By Lani Duke
Fair Haven restaurant opening
FAIR HAVEN—Michele Witherbee plans to open the Johnny B restaurant in Fair Haven early in August. In addition to her current career as special educator with Rutland Northeast Supervisory Union, she has a far-reaching background in the restaurant business, working most recently for Fire and Ice restaurant in Middlebury as a night manager, she told the Rutland Herald. The 10,000-square-foot building at 447 Route 4A East housed Garvey’s Restaurant from 1991 to 2001, then stood vacant until Michael Mancino opened Italian restaurant/internet café, Contemplating Life Café, in 2006. The commercial-retail-zoned property soon became vacant again. Mancino had made significant renovations to the property, Witherbee said, noting that much of the equipment is brand new. She plans to do most of the cooking herself, offering both lunch and dinner, served on linen tablecloths. She plans her specialty to be lasagna, prepared from an old family recipe, served at “reasonable” prices.
Castleton U receives patriotic gift
CASTLETON—Castleton alumnus John P. Schnorr recently gave the school a unique gift—the torch he carried the day before the opening ceremonies of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
That historic torch is on display in the Castleton athletics awards case in the Spartan Athletic Complex lobby in Rutland Town for the public to see.
School mergers: current statuses
As of Tuesday, June 27, Poultney, Proctor, and West Rutland school districts merged into the Quarry Valley Unified Union School District (QVUUSD), and Wells and Middletown Springs merged into the Wells Springs Unified Union School District (WSUUSD).
Their new boards were sworn in and are proceeding with organizing the new configurations, while the current districts will continue to supervise operations until the mergers become active July 1, 2018, said Donna Russo-Savage of the state legislative council.
Board members for Quarry Valley UUSD are Mary Jo Teetor, Rebecca Cook, Linda Smith, and Kristen Ross from Poultney; Art Saceric, Andy Shaw, and Lisa Miser of Proctor; and James Mumford, Tom Callahan, and Blake Cushing from West Rutland. Wells Springs board members are Meredith Morgan, Clarence Haynes, Sarah Haley, and Chris Smid of Middletown Springs; and Courtney Bishop, Laura Burch, and an appointed member from Wells.
After having found no suitable partners for merger, Rutland Town and Ira school districts will be “sides” to this polyform district as well.
Members of the current Addison-Rutland Supervisory Union from Fair Haven, Castleton, West Haven, Benson, and Orwell will hold organizational meetings for the Slate Valley Modified Unified Union district August 10 in the Fair Haven High library at 6:30 p.m.
