Williston Observer

Program one of few budget additions

By Kim Howard
Observer staff

When her two youngest kids were toddlers, Julie Watson realized they were developing a little differently than her eldest son had.

“I could usually understand them,” Watson said, explaining how they later were identified to have speech delays. “But with other children, with other adults, they weren’t able to get their needs across.”

Watson said within a month of entering the Early Essential Education program, her kids’ communication skills improved. “As soon as they went in with the peers, they started blossoming,” she said.

The Early Essential Education (EEE) preschool program was allocated about $86,000 in new money in the proposed Williston School District budget before voters on March 7.

“Triple E,” as it is often called, is a publicly funded preschool program that exists to meet the special education needs of children age three to five. The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) mandates states to identify children with disabilities and offer individualized plans to meet each child’s unique needs.

In each EEE preschool class, about half of students receive special education services and half do not. The law requires school districts to educate disabled students with their non-disabled, same-age peers, according to Carter Smith, director of student services for Williston schools.

“We have typical child models,” said Beth Peloquin, early childhood special educator at Allen Brook School. “It’s so that kids who are struggling can see other kids doing things that are maybe their goals.”

Students with a 40 percent developmental delay in a fundamental skill area are eligible for EEE services, Smith said. Skill areas include speech, language, gross motor (such as walking), fine motor (holding a pencil), self-help (dressing oneself), social, and cognitive. A medical condition that impedes learning also can qualify a student for EEE services.

The proposed EEE budget – $517,683 – is a 39 percent increase over this year, part of which is contracted salary and benefit increases. About $86,000 is “new” money would fund a new part-time (80 percent) licensed teacher and the equivalent of 1.5 teaching assistants. The additional staff would allow for one more preschool class to be added to the three already in existence.

Currently, of the 40 students receiving EEE services, only 24 of them receive services in the classroom setting; the other 16 are served by occupational, speech and language or other therapists at home or in another private setting.

For a few of those kids, their needs are better met outside the classroom; but for most of them, there simply hasn’t been space – or the staff – to have them join their peers in class.

An additional preschool class means most, if not all, of those students could get in-class services, Smith said. In-class services will reduce the need for various therapists to spend extra time and gas money driving to individual homes, Smith said.

“It’s going to be a more cost-effective way to serve kids,” if the budget is approved, Smith said.

Space for the additional class is still an issue; the program has been in a holding pattern, Smith said, as plans for a planned expansion of Allen Brook School were put on hold several years ago. In order to accommodate two morning and afternoon EEE programs three days a week, space will have to be squeezed out of somewhere, though administrators don’t yet know where.

“We just can’t wait any longer,” Smith said.

In the last three years, the EEE population has increased by 30 percent – from 31 to 40 kids. The number of students with severe disabilities, such as autism, also has increased, Smith said.

Williston School District’s EEE population is disproportionately higher than its counterparts in Chittenden South Supervisory Union (CSSU). Though Williston has only 38 percent of the CSSU kindergarten through grade eight population, the town has 58 percent of the EEE population.

No one is certain of the reasons for such a discrepancy, though administrators suspect Williston is a draw due to a positive reputation of special education at Williston schools and the high school, and proximity to the hospital.

Educators say an early investment of resources pays off in the long run.

“Our whole philosophy in early intervention is to beef up skills as much as we can,” Peloquin said, to “either alleviate how much intervention is needed in later grades, or eliminate the need for intervention later.”

Watson said without the in-class EEE experience her daughter, now a kindergartener, “ would definitely be struggling a lot more. I know she would. She would always be playing catch up. I think we started her off with more of a level playing field.

[Read more...]

Stern Center grateful for donations

It is not every day that an anonymous check shows up for $13,300.

But for the Stern Center for Language and Learning, such a check arrived in December. It was the beginning of a generous outpouring of money to save a specialized reading instruction program for refugee children in Burlington schools.

The program, which officials were certain would end in December, will continue half-time this spring as a result of the donations, according to Sally Conant, vice president of programs at the Stern Center.

More than $40,000 has been donated to support the reading program since word got out in December that funding was about to dry up. Yesterday, Citizen’s Bank of Williston presented the Stern Center with a check for $10,000. The Stern Center scholarship committee previously had agreed to commit $11,000 of donor funds. The remainder came from staff and friends of the Stern Center in denominations ranging from $100 to $500.

Jeanne Collins, Burlington School District superintendent, said the district is thrilled the partnership with the Williston-based nonprofit will be continuing.

“It’s had a very significant impact already with students who were brand new to the world of print now being able to read and move up in levels of literacy,” Collins said by phone last week. “The intensity of the support that they’re receiving through this partnership is helping them make headway very, very quickly in their progress in literacy and language.”

Since September, the Stern Center has provided one-on-one explicit reading instruction to more than 100 Somali Bantu and Republic of Burundi refugee children in Burlington schools. This one-on-one instruction is on top of traditional English as a second language and mainstream classroom instruction by Burlington teachers.

Prior to enrolling there, none of the refugee children had attended school; they spoke an African dialect no one in the school system spoke; and they had no written language, said Lyman Amsden, an advisor to the Burlington School Board, in December.

Last fall a $50,000 one-time block of federal money offered to the district by the Vermont Education Commissioner helped fund 60 instructional hours per week; the Stern Center estimated it put forth the equivalent of $40,000 of in-kind work and money additionally to support those 60 hours. Four Stern Center instructors instructed pre-kindergarteners through fifth graders at Lawrence Barnes, H.O. Wheeler and C.P. Smith Elementary schools.

Brigitte Ritchie, vice president of public affairs and community relations for Citizen’s Bank, said when she learned of the impending end of a program that was benefiting so many children, she knew her company could do something to help.

“We take seriously our responsibility of responding to community needs,” Ritchie, a Williston resident, said in an interview. “We’re not just a community bank; we’re part of the community.” Ritchie said she hopes Citizen’s Bank’s $10,000 donation will encourage other companies and individuals to step forward and give.

Conant also hopes the recent donations will help spur new partnerships between schools and nonprofits like the Stern Center.

“Apparently there is a lot of money out there and a lot of people who want to give to schools,” Conant said, but there are restrictions to giving directly to schools. “But they are very happy to give (money) to nonprofits” who work with schools.

Of the money collected to date, Conant said, “it’s overwhelming to us, to be frank.” Conant said the community response to Burlington schools’ needs has been tremendous.

“I think the Burlington School system needs to be given credit for all of their work … to provide a safe and enriching environment for all of the new community from Somalia.”

[Read more...]

Winning design yet to be announced for Maple Tree Place

By Greg Elias
Observer staff

One design included a giant treehouse. Another featured quirky touches like a pedestal-mounted clock and a sundial. A third had paths crisscrossing extensively landscaped areas.

They were among the eight entries revealed last week in the “Make a Green Come True” contest held to determine the design of the 1-acre square at the heart of the Maple Tree Place retail center.

Contest judges huddled around the entries displayed on easels in the lobby of the shopping center’s Majestic 10 multiplex on Friday. They were impressed.

“It’s a lot harder than I thought it would be,” said Andy Mikell, a Williston Selectboard member and one of the six contest judges, as he studied one entry. “There’s some good talent here.”

The entries offered wide-ranging approaches to creating the park-like setting and attractive venue for community events the contest called for. Judging criteria included functionality and design value, use of climate-appropriate landscaping and creativity.

Perhaps the most original entry was submitted by Forever Young Treehouses, a Burlington nonprofit. It showed a treehouse accessed via a long, gently sloping ramp. Other features included paths, plantings and labyrinths laid out in stone.

A somewhat more conventional but still quirky approach was advocated by Williston resident Mary Jo Childs, who owns a landscaping company. Childs, along with South Burlington resident Judy Goodyear, submitted a design that featured a path radiating out from a central plaza. The plan offered “options” that included a pillar clock and a sundial.

Williston resident Sharon Gutwin, owner of Rehab Gym in Maple Tree Place, submitted a pet-friendly design. In addition to a gazebo, paths and a playground, the entry suggested that “dog stations” where droppings could be deposited.

The remaining plans largely stuck to traditional park designs. Some included areas where concerts could be held; others had paths crisscrossing the green. One called for a meadow dotted with wildflowers and ringed by a gravel path.

The contest has implications beyond attracting more customers. Town officials have said they hope the green will help Maple Tree Place congeal into a downtown for Williston, a destination for both shoppers and community events. Judges seemed aware of that goal.

“A lot of thought, a lot of hard work went into these entries,” said Philip Daniels, another judge who lives in Williston and is president of TD Banknorth Vermont. “One of these will definitely make Williston a better place.”

The entries were revealed during a Feb. 1 open house at the Majestic 10. About 50 people attended the event, viewing the entries displayed in the movie theater’s lobby.

The winning entry will receive a $1,000 prize. The budget for the project is $75,000, although officials with Inland US Management LLC, the Illinois-based company that manages Maple Tree Place and is overseeing the contest, say that budget may be stretched by completing the selected project in phases or using in-kind donations from local businesses.

Inland representatives also emphasize that the chosen design will be subject to local and state land-use approval and may be modified to comply with regulatory requirements. They hope to begin work on the project this spring or summer.

Judging results were tallied Monday, but the winner’s name was not released before the Observer went to press. Lindsey Burke, marketing manager for Inland US Management, said Monday that the results could not be announced until she ensured that the contest’s legal requirements were satisfied and the winner was notified.

Interest in the contest was slow to build, with only three complete entries submitted in the days leading up to the deadline. The remaining entries came in at the last minute.

“We’re got eight solid entries,” Burke said. “We’re really pleased with the results.”

[Read more...]

Residents express opinions on design details

By Greg Elias
Observer staff

The long-running review of alternatives to the Circumferential Highway inched forward last week with a series of meetings designed to gather public input.

A total of more than 100 people attended the three sessions, two in Williston and one in Essex Junction. They were held so transportation officials could hear public comment on design details of the eight alternatives before producing a draft Environmental Impact Statement.

Each of the sessions covered a different portion of the project area. The first meeting in Williston on Feb. 7 concerned Vermont Route 2A; the session in Essex Junction the following day covered Park Street and the Five Corners. The Feb. 9 meeting in Williston centered on the proposed highway route between Taft Corners and Williston Village.

The eight options can be broken down into three broad categories: build the Circ or another road along the originally planned route between Interstate 89 and Essex; widen Route 2A and/or replace traffic lights with roundabouts; or combine elements of both plans. A no-build option also remains a possibility.

Much of the comment heard at Tuesday’s meeting revolved around potential obstacles to widening Route 2A and replacing traffic lights with roundabouts, said Rich Ranaldo, project manager for the Vermont Agency of Transportation.

Roughly 30 people attended the session, which was held jointly with the Williston Planning Commission.

Ranaldo said some people were concerned that widening the road would affect pedestrian and bicycle access. Others said installing a series of roundabouts would mean there would be no break in the traffic for motorists exiting the dozens of side streets and driveways that line Route 2A between Taft Corners and Essex Junction.

“People still appear to be skeptical about how well roundabouts would work and how safe they would be,” Ranaldo said.

Widening Route 2A would have to overcome a big obstacle, said George Gerecke, Williston’s liaison to the Chittenden County Metropolitan Planning Organization. He noted that adding a third or forth lane as some options propose would involve acquiring private property, greatly slowing the road-building process.

During Wednesday’s meeting in Essex, several of the 40 or so people who attended expressed sometimes emotional opposition to road improvement plans.

“It was really clear that folks were really not supportive of any improvements that added lanes” on Park Street or at the Five Corners, Ranaldo said. “They don’t want more traffic coming through the village center.”

At last Thursday’s meeting, residents living in Williston’s Brennan Woods and South Ridge subdivisions were among the roughly 50 people who attended. The neighbors revisited previously expressed concerns about the impact on a highway running so close to their homes and to nearby Allen Brook School, Ranaldo said.

Others opposed any alternative that included an interchange at U.S. Route 2, Ranaldo said. The original Circ design called for the highway to run under Route 2 and had no interchange. But some alternatives, which include a boulevard-style road, do include a connection to Route 2.

Not everyone was opposed the interchange, noted Gerecke, who attended both Williston meetings. Some residents who live in nearby Williston neighborhoods liked the idea of hopping on a highway near their homes.

The latest meetings are part of drafting an updated Environmental Impact Statement for the Circ. As originally proposed the Williston segment would run from I-89 to Essex Junction, with an interchange at Redmond Road.

Construction of the segment had begun in May 2004 when a federal judge ordered the project halted in response to a lawsuit filed by a coalition of environmental groups that said the existing EIS was outdated.

Ranaldo said transportation officials will now refine designs based on the public input and model the affect each alternative has on traffic throughout the region.

After that, a draft EIS that will be produced and the preferred alterative picked. Ranaldo estimated the final EIS will be completed by fall.

[Read more...]

By Kim Howard
Observer staff

Mary Hester Brownell , who turns 90 on Sunday, has one piece of advice on living a long and happy life: “Be married to Lincoln.”

She was not referring to Abe Lincoln, with whom she shares a birthday. This Lincoln is her husband of 65 years who gave her two parakeets when she turned 89.

As parakeets Molly and Huck chattered on nearby and the rain pattered on the deck, Jerry, as Mary Hester is called by family and friends, declared with no hint of joking last week that her secret to longevity was “right there,” with a slight nod to her husband.

Born in Mays Landing, N.J., outside of Atlantic City, Brownell started life far from Williston, where she has lived for the last 30 years. After graduating from the University of Tennessee in 1938, she taught high school in Decatur, Tenn., a tiny village.

“It had only one bathroom in the whole county,” Brownell said.

She met Lincoln at a party in New York City in 1941 when Lincoln was a lawyer on Wall Street. Their first date was “sort of” a blind date, she said, at a nightclub called the Stork Club. There was a moment of spontaneity.

“We went dancing on Fifth Avenue,” she said. “Linc had a taxi driver turn up the music on his radio and we danced on Fifth Avenue on the sidewalk.”

“At two in the morning,” Lincoln added.

“I grabbed him off the market very quickly,” Brownell said of her husband, whom she married in 1941. “We were very compatible.”

The couple was separated during World War II – he was a pilot with the National Guard, she was in Washington, D.C., doing research and analysis work on China for the Office of Strategic Services, a loose precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency. When the war ended, the couple returned to New York City where they had three sons, two of whom – Peter and Rick — now live in Williston. Before moving to Williston in 1975, the couple lived in Vietnam for 14 years due to a firm Lincoln started up which sold American products in Indo-China.

Lincoln comes from a long line of Vermonters – his parents, grandparents, great grandparents and great-great grandparents all lived here, he said. In 1942 his father and uncles sold nearly all of the family homestead – the land around Imajica horse farm – which had been in the family since 1829. In 1952, they planned to sell the 60 acres they had retained on Brownell Mountain, Lincoln said, so he bought it for $2,000. When Saigon fell in 1975, the Brownells moved back to the U.S. and built a house on the property to retire in.

Brownell said earlier in life she was an avid bridge player. She enjoys the people of Williston and likes the convenience of the shopping developments near Taft Corners. She loves war movies and is a fan of “The West Wing,” a television drama about the White House. Jerry laments this is the show’s last season.

“If you see a lot of crying all around town, that will be it,” she said.

Brownell has no plans for her big day Sunday, nor does she have a long wish list for gifts.

“For my birthday last year I said I wanted a fire place, and that worked out very well, “she said, nodding her head toward a gas-burning fire place nearby in the living room. “But I can’t think of anything except a more comfortable chair.”

[Read more...]