Montpelier High School's new principal

Montpelier's new high school principal to replace retiring Principal Peter Evans is Adam Bunting of Champlain Union High School in Hinesburg.

Here's the press release from Superintendent Brian Ricca.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Dr. Brian G. Ricca
223-9796

The Montpelier Board of School Commissioners is happy to announce that Adam Bunting will be the next principal of Montpelier High School.  Adam is currently the Snelling House Director at Chittenden Valley Union High School in Hinesburg.  Adam has been at CVU since 1999 and has been an administrator there since 2003.  

Adam earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree at Connecticut College and his Master of Education degree at Harvard University.  Adam and his wife MaryBeth live in Williston, with their two children.  

Adam will be taking the place of Peter Evans who is retiring at the end of June.  

Please join me in welcoming Adam to the Montpelier Community!

Gratefully,
B. Ricca

Montpelier’s first cash mob Saturday

MONTPELIER — The first Capital City “cash mob” is scheduled for Saturday at 2:30 p.m.

Folks are asked to meet at the Statehouse with cash. According to the announcement, “a 20 dollar bill is plenty.”

Once the mob is assembled, it will make its way to a Montpelier business and spend the money.

The business to be mobbed will be disclosed to the “mob” Saturday.

When the shopping spree ends, everyone is invited to knock back a couple of beers, presumably at a Capital City watering hole

Streets, retaining walls, culverts and bridges on the project list this year

MONTPELIER — The list of public works projects on the docket this year is long.

Department of Public Works Director Todd Law said that this year is shaping up to be the busiest year for his department since becoming the director in 2006.

"We're still working off last year's flood" damages, Law said.

While 2011 was definitely busy, he said, it was because of all unplanned work that arose from flooding.

So in addition to all of the work Law would normally like to get done, he said they've also got to finish up projects, such as the Gallison Hill Road culvert destroyed last May, that weren't finished last year.

A Barre Street culvert needs to be replaced because Law said sinkholes have formed around the pipe.

It's located near the Berlin Veterinary Clinic at 403 Barre St.

When the project gets underway, it will require closing that section of Barre Street.

The repairs are estimated to cost more than $400,000 and will be paid for with money from the Federal Highway Administration.

And near Crossway Saab on Route 302, the hillside out back has been compromised and debris coming down the hill is plugging up the culvert. At least half the pipe is full of sand and rock.

Law is planning to have that repaired this summer as well.

Also on the project list this year are three street rehabilitation jobs.

Street rehabilitation is more involved than simply skinning the asphalt and repaving.

Rehabilitation involves rebuilding the foundation of the road and repairing any underlying structural problems. This type of work is typically done every 20 years or so for well-maintained roads.

On the street rehab list is Towne Hill Road from Grandview Terrace to the city line, Liberty Street between Heaton and College streets and Hubbard Park Drive.

Dover and Phillips roads are up for resurfacing this year.

With Montpelier located in a valley, retaining walls are also important to maintain.

The Hill Street and Cherry Avenue have been targeted for repairs this year, as well as slope stabilization a Lague Drive and Ridge Street.

And with two rivers running through town, bridges are a necessary part of life and need maintenance too.

Deck replacement is on the project list for the Spring Street Bridge as well as the Rialto bridge on State Street.

This is a tentative list. The City Council is expected to approve or modify it at their next meeting on April 11.

To help pay for some of this work, voters approved a $870,000 bond on Town Meeting Day in March.

The state of Vermont is responsible for repaving Main and State streets. The plan is to have them both done in 2015.

Montpelier High School in lockdown after receiving two phony threats

MONTPELIER — There wasn’t just one hoax phoned in to the Montpelier High School today, but two.

At approximately 10:45 a.m., the school was put into lockdown after someone called warning that a “potentially dangerous individual” was heading to the school with a gun, according to police.

The hallways were cleared, police setup a perimeter, swept through the school and for more than an hour no one was allowed in or out of the building.

At approximately 11:30 a.m., it appeared things were going to return to normal and a press release was issued stating that the “threat was not credible.”

And then a second call was received. This one was a bomb threat and the school then remained in lockdown until approximately 12:30 p.m.

Police determined that this too was a hoax.

Police and school officials declined to answer any questions about the incident or whether there is a suspect or suspects.

Historic East Montpelier barn burns to the ground

EAST MONTPELIER — Early Wednesday morning, an East Montpelier historic barn burned to the ground.

Here's the statement about the fire by Vermont State Police.

On 4/4/12 the East Montpelier Fire Department responded to a barn fire on Rt. 14 at approximately 1:02 AM.  The fire was reported by a tenant who lived in an apartment close to the barn.  When the fire department arrived the entire 130 ft long barn was fully involved.  East Montpelier called for mutual aid and a total of 9 more fire departments responded to the scene.  The structure could not be saved and completely collapsed.  Fire crews were on scene for more than 10 hours fighting the fire and then cleaning up.  Rt. 14 had to be closed for a period of time and was only opened to one lane for the morning.   No one was injured as a result of the fire.  The fire departments were able to contain the fire to just the barn and keep it from spreading to nearby structures.  The barn was used for storage and damage estimates are in excess of $200,000.00.

The East Montpelier Fire Department contacted the Vermont State Police and requested an origin and cause investigation be conducted.   A State Police Detective from the Fire Investigation Unit and a Fire Investigator from the Division of Fire Safety responded to the scene on 4/4/12.

The exact cause of the fire is still under investigation but the fire is not considered to be suspicious.

Read the full story in today's Times Argus.

Montbeerlier Cask Festival band announced

MONTPELIER — The Three Penny Taproom has just announced that The Primate Fiasco will be playing the 3rd annual Montbeerlier Cask Festival on May 5.

The Primate Fiasco played the first Three Penny anniversary celebration and now they're back for the whole night.

And unlike previous years, the Montbeerlier festival will not be in the Onion River Sports parking lot, but rather they're shutting down Langdon Street for this one.

Also, for folks coming from out of town, the 1824 House in Waitsfeild has put together a package deal. For $150, parties of two get accommodations, round trip private bus transportation to Montbeerlier, and breakfast the day after.

Montpelier This Week: Library hiring, district energy, poetry and owls

Here’s what’s happening this week in Montpelier:

The Montpelier High School is looking for a new principal to replace retiring Principal Peter Evans.

The hiring committee has whittled the search down to two candidates: Adam Bunting of Champlain Valley Union High School in Hinesburg and Spaulding High School Assistant Principal Chris Hennessy.

On Wednesday, both applicants are expected to attend the School Board meeting to make brief presentations.

The School Board members and the public will have a chance to ask Bunting and Hennessy questions.

The Kellogg-Hubbard Library is also hiring. The library is looking for a library director. 

Applicants should be “innovative, energetic and dynamic” and willing to work for a salary range between $55,000 and $60,000 a year.

Minimum qualifications are a Master of Library Science or a Master of Library Information Science and at least two years of library administration experience. Candidates should also have demonstrated financial management skills, excellent public speaking skills and broad-based technical knowledge.

The deadline to apply for this position is Friday.

Downtown building owners have until Friday to commit to district energy.

City Manager William Fraser and Planning and Community Development Director Gwendolyn Hallsmith would like anyone interested in connecting to the district energy system to heat their building to submit a letter of intent by the end of the week.

Fraser said that they will certainly accept letters after Friday, but he wants to get a good sense of who’s planning to plug in before the City Council’s April 11 meeting.

On Thursday, the Vermont Humanties Council is planning to resume its “You Come Too” poetry series with a discussion of poetry by E.E. Cummings.

The Cummings poems to be discussed include “in Just,” “anyone lived in a pretty how town,” “Buffalo Bill’s,” “somewhere I have never traveled, gladly beyond,” “i thank you God for most this amazing,” and “spring is like a perhaps hand.” 

This event is to be held at the Vermont Humanities Council building located at 11 Loomis St. and begin at 5:30 p.m. It’s free and open to the public.

On Friday night at the North Branch Nature Center there’s a full moon owl prowl scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Chip Darmstadt, the nature center’s executive director, said, “Few things in nature are as exciting as seeing an owl.” 

April, he said, is a great time for night time ramble to hopefully hear or see any of the three local owl species.

There’s the tiny migratory Northern Saw-whet Owl, and the Great-horned and Barred Owls, which Darmstadt said already are nesting in Vermont.

http://timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120402/NEWS01/704029972/1003/NEWS01

No Art Walk this month

In case you're wondering, there's no Art Walk this month in Montpelier while the program switches to new organizers. It should be back in May.

The next MHS principal search is down to two finalists

MONTPELIER — Here's an email Superintendent Brian Ricca sent out this afternoon about the two finalists in the school district's search to find a new principal at Montpelier High School.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

Thanks to the excellent work by the MHS Principal Search Committee, we have identified two finalists for the MHS Principal Position.  

Adam Bunting is currently the Snelling House Director at Champlain Valley Union High School in Hinesburg.  Adam has been at CVU since 2003, serving as House Director and Core Program Director, while a part of the CVU Leadership Team.  While at CVU, he has experience with faculty professional development, CVU's Curriculum Clearinghouse, and was the Director of the Climate Committee.  Prior to his Administrative work at CVU, Adam taught English there.  

Chris Hennessey is currently the Assistant Principal at Spaulding High School in Barre.  Chris has been at Spaulding since 2006 where his primary responsibilities are around student discipline, overall climate and day-to-day operations.  He has conducted supervision and evaluation of teachers and staff, has assisted the principal on building the budget as well as planning and implementing faculty professional development.  Prior to his time at Spaulding, Chris worked at Harwood Union High School, The Pine Ridge School in Williston, Capital High School (Santa Fe, NM), and Dearborn Academy (Arlington, MA).  

Both Adam and Chris will be making a brief presentation at the School Board Meeting on Wednesday, April 4, followed by questions from the Board and an opportunity for questions from the public.  The Montpelier Community is encouraged to come to the Board Meeting to hear from the candidates and ask a question of them.  

My sincere thanks to Steve Robinson, Carol Paquette, Theresa Murray-Claussen, Laura Furber, Toni Ceckler, Sue Monmaney, Jean Stetter, Val Belanger, Lydia Herrick, Alex Clark, Pam Arnold, and Patty Gaston for their time and energy spent on the Search Committee.  Their mission-driven and thoughtful work has brought two very talented educational leaders forward for the Board's consideration.  

Gratefully,

B. Ricca

 

Montbeerlier Festival 2012

MONTPELIER — The Three Penny Taproom has just announced the third annual cask and anniversary celebration — Montbeerlier Festival.

Rather than jamming everyone into the Onion River Sports parking lot, this year, the Three Penny crew is taking over Langdon Street for a block party type of event.

The Montbeerlier Festival is scheduled to start at 3 p.m on Saturday May 5, with live music kicking off around 6:30 p.m.