Williston Observer

Up and down season ends early for Legion team

July 23, 2009

By Mal Boright

Observer correspondent

With two games left to play (one league contest, one non-league), the S.D. Ireland American Legion baseball team will not be going to the state tournament.

The season finales were a trip to Fairfax and a Monday makeup of a previously rained out contest, plus an exhibition encounter Wednesday at their Champlain Valley Union High home against the Champlain Edge.

S.D. Ireland’s playoff tournament hopes took a fatal blow last Wednesday when the team bowed twice to the Colchester Cannons at Centennial Field, 10-0 and 9-8. The losses dropped the Irelands out of the top four spots in the Northern Division and thus the tournament.

From there, the week’s remaining games were just nifty (easy win at Burlington and solid triumph Sunday over South Burlington at home) and yikes (a thumping and then some Saturday by the OEC Kings at CVU.)

The Kings, of Orleans-Essex County, will be the favorite in the tournament and showed why on Saturday, busting up the CVU field and fences for a 23-2 blast off, fueled by five — count ‘em, five — circuit clouts in a 16-hit barrage. The game was called after five thumping frames.

Primary bruiser was stocky lefty pitcher Adam Farrar, who clubbed three homers and drove in nine tallies. On the mound, he limited the Irelands to five hits while walking two and fanning five with an uneconomical 102 pitches in five innings.

OEC earned its bounty of runs in that 22 of them were earned. All five of the round trippers came, oddly enough, on first pitches.

Irelands bounce back against South Burlington

After being victimized by that whack-a-do, how the youthful Ireland team would react Sunday for the final home contest with South Burlington was a mystery.

It did not look good when the visiting Knights unloaded on Ireland starter Sean Rugg for three hits and three runs in the top of the first. Rugg, troubled by a balky curve, also walked two.

The righty got his bender back into the strike zone in the second inning and limited the Knights to four singles and two additional runs over the next four innings to pick up the victory as his teammates unloaded a seven-spot on the visitors in the bottom of the first to cruise to a 9-6 triumph.

Leadoff batters Justin Raymond and Anthony DeToma nailed blue darter singles to get the Irelands started. Shane Montani, a clutch rapper, singled home the first run and Andy Kent drove in the second with a single. After Montani scored on a wild pitch, Joey Myers slammed the big bomb, a bases-loaded double to left that brought home three tallies, two runners having reached on walks.

Raymond, who had a three-hit day, singled home Myers with the final run of the productive inning.

It was a multitask day for Raymond. After roaming far and wide in center field to bag five line drive and fly ball outs, the right hander took over on the mound in the sixth. After allowing two singles, a walk and run, he shut down the Knights over the final three innings for a well deserved save. He whiffed three.

Montani finished with three singles and a pair of ribbies. But his hardest shot, a bazooka blast, was snagged chest high in self defense at first base.

The Irelands entered the closing two games with a 9-8 division record and 11-14-1 overall.

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July 23, 2009

By Tim Simard

Observer staff

The property and facilities at Pine Ridge School are for sale to schools, nonprofit groups or any other organization that might be interested. The school’s board of trustees chairman, Mitch Roman, said the property has been on the market since the school’s final graduating class exited in June.

Buyers are looking at a $4.5 million price tag, which will also cover debt accrued by the school in recent years. While Roman said he did not know the school’s total debt, Pine Ridge officials said in March it was estimated at approximately $3 million.

The alternative learning school closed after years of financial difficulties grew even worse under the current economic downturn. Since the middle of June, the campus has sat quietly off Route 2 on French Hill. According to Roman, only a few maintenance staff remain to oversee the property.

“It’s pretty much vacant right now,” said Roman, a former student of Pine Ridge from the 1970s.

Roman said there’s been some interest in the property, including from different private schools and organizations. While school officials would love to fill the campus with another school like Pine Ridge, they are looking at any organization at this point, Roman said.

One group almost purchased the property last month, but the deal fell through, Roman said. He would not reveal the organization.

The $4.5 million asking price for the nearly 100-acre property includes the student dormitory, classroom buildings, administrative offices and athletic fields. Roman said the property is not formally advertised anywhere, but has traveled by word-of-mouth through nonprofit organization circles. Roman also added the board of trustees would accept a “best offer” from any interested parties.

Pine Ridge School formed in 1968 as an alternative learning center for middle and high school students with dyslexia. In recent years, the school took on students with other learning and behavioral problems, which officials said steered Pine Ridge from its original mission. It was also around that time that Pine Ridge experienced yearly financial losses, which some blamed on poor administrative oversight and over-staffing.

In 2007, Dana Blackhurst took over as headmaster and attempted to bring Pine Ridge back to its roots by teaching only students with dyslexia and other language-based learning disabilities. Enrollment dropped from nearly 100 students in 2007 to just more than 20 during the past school year. Pine Ridge also experienced deep cuts in staffing.

Despite making changes to the school, Blackhurst announced in the spring that Pine Ridge would close for good.

Roman said the school is unlikely to be resurrected any time soon.

“We’re not going to open as Pine Ridge again,” Roman said.

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July 23, 2009

By Tim Simard

Observer staff

Officials with the Williston School District will go before the Development Review Board next month to discuss a master plan for the temporary classrooms at Allen Brook School.

A temporary building permit for the classrooms expires in February, and school administrators are asking the board to extend the permit by six months until August 2010. A planned reconfiguration of the school district in 2010 will make the classrooms obsolete at that time.

Senior Planner Matt Boulanger said school officials are scheduled to meet with the Development Review Board on Aug. 25.

Last month, the School Board voted to reconfigure the school district for the 2010-2011 school year. The temporary classrooms will no longer be needed under the new configuration, referred to as Option A.

“It was wonderful we could make that happen,” School Board Chairwoman Darlene Worth said.

Allen Brook students first moved into the modular classrooms during the 2002-2003 school year. The classrooms were meant to be a temporary solution for increasing enrollment until another wing could be built on the school.

As enrollment leveled off and then decreased, the district decided against building an Allen Brook addition. Instead, the Development Review Board granted a second temporary building permit for the classrooms in 2006. According to the 2006 permit’s conditions of approval, school officials were to return to the board in February 2008 with a master plan of what the district would do with the site.

School officials did not meet with the Development Review Board until September of last year.

The Development Review Board appeared reticent in past meetings to agreeing to another temporary building permit. Administrators looked into making the rooms a more permanent structure at Allen Brook, moving them to another part of the school building or building another permanent addition.

Option A will place pre-kindergarten through second grade classrooms at Allen Brook, while grades three through eight will be at Williston Central School. The move reduces the student population at Allen Brook, bringing the building back to its capacity without the temporary classrooms.

District Principal Walter Nardelli said he’s heard varying opinions on Option A; some people who question the merits of the configuration still support the removal of the Allen Brook trailers.

“For most parents in Williston, it does make sense,” Nardelli said. “People realize there’s an educational benefit and an advantage in removing the mobile classrooms.”

Once the trailers are removed, plans call for returning the site to previous conditions. The ground will be top soiled, seeded and mulched. An existing sidewalk will be extended to improve student access from the school to the bus stop.

Nardelli and Worth said this option should appeal to some members of the Development Review Board who have made it clear in past meetings that they would not approve another building permit.

Nardelli also said another school in Chittenden County is interested in purchasing the classrooms from Williston. Charlotte is looking to make renovations to its elementary and middle school, Charlotte Central School, starting in 2010 and would need temporary classrooms to house students while construction is under way.

“It could work out very well for Charlotte and Williston,” Worth said.

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July 23, 2009

Potty trespassing

Two men were issued no trespass citations on July 17 at Overlook Park on Essex Road after they were allegedly found together in a Port-A-Potty, according to police reports. The identities of the men were not released.

Two weeks ago, two men were cited for lewd conduct at the park.

Animal cruelty

On July 16, police were called to the parking lot of Once Upon A Child regarding a dog that had been locked in a car for more than an hour with the windows rolled up, according to police reports. The dog’s owner was subsequently “referred to the Williston Reparative Board for animal cruelty,” according to the report.

Fraud

A scam originating in Africa has found its way to Williston, according to police. Earlier this month, a Vermont woman was sent a check for $3,300 by a “mystery shopper” and was instructed to deposit the money in her bank account, keep a specified amount, and “return the rest by Moneygram,” according to police reports. The woman did this three times and was later informed by her bank that the checks were “no good,” according to the report.

Police urge residents to be on alert for these types of scams.

Theft

• Stephanie E. Kessler, 20, of Williston was cited on a charge of retail theft at Wal-Mart on July 7 after allegedly stealing cosmetics and other items, according to police reports. She was cited to appear in court.

• Cash and credit cards were reported stolen from an unlocked car in the Shaw’s parking lot on July 7, according to police reports. The investigation is ongoing.

• Megan L. Turner, 19, of Essex was cited on a charge of retail theft at Wal-Mart on July 7 after allegedly stealing $11.97 worth of merchandise, according to police reports. She was cited to appear in court.

• Tarayna Scott, 21, of Williston and Lindsay Delisle, 20, of Essex Junction were cited on a charge of retail theft at Wal-Mart on July 7 after allegedly stealing $55.02 worth of merchandise, according to police reports. Both were cited to appear in court.

• Deanna M. Kerr, 29, of Burlington was cited on charges of retail theft, unlawful trespass and violation of conditions of release on July 17, according to police reports. Kerr was “caught cutting packages open at Best Buy and concealing items in her purse,” according to the report. A search of Kerr’s vehicle turned up $500 worth of stolen property from Wal-Mart, the report notes. No other information was released.

Domestic assault

Joseph A. Payea Sr., 73, of Williston was cited on a charge of domestic assault on July 8 after allegedly shaking his wife and throwing her to the ground, according to a police affidavit. Payea’s wife was granted a temporary restraining order, and Payea was lodged at Chittenden County Correctional Center on $750 bail, according to the affidavit.

Driving under the influence

Police responding to a report of a vehicle operating erratically subsequently arrested James Martin, 53, of Huntington on a charge of driving under the influence, second offense, on July 8, according to police reports. Martin’s blood alcohol test registered .134, according to the report. The legal limit for driving in Vermont is .08. He was cited to appear in court.

Sexual abuse investigation

On July 13, police investigated a report of sexual abuse that allegedly occurred at Marshalls. Williston Police forwarded the case to the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations. CUSI Detective Lt. Arthur Cyr said the investigation is ongoing and no arrests have been made in the case.

Wanted persons

• Following a motor vehicle stop on July 10, Lorrie Jenkins, 40, of Starksboro was taken into custody on outstanding warrants, according to police reports. She was also cited on a charge of giving false information to a police officer, the report notes. She was lodged at Chittenden County Correctional Center. No other information was released.

• Irman Munston, 37, of Williston was “taken into custody on an outstanding warrant” on July 20, according to police reports. Munson was later taken to Vermont District Court, the report notes. No information as to the nature of the warrant was released.

Driving with suspended license

• Following a motor vehicle stop on July 11, Shaun C. Duprey, 24, of Barre City was arrested on a charge of driving with a suspended license, according to police reports. He was later released and cited to appear in court.

• Following a motor vehicle stop on July 14, Jared R. Merchant, 24, of Winooski was arrested on a charge of driving with a suspended license, according to police reports. He was later released and cited to appear in court.

• Following a motor vehicle stop on July 18, Joseph D. Popailo, 35, of South Burlington was arrested on a charge of criminal driving with a suspended license, according to police reports. He was later released and cited to appear in court.

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You can be a peach of health

July 23, 2009

By Ginger Isham

Peaches are now abundant in the supermarkets and those I have bought from the south have been delicious.

Did you know peaches give us a serving of phytochemicals, which protect our body from aging and disease? One of these is called hydroxycinnamate. It is in the peel and flesh of the peach. It helps our body to prevent oxidation of blood fats and harmful plaque in our arteries.

Peaches also give us compounds called anthocyanins and flavonols, which are found in their skin. And to think, I always pour boiling water on the peaches, let them stand a few minutes and then pour off and add cold water to cool them and then skin them, throwing away these vital compounds.

The beta-carotene that is found in all yellow and orange flesh vegetables and fruits is also found in the peach. Beta-carotene helps promote clear vision, resistance to infection and healthy skin.

Here is a recipe, taken from an old Eating Well magazine, that uses peaches:

Berry Peach Betty

(This is called a betty because it uses old bread)

Fruit mixture

3/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup orange juice

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

5 cups sliced peaches (thinly sliced)

1 cup raspberries

1 cup blueberries

4 cups day-old country whole wheat bread, cubed

Stir sugar, orange juice, cinnamon and extract together in large bowl. Add peach slices and bread cubes and toss until well mixed. Gently stir in the raspberries and blueberries.

Topping

2/3 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons oil

1 tablespoon butter, chilled and cut into small chunks

Mix flour and sugar and cut in oil and butter until well blended.

Using a 9-by-13-inch shallow baking dish, sprinkle 1/4 cup of the topping in the bottom of the dish. Spread the fruit mixture over this. Sprinkle remaining topping over all and bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes. Cool and serve with vanilla ice cream.

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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