Compiled by Mike Eldred

The second half of 2009 was marked by controversy. In Wilmington, residents battled over a pergola in a downtown park. In Readsboro, residents demanded answers about their municipal utilities. Haystack Club struggled to revive itself in the fall, but the little ski area was dealt a staggering blow days before the holiday ski week.

July

In July, the Vermont Agency of Transportation closed a 500-foot section of the eastbound lane of Route 9, citing safety concerns. Earlier in the year, the road surface cracked and half of the eastbound lane sank, leaving a noticeable dip in the road, and a dangerous gap in the center of the lane. It was filled with cold patch, but the road continued to erode.

Within days of the road closure, about 100 feet of the road collapsed when the riverbank gave way, sending trees and road into the Deerfield River. The collapse took most of the eastbound lane with it, leaving a gaping void where the road once was.

Wilmington residents packed the Town Hall meeting room for the presentation of a petition, bearing 300 signatures, that asked the board to “relocate the pergola presently erected on the bank park lot, to a location outside the Wilmington Historic Design District.” The petitioners suggested the pergola does not comply with the town’s design control regulations. (To date, however, no design criteria that would disqualify the structure from the district have been cited by petitioners.)

Wilmington resident Skip Morrow suggested that, if the selectboard declined to act on the petition, the question should be put to voters through an Australian ballot. The board voted to take no action on the petition.

Jurors found David Boglioli, 60, of Wilmington, guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the shooting death of his neighbor, George Riccitelli, 51, on August 15, 2008.

The verdict was announced after 18 hours of deliberation over evidence presented in an eight-day trial. Boglioli had been charged with second-degree murder, but in her instructions to the jury, Judge Karen Carroll included the lesser charge. From the time of his arrest, Boglioli admitted that he shot Riccitelli, but he claimed he acted in self-defense. Both the prosecution and the defense presented evidence of an ongoing dispute between the two men, beginning more than a decade earlier.

In mid-October, Windham County Court Judge Karen Carroll sentenced Boglioli to serve 10 to 15 years in prison for the shooting.

August

In August, a team of community volunteers organized by TSN Director Bob Edwards completed a summer-long project of maintenance and cleaning at the Twin Valley High School. Working with more than 30 volunteers and a shoestring budget of $15,000, Edwards gave the school a comprehensive makeover, including paint, flooring, lighting, repairs, and general spit-and-polishing of the school’s common areas.

The discovery of a billing error involving Readsboro’s electric and sewer departments, after an investigation by the state Public Service Board, fanned the flames of discontent in the town. According to PSB documents, the sewer department was overcharged more than $38,000 for electric service by the municipal electric department. Although the error was found to have been caused by a technical problem, many residents questioned and alleged other billing improprieties. Speculation and innuendo consumed commenters posting on The Deerfield Valley News’ Web site.

There were two new catamount sightings in August. In one, on Kirby Road in Wilmington, Mary Ann Kirby identified what she said was scat left by the big cat. Her neighbor, Old Ark Road resident Paul Kasanoff, collected the specimen in a plastic bag and turned it over to state wildlife officials. A sample of the scat was submitted for DNA testing, but no results have been released to date.

Another woman saw what she took to be a Canadian lynx on Look Road in Wilmington. But what she described, a tan or beige cat five feet in length with a long tail, sounded more catamount-like to some locals. A few weeks later, Searsburg resident Gary Sage reported that a catamount had darted in front of his truck on Route 9 near the Wilmington/Searsburg town line.

September

The valley was saddened to learn that Jill Adams Mancivalano would permanently close Adams Farm at the end of the month. She said the summer’s rainy weather, combined with a downturn in the economy, dealt her business a double-whammy.

The Adams family has owned the farm since 1865, when Mancivalano’s great-great-grandparents, Henry and Sarah Adams, bought the place after the end of the Civil War. The farm’s connection to the local hospitality industry goes back to Mancivilano’s great-grandparents and the early days of tourism in the valley when people from the city “summered” in the cooler Green Mountains. The Adamses opened their doors to tourists, offering a place to stay, farm-fresh food, and fresh mountain air. When skiers started flocking to the valley, Mancivilano’s grandmother took in skiers and, although her parents didn’t rent rooms to guests, they carried on their tradition of hospitality by offering sleigh rides. (Sleigh rides will continue to be offered until the farm is sold.) Mancivilano’s agritourism business began in the 1990s, and offered visitors a year-round farm experience, from kid-friendly animals and hayrides to spinning and dyeing of wool.

Also in September, local realtor Rich Caplan purchased The Andirons, one of Dover’s most prominent lodging properties, for $375,000. Caplan said he plans to demolish the hotel rooms and refurbish the main building, including the Billiards Sanctuary, Dover Forge Restaurant, and offices. In partnership with local realtor Paul Shwippert, Caplan plans to build a 20,000-square-foot indoor skateboard park on the property.

October

In October, the owners of Haystack Club announced they would open Haystack ski area for the season. Crews from Poma, the ski lift manufacturer, refurbished the Hayfever lift, and Haystack employees began work to rebuild the resort’s snowmaking apparatus. Haystack Club planned to sell season passes to Wilmington residents, as is allowed under their purchase agreement, and to sell club memberships over the winter. Wilmington residents and former Haystack skiers expressed delight at the prospect of activity on the slopes, which had been closed since the early part of the decade.

The public furor over the billing of municipal services in Readsboro erupted again, after sewer customer Earline Lefebvre demanded a refund for some of the fees she had been charged. In a story that almost defies credibility, Lefebvre told the selectboard that she was being billed for two sewer units because she has two kitchen sinks. Lefebvres home has two kitchens, she said, but is and always has been a single-family dwelling. Lefebvre said that, not only couldn’t she find anything in the town’s sewer ordinance pertaining to allocation by kitchen sink count, but several different users on the sewer line were charged differently. In a later meeting, the Readsboro Selectboard, acting as sewer commissioners, reaffirmed their unusual method of determining sewer units by the number of kitchens with sinks.

Also in October, Wilmington resident Daniel Freilich, a Navy officer and medical doctor, launched a challenge to Senator Patrick Leahy to represent Vermont in the U.S. Senate. Freilich, a progressive Democrat, said he’s running for office to restore fairness to the political system. Originally from New York, Freilich first moved to Vermont in 1992 for his medical residency at the University of Vermont. He has also served as an emergency room doctor in St. Albans and opened a private practice in Jeffersonville.

November

The pergola issue returned to the spotlight again in November when more than 275 people packed Twin Valley High School’s tiny cafeteria for a special meeting on a measure to vote on any future pergola question by Australian ballot. Wilmington voters approved the Australian ballot in a 150 to 124 vote by paper ballot. The vote was held after only two speakers weighed in on the debate.

Ironically, the Bank Park received a Green Mountain Award for “most improved space” from the Vermont Downtown Program during the same week. The award touched off even more controversy when some opponents of the pergola called the state to complain about the award.

At Dover School, muggles... er, students were playing “Quidditch,” the sport played by wizards in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books. The mortal version of the game was introduced by Dover physical education teacher Wendy Johnson after a visit to Middlebury College, the site of 2009’s Quidditch World Cup.

The Tri-town Economic Development Committee released a draft economic report, and held a public meeting to discuss the findings and take public input.

The report offered a grim picture of the current economic reality for local residents, pointing out what many already knew: Deerfield Valley residents are at a significant economic disadvantage in comparison to most Vermont residents, including those in other areas of Windham County.

The report identified a number of general steps the two towns must take to improve their economic situation. Top goals include the availability of high speed Internet and fiber optic connectivity to prosper, and exploitation of the “Vermont” brand and the area’s cultural and historical character.

December

At least one local entrepreneur was already embracing some of the recommendations in the TEDC’s report. Honora Winery owner Patty Farrington unveiled a plan for a major culinary center at the former Martin Brown horse barn in Wilmington. Farrington would create an “epicurean destination” inspired by the kitchens of Europe, but focusing on local cuisine and locally grown ingredients. The old barn complex, which is nearing the end of a comprehensive restoration, would house retail space, a café, and a large classroom area for cooking classes and demonstrations.

December brought bad news for the owners of Haystack Club. Windham Superior Court Judge John Wesley granted Mount Snow a preliminary injunction allowing them full access to snowmaking water in Haystack’s Mirror Lake. The judge’s decision was based on an agreement between the two parties that specifies that Mount Snow can access virtually all of the water in the snowmaking pond until Haystack is “operating” a members-only club. Wesley agreed with Mount Snow’s contention that running the ski area with the intention of selling club memberships fell short of the requirements that would trigger Haystack’s water withdrawal rights. After one weekend of operation, Haystack Club closed their ski operations.

Vermont Tax Commissioner Richard Westman traveled the state, telling residents about a “gathering storm” in education funding. Westman said the statewide property tax will rise by 22 cents over the next three years, and that the state may look at strategies to increase revenues and cut costs in education funding. He said the next education funding battle will be fought over “equity”: who pays, and who pays less. He suggested that programs like income sensitivity and current use may come under fire.

December was also a month of transition. Windham Southwest Supervisory Union Superintendent Dr. M. Peter Wright announced his retirement after 22 years at the helm of the supervisory union, and Wilmington Planning Commission chair Joseph Cincotta stepped down after 18 years. The valley was also saddened to learn of the death of Representative Rick Hube while visiting his sister in Florida. Before his district was reapportioned after the 2000 census, Hube represented the Deerfield Valley towns of Wardsboro and Dover. But even after the change, he remained a staunch ally in the Legislature.