The estate of a New Hampshire man, who police say was gunned down outside a Woodstock home two years ago has filed a wrongful death civil lawsuit against the mother of the gunman in the homicide-suicide case.

Dieter Seier, 67, of Cornish, N.H. was fatally shot multiple times in the torso by Jay Wilson, 45, of Woodstock, at a home on Slayton Terrace on the afternoon of June 14, 2022, Vermont State Police said.

Now Wylie Burke, the administrator of the estate for Seier, has filed the wrongful death lawsuit against June Wilson, formerly of Rutland and now living in Florida.

June Wilson had allowed her son Jay Wilson to live rent-free at the Slayton Terrace home and knew before the June 2022 shooting that he was dangerous and possessed guns, according to the civil lawsuit filed by Burke in Vermont Superior Court in Woodstock earlier this year.

The lawsuit maintains June Wilson antagonized her son on the day of the shooting by telling him she was going to sell the home where he was living. That is when he pulled out a gun and fatally shot Seier, the lawsuit noted.

Burke is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, attorney’s fees and other relief ordered by a jury. She is represented by the law firm of Lynn, Lynn, Blackman & Toohey in Burlington.

June Wilson, a beloved and retired Woodstock Union High School teacher is being defended by attorney Shap Smith Jr. of the Burlington law firm Dinse P.C.

Smith, a former state legislator and Speaker of the House, filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in late July on the grounds that he believes the plaintiff failed to state a claim in which relief could be granted.

Jay Wilson barricaded himself inside the two-story white home with black trim after he shot Seier and eventually a judge issued a search warrant for police to breach the home when negotiations failed to end the situation. Wilson shot himself about 11 p.m. And his body was found on the second floor. Tear gas and flashbang grenades had failed to get Wilson to surrender. 

For more on this story, please see our October 3 edition of the Vermont Standard.

Vermont’s federal lawmakers — Sens. Bernie Sanders and Peter Welch, together with Rep. Becca Balint — have introduced legislation that would extend the boundary of the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park in Woodstock to include the neighboring, 154-acre King Farm, a property presently owned by the Vermont Land Trust (VLT)

“Senator Welch has had positive conversations with his colleagues about the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park Establishment Act Amendments Act and is working with the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources to move the bill forward,” Elisabeth St. Onge, Welch’s press secretary told the Standard Tuesday morning. Welch’s office reported in a statement released on Sept. 23 that both VLT and Town of Woodstock officials have endorsed the effort by the Vermont senator and fellow lawmakers Sanders and Balint to bring the historic King Farm property into the national park fold.

It remains to be seen what the status of King Farm in the VLT’s portfolio of owned and managed lands will be if the newly introduced bill passes Congressional muster. The legislation as drafted by Welch, Sanders, and Balint would “authorize, but not require, the acquisition of the [King Farm] property by the NPS (National Park Service) in the future.” It is clear, however, that potentially expanding the footprint of the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller Park adds significantly to the public education missions of both the national park system — through its nationwide Stewardship Institute initiative — and of the VLT.

No timeline has yet been set for the bill proffered by Welch, Sanders, and Balint to move out of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and onto the floor for a final vote.

For further details, please see our October 3 edition of the Vermont Standard.

As the November election fast approaches, there will be opportunities for public interaction with the candidates seeking to represent Windsor County. The Bridgewater Grange and The Friends of Ludlow Auditorium (FOLA) have upcoming events scheduled for Oct. 10 and Oct. 18.

Candidate forum planned for Oct. 10 in Ludlow

The Friends of Ludlow Auditorium will conduct a Candidates’ Forum on Thursday, Oct. 10, at 7 p.m. for those candidates seeking the three Windsor County Seats in the Vermont Senate, as well as those seeking the RW-1 House seat representing Ludlow, Mt Holly, and Shrewsbury. The forum will take place in the Heald Auditorium on the second floor of the Ludlow Town Hall.

All the candidates seeking these seats have agreed to participate. They include Alison Clarkson (D, Senate), Jonathan Gleason (R, Senate), Joe Major (D, Senate), Andrea Murray (R, Senate), Marc Nemeth (I, Senate), Adrienne Raymond (D, RW1), Becca White (D, Senate), Jack Williams (R, Senate), and Kevin Winter (R, RW1). This event will seek the candidates’ positions on various issues facing state government, beginning with questions from the moderator and followed by questions from the audience. The forum is open to all interested residents. The event moderator will be Jim Alic, FOLA Chairman. Jacalyn Diesenhouse will be the timer, and audience monitors will be Kevin Kuntz and George Thomson. Call 802-855-8896 for more information.

Meet the Candidates in Bridgewater on Oct. 18

On Oct. 18, there will be a Meet the Candidates Night at the Bridgewater Grange starting at 6:30 p.m. All seven State Senate candidates will be available to answer any questions. District Representative Heather Chase will also be there.

Last Saturday, Pentangle Arts presented a public reading premier of “Tango Tonight!,” a new musical under development by Joy Kosta and Bob Merrill, at the Woodstock Town Theatre. The cast read the scripts and sang, while tango champions Adriana Salgado and Orlando Reyes portrayed the two main characters during dance scenes. A demo milonga preceded the event, and it was followed by a talk-back session with the composer, playwright, guest artists, and cast.

The Woodstock Village Trustees unanimously approved an additional $1,322 in expenses for the current foliage season during a brief special meeting last Friday. The funding, which will be drawn from Village budget lines for contingency and holiday spending, will defray remaining expenses for six picnic tables and chairs already in place and paid for on The Gore and The Green, as well as the rental and maintenance of two portable toilet units in the village during the peak foliage time from Oct. 4-14.

The Woodstock Town Selectboard on Tuesday, Sept. 17 voted to fund less than 30% of a $7,000 grant for foliage tourism response requested by the trustees and the town’s Economic Development Commission (EDC). The town governing body agreed instead to fund just $2,000 toward the cost of picnic tables and umbrellas to be used by visitors and residents on The Gore and The Green during this autumn. That allocation did not cover the full cost of the picnic accessories and fit up, nor did it proffer funding for overtime trash pickup by Woodstock Public Works crews on peak foliage weekends and other contingency costs anticipated by village officials, including port-a-potty rentals.

The pair of port-a-potties will be in place either behind the County Courthouse or at the Woodstock History Center on Elm Street from Oct. 4-14, responding to business community and resident concerns about the dearth of public restrooms in the village during peak tourism times.

For further details, please see our October 3 edition of the Vermont Standard.

Do802.com, a new service of the Vermont Standard, is now live. The free, web-based app features a comprehensive calendar of events and an up-to-the-minute feed of deals, discounts, and announcements posted by local businesses. Do802 was designed to help quickly connect people to everything the Upper Valley offers. From favorite restaurants, local festivals, and unique exhibitions, to last-minute discounts on specialties and handmade Vermont products, there’s so much in the Upper Valley to take advantage of. Do802 offers a simple way to quickly find what to do so that residents and visitors alike can spend less time looking for their next experience, and more time enjoying it.

It’s simple to use Do802. The first section is an easy-to-navigate, interactive listing of things to do for fun and fulfillment in the Upper Valley each day. The calendar on Do802 offers a great way to see what’s happening, from concerts to community events to club meetings. Rather than digging through different websites, feeds, or emails, Do802’s “What To Do” section offers a simple, fast, and comprehensive way to find the right experience every time.

The second part shows a rolling log of special offers and announcements posted by local businesses and organizations. It features last-minute offers (e.g., “Half off muffins for the next hour!” or “Early bird special on tickets today only.”). It also includes reminders and announcements (e.g., “In thirty minutes, the band will take the stage,” or “Free book signing in two hours.”). Do802 is a way for businesses, both treasured and new, to instantly communicate with residents and tourists alike, giving users a chance to benefit whenever a bakery bakes too much bread or a matinee show doesn’t quite sell out.

Do802 was designed by the Vermont Standard to help fund the journalism in its paper. The Standard, like all local newspapers around the country, needs additional revenue to help make up for the loss of traditional print advertising. Do802 is just one way the Standard will be deploying creative solutions to help keep its community coverage flowing. 

Do802 is a progressive web app, which means it can behave both like a website and a mobile app. Users can go to the Do802 website on any phone, tablet, or computer. On a mobile device, they can also save Do802 to their home screen, so it is easily accessible and acts just like an app. To save Do802 to your home screen on iPhones, go to Do802.com and click the share button (a square with an arrow pointing up) at the bottom of the screen. Scroll down the list of actions before tapping on “Save to Homescreen.” On Android, the same thing can be done in the three-dot menu at the top of the screen.

When Troy Ramey sings, people listen. 

From his rise to national attention as a successful contestant on NBC’s singing competition show “The Voice,” to the tens of millions of his listeners on Spotify since, the singer-songwriter will bring his unique brand of soulful ballads and heartfelt music to Woodstock Town Hall Theatre on Friday, Oct. 18 as part of his “All I Had” debut album launch. 

Ramey, who lived in Woodstock as a child, says the album is a mix of songs he wrote some ten years ago, and others he crafted just before its release in 2023, a tapestry woven over the course of a burgeoning career that shows no signs of slowing down. 

“It’s been an amazing year of validation to see all this come together,” he says. “And returning to Vermont is a wonderful opportunity, plus it’s the biggest venue I’ll be playing on the tour.”

Troy Ramey performs in the live round during Season 12 of “The Voice.”From Season 12.
Courtesy of Troy Ramey

Ramey lives in New York now, but when planning this current multi-state tour across the Northeast, he says he reached out to local organizers hoping to schedule a date in the fall, to be here during peak foliage. 

“He really wanted to do something local, and at this time of year here,” explains Deborah Greene, executive director of the Pentangle Arts. “We’re so excited to have him at our historic site and in this season that is so beautiful too.”

The Town Hall Theatre will host Ramey performing his all-original music, sprinkled with “a few covers that I love,” he says, on Friday, Oct. 18 beginning at 7:30 p.m. 

The start time is of note, Greene points out, as she is setting her sights on enlivening the local arts and music scene with something a little later than expected. 

For further details, please see our October 3 edition of the Vermont Standard.

Lauran Corson with Alex Corson after a performance of “The Pirates of Penzance” with the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players. 
Courtesy of Lauran Corson

On Oct. 13, Woodstock’s Bill and Lauran Corson will share the stage in a barbershop showcase with their son, renowned barbershop singer Alex Corson, for the first time.

A musical family with deep ties to vocal performance, each of the Corsons charted their own paths from professional opera to barbershop over the past few years.

From the very beginning, music has been central to Bill and Lauran Corson’s lives together. “We were both in the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players in Manhattan, doing a gig in a little park,” Lauran Corson told the Standard. “Bill and I met there, and the rest is history.” Eventually, they moved to New Jersey and started their own company, the Light Opera of New Jersey (LONJ), in 1995.

After performing professionally for close to a decade, Alex Corson was the first in his family to make the leap to barbershop in 2014. Once he decided to transition into a career in law, barbershop became a way for Alex Corson to keep musical performance in his life. 

Although barbershop remains a hobby for Alex Corson, he’s found great success as part of the First Take quartet. At the Barbershop Harmony Society’s International Quartet Contest, First Take won third place in 2023 and second place in 2024.

All three Corsons are excited for their first chance to perform the new style together. “It’ll be great to return to beautiful New England, where I spent many summers as a child,” said Alex Corson. “[First Take] is booked through August of 2025, with, I think, 12 or so shows between now and the next convention, and this one will be the home crowd with Mom and Dad there, and so we’re really looking forward to it.”

For more on this, please see our October 3 edition of the Vermont Standard.

A record number of human participants and plenty of their four-legged friends took to the slopes at Ascutney Outdoors Saturday morning for the Lucy Mac 5K9 event, the Lucy Mackenzie Humane Society’s annual fundraiser, which offers a timed 5K route as well as a one-mile option through fields, streams, forest, and ski slopes at the base of Mt. Ascutney. 

“It was truly a great day for us,” said Jackie Stanley, the humane society’s Executive Director. “We sold 99 bibs in total this year, I’m pleased to say, which was our largest 5K9 to-date!”

Robert Shumskis Photos

The Woodstock girls soccer teem took to the field on Thursday night to face off against Stratton Mountin at home and walked away with their fourth win of the season- ending the game with a final score of 4-0.

Rick Russell Photos

The Woodstock Union High School (WUHS) varsity boys soccer team (1-6) returned to their home field on Tuesday for a rematch against the undefeated Stratton Mountain squad (7-0). Determined to improve upon their previous 8-0 loss, the Wasps put up a spirited fight, but ultimately fell 3-0 in a contest that highlighted their growth and resilience.

With just six games remaining before the playoffs, Woodstock head coach Grayg Noireault has shifted his focus toward long-term player development. “I’m stepping into a team that has six seniors, but today, only one was on the field. So I need to build off what I have, which is mostly sophomores and freshmen,” Noireault explained post-game. “We’re like Atlético Madrid in this league; they’re Manchester City. They have seniors in every position — top-tier players, experienced coaches. All we can do is work on ball control, focus on the quality of our play, and push forward.”

Unlike their previous matchup, where Stratton Mountain dominated from the first whistle, Woodstock came out more organized, forcing their opponents to earn each goal. Senior goalie and co-captain Parker Peirce made several crucial saves in the first half, but the Wasps were pushed into a defensive posture and trailed 2-0 at halftime.

“We actually changed our tactics for this game,” Peirce said. “Normally, we play with four in the back, but this time we had five. We relied a lot on my communication — I feel like that’s one of my strengths — and today, I saw a lot of teamwork and talking on the field, which was a big improvement.”

The second half saw the Wasps respond with renewed energy, creating offensive opportunities and pressing Stratton Mountain’s defense. Despite their efforts, Woodstock was unable to find the back of the net, while Stratton Mountain secured a third goal in the final 15 minutes.

“I want to move the ball up and get it to Elijah [Tyrell], our striker,” said Atlas Jennings, freshman team captain. “I’d love to see him score a couple of goals. I almost had one today.”

Despite the loss, the Wasps remain optimistic about their development as a team. “Once we make it to the playoffs, I think you’ll see a lot more from us,” Jennings added confidently.

On Friday evening the Wasps football team took on the U-32 Raiders at home and walked away with their fourth win of the season, locking in a final score of 54-14. The team will face off against Mill River on Oct. 5.

Wasps senior Vincent Petrone makes an interception before running for a touchdown at Fridays night’s game against U-32.

Woodstock Union High School and Middle School mountain bikers took to the trails at Mt. Peg this past Saturday, September 21, enduro-racing in three (or four, for Cat A riders) stages that test riders’ technical skills. Woodstock’s Averill Stevens won first place in the Boys Cat A category with a total time of 9:35.1 and 505 points, followed by Fox Graham who finished second with a time of 9:39.0 and 495 points. Woodstock’s Kelton Maxham and Calvin Seman took first and second place in the Boys Cat B category, and Isla Segal captured second in the Girls Cat B.

Averill Stevens catches air above a course obstacle as he races to his first-place finish. Jeb Wallace-Brodeur Photo

Mary Elizabeth Fleming, 91 died Saturday September 21, 2024 in California. 

Born September 21, 1933 to Bernard and Irene Fleming of Bridgewater, VT, Mary graduated from Woodstock High School in 1951 where she excelled at softball and basketball- making the all-state championships.

Mary’s working career was in banking and finance. She moved to California in 1969, reuniting with her lifetime friends Evelyn Geno Houghton, Janice Oldenburg, and their families. Mary loved baseball, rooting for the Oakland A’s. She also enjoyed reading, bingo, music, dancing, and going for long walks.

Mary was predeceased by her parents, Bernard and Irene, brothers Jim (Barbara) and Ed, and nephews Tim (Dianne) and Rich (Lindy). She leaves behind her brother Bob Fleming (Joanne), nephew Brian (Lisa), nieces Linda Schroller (Karl) and Julia Fleming, great nephews Mark and Paul Schroller, Thomas Fleming, great niece Lauren Fleming, and a host of good friends.

A Liturgy of Christian Burial for Mary Fleming will be celebrated on Tuesday October 15, 2024 at 11 a.m. at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church.  Burial will follow in Eastlawn Cemetery in Williamstown.  To add to the Book of Memories, please visit www.flynndagnolifuneralhomes.com.

Ruth T. Payne, 107, died on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, at Cedar Hill Health Care Center in Windsor. Ruth was the youngest child born to Robert and Maude (Snow) Thompson in Pomfret on Aug. 1, 1917. She graduated from Woodstock High School and met Harley Victor Payne, Jr. at a dance at the Grange Hall in South Pomfret. The two married on Oct. 31, 1934; they were partners in all things, raising two children and operated Payne’s Home Bakery for more than three decades. Ruth and Harley enjoyed winters in Florida and summers at Lake Morey in Fairlee, Vt. where they enjoyed attending to guests who stayed at ‘The Castle on the Hill’ and spending time with family at their camp nearby. The two also enjoyed golfing together and held memberships at Lake Morey Country Club and Hanover Country Club.

They moved to South Carolina for a time but missed home and returned to Vermont in 1998. Together they celebrated 75 years of marriage before his death in 2010.

Ruth liked to stay active and in her younger years enjoyed snowshoeing. She had a variety of interests including rug hooking, knitting, sewing, quilting, needlepoint and making cards for special occasions. She loved jigsaw puzzles, playing cards with friends and family and cheering on the Red Sox.

She is survived by one son-in-law Duane Olmsted of Windsor; grandchildren Debi Price of Colchester, Vt., Doug Price of White River Junction, Vt., Tracy Currier of Claremont, N.H., and Harley Payne, III of Easley, S.C.; several great grandchildren and great great grandchildren, other relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by her husband Harley Payne, Jr., children Norene Olmsted and Roland Payne, siblings Iola Falby, Roland Thompson, Kenneth Thompson, William Thompson, Carl Thompson, and Merton Thompson, one grandson Jeff Payne, and one great granddaughter Dusty Payne.

Ruth will be buried next to her dear husband in a private graveside service at Ascutney Cemetery. Memorial donations are appreciated to the Upper Valley Humane Society, 300 Old Rte. 10, Enfield, NH 03748.

Knight Funeral Home of Windsor, VT has been entrusted with arrangements and online condolences are invited at knightfuneralhomes.com.

On the morning of September 6, 2024, Stacey Manning passed away unexpectedly after a brief illness. She was born on December 18, 1960, to Sandra (Joy) Manning and Dwain Manning of Barnard.

She grew up in Barnard where she attended schools in Barnard and Woodstock, graduating with the class of 1978. She then continued her studies at the University of Vermont and graduated in 1982. She worked as a case manager for Upper Valley Services for over 20 years. There, she created strong bonds with all her clients and co-workers.

Stacey leaves behind her two sons, Greg (Kaitlyn) and Ted (Ari) Trimble of Bethel. Stacey also leaves behind her mother, Sandra of Bethel, and two younger brothers, Michael and Cory Manning of Barnard. Stacey also leaves behind her two nieces Jessica (Jeff) Savage of Randolph and Samantha (Steve) Goodwin of Bethel, in addition to her great-nephew Thaddeus and great-niece Sophia Goodwin.

She had a big heart for animals and loved her two pugs Eva and Honey very dearly. In her free time, she enjoyed spending time with her dogs, listening to music, and watching movies. 

An online guestbook can be found at cabotfh.com.

Dr. John David Laughlin of Williamsburg, Virginia and Woodstock, Vermont died September 6 at Mt. Ascutney Hospital following a brief illness.

David was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia on February 17, 1940, the son of Carl Adam and Frances Ann (Knee) Laughlin.  He attended Dartmouth College (Class of 1961) and graduated from West Virginia University School of Dentistry in 1963.

Shortly after graduating from dental school, David began practicing dentistry in Woodstock, VT at the Ottauquechee Health Center.  He practiced there for 45 years.  David truly loved practicing dentistry.  He enjoyed his patients immensely and became good friends with many over the years.  His staff were like family to him and he maintained relationships with them even after retiring.  Upon his retirement David was very pleased to have Dr. Mark Knott take over his practice.

In the early 1970’s David led the effort to clean up the Ottauquechee River, which at the time, was basically an open sewer.  In the wake of that successful effort David, his former wife Sally, Rick Farrar and June McKnight decided that education was a better way to prevent environmental damage and engage people with the natural world rather than having to reclaim it.  They founded the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) in 1972.  David remained active and engaged with VINS to the end of his life.  It gave him great pleasure to visit the VINS campus every summer watching both children and adults learning about the natural world.

An avid birdwatcher throughout his adult life, binoculars were always close at hand along with books to help confirm identities.  David could identify many, many birds by their songs & calls and helped others to do the same.

Outside of his dental practice, David’s favorite pastime was racing cars. He began racing as a teenager and continued throughout most of his adult life. He was chief driving instructor for Corvettes of Massachusetts Sports Car Club (COMSCC) for several years. In 1985 he and friends Sam Shanaman and Kurt Gerrish were able to live the dream of pro-racing in the Firestone Firehawk Endurance Series. They were able to drive at some of the most famous race tracks in the country while creating lifelong friendships.

In 1990 David and Sam created Woodstock Motorsports to not only build their track cars but to also provide automobile service for the local population.  They continued to race in the Firehawk Series for two more years. The final race team was sponsored by the creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Traveling the country with the Ninja Turtle cars was an amazing experience that David described as “like being in the circus”.  He loved every minute.

David dearly loved his family, both immediate and extended. He took great pleasure in planning family reunions where three and sometimes four generations of Laughlin’s would gather at Bailey’s Mill B&B near his former home in Reading, Vermont.

In 2008 he and his wife Janet began spending winters in Williamsburg, Virginia.  They returned to Vermont every summer.  In recent years David enjoyed spending time on the porch of their Woodstock summer home talking with friends, former patients, and tourists as they walked by.

David never lost his taste for good food and became an excellent cook always willing to try a new recipe.  When traveling he had a knack for finding the best food, no matter how obscure the venue.

David was predeceased by his brother Patrick Laughlin of Williamsburg, Virginia.  He is survived by his wife Janet Mayberry, son James, daughter-in-law Rebecca, and granddaughter Adeline (Addy). Also, brothers Joseph, Mark, Adam & Travis as well as nieces and nephews and their families.

A public celebration of Dr Laughlin’s life and contributions to his community will take place at a later date.

The family requests that anyone wishing to honor Dr Laughlin’s life and legacy visit VINS often, become a member and support it in any way that you can.  (vinsweb.org)

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

Henry Thomson Bourne, Jr. — known to friends and family as “Tom” — was four days into his 100th year of life when he died quietly at The Village at White River Junction with his family gathered round.

Tom was born in Bronxville, N.Y., the son of Henry T. Bourne, Sr. and Gertrude Williams Bourne. The family moved to Hingham, Mass. where he attended Derby Academy, and later to Woodstock where Tom graduated from Woodstock High in the Class of 1942. He attended Yale University, although his education was interrupted by the war. He served in World War II as a rifleman with the Army 100th Infantry Division in France and Germany. After the war, he returned to Yale, graduating with the class of 1949 with a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology. 

After college, Tom worked in the hardware business. He met and married Janet Goldsmith and they started a family. They lived in Texas, New York and New Jersey before settling in Kinderhook, N.Y. Tom worked for the Office of General Services as a certified Architectural Hardware Consultant for the state of New York for 25 years.

While in Kinderhook, Tom started and led a parent organization to support the schools called ICARE and later served on the school board for six years, chairing the board in his final year.

Tom also started and led a citizens’ group in opposition to the construction of a nuclear power plant in the Hudson River Valley — the plant was never built.

After his retirement, they moved to Maplewood Farm in Woodstock, building a home on Cloudland Road. Tom served on the board of education here for eight years and was acting chairman his last year.

In more recent times, Tom wrote “Historically Speaking” for The Vermont Standard. He wrote 65 pieces that he researched from Vermont history books, his own experience and that of friends and associates living in Woodstock.

Tom was an avid reader and had an extensive music collection, including opera, classical and his beloved Jazz.

Tom’s sister, Joanne Bourne (Nan) Schwartz, predeceased him. He is survived by his wife, Janet, his other sister Edith (Nicki) Bourne, daughter, Gaylord and family (Carl — Hannah, Josh, Otto and Matilda — Nora, Jon, and Sivan) son, Brett and family (Denise — Dehlia, Joe, Sophie and Caiden) and many nieces and grand-nieces and great-grand nieces and nephews.

Tom requested no service and is to be buried at the Cushing Cemetery on Cloudland Road in the
Bourne family plot.

An online guestbook can be found at cabotfh.com.

Edwin Alan English, 80, died Saturday evening September 14, 2024, at the Genesis Lebanon Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire.

Edwin was born on July 19, 1944 in Hanover, New Hampshire, the son of Roderick P. and Evalyn (Blake) English.

During his high school years, Eddie (as everyone knew him) was the team manager for many sports teams, always supportive of their efforts. He continued his dedication to WUHS through many years of support for the Alumni Association. After graduation in 1963, he went to work for the Woodstock Inn & Resort where he was employed for the next 46 years.

In addition to the Alumni Association, Eddie was an active member of the First Congregational Church of Woodstock and enjoyed many years as a familiar presence at the Thompson Senior Center. Those at church, the Senior Center, the Alumni Association, and at town functions like the annual town meeting recall Eddie as welcoming, cheerful, loyal, caring, and detail-oriented.

Ed is survived by cousins on both the Blake and English side of his family as well as countless friends in the Woodstock area.

A time for people to gather to celebrate Eddie’s life will be held from 5 pm to 7 pm on Friday, October 4 at the Cabot Funeral Home. A funeral service will be held at the First Congregational Church of Woodstock on Saturday, October 5 at 1 pm. Edwin Alan English’s interment will be in the Prosper Cemetery, the seventh generation buried there. 

Memorial Donations can be directed to the Thompson Senior Center, the High School Alumni Association, or the Congregational Church of Woodstock.

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

Albert H. Clark, 85, died in the early morning of Thursday, September 12, 2024, at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH. Al was born in Norwalk, CT on September 25, 1938, to parents Frederick and Marie (Gilbert) Clark and grew up in Georgetown, CT. Georgetown was always home to Al, and he soon welcomed siblings to the family, serving as the calm and dependable oldest brother. After high school, Al embarked on a career in fabrication and machining, working for more than 26 years with Perkin-Elmer, a precision optics and instrument company, rising through the ranks to become the superintendent of fabrication. He was especially proud of his work as part of the team working on the Hubble Telescope. He served for twelve years as a proud member of the CT National Guard.

He was also a member of the Pootatuck Archers and nearly every Sunday participated in friendly tournaments; one such Sunday, he met Gail Stevens, a fellow archer. After a short courtship, they married in 1982 and moved to Vermont. Together they hand built a beautiful log cabin they named ‘Southwind’ in Bridgewater, cutting, bleaching, and assembling each log carefully. He was a skilled turkey and bow hunter, even making his own arrows. They joyfully lived there, off the grid, hosting friends and family nearly every weekend for more than 30 years until they decided that it was time to downsize and move to White River Junction.

During Al’s time in Vermont, he seized an opportunity that led to his reputation as a premier vintage Bentley restorer and fabricator. The opportunity presented itself as an ad for a ‘mechanical gadgeteer,’ and soon he was surrounded with boxes containing the parts of a 1932 Bentley. As he cataloged, restored, and assembled, he also fabricated parts that were either missing or no longer available. In the end, the Bentley was restored to beautiful and pristine condition and his reputation was made. He enjoyed the friendships he made in the community and his membership in the Bentley Drivers’ Club.

He is survived by his wife Gail Clark of White River Junction; four children, Rick Clark and wife Beverly of Newtown, CT, Brenda Clark-Eckes of Largo, FL, David Clark and wife Joy of Winchester, NH, and Laura Clark of Clearwater, FL; bonus children Jack and Melissa Perkins and their children Jake and Emily of Hartland, VT; two siblings, Robert Clark and Donna Matula, both of CT; six grandchildren, Gabriel, Robert, Michael, Aley, Bradley, and Mallory; great grandchildren, other relatives, and friends.

He was preceded in death by his father Frederick Clark, his mother and stepfather Marie and John Clark, and four siblings John Clark, Judy Ralston, Judy Ogrinc, and Sheila Mealia.

A visitation will be held on Saturday, September 21, 2024, starting at 2pm and concluding with a Memory Sharing Service at 3pm at Knight Funeral Home in White River Junction, VT. Memorial donations are
appreciated to the Alzheimer’s Association or Tunnels to Towers. Online condolences may be expressed at www.knightfuneralhomes.com.

By Dan Cotter, Publisher

Choosing the centerpiece photo to appear on the front page of the paper is one of the highlights of the week for those who work at the Standard.

Through the years, deciding on this photo was something longtime publisher Phil Camp relished. Each Tuesday morning, the Standard’s page designer printed out and displayed all the best images that our photographers had captured in their assignments, along with any photos that were provided by community organizations that held events during the week, or even photos submitted by readers. There might be dozens of choices. Phil delighted in his weekly ritual of looking through all of them and picking his favorite. Others on the staff weighed in as well.

Today we still do a similar ritual, only we do it digitally rather than with printouts.

It’s fun, but picking the cover photo is also an important decision. That picture will be the very first thing readers see when they pick up the latest edition of the Standard.

Photos of kids, whether at a community event or participating in sports, nearly always make the final cut. And you can never go wrong with a picture of a cute dog. Here in Vermont, photos of birds, horses, sheep, and oxen are fair game too. And of course, photos shot at the scene of the week’s news stories — such as a fire or other emergency, a public meeting or vote, a performance or festival, a construction site, etc. — are always strong contenders.

To me, our weekly photo ritual pretty well symbolizes what our Annual Appeal is all about. The Vermont Standard is essentially a snapshot of life this week here in our community. Just as it has been every week for the last 171 years.

And we’re trying to preserve that.

Beyond the front page, the Standard is filled with articles and photos that document and describe how life is playing out right here in our community. There’s no wire copy or state or national news in this paper. Just original reporting about the people here. The happenings here. The decisions made or the ones we need to make here. The triumphs and tragedies that take place here. What’s beginning, what ended, and what’s just plodding along. Here. This week.

The paper paints a portrait that helps everyone in our community process, celebrate, and commemorate what we’re going through together. It’s about our friends, our neighbors, our kids, our characters, our heroes. Every single week, the Standard tells a new unique story about our life as it’s unfolding right here. Like a window into our world.

The Standard is the only entity that endeavors to create this mirror image of life playing out in our beautiful communities. Both in print and online, the Standard is the one comprehensive local news source just for us; that we can all enjoy. One we can trust. A common experience for the people here in this place. For those who care about this place.

We believe that’s incredibly valuable.

Other communities have lost their paper – whether it has gone out of business or whether it has become so diminished that it’s hardly worth reading. Those communities are left with a void. At some level, they become “news deserts” that don’t have a reliable source of credible local information. There, misinformation, which is often spread via social media, goes unchecked, and even worse, forces with dubious agendas emerge to purposely spread disinformation. Communities like that have experienced increased polarization and a decline in civic engagement.

But here, we’ve still got a quality paper that informs and connects our citizens in a positive way. And we’ve worked to make the Standard even better in recent years. Even though advertising revenue is no longer sufficient to sustain it, we think the Standard is special and worth saving

To keep it going, though, we need everyone to chip in. We’re asking you today for your help now before it’s too late. We need tax-deductible contributions to our Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation so that it can help fund the Standard.

Today is the end of our 4-week annual appeal, but our need in the coming year is 52 weeks long. And we intend to preserve the Standard so that it can forever continue to provide quality local journalism for our wonderful community, which counts on it to be the weekly window into our own little corner of the world.

Our need is urgent, and we are deeply appreciative of anything you’re willing to do to help us. If you’d like, Phil and I would be grateful for an opportunity to meet with you to talk more about our need and our plans. Please don’t hesitate to contact us at [email protected] or (802) 457-1313.

We sincerely hope you’ll join us in our mission by contributing to this year’s 2024 annual appeal.

Also, if you have a family foundation, please 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.

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  thevermontstandard.com to make a contribution with your credit card. Be sure to make your check out to the “Woodstock Region Journalism Foundation.”

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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