Williston Observer

Williston cops among lowest paid, report says

By Marianne Apfelbaum
Observer staff

Williston police officers are among the lowest paid in the area, according to a newly released fact finder’s report. Police union representatives hope Williston town officials will heed the advice contained in the report, and give officers the pay raise they have been seeking since negotiations began earlier this year.

Contract talks between the town and the union reached a standstill Aug. 9 after two meetings with a mediator. Union officials cited pay and health care benefits as the divisive issues. After another failed attempt at mediation, both sides agreed to hire a fact finder.

Williston Police Sgt. Bart Chamberlain, an alternate steward for the union, received a copy of the 26-page report on Monday, and was pleased with fact finder Ira Lobel’s conclusions.

“The report essentially agreed that we are below the county average,” Chamberlain said. “The recommendation is that if salaries are brought in line with other departments, we should also pay a percentage of our health insurance. We’re in full agreement. This has been our position since day one.”

The report breaks down pay scales for various divisions within the department including officers, dispatchers and sergeants. Using comparable departments – Milton, Colchester and Essex – the report includes charts indicating that Williston’s starting, as well as pay for five- and ten-year veterans, ranks last across the board. Only Winooski had a lower starting pay for officers and dispatchers.

Town Manager Rick McGuire said he had not had a chance to review the report as of Monday afternoon, and would not comment. “We are still in negotiations,” he said.

The negotiations have cost Williston taxpayers a pretty penny. The fact finder’s report alone took three weeks to produce, and cost $5,000, which was split between the town and the police union. The town also had to hire an attorney, which McGuire estimated cost about $4,000. McGuire also estimates he spent about 47 hours working on the issue himself, which, if McGuire were paid hourly for the work would translate to almost $1,600.

McGuire feels it is money and time well spent.

“If you don’t spend the money and time, little things can end up costing a lot of money,” McGuire said.

He cited shift differentials and uniform allowances as examples of items that are not as obvious as hourly wages, but which ultimately have an effect on taxpayers’ wallets.

“It is important to keep an eye on these things, and at the same time provide a competitive wage,” he added.

The Williston Police Officers Association represents police officers, sergeants and dispatchers. The union is a chapter of the Teamsters Local 597, which paid for the police half of the fact-finding report.

Chamberlain declined to release specific numbers from the report until union representatives have a chance to meet with town officials to discuss whether the town will honor the recommendations.

“Although the report doesn’t provide everything we are looking for, the union is willing to accept (the fact finder’s) recommendations, and believe they are a fair balance between what officers deserve and what taxpayers can afford to support,” Chamberlain said.

A meeting between town officials and union representatives to discuss the report is expected to take place in the next two weeks. Once an agreement is reached, a majority vote of approval from the police union, as well as the Williston Selectboard, are required before the police contract is finalized.

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By Kim Howard
Observer staff

When the Williston Central School chorus sang “Deck the Halls” at its winter concert two weeks ago, there were a few puzzled audience members.

Something was amiss. In fact, something was missing: the word “gay.” Instead of “don we now our ‘gay’ apparel,” the apparel was “bright.”

A school conspiracy to avoid a potentially sensitive issue? Hardly.

The sheet music came that way from the distributor, said chorus teacher Andrea Haulenbeek.

“The kids did notice, a few kids at least,” said Haulenbeek, referring to rehearsals. “They said ‘why are the words different?’ I said ‘I guess the meaning of the word today is different than in the olden days.’”

This local anecdote is reflective, at least in part, of a national discussion about the evolution of language and the holidays. News accounts in the last month have tracked concern over President Bush sending “holiday” instead of “Christmas” cards and U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) telling federal officials that the U.S. Capitol’s previously- named “holiday tree” should be renamed the “Capitol Christmas Tree.”

An elementary school in Dodgeville, Wis., found itself in the spotlight earlier this month when it was threatened with a lawsuit unless it changed lyrics used in an annual school production. A song titled “Cold in the Night” was sung to the melody of “Silent Night.”

Williston’s holiday language debate kicked off after last year’s winter concert. In letters to the editor of the Williston Observer, writers complained that the lyrics of “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” had been changed to “We Wish You a Happy Holiday.”

Like “Deck the Halls,” Williston Central School music teacher Kim Thompson said, the lyrics came that way from the publisher. For any changes to sheet music lyrics, she said, technically the publisher must grant written permission.

Haulenbeek said it makes sense the publisher changed “gay” to “bright” in “Deck the Halls” since “gay” is now more commonly used to describe a person’s sexual orientation.

Still, she said in her classroom last week, “I think they should have kept it. A reason we do a few of these traditional Christmas carols is because they’re traditional, they’re historical.”

“Deck the Halls” is a secular Christmas carol, the melody of which is thought to be of Welsh origin. Mozart used the tune in the 1700s for a violin and piano duet.

The lyrics’ origins are difficult to pin down, according to several Internet sources. The English lyrics generally used today were first published in 1881, but were in use earlier. Nonsense word repetition (“fa la la la la”) was a device common in the middle ages. But the lyrics also are reminiscent of songs of the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century English Renaissance.

Haulenbeek selected this version of “Deck the Halls” because it included a partner song.

“It’s very hard to teach kids to sing harmony,” Haulenbeek explained. “Partner songs are good for fifth graders…. [They] learn to stay on their own part while hearing someone sing something different.”

The word change was not noted in the distributor’s catalog from which Haulenbeek ordered the sheet music.

Brian Busch, president and owner of BriLee Music, the publisher of the “Deck the Halls” piece, said “I’ve always told the writers ‘be careful; be careful what you put into print.’”

“A lot of teachers are very afraid now,” said Busch, whose company specializes in choral music for public middle schools. “They are very afraid of texts, of words, of double meanings, of what teachers might think, of what parents might think,” he continued.

Busch conceded that he had never heard any specific concerns from teachers or retailers that caused writers to remove the word “gay.” At the music conventions he attends each year, however, he talks about middle school choral music: “what is appropriate, what works, what gets rid of the double meaning of words where kids might take a certain sense of a text, and twist it around to something else,” he said.

And, Busch noted, as a “little bitty publisher in a great big pond,” finances are a factor.

“I can’t afford to have a piece of music sit on my shelf and not sell any,” said Busch. “I have to be sure that what I do is going to make it.”

David Circle, president for the National Association for Music Education, said that from a music teacher’s perspective, “we shouldn’t be separating the music from the text as it was originally intended.”

“If there are some words that the teacher needs to teach what the meaning is,” said Circle, “then that’s a teaching moment.”

Busch agrees: “Teachers should use the texts of songs number one to promote the language, promote poetry, promote literature, and promote an understanding of language,” he said. “Unfortunately I have the distinct feeling that too many teachers don’t do that.”

Busch said he struggles over these kinds of decisions. When asked if he would grant Williston Central School permission to change “bright” back to “gay” if they asked, he said “truthfully, I don’t care…I’d even write a letter saying (they) have permission.”

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Unique project would accommodate do-it-yourself funerals

By Greg Elias
Observer staff

The town of St. George wants to attract development to 75 acres of land it owns. But is it ready for a one-of-a kind project that includes a crematorium and gives families a place to bury their loved ones without using a funeral home?

Lisa Carlson, a nationally recognized gadfly on the funeral industry and a Hinesburg resident, has proposed using roughly two-thirds of the land the tiny town owns in St. George Town Center to construct a garden park, crematorium and conference center. A nonprofit organization would be formed to manage the garden park, a natural area where bodies could be buried and ashes scattered.

Carlson’s business would operate the crematorium, leasing the facility to defray operating costs for the garden park. And a conference center would attract nonprofit organizations and perhaps provide space for civic functions.

Unusual proposal

She met with town officials last week to discuss her proposal. While not ruling out the idea, officials suggested it will take time to digest the details and decide if the unusual use is appropriate for a site that was intended for commercial development.

Tom Carlson, chairman of the St. George Selectboard and no relation to Lisa Carlson, said he is not squeamish about the prospect of his town hosting a crematorium. He is instead concerned about the project pushing out other potential uses.

“There needs to be a place for crematoriums in our world,” he said, adding that cremations and other alternatives to traditional burials are increasingly popular. “It’s the scale of the project that gives me pause.”

Marie Mastro, chairwoman of the Development Review Board, said the town first needs to complete an update of its Comprehensive Plan before considering such a major project.

“We told her cannot at this point decide to devote 50 acres of town-owned land to this project,” she said. “It’s such a significant part of the land we’re interested in developing.”

Lisa Carlson has not submitted formal plans for the proposal. Instead, she outlined how the facilities would work in a three-page letter to the town.

Her proposal suggests the town sell 50 acres to a nonprofit that would be formed to oversee the complex. Funding for the purchase could come from the Vermont Land Trust, which provides grants to keep land undeveloped. The town would use sale proceeds to pay for a road running through the land.

Residents would comprise the majority of the nonprofit’s governing board, which might also include a botanist or environmental planner.

The complex would include a garden park, a portion of which would be set aside for “natural” burials, which use a shroud or biodegradable casket to hold remains that are not embalmed. No tombstones or other monuments would be permitted. Instead, burials would be recorded using a global positioning device, and names of the deceased would be engraved on a small plaque placed on a “Wall of Remembrance.” Genealogical information would be posted on a Web site.

Carlson proposes to have the company she is forming lease about one acre of land for a crematorium and caretaker’s cottage. The lease would require the crematorium to pay as much as 40 percent of its proceeds as rent to the nonprofit, helping defray maintenance costs for the garden park.

The final part of the project would be a conference center. The facility, costing an estimated $1 million, could accommodate the many nonprofits doing business in Vermont and host civic groups and municipal functions. It would also generate revenue for the garden park’s upkeep.

Black sheep of the industry

Carlson said her goal is to provide low-cost burial services. Funeral home charges, which typically include a casket, burial vault and other fees, can range from $5,000 to $10,000. She figures the facility she proposes can offer cremations and natural burials for less than $1,000.

Though there are places to scatter ashes, Carlson said there is no public facility that allows both natural burials and cremations in Vermont, and few anywhere in the country. Truly low-cost burials are only available to rural residents, who under Vermont law can bury family members on their own land.

Carlson’s interest in the funeral industry began when her first husband, suffering from a chronic stomach ailment, committed suicide in 1981. She could not afford a full-service funeral or even a basic cremation through a funeral home. One mortician wanted to charge $700 for cremation.

She ended up buying a $60 cardboard casket and driving her husband’s body to a crematorium that charged $85.

Carlson vowed to learn more about the funeral industry and share what she found it with the public. She wrote a 640-page book titled “Caring for the Dead: Your Final Act of Love” that outlined funeral laws of all 50 states.

She later branched out into consumer advocacy. She was a board member and executive director of Funeral Consumer’s Alliance and wrote a second book, “I Died Laughing: Funeral Education with a Light Touch.” She is currently executive director of the Funeral Ethics Organization.

“I’ve pretty much been the Ralph Nader of the funeral industry,” she said.

She said natural burials and do-it-yourself funerals are a logical extension of the natural childbirth and hospice movements. Though increasingly popular in Europe, natural burials are relatively uncommon in the U.S.

Carlson views funeral home services as a wasteful expenditure for families who are willing to handle their own arrangements. She thinks that even cremations, which comprise about 50 percent of Vermonters’ funeral arrangements, are too expensive, with prices from $1,200 to $2,400.

Carlson is taking a wait-and-see approach on her St. George proposal. In the meantime, she plans to complete plans to incorporate her new company. If St. George is unable to accommodate the project, she will consider other towns.

“It seems like an incredibly good fit for St. George,” she said. “In case it doesn’t work there, I’m sure I’ll do it somewhere else.”

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Perseverance and practice paid off for a talented group of Williston middle school students as they s-p-e-l-l-e-d their way to victory at the annual Vermont State Spelling Competition on Saturday in Northfield.

The powerhouse team of fifth and sixth graders, who practiced every day after school for several weeks, faced tough competition from fellow regional winners including Green Street; Sherburne; and Derby elementary schools.

The Williston Central School team cast a spell over the competition, marching in unison to the stage in matching blue and gold shirts (the school’s colors) and khaki pants. Taking the lead early in the first round, the team managed to maintain it throughout the contest.

Williston’s biggest challenge came from Calais Elementary, who was just a bonus word away from taking the lead for much of the morning. It was a fight to the finish, but Williston beat out Calais by just 10 points in the “you could hear a pin drop” final round. Williston finished with a total score of 136 out of a possible 144 points.

After an enthusiastic round of applause, the new state champions crossed the stage to accept their medallions and trophy from Vermont Principals’ Association Director of Student Activities Bob Johnson.

The Williston spelling team members are Hannah Apfelbaum; Liam Kelley; Ellie Laukaitis; Greg Meyer; Sylvie Shanks; and Eva Theriault. Enrichment teachers Richard Allen and Betty Poirot got the team involved in the competition, with additional help from parent coaches.

The team’s achievement marks the highest level to which spelling teams can advance. Currently there are no regional or national competitions for teams. However, individuals can enter national competitions, such as the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

The Vermont Principals' Association sponsors co-curricular activities such as the state spelling competition “that support academics and cultivate the high ideals of good citizenship and sportsmanship,” according to its Web site. Williston Central School Principal Thom Fleury is an active member of the association.

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