By Lani Duke, photo by Rachel Buhler
posted
May 23, 2012
Farm and market news
The Downtown Farmers Market has blossomed again at Depot Park in
Rutland. Tuesday evening market on the same site is also open, so
you can shop on your way home from work and freshen up the stock in
your refrigerator.
Organizers note that vendor enthusiasm is high, with all spaces
spoken for, and a few alternates waiting to step in if there's an
opening.
The market is more than a place to shop for food and farm
products. It's a great place to visit with old friends and make new
ones, enjoy an impromptu lunch on foot or seated at a handy bench,
and listen to music by local entertainers. Coming soon is the
popular Shop With a Chef series: follow a local chef around the
market as he or she select locally ground produce from the vendors,
and then prepares selections before your eyes. You may learn to use
produce you've not tried before, see a new technique, or combine
foods and spices you've not thought belonged together. (Did you
know you can cook pizza on your outdoor grill?)
Early spring crops are already coming into the markets - fresh
leafy greens and fiddleheads (fern shoots); also enjoy a variety of
root crops that were dug last fall and spent the winter waiting for
you. Don't miss a week. There will be new varieties coming in from
one market to the next.
Education news
Rutland native Sorchas Dundas has received a 2012-13 Fulbright
scholarship to Nepal; there she will be an English teaching
assistant. She is a student at the University of Rochester, NY,
graduating this spring with a B.A. degree in anthropology.
Rutland Town School's assistant principal Aaron Boynton is moving
up to take the principal's position at the school. Before his move
to the Rutland school last June, he was previously principal at
Middletown Elementary.
Sarah Tetzlaff is taking Boynton's position at Rutland Town. She
has been teaching and chairing the family and consumer sciences
department at Rutland High and at Allen Street Campus.
Three students from Stafford Technical Center recently took high
honors in the National Financial Capability Challenge. Rob Peterson
tested in the top 10 percent of the students who took the test,
84,000 of them across the country. Breeauna Frazier and Nick Sweet
scored in the top 20 percent. All three students are registered at
Rutland High.
Mount St. Joseph Academy principal Paolo Zancanaro is resigning
his position to return to teaching; he has led the school since
2006, Under his leadership, MSJ met its enrollment goals for the
first time in a number of years.
Future of Dana Building
Although residents in the city's northeast quadrant have expressed
interest in converting the former Dana School building, most
recently home to the city's Parks and Recreation Department, to a
neighborhood park, playground, or dog park, or a project for
Stafford Technical Center students, none of these is very likely.
The school district plans to offer the parcel for sale in
June.
As private property rather than a non-profit, the building - now
vacant - and land would generate tax revenue for the city. Finding
a buyer may be problematic; it needs a new roof and other extensive
renovation. The Rutland County Parent Child Center has already
expressed an interest in acquiring the property, but purchase by
this non-profit group would presumably leave the property off tax
rolls.
Medicare cuts to force unit closure
Rutland Regional Medical Center is considering closing its
physical rehab unit, but many in both the medical and patient
community are lobbying for it to remain open. Supporters point to
the number of people who have already been treated there since the
unit opened in 1990, receiving help after hip replacement, stroke,
or a variety of other health concerns.
RRMC is one of only three hospitals in the state that contains a
physical rehab unit; if the unit were to close, people in need of
the kind of aid it offers would need to turn to local nursing homes
with subacute care or travel to Burlington or Windsor.
The federal government has recently indicated it will trim
Medicare reimbursements for inpatient rehabilitation. And Medicare
covers most patients the unit serves. Patients who feel the
additional expense of a hospital stay is worth the cost are
encouraged to make their feelings known before the hospital board
of directors meets later this month and the closure will be under
consideration. Although the meeting is private, your letter to
hospital president and CEO Thomas Huebner may play an important
role in the board's deliberations.
LANI'S PICKS
Saturday and Sunday, May 26 and 27 - Open Studio Weekend is an
opportunity to visit with local artists in their workspaces or
enjoy demonstrations in the Chaffee Art Center.
Tuesday, May 29 - College of St. Joseph 5K XC series provides an
opportunity to run or walk for fun on a course across a mixture of
fields and woods. Register online or at Rutland Recreation Godnick
office, or onsite. Call 773-1853.
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