Girls Soccer

After last year’s up-and-down season ended on a high note, with an impressive first-round upset of Caledonia United, followed by a hard-fought 1-0 loss to eventual state champion Windsor in the Division 3 playoffs, Woodstock’s girls varsity soccer team is ready to hit the ground running in 2025. 

A sturdy core of fifteen players from last year’s squad are returning. They are led by fourth-year veterans and co-captains Maeve Roylance, Sierra Bystruck and Anna Fink, who will again hold down the Wasps’ defensive back-triangle this fall. 

Other key returning seniors include Sadie Boubol and Bonnie Krantz, who will be playing up front at striker; as well as Jessica Baumann, who will take over fulltime keeper duties. 

Missing from the field this year is standout outside midfielder Ella Lockhart. Lockhart, also a senior, tore her ACL during the varsity lacrosse season this past spring and is still recovering. 

Few are better able to appreciate how important all that consistency can be to a team’s performance than Coach Greg LaBella. Despite some recent talk of retirement, LaBella will be behind the bench again this year, for what will be his 26th season with the Wasps. 

Over all that time, LaBella says he has learned a few things about what makes a team successful.

“Scoring goals and playing tough defense is every team’s goal — but mixing intense physical play with a strong cognitive approach to the game is equally as important,” LaBella recently told the Standard. Much of the team’s preseason preparations, he explained, are focused on working on “the small things that elevate our level of play and raising our soccer IQ each day we are on the pitch.”

And as important as the wins and losses are, LaBella preaches to his players about keeping other metrics in mind, too. “Creating quality scoring opportunities with ball control, playing defense all over the field, being relaxed with the ball, while maintaining our commitment to the team and one another will be the boxes we check off to measure our success.” 

“Accomplishing these key aspects of team play much of the time will lead to winning games — and to developing a sense of community and unity that will last long after the season ends,” LaBella says.

Boys Soccer

For Alex Montano, LaBella’s counterpart on the boys soccer team, the 2025 season will be his first coaching foray at WUHS. But Montano is hardly a new face around town. His sons, Oscar and Emilio, both played soccer for the Wasps. 

Montano, meanwhile, who played collegiate club soccer and varsity football at Purdue University, is coming into the position after spending the last eleven years coaching the varsity team at White River Valley High School in South Royalton. 

In 2018, when Emilio Montano was captaining the Wasps on his way to making the all-state team during his senior year, father and son even squared off against each other for a regular season match-up.

“It was a unique experience,” Montano recalled recently. “Woodstock won, and I’ll never forget — it was 1-0.”

Now Montano will be taking on a different kind of challenge: helping his sons’ old team turn things around after a 2024 season in which they finished just 2-11-1.

“This is kind of a bounce-back season for us,” Montano told the Standard in a pre-season conversation. “So, I’m looking to bring some stability to the program and get us moving in the right direction. And we’ll find out soon enough, but I think we’re ahead of schedule.”

Montano will be inheriting a team that is “top- and bottom-heavy,” as he puts it. “We’ve got a lot of returning seniors, and also quite a few freshmen.” 

Among the core from last year, midfielder Luke Hecker and defenders Owen Whalen and Oliver Boswell are likely to be key contributors and team leaders. Sophomores Atlas Jennings, Alex Wynn, and Sam Bowdoin fill out the team’s backfield, which Montano thinks can make the biggest improvements from last season and become a real strength for the 2025 team.

But Montano also likes the balance between the experience of his longer-tenured athletes, and the new talent that has come out for the team this year. “We have a couple of freshmen that I’m very excited about. One is James Melrod, and another is Max Rosenbach. Both are forwards. I think both of them will be able to contribute quite a bit.”

“It’s a solid team,” Montano says. “Barring injuries, we should be able to meet some of our goals and hopefully have a winning season.” 

Cross-Country

Change is in the air for the Varsity Cross-Country team this fall, too. Three of last season’s top runners — Izzy Cellini, Myra McNaughton, and Owen Courcey — have graduated. Two other returning athletes are unavailable: Izzy’s younger brother Nick will be participating in the highly selective United States Senate Page Program in Washington, D.C.; while Pippa Shaw continues to recover from a broken fibula, suffered at the beginning of the spring Track & Field season.

But turnover creates opportunity, and so Coaches Abbie Castriotta and Martha Perkins are excited about what the 2025 season has to offer for their squad. 

“We’re a mighty group,” Castriotta and Perkins told the Standard recently. “So we’ll see what we can do with some different running packs from what we’ve had in the past.”

According to Castriotta and Perkins, “An influx of freshmen and returning sophomore runners, excited about trails, tempo, and training with new teammates, have responded well to early season workouts.” 

With a lot of new runners being asked to step forward, the coaches have made a point of keeping the pre-season training regimen fun, mixing water workouts and yoga in with the distance runs, hill training, and speed work.

Castriotta and Perkins are expecting big things this year in particular from sophomore Ada McNaughton and junior Logan Martes, who each made major strides last season and “have stepped up naturally as role models” for the other runners on the team. 

Team captains and returning seniors Lucia Beckwith, Zach Peterman, and Bethany Thorburn, meanwhile, bring years of experience and continued leadership that the cross-country team will lean on as it develops new talent.

“We’re looking forward to the Hanover two-mile time trial on August 29,” Castriotta and Perkins went on. “That will give us a good sense of what this new team’s running packs will look like and where its power will come from.”

Mountain Biking

Last season was a banner year for Coach Todd Uva’s mountain biking squad. The Fall 2024 season began with a bit of history-making, as Woodstock MTB, after a half-dozen years as a club team at WUHS, became the first varsity mountain biking team at a public school in the state. 

Then the team powered to a second-straight championship finish in the Vermont Youth Cycling (VTYC) league, riding strong seasons from graduating athletes Quinn Uva, Averill Stevens, and Luca Morris.

But Coach Uva is confident that this year’s team, led by returning seniors and co-captains Schuyler Hagge and Pea Richardson on the girls’ side and Quinn Eckler on the boys’, will be formidable once again. 

Hagge has already demonstrated as much, cruising to victory in the Girls A category at the first meet of the VTYC race series on August 16. And a bumper crop of younger athletes, several of whom were already key contributors to last year’s championship — including first-year students Isla Segal, Calvin Seman, and Jackson Fellows; and juniors Kelton Maxham, Luke Pomeroy, and Billy French — round out a team that looks like it is built to keep on winning.

Says Uva, “With a roster that is young, experienced, and talented, Woodstock MTB is well positioned to remain competitive for years to come.”

Halfway up Hartland Hill, in a sunny meadow surrounded by sugar maples and rippled through with waves of foxtail and goldenrod, one of the oldest sports in the world is practiced daily during the high summer months of July and August. 

For the last decade, a small crew of licensed falconers with New England Falconry have been welcoming weekending vacationers and curious locals to a hillside plot owned by the Woodstock Foundation, the conservation-oriented nonprofit that also owns the Woodstock Inn & Resort, Billings Farm & Museum, and Saskadena Six Ski Area.

There, visitors can learn about the ancient art of falconry, in which trained birds of prey are used to hunt wild animals like rabbits, squirrels, and pheasants — a practice first developed thousands of years ago by nomadic peoples in Central Asia and Western Mongolia. They can also get up close and personal with one or more of the thirteen falcons, hawks, and owls that are currently housed in New England Falconry’s Gothic arched red barn. 

On a recent Sunday afternoon, the Standard tagged along as falconer Anastasia Mickiewicz introduced a small group to two of these impressively trained birds: a three-year-old Harris’s hawk named Pierce, and a nine-year-old barn owl named Alba.  

Over the course of 90 minutes, as we followed Mickiewicz from station to station across the meadow, Pierce and Alba showed off the attributes that make their ilk such skilled hunters, and Mickiewicz provided an incredible historical review of the ancient sport. 

For more on this, please see our August 14 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

Brian Ralph Doubleday, 78, passed away on Aug. 6, 2025, at his home in Boulder, Colo. He was born on March 6, 1947, at Mary Hitchcock Hospital in Hanover, N.H., the son of Frederick and Patricia (Harvey) Doubleday.

Brian graduated from Woodstock Union High School in Woodstock in 1965, where he distinguished himself on the basketball court as one of the legendary “Four Horsemen.” He attended the University of Vermont from 1965 to 1972, earning a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Government and discovering his lifelong passion for filmmaking.

He began his film career with James Taylor and Darrell Thompson at Blue Jay Films in Burlington, Vt. Over the decades, Brian worked as a filmmaker and entrepreneur, producing many projects, including World Walker (1987); Venturing (1991), for which he won an Emmy; and Instinct (1999).

Beyond his work, Brian was a devoted lover of music and sports, especially the Kansas City Chiefs. More than anything, he loved people. He was happiest in the company of family and friends, whom he cherished and gathered in abundance throughout his life.

Brian is survived by his wife, Marsha Castiglioni of Boulder, Colo.; son Ian (Emily) Doubleday of Pittsburgh, Pa.; stepsons Michael (Gamynne) Fernandez of San Francisco, Calif., and Nathan (Barb) Fernandez of San Diego, Calif.; brothers David (Diane) of Woodstock; Fred (Louise) of Richfield Springs, N.Y.; Barry (Carol Ann) of Derry, N.H.; and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents, Frederick and Patricia Doubleday; sister Phyllis Terino; and brother Donald Doubleday.

There will be a celebration of his life at the Thompson Senior Center on Oct. 4 ,1-4 p.m.

A remembrance gathering for Jim Fish, who passed away on May 12, 2025, will be held at the Bridgewater Grange Hall (5034 VT-100, Bridgewater, Vermont) on Sept. 20, 2025 from noon to 3 p.m.

Please stop by to share memories and stories. There will be light refreshments and a table for photos.

Please let us know if you can attend by calling or texting to Jennifer’s phone: 928-293-5381 by Sept. 15.

Albert Poland Nightingale — known and forever loved as Poli — passed away on Aug. 16, 2025, after five hard years battling cancer, never letting it define him. Surrounded by the deep love of family and friends near and far, Poli left this world with grace and peace. His devoted wife, Helen Nightingale, remained by his side every step of the way. 

You didn’t have to know Poli long to feel like you’d known him forever. A man of boundless energy and passion, Poli was rarely still. Though he cherished quiet hours alone riding his bike thru the hills of Vermont or on his tractor pushing snow, he truly came alive in the outdoors. An exceptional skier, surfer and all-around athlete, Poli embraced any challenge outside — and was hard to beat at all of them. Poli wasn’t just a skier — he was a mentor, a motivator, and, to many, the greatest ski coach they ever had. He had a way of making kids believe in themselves, of turning fear into fun, and of showing them the magic of the mountains. His love for the sport was contagious. Of all the mountains Poli skied and all the athletes he coached, his proudest runs were always the ones he took with his children, Larken and Wiley. Teaching them to ski wasn’t just about turns or technique — it was about passing down a love for the outdoors, for adventure, for freedom. Watching them carve down the hill with joy in their hearts was, for Poli, the ultimate victory. He had an unmatched love for life, for his family and children, and for the countless deep friendships he built — friendships that lasted a lifetime and stretched across the world.

Poli was born on October 26, 1972, to Bill and Nancy Nightingale of Woodstock, Vermont. At age 2, the family moved from Barnard to Woodstock, where Poli spent his childhood running through the woods, getting muddy, and inventing games in the backyard with his older brother Sean and younger sister Piper. Poli’s love for the ocean was born during family vacations to Staniel Cay, Bahamas where he dove for conch, spearfished, snorkeled and explored island life. Summers in Little Compton, RI, deepened that connection — surfing, sailing, and fishing, and spending barefoot evenings by the sea.

Poli graduated from Woodstock Union High School in 1991and graduated from UVM in 1995. He spent many days chasing powder at Stowe and Mad River Glen before heading west to Jackson Hole, where he threw himself off Corbet’s Couloir, chased powder at sunrise, managed a wine store and camped through the wilderness with close friends. 

Eventually, the East Coast called him back and Poli built a career managing events for bands and athletes, including tours with the X Games, Dew Tour, and Dave Matthews Band. For 30+ years, he traveled across the U.S. and around the world — being a part of adrenaline-fueled sporting events and music tours. It was his family on the road. 

Poli was endlessly kind, effortlessly generous, quick with a sarcastic quip and a warm, knowing smile. His twinkling blue eyes often gave away his playful wit. He was the kind of person people felt lucky to know — the best friend, brother, son, husband, papa, and colleague anyone could ask for. Poli was the kind of person who would ski 66 runs in a day at his home town mountain, Suicide Six just to see if he could — and then casually bring it up over a beach bonfire as if it were no big deal. It was a big deal. He always was.

It was in Little Compton where he met Helen, at a beach picnic. From that day forward, they were inseparable. Together, they built a beautiful life and a home filled with laughter and love, raising two children, Larken and Wiley. Poli always said his family was his world — and he was theirs. He and Helen were true partners in every joy, every adventure, and every challenge life presented.

He is deeply missed by his wife Helen, their children Larken and Wiley, and their dog Willow; by his parents Bill and Nancy Nightingale; his brother Sean Nightingale, sister-in-law Amy, niece and nephew Talus and Gus; his sister Piper Benoit, brother-in-law Cyrus, and niece and nephew Tasia and Briggs. His absence is felt deeply, but the impact of his life — the friendships, the laughter, the adventures — will live on.

Poli lived fully, with heart and purpose, every single day. He would want us to keep living in that same spirit — to laugh, love, explore, surf, bike, dance, and chase fresh snow. Most of all, he would want us to be happy. He left this world far too soon – cut short by an awful disease that takes too many. But he left us all better. In Poli’s honor, take that trip. Hug your people. Catch the wave. Ski the powder. Tell the joke. Live like he did — with strength, grace and an easy smile.

A celebration of life will occur this winter when the snow falls. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Woodstock Ski Runners. 

An online guestbook can be found at cabotfh.com.

Lawrence Albert Luce, 84, died at home on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, after a period of declining health.

Larry was born June 2, 1941, the oldest son of Albert and Helen (Burnham) Luce, at home in the Jericho District of Hartford. He grew up on the family’s dairy farms and learned the work of a farm from an early age. With six brothers and sisters and several cousins close by, he had lots of fun on the farm including showing his Jersey cows at the Hartland Fair and as a member of the Pomfret 4-H. When Larry was 16 his father was hired to cut hay at the Sugarbush farm in Taftsville where he met the farmer’s daughter, Betsy Ayres. Betsy joined 4-H so she could see more of Larry, and they went steady all through high school. Larry graduated from Hartford High Class of 1960, where he played football all four years, ran the mile and half mile in track, and played basketball all while going home each late afternoon to milk the cows.

Larry and Betsy were married Sept. 1, 1962, in Woodstock and after a time of working his father’s farm, they purchased a home in Hartford, overlooking the Taftsville Covered Bridge. He delivered milk to local homes for Honey Gardens Dairy and later delivered for Oxygen Welding, while raising heifers on his farm. In 1970 he built a barn on his farm and started milking cows, expanding the barn three different times including using some salvaged lumber from a Quechee Mill building. Larry and his two sons, Jeff and Ralph, continued operating the Bridge Overlook Farm for thirty years with up to 120 registered Jerseys. Larry enjoyed showing their animals with his sons at many local fairs and also served on several agricultural boards.

Larry and the boys began sugaring from a simple operation that started with just collecting sap on a neighbor’s farm and grew each year with more taps, a new sugarhouse, and evolved into a large-scale sugaring operation. As the boys got into high school and he got more help on the farm, Larry became more involved at the Sugarbush Farm including delivery routes and cutting cheese. Later he and Betsy found time to travel, first around the U.S. and then twenty international trips, many based around farm tours or self-driving trips where he found local farmers to meet. By age 75 he had visited 44 states and 27 countries. The couple also enjoyed going to see live music concerts including country, bluegrass, and southern gospel.

After 30 years of milking, the boys convinced Larry to sell the dairy herd and concentrate on sugaring and raising Angus beef. He missed the camaraderie of showing cows, so he took his love of draft horses and began competing in pulling contests.

In 2013, Larry and Betsy started going to Florida for just a few weeks of gospel concerts and horse pulling and after a couple of years began spending January through March at The Red Oaks Resort in Bushnell. As he found it harder to get around, Larry continued to enjoy watching football, baseball, and especially the Boston Celtics.

Larry loved people, whether it be a farmer in Brazil, a hoof trimmer in Scotland, or a visitor at the Sugarbush Farm who wanted to learn more about maple syrup. He enjoyed a full life growing up with a large family. He deeply appreciated all things Vermont including cows, horses, scenic back roads, maple sugaring, and just visiting with other farm folks.

He is survived by his wife, Betsy of Taftsville; sons Jeff (Sarah) of Hartford and Ralph (Lisa) of Pomfret; grandchildren Sierra, Elizabeth, Timothy, Emily, and Jake; a great granddaughter Everly; brothers Scott (Rose) of Springfield, Mike (Gertie) of White River Jct, Chris (Linda) of Thetford, and Clayton (Wendy) of White River Junction; sisters Barbara Bugbee of White River Jct. and Carol Hardy (Dan) of Pomfret; as well as many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

A visitation will be held Tuesday, Aug. 26 from 4-7 p.m. at the Knight Funeral Home in White River Junction.

Condolence to Larry’s family may be made in an online guestbook at knightfuneralhomes.com.

Shirley Anne McSorley Fenner passed away at the age of 91 on Aug. 16, 2025, at her horse farm in Brownsville. She was born on April 13, 1934, in Arlington, Mass., the daughter of Wesley Allen McSorley, Jr. and Barbara (Cushman) McSorley. After high school, Shirley went on to graduate from Vermont College. It was at VC where she met her future husband Robert (Bob) Fenner who was attending college at nearby Norwich University. After graduating from college in 1954, they married on Dec. 30 and resided at Fort Knox, Ky. where Lieutenant Bob Fenner was stationed with the U.S. Army. Bob was soon deployed to Munich, Germany, where they lived for a year and a half and had their first child, Jeffery. They left Germany after Bob completed his obligations to the Army and moved to Cranford, N.J., where Shirley focused on raising Jeff and their second son, Dana.

In 1963 Shirley and family moved to Killington, as Bob began working for the Sherburne Corporation and Shirley worked for several local inns and for Southworth’s ski shop as soft goods manager. During this time, she ran a B&B before those were even popular and retained her entrepreneurial spirit when they moved into an 1840s farmhouse in South Woodstock where she hosted many a horse and rider and ran her tack shop, Gambol Hill as well as working at the Woodstock Inn gift shop. They later moved to Brownsville, where she raised Connemara horses. In later years, Shirley and Bob spent part of their time in Wellington, Fla. and at their home in St. John, U.S.V.I. Shirley enjoyed golf, skiing, sailing and was an avid gardener and member of the Wellington and Woodstock Garden Clubs. She also was a frequent volunteer at the Woodstock Historical Society and was a member of the St. James Episcopal Church in Woodstock. Shirley was also a loving mother to many a four-legged furry friend: Josh the Boxer, four golden retrievers, four English Welch Corgis, Angel the donkey, several Connemara ponies and one two-legged Goose named Gus. 

Shirley was pre-deceased by her husband of 60 years, Bob and her two brothers Robert Allen McSorley and Richard Cushman McSorley. She is survived by her two sons, Jeffery Thomas Fenner and his wife Jackie (Ditcheos) Fenner, Dana Cushman Fenner and his wife Kristi (Collier) Fenner; her five grandchildren Warren Fenner and his wife Heather (Flavell) Fenner, Catherine (Fenner) Johnson and her husband, Bryan, Emalee (Fenner) Whipple and her husband Taylor; Robert (Will) Fenner, Matthew Fenner and her seven great grandchildren Oliver Whipple, Rhys Fenner, Arlo Whipple, Cooper Johnson, Aidan Fenner, Nolan Whipple and Quinn Johnson as well as her newest furry family member, Buttons the Corgi.

Those we love don’t go away, they walk beside us everyday unseen, unheard but always near, still loved, still missed and very dear.

A memorial service will be held at Mission Farm Church in Killington on Saturday, Aug. 23 at 1 p.m. followed by a reception at Summit Lodge. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to the Green Mountain Horse Association (GMHA) by phone 802-457-1509, online at gmhainc.org, or by mail PO Box 8, South Woodstock, VT 05701 (please indicate “in memory of Shirley Fenner” in the memo).

An online guestbook can be found at cabotfh.com.

Charlotte Louise (Warren) Harvey, 92, died Sunday, Aug. 17, 2025, at Genesis in Lebanon, N.H. surrounded by her family.

Born at home on February 6, 1933, in Pomfret, she was the beloved daughter of William H. and Marjorie (Wooley) Warren.

Charlotte lived a life marked by an unwavering sense of duty, and an unmatched gift for connecting with others.  She worked for many years as a nursing assistant at Guthrie nursing home in Woodstock. Later, she served as Assistant Town Clerk in Mount Holly, Vt. Never one to stop learning, Charlotte proudly earned her GED in 1987, a milestone she and her whole family celebrated joyfully.

Charlotte’s charm and sense of humor found a perfect outlet in her role as a Vermont Ambassador at the Quechee Welcome Center, a position she held until the age of 87. She relished “politely telling people where to go,” always ready with a smile. The rigorous training and testing required for that role only added to her sense of accomplishment, and she made friendships there that would last a lifetime. Personable, engaging, and endlessly communicative, Charlotte made people feel at ease wherever she went. Known for her warmth and wit, Charlotte had a signature style all her own: always polished and never without her red lipstick. She aged with dignity, grace, and an unmistakable class that never faded, even as she navigated the challenges of cancer in her final months. She was an inspiration to many and still had a bucket list at 92. 

She was predeceased by her husband, James R. Harvey, and grandson, Scott Emery, her children’s father, John E. King, her brother and sister-in-law, William S. and Mary Roy Warren, and her brother-in-law, Edward Clogston.

 She leaves behind, her children, Audrey Emery and her husband Bob of Enfield Center, Dale W. King of White River Junction, Paul F. King and his wife Debbie of Enfield, William K. Warren of Cape Coral, Fla., Craig A. King and his wife Wanda of White River Junction, Creighton A. King of West Lebanon, and her sister, Marjorie Clogston of Wilmington, Mass. Survivors also include her grandchildren, Stacey, Holly, John, James, Josh, Melissa, and Jeffrey, as well as ten great grandchildren, two great-great grandchildren and nieces and nephews. 

A visitation will be held at Knight Funeral Home in White River Junction on Friday, Aug. 22 from 5-7 p.m. A funeral service will be held the following day, Saturday, Aug. 23 at the Greater Hartford United Church of Christ in Hartford, Vt. at 4 p.m. Interment will take place in the Hewittville Cemetery in North Pomfret on a date to be announced.

In lieu of flowers, gifts can be made to the Bugbee Senior Center, White River Jct., Vt. where Charlotte spent many hours and made many friends.

Knight Funeral Home has been entrusted with arrangements. Condolences may be expressed in an online guestbook found at knightfuneralhomes.com.

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).

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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