Williston Observer

By Lee H. Hamilton

The rigors of the campaign are still fresh, but for newly elected House members and senators, the hard part is just beginning. Already, they’re inundated with advice on the issues they’ll be facing: the fiscal cliff, crises overseas, how to behave in a highly partisan Congress.

All of this will take time to sort out. But there’s one task I’d advise them to tackle right away, whatever their party: learning how to do constituent services right.

Many years ago, when I was still in the House, I accompanied a senator to a public meeting. A woman approached him afterward to ask for help with a Social Security problem. Irritably, my colleague told her that he didn’t have time; he had important policy issues to deal with. I was stunned. So was the woman. I have never forgotten the look of helpless chagrin on her face.

Self-interest alone would have counseled a more helpful approach. I ran into someone from my district once who told me, “I don’t agree with you most of the time, but I’m voting for you because you take good care of your constituents.” People notice. And they care. That senator who rebuffed the plea for help? He was defeated in the next election.

But there’s more to it than just currying favor with the electorate. Good constituent service, I believe, is crucial to being a good elected representative.

There’s no mystery why. The federal government is vast, complex, and confusing, and it touches far more lives than any private company. Sometimes it’s a model of efficiency, but too often it’s agonizingly slow to get off a passport or approve a disability payment. And it makes mistakes—a transposed Social Security number, a wrong address, a benefit miscalculation—and then drags its heels fixing them. Its rules and regulations can be hard to navigate. Ordinary Americans get caught up in the gears, and they need help.

As a member of Congress, you can learn a lot by paying attention. Though it’s a habit for legislators to think of policy-making and constituent service as two distinct halves of their responsibilities, that’s not always the case. The problems people are having keep you alert to what might need to be done legislatively. If there’s a huge backlog of disability cases at the Social Security Administration, for instance, or a surge of veterans having trouble getting their benefits, that ought to be a warning sign. Workers in those agencies may be struggling to remain efficient, or they may need additional staff and resources—either way, it bears investigating and, possibly, legislative action.

The challenge, of course, is that helping constituents with their problems isn’t easy. It demands a commitment of staff and time. It means being careful to avoid even a hint that a constituent’s party affiliation matters. It requires walking a fine line with the bureaucracy—which can sometimes resent congressional “meddling”—so that you’re helpful without going overboard on a constituent’s behalf. Sometimes, the people you’re helping don’t tell the whole story. The best you can do is ask for fair and prompt consideration for their pleas, without putting yourself at cross-purposes with either the law or the federal officials you work with daily.

But none of this is a reason to downplay constituent service. Because the need is endless. I used to set up shop in a local post office in my district, and was constantly amazed at how many people would turn out. They needed help getting their mail delivered properly, or tracking a lost Social Security check. They were having problems with the IRS, or getting enrolled for veterans benefits. They got confused by the overlapping responsibilities of different levels of government, and needed help finding the right person to call.

The point is, these problems are constant. I’ve been out of public office for over a decade, yet the other day a neighbor stopped me on the street to ask for help speeding up a visa application. Americans need a point of contact with their government. If you’re a public official—or even an ex-public official—get used to the idea that you’re it.

Lee Hamilton is Director of the Center on Congress at Indiana University. He was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years.

Scholastic book fair next week

The Scholastic Book Fair is set for Dec. 3 – 7 in the Williston Central School dining room.

Hours are:
Monday, 2 – 8 p.m.; Tuesday, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.; Wednesday, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. with a visit from Clifford the Big Red Dog from 6 – 7 p.m.; Thursday, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.; Friday, 8 a.m. – 2 p.m.

To volunteer at the fair, visit http://vols.pt/DhdJiV.

Red Cross blood drives, honors

The American Red Cross will hold several community blood drives during the month of December. For a full list of blood drive locations or to make an appointment to donate blood, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or visit redcrossblood.org.

Blood drives are set for: Dec. 5 in the Shelburne town center from 12 – 5:30 p.m.; Dec. 13 at the Charlotte Senior Center from 2 – 7 p.m.; Dec. 20 at Williston’s Immaculate Heart of Mary Church from 11:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.; Dec. 21 at Edgeworks in Williston from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Dec. 26 at the Holy Rosary Catholic Church Hall in Richmond from 11:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.; and Dec. 28 at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

In addition, the American Red Cross Blood Services recently recognized  Mary Lou Harton of Williston for donating 19 gallons of blood.

Jon Milizia inspects a coin at Attic Treasures Coin & Jewelry on Williston Road. Milizia moved his business to Williston 10 weeks ago after leasing space in Shelburne for the past year. (Observer photo by Luke Baynes)

By Luke Baynes

Observer staff

The one-cent coin, commonly known as the penny, is a neglected denomination of American currency.

How many times have you told a gas station clerk to keep the change on a $1.99 purchase, or superstitiously declined to pick up a shiny Lincoln from the pavement because it had the misfortune of landing tails side up?

But as numismatist Jon Milizia observes, one red cent could potentially be worth big bucks.

“A coin, to be valuable, it has to be rare … or it has some kind of major error,” Milizia said. “A good example of that would be a 1969-S penny. If it’s doubled—meaning you can see everything twice—there’s only a few of those. It would be worth like $150,000.”

Milizia, who owns the Williston-based Attic Treasures Coin & Jewelry with his partner, Kiersten Olivetti, is certified by the Colorado Springs-based American Numismatic Association, a group dedicated to the collection and study of coins, paper money, tokens and medals. He said that while there is a decent coin collector’s market in Vermont, the bulk of his coin business involves the reselling of silver coinage to refineries.

“The U.S. mint coins had a 90 percent silver (ratio) until 1964, and then they continued making the Kennedy half (dollar) from 1965 to 1970 in 40 percent silver, and that was actually the last U.S. coin that had any silver in it,” Milizia explained. “Based on the current price per ounce, which is about $34 for an ounce of pure silver, we usually offer somewhere around 25 times the face value, so if it’s a half dollar that’s silver, pre-’64, we would offer $12.50 each.”

Despite the often grimy appearance of an old coin, Milizia said owners should avoid cleaning or polishing currency on the odd chance that it might be a rare treasure.

“There’s been some examples right off the top of my head where people would have had very valuable items had they not cleaned them,” he said. “When an item’s been cleaned, oftentimes a chemical is involved which removes the luster, and luster and eye appeal are two major factors when it comes to coin grading.”

Milizia founded a landscaping company called Landscape Design Associates in 2004. Although he still maintains the business on a seasonal basis, he said the ongoing economic recession has had the effect of decreasing his horticulture work while increasing his numismatic client base.

“I think the growing fear about the economy with the public has encouraged, or at least brought to their attention, the options of silver and gold,” Milizia said.

Located at 4626 Williston Road near the corner of Industrial Avenue, Attic Treasures also buys and sells jewelry, antiques and even the occasional guitar. Milizia said that regardless of the item being bought or sold, his business model is based on giving the customer a square deal.

“With this business, to me it’s all about taking the mystery out of selling your items,” he said. “One of the things I learned out at the ANA (American Numismatic Association) is that 90 percent of the people in the general public who own coins or jewelry have inherited them, and they know little to nothing about them. So instead of using that against the potential seller, we try to help them and inform them about what they have.”

Members of Williston Girl Scout brownie troop 30948 collected Thanksgiving food donations and made cards for the Women Helping Battered Women shelter earlier this month. Back row (from left): Emma Allaire, Francesca Krol, co-leader Heather Cleveland, Norah Munn, Ella Leombruno, Shannon Kennelly, Riley Erdman, Megan Rexford and Mia Moshovetis. Front row (seated, from left): Makenna Patrick, Addiso Urch, Zoe Bryan and Isabela Nash. Not pictured: Kassidy Cleveland. (Observer courtesy photo)

By Luke Baynes

Observer staff

More than 100 local families had a happy Thanksgiving last week, thanks to the charitable giving of the community and the volunteer efforts of the Williston Community Food Shelf.

“It went great,” said Williston resident Ginger Morton of the Food Shelf’s annual turkey drive. “By the grace of God and the good will of our neighbors, last year and this year we’ve been able to give everybody a turkey that wanted one.”

All told, the food shelf received 128 turkeys this year—almost half of which came from a single source.

“Extra special thanks needs to go to the New England Federal Credit Union in Williston, because they brought in 62 turkeys,” Morton said.

Morton, the chief organizer of the 2012 turkey drive, also mentioned that the Food Shelf received 87 gift cards for redemption at Hannaford or Shaw’s supermarkets in Williston. She said the leftover gift cards will be saved for the Christmas season.

“We’re going to use the gift cards that we got at Thanksgiving to give to people at Christmas to let them get a Christmas turkey,” she said.

Despite the Food Shelf’s Turkey Day success, Morton said demand remains high in what was a down year for food donations.

“The stores of food at the Food Shelf are significantly down from what they were last year, and the need is significantly up,” Morton said. “So to all of you wonderful community members who at Thanksgiving gave a turkey, please be kind enough to remember to fill a bag for Christmas, also.”

By Luke Baynes

Observer staff

Industrial Avenue is already part of two concurrent transportation studies from both the Vermont Agency of Transportation and the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission. On Nov. 20, a third study looking at the Industrial Avenue corridor was presented to the Williston public by CCRPC and Stantec Consulting Services Inc.—the firm behind a separate December 2011 study which looked specifically at sidewalk improvements in the area.

The VTrans study concentrates on the intersection of Industrial Avenue and Williston Road. It proposes adding a left-hand turn lane for eastbound Williston Road traffic and reconfiguring the layout of the intersection to resemble a more traditional “T” shape. The proposed improvements would require the relocation of a municipal water line—at an estimated $500,000 expense to Williston taxpayers.

CCRPC’s Williston-Essex Network Transportation Study (WENTS)—the results of which are scheduled to be unveiled to the public in early 2013—is concerned with potential alternatives to the discarded Chittenden County Circumferential Highway project. As a major Williston thoroughfare, Industrial Avenue is included in that study as a potential traffic collector of proposed Circ alternatives.

Unlike the regional focus of the WENTS and VTrans studies, the Stantec study presented at the Nov. 20 Williston Planning Commission meeting is town specific. Stantec Senior Project Manager Rick Bryant pointed out that having a local plan gives town officials leverage to request transportation or sidewalk improvements during the permitting process for commercial development.

“If you have a plan, then you have something to talk about with the developer when they come in,” Bryant said. “Having a plan helps guide future development and helps guide funding.”

Currently, Industrial Avenue has a sidewalk on its north side, beginning at the intersection of Vermont 2A and ending just beyond Avenue D, where a crosswalk connects to a path that winds through Rossignol Park to North Brownell Road.

As the Observer reported in December 2011, the Planning Commission was previously presented with a choice of a connecting sidewalk on either the north or south side of Industrial Avenue. The commission voted in favor of the southerly option, due to its superior pedestrian safety and public transportation connectivity, plus the fact that the other option would require the more costly relocation of 12 utility poles.

At the Nov. 20 meeting, additional options were presented which contemplate sidewalks on both sides of Industrial Avenue and the addition of traffic signals and left-hand turn lanes at congestion-prone intersections such as Avenues B and D. While the addition of one sidewalk could be accomplished within the town’s existing right-of-way, the latter options would require the purchase of land from abutting property owners.

Several area residents attended the corridor study meeting. None were enthusiastic about the prospect of adding traffic signals on Industrial Avenue.

“My feeling is if you put traffic lights up and down that road, you’d really block up traffic. You’d really back it up,” said Roadside Motorsports owner Don Brisson.

Yet Brisson, a Mountain View Road resident, acknowledged that current traffic congestion in the corridor makes it difficult for residents to leave their homes during rush hour.

“I also can understand that if you try to come out of your driveway and want to make a left-hand turn, most of the time that can’t happen,” Brisson said. “You’ve got to feel sorry for those people. They own homes they can’t even use at certain hours of the day.”

Industrial Avenue resident Larry Currier attested to Brisson’s observation.

“It’s a tough place to live,” Currier said. “Thank God I am retired, because there are times I cannot get out of my driveway. In the morning and in the night. Morning is just as bad as at night.”

Bryant ventured that lacking an unexpected about-face from the state on the Circ Highway, small traffic improvement measures will need to be taken to make the best of an imperfect situation.

“As you saw with the Circ, the solution is to build more roads, but there’s not a political climate to do that,” Bryant said. “So we’re in a situation of how do we make the roads we have work the best that we can?”

Bryant’s question went unanswered, with the Planning Commission agreeing to revisit the topic at its Dec. 4 meeting.

Williston Director of Planning and Zoning Ken Belliveau closed the discussion by reiterating the need for a formal plan for the corridor.

“The fact that we didn’t have some kind of a plan or goal for the road when the old Rossignol building was redeveloped (into the White Cap Business Park), that was kind of a lost opportunity,” Belliveau said. “Especially if you start to think about pedestrian facilities, we could have easily gotten several hundred feet of sidewalk dedicated and built.”