Robert Frost famously said, "Good fences make good neighbors." I think of local zoning as being a kind of fence. At its best, it helps to keep things straight between neighbors.

We all live in community, and sometimes that means we don't agree. Sometimes what the neighbors do with their property has an impact on me. For those times, I want local zoning to be there, to give guidance and to protect my rights and my neighbors' rights, too.

Without local zoning, if my neighbor sold his house to someone who wanted to open a restaurant 24 hours a day, wanted to pave the backyard and make a parking lot right up to my property line, wanted to allow late night parties that created a lot of noise and maybe worse, I could do nothing except complain. There would be nothing to protect my rights as someone who lives next door. Remember, my neighbor is doing what he wants - it's his property, even though it affects me.

Without local zoning, if my neighbor wanted to, she could build a high rise building that towered over my house and came right up to my property line, and have apartments rented out.

This might include a parking lot right in the backyard next to my property line. It would change my back yard, and my village life completely, and I would have no recourse.

Without local zoning if my neighbor wanted to open a slaughterhouse in his or her yard - adjacent to my back yard - I would not have a legal leg to stand on.

Weathersfield voters, please vote no on Articles 24 and 25 and protect local zoning in Weathersfield.

ALISON C. ROTH
Perkinsville

We, the undersigned, are members of the Weathersfield Conservation Commission.

At a time when the nation and most of the rest of the world is increasingly focused on the environmental health of the planet, it seems very wrong for Weathersfield to go in the opposite direction by repealing our chosen zoning bylaws and regulations.

These bylaws and regulations have been chosen by the voters of Weathersfield to protect health, safety and community welfare and, in particular, from the Conservation Commission's view, the protection of our natural resources

Milk retailers gouging our kids As a dairy farmer for the past 32 years, I am certain the pricing mechanism is definitely marked in favor of the retailers and milk companies. The proof is now stark — $3.50 a gallon in the stores; 90 cents a gallon for the farmer. To make matters worse, most milk is skimmed with the cream making butter, yogurt and cheeses included in the 90-cent-a-gallon for the farmer.

The milk companies are even gouging our children in school. Here in Weathersfield our kids pay 40 cents for a half pint of Hood milk. That is $6.40 a gallon. Remember, they buy it from me for less than 90 cents a gallon. Sounds a lot like the AIG bonuses.

The leaders of the milk industry have adopted a program to eliminate cows from the nation's herd. This, they say, will lower the price. It's kind of like OPEC not pumping oil.

This has already been done several times, with wild swings of results. Some of the problem lies with the federal pricing system. The system tells the price farmers get, but fails to go further, with no questions for handlers or retailers. The government either needs to go further or get completely out of the pricing equation.

I do not support the actions of the "cooperatives working together." I do not support killing the very animals we as farmers worked so hard to develop.

Read the full story in the Rutland Herald

by:Dan DeWalt, Charlotte Dennet, John Nirenberg and Martha Hennessy

On March 30, Senator Patrick Leahy gave five Vermonters a half hour of his time. We were: Martha Hennessy, a peace activist from Weathersfield, John Nirenberg, a Brattleboro man who walked from Boston to Washington D.C. in 2007 to call for impeachment, Charlotte Dennett from Cambridge, who ran for Attorney General in Vermont in 2008 on a pledge to prosecute Bush, Kurt Daims, the author of the Brattleboro indictment resolution passed in 2008 and Dan DeWalt of Newfane, who has been active promoting impeachment and accountability. We were there to discuss the Senator's idea for a read more (117 words)

When I get up in the morning these days I have a heavy feeling in my heart. I wonder why this is until I realize what is bothering me. My old friend of 30 years is no more. The VPR that has evolved over the years into a satisfying mix of news and views, and music, is no more.

Several months ago I attended one of the sessions when VPR staff invited listeners to come and share their views about proposed changes. It was soon clear to anyone in attendance that the key decisions had already been made. There would be two separate stations read more (100 words)

To the editor:

I would appreciate this opportunity to respond to the column "Latest problem for schools: The backpack crises," written by Peter Berger and published on Sept. 26.

This article was clearly constructed after the open house on Sept. 13 at Weathersfield Middle School. The sixth-grade parents (including myself) who were there voiced our concern over the weight of our children's backpacks. I am hurt that Mr. Berger felt it was appropriate to use our concern as fuel for this column and make a public mockery out of our discussion.

We attempted to discuss this issue and give possible solutions with Mr. Berger and his colleagues. Unfortunately our concern fell on deaf ears. We continued to hear that teachers do not want to "give up academic times" so a child can go to their locker and adjust the weight of their backpacks. Due to the construction currently taking place at WMS the distance of the classrooms to the lockers is approximately 50 feet or less. A good estimate would be two minutes for children to go to their locker after each class to adjust the weight of their books. Students at Springfield Highs School have this privilege.


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WEATHERSFIELD CENTER, VT (2007-07-16)

(HOST) According to commentator Edith Hunter, reading a town's current history can sometimes be as easy as taking a ride.

(HUNTER) Between 1971 and 1986, when my husband and I were publishing the Weathersfield Weekly, I was not only the editor and reporter, I was also the paper girl. My husband, Armstrong, was not only publisher and layout man, he was also the printer.

On Friday afternoons, with the printing completed, I would drive the papers to our two post offices and to our six local outlets. Both post offices have since moved, one out of our two population centers. Of the six outlets, three have closed (two were in general stores). Both developments have added to the gradual loss of a sense of community.

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Edith Hunter

WEATHERSFIELD CENTER, VT (2007-04-10)

(HOST) Commentator Edith Hunter is sugaring again this spring - by fits and starts.

(HUNTER) I keep pretty detailed records of my sugaring experience dating back to 1971. I'm always surprised to see how often I have written "unusual season" beside my annual entries.

Sure enough, this has been an "unusual season" - a very unusual season. Graham tapped out on February 28th and gathered for the first time several days later. Our first boil was on March 5th. Because ours is such a small operation, forty-two taps, I cannot take off any syrup the first time we boil. Experts tell me this is called "sweetening the pan."

Instead of being followed up immediately by the second boil, everything warmed up so the sap didn't run. Then, everything froze up, so not only did it not run, but the sap we had gathered froze solid in the collecting barrel. It was not until March 23rd, that we had enough sap for our second boil. We made our first gallon, plus one quart and a half pint of Fancy grade syrup, and the next day we took off twice, and made another two gallons and a quart. Then, it stopped again.

I say "we" because without Graham and his wife Susan I wouldn't be sugaring. They do the gathering, and Graham assists in the take off and brings me the pail of "almost ready" syrup for me to finish off on the kitchen stove in the house. Here I grade and can it.

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March 8, 2007
When I went down to vote as the polls opened in Weathersfield on Tuesday, with permission of the town clerk, I posted in the outside hall through which people pass after they have voted a sign about the Death With Dignity Bill (House Bill 44) that is now under consideration. Below it I put sign-up sheets for people interested in lending their support to the bill. When my son came home from counting ballots at 9 p.m., he brought back my sign-up sheets, and I was thrilled to find 55 people had signed up to show their support. I know the people of Weathersfield pretty well, and I was delighted to see how widespread the support was and from so diverse a group. I am quite sure that it is because all of us have friends or relatives who have had to suffer just prior to death.

The bill is carefully constructed and is patterned after the Oregon bill that has proven sound. This support leads me to believe that it will be adopted by the House, that Senate Bill 66 will be equally well-received, and that the governor will sign it into law this session.

EDITH F. HUNTER

Weathersfield Center
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VPR Commentary

Edith Hunter
WEATHERSFIELD CENTER (2007-02-22)

(HOST) Lucy the dog is getting on in years, but commentator Edith Hunter says she's grown old gracefully.

(HUNTER)
"Grow old along with me!
The best is yet to be,
The last of life for which the first was made:"
Robert Browning

Lucy, the dog, is sixteen years old now. We found her at a local humane society in 1992 when she was two years old. She is predominantly terrier and betrayed her lineage by the holes she loved to dig under the lilacs. Now she mostly just occupies those old holes as she sleeps her days away.

She was still full of pupply vitality when we took her home. As the years passed she settled into middle age. Except for eight months, when she was missing, she has been a faithful companion, supervising me as I work in the garden while keeping the woodchucks and the deer at a comfortable distance.

At night she always climbed the steep back stairs to take her place on a black sheepskin on the floor beside my bed. However, this past spring she found that, although she could make it up the stairs, she could no longer handle the steep descent. We had to carry her down one morning.

That night I closed the door at the foot of the stairs so she could not go up. Since then she has voluntarily moved into the back sitting room and beds down on the rug in there.


Read the full commentary at VPR
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