Organizers released a statement saying that, because there’s a high possibility of lightning on Saturday, they decided to cancel some of Bookstock’s planned outdoor activities:

• All events on The Green, including the Used Book Sale, children’s events, musical performances, and exhibitors, have been canceled for Saturday.
• Talks by authors Marjan Kamali, Peter Canellos, Alison Espach, Kevin Fedarko; Senator Rocket’s workshop, and Robert Pinsky’s poetry reading will happen. They’re indoors and won’t be affected if there are storms. So if you have tickets or want to hear someone, please show up.
• American Fiction will show in The Little Theatre in Woodstock on Saturday at 7:30 pm. The film is free — and there’s free popcorn!

Sunday’s events will continue as planned. 

In their statement, Bookstock organizers said they were advised that the combination of standing water on the ground beneath metal-frame tents creates significant danger. Given the forecasts of thunderstorms and lightning for Saturday, they believe that this is the safest decision for everyone.

A state judge has approved an out-of-court settlement involving the Woodstock Foundation Board of Directors and the former longtime chair and vice chair of the board over their claims they were improperly removed and that the Woodstock Inn & Resort and the Billings Farm & Museum had been mismanaged.

Judge H. Dickson Corbett, without written comment, signed his name to the bottom of the proposed settlement filed in Vermont Superior Court in Woodstock.

The move appears to end the monumental legal battle that has mesmerized the Woodstock area for the past 2.5 years.

The case could get re-opened if the defendants fail to follow through on some of the promises they made in the five-page settlement. The terms include paying $750,000 toward the legal expenses incurred by the plaintiffs and for replacing some board trustees with new people by April 2026.

Former Chair Ellen R.C. Pomeroy and Vice Chair Salvatore Iannuzzi said they were secretly ousted by the rest of the board beginning in November 2022. The removal came as the two top officers had attempted to investigate and address multiple credible complaints by employees about mismanagement and malfeasance, records show. About 40 interviews were conducted, they said.

The removal of both Pomeroy and Iannuzzi was completed in what has been called an 11-minute “annual meeting” orchestrated by the defendants on Jan. 27, 2023, according to the plaintiffs’ local lead lawyer, Michael Hanley of White River Junction.

Pomeroy and Iannuzzi named 8 defendants in the lawsuit: James S. Sligar, the current chair, David M. Simmons, the president, Michael D. Nolan, John T. Hallowell, Douglas R. Horne, Williams S. Moody, Gail Waddell and Angela K. Ardolic.

The defendants later filed a counterclaim arguing Pomeroy and Iannuzzi had breached their fiduciary responsibilities and had overstepped their authority as longtime board leaders. 

Pomeroy and Iannuzzi filed the initial eight-count lawsuit in January 2023 and amended it at least three times after uncovering new claims, new evidence and new defendants as the case unfolded, records show.

Moody was dropped as a defendant by mutual agreement, records show.

A virtual gag order on all parties was included in the proposed settlement. It also requires no disparagement of the other parties. 

The ongoing legal battle has generated considerable local and national interest because the Foundation and Holdings play a leading role in the economic engine for the Woodstock region. About 600 people are employed through the operation of the Woodstock Inn and Resort, the Woodstock Country Club and the Saskadena Six Ski Area (formerly Suicide Six), along with the Billings Farm and Museum. 

For more on this, please see our May 15 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

A court hearing is planned for next month on an injunction request by former Woodstock Police Chief Joseph Swanson to block village officials from naming two new top police administrators before his unlawful discharge claims are resolved.

Vermont Superior Court Judge H. Dickson Corbett has set the hearing for 1:30 p.m. on June 9. He has allocated one hour for the hearing.

Swanson has filed a $5 million civil lawsuit in Vermont Superior Court and he also has appealed the decision by the five Woodstock Village Trustees to support the demotion ordered by municipal manager Eric Duffy.

The Village Trustees issued a 47-page ruling in April that upheld Duffy’s efforts to demote Swanson from police chief to patrol officer, the lowest rank in the department.

It followed a 14.5 hour hearing held on March 19 in the basement of the Windsor County Sheriff’s Department with Duffy testifying for about 4.5 hours. Swanson, the final witness, got on the stand for about 45 minutes shortly before midnight.

Swanson’s lawyer, Linda E. Fraas of Manchester, N.H., is asking Judge Corbett to issue a preliminary injunction stopping the Village of Woodstock from filling Swanson’s old post while the legal battle plays out. 

She also hopes to block the village from filling the job of patrol sergeant, which the municipality began to advertise two days after the demotion was announced. 

The trustees and Duffy will be required to respond in writing to the court this month on whether they plan to contest any or all the claims made by Swanson in his lawsuit and for his appeal from the trustees’ decision.

Duffy and the trustees did not respond again this week to requests for comments.

For more on this, please see our May 15 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

Dartmouth Health in Lebanon, N.H. is being asked to pay more than $2 million in legal fees and interest after a Windsor County fertility doctor successfully sued over her disability discrimination firing in 2017.

A federal court jury in Burlington awarded $1 million in economic damages to Dr. Misty Blanchette Porter of Norwich on April 10 for lost income and expenses. The jury also said Porter was entitled to an additional $125,000 in non-economic damages for the loss of enjoyment in life, mental anguish or pain and suffering.

Now Porter’s lawyers have filed to recover their lawsuit-related costs in the contentious legal battle which has ricocheted through Federal District Court in Vermont and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York City over the past eight years.

The request is for $1,742,650 in legal fees to be split between the law firms of Vitt & Nunan in Norwich and Langrock Sperry & Wool in Burlington, who represent the doctor. The request is under the Vermont Fair Employment Practices Act.

Dartmouth Health has not filed a written response to the request by Dr. Porter, who was laid off June 3, 2017.

Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Dartmouth Hitchcock Clinic, Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital and Dartmouth Hitchcock Health were all named as defendants in the civil lawsuit filed in October 2017. They are known collectively as “Dartmouth Health,” court papers said.

In a separate new filing, the lawyers for Dr. Porter want Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle also to assess $341,429 in pre-judgement interest for the $1 million verdict for economic damages.

The request is 1 percent per month (12 percent per year) as allowed by the Vermont statutory rate, attorney Geoffrey J. Vitt wrote.

The defense team, headed locally by Burlington attorney Tristram J. Coffin, has filed a 15-page objection to the request for interest and asks for discretion.

Judge Doyle provided both sides until Tuesday May 27 to file any post-trial motions and appeals.

For more on this, please see our May 15 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

As state lawmakers in Montpelier ponder a ban on the use of cell phones in schools during the waning weeks of the current legislative session, school administrators, families, students and community members in the Mountain Views School District (MVSD) are having discussions about the future of the omnipresent digital devices in the hands of local youths during school hours.

At the heart of the discussions is concern that cell phone usage by students during the school day is untethered, with what often seems like an addiction to the hand-held devices posing real risks for the classroom environment, frustrating teachers, hindering learning, and exacerbating antisocial behavior.

Against the backdrop of the ongoing debate about cell phone usage in schools, Woodstock Union High School and Middle School (WUHS/MS) principal Aaron Cinquemani on Monday confirmed that WUHS/MS students will be required to secure their cell phones in locked pouches bell-to-bell beginning with the start-up of the 2025-26 school year in late August. The San Francisco-based high-tech firm Yondr is the industry leader in providing protective bags to secure cell phones and deter their use in schools, entertainment venues, and other settings nationwide. Upon entering a phone-free space such as the WUHS/MS school grounds, students place their cell phones inside a Yondr pouch, where a magnetic lock keeps it sealed inside the bag. Students retain possession of their phone throughout the school day but can only unlock the pouch by tapping it against a magnetic unlocking station when they depart the designated phone-free zone.

In a conversation at the end of the school day on Monday, Cinquemani told the Standard that he was able to obtain phone pouches for use by every student at WUHS/MS through a combination of private fundraising and the school’s budget for the 2026 fiscal year.

“Our goal is to ensure a distraction-free learning environment for all stakeholders, which includes teachers as well as students and the administration,” Cinquemani noted. “Students will be issued a cell phone pouch, just like they might be issued a sports jersey, a textbook or a Chromebook device, and it is their responsibility. Students will be expected to secure their devices in those pouches for the day. When students are dismissed early or heading off at the end of the day, there will be a variety of locations where they can unlock their pouches and retrieve their devices. They can do that if they have to leave for an appointment or before they go off to a sports event.” 

For more on this, please see our May 15 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

Four bridges along Vermont Routes 100 and 100A in the towns of Plymouth and Bridgewater are slated for replacement or reconstruction over the course of the next three construction seasons, which typically extend from May through October each year. The bridges were all heavily damaged in the catastrophic flooding that struck Vermont on July 10-11, 2023. Some of the heaviest rainfall in the state during the massive storm fell on Plymouth, which was inundated with up to nine inches of rain in a 36-hour period.

Work on the first of the three bridges to be replaced or repaired in Plymouth, a concrete slab structure over Pinney Hollow Brook along Route 100A, will commence in late June. The 31-foot-long bridge, which is located approximately three miles southwest of the intersection with U.S. Route 4 and 3.7 miles north of Vermont Route 100, will be fully replaced, requiring its closure for an estimated 45 days from June 23 through Aug. 25 this summer. Traffic will be detoured to Route 100 throughout the bridge rebuilding process. A contract for the rebuilding effort was awarded in February to Cold River Bridges of Walpole, N.H., at an estimated cost of $4,151,000.

On Mya 19, representatives from the Vermont Agency of Transportation (TRANS) will hold a public presentation before the Town of Plymouth Selectboard to share information on the short- and long-term construction schedules and traffic impacts for all four pending bridge projects. The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Plymouth Town Hall.  Interested parties may also attend the selectboard meeting via Zoom.

For more on this, please see our May 15 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

By Tom Ayres, Senior Staff Writer

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit on Friday ruled that local resident, Columbia University student and Palestinian human rights activist Mohsen Mahdawi can remain free of federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody while the 34-year-old White River Junction sues over his detention as his case moves to the U.S. Immigration Court for deportation proceedings.

The appeals court in New York ruled against the federal government’s efforts to reimprison Mahdawi in ICE custody in Vermont, The court contending that the Trump administration’s arguments over jurisdictional authority were unlikely to prevail and that the government failing to show Mahdawi’s release on his own recognizance by U.S. District Court Judge Geoffrey Crawford in Burlington on April 30 caused the federal government undue harm.

The decision in Mahdawi v. Trump on Friday followed by two days a 2nd Circuit decision by the same panel of judges that a Turkish graduate student at Tufts University, Rumeysa Ozturk, should be returned from federal detention in an immigration holding facility in Louisiana to ICE custody in Vermont, where she was briefly held after her arrest in Somerville, Mass., on March 25. On Friday, just as Mahdawi’s ongoing release on bail was being announced by the appellate court judges in New York, Ozturk was freed on her own recognizance in Burlington by U.S. District Court Judge William Sessions. Federal authorities returned Ozturk to her home in Somerville on Saturday. The Ozturk and Mahdawi immigration and free speech cases have drawn nationwide and international attention since the students were detained by masked, plain-clothed ICE agents in Somerville, Mass., and Colchester, Vt., respectively on March 25 and April 14. The Trump administration contends that both students, through their participation in on-campus protests at Columbia and Tufts, are perpetrators of unlawful anti-Semitic harassment and violence.”

Since his release from ICE detention by Crawford on April 30, Mahdawi, a permanent legal resident of the United States who has lived in White River Junction since 2014, has continued to advocate for Palestinian rights, an end to the ongoing Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, a Middle East peace accord, and free speech rights for international students holding student visas and other immigrant populations in the U.S. Most recently, Mahdawi joined a group of state leaders, legislators, non-profit administrators, and activists at the State House in Montpelier on Thursday in launching a $1 million fundraising campaign to help provide legal aid to immigrants detained in Vermont by federal immigration authorities. More information about the immigrant legal aid initiative is available at vermontlegaldefensefund.com.

For more on this, please see our May 15 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

The Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) will host Clean Water Day on Saturday, May 17, a special celebration honoring the environmental legacy of late founder Dr. David Laughlin, whose pioneering water quality initiatives in the early 1970s transformed the Ottauquechee River from an “open sewer” into the thriving ecosystem visitors enjoy today.

The family-friendly event, running from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the VINS Nature Center in Quechee, commemorates the life and contributions of Laughlin, while educating a new generation about the importance of clean water.

“Clean water is central both to our health and to the origins of VINS,” says executive director Alden Smith. “Without David Laughlin leading the efforts to clean our local waterways, VINS would not exist. We also have our founders to thank for the river otters, eagles, and other wildlife who have returned to VINS along the banks of the Ottauquechee River.”

While the river is cleaner today than when Laughlin found it, Smith emphasized that persistent challenges remain, including microplastics and polyfluoroalkyl substances — PFAS — in our water systems.

Clean Water Day activities will include hands-on water research, water cycle and aquatic wildlife games, stream ecology demonstrations, activities for young children, guided nature walks, and storytelling about VINS’ history.

For young children, there will be interactive games like pretending to be water droplets and activities with blue scarves simulating water movement.

For older participants, Dan “Rudy” Rudel from the White River Partnership will lead guided walks through the gorge and trail system, discussing the current ecosystem, native species, and what individuals can do to maintain a balanced environment. Additional activities include a brook trout release in the waterway and raptor presentations focused on water systems.

For more on this, please see our May 15 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

At 7 p.m. on Tuesday, eighty Bridgewater residents gathered for a final vote on whether or not to keep the lister service intact, or to replace them with a professional assessor.

In the end, the town voted to abolish the role of lister and will be hiring a qualified assessor in the coming weeks. 

The motion went to a paper ballot, where it passed with 68 votes in favor of abolishing the lister service, 11 against, and one illegible vote. 

Selectboard chair Owen Astbury told the Standard, “We have 45 days to replace our lister position with a qualified assessor. I am confident we will be able to fill the position within the allotted time frame and move forward from this issue once and for all.” 

For more on this, please see our May 15 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

Following nearly eight days of rain, a mudslide early Saturday closed Pomfret Road immediately north of the North Pomfret post office and Caper Street intersection. First responders quickly cleared and stabilized the road, which reopened Monday afternoon. Residents are urged to use caution when passing through the slide area, as guardrails that were dislocated have yet to be replaced.

Throughout the Northeast region, a small volunteer-based non-profit dedicates its time and resources to flying sick children, adults, and family members all across the country, to ensure they receive the care they desperately need. This organization is called Angel Flight East, and its services could very well be used to save the lives of loved ones right here in our area. 

Angel Flights East marketing director Cathy Brzozowski and executive director Ellen Williams spoke with the Standard to discuss the non-profit and its ties to our local community. “I have visited Woodstock so many times throughout my life, I feel as though I live here. While I split my time between Rhode Island and Vermont, I will always feel called to Woodstock and wish to share this organization with the people of our community,” Brzozowski said. 

Currently, Angel Flight East has a fourteen-state footprint from Maine to Virginia, going as far west as Ohio. “We provide free services to any family who needs it. We want residents in southeastern Vermont to know that we exist, and that we are an option,” said Brzozowski.

Mark Thacker, right, pilots a “Compassion Flight” with Debbie McCarthy and her eldest daughter, Sara, en route to be reunited with their daughter/sister receiving treatment for spina bifida at Boston Children’s Hospital. Courtesy of Angel Flight East

Along with flying sick children and adults, Angel Flight East also offers “Compassion Flights,” where they make sure families are never separated from each other. “There was a woman in Upstate New York whose child needed more permanent treatment in Boston, but she had other children to take care of back home. Our pilots made sure to fly Stacy to her sick child every day and then get her home to New York before her other children returned from school,” Williams explained. 

Angel Flight East volunteer pilot Mitch VanDutch, of Lebanon, N.H., told the Standard, “I’ve been flying for years, and after a while, I lost my passion, my drive. Flying these families, having an opportunity to help these sick children get the treatment they need, has changed my life in so many ways. There was one time I couldn’t fly a family because of bad weather in the skies, but I had come to know and love these people, and so I rented a van and drove this family from Detroit to Boston. I would make that trip over and over again if need be.” 

Angel Flight East is currently hoping to attract more pilots for their cause, especially in rural New England.  If you wish to get involved with or use this organization, visit Angel Flight East’s website at angelflighteast.org where you can request a flight or volunteer your services as a pilot. 

For more on this, please see our May 15 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

Bestselling author and recipient of the 2022 National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Award, Marjan Kamali, will be at Bookstock this Saturday, May 17, to discuss her latest novel, “The Lion Women of Tehran.” 

Marjan Kamali

Set against three transformative decades in Iran, this novel follows the lives of two schoolgirl friends, Ellie and Homa, as they grow up in a tumultuous 1950s Tehran. The book takes the reader through some of the most volatile and oppressive eras of Iranian history, while simultaneously exploring friendship, privilege, and political upheaval. Chosen as Goodreads Readers’ Favorite Historical Fiction in 2024, “The Lion Women of Tehran” has been the recipient of numerous literary prizes, including the ARA Historical Novel Prize.

Kamali spoke with the Standard to discuss her latest work and her presence at Bookstock this year. 

“This will be my first time attending Bookstock, and I’m beyond thrilled. I’ve never been to Woodstock but obviously I’ve heard so much about it — the quaint town, the mountains that sit right outside the perimeter. I love Vermont. I feel like there is a purity in Vermont,” Kamali said. “For someone who grew up in New York City, taking three subways to school, it seems like Vermont contains a kind of beauty and mystery that is hard to find elsewhere. I’m just so thrilled to finally visit and be amongst the lovely local readership.” 

For Kamali, “The Lion Women of Tehran” was a way of returning to her childhood spent briefly in Iran and to explore more deeply the life of her mother, who grew up in Tehran in the 1950s, and experienced waves of freedom and hardship. 

“I didn’t live in Iran very long,” she explained. “I was there from the ages of two to five, and then again from nine to eleven. Living there, however, impacted me more than some of the other places, partially because it was the country of my heritage, and it is where my parents were born and raised. During the second segment of living in Iran, when I was a little older, was even more impactful, as it was a very pivotal time in Iran’s history. It was right after a revolution of 1979, and during the beginning of the war. Living in a country that was actively experiencing war greatly affected me. Obviously, it was very traumatic, but my escape was reading, and my escape was writing, even at a very young age. I think it helped build the foundation for my career because I experienced the impact books can have on a person. Books can transport you; authors can help a person live another life and leave their own time and place behind. It was a very formative time for me.” 

Kamali will discuss “The Lion Women of Tehran” at Bookstock on Saturday, May 17 at 10 a.m. in the Little Theater.

For more on this, please see our May 15 edition of the Vermont Standard. 

Last week, BarnArts’ Global Music Residency brought Inuit artists, Pamyua, to the area from Alaska for seven days of school workshops, including a morning at Woodstock Elementary, a full day at Prosper Valley, and four public performances. The residency ended with a culminating performance inside the Barnard Town Hall on Saturday, with many kids bringing their parents to see the band after learning from them at school.

Photos Courtesy of BarnArts

By Emma Stanton, Staff Writer

On the third Tuesday of each month, a new type of book club gathers at the Norman Williams Public Library. Instead of discussing literature, the club studies and creates dishes from cultures around the world. If you have ever walked into the library and smelled delicious food wafting through the rafters, this “cookbook book club” might explain why. For the past six months, new and eager participants have joined librarian Lori Mitchell in this foodie endeavor. 

“We started out by choosing a cookbook and trying different recipes from it each month, but we quickly found that limiting,” Mitchell told the Standard. “Instead, over the past few months, we switched to studying the cuisine of a specific country — Ireland, Norway, Japan, and this month Mexico. Participants bring a dish inspired by the country of choice, and we all enjoy a potluck-style meal while discussing the difficulties and eccentricities each culture brings to the culinary world. It’s so much fun.” 

“This is a very community-based group,” Mitchell continued. “Some of us have never tried, let alone cooked dishes from these countries, but the point is not about creating a five-star meal; it’s about coming together to study the food, culture, and heritage of new places. Our book club is a great way to step outside of your comfort zone and try something new. It’s a really joyous event.” 

For some participants, this book club is a way of delving into new creative endeavors. Mitchell continued, “Last month we had people bring poetry they had written, inspired by the flavors and atmosphere of the country of choice. One person even broke out into song.” 

While some may be intimidated in the kitchen, Mitchell has assured the Standard that “all are welcome. The key is just to start. We have very few barriers, and the point is really not about cooking at all, but about coming together and trying something new and delicious.” 

For those interested in expanding their culinary portfolio and joining fellow foodies, email the Norman Williams Public Library at programs@normanwilliams.org, or stop in and speak with Mitchell and the other librarians. This cookbook book club meets the third Tuesday of every month, from 6-7:30 p.m. More information at: normanwilliams.org/book-groups.

The staff and supporters of the Lucy Mackenzie Humane Society celebrated the 110th anniversary of the shelter’s operation by gathering at Billings Farm last Saturday evening for their annual fundraising gala. The event, which packed approximately 65 attendees into the Billings Museum’s dining hall, is the shelter’s largest fundraising effort each year. The major components of the evening were a dinner and an auction that included items such as artworks, experiences at local businesses, and retreats to various locations.

Jackie Stanley, the organization’s Executive Director, admitted that the glamour of the event’s drinks, food, and dressing up was “all a far cry from the reality of animal welfare.” “There are really great days, there are really bad days,” Stanley continued, “but at the end of the day, we’re always the voice for the voiceless. If you’re in this room, I know your heart’s in the right place. There may be days in the future that Lucy Mackenzie really needs our support more than ever.” Reflecting on the vision established by the humane society’s founder, Stanley concluded, “Going back to Lucy Collamer Mackenzie herself, she was always there and always did the right thing. Your support will help ensure that we can be there for each and every animal when they need us most, and in days to come, there will be a lot of animals that need us.”

Robert Shumskis Photos

Bestselling author, nature conservationist, and recipient of the 2025 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, Kevin Fedarko, will participate in a presentation, reading, and discussion of his latest book, “A Walk in the Park,” at Bookstock on May 17. 

Following the success of his first novel, “The Emerald Mile,” Fedarko embarked on a 750-mile odyssey, on foot, through the heart of America’s most challenging and magnificent national park – The Grand Canyon.

Kevin Fedarko

A few years after quitting his job to follow his dream of becoming a guide on the Colorado River, Kevin Fedarko was approached by his best friend, National Geographic photographer Pete McBride, with a vision to hike the treacherous Grand Canyon from end to end. McBride promised Fedarko the journey would be “a walk in the park.” Against his better judgment, Fedarko agreed, unaware that the small cluster of experts who had completed the crossing had claimed it was “the toughest hike in the world.”

Detailing the year Fedarko and McBride spent on these trails, the near-death experiences, and the small crevices of beauty they found along the way, “A Walk in the Park” is a deeply moving story of adventure, personal growth, and a plea for the preservation of America’s greatest natural treasure.

On Saturday, May 17, Fedarko will be participating in a presentation and discussion of his book, complete with a photographic slide show of his journey in the Little Theater.

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

Edward H. Jagelski Jr., 85, a resident of Windsor, Vt., and a former longtime resident of both Taftsville and Woodstock, passed away Saturday afternoon, May 3, 2025, at the Gill Odd Fellows Home in Ludlow.

He was born on Sept. 10, 1939, in Cohoes, N.Y., the son of Edward and Ann (Garbacz) Jagelski. Ann died in childbirth, and he was adopted by his loving mother, Evelyn (Austin) Jagelski. Ed grew up in Springfield, Vt. where he graduated from Springfield High School in 1958. Ed was an extremely talented athlete who excelled in track and football. He was privileged to be a member of the Vermont team and played in the Shrine Maple Sugar Bowl game. After graduating high school, he continued his schooling at Weaver Airline Personnel School in Kansas City, Mo. After completion, he then began a career in the airline industry as a customer service agent at Mohawk Airlines in Albany, N.Y. In 1967, he returned to Springfield, Vt. to be close to his family. He was a member of the Army Reserves, worked at J&L Machine Tool Company for a time, and later worked as a carpenter for A.W. Frizzell and Sons, Inc. until his retirement. Ed enjoyed spending time outdoors, especially skiing at Mount Ascutney Mountain where he worked ski patrol, snowshoeing, kayaking and occasionally hunting and fishing. Ed was a longtime member and volunteer at Upper Valley Turning Point in White River Junction as well as the Salvation Army.

Ed’s true passion was being outdoors in nature. He was known around Woodstock as the “spoon man.” He had a talent for finding unique wood on his walks and taking that piece of wood and carving it into special spoons and unique walking sticks. You would see his spoons displayed at the Vermont Welcome Centers as well as local craft stores in the area and he would give his walking sticks to anyone in need.

We would be remiss not to mention his love of High Pastures Farm in Woodstock, Vt. where he had the privilege of caretaking for the Roach Family for many years.

Survivors include his children, Holly Aldrich and her husband Rick of Hartland, Edward John Jagelski and his wife Janet of Portsmouth, R.I., and Heather McGreer and her husband Ted of Keene, N.H. Ed was immensely proud of his grandchildren, Mackenzie Elizabeth McGreer and Matthew Theodore McGreer of Keene, N.H.

At his request there will be no calling hours. A graveside service will be on Monday, May 19 at 1 p.m. in the Pine Grove Cemetery in North Springfield, Vt. with Reverend Michael Augustinowitz officiating.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Second Wind Foundation/Upper Valley Turning Point in White River Junction, Vt. (donorbox.org/give-to-the-upper-valley-turning-point)

Arrangements are under the care of Knight Funeral Home & Crematory in White River Junction, Vt. Condolences may be expressed in an online guestbook found at knightfuneralhomes.com.

Floyd W. VanAlstyne, Jr., 105 died peacefully at his home in East Barnard on Friday, May 9 surrounded by his family.

Arrangements are not yet finalized and a full obituary will be published at a later date.

The Cabot Funeral Home in Woodstock is assisting the family.

Chandler “Denny” Hewitt, 76, died surrounded by his family on Monday, May 5 at the Jack Byrnes Center in Lebanon, N.H.

Denny was born on Feb. 6, 1949 in Hanover, N.H., the son of Chandler M. and Dorothy H. (Potter) Hewitt. He graduated from Woodstock Union High School in 1967 and joined the Navy serving as a Seabee in the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 40, a group that would remain a large part of his life. He served in the Vietnam War in 1968-1969. In May 1971 he sailed to Diego Garcia (Indian Ocean) and took part in building the original 3500 airstrip, which later was extended; it is still today a strategic U.S. military base. He finished his service duty in 1972 and returned home to work for a number of trucking companies doing mostly long-haul trucking. The most recent company he worked for was Roy Ingraham Trucking, he remained close friends to the owners Roy and Kay 

Denny’s roots were grounded in the Pomfret and East Barnard area. He married Deborah VanAlstyne on Oct. 3, 1970 in the East Barnard Church and made their home in North Pomfret. He was an avid hunter, as well as being a well-known traveling butcher. He enjoyed riding his motorcycle and took enormous pride in his collection of antique tractors that could be seen in many local parades, also being driven by his son and father-in-law. He and Deb enjoyed traveling and visiting with friends, especially attending many gatherings of the NMCB 40 families. Denny could be seen spending time on the beach in his blue jeans on a warm day. His favorite holiday without a doubt was deer season.

Denny is survived by his wife of 54 years, Deborah, his daughter Karen Hewitt Osnoe (Lee), his son David Hewitt; five grandchildren, Nikki, Hayden, Asher, Joleigh, and Avery, his siblings; Pamela (Bill) Barrows, Sandra Birajiclian and Miller (Carlene) Hewitt; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. In addition to his parents, he is predeceased by a son Dennis Hewitt, a brother Frank Hewitt, and a brother-in-law Michael Birajiclian.

A celebration of life will take place to all that wish to pay their respects on Saturday, May 24, from noon to 2 p.m. at the Pomfret Town Hall. A private family burial service will take place in the Hewittville Cemetery after.

In lieu of flowers, those wishing to pay their respects may make memorial donations to: American Legion Post 24 – PO. box 365 – Woodstock, Vt. 0509.

An online guestbook can be found at cabotfh.com.

In the earliest minutes of Thursday, May 2, 2025, seventeen days shy of her birthday, Phyllis Elaine (Thurston) Kruse, 86, died at the Jack Byrne Center for Palliative & Hospice Care with family at her side, after a short illness.

She was born May 19, 1938 “upstairs over Mr. Finley’s Store” in West Hartford, Vt., the fourth child of Oliver A. and Florence T. Thurston.

Her childhood memories of spending time with her siblings and many cousins at her Grammie and Grampa Thurston’s farm just across the White River, or with her Grammie and Grampa Thompson in Jefferson, N.H. and West Bridgewater were cherished and told often. She attended school in Quechee, often walking from “the far end of the village” to play with friends in Dewey’s Mills or a few miles up on Old Quechee Road. Phyl also attended schools in Pomfret and Hartford as the family relocated for work. Her father, whom she adored, worked on the railroad, among other things, and she’d walk to meet him as he returned each evening, often going fishing with him in the evening, or finding a special treat he had put into his lunch box, just for her.

Phyllis married Werner K Kruse, Jr., on Oct. 11, 1955 in Springfield, Vt. In November 1957, their daughter Karla was born, and their son Wayne was born in January 1959. They built a home in Woodstock in 1960 and lived there all their lives. Werner died in 1981 and Phyllis was determined to keep their home.

Phyl worked hard. She spent over thirty years working in retail businesses in Woodstock, then after “retiring” she turned to being a home health aide and companion to several local residents.

She loved cooking, baking, and decorating her home beautifully each year at Christmas with Karla, gardening, reading and bird-watching on her beloved screen porch she had wanted “all her life,” and coloring intricate pictures in adult coloring books, shading the details with her colored pencils. 

Phyl and Karla had many fun, much-loved vacations together throughout the southwestern U.S., the Caribbean, Iceland, and earlier family camping trips to Canada, where she always enjoyed visiting Prince Edward Island where her Grampa Thompson was born.

Family was most important. She was very proud of her two kids, and Wayne’s wife of over 44 years, Ginny. Wayne and Ginny’s daughters Jessica and Kasey have brought joy into her life for more than 40 years. Kasey then brought two great-grandsons, Brady and Kolby, into her life and they have kept the spark and love strong. 

Phyllis was pre-deceased by her parents, Oliver A. and Florence Thurston, her husband Werner K. Kruse, Jr., brother Oliver C. Thurston, and her dear friend and sister Glennis Thurston Bartlett. She is survived by her daughter Karla Kruse of Woodstock, son Wayne Kruse (Ginny) of Barnard, granddaughter Jessica Kruse of Stafford, Va., granddaughter Kasey Kruse of Barnard, great-grandsons Brady Kruse-Ely and Kolby Kruse-Ely of Barnard and Brownsville, a sister Beverly Thurston Mandigo of Unity, N.H., and nieces and nephews.

A graveside service will be held on Friday, May 23 at 3 p.m. at Riverside Cemetery, Woodstock.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Lucy Mackenzie Humane Society, 4832 Route 44, Brownsville, VT 05037.

An online guestbook can be found at cabotfh.com.

David MacIver Loman — known to many as Dave, Dave the Rave, Davey Baby, Davey Jones, or Dirty Dave — passed away on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, at the age of 37. Born in Randolph, Vt., and raised in Killington, David brought warmth, laughter, and depth to every place and person he touched, from the slopes of Vermont to the riverbanks of Montana.

David was a gifted athlete, crowned Vermont State Champion in the Giant Slalom during his youth. He continued to race at a high level throughout high school and college, ultimately helping lead Castleton State College to their first-ever podium at the USCSA Regional Championships. He went on to place as the top overall Castleton skier at their second-ever appearance in the USCSA National Championships. During high school, he was also a four-year varsity soccer player.

He graduated from Killington Mountain School and Woodstock Union High School, and later earned his Bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Montana in Missoula.

David’s love of mountains and skiing ran deep — he worked for many years as a ski instructor and race coach, and held various roles in ski towns that felt like home to him. In the final days of his life, he shared his desire to return to one. Beyond the ski world, David worked in a multitude of roles: property manager, ranch hand, carpenter, cook, and more. He often worked in service of others’ needs, perhaps even at the expense of his own ambitions. His generosity and magnetic personality were such that he was elected Prom King at Woodstock Union High School, a school he only attended part-time. He also had a knack for hosting trivia nights, keeping the room engaged and entertained with his quick wit and easy charm.

David was kind. He was brilliant. And he was deeply generous. He had a way of offering himself entirely — his time, his hands, his humor — without ever expecting anything in return. He could fix anything, drive anything, ski anything. His mind was lightning-quick, especially when it came to puzzles, puns, and crosswords, often solving the NYT Mini in under 25 seconds. He shared a legendary back-and-forth of wordplay with his father, Roy, the two often speaking for minutes at a time in nothing but puns.

He found joy in the simple things: a well-made eggs Benedict, a bluebird ski day, a classic film, a new novel, a long float down the river, a good joke. He was a lover of Batman, goofy comedies, science fiction, and deeply human dramas. He had a wry and brilliant sense of humor — equal parts witty and silly — and a smirk that could grow into the most radiant, toothy grin you can imagine.

Above all, David loved. He gave of himself so fully that it was sometimes hard for him to save any kindness for himself. He was the kind of person who would drive across a state to help you move a couch, who’d tell you he was “fine” just to keep from burdening you with his own pain.

He is survived by his mother Esther, father Roy, sister Sarah, brother Dan, sister-in-law Becca, nephew Carter, niece Audrey, and his beloved dog Pesto. He also leaves behind many beloved aunts, uncles, and cousins. He leaves not only those closest to him, but friends scattered across the country, many of whom now carry a deep and aching absence.

A small gathering was held in Montana, and a larger celebration of David’s life will be held at Killington Resort in Vermont on Saturday, June 14. Details can be found at daveloman.com/memorial.

Those wishing to share stories, photos, or videos can do so at daveloman.com/memories or by emailing memories@daveloman.com. Those wishing to donate in his honor can contribute to a foundation of his namesake, available soon at daveloman.com/foundation.

Though David left us too soon, the love, laughter, and generosity he gave the world endures. May we honor him by showing up for each other as fully as he did — for no reason other than love.

Sandra “Sandi” Eloise Lampert, age 86, passed away peacefully May 2, 2025, at the Meadows at East Mountain in Rutland, Vt.

Sandi was born in Springfield, Vt. on September 14, 1938. She was the daughter of Zygmont and Eloise (Sears) Stryhas. She grew up in Ludlow graduating from Black River High School with the class of 1956. Sandi married Robert J. Lampert the following year and together they bought a home in Tyson, Vt. where Sandi lived for 60 years. She began her career as a wife and mother and later took up waitress work in several Ludlow eateries, most importantly DJ’s Restaurant where she was an institution for over 30 years. She touched many locals’ lives notably through her Tuesday lunch service with the Ludlow Rotary Club. Her flower gardens were her special passion. She enjoyed the outdoors and could often be seen walking beside Echo Lake. She taught many young children to ski at Okemo Mountain and enjoyed her beach getaways to Maine.

She is survived by her children: Julie Postler of Thetford Center, Jessica Melville and her husband Hunter of South Woodstock and Jonathan Lampert and his wife Kimberly of Mount Holly; two sisters: Susan Allard of Rutland and Andrea Stanley and her husband Gary of Brandon and a sister-in-law: Barbara Stryhas of Weybridge; grandchildren; Dr. Matthew Postler, Jenna Postler and her husband Jack McDermott, Alex Melville and his wife Kristen and Graham Melville and a great-granddaughter; Gwendolyn Melville. She also leaves behind many nieces, nephews and cousins. She was predeceased by her brother, Don Stryhas.

A private gathering and burial will take place at a later date in the family lot at Pleasant View Cemetery in Ludlow.

Memorial gifts in lieu of flowers may be made in her memory to: Rutland Area Visiting Nurse & Hospice, 7 Albert Cree Drive, Rutland, VT 05701.

Arrangements by Miller & Ketcham of Brandon.

Janice (LePage) Bauchiero, 97, died peacefully at home surrounded by family on May 3, 2025.

Born in Beverly, Mass., on Feb. 21, 1928, she was the daughter of Lester and Ramona (Cowles) LePage. She grew up in Longmeadow, Mass., and cherished summers with her family at their beach cottage in Little Neck, Ipswich, where she developed a lifelong love for the ocean.

Janice was a woman of remarkable creativity and warmth, with a passion for art that touched every part of her life. Whether designing beautiful wreaths, crafting elegant Christmas decorations to brighten her home, or practicing calligraphy—an art she taught herself—Janice found joy in creating and sharing beauty with her family and friends. 

In 1980, Janice married Frank E. Bauchiero, and together they shared a blended family of eleven children. Their life together was filled with love, laughter, and travel. They explored the world on both business trips and vacations with dear friends. Following Frank’s career, they made homes in seven different states over the years, eventually spending 20 cherished years in Boca Raton, Fla. Janice and Frank also treasured their time on their 175-acre farm in North Pomfret, a place of peace and connection to nature. 

Janice was a former member of the Longmeadow Country Club in Longmeadow, Mass.; Suffield Country Club, in Suffield, Conn.; and a proud member of the Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club and the Boca Club in Boca Raton, Fla.; as well as the Quechee Club in Quechee.

She leaves behind her beloved husband of 45 years, Frank Bauchiero of Pomfret; her daughters, Paige Darden and Jim Aslin of Somers, Conn., and Leigh and Glenn Gilbert of Somers, Conn.; her sons, Butch and Shari Darden of Carbondale, Colo., and Scott Darden of Copper Mountain, Colo., Edward and Cathy Bauchiero of Longmeadow, Mass.; Donna and Tim Schutt of Westford, Mass.; Mary and Michael O’Donoghue of Cohasset, Mass.; Robert Bauchiero and Arja Torni of West Suffield, Conn.; Frank and Elaine Bauchiero of West Suffield, Conn.; and Jim and Amy Bauchiero of Pomfret.

Janice also leaves behind 14 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, who were a great source of pride and joy in her life.

She was predeceased by her beloved daughter, Brooke Darden; her sisters, Priscilla Orr and Mona “Tehan” Goettlich; and her brother, Lester LePage.

Janice’s warmth, elegance, and happy disposition will be deeply missed by all who had the joy of knowing her. She was a real lady, loved by all. Her legacy lives on in the beauty she created and the love she shared. 

A Funeral Mass will be held on Saturday May 10 at Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church in Woodstock, beginning at noon. Burial will be held at a later date for family in Springfield, Mass.

In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, alzfdn.org/donate.

An online guestbook can be found at cabotfh.com.

To the community and fellow Freelance Singers, there will be a memorial service for Ellen Satterthwaite on Saturday, June 21 at the Woodstock Congregational Church in Woodstock at 2 p.m. There will be music and time for sharing stories and memories. Reception to follow.  

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

Labor Day is coming up, signaling a time of year that’s taken on new meaning for the Vermont Standard and the Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation. This point in the calendar when we honor our nation’s workers is also when we begin our four-week Annual Appeal to raise funds to keep quality local journalism flowing for Woodstock and the surrounding towns that the Standard serves in Windsor County.

By now, most everyone knows that newspapers have been struggling mightily – despite the fact that communities throughout the nation still count on them to employ the journalists who are primarily responsible for covering local news. The main problem has been the evaporation of much of the advertising revenue that traditionally supported local journalism.

Those who advertised in newspapers through the years were typically smaller, local businesses, which in many cases have fallen prey to competition from chains, big box stores, and online sellers (like Amazon). Many of them have now been bought up by bigger regional or national operations or they closed down.

Classified section advertisers also pulled back on the ads they ran in newspapers for jobs, cars, real estate, and used merchandise when online options, which are often free, became available.

So, this left local newsrooms all across the country without much of a funding mechanism. Many sold out to national newspaper chains owned by corporations or hedge funds that proceeded to gut the paper’s staff and resources in a cynical attempt to squeeze out what little profit might be left. Other papers just closed their doors as their financial losses piled up.

So far, the country has lost about a third of its newspapers — almost 3,000 have gone out of business in the past twenty years, and we’re currently on pace to continue losing more than two per week. More than 200 counties now have no credible, comprehensive local news source. They call those places “news deserts.”

To make matters worse, while many other communities still have a local newspaper, it has been reduced to just a shadow of its former self because corporate scavengers “right-sized” it, leaving the paper incapable of performing its duty for its community.

However, there are still some independent publishers in small communities like ours who know that we cannot have a well-functioning democracy if the public isn’t adequately informed. They know that a local newspaper is entrusted with reporting about the issues that matter. They also know that communities function better — and the quality of life is better — if people know what’s going on and if they know and appreciate each other. So, those publishers are finding ways to keep the lights on at their newspaper any way they can, while at the same time attempting to create new revenue streams that could help sustain their local journalism in the future.

The Standard is one of those newspapers.

Last year, the Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation was formed as a public charity to raise funds to help ensure that our community won’t become the next news desert. The Foundation is dedicated primarily to preserving the Standard and its role in informing citizens and supporting democracy in our area well into the future. We’re not trying to merely keep some semblance of a diminished newspaper alive here. We’re trying to preserve a good, trustworthy, 171-year-old purveyor of local news and information (both in print and digital formats) that our community can continue to rely upon and be proud of. We believe that having fair-minded, professionally produced local journalism is extremely important to maintaining the quality of life here.

And we are not alone in this effort. There are still businesses here that help pay for your local journalism with their advertising in the Standard and its ancillary publications. Any business or organization that advertises is doing more than just promoting a service, sale or event – it is also showing you that it cares about this community, that it wants a thriving, strong democracy here.

The Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation has a board made up of a small cadre of local residents who fully recognize and appreciate the value the Standard provides. Of course, Phil Camp and I are on the board too. We are extremely fortunate to have these board partners in the trenches with us as we chart the path forward.

Increasingly, though, we’re finding that those who care most deeply about our community are the same ones taking action to also care for its journalism. Some newspapers in the U.S. have been fortunate to have a rich owner – such as Jeff Bezos at the Washington Post or John Henry at the Boston Globe. Those owners are doing a fine job of sustaining quality journalism in their metropolitan areas. But here, we’ve got our own benefactors who are largely responsible for why the Standard is still alive. I’ve found that these wonderful, caring people fall into three categories.

First, we have a sizable group of very kind donors who truly appreciate the important role local journalism plays in our community and they step up to take part in our annual appeals each year. Their donations vary in size from a modest amount to hundreds of dollars. We couldn’t be more grateful to these supporters. Our hearts leap a little each time we open their envelopes or receive notice of their credit card contribution. Their donations add up to a significant amount that has literally sustained our journalism. We simply could not keep going without you. We regard each donation we receive not only as sustenance but also a pat on the back that encourages us to “keep trying, keep going.” And we will.

We also have a smaller number of major donors who dig deep and send us large donations that make a very big difference for us. Their donations go a long way in helping us make ends meet – some of their individual contributions alone can pay a substantial bill or help supplement our cash flow during the slowest advertising times of the year. These very generous donors have an outsized influence on our ability to provide the community with quality journalism. Rest assured, we know each of you by name and we count our blessings each day to have you on our side.

And speaking of blessings, we also have a select few who have literally taken on this mission, shoulder-to-shoulder, with Phil and me and the Foundation board. These donors are guardian angels for our community who have done some very heavy lifting, providing substantial funds to help us not only survive for today but also to strengthen our organization so that we can build the new revenue streams we need to sustain us in the future. I can assure you that there would not be a Standard today for you to read without their extremely generous assistance. Some of these friends also help us spread our message and encourage others to support us. We really have no words to adequately express our gratitude to them – we’re simply astonished at the love they’ve shown to us and to this community.

We sincerely hope you’ll join us in this year’s 2024 annual appeal. And for those who have a family foundation, we hope you’ll consider adding the Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation 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, to say the least. 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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