Williston Observer

Sept. 30, 2010

A competitive Early Education Initiative grant from the Department of Education will allow Allen Brook School to launch a preschool program for children in low income homes, or who speak English as a second language.

“We do have other classes for kids with disabilities, ages 3 and 4. We’ve had that for 20 years probably, but this is brand new to try to meet the needs of other kids who are at risk like kids in poverty and for kids whom English is their second language,” said Carter Smith, director of special education for the Williston School District.

“We’re going to be following pretty much the same curriculum as the (Earliest Essential Education) program,” said Jenny Lyle, who will teach the class. “We use Creative Curriculum and a program called Read it Again, a curriculum that the school district just purchased.”

Though the curriculum is the same, the behavioral and social differences of the children in the preschool program will require Lyle to cater lessons to the individual needs of each child.

“What they do is assess the kids and individualize the program based on the needs of the kids. You’ve got to individualize the program and change it around depending on who shows up,” Smith said.

The classroom will be a mix of children, including students who would do well in a regular preschool classroom, those not considered to be in a financially burdened family or unfamiliar with the English language.

There will be a total of 14 children, though the classroom is not yet full. The program will begin with nine or 10 children, and fill up as the program continues.

“We just let the families know that have applied to be part of this preschool, so we set an open house date of Oct. 6, and our first day of classes will be on Oct. 12,” Lyle said.

One reason Allen Brook School applied for the grant, Smith said, is that standardized test scores for the New England Common Assessment Program, or NECAP, are lower for children on free and reduced lunch programs or for whom English is a second language. Smith feels the school still needs to do its job in seeking out and giving aid to children and families in need of further help.

“I have monthly meetings with other directors in the county and I know that for example Burlington and Winooski are good examples of towns that have a lot of kids and families with English Language Learners, more than we do,” Smith said. “Just because Williston is seen as a middle class community doesn’t mean we don’t have pockets of kids and families that need support.”

According to Manuela Fonseca, the early education coordinator for the Department of Education, Williston was awarded $28,948; the maximum amount is $30,000.

“Williston was chosen because its proposal received enough points to place it within the middle of all proposals submitted,” Fonesca said.

Lyle was hired in the summer, when Allen Brook learned it would receive the grant. Lyle will teach with a paraeducator the two afternoons a week that the preschool will be open, Tuesday and Wednesday.

This program will also include outreach services to local childcare centers.

“There might be some children that are going to attend this preschool that will be in childcare centers throughout this community, and so part of my outreach will be going in and working with the teachers at those childcare centers and maybe brainstorming ideas of things that might work to help the child with social behavior kinds of things,” Lyle said.

Lyle may also bring some ideas from her program conducted in the classroom to the centers, and potentially do some work with the families of the children.

“We’ll learn from them, and they’ll learn from us,” Smith said.

As for next year, Smith knows the preschool will need more funding. The program will be assessed at the end of the year for a grant renewal.

For now, however, the focus is on launching a successful program.

“It’s a start. We’re excited about it,” Smith said.

Sept. 30, 2010

Vandalism

The driver’s side window of a vehicle was “smashed” out of a car on Industrial Avenue in the early morning hours of Sept. 21, according to police reports. Damage was estimated at $200, the report notes. Anyone with information is asked to call Williston Police at 878-6611.

Wanted person

• Following a motor vehicle stop on Sept. 22, Ernest M. Miller, 46, of Winooski was arrested on an outstanding warrant and taken to Chittenden County Correctional Center, according to police reports. Miller was also charged with possession of prescription narcotics after drugs were allegedly “confiscated” from him, according to the report.

• Jeffrey A. Whitcomb, 59, of Burlington was arrested on a “felony warrant out of Orleans County” on Sept. 23, according to police reports. He was processed and taken to Chittenden County Correctional Center, the report notes. No other information was released.

Illegal dumping

A Commerce Street recycling company reported to police on Sept. 23 that someone had dumped electronic equipment on the loading dock in the back of the building, according to police reports. Anyone with information is asked to call Williston Police at 878-6611.

Theft

A “dump trailer” valued at $8,000 was stolen from behind Texas Roadhouse on Sept. 23, according to police reports. Anyone with information is asked to call Williston Police at 878-6611.

Driving with suspended license

Following a motor vehicle stop on Sept. 24, Brendan Boucher, 35, of Alburgh, was charged with driving with a suspended license-criminal, according to police reports. He was cited to appear in court.

Driving under the influence

• Following a motor vehicle stop on Sept. 26, Travis J. Jacques, 23, of Charlotte was charged with driving under the influence, according to police reports. His blood alcohol concentration was .185, according to the report. The legal limit for driving in Vermont is .08. He was cited to appear in court.

• Carmen E. Hu, 47, of Williston was charged for the third time with driving under the influence on Sept. 26, according to police reports. She was also charged with attempting to elude police, the report notes. No other information was available as of press time.

Vegetarian dishes

Sept. 30, 2010

By Ginger Isham

If you still have tomatoes and want to know what to do with them, here is an easy supper dish that can be made ahead of time. It serves about 4 and has 470 calories per serving.

Tomato and Cheese Strata

(I cut this out of a paper a long time ago.)

8 slices white sandwich bread (I use a good firm bread and cut off crusts)

4 tomatoes, sliced about 1/2 inch thick

4 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (1 cup)

4 scallions, sliced (or 1/4 to 1/3 cup onion, chopped)

2 cups milk

4 large eggs

pinch of salt and pepper

Place four slices of bread in lightly greased 8-by-8-inch baking dish. Top with half of the tomato slices, half of the cheese and half of chopped onion. Repeat with rest of bread slices, tomatoes, cheese and chopped onion. Whisk milk, eggs, salt and pepper together and pour over all the above. Cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes until puffed and golden in color. I made it in the early morning, let it set all day and baked it in the early evening.

Butternut Orzo Risotto

(from Country Woman magazine)

This easy fall dish uses butternut squash, but I think other types of fall squash could be substituted.

3 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed

1 teaspoon olive oil

pinch of salt and pepper

3 cups chicken broth (use fat-free, low sodium)

1 small onion, chopped

2 teaspoons butter

1 cup uncooked orzo pasta

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

2 tablespoons fresh parsley; or 1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 1/2 teaspoons fresh sage, minced; or 1/4 teaspoon powdered sage

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced; or 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme

Parmesan cheese

Place squash on greased baking sheet and sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 18 minutes. Stir once or twice.

Sauté onion in butter and add orzo and garlic. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in 1 cup warmed chicken broth. Cook and stir until all liquid is absorbed. Add remaining warmed chicken broth a little at a time, stirring and letting it be absorbed each time. Cook until creamy and the orzo is almost tender. Add herbs and squash and heat through. Garnish with cheese. Serve hot. Makes 4 to 5 servings.

Two-thirds of a cup equals 230 calories.

Serve with a green salad and favorite bread. For meat lovers, serve as a side dish with pork, chicken, turkey, beef or fish.

Ginger Isham lives with her husband on a fifth generation family farm on Oak Hill Road.

‘American’ ideals

Sept. 30, 2010

By Kayla Purvis

As Thomas Patterson, author of “The American Democracy,” says, “The American political culture centers on a set of core ideals — liberty, equality, self-government, individualism, diversity, and unity — that serve as the people’s common bond.” What happened to these ideals? That’s what I want to write about this week.

America’s core values are liberty, equality and self-government. Liberty is used synonymously with “freedom,” but does not have the same meaning. Liberty is the freedom to act or think as one chooses so long as it does not infringe upon the rights of others. Equality does not mean equal in monetary or social status. It means equal in moral worth and protection under the law. And self-government is the principle that the people of this nation must have a voice and be the ultimate governing authority. In other words, the people run the government.

We have a superiority complex. We think that we are the richest, most elite and most intelligent, and therefore we must be the best. We use this logic to try to impose our government and ways of life on other countries. Newsweek ranked the United States as number 11 in its list of 100 best countries in the world. President Barack Obama says, “Americans won’t settle for number two!” Well then, we better turn back into the America that existed 80 years ago.

We had what Thomas Friedman, a journalist for the New York Times, calls a “values breakdown” between the Greatest Generation and now. Members of the Greatest Generation could not escape the trials of their time: the Great Depression, Nazi Germany, threats of Communism, World War II …. Their problems could hardly be fixed by taxes or policies. They had to work, suffer and sacrifice. At the time of the Depression, most Americans were unaware of the government. Meaning, it laid low. The government was small, as it should be.

Friedman points out that the leaders of that generation were not afraid to tell Americans that they would need to sacrifice in order to progress. Today? Today politicians have to find ways around sacrifice, because Americans are lazy. We expect everything immediately, wonder what will be done for us and expect something for doing nothing. What happened to our work ethic? What happened to the promise of coming to America and working toward success?

A perfect example is welfare. It was well-intentioned, I will give it that. But there are so many people who purposefully do not go get a job because they want to make sure they still get those welfare checks. Excuse me, but what about the people working and paying for those checks? What about the people who actually need the money? It’s awful how lazy so many Americans have gotten.

The Greatest Generation was not afraid of hard situations. Sacrifice? They knew it was necessary. Work? They didn’t expect to get paid without it. Tough decisions? They didn’t whine and complain because not everybody would be happy.

In today’s America, no one wants to upset anyone else. There is this idea that it is possible to pacify every group, while simultaneously our party system is driving the country in two. Why are we so passive? Why are we afraid to offend somebody by saying what we think or what is right? Why do we pitch a fit whenever something hard comes along that may require us to hurt a little bit? Because we are a lazy America.

Somewhere along the way we left our ideals behind. Welfare conflicts with individualism, the principle that we are each responsible for taking our own initiative and being self-sufficient. Our changed and incorrect definition of equality has prompted passivity. And self-government? We are kissing it goodbye every time we make the government bigger. Unity is being pushed as the need to come together to provide for everyone else, instead of the principle that we are united as one nation. Diversity is the respect for different individuals and groups, and is clearly nonexistent as we look at our fighting party system, non-admitted religious intolerance and tip-toeing around racial groups.

So, we won’t accept being ranked number two, but we aren’t willing to work to be number one. Well, then I guess we better get used to the idea of being surpassed by country after country as more of them become more like old America: hard-working, willing to sacrifice and appreciative of what they have. Maybe that is what it will take for America to remember its work ethic, and take back our number-one spot.

Williston resident Kayla Purvis is a senior at Champlain Valley Union High School.

GOP pledge is nothing new

Sept. 30, 2010

By Steve Mount

As Yogi Berra said, “It’s déjà vu all over again.”

In 1994, with Bill Clinton two years into his first term as president, Republicans presented a Contract with America to the electorate. The Contract was a list of legislative priorities that the Republicans promised to turn into bills within the first 100 days of the 104th Congress. It was a ploy that played to the angers and frustrations of the American people at the time.

The ploy worked. The House of Representatives had a Republican majority for the first time in 40 years. Though many of the bills based on the Contract failed to become law either because of presidential veto or because the Senate failed to pass them, the Republican majority in the House lasted from the 104th Congress through to the 109th. The Democrats were not able to wrest control until the 110th Congress, almost four years ago, in January 2007.

The legacy of that Republican control includes government shutdowns, tax cuts for the richest Americans, authorization of an unnecessary war and the worst recession in decades.

More recently, Republicans have released their Pledge to America. The GOP is pledging to right all the wrongs that they see in American government and society, a good and noble sentiment, but forgetting that it was they who were the root cause of many of these woes.

President Obama came to office promising change, change that many of us — Democrats, Republicans and independents — were eager for. It is change that we have not seen in many cases, change that we still wait for. But even as we await more of the president’s promises to come to fruition, we cannot allow ourselves to be blinded to the fact that change has, indeed, already happened.

To me, the Pledge to America is more about undoing the good that has already been done and thwarting any possibility for more good to be done in the next two years.

Just last week, some of the most important provisions of the health care bill came into effect:

• Children can no longer be denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition;

• Health care policies must cover children up to age 26;

• Health care policies may no longer include lifetime limits on coverage.

These features and protections are all important and have real impact on people’s lives today. And if Republicans had had their way six months ago, none of these provisions would have taken effect. Because of the staggered implementation of the health care bill, even more changes will be taking effect over the next few years.

Another major accomplishment of the president and his congressional allies is the end of combat operations in Iraq. This war, the wrong war to have spent blood and treasure on, was authorized by a Republican Congress. Ending it was one of Obama’s top priorities, and though it took two years, he was able to accomplish the goal without putting undue risk on our troops or the Iraqi people.

Though Republicans use it as a selling point for their own agenda, calling it a “government take-over,” the government’s support for General Motors and Chrysler saved an American industry and all the jobs that go with it.

According to Recovery.gov, the Recovery Act, put in place by the Democratic Congress, has brought more than $250 million to Vermont through June 30, and another $500 million has been awarded to Vermont. This money represents real jobs, held by your neighbors.

The Republican leadership would have you forget about all of these accomplishments. Is there more to be done? Of course there is, but the way to get things done is not to take a step backwards, back to Republican majorities in the House and Senate.

As he introduced the latest Republican ploy, the Pledge to America, House Minority Leader John Boehner said that if they are placed in the majority, the American people can expect Republicans to “not be any different than we have been.” I don’t think that America can afford, nor stomach, “not different” from the Republicans, because they have been combative, obstructive and contrary ever since the new Congress was sworn in.

What we need is a new Republican party that is willing to work with Democrats to come up with solutions, not create more problems. In lieu of that seeming pipe dream, our best bet is to maintain the Democratic majorities in Congress, and for all Democrats to work diligently toward that goal.

Steve Mount has been a Williston resident since 1996. He is a software engineer at GE Healthcare and is devoted to his family, his country and his Constitution. You can reach Steve at [email protected] or read his blog at http://saltyrain.com/ls.