Williston Observer

April 30, 2009

Graffiti

On April 21, police responded to the report of graffiti on the back of the Harmony Spa building on Williston Road, according to police reports. The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call Williston Police at 878-6611.

Theft

•    Police are investigating the theft of approximately $15,000 worth of tools on April 7 from a vehicle parked at a residence on Porterwood Drive in Williston. Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-427-8477 or the Williston Police Department at 878-6611.

•    On April 24, police cited John M. Kelly, 33, of Essex Junction on charges of grand larceny, violations of conditions of release and false swearing, according to police reports.

A local resident had notified police on April 23 that her diamond ring, worth more than $6,000, was missing from her jewelry box, according to the report. Police investigated and subsequently charged Kelly, and returned the ring and other allegedly stolen items to the resident, the report notes.

Driving under the influence

Police following a motor vehicle headed north on Vermont 2A stopped the driver after the vehicle “collided with the curb,” and subsequently cited Kevin Goodwin, 24, of Williston on a charge of driving under the influence on April 26, according to police reports. Goodwin’s blood alcohol test registered .301, the report notes. The legal limit for driving in Vermont is .08.

Alcohol offense

Tina Marie Freeman, 20, of Shelburne was cited on a “minor possessing liquor” charge on April 25, according to police reports. Freeman and Ryan T. Robitaille, 25, of South Burlington were also given no trespass notices from Mexicali restaurant, the report notes.

 

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New ways to serve pasta

April 30, 2009

By Ginger Isham

The Italian word “carbonara” describes a white sauce made with eggs, cheese and Italian bacon or ham and served over spaghetti. It’s easy and quick to make, and best when served with a green salad and crusty bread and fruit.

Spaghetti Carbonara

1 onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, chopped

1 cup ham or pancetta (Italian bacon), chopped

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 cup chicken stock or water

2 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup milk

1 ounce Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

pinch of nutmeg

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1 pound of spaghetti, cooked and drained

In 2 tablespoons of olive oil, cook onion and garlic. Add chopped ham and cook until heated thru. Add wine and chicken stock and simmer until liquid is almost gone. Mix together eggs, sour cream, milk, cheese, salt, pepper to taste and nutmeg. Stir into the onion, garlic and ham mix and cook until thickens. Add parsley. Heat and serve over cooked spaghetti.

Hot and Spicy Turkey Spaghetti

(taken from Yankee Magazine some time ago)

1 8-ounce package spaghetti, cooked

1 small onion, chopped

1 8-ounce package mushrooms, sliced

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

2 tablespoons oil

pinch of salt

1 10-ounce can diced tomatoes with green chilies, do not drain

8 ounces cheddar cheese, cut into cubes

2 cups cubed cooked turkey

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

Sauté in oil the onion, mushrooms and red pepper until tender. Add salt, cooked spaghetti, tomatoes, cheese, turkey and peas. Cook over medium heat until all are heated and serve immediately.

 

Ginger Isham was the co-owner of Maple Grove Farm Bed & Breakfast in Williston, a fifth generation family farm on Oak Hill Road where she still lives.

 

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April 30, 2009

Remembering Al Myers

We can say all we want, throw as many superlatives as we can hurl in his general direction (to paraphrase “Monty Python”), but it all doesn’t quite begin to both capture what Al Myers meant to this community or what we’ve lost. There’s a large, gaping wound over at Williston Central School and profound pain can be felt far beyond the confines of our small state.

The cast and crew of “The Wizard of Oz” have an incredibly emotional and physically demanding task in front of them. The curtain will rise Friday night and fall one last time the following evening. Many teachers, parents, former students and an arsenal of Al’s close friends are working incredibly hard to make this the production he envisioned. The students are keenly aware of the gravity of the task before them and Mr. Myers would be the first to remind them, as Glinda reveals to Dorothy at the end of her journey in Oz, “You don’t need to be helped any longer, you’ve always had the power!”

Thank you, Al Myers, for giving such a gift to our children.

Sara Dunphy

Williston

 

Successful first season

We’d like to thank the Williston community for making the inaugural season of The Brick Church Music Series a success. With seven concerts, the series raised almost $6,000 for local nonprofit and charitable organizations including the Williston Food Shelf, Catamount Outdoor Family Center, Essex Children’s Choir, Big Heavy World, CY Mentoring, Vermont Youth Orchestra Association and the Rotary’s Polio Plus program.

Equally important, the series met and surpassed the goals laid out in our mission statement, which included “… to promote community interaction by bringing a variety of musical performances to Williston at an affordable price.”

The credit for this success goes to two groups: First, to the Williston business community, which was extraordinarily generous in supporting the series in difficult economic times; and second, to the musicians, volunteers and especially to our patrons, who came out in good weather and bad to enjoy the music and mingle with their neighbors.

Our sponsors include numerous businesses and individual donors: the Town of Williston; the band Rumble Doll; Neil Boyden; Elizabeth Skarie; Cathy Yandell; and, last but not least, the Williston Observer. We’d also like to thank the Brick Church Trustees, whose warm and open-minded response to our original proposal made the music series possible.

Due to the positive feedback we’ve had, we hope to run the series again next fall and winter, starting in September or October. Stay tuned, and please don’t hesitate to contact us if you would like to suggest bands, opening acts, artists, community host groups or have an idea you’d like to see become part of the series in the future.

Thank you once again to all who participated and helped to make the Brick Church Music Series a success!

Peter Engisch, Rick McGuire, Don Sheldon, Dave Yandell

Brick Church Music Series organizers

 

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The first 100 days — then and now

April 30, 2009

By David B. Woolner

After 100 days in office, the comparisons between President Barack Obama and Franklin D. Roosevelt seem as valid as ever.

Both leaders have had to cope with an unprecedented global financial crisis, a deteriorating economy, high unemployment and an electorate steeped in fear and apprehension about the future. Both men have also had to contend with a worldwide security crisis; inspired in FDR’s case by the pernicious ideology of fascism, and in Obama’s by the rise of a deadly form of international terrorism driven by religious extremists. Both men have also had to share the blessing — or burden — of high expectations, not only among the American public, but among people the world over, where their assumption of office has been widely heralded as the beginning of a new day.

But in spite of these and other similarities, there are some striking differences between their first 100 days that may provide the current president and his colleagues in Congress with some food for thought.

One clear distinction is the reaction of the Republican Congressional leadership to the president’s initial legislative agenda. In FDR’s day, many Republicans not only responded positively to the president’s call for bipartisanship, they also lent their support to some of the most significant measures to come out of the 100 days, including the Federal Emergency Relief Act and the establishment of the Tennessee Valley Authority, or TVA — our nation’s first electric public utility. In short, this “unprecedented national emergency” met with unprecedented national cooperation, among Democrats and Republicans, and among the executive and legislative branches of government.

A second clear distinction involves America’s standing overseas. Although FDR did not attend, he sent a high level delegation (led by his secretary of state, Cordell Hull) to Great Britain in June 1933 to attend the long anticipated “London Monetary and Economic Conference.” Attended by 66 nations, and convened to bring about an international response to the global economic crisis, FDR famously “torpedoed” the conference by rejecting a temporary currency stabilization agreement that was negotiated in London and seen as critical to the ability of the conference to continue its work. His decision to do so — particularly after the terms of the temporary agreement had been secured — greatly disappointed the British, French and other delegations. As a result, his international reputation suffered for a time and there were fears — which subsequently proved unfounded — that FDR was an economic nationalist.

By contrast, Obama’s performance at the recent G-20 meeting in London has been a 10-strike. The president may not have gotten all he wanted in London, but his willingness to listen to and work with the leaders of the world’s leading industrialized nations, along with his ensuing visits to France and Turkey, have restored the international community’s faith in American leadership and significantly enhanced the confidence of people the world over that together we will get through this crisis.

This last point brings us back to the most significant similarity between the two men — their ability to inspire hope in moments of despair and their willingness to act. FDR, like Obama, never lost faith in the ability of the American people to restore the nation to prosperity. But he understood that government, which he wisely called “ourselves and not an alien power over us,” had a vital role to play in this process. By restoring the people’s faith in government, then, FDR in essence restored their faith in themselves. President Obama and our leadership in Congress would be wise to do the same.

 

David Woolner is senior vice president of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute and co-editor of “FDR’s World: War, Peace, and Legacy.”

 

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Resolving conflict is only the beginning

April 30, 2009

By Mike Benevento

These days, pirates are in the news. No, not Johnny Depp’s “Pirates of the Caribbean.” And not baseball’s Pittsburgh Pirates. The news-making pirates are from Somalia. They have been terrorizing shipping off the Horn of Africa for years. The United Nations is now searching for ways to combat the problem.

Four Somali pirates recently took Vermonter Richard Phillips hostage after failing to hijack the Maersk Alabama cargo ship. Three were killed during Phillips’ rescue. The United States has charged the sole-surviving teenager, Abdiwali Abdiqadir Muse, with piracy and hostage-taking.

According to USA Today, Muse’s mother believes he was outwitted into becoming a pirate. His father said the pirates lied to his son, telling him they were going to get money. Like most Somali families, Muse’s family is extremely poor.

Why do nations become breeding grounds for piracy, terrorism and criminal activities? Can the United Nations get to the root cause and avoid future occurrences? Answering these and many other questions may be nearly impossible. However, because so many people throughout the world live in poverty, the issues deserve closer examination.

The world — especially Africa — is full of poor countries. Somalia is one in a long list of nations where violence rules. Rwanda, Sudan and Chad are others. If America withdraws from Iraq and Afghanistan before they are rebuilt, they too could turn poor and extremely violent.

In the early 1990s, the Somali Civil War killed tens of thousands and led to widespread famine. The United Nations sent food supplies, but local clan militias stole 80 percent of it. As a result, 300,000 people starved to death between 1991 and 1992.

U.N. peacekeepers arrived and provided security for humanitarian operations. However, the violence continued to rise as various Somali militias attacked U.N. personnel.

As chronicled in the book and movie “Black Hawk Down,” vastly outnumbered American soldiers fought thousands of Somali militia during a raid in Mogadishu in 1993. Not long afterwards, U.S. military forces withdrew from Somalia.

According to USAID, a complex emergency exists in Somalia. It is one of the world’s poorest and most violent nations. A quarter of Somali children die before age 5 and 43 percent of the population needs humanitarian assistance.

Countries like Somalia — ravaged by war for decades — usually lack a strong central government. Thus, there is no law except that of the gun. Various clans, warlords and drug cartels hire their own militia and terrorize locals through intimidation and outright force. Without police or military backing, the people are helpless.

This breeds a culture of violence. Children grow up with war and poverty being the only two constants in their lives. Generations become accustomed to depravation and are desensitized to violence.

Many families lack fathers, who are either away fighting or dead. This results in mothers raising children all by themselves. These single parent families constantly battle malnutrition, poor health, diseases like HIV/AIDS and extreme poverty. Their future is dismal.

Conditions are ripe for recruiting warriors. For boys and young men, it seems like the only way out is to turn to violence.

For families lucky enough to have fathers return from war, conditions may not dramatically improve. Often, the men return traumatized and lack civilian job skills. Besides, employment is scarce. Therefore, the men tend to fall back into becoming guns for hire and the cycle of violence continues.

To successfully transition from war to a civil society, survival basics must be available for everyone in the nation. Food security, health and nutrition, and shelter are good starting points for the international community. A stable infrastructure of roads and bridges, plentiful energy, clean water and sanitation are important. The monetary system needs shoring up and laws need to be enforced. Jobs with steady and reliable paychecks need creating.

The young must attend school and learn viable trades. Most warriors dropped out of school during their pre-teen years. Instead of an education, they trained to fight. They never held a civilian job. They need to be re-educated and integrated into society.

One of the criticisms of the United Nations is that after it helps end a conflict it quickly leaves.

The military crisis is resolved when the fighting stops. A humanitarian crisis, however, remains. The country, devastated by war, is unable to function on its own and provide for its people. Chaos develops.

When the guns stop is not the time for the United Nations to be packing up and heading home. The United Nations’ hardest task — rebuilding a society — is just beginning. It needs to stay until the job is finished.

Michael Benevento is a former Air Force fighter jet weapon systems officer. He has a bachelor’s degree in Military History and a master’s in International Relations. Mike resides in Williston with his wife Kristine and their two sons, Matthew and Calvin.

 

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