Rotary builds weather station at Killington Elementary School

New shed is part of school district allocation for outdoor classrooms

By Polly Mikula

The recent floods not only washed out roads and flooded buildings but the urgency of the resulting remediation work meant has meant redirecting workers. Priorities at the Mountain Views School District (formerly Windsor Central) included. One such project that was nearly scrapped for this year, was a new shed at Killington Elementary that would serve as a weather station. That was, until the local Killington-Pico Rotary stepped in to complete the job. 

“We love taking on projects for our community, it’s our mission, and it’s my main passion as a member of the Rotary,” said Pete Timpone, 44-year chef-owner of The Pasta Pot until 2018, when he retired. 

Timpone, along with local photographer Paul Holmes and good friend Chad Aston completed the work in just over a week. 

“Paul and Chat are such nice, generous people, they really deserve recognition,” Timpone said, adding that the trio had a lot of fun working together on the project. 

“We’d meet for coffee in the morning, go over the plans, work until noon-ish then go home, or go play golf, or go on a paddle, whatever we wanted,” he said. 

The school district bought the shed kit from Jamaica Cottage Shop for about $3,000. It included all the pre-cut rough sawn pine, a medal roof and plans with color coding, Timpone explained. 

The wood will have to be stained at a later date, but the building is otherwise complete and “solid as a brick sh*t house,” Timpone said. 

“The Rotary Club is out here in the community, that’s what we want people to know,” Timpone added. “It’s a great group and we’d love more people to join us, especially as a lot of our members have gotten older,” he added.

The Killington-Pico Rotary Club meets weekly on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Summit Lodge on the Killington Road. Guests are welcome to attend with advanced notice. For more information call Timpone at 802-770-4054 or Club President Janina Curtis (802) 342-8661.