JoAnn Hanowski, co-chair of the Greensboro Association’s Lakes and Environmental Stewardship Committee, sat down with NEK-VT Rocks out of Newport, VT to discuss the status of wake boats in Vermont alongside Jim Lengel of Responsible Wakes for Vermont Lakes.  

The topic of wake boats has been an active one within the Greensboro and surrounding communities in the past months.  Although wake boating can be a fun and rewarding way to keep the kids active, it also produces some unwanted side effects on our lakes, including: 

• Eroding lake banks, causing phosphorus to spill into the lake
• In shallow water, a wake boat motor can also churn up previously settled phosphorus from the bottom of the lake.
• Invasive species such as Eurasian milfoil and zebra mussels can be released into lakes from the emptying of ballast tanks.
• Waves can reach nesting loons and other wildlife, eliminating their productivity for at least a year.
• Waves can also surprise and endanger other lake activities, such as kayaking, fishing, paddle boarding and swimming.

 As you’ll hear in the interview, JoAnn points out that the Department of Conservation understands there may be safety issues with wake boat interactions.  However, anecdotal evidence of safety issues is not persuasive enough.  She encourages anyone who has an interaction with a wakeboat to report it to the state or local police (in Greensboro call the Orleans County Police at 802-334-3333) so that there is an official record of it.  These records will provide important concrete evidence of safety issues with wake boats operating on our lakes.  

In addition, if you have a wake boat interaction story, Responsible Wakes for Vermont Lakes encourages you to send it to them at responsiblewakes.org.  

There will be another opportunity for public input, with a public meeting and written comments, early this summer.  It will be especially important to engage multiple generations of lake users in this process.  Stay tuned for the announcement of this upcoming meeting and opportunity to comment.  The Greensboro Association will keep membership apprised of that meeting date and time when details become available.

Towns Across Vermont Are Beginning to Regulate Short-Term Rentals

When Moriah Stokes and Vincent Connolly purchased a second home in Morrisville in 2017, they already had plans to list it on Airbnb.

The couple were living in Colorado at the time, and Stokes, who grew up in Morrisville, wanted to be able to visit her family without staying in a hotel. Renting out the home meant the property didn’t sit vacant, and it provided some extra cash. When the couple decided to move back to Vermont in 2019 to raise their three young children, the home was waiting for them. Read more

New Year’s 2023, looking towards Black’s Point –Karen Gowen, photographer

On January 8, the lake froze (again), and by the 14th of January was sporting 4 inches of ice on the east shore.  A few more good cold nights will be great news for all winter activities in the Northeast Kingdom!

Those who live in Greensboro year-round or travel up in the winter are looking forward to the first annual Tour de Greensboro, to take place on February 4.  100 cross-country skiers will take to the trails around town, and then gather for lunch at the Highland Lodge.  There may still be a few slots left to ski in this event—you can register here: https://www.SkiReg.com/tour-de-greensboro.  Organizers are also looking for volunteers; please contact Stew Arnold at [email protected] to sign up to help.  We are honored that the Greensboro Association will be the lucky recipient of funds raised!

The Greensboro Association Board keeps working in the colder months, with committees focusing on fundraising, investment management and the refinement of our funds distribution policies for the benefit of the many fine non-profit organizations in or near Greensboro.  Since formalizing the FFG in 2015, we have invested $175,000 into our amazing community! You will be hearing from us in March when we launch our 2023 membership drive. Until then be well!

The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department is receiving reports from across the state of black bears seeking food in yards, outbuildings, and livestock enclosures this spring.  Many of these situations can be prevented if people take steps to make their backyards bear-safe before a bear shows up.

Bears—and people—are at risk when bears spend time in human-dominated landscapes.  And every time a bear finds an easy meal of birdseed, compost, or unsecured garbage, they are learning a dangerous association between people and food.  Coexisting with bears starts with you taking the following steps to help keep bears wild:

Birdfeeders are a big problem!  Take down birdfeeders until December.  You can attract birds by planting bird friendly native plants instead—check out Audubon’s Native Plants for Birds Program: https://www.audubon.org/native-plants  [Link]

Make your garbage inaccessible.  Store garbage in a secure structure and a bear proof container.  Learn how to make your garbage can bear proof here: https://vtfishandwildlife.com/sites/fishandwildlife/files/documents/Learn%20More/Living%20with%20Wildlife/Living%20with%20Bears/bear-resistant-retrofit-polycart.pdf  [Link]

Dispose of garbage frequently.  If you have pick-up services, wait until the morning to put your garbage out. Demand bear proof dumpsters for your community.

Follow steps for composting in bear country.  Compost needs to be 3 parts brown materials to 1 part kitchen scraps, turned frequently, and kept in a sturdy tumbler or bin: https://vtfishandwildlife.com/node/260  [Link]

Use electric fencing to keep chickens and bees safe.  Fences need to be 4,000-6,000 volts, tested regularly and baited:https://vtfishandwildlife.com/node/1996  [Link]

Clean your grill after every use.

Make bears feel uncomfortable in your yard.  Yell, bang pots and pans, or use other noise devices from inside your home.  Never shoot a bear to scare it.  Even BBs can seriously injure bears.

Please report your bear encounters to Vermont Fish & Wildlife.  These reports allow us to help you prevent future bear incidents.  They also give us information to help all Vermonters better coexist with bears: https://anrweb.vt.gov/FWD/FW/WildlifeBearReport.aspx  [Link]

Following these steps can save bears’ lives, and help protect you, your neighbors, and your property.  Please do your part to be a good neighbor and help keep Vermont’s bears wild!

If you have questions, contact the Vermont Fish and Wildlife department at 802-828-1000, or [email protected] .

World-Famous Greensboro Parade Starts 10 AM

This year’s parade will feature either the UCLA Marching Band, the Vermont Symphony Mobile Orchestra or the Bread and Puppet wondering entourage. Both President Biden and former President Trump have agreed to either attend or send caricatures and will be walking lock-step with the music.  Jasper Hill will be showering the crowd with cheese balls. And we are still waiting for a confirmation from Elon Musk whether Greensboro’s new Tesla Fire Engine will arrive in time.  Last and definitely least,  Clive Gray’s old-old Pierce Arrow will be making its 119^th continuous appearance at this year’s event.

Ukraine Relief Auction- Immediately Following the Parade on the Town Hall Lawn

This is a worthy town initiative to raise money for Ukrainian relief via Save the Children.  Great food, maple syrup, crafts and refreshments will be available. Non-personality and town meeting moderator Tim Nisbet has been recruited and reluctantly agreed to be the auctioneer.

Auction Details: Greensboro summer resident Brad Irwin is Chairman of the Board of Save the Children which is now a major source of aid to Ukraine. His position gives our area unique insight into the needs of Ukraine and Save the Children’s efforts to assist the millions of refugees, displaced families, hospitals, and children remaining in Ukraine’s beleaguered towns and cities.

The goal is to raise $5,000 to go directly to help Save the Children’s efforts in Ukraine. We are hoping people will donate 100 high-quality items in good condition worth at least $50. We are also seeking craftspeople, sailors, and others who might donate a day of sailing or other products of their time and energy to the auction.

People with items they think appropriate and with a willingness to donate should contact David Kelley at 802 586 2588 or at [email protected]  or John Schweizer at 802 533 9289 or [email protected].

The Greensboro Association is soliciting digital images of artwork that contain themes or subjects from Greensboro, the Northeast Kingdom, and/or Vermont. One image will be chosen to be featured as the cover of the 2022-23 Greensboro Association member directory published in May 2022.

The Greensboro Association publishes a directory of members every two years.  This directory is available at Willey’s Store, and is purchased by a wide number of local and seasonal residents.

WHAT ART CAN BE ENTERED?

• Types of artwork can include: paintings, drawings, graphic or digital design, or photographs.
• We accept submissions containing themes or subjects which focus on Greensboro, the Northeast Kingdom, and/or Vermont
• The art must be a unique creative work of the entrant, and not violate any copyright, intellectual property, or other laws or norms.
• We consider ONLY pre-existing works in black and white or color. Black and white images are preferred.
• Our cover dimensions are 5.25 width by 8 height in inches (note that images can be scaled down to a similar ratio).
• We accept existing art, not proposals.
• We only accept JPG files for submissions.
• The artist owns their artwork–we only license the artwork for the front cover of the directory. The directory cover may be included on our website.
• We do not pay for the use of the artwork, but we include the artists name and a description of the artwork on the inside front cover of the directory.

WHO CAN ENTER?

• We accept submissions from all sources. Preference is given to members of the Greensboro Association and local Greensboro and area artists,
• Artwork by individuals age 11 and over. Artists under age 18 must have their parent or guardians permission to enter.

HOW CAN YOU SUBMIT YOUR WORK?

• Submission deadline is APRIL 1, 2022 at 5:00pm.
• Submissions must be sent via email to [email protected].
• Each submission must include the artists name, telephone number, email address, physical address, name of the artwork, and description of the artwork in the body of the email.
• Each submission must include a print-ready .jpg attachment of the image to be considered.

A group of local townspeople are involved in The Hazen Bell Community Project, an effort to recondition and install a bell at the local Hazen Union School in memory of a student, Finn Rooney. This effort has been launched to realize the dream of many in the community who fondly remember the bell at Hardwick Academy, the school which preceded Hazen Union. Hazen Union School has been the High School for Greensboro and other area students since 1970.   Before his tragic death, Finn had proposed restoring a working bell to the greater Hardwick Community whose purpose would be to inform, to celebrate, to unify, and to heal, just as the beloved bell once did so many years ago.

The bell has been gifted to the project by the Town of Greensboro after it was found in the basement of the Town Hall, the former Greensboro High School which closed in 1968. The bell is being restored by volunteers in Craftsbury; a local architect has drawn up plans for a bell tower to be placed near the Hazen gym; lumber is being donated by a local mill. Many individuals throughout Hardwick, Craftsbury and Greensboro have been involved in the project, and plans are in place to have the bell tower built and the bell installed this Spring in time for the bell to ring in celebration at Graduation on June 11.

For further information and for ways to help, here are some links.  Thanks to Kim Greaves, Greensboro Town Clerk, for making us aware of this heartwarming and worthwhile project.

The Restored Bell Rings again

The Hazen Bell GoFundMe effort, set up by Sara Tewksbury, a Hardwick Kiwanis Club member.

The WCAX New Report covering the story of Finn Rooney and the effort to bring the bell back

PBS Rubble Strip program entitled “Finn and the Bell”.

For additional information contact Mike Clark at [email protected] and 802-595-3419 or Dave Perrigo (Former Principal of Hazen Union)  at [email protected] and 802-525-3414