You’ve heard him on the radio, seen him on TV. … Fitts is the owner of Butterfly Bakery ... —Bob for The Home Team ... so that the rest of the house stays cool. The

Tell themyou

saw it in

TheBridge!

PAGE 16 • MARCH 4, 2010 THE BRIDGE

Support Our Community

BUY LOCAL!

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Open seven days a week

City Center Building • 89 Main Street • www.skinnypancake.com

Green Drinks MontpelierJoin us Tuesday March 9th from 6–8pm for Green Drinks!

The Scoop:Green Drinks is a social-networking event set on the secondTuesday of every monthat the Skinny Pancake,Montpelier.

The Deal: First round of drinks provided at no cost to you! With thanks to March sponsor Vermont Clean Energy and sustainingsupport from Seven Days.

Cabbage

Cabbage is one of those foods with aless-than-stellar reputation. At leastspinach has Popeye as its advocate,

but cabbage is alone in the vegetable drawerin its stinkiness. One of my earliest memo-ries of the public opinion of cabbage wassomething I heard on the local news. Ayoung man called the police because therewas a horrible smell coming from his elderlyneighbor's house. He was concerned thatshe had passed away without notice. As itturns out, the smell was just her dinner ofcabbage soup simmering on the stove.

I say all this to simply preface the fact thatI absolutely love cabbage in its flavor, its ver-satility, and its wintertime abundance. Irarely eat it the way my mom used to feed itto me (raw, with mustard, as an after schoolsnack), but cabbage is a must in soup thesedays—and so far as I know, no one has as-sumed me dead because of it. Cabbage addsa rich heartiness to a soup that satisfies with-out making you feel like you're adding toyour “winter weight.”

The other day, I made a roasted cabbage,sausage, and potato soup that I relished fordays (boil the potato in broth, roast the cab-bage (see recipe), cook the sausage in a sep-arate pan, and toss them all together forsupreme yumminess). Cabbage is also greatfor stir fries or kimchee, but I recently dis-covered all the joys of roasted cabbage. Afterroasting the cabbage, just toss it in your fa-vorite sauce. You can use it in salad dress-ings, stir fry sauces, hot sauce, or just soy

sauce. My favorite is the maple mustarddressing recipe below. Enjoy!

Claire Fitts is the owner of Butterfly Bakeryof Vermont as well as a regular vendorand board member of the Capital CityFarmers Market. www.ButterflyBakeryVT.com.

Our Foodby Claire Fitts

Roast Cabbage

1 medium cabbage2 tbs olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F.2. Chop the cabbage into bite-sized

pieces. Toss the cabbage in a largebowl with the olive oil. Spread thecabbage mixture thinly onto one ortwo baking sheets and bake at 400° F for 30 minutes, or until thetips of the cabbage start to brown.

3. Toss the cabbage in a large bowlwith your favorite dressing andserve hot or cold

Maple Mustard Dressing

2 tbs Dijon or old-fashioned mustard2 tbs maple syrup1 tbs tamari2 tbs balsamic vinegar

Whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl and toss over roasted cabbage.

Eat Your Landscape!March 11, 6–8:30 p.m.

Montpelier High School, MontpelierSuggested donation: $5 per person or food for the Vermont Food Bank

Sponsored by Orange/Washington Counties Master Gardeners, chapter of the UVM Extension Master Gardeners

You’ve heard him on the radio, seen him on TV. Now see him in person! Vermont’s own

Senior Horticulturist for the National Gardening Association

Why not give your business a jump-start? To advertise in The Bridge,

call us at 223-5112 and speak with one of our sales representatives.

It Pays to Advertisein The Bridge

THE BRIDGE MARCH 4, 2010 • PAGE 17

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This column is produced by Efficiency Ver-mont, a nonprofit organization that pro-vides energy-efficiency information and ser-vices and is funded by a surcharge on utilitybills. The three members of the Home Team,Kathleen Brown, Bob Murphy, and Li Ling,are staffers at Efficiency Vermont. For moreinformation or to submit a question, go towww.efficiencyvermont.com/askthehometeam or call, toll-free, 888-921-5990.

I just bought my first house and it has agood, efficient boiler. I grew up in ahouse with a furnace, and the advice myparents give me about furnace mainte-nance is different from what I'm hearingabout boilers. The truth is, I don't knowif their way is right for either a furnaceor boiler. Can you tell me what shouldbe done to keep both a furnace and aboiler in good, efficient working order?

Congratulations on your house purchase!The best idea is to follow manufacturers' in-structions for boiler and furnace mainte-nance. Each piece of equipment is different,but it's usually recommended to have oil-fired equipment (both boilers and furnaces)serviced by a professional technician onceper heating season. For gas appliances, therecommendation is once every two heatingseasons.

As for owners' maintenance tasks: For afurnace, inspect air filters at least everymonth during heating season. Change themwhen you see blockage or major discol-oration, which happens more frequently inhouses with a lot of dust and/or sheddingpets. Dust and pet hair also build up inforced-air ductwork, so have these checkedperiodically and cleaned as needed. Whetheryou have a furnace or boiler, you can in-crease its effectiveness and efficiency bymaking sure that you're not blocking theflow of heat into rooms. Keep ducts, air re-turns, radiators, registers, and baseboardsclear of dust and any obstructions likedrapes, furniture, and rags. Thanks for a greatquestion.

—Bob for The Home Team

I've seen TV ads for portable electricspace heaters that lower your heatingbills because they use an infrared quartzlamp. It sounds too good to be true. Canyou tell me the facts?

Glad to. A portable heater of any kind can

conserve energy under certain conditions,but it doesn't necessarily lower your energybills. You see, a portable heater can save central-heating fuel (for your furnace orboiler) when you use the portable heateronly in the room you occupy and you keepyour central-heating system thermostat lowso that the rest of the house stays cool. Thecost of staying warm with a portable electricheater can be as much or more than the sav-ings from keeping the majority of your housecool. This is because electricity is typicallymore expensive than fossil fuels (gas, oil,propane). Also, keep in mind that heatingyour entire home does more than keep youcomfortable; it helps prevent frozen pipes.

How do infrared quartz lamp heaters com-pare to other portable electric space heaters?Well, all electric heaters deliver the sameamount of heat per dollar spent. What makesinfrared quartz lamp heaters different fromsome (but not all) heaters is the way they de-liver heat. These heaters give off radiant heat.This means that they warm objects ratherthan air. When you're within range of a radi-ant heater, you feel warm. Conversely, a con-vection heater (such as a furnace or boilersystem or a non-radiant portable heater)warms the air, which means you don't needto stay near the heater to be warm.

If you're finding the need for supplementalheat, your house may have larger efficiencyissues. It may be more cost-effective to pay tofix the causes of those issues once ratherthan to pay every winter to overcome thesymptom (a cold house). A Home Perfor-mance with Energy Star? contractor is spe-cially trained and certified to do a whole-house assessment, find the causes of coldrooms, and make recommendations aboutimprovements that will make the housewarmer and will lower your heating costs foryears to come. You can find a Vermont con-tractor and learn about financing options andfinancial incentives at www.efficiencyvermont.com/homeperformance.

—Li Ling for The Home Team

Have a question about saving energy?Want to read more tips from the HomeTeam's Li Ling, Bob, and Kathleen? Visitwww.efficiencyvermont.com/askthehome-team or call, toll-free, 888-921-5990 tospeak with a customer service representa-tive.

It’s time to make that call

and place your adin The Bridge.

(What are you waiting for?)

Call 223-5112,ext 11 or 12,

and get results!

Hello???Is this

The Bridge?

PAGE 18 • MARCH 4, 2010 THE BRIDGE

Wouldn’t

YOUR AD look good

HERE?Advertise! 223-5112

Business and Real EstateCommunity College of Vermont to

Expand Innovative Job Training CourseMax GavinOpens TaxPreparation

Business

Here’s a new business start-up at43 State Street in Montpelier. Cer-

tified Public Accountant Max Gavinwho was formerly with the Barre ac-counting firm of Salvatore & Babi justopened the Vermont Professional Taxand Financial Services on February 1,2010.

Gavin is a licensed attorney whocame to Vermont to attend VermontLaw School in 1992. He was formerlya hearing officer with the VermontPublic Service Board. He can bereached by phone at (802) 839-6020and he said cheerfully that his hoursare 8 a.m. until 8 p.m.

At a February 17 press conference at theMontpelier office of the CommunityCollege of Vermont, Congressman

Peter Welch announced a new $150,000 fed-eral grant that will make it possible for CCV toexpand an innovative jobs training programinto a second year.

The CCV Career Readiness Program wasstarted as a pilot project in the spring of2009 with the purpose of providing essentialjob skills to Vermonters who are employedbut want to enhance their skills, or who areunemployed or underemployed.

According to CCV Interim President JoyceJudy, the Career Readiness Program was de-veloped after a series of forums with Ver-mont employers. In these forums, employerstold CCV officials that they were having ahard time filling entry-level positions.Prospective employees, Judy said, “…werelacking consistent skills.”

Some of the needed skills were so-calledhard skills in reading, writing, mathematics,locating information, and using computers.Other needed skills were so-called soft skills,she said, such as working on a team or deal-ing with conflict.

With the help of a Vermont Departmentof Labor grant and some federal money aswell, CCV began running their first careerreadiness courses last spring. During 2009,CCV offered 12 different classes across thestate in such locations as Bennington, Brat-tleboro, the Upper Valley, and Morrisville.All told, 178 participants started the freeskill-building program (10 weeks, two meet-ings a week) and statewide, 138 participantscompleted the course.

One successful career readiness partici-pant who spoke briefly at the February 17press conference with Congressman Welchwas Everette Fleury, who has worked forGreen Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR) inWaterbury for nine years.

In his time with GMCR, Fleury has workedhis way up the company ladder in produc-tion, distribution, and quality control. Now,

he trains fellow GMCR workers in how tooperate special machinery.

“I’m from Waterbury, Vermont,” Fleurytold The Bridge. “I have my GED. I went tohigh school and didn’t get a lot out of it. Ittook some life experience and then the ex-perience of this [career readiness] class toget me ready to continue to work hard tomake myself better.”

Fleury said the Career Readiness Programhas helped him improve his computer skills,read for information, and improve his mathand public speaking abilities.

Fleury credits a lot of his learning sincehigh school to what he’s learned on the jobat GMRC, and Fleury has a pretty good ideawhy some young Vermonters may be reluc-tant to enroll in a job training course.

“They don’t want to pursue education be-cause it may be too difficult,” Fleury said.And he added, “They just want to put it inthe closet and leave it there. ‘I’m done withschool.’ I hear that a lot,” he said.

Successful participants in the CCV train-ing course can qualify for a CCV CareerReadiness Certificate.

During 2010, CCV is tentatively planningto offer free career readiness courses opento 15 participants in each 10-week class atthe following locations: Burlington, St. Al-bans, Middlebury, Morrisville, St. Johnsbury,Montpelier, Upper Valley, Brattleboro, Ben-nington, and Rutland. For further informa-tion, contact your local Vermont Depart-ment of Labor office or visit www.ccv.edu/careereadyvt.

Pictured (left to right) Everette Fleury, a production trainer at Green Mountain CoffeeRoasters in Waterbury along with Vermont Congressman Peter Welch at a February 17press conference at CCV to announce a $150,000 federal grant in support of the CareerReadiness Program.

RECYCLE

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PAPER

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THE BRIDGE MARCH 4, 2010 • PAGE 19

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HOUSE PAINTER. 20 years experience. Small in-terior jobs ideal. Drywall finishing. Neat, prompt.Local references. Pitz Quattrone, 229-4952.

PAGE 20 • MARCH 4, 2010 THE BRIDGE

Classifieds

WEB SITE DESIGNJennifer Boyer specializes in

simple, affordable web sites forsmall businesses. Free first meeting.www.jboyerdesign.com • 223-8926

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ext 11 or 12

NOTICE OF KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION & SCREENINGUNION ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

1 PARK AVENUEMONTPELIER, VERMONT

Union Elementary School is currently scheduling appointments forkindergarten registration and screening for children in the Mont-pelier School District born on or before September 1, 2005. Toschedule an appointment, please call Julie Bevins at 225-8205 byMarch 19, 2010.

Real Self-Improvement and Motivation© WorkshopsBeginning March 8th in Downtown Montpelier

1) real-self-improvement-and-motivation.com

2) Click on the Making Contact link on the right side of the page.

3) Enter first name & email address; type “local workshops” in the text box.

4) If it’s by March 31st, also enter “motivational pricing” into the text box!

5) Expect an email with information 6) or call 223-6772

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It’s time to make thatcall and place your ad

in The Bridge.(What are you waiting for?)

Call 223-5112,ext 11 or 12, and get results!

Hello???Is this The

Bridge?

recycle

Until March 31 at The Governor’s OfficePavilion Office Building, 109 State Street, Montpelier

8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Photographer Annie Tiberio Cameronwill be showing six of her images as part of a group show entitled

Common Passion: Images from the Center for Photographic Studies (Board Members)

THE BRIDGE MARCH 4, 2010 • PAGE 21

EDITORIAL EDITORIAL

LETTERS LETTERS

Allen Lumber Takes the Lead

We salute Allen Lumber Company for their recent and tangible support for the strugglingVermont dairy farming community. At a March 1 press conference, Allen Lumber Com-

pany (the company has stores in Montpelier, Barre, St. Johnsbury, and Waitsfield) announcedits support for a Keep Local Farms initiative of the Vermont Department of Agriculture, astate-run program that is building up a fund to put money into the hands of hard-pressed Ver-mont dairy farmers.

Up until now, most of the dollar support for the Keep Local Farms program has come fromnonretail sources such as college and hospital cafeterias that have agreed to add a 10-centsurcharge to the cost of a pint, or serving, of milk at the cash register. Now, Allen LumberCompany will be asking its customers at the checkout counter if they would like to con-tribute a dollar or two to assist Vermont dairy farmers.

Last year was a very tough year for the Vermont dairy community according to Diane Both-feld, Vermont Deputy Agriculture Secretary. In 2009, Bothfeld said, the production cost fora gallon of milk was $1.70. But the price paid to Vermont dairy farmers for that same gallonwas 99 cents. That’s a big gap. “We lost 53 (dairy) farms last year,” Bothfeld said. “The farmsthat are left really want to farm,” she added. But the dramatic, often alarming, milk priceswings “… are pushing dairy farmers to the brink.”

Burnie Allen, one of the owners of Allen Lumber Company, explained the Allen family’sdecision to participate in the Keep Local Farms program: “This is not just a good thing forfarmers. This is a good thing for Allen Lumber.”

The aim of the Keep Local Farm program is to help farmers stabilize their income so theywon’t have to sell out, so we won’t lose working farms and so those farms can be passedalong to the next generation.

What if we do nothing? That question is answered by an agricultural department press ad-visory, that states: “With the current price downturn, we are in a crisis situation where wemay lose the ability to maintain a viable dairy industry in New England.”

Critical House Committee to ConsiderNew Bike & Ped Safety Legislation

Here at The Bridge, we support efforts by the Vermont Bicycle & Pedestrian Coalition andother friends of roadway safety to convince the Vermont Legislature to pass H.540—a

bill we think will add greatly to the general safety of anyone traveling on Vermont roads.Here’s a critical date: On Thursday afternoon, March 11, the House Transportation Com-

mittee will be taking testimony on H.540 and, according to the Vermont Bicycle & PedestrianCoalition, this is now an excellent time for people who support H.540 to contact their leg-islators. Bicycle safety on Vermont roads is the particular thrust of H.540. But there are otherusers of Vermont roads whose safety is important and H.540 adds protection to these so-called vulnerable users.

Who are these vulnerable users? Anyone on foot, anyone who is operating a wheelchair, any-one on roller skates, rollerblades, or roller skis. Any highway worker. Any person riding or herd-ing an animal or animals, or operating a farm tractor or other implement of husbandry.

H.540 specifies how motorists, bicyclists, and other users should behave on our roads, andhow they should signal their intentions if they want to turn or slow down. The proposed billalso sets forth certain standards that will require bicyclists to be equipped with a lamp onthe front of their bike and a red reflector on the back.

This is a common-sense bill that, if passed, will add to the safety of bicyclists— indeed ofeveryone—who use Vermont roads.

For further information, we suggest that you contact the Vermont Bicycle & PedestrianCoalition by phone at (802) 224-8904 or online at [email protected].

Deborah Lisi-Baker, a Waterbury resident and president of the Vermont Coalition for Disabil-ity Rights, wrote a letter to The Bridge expressing her dismay that the Attendant Services

Program (ASP) is on the list of programs that the Vermont legislature has been asked to cut.We share her concern. The ASP is a Vermont Division of Disability and Aging Services Pro-

gram that supports independent living for adults with disabilities who need physical assistancewith daily activities. The ASP administrates a personal-care program that allows these individu-als to choose, train, and supervise their own personal-care attendants. This, in turn, allows adultswith disabilities to receive job training and go to work, parent their children, and participate incivic and community events without having to leave their families and children and live in nurs-ing homes. The latter, of course, would cost the state and taxpayers significantly more than isnow spent to hire personal-care workers who participate in the ASP.

In her letter, Lisi-Baker tells the story of why Waterbury resident Chrys Jones was inspiredto advocate for the ASP. “[Jones] heard the story of a California woman’s suicide after shewas told her personal-care funds would not continue after she became employed. She wasnot earning enough to pay for her personal care and other expenses, and life without theopportunity to work seemed meaningless to her.

One of the ways the ASP intends to achieve the cuts is by making the eligibility criteria morestringent. “I know this program,” Lisi-Baker writes. “Yes, here are a few really affluent Vermon-ters with disabilities using the ASP program, and they should pay for these services on theirown. But it would be a mistake to withdraw these services from working Vermonters who havesignificant disabilities. They don’t make enough money to pay for personal care on top of alltheir other out-of-pocket expenses.”

As Lisi-Baker pointed out, 30 years ago people with disabilities, families, medical profession-als, and taxpayers fought for the ASP and made dignity, independence, and working for a livingpossible for hundreds of Vermonters living with disabilities. One of the early advocates told theVermont legislature, “Funding for the program is not just a nice thing to do. It's a necessity.” Lisi-Baker says that three weeks ago, a woman who now relies on the ASP told her, “Having some-one help me wipe my butt is not a luxury.” Indeed.

Attendant Services Program Worth Saving

Support Health-Care Reform

To the Editor:Our health-care crisis is one of the under-

lying causes of job loss and our horrificeconomy.

We need to move forward on this issuesince it is clear, at this point, that it will nothappen at the federal level.

A health-care reform measure for Vermontmust be based on the principles of humanrights. That means it must include all our cit-izens, remove barriers to care, be transpar-ent and efficient in operation, and make surethat costs are fairly shared.

Please contact your legislators and letthem know you support a health-care re-form bill that not only includes all of us butis equitable and just.

Denise Connally, Berlin

Haiti and Population Growth

To the Editor:Haitian’s suffering is both heartrending

and deeply troubling, given that much of itwas preventable.

While reported causes for Haiti’s broken-ness are numerous—corrupt government,natural disasters, severe deforestation, agri-cultural breakdown, international exploita-tion, and poverty—overpopulation, theproverbial elephant in the room, remainspredictably unreported.

Port au Prince, with an infrastructure builtto accommodate 50,000 people, is com-pletely dysfunctional with two million peo-ple. The United Nations Population Fund re-ports Haiti’s population at nine million withan expected rise to 12 million in a mere 15years.

More importantly, women are denied re-productive health services. Consequently,they are burdened and possibly traumatizedwith unwanted pregnancies. One millionchildren live in orphanages.

Their infant mortality rate is 57 per 1,000;extremely high, even compared to otherCaribbean countries. For instance, the Dom-incan Republic’s is 32; Jamaica’s is 26, andCuba’s 4.7.

Only 26 percent of Haitian’s births occurwith skilled attendants, while 96 to 100 per-cent of births in all other Caribbean coun-tries are assisted. For every 100,000 livebirths, 670 women die from pregnancy-related factors. As a comparison, for every100,000 births in the United States, 11 moth-ers die.

Fertility rate in Haiti is 4.0; the DominicanRepublic’s is 2.8; and Cuba’s 1.6. Seventy-two percent of Cuban women practice mod-ern contraceptive methods, 60 percent ofDominican women, and a mere 25 percentof Haitian women. And, half of Haiti’s pop-ulation is under 18 years old. Without repro-ductive health services there is little chancefor a better life for Haitian women.

Furthermore, reproductive health servicesare inexplicably tied to Haiti’s economic re-covery. No overpopulated third world coun-try prospers without addressing its fertilityrate and the education of girls. High fertilityand poverty are not just coincidental.

Marianne Ward, Burlington

Editor's note: Marianne Ward attended lastyear’s Global Population Speakout event inMontpelier sponsored by The Bridge and is amember of Vermonters for a SustainablePopulation. Population data are based in-formation from the Population ReferenceBureau.

Send us your letters!

E-mail [email protected]

(300 words or less, please. Our deadline is Monday.)

Give the gift of The Bridge!Do you have an out-of-town friend or relative who enjoys keeping up withevents in central Vermont? Perhaps someone who used to live here, and hasmoved away?

Why not give a subscription to The Bridge? It's a gift they will enjoy for the en-tire year, and the proceeds help support this community enterprise.

For only $50, we will mail a full year's worth of great news and stories to any-where in the United States. Just fill in the recipient's name and address below, andsend this form and a check to The Bridge, P.O. Box 1143, Montpelier VT 05601.

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PAGE 22 • MARCH 4, 2010 THE BRIDGE

Moving to Montpelier

Opinion

The Christian Messageand Environmental Chaos

by Paul Gambill

Do you have work up there? Oh, well,do you have family up there?

I’ve been asked those two questions by al-most everyone I told that I was moving toMontpelier. And when my answer to bothwas no, the inevitable next question was,“Why Montpelier?"

For everyone living in this area, that is prob-ably an easy answer. For the friends and col-leagues of 20 years that my family and I left inNashville, Tennessee, it was not so obvious.

My upcoming debut as the new music di-rector of the Montpelier Chamber Orchestra(MCO) is a personal milestone that marksthe planting of my musical roots in Vermont.And the program I’ve chosen for these con-certs is an affirmation that the artistic op-portunities here in Montpelier are every bitas varied as those I had grown accustomedto in Music City, USA.

Since 1991, when my wife, Joy Worland,and I began our annual visits to her parentsin St. Albans, we have been inspired by therich diversity of musical and artistic offeringsin Vermont. That made the notion of shiftingmy professional artistic base from Tennesseeto Vermont an easy proposition.

We developed a commitment to Montpe-lier over many years of visits as we touredthe state on vacation with our camping gearand golden retrievers in the back of the Jeep.After realizing that our favorite Horn of theMoon cookbook came from Montpelier, wescheduled a trip one year to visit that vener-able restaurant. That was the beginning ofour love affair with this smallest of all capi-tals and McDonald's-free zone.

The turning point in our journey to Mont-pelier came in 2005, when I met with CathyMetz and Ellen Drysdale on the porch of theMontpelier Inn to discuss the MCO’s re-cently advertised position for music direc-tor. After talking with Cathy and Ellen, it wasapparent that my Nashville schedule wouldnot allow me to be considered for their po-sition at that time. However, our meeting ledto my return to Montpelier to facilitate aplanning retreat for the MCO. That experi-ence was the beginning of my personal con-nections to Montpelier.

When a guest conducting position opened

up with the MCO in the fall of 2008, Ijumped at the invitation to be in Montpelierfor a two-week period of rehearsals and con-certs. Joy joined me for one of those weeksand even performed in the MCO’s concertthat I conducted. Complete with handingout Halloween treats from the porch of theMetz/Dworkin home on Liberty Street, ourstay in Montpelier created the personal mo-mentum we needed to make the decision tomove. Nine months later we arrived in Mont-pelier with our sons, Nicholas and Benjamin,and Sebastian, our golden retriever.

Now, seven months into our new life inMontpelier, we continue to receive regularaffirmations that we made the right decision.Joy recently began her position as librarianat the Joslin Memorial Library in Waitsfield, aposition that she loves more every day. Oursons have easily made new friends, loveUnion Elementary, mountain biking, skiing,and romping with Sebastian in the snow. Butthe fundamental reason we are so contentwith our move to Montpelier is more intan-gible, and I feel that the upcoming MCO con-cert is symbolic of why we are so energizedby our new life here.

As I began to select the music for my firstconcert as music director of the MCO, Iwanted to highlight the diversity of Montpe-lier’s music community. Mixing classical andnonclassical styles is a love of mine, and I amcommitted to using the orchestra as a tool tobring different elements of the communitytogether. My first choice was to feature flute

soloist Karen Kevra, one of Montpelier’sclassical music icons. I was delighted to dis-cover that she, too, is a musical chameleon,with the ability to play penny whistle in apiece I wanted to program that included aCeltic band. Karen referred me to guitaristColin McCaffrey, and fiddler Patrick Ross,both from Montpelier. My friend and recentNashville-to-Williston transplant Peter Cair-ney, rounded out the Celtic band onbodhran (hand drum). The program fell intoplace with traditional classical (Bizet, Men-delssohn, Reinecke) and folk music (Celticband with orchestra), for what I think willpresent Montpelier with a fresh and enter-taining snapshot of its musical community.

The ease with which that eclectic mixcame together speaks to the core reason thatwe love Montpelier and the greater Vermontcommunity. People of all walks of life, withdiverse backgrounds and passions, havemade this beautiful place their home. Mostimportantly, there is a shared commitmentto celebrating and exploring that diversity.

Living in Montpelier has instilled within usa renewed commitment to building a com-munity of friends and colleagues that chal-lenge us to learn new things about ourselvesand the world around us. Using music to cre-ate opportunities for those discoveries hasbeen a long-held passion of mine. I’m look-ing forward to exploring the paths to dis-covery that our new life in Montpelier andmy role as music director of the MontpelierChamber Orchestra will present.

Here is a church event—indeed a half-day retreat—at St. Jacob of Alaska(Eastern Orthodox Christian

Church) in nearby Northfield Falls on Satur-day, March 6.

The chief speaker at the retreat will bewriter and scholar Elizabeth Theokritoff,whose first talk will begin at 11:30 a.m. andwhose second talk will begin at 2 p.m. Theretreat will end with dinner at 6:30 p.m.

In her two talks, Theokritoff will seek tofind new ways to express Christianity in aworld that is facing massive environmentaldestruction. Her subject is as large as the en-vironmental crisis it will address: “TheWhole Earth Is Sanctified: Reclaiming theChristian Vision of Creation."

In a phone call with The Bridge, FatherCaleb Abetti of St. Jacob of Alaska cited thisevidence of environmental degradation: thedecline of marine fisheries, urban smog, and

global warming. Father Abetti said that peo-ple were reacting to environmental destruc-tion with a sense of personal shame andgloom. “We feel collectively ashamed at howthe world looks and feels right now. A lot ofmy friends are choosing not to have chil-dren,” he said. At the same time, “many peo-ple are seeking the divine in nature,” headded.

Father Abetti said that the Eastern Ortho-dox Christian Church does not subscribe tothe belief that everything in this world isfleeting, and because it’s fleeting, environ-mental destruction does not matter. “If howwe treat the world is how we treat God, itdoes matter,” he said.

For further information about the March 6“Whole Earth” half-day retreat at St. Jacob ofAlaska in Northfield Falls, please call FatherAbetti at 802-485-9121 or go online towww.stjacobofalaska.org.

Joy Worland and Paul Gambill on the summit of Camel's Hump in 2005. Photo courtesyof P. Gambill.

Montpelier Chamber OrchestraInaugural Concert: Paul Gambill, Conductor

On the program for March 20 at 8 p.m. and March 21 at 4 p.m .at Vermont College of Fine Arts College Chapel Hall:

Mendelssohn: Sinfonia no. 10Reinecke: Flute Concerto (Karen Kevra, flute)Mock: The Stone for Celtic band and strings (Patrick Ross, violin;

Karen Kevra, whistle; Colin McCaffrey, guitar)Bizet: Symphony no. 1 in C major

Two Upcoming Benefit Events for Haiti

Haiti Benefit DanceFriday, March 5, 7 to 11 p.m., Montpelier City HallCentral Vermont Friends of Haiti are presenting three bands for a Haiti Benefit Danceat Montpelier City Hall. Bossman is a power-trio reggae band. The Dave Keller Bankwill combine funky, soulful, original blues. And the six-piece Great Brook Blues Bandwill offer a mix of blues, funk and jazz. The suggested donation is $10/person with allproceeds to go to the Haitian nonprofit Fonkoze, a microlending and economic assis-tance organization with this online address: www.fonkoze.org This benefit is spon-sored by Central Vermont Friends of Haiti.

“To Haiti with Love” Benefit ConcertSunday, March 7, 3 p.m., St Augustine’s Catholic Church, MontpelierTo Haiti with Love is a memorial concert that pays tribute in music and words to whatconcert conductor Catherine Orr calls, “the irrepressible Haitian people.” The concertincludes Faure’s Requiem for chorus, soloists, and orchestra and solos by Celina Mooreand Arthur Zorn. Catherine Orr writes: “I am so sad to think of the mass burial of thou-sands of people, who didn’t have the honor of a decent burial. So we will sing and playthis beautiful music for them, and hopefully raise lots of money for those still livingand suffering.” Free will offering for Haitian relief.

THE BRIDGE MARCH 4, 2010 • PAGE 23

Opinion

by Nat Frothingham

Afew days in advance of our press deadline, I asked my friend Robert Nuner for helpin assembling the broadest possible (though, we realize, still incomplete) list ofevents and projects going forward from central Vermont to benefit the Haitian peo-

ple. Although not exhaustive, this list in an emblematic spirit represents the goodwill andsolidarity between people in this part of Vermont and the people of Haiti.

• Central Vermont Friends of Haiti is organizing a Friday, March 5 Haiti BenefitDance at Montpelier City Hall, 7 to 11 p.m., featuring the donated services of threebands to benefit the well-known Haitian microlending organization, Fonkoze.

• Catherine Orr will be conducting a To Haiti with Love benefit concert at St. Augustine’s Catholic Church on Sunday, March 7 at 3 p.m.

• Breathing Light Studio (a health and well-being studio in Montpelier) took oneweek’s worth of fees and raised $1,340. Breathing Light contributed these funds forHaiti relief efforts to Doctors Without Borders, the American Red Cross, and the UNFood Program.

• Plainfield resident Alexis Smith and others organized a February 13 Heart Beat forHaiti event at the Capital City Grange in Montpelier. That event included films aboutHaiti by filmmaker Robin Lloyd and others; drumming and dancing with Jeh Kulu,Burlington Taiko, Guayoyo and Sambatucada; a Haitian Dance Workshop with CarlaKevorkian; a number of informative speakers; and a Haitian Art Exhibit and Sale.Some $2,000 was raised to benefit Amurtel (Joni Zweig), the Vermont Haiti Project(Vermont Federation of Nurses & Health Professionals), Emergency Haiti Relief (JoanCarter), Partners in Health Haiti Relief Project, the Yonso Project (Andrea Stefani at454-8610) and Irena Markova’s Project.

• The Green Mountain Mahler Festival Orchestra and Chorus, together with vol-unteer community musicians and Bread and Puppet Theater, put on a concert atSt. Michael’s Chapel on January 23 that raised more than $10,000 to benefit CatholicRelief Services and Partners in Health.

• Kate Sprout, along with Meg and others at the Langdon Street Café, raised $1,500to benefit local midwife Katherine Bramhall CPM of Gentle Landing Midwiferyin Montpelier. The February 19 benefit concert included musicians Miriam Bernardo,the Friday Night Happy Hour Band, Mark LeGrand and the Lovesick Band, and theGordon Stone Band. Katherine Bramhall is working in Haiti at the moment to open amother and child clinic in Jacmel, Haiti.

• Warren (Vermont) resident Joni Zweig (583-2204) worked with others to put on aGrace for Haiti benefit at the Big Picture in Waitsfield with Grace Potter and the

Eames Brothers Band. This raised some $10,000 to benefit Amurtel (www.amurtel.org) a grassroots Haiti organization that operates emergency mobile clinics and clin-ics in Port Au Prince. Amurtel also offers help to families and children in refugeecamps and is working to establish sustainable eco-communities in Haiti that will as-sist children and elders.

• Nora McDonough, an art teacher in the Mad River Valley, organized an art sale andsilent auction of artwork by local professional and student artists. This work was ondisplay through the end of February at the Big Picture in Waitsfield. To date, about$1,000 has been raised to benefit Amurtel.

• As part on an ongoing project, Dartmouth–Hitchcock Medical Center continuesto send medical teams to Haiti every two weeks.

Photos courtesy of Robert Belenky.

Helping Haiti

PAGE 24 • MARCH 4, 2010 THE BRIDGE

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5th Annual Chocolate Lovers Spring Fling and Cabin Fever Thing!Haybarn Theater, Goddard CollegeSaturday, March 13, 6 to 8 pmSnowdate: Sunday, March 14 (same time)

Music by Dave Dzendron & the New York Thug Collective (jazz)

$10 adults • $5 children • Children under 5 freeAll participants will get one FREE admission

The Chocolate Lovers Spring Fling and Cabin Fever Thing is a benefit for WGDR, Plainfield, 91.1 FM

If you’re up for a fun challenge and want to strut your chocolate stuff, this is your chance! We’re looking for amateur and professional chefs to create

chocolate items for tasting and judging. All entries are judged byChocolate Fling attendees, and awards will be presented at the end.

To register your chocolate creation, email your contact info [email protected] or call 322-1683.

How Sweet It Is!