Williston Observer

Bohjalian visits Dorothy Alling Library

By Colin Ryan
Observer correspondent

Author Chris Bohjalian strode confidently to the podium at Dorothy Alling Memorial Library over the weekend, thanking the crowd for coming out on a rainy Saturday to listen to a few passages from his not-yet-published manuscript, “Skeletons At The Feast.”

The energetic novelist welcomed the room of 50, filled with longtime readers of his novels and his weekly newspaper column, calling them “medieval monks of the digital age, who still care about words, about reading and about what books can mean to the soul.”

The well-attended event was a success for the library, according to library Director Marti Fiske.

“This was the first time Chris has read at the library in Williston,” Fiske pointed out. “Ever since he’s gotten Oprah’s stamp of approval, his speaking prices have increased. But he tries to get out into the community as much as he can, and he was very gracious to take our much reduced offer.”

In a sharp dark suit worn over a pink and purple shirt, Bohjalian looked like a trendy Manhattanite, more publisher than author. Yet he is the first to joke about himself, quoting one Internet review for his 2003 novel “The Double Bind” as “the single worst book ever sold anywhere ever.”

He can afford the self-effacement. In a literary career spanning 19 years, he has published 10 books, three of which, including “The Double Bind,” have been New York Times bestsellers. His weekly column in the Burlington Free Press, “Idyll Chatter,” is in its 16th year. His book “Midwives” was a selection of Oprah’s Book Club.

He read the prologue of his new novel, a World War II era love triangle set on a sugar beet farm in East Prussia, with boyish enthusiasm. His hands gestured as his voice carried across the room, the phrases in his confident, researched descriptions exploding like the bomb blasts his characters hunker beneath.

Bohjalian’s novels have covered topics from home birth to homelessness, from animal rights to transgender identity, prompting the New York Times to label him an “issues novelist.” The author does draw the inspiration for many of his stories from real life characters. Yet the living figures are not recreated in his work — rather they are departure points for his fiction.

“I begin each story with the vaguest of premises. A couple, grieving for the loss of their girls in a flood, takes in a foster child. A public school teacher falls in love with a man about to undergo a sex change,” Bohjalian said. “Or when, in 1999, a friend asked me to take a look at his mother’s journal. Spanning from 1920 to 1945, it told the story of a matriarch trying to keep her family together on a massive estate in East Prussia, and how their lives change when their part of Prussia is taken over by the Polish, then the Germans. In the end, the family had to run to stay ahead of the Soviets.”

The author, still glowing from the creative effort of bringing the journal to life, remarked on how society and the industry have changed so much that the writer doesn’t get to just write anymore.

“I am fascinated by the process of publishing books. For an eight-week period earlier this year, I kept a time sheet to see how I spend my time,” Bohjalian said. “I discovered that I spend 15 percent of my time filing, 20 percent marketing, and only about 50 percent of my day writing. If you said to me in 1988 that as a writer, I’d only spend one out of every two hours writing, I’d have been really surprised.”

In Bohjalian’s search for ways to keep his books selling, he has discovered the Internet to be a vast marketplace he can utilize.

“While I worry that there are people out there who would rather watch sock puppet videos on YouTube than read, there are also a lot of people who are using the Web to connect about books. I am thrilled and astonished by the number of people who have reviewed and recommended my books on the Internet. On my Web site there are active discussion boards, reading group signups and you can ask me questions online. To sell books, I try to make myself incredibly accessible via the Web.”

Bohjalian seemed to enjoy fielding questions about his books, because they offered him the opportunity to talk about the origins of his stories. “The Double Bind,” for instance, came to him when Rita Markely, director of Burlington’s Committee on Temporary Shelter, brought to his attention a box of photos left after the death of a homeless man named Bob “Soupy” Campbell. The photos were of luminaries, jazz musicians, and cityscapes. Bohjalian was fascinated by how Soupy had traveled from photographing beauty and glamour to dying homeless and unknown in northern Vermont.

With Bohjalian’s curiosity alive and well, his stories still highlight the sublime in everyday life. “Skeletons At The Feast” is expected to hit store shelves in May 2008.

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By Greg Duggan
Observer staff

Shannon Brown drove two hours from St. Johnsbury to Williston on Friday to battle crowds and packed parking lots and take advantage of sales offered by retailers at Maple Tree Place and Taft Corners.

“I had to go to three stores to find what I wanted,” Brown said, before she finally grabbed one of the last two Dance Dance Revolution video games at Toys “R” Us.

Brown and the masses came out for Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving that traditionally opens the holiday shopping season with huge sales.

“Wal-Mart and Toys ‘R’ Us were crazy. You had to elbow people just to get anywhere,” Brown said, adding that she saw three car accidents in Maple Tree Place.

Many shoppers declined interviews with the Observer as they hustled off to the next sale or a short lunch break. And as much as shoppers were looking forward to deals, retailers were also waiting for the day with anticipation.

Tasha Wallis, executive director of the Vermont Retail Association, said, “Because of uncertainty around the economy,” a lot of attention was focused on the retail sales of Black Friday and the entire weekend.

Though Wallis said national sales figures for the weekend jumped 8 percent over last year –
she said retailers expected a 4 percent increase – she did not have specific figures for Williston or even Vermont.

“Anecdotally, I can tell you it was busy in the county,” Wallis said, adding that electronics made up a large portion of sales in Williston.

A dollar that has fallen in value may have actually benefited Vermont retailers.

“ Chittenden County saw a bump in Canadian shoppers. I think that’s a real opportunity for Vermont merchants throughout the holiday seasons,” Wallis said. “It’s because the Canadian dollar is so strong. The purchasing power is so much stronger down here.”

At Best Buy, general manager Brian Shedd said he heard of people lining up at 2 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. The store opened at 5 a.m. on Black Friday.

“The day after Thanksgiving, compared to years past, was decent,” Shedd said. “It was certainly comparable.”

Top-selling goods at the store, according to Shedd, included Sony laptops, Garmin GPS systems and Kodak digital cameras.

Toys “R” Us in Williston directed questions to its corporate public relations office in New Jersey. Bob Friedland, the company’s public relations manager, had few details about the scene in Williston and would not reveal sales numbers due to company policy.

Friedland did say every Toys “R” Us in the country opened at 5 a.m., and said, “We were very pleased with Black Friday weekend.”

For all the hype around Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year has yet to come – Wallis said that distinction belongs to the Saturday before Christmas.

“I think there were so many promotions on Black Friday and around the (Thanksgiving) holiday, it really got people out. It’s early to tell how the whole season is going to be,” Wallis said. “People may have come out early because they want to stretch their holiday dollar. We’re hoping they came out early as a sign of a good holiday season.”

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By Rachel Gill
Observer correspondent

Blushing cheeks and teary eyes were common trends during a volunteer recognition awards ceremony on Nov. 15 at Champlain Valley Union High School. Recipients were honored for everything from years dedicated to mentoring youth to being known as “everyone’s mom.” No matter how big the good deed, every award drew a consistent “aw shucks” reaction.

The reactions were entirely appropriate, as the recognitions were called the “Aw Shucks” awards, given by the Connecting Youth program, also known as CY. According to Dayna Scott, CY coordinator, for the past 13 years the community-based Vermont organization has honored local volunteers with “Aw Shucks” awards for their dedication to volunteerism.

The residents help CY create a safe, healthy environment for young people through substance abuse prevention and community programs.

For this year’s ceremony, CVU students Jessica Spadaccini, a CY board member, and Jonathan Bateman, CY youth co-chairman, presented the awards to 10 recipients from Williston, Charlotte, Shelburne, Hinesburg, St. George and CVU.

Among the blushing honorees were Shona Mossey-Lothrop and Cathy Kohlasch of Williston. Lothrop was recognized for, among other things, seven years of volunteering as a CY Youth Mentor at Williston Central School.

“The difference that Shona has made in mentoring relationships and the program is beyond measure,” said Nancy Carlson, CY Mentoring Director. “Shona supports the program with consistency, wisdom and boundless energy through putting her amazing personal touch on everything she does.”

Attending the awards ceremony were two experts on Lothrop’s mentoring skills.

“I like to talk to Shona because she listens and understands me,” said Brittany Hoyt, a seventh-grader at Williston Central School. “She has made me more self-confident and always cheers me on and cheers me up.”

For Kayla Brasard, a CVU senior, it took just seconds of talking about Lothrop for her voice to quiver and the tears to flow.

“Shona has been my mentor for the past seven years and now I am going to be heading off to college and I hope she will always be a part of my life,” Brasard said.

Kohlasch, who is known in Williston as “everyone’s mom,” also took home an “Aw Shucks” award. Kohlasch’s volunteer work includes coaching Mini Metro girls and boys’ basketball for the last six years and serving on the Williston Recreation Commission for nine years.

“It’s definitely humbling to be receiving this award,” Kohlasch said. “I just do what I do because it energizes me and working with kids is what makes me tick.”

Lindsay Hawley, a CVU student, said she has been lucky to be on the receiving end of Kohlasch’s volunteerism.

“She is a loving mother, coach and friend,” Hawley said. “She has always been there for me and I am one of many who have learned a great deal because of her.”

Every year CY honors one business with an “Aw Shucks” award. This year that recognition went to Perry Rianhard and Chris McCown of The PhotoGarden in Williston.

“It is impossible to fully capture the PhotoGarden’s support of CY,” said Carlson.

According to Carlson, for the past five years, PhotoGarden has designed and printed posters honoring the CY mentors.

“These posters have been a powerful recruitment tool,” Carlson said. “The posters also remind our kids of the wonderful, caring adults in our community.”

Jan Bedard, CY Community Prevention liaison, said the awards are the one chance to honor volunteers that typically shy away from recognition.

“These volunteers have gone above and beyond with their efforts and that’s what made them candidates for an ‘Aw Shucks’ award,” Bedard said.

Award recipients are nominated by community members. Bedard said CY contacts schools, CY board members and the community to seek out recipients.

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Post 45 heading to Burlington for Veterans Day

By Garret K. Woodward
Observer correspondent

“We take care of our own,” said Walter Trepanier. His voice struck a sense of strength and patriotism over the phone, but the tone of the 83-year-old veteran faltered a little as he pondered the obstacles facing the Williston American Legion, now in its second year. “But it’s rough you know and we can’t do it alone.”

A South Pacific Army Engineer during World War II, Trepanier enlisted shortly after the invasion of Pearl Harbor. Stationed in the Philippines, Australia, New Guinea and eventually Japan, he witnessed the carnage brought upon Nagasaki just weeks after the hydrogen bomb decimated the city.

“It was an awful sight to see, we knew it was somewhat radioactive but we had a job to do,” he said.

Now retired after years as an electrician, Trepanier is Commander of American Legion Post 45 in Williston and sees many challenges, which include having no official meeting house, a lag in membership and a lack of funding. Because of these barriers, the group plans to celebrate the Nov. 11 Veterans Day in Burlington’s Battery Park.

Originally called Armistice Day, Veterans Day was marked for commemoration by President Woodrow Wilson in 1919. The significance of the 11th day of the 11th month was established to remember the exact day in 1918 that fighting ended in World War I — and to commend all who heroically gave their lives in The Great War and previous conflicts.

“It’s kind of hard seeing as there is nothing really active in the town. We’d like to celebrate here in Williston but we really have no place to go or not enough members present,” Trepanier said while thinking about the Nov. 11 memorial services. “If someone wants to donate a building they can, if they want to donate money to Post 45 they can, but until then we must go outside our community to celebrate.”

For now, the post meets once a month for an hour at the recreational hall in the Whitney Hill Senior Housing complex. According to Trepanier, of the 70 or so members, only 45 have paid the yearly membership dues. Many are not around this time of year, either hunting or migrating south as the winter months set in.

But this does not deter those who remain, especially Trepanier, who is trying to get the organization off the ground.

“A lot of people don’t even know we’re out here. We’re trying to get more to join and have the younger generations come in and take over, but with no money and no building it’s difficult,” Trepanier said.

According to Burlington Veterans of Foreign Wars Commander Bob Colby, Williston’s isn’t the only chapter in Vermont struggling with financial and membership needs.

“Every group whether it be the American Legion or VFW has been affected from certain bills being passed in the legislature, the biggest one being the smoking ban,” Colby said. The imposition of the smoking ban at American Legion and VFW meeting spots angered many veterans, Colby said, who felt their group was a private fraternal order and not a public establishment.

With the rules enforced by the state, the club began losing members and a major source of income at establishments, according to Colby.

“The money that we fundraise goes to Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts or somewhere else in the community. There isn’t much left over for the veterans themselves, which is why we rely on the tavern and we lost a lot of income and people over the ban,” Colby said.

Yet regardless of who needs how much money or how many members, military colleagues in Burlington wait with open arms for those outside the city looking for a place to properly celebrate soldiers fallen and those who have come home safely.

“We welcome all veterans to our services. We’re all the same and are all veterans trying to do our part in the community,” Colby said.

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Pollutants sometimes prevalent, but why?

By Greg Elias
Observer staff

The town of Williston has completed a four-month water testing program in Allen Brook. The results showed the water is polluted, but the cause is as muddy as the sometimes slow-flowing stream.

The tests indicated that parts of Allen Brook are consistently contaminated with high levels of E. coli. Two other types of pollutants were present in relatively low levels.

The source of pollution, however, remains a mystery. The only sure thing is that the problem gets worse when it rains.

“I think we can clearly say that some of the pollution problem we have in Allen Brook is related to stormwater runoff, which is what I totally thought based on the fact that the whole watershed is stormwater impaired,” said Carrie Deegan, the town of Williston’s environmental planner. “We definitely see some spikes in all of these parameters following rainfalls.”

The testing involved taking samples weekly during June, July, August and September from eight locations along Allen Brook. State laboratories analyzed the samples for E. coli, phosphorus and nitrogen.

E. coli contamination is common, the tests show. At five of the eight sampling sites – each in or near a residential area – levels exceeded the state’s strict standard of 77 colonies per 100 milliliters of water on at least 75 percent of the tests. At a sampling site on River Cove Road, every one of the 17 samples collected over the summer exceeded the E. coli standard.

But in rural areas near the southern headwaters of Allen Brook, E. coli numbers were relatively low. If farming was the cause, the tests could be expected to show elevated levels of E. coli and perhaps phosphorus in those areas, Deegan said.

Instead, with some exceptions, the highest levels of contamination were found along the more developed stretches. Many of those areas are in residential neighborhoods such as the South Ridge and Brennan Woods subdivisions. In some cases, Allen Brook literally runs through backyards.

That would seem to point a finger at homeowners as the main polluters, particularly those who use chemicals containing phosphorus or nitrogen to kills weeds or fertilize lawns. But the tests showed relatively low levels of those chemicals in areas of the stream near homes.

Residents’ dogs and cats, however, could be responsible for the high E. coli numbers, said Jim Pease, a biologist with the state Division of Water Quality. Cats and dogs defecate on driveways and streets, and the waste is washed into streams when it rains.

A recent study of the Lake Champlain watershed found that stormwater runoff was the major cause of pollution, particularly in developed areas, said Nicole Ballinger, communications coordinator for the Lake Champlain Basin Program, an organization whose mission it is to protect and restore the lake and its watershed. The study concluded that runoff in urban and suburban areas was quadruple that found near agricultural land.

Deegan said Williston’s testing program clearly shows that stormwater is a factor in how much pollution is present in Allen Brook. The highest levels of E. coli were recorded after storms.

For example, after a heavy rainfall in early July, testing recorded E. coli levels at six of eight sites that were literally off the scale – more than 30 times the state standard.

Allen Brook runs 11 miles through Williston. Beginning at Sunset Hill, it flows through Williston Village, bending north near Taft Corners and crossing Vermont 2A before it reaches its confluence with Muddy Brook near the Williston/South Burlington line.

Since 1992, portions of Allen Brook have been included on Vermont’s list of impaired waterways. The state has long known the stream’s health was hurt by stormwater runoff, but limited data was available on specific pollutants.

The tests likely indicate that most of the contamination is not related to any one source. That “non-point source” pollution is difficult to track, but it does point out the need for everyone, especially residents, to do their part in reducing it, Ballinger said.

“We all have to look at our own individual behavior,” she said.

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