Williston Observer

“Santa’s Big Red Hat,” written by Williston resident Larry Dubin, contains illustrations by fellow Willistonian Taryn Cozzy, a senior at the New Hampshire Institute of Art. (Illustration by Taryn Cozzy)

By Luke Baynes

Observer staff

Santa Claus knows if you’ve been bad or good. He even knows your sleep patterns. But what he can’t figure out is where he left his big red hat.

That’s the conundrum at the core of Williston resident Larry Dubin’s “Santa’s Big Red Hat,” a children’s book about a Christmas that is almost cancelled when Mrs. Claus forbids Santa from delivering presents on a cold Christmas Eve without the cover of his misplaced crimson cap.

“This story basically came to me in a dream in 2007, around the holidays,” Dubin said. “The next day I sat down and wrote the story out, and every year I’ve been reading it to my daughter.”

Dubin, who works full-time in the credit card industry and part-time as a singer-songwriter, said he initially had no intention of publishing the story in book form.

“I am not an author by trade,” he said.

But about a year and a half ago, he decided that his story, which is written in rhyme, would have greater resonance with his target audience of 3- to 10-year-olds if it were illustrated. He enlisted the help of Williston native Taryn Cozzy, a senior at the New Hampshire Institute of Art, whose 35 pages of illustrations were done in acrylic paints and then edited digitally.

“She just did an amazing job with the illustrations,” Dubin said. “She really brought my text to life. This is a college student’s artwork that just jumps off these pages.”

Cozzy, an illustration major at the Manchester-based NHIA, said she was surprised when Dubin asked her two summers ago to illustrate his text.

“I’d been doing things like this in classes, but I never thought I’d be doing my own illustrated book so soon,” Cozzy said.

Like Dubin, Cozzy gave high marks to her collaborator.

“It was such a great working relationship,” Cozzy said. “It was a really nice collaborative effort, and it’s really helped me too now in lectures here in school at New Hampshire Institute of Art.”

Although Dubin has read the text of his story to children for years at family gatherings, it will make its official debut in illustrated form during a book reading at Dorothy Alling Memorial Library on Dec. 5 at 6:30 p.m.

“The first time I’m physically going to be reading my actual book is on Dec. 5, with the kids that come to the reading and the signing at the library,” Dubin said.

Copies of “Santa’s Big Red Hat” are on sale for $20 at Adams Farm Market on Old Stage Road. It can also be purchased by contacting Dubin directly at [email protected]

Cell phone photos taken by Aaron Atkins of the Williston Fire Department show the destruction caused by Superstorm Sandy on the Jersey Shore. A yacht is unceremoniously docked onshore in Sea Bright, N.J. (Observer courtesy photo by Aaron Atkins)

By Luke Baynes

Observer staff

On the evening of Nov. 6, as many Vermonters were relaxing on their couches and watching the election results, Aaron Atkins and David Auriemma of the Williston Fire Department were driving south in an ambulance to assist New Jersey residents still reeling from the impacts of Superstorm Sandy.

Over the next five days, Atkins and Auriemma were dispatched to the boroughs of Atlantic Highlands, Keyport and Sea Bright to provide emergency supplies and transport displaced families to shelters. It was an “eye-opening experience,” Atkins said, particularly in the hard-hit Jersey Shore community of Sea Bright.

“There was sand in some areas still 4 feet high in parking lots and cars that were still underwater,” Atkins said. “A lot of buildings were removed off their foundations. There were a few times when you’d see a building sitting next to its foundation or on top of vehicles, or boats strewn about like play toys. One couple, they had four feet of sand in their living room.”

Williston Fire Chief Ken Morton said Williston was one of seven Vermont municipalities that deployed ambulances and emergency response teams to New Jersey on Nov. 6. He noted that within an hour of learning of the call for storm relief, eight WFD members had volunteered for the assignment.

“As the chief of the department, it speaks to how much pride I have in the staff that’s here, because they stepped right in and put their hand up and said, ‘I’ll go,’” Morton said.

Atkins said the praise should instead go to the first responders in New Jersey who worked round-the-clock to provide disaster relief in the aftermath of the storm.

“With a lot of first responders, they had been out helping their communities, so they hadn’t had time to go take care of their own families,” Atkins said. “I’m amazed that they were still running on the little sleep that they had. I’m lost for words at how they continued to work.”

Auriemma was unavailable for comment, but Morton, who received three reports per day from Auriemma and Atkins during their deployment, said that in some cases Vermont firefighters were the first emergency responders New Jersey residents had seen since the storm hit.

“These people were literally on their own. They were on an island, if you will, without any support, and that’s not to look negatively on the Red Cross and FEMA and the state of New Jersey, but they had so much to deal with and these people were the ones that fell through the cracks,” Morton said. “I think just having someone there to help and to lend support was uplifting to the people who had been stranded.”

The Blue Gardenias performed at Williston’s Old Brick Church on Friday. Proceeds from the event benefited Camp Joslin, a summer camp for boys with Type 1 diabetes. (Courtesy photos by Dave Yandell, http://davidyandell.zenfolio.com/)

 License to Entertain

By Michael S. Goldberger

Special to the Observer

“Goldberger. Mike Goldberger.” Well, that’s the way the adolescent me hears it whenever the latest 007 issues his introductory “Bond. James Bond.” It’s a great fantasy writer Ian Fleming gave us. And now, with the franchise successfully entrusted to Daniel Craig’s capable hands, director Sam Mendes’s “Skyfall” takes its place among the best Bonds.

Rousing, colorful, determined, funny and respectful of the noble pageantry that began with “Dr. No” (1962), “Skyfall” superbly synthesizes good old-fashioned, location-style cinematography with CGI technology. So when a runaway subway train almost derails our favorite secret agent’s plans to stay alive, even jaded eyes are rendered rapt.

Smartly exampled here, our 007s, like our presidents, more or less mirror the times and the people in whose service they are engaged. Thus Mr. Craig reflects a pragmatic exigency, tossed in with the most subtle vulnerability, just so that we know his heart is in the right place. He must be a boy scout, but hip…honest and brave, but a savvy realist.

Oh, but he still has to be the guy every man wants to be and every woman wants to be with, in a fanciful sense, that is. Without being sacrilegious by denying Sean Connery’s status as the inaugural, iconic Bond, it behooves to note that Mr. Craig’s rather ruddy world saver, while he looks OK enough in a tux, reinterprets the idea of dashing.

Likewise, the story in which we plop our intrepid adventurer has to represent current fears and concerns. Of course, it’s never about stopping a motorist from cutting you off or passing you on the right. Nope, the bad guy is inevitably into nothing less than world domination. And this one, computer genius/terrorist/psychopath Silva, is a real dilly.

Portrayed by Javier Bardem with flourishes of Shakespearean tragedy, he is one icky dude and an adversary worthy of the film’s hero. Coiffed in died blonde locks, a sadistic zeal projecting from his crazed eyes, he is at once cutting edge evil and, because of his Moriarty-like desire to impress his counterpart, a grand throwback to the villains of yore.

But what makes the insidious rat even worse than most blackguards who’d destroy everything to have their way is his deeply personal hatred for Judi Dench’s M. I can’t tell you why, but he has it in for Bond’s boss and everything she represents. Always a step ahead, he is the ultimate hacker, wreaking deadly destruction with but a keystroke.

It’s a good thing that all is patched together and hobbling along at Her Majesty’s Secret Service, recently forced to set up clandestine digs. At the ready there with all manner of gizmos and gadgets, reminiscent of that genius kid you knew in high school, is Ben Whishaw as the series’ new Q, a dry-witted sort barely old enough to be playing spy.

OK, OK, I see you way in the back urgently waving your hand. Ask your question so I can get on with the review.

Clears his throat, looks around and then inquires, “Uh, you haven’t said anything about the Bond girls. I mean, you said this is good, that’s great, etc., etc., blah, blah tradition, but nothing about the Bond girls. What about the Bond girls?

“Good question, young man. Remember, we’re in the 21^st Century now, and with a more serious demeanor taking hold in all things 007, it just wouldn’t do to flaunt a whole bunch of frivolous eye candy. So, with all due respect to Naomie Harris, who plays James’s fellow agent, Eve, and Bérénice Marlohe as Severine, a femme fatale impressed into Silva’s employ, no sir, you’ll find no double entendre-named Pussy Galores or Plenty O’Tooles in this film. The ladies now have the equal opportunity to wear sensible shoes.”

Alas, just as Lautrec notes that respectability has invaded the “Moulin Rouge” (1952), political correctness has come to roost in the world of derring-do. But this doesn’t preclude fomenting some Freudian/Oedipal ruminations courtesy of the critical role Dench’s M plays. Psychodrama shares center stage with treachery and two-fisted action.

And there’s a surprise. As if consolation for strict constructionists, a serendipitous harking back to classic Bond at a pivotal moment in the tale should get audiences to issue a collective “Well, alright!” It’s a grand moment, emotionally analogous to that juncture in the foreign legion films when distant bagpipes declare approaching reinforcements.

Now, if we could only get the otherwise stellar Mr. Craig, the finest Bond since Sean Connery, to wax sad with just a touch less severity, the business of saving humanity from evildoers would prove even more enthralling. That said, the decoded message here for the diehard faithful as well as those who thought 007’s number was up, is to catch “Skyfall.”

…

“Skyfall,” rated PG-13, is a Columbia Pictures release directed by Sam Mendes and stars Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem and Judi Dench. Running time: 143 minutes

Domestic assault

Kyle J. Reilly, 23, of Williston was cited on a charge of first degree aggravated domestic assault on Oct. 30 after a physical altercation with his brother, according to a police affidavit.

Multiple charges

On Oct. 30, Brian Peter Palker, 48, of Cambridge was cited on charges of driving with a suspended license-criminal, failure to provide ID to law enforcement and failure to obey an officer, according to police reports. He was cited to appear in court.

Violation of conditions of release

Steven D. Laclair, 44, of Williston was cited on a charge of violating conditions of release on Oct. 31, according to police reports. He was cited to appear in court.

Outstanding warrants

• Corey W. Nulty, 29, of St. George was arrested on outstanding warrants on Nov. 8, according to police reports. He was also cited for driving with a suspended license the same day, the report notes. No other information was released.
• Betsey A. Fisher, 26, of Williston was arrested on an outstanding warrant on Nov. 8, according to police reports. No other information was released.

Driving under the influence

• Paul F. Phaneuf, 42, of Berlin, Conn. was cited on charges of driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license on Nov. 7, according to police reports. His blood alcohol concentration was .134, according to the report. The legal limit for driving in Vermont is .08. He was lodged at Chittenden County Correctional Center on $500 bail. No other information was released.
• MaryJo Curry, 44, of Essex Junction was cited on a charge of driving under the influence on Nov. 9, according to police reports. Her blood alcohol concentration was .135, according to the report. She was cited to appear in court.

Marijuana possession

Scott A. Crandall, 37, of Georgia was cited on a charge of possession of 14 grams of marijuana on Nov. 10, according to police reports. He was cited to appear in court.

Theft

Lynn-Anne Nunn, 19, of Cabot was cited on a charge of retail theft from Wal-Mart on Nov. 12, according to police reports. No other information was released.

Driving with suspended license

• Timothy E. Wesson, 18, of Underhill was cited on a charge of driving with a suspended license on Nov. 3, according to police reports.  He was cited to appear in court.
• Timothy Lee Montani, 34, of South Hero was cited on a charge of driving with a suspended license on Nov. 3, according to police reports. He was cited to appear in court.
• Lyle W. McGee, 32, of Hinesburg was cited on a charge of driving with a suspended license on Nov. 3, according to police reports. No other information was released.
• Robert Lee Robidoux, 29, of Winooski was cited on a charge of driving with a suspended license on Nov. 5, according to police reports. He was cited to appear in court.
• Deron L. Redmond, 35, of Burlington was cited on a charge of driving with a suspended license on Nov. 7, according to police reports. He was cited to appear in court.
• Luis Baez, 38, of Essex was cited on a charge of driving with a suspended license on Nov. 10, according to police reports. He was cited to appear in court.
• Peter J. St. Marie, 28, of Troy was cited on a charge of driving with a suspended license-criminal on Nov. 10, according to police reports. He was cited to appear in court on Dec. 18.