Water Quality Alert

Woodstock

Shedding more light on Peacefield Farm

It’s a lovely Thursday evening in early September and dusk has descended on Peacefield Farm, the controversial proposed farm-to-fork restaurant project alongside a bucolic stretch of Pomfret Road in Woodstock, just south of the Pomfret border. A crowd of about 30 people, including members and staff of Vermont’s District 3 Environmental Commission, the state Agency for Natural Resources, a representative of the Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission, and interested parties, neighbors, and concerned citizens engaged in the Act 250 review process for the proposed farm-based restaurant are gathered for what one attendee euphemistically called “a lighting ceremony.” The purpose of the gathering at Peacefield Farm on Thursday evening, Sept. 9, was to give people involved with or interested in the Act 250 review process for the Peacefield project an up-close-and-personal sense of the impact that all the interior and exterior lighting around the proposed restaurant could have on the nighttime sky and the character of the rural, residentially zoned neighborhood for those who live nearby.

Read more in the September 16 edition of the Vermont Standard.

Reading disputes continue re. overland event, virtual meetings

Reading

Irate town residents confronted the Reading Selectboard at its regular monthly meeting Monday evening regarding two issues that have roiled the community throughout the summer. The first matter of concern is the selectboard’s seeming reluctance to commit the town’s legal resources to defend an August decision of the Reading Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) to deny a permit for The Pilgrimage — a proposed four-day event that would have brought as many as 350 four-wheel-drive vehicles to a 75-acre site on Bailey’s Mill Road for a statewide “overlanding” touring event of Class IV roads and off-road locations throughout Vermont Sept. 23-26. The second issue at hand is the Reading governing body’s intransigence in agreeing to hold “hybrid” public meetings moving forward, with in-person and virtual attendance options, as was the practice throughout the ongoing pandemic from March 2020 until June of this year, when Vermont Gov. Phil Scott lifted COVID restrictions on public gatherings such as town meetings.

Read more in the September 16 edition of the Vermont Standard.

High Street’s Hastings receives Garden Club honor

Woodstock

When Jill Hastings moved into her High Street residence three years ago, the landscaping was in shambles, but countless hours of effort have transformed the home’s small plot into one of the village’s most vibrant sights. The Woodstock Garden Club recently rewarded Hastings’ dedication with the Streetscape Award, which Hastings humbly says is largely thanks to lessons learned from her late husband.

The club, which was founded in 1961, has been giving out the Streetscape Award since 2007. Hastings has been a member of the club since 2006. For a time, she was the president, but now she is a regular associate. She says the club grants the award to “a garden in the village of Woodstock created and maintained by the homeowner, business owner, or organization that has special appeal for all to enjoy.” The judging is done by fellow club members based on creativity and the hands-on work involved in putting it together. This is her first time winning the award.

Read more in the September 16 edition of the Vermont Standard.

Boys Soccer defeats Otter Valley in OT

Woodstock waited until late to win at Otter Valley Wednesday. Despite having the lion’s share of possession and shots at goal, Woodstock trailed 1-0 at halftime. The Wasps picked up the intensity in the second half but it looked like it wasn’t going to be their day until Zach Martsolf-Tan scored with a header from a corner by Alec Smail with two minutes of regulation remaining. Ezra Lockhart won the game with a direct free kick in the 3rd minute of the first overtime.

Read more in the September 23 edition of the Vermont Standard.

Field Hockey Team downs Rutland

Woodstock

It may have been Division II Woodstock against Division I Rutland Tuesday afternoon at Yvonne M. Frates Field in Woodstock, but the smaller school came out on top. The Raiders had taken the measure of WUHS the past few years, but the home team turned the table this time around with a 2-0 victory.

“We’ve lost against them in previous years, but it’s always been good competition,” said senior co-captain Nicole Fullerton. “We looked at their stats and I wouldn’t say we were confident, but we knew it would be a good match and that we needed to play hard. I think we did that the whole game. Both teams had a lot of hustle and it worked out well for us.”

Woodstock jumped out on top just over six minutes into the game. Hannah Gubbins scored the goal, Lily Gubbins worked hard to keep the ball in the Wasps’ possession in the circle, but the play really started much earlier than that. Sweeper Georgia Tarleton stole the ball, made a couple of moves upfield herself and then passed the ball ahead to jump start the attack.

That first part of that play was indicative of Woodstock all game long.

Read more in the September 16 edition of the Vermont Standard.

Priscilla Diette Salem

Priscilla Diette Salem passed away on September 8, 2021 at the age of 90 following a brief illness. She was born in Morrisville, Vermont on December 22, 1930; the eldest daughter of Beatrice and Ovide Diette. As a young girl she moved to Woodstock, Vermont where she attended school, graduating from Woodstock High School in 1948. She graduated from the University of Vermont in 1952 with a degree in education. Following graduation, she moved to Bennington where she taught home economics at Bennington High School and remembered fondly the names of every student she taught. It was during this time that she met the love of her life, Charlie Salem.

Priscilla and Charlie married on August 16,1958 and moved to Bucks County Pennsylvania while Charlie attended dental school. While teaching high school in Langhorne, PA she received her master’s degree in Bacteriology from Penn State University.

In 1962 they returned to Bennington, purchasing a home on Elm Street.  The first floor was converted into a dental office and they lived upstairs.   They built their home on Sharon Drive where they raised their four children. Priscilla was a devout Catholic, a member of Sacred Heart and later Sacred Heart Saint Francis churches. She raised her family in a strict French Catholic tradition with great intensity and joy. Her family was her greatest passion; she will forever guide her family as its matriarch.

Priscilla loved tennis and her ladies doubles group. She was a master gardener and longtime member of the Garden Club of America, serving a term as the local chapter president. She was a naturalist and took great joy in sharing her vast knowledge with others. She was a voracious reader and lifelong learner. She loved her studies in art history at Williams College and her greater than 25 years as a docent at the Clark Art Institute. She and Charlie traveled extensively. She was an excellent cook and baker as well as a skilled seamstress. She taught these skills to her children to be sure they could each be self-sustaining.

Priscilla was a devoted wife and celebrated her 63rd wedding anniversary with Charlie just weeks prior to her death. She was an incredible mother to her children and grandmother to their children. She enjoyed the family’s annual summer reunions at The Basin Harbor Club on Lake Champlain surrounded by all of her children and grandchildren. She instilled in all of them the value of family and the power of love. She leaves behind her husband Charlie; her four children Maria Ascher, her husband Tom and their sons Charlie and Jonathan; Charles Salem, his wife Sarah Dahl and their children Isaac, Olivia, and Emma; Justin Salem, his wife Christiana and their children Henry, Anna, and Nicholas; Elizabeth Foster, her husband Ben and their children William and Catherine; her brother Frederick Diette; many nieces and nephews. Priscilla was preceded in death by her parents; her brothers Bruce Dudley, Scott Dudley, and Philip Diette; and her sister Patricia Courtney.

A mass of Christian burial took place at Sacred Heart Saint Francis Church on Saturday, September 11, 2021 at 10 o’clock.

Private committal services will be held at the convenience of the family.

Contributions can be made in her name to The Bennington Free Library or Bennington Bloom through the office of Mahar & Son Funeral Home, 628 Main Street, Bennington, VT  05201.

Guestbook condolences may be made at www.maharandsonfuneralhome.net

James Edgar Drorbaugh M.D.  

James Edgar Drorbaugh M.D.  was born on October 31, 1922 and he died peacefully at age 98 in Kaneohe, Hawaii on August 28, 2021.

James graduated from Princeton University in 1944 and he received an M.D. from Columbia University in 1948. He practiced pediatrics at Children’s Hospital in Boston and later was Chief of Maternal and Child Health in Hawaii.

He was a devoted husband for 70 years to May Field Many Drorbaugh (b. 1926 d. 2017). He is survived by four children, Virginia, James Jr., MayField, and Ann, six grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren.

He loved sailing and doing things with family. They traveled around the world with their children in 1969 – 1970. The family spent many happy days with relatives in Woodstock, Vermont.

The family will hold a private memorial for him and his wife to scatter their ashes together in the waters of their beloved Hawaii.

In the final week of our Annual Appeal, we’re grateful and hopeful

By Dan Cotter, Vermont Standard publisher  

Like at most newspapers, times have been tough at the Standard.

­­­But unlike most newspapers, our situation doesn’t appear to be hopeless. In fact, it’s quite hopeful.

As I’ve chronicled in these pages in the past, the Standard now only generates about half as much revenue from the sale of advertising as it used to. In large part, that’s due to changes in the way people buy and sell things. Big box retailers and chain stores that don’t advertise in community newspapers attract most of the customers, which comes at the expense of smaller independent stores that tend to be the most loyal newspaper advertisers. And the rapid consumer shift today towards purchasing from Amazon and other online retailers has negatively impacted many local stores, and therefore local newspapers. When businesses struggle or cease to exist, they no longer advertise in the paper.

In addition, much of the classified advertising that used to be found in newspapers has now moved instead to online help-wanted, real estate and auto sales platforms. Plus, many local businesses now spend more of their marketing budgets on digital ads with giants like Google, Facebook and others.

The bottom line is that the math no longer adds up for the Standard to count on local advertising dollars alone to fund a quality news operation.

The hopeful part is that the Standard still has a very loyal, highly engaged audience that truly values the journalism we provide for the communities we serve. The Standard has not experienced the dramatic circulation decline that so many other newspapers around the country have endured, and our complementary audience on our news update website is substantial.

It’s gratifying, and no surprise then, that in the past few weeks so many of our readers have stepped up to offer well wishes and make a contribution to our 2021 Annual Appeal. Please accept our heartfelt thanks and our pledge to use your gifts wisely to fund the local journalism you deserve!

TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE  CLICK HERE

TO MAKE A GIFT TO THE VERMONT STANDARD ANNUAL APPEAL CLICK HERE

Your Annual Appeal gift supports not only our paper, but also our people

By Dan Cotter, publisher  

If ever there was an industry in which people are the product, it’s got to be newspapers.

Think about it. Each edition of a newspaper is essentially a compilation of the best efforts of a bunch of different people, all with complementary roles and responsibilities, who invested their time, talent, and creativity to produce their piece of a report that briefs you on the latest news in the community. Especially at a small paper like the Standard, there’s very little redundancy – everyone has a distinct job to do and they are counted upon to perform it to the best of their ability, under the pressure of deadlines, for a quality finished product to come together.

A community newspaper is sometimes referred to as “the weekly miracle,” because each week papers like the Standard start out with a blank page, and by deadline there’s a completely hand-crafted, finished local news report in your hands or available on your screen. It’s unique each week; full of content that is fresh and different from any of the earlier editions of the paper in its 168-year history.

Nearly all of the content in the Standard is reported, written and photographed from scratch by our own journalists and contributors.

Unlike most other media, we don’t simply pass along AP news stories or syndicated articles. We are the only news organization that is dedicated to serving our communities with original reporting about news that either happens here or directly affects the people who live here.

So, when you make a contribution to our 2021 Annual Appeal, you’re actually supporting the day-to-day efforts of a sizeable group of deeply committed individuals who collaborate every week to produce the Standard. Nearly 40 people, both paid and volunteers, play a role in keeping you informed about the news that affects you most – local news.

The people who produce the Standard are your neighbors. When you support the paper, you’re supporting them.

TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE  CLICK HERE

TO MAKE A GIFT TO THE VERMONT STANDARD ANNUAL APPEAL CLICK HERE

Today we’re asking all our friends to support local journalism

To Our Readers,

They say that old friends are the best friends.

Old friends have your back when the going gets tough. They help you carry on when you’re not strong.

After serving Woodstock and its surrounding towns for 168 years, you could say that the Standard and this community go way back. We hope we’ve made some friends along the way, and this month we’re leaning on our friends, both old and new, as we launch our first Annual Appeal fundraising effort.

We sincerely thank you for reading the Vermont Standard. Striving to produce a quality local news report that keeps you informed and engaged in our community is a critically important mission, and we’re quite honored to be entrusted with that assignment.

As we explained in the article that appeared in this space last week, we urgently need your support to help us bridge the gap between our declining advertising revenue and the expenses required to produce the local journalism that you need, want and deserve.

TO READ THE FULL LETTER CLICK HERE

TO MAKE A GIFT TO THE VERMONT STANDARD ANNUAL APPEAL CLICK HERE

Standard launches its first Annual Appeal

For 168 years, the town of Woodstock and its surrounding communities have relied upon the Vermont Standard to report the local news.

The paper’s mission each week has been to keep residents abreast of the latest happenings; let readers know what’s going on; give them something to talk about; tell them when someone is born or when someone dies, and everything in-between. We tell you who won, who lost; whether there’s reason to celebrate or to mourn; whether there is cause to be skeptical or reason to go all in; whether to be optimistic or cautious. Good news or bad, the Standard’s audience simply wants to know, “What’s new around here, what’s the latest?”

No other news media covers this particular slice of Vermont. Sure, regional news providers, such as TV stations, online sites, or daily papers from other towns, touch on our area and report some of the bigger stories that occur, but our communities aren’t their main focus or primary concern. At the Standard, though, our own communities are our only concern.

And the “little” stories are often just as important as the “big” ones to those who call this place home. Like we do.

We think ours is a noble mission. We’re proud to be entrusted to keep our communities informed and connected. We tell residents about local subjects that may interest them, affect them, entertain or inspire them. Independently owned, we work on behalf of the people, businesses and organizations of this area.

And readers look forward to the paper each week. Whether in print or digital, they read it, they trust it, and they have conversations with family and friends about the information they find in it.

That’s the way it was so many years ago when the Standard began and throughout all those decades since. That’s the way it remains to this very day.

Since 1853, the communities we serve have needed us. Right now, we need them.

Today the Standard is launching its first Annual Appeal.

TO READ THE FULL STORY CLICK HERE

TO MAKE A GIFT TO THE VERMONT STANDARD ANNUAL APPEAL CLICK HERE

Newspapers Are In a Race Against the Clock

Woodstock

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

Read Full Article

New marketing services now available to local businesses