Williston Observer

Feb. 24, 2011

Driving with suspended license

Miles MacArthur, 27, of Starksboro was cited on a charge of driving with a suspended license on Feb. 14, according to police reports.

Theft

•Rhonda Lowry, 28, of South Burlington was cited on a charge of retail theft after allegedly stealing $160 worth of merchandise from Best Buy.

•Police responded to a report of the theft of a Mobile Media Station from a local office building on Feb. 18, according to police reports. The investigation is ongoing.

•A purse was stolen from a shopping cart at Home Depot on Feb. 20, according to police reports. Anyone with information is asked to call Williston Police at 878-6611.

Violation of conditions of release

•Jack Provencher 38, of Williston was arrested for violation of conditions of release due to alcohol consumption on Feb. 14, according to police reports. No other information was released.

•Kamilla Sarkisova, 31, of Burlington was cited on a charge of violation of conditions of release on Feb. 18 after it was reported to police that she refused to pay a cab fare, according to police reports.

Fraud

A local resident called police in October 2010 to report his wallet stolen from his vehicle, according to police reports. The resident called police again on Feb. 15 to report that between Jan. 25 and 27, almost $4,000 worth of purchases were made on his Best Buy credit card, which he didn’t realize was in the wallet, according to the report. The case is under investigation.

Stray dog

On Feb. 16, police responded to a call from a Governor Chittenden Road resident regarding a stray dog that was found on his property. The dog is a tan and white female bulldog with no collar or tags. Anyone with information is asked to call Williston Police at 878-6611.

Suspicious person

On Feb. 18, police responded to a call from Wal-Mart regarding a possible theft from Home Depot. A man with a dark-colored jacket and blue jeans stashed a cart full of Home Depot property that still had security wrapping around it behind Wal-Mart, and left the area on foot, according to police reports. Anyone with information is asked to call Williston Police at 878-6611.

Burglary

•Williston Police are investigating a burglary at SD Ireland in Williston. The burglary occurred sometime in the early morning hours of Feb. 16, according to police reports. Several vending machines were broken into and cash and coins were taken out of the vending machines. Anyone with information is asked to call Williston Police at 878-6611.

•Williston Police are investigating a burglary at Ponderosa on Marshall Avenue that occurred in the early morning hours of Feb. 23. A “dollar bill changer was ripped off the wall,” vandalized and coins were removed from the machine. Anyone with information is asked to call Williston Police at 878-6611.

Driving with suspended license

Following a motor vehicle stop on Feb. 11, Robert F. Stricker, 29, of Troy was cited on a charge of driving with a suspended license-criminal, according to police reports. He was cited to appear in court on March 7.

Police notes are written based on information provided by the Williston Police Department. Please note that all parties are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Bread Recipes I Can’t Live Without

As someone who leads an active life and enjoys being with people, what was I going to do housebound for three days during our recent snowstorms? Well, I missed some swim sessions, shoveled the back walk and porch more than three times one day as the blowing, drifting snow kept promising to barricade us in so we couldn’t open the door to the outside world. The contrast inside the house was completely opposite the outside – warm and cozy, just the right environment for making bread. I made three batches of bread. This recipe is quick, easy, and healthy for the body and soul.

Hilary’s 100 Percent Whole Wheat Bread

3 cups warm milk, water or potato water

1/2 tablespoon yeast

1 tablespoon honey or sugar (I use 2-3 tablespoon honey)

1/2 tablespoon salt (I use a generous 1/2 teaspoon sea salt)

6+ cups whole wheat flour (I use white whole wheat and/or mix them)

Dissolve yeast in warm milk and honey and let stand for 8 to 10 minutes. Add oil and salt. Stir in 2 cups flour, add 1 cup at a time to make 4 more cups until dough forms a ball on the spoon. Turn out on to lightly floured counter top. Use as little flour as possible, so it doesn’t stick to counter and knead about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in bowl and cover, and let stand at room temperature for up to 2 hours (until double in size). Punch down and let rise again for about 1 hour. Turn on to lightly floured counter and knead just enough to get any air bubbles out. Cut dough in half and shape into 2 loaves of bread. Place in oiled pans and let rise about 30 minutes. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

During the depression years time and money-saving recipes were basic but tasty. This recipe comes out more like thick, flat bread that can challenge the imagination.

Busy Day Bread

1 package of yeast

1 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)

2 tablespoons molasses (I use dark maple syrup)

1 tablespoon melted shortening or vegetable oil (I use olive oil)

pinch of salt

1/2 cup rye or whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups white flour

In a mixing bowl dissolve yeast in warm water, add molasses and let stand 4 to 5 minutes until foamy. Stir in melted shortening, salt, rye flour, and white flour with a wooden spoon. Beat 50 times. Spread dough to a 6-by-8-inch circle on an oiled baking sheet. Let rise 30 minutes. Bake in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and brush top with melted butter.

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

Breaking down the Second Amendment

Feb. 24, 2011

Vermont should not have to send its relevant mental health records to the Federal Bureau of Investigation so that the information can be included in the database for gun background checks. Common sense says that mentally ill people should not be allowed to bear or keep arms, but they are Constitutionally – both federally and locally – given the right.

The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution states: “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” If we remove the explanatory phrase “being necessary to the security of a free state,” the Amendment reads: “A well-regulated militia, [and] the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” This means that the United States has right to have a militia, or an army. It also means that the people have the right to not only own or have weapons, but to use them. There is an argument about exactly whom “the people” refers to. But using the knowledge of how the Founding Fathers carefully and tediously chose their wording as well as their usage of the same phrase elsewhere in the Constitution, I argue that “the people” refers to the citizens of the United States.

In the preamble to the United States Constitution, it states: “We the people…do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” In this context, “the people” are the Founding Fathers who wrote the Constitution. I am certain they were not granting the right to bear arms to the militia and themselves exclusively, nor would they be referring to just the militia. The militia was not responsible for ordaining or establishing the Constitution.

“The people” is also used when referring to how the representatives and senators from each state will be chosen.

“The right of the people to assemble.”

“The right of the people to be secure in their persons.” Powers not delegated to the federal or state governments are given to “the people.” There is no doubt that the phrase “the people” refers to the citizens of the United States throughout the entire Constitution. We should then assume that the same is true of the Second Amendment.

The Vermont State Constitution, dating back to before the Bill of Rights, states: “The inhabitants of this State shall have liberty in seasonable times, to hunt fowl on the lands they hold, and on other lands not enclosed….That the people have a right to bear arms for the defense of themselves and the State….” So not only has the right to bear arms for hunting been granted, but also the right of citizens to bear arms to defend themselves and the State of Vermont.

According to The National Rifle Association, local governments in Vermont don’t regulate the possession, ownership, transfer, carrying, registration or licensing of firearms. And since the United States Constitution only binds the federal government, Vermont’s Constitution trumps the U.S. in this court case, and backs up the 2008 Supreme Court ruling in D.C. v. Heller that gun possession is an individual right.

“A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” The United States Constitution includes the verbs keep and bear. Still, using the assumption that the Founding Fathers were referring to U.S. citizens when using the term “the people,” the Second Amendment distinguishes between two different rights of the people.

Dictionary.com defines keep as follows: “to hold or retain in one’s possession; hold as one’s own; to have the care, charge, or custody of.” It defines bear as “to have and use; exercise.” This means that there is a distinction between keeping and bearing arms. Having a gun in your house is different than pointing it cocked and loaded in someone’s direction. The Second Amendment makes this distinction in the Founding Fathers’ word choice.

There is an NRA-supported federal law that prevents “those adjudicated as mental defectives or incompetents or those committed to any mental institution” from possessing, receiving, shipping, or transporting firearms or ammunition. This, even though it is a law that is punishable by life in prison, violates the rulings of the Supreme Court in both D.C. v. Heller and in McDonald v. Chicago (2010). Neither case had specifically asked if mentally ill persons could keep or bear arms. As a result, neither ruling is specific to that question. Therefore, the rulings should stand that all persons have the individual right to keep/bear arms. This makes the medical records that the United States Justice Department wants from the State of Vermont irrelevant and unnecessary – regardless of whether or not we think mentally ill persons should or should not have weapons.

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

The Basics of American Libertarianism

Feb. 24, 2011

For the second year in a row, Ron Paul, a Republican Representative from Texas, won the straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference. The straw poll is seen as an indication of the most conservative voters’ choice for a presidential candidate in the next big election.

Paul has long been a darling of the extreme right. But I’m not here to write about CPAC, the straw poll, the 2012 presidential election, or even Ron Paul specifically. Instead, my topic this week is libertarianism.

Paul is widely seen as one of the most striking examples of a libertarian, and his rise to the top of the CPAC straw poll may signal a resurgence of libertarian sentiment in the far right wing of the conservative mindset.

The United States is host to the Libertarian Party, self-described as our third largest party, in terms of registered members. The Libertarian Party describes itself thusly:

“Our vision is for a world in which all individuals can freely exercise the natural right of sole dominion over their own lives, liberty and property by building a political party that elects Libertarians to public office, and moving public policy in a libertarian direction.”

Taken at face value, this statement sounds appealing. Boiled down to its basics, the statement expands on libertarianism’s two basic principles: freedom of thought and freedom of action.

The first of these is easy – I absolutely agree with the principle of freedom of thought. In fact, I think most Americans are on board with this basic principle.

It is in the second basic principle, freedom of action, that libertarians and I diverge. That being said, I agree with the broad idea that people should be allowed to do what they want, when they want, as long as no one else is harmed. The principle, though, taken to its logical extremes, quickly becomes troublesome.

The individual is important. But society matters, too. It has an interest in ensuring that its members are not only happy but healthy, too.

For example, under a libertarian state, the unregulated use of any substance would be perfectly fine, and government attempts to regulate those substances would not be allowed. Over time, science has made it clear that use of tobacco products is detrimental to any person’s health. There is not a single seriously-reported positive benefit of tobacco consumption.

Recognizing this, we tax tobacco products to the point where they are unaffordable by many; and the revenue is used, in part, to discourage further tobacco use. Such taxes and programs are completely contrary to the libertarian principle that anyone should be allowed to smoke or chew, period.

Similarly, libertarians do not see a place for government in social services. They would much rather see the poor, sick, and elderly taken care of by private charities, with funds willingly donated by individuals. Again, I agree with this in principle, but when reality raises its ugly head, it is clear that relying on private entities is insufficient.

A government such as ours should offer a minimum safety net. It cannot and should not be the only safety net, but in a society where we value human life and dignity above all other things, leaving this role to private charities is wrong-headed.

We often say that we live in a democracy. But this is not true. In a pure democracy, majority always rules. The rights of the minority are not relevant. In fact, “the rights of the minority” is a concept that a pure democracy does not hold. Instead, we live in a society that adheres to democratic principles, taking the best parts of democracy, like “one person, one vote,” and integrating them into our own system.

Likewise, libertarianism has a lot of great ideas. Its basic principles of freedom of thought and freedom of action are important to each of us. We accept these libertarian principles in general, and have integrated them into our system; applying modifications for the betterment of all members of our society.

Those who call themselves libertarians must continue to adhere to their principles – it is their right and duty. If they have ideas that are good for our country as a whole, it is only through their continued advocacy that those ideas will move from the fringes to the mainstream. With Republican Ron Paul as a de facto head of the movement, these principles will get a fair airing, and exposure to ideas is a benefit to us all.

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.

Feb. 24, 2011

Soldiers receive warm welcome

A welcome home party for Vermont Army National Guard Unit HHC Williston was held on Feb. 5 at the Champlain Valley Expo in Essex Junction. More than 200 soldiers and family members enjoyed wonderful catered food, fun children’s activities and bounce houses, DJ music, and great door prizes.

The Family Readiness Group of HHC Williston would like to once again thank the Williston voters for their generous support of the bake sale held in November, which greatly contributed to the success of the event. We would also like to thank Williston businesses The Edge Sports & Fitness, and Stove and Flag Works for donating fabulous door prizes. Thank you to Williston Girl Scout Troops #30663 and #30688, who provided help with the children’s activities.

Also, thank you to the Williston Girl Scout Daisy Troop, who created beautiful and heartwarming decorations for the party. The outpouring of support and donations for the party said a enthusiastic “Thank You” and “Welcome Home” to the soldiers and their families.

Peter Moreman, Co-Leader, HHC Williston Family Readiness Group