Week in review
Toolbox
Published: October 3, 2009
An East Barre neighborhood spat run afoul over chicken noise and smells has pecked its way to the top of the media hen house, with national talk shows and print media crowing with glee over its quirkiness. Because of a request for another hearing, Kathy Rubalcaba's roosters were given a stay of execution until the latest round of concerns can be aired. (If the roosters have to go, Rubalcaba maintains she's considering a "community barbecue" with some of alleged offenders – perhaps as many as 25 — served up for consumption.) The state and town are keeping a close eye on Rubalcaba and her chicken-and-egg operation, with the town recently fining her under terms of its nuisance ordinance; and the state raising concerns about how she's maintaining and disposing of manure. Those sanctions seem to have had the opposite effect on Rubalcaba, who has become more entrenched in her positions to challenge the ordinance and, ultimately, test the patience of irate neighbors. With the nation apparently watching now, a small-town, small-state agriculture debate legitimately has become a legal game of chicken. The next week will be a test of how all sides conduct themselves. Since it seems the chicken quagmire cannot be handled amicably, we hope, at a minimum, the debate does not escalate any more out of control. (It is widely known the police have been called to the neighborhood scores of times in recent weeks.) Tensions are high; and sarcasm is as thick as barbecue sauce. Let's not let the issue cross the road into something even less neighborly.
It is very unfortunate that Ashley Ellis' family was proven right this week. The 23-year-old's death was due in part to her not getting crucial medication while serving a jail sentence in Swanton, according to the state medical examiner. That finding certainly smacks of a coming protracted legal battle and many more headaches for Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans, where Ellis was pronounced dead. The state chief medical examiner stated that "denial of access to medication" was the cause of death, alongside "hypokalemic induced cardiac arrhythmia due to anorexia/bulimia nervosa." This summer, Ellis' family stated repeatedly that without the potassium pills prescribed for an anorexic disorder, Ellis would have died. This week, family members reserved most comments, except to say they knew they had been right from the beginning of the ordeal. The state is waiting for the results of a police investigation, but one official reiterated that the Department of Corrections' staff never dispenses medication — a task he said is carried out solely by Prison Health Services, the private contractor that gives medical service to the state's prisons. Ellis' death appears to be a symptom of a much larger problem for the state now. Policies will have to be re-examined and new procedures put into place. The review is necessary. As is always the case when tragedy arises, it's too bad an extreme had to be reached in order for change to be forced.
And off come the wheels in Williamstown again. The town manager, whose job is being called into question by certain townspeople, and the town treasurer, who is under fire by a separate town faction, are fighting over who gets to keep the town's books: the guy who runs the town or the guy who watches over the town's money. A contentious, well-attended meeting this week was called to discuss relieving Town Treasurer Bob Cleaves of his informal information technology duties and giving Town Manager Garrett Earls the access he claims he lacks to use the town's accounting software. It turned to bedlam in a nanosecond. Accusations were lobbed back and forth in front of the crowd, with sides claiming sabotage and "hacking" into town computers for information. After significant debate, the selectboard finally concluded the town indeed was having a "communication problem." That is an understatement. Once again, it's time for the call to go out loud and clear: Williamstown must regain control of its town before irreparable harm is done that will cause additional cost, expose the community to liability, and create undue humiliation to the town and its taxpayers. If Williamstown can't get past its differences, perhaps it's time to bring in objective assistance. Because these power struggles are proving, at best, to be ineffective.
Montpelier's Hubbard Park observation tower reopened Friday after months of much-needed restoration. The 54-foot tower atop the park, constructed by a local contractor, is considered a crown jewel. As with all man-made structures in New England, time and Vermont's harsh elements took their toll. The rock-and-mortar structure needed months of repairs. Money from the federal stimulus program and Vermont Department of Labor paid for the $70,000 restoration project. It's back in order and open to the public, just in time for viewing peak foliage. Nice work to all of those involved. A towering success, so to speak.
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