Remembering Rich Svec

Rich enjoying his retirement party in 2017. What a smile!

The sudden passing of Rich Svec, former Cavendish Town manager, on Town Meeting Day (March 5, 2018) has been a shock to the community. Having worked for the town for almost 30 years, and continuing to serve the community in his retirement in various capacities, this Monday was the first town meeting that many attended where Rich was not present.

In an incredible show of strength and courage, the town office-Brendan McNamara, town manager, Bruce McEnaney, Asst. Town Manager; Diane McNamara, Clerk; Jen Leak and Ginny Garrow-made sure that the Annual Town Meeting went off without a hitch. "Rich would have expected this of us," was a frequently heard comment.

Rich's contributions to Cavendish are lengthy and he has steered the town through revitalization (Proctorsville Green and village); the recovery from tropical storm Irene without the town having to go into debt; and the installation of solar power to name just a few. However, it was his human touch that people are talking about. One family wrote, "Rich always treated us so well even though we were the worst at paying our taxes etc. on time."

Cynthia Stoddard wrote " As a new Town Manager a few years ago, he always made me feel so welcome and at ease when we all gathered together. He will be missed by so many."

Steve Birge summed up what many are writing on the Cavendish VT Facebook Page. Such a great man, a very special man. He will be missed beyond words.

What free time he had, Rich was devoted to his family-his wife Peggy and children Max and Kathryn. However, he had a serious addiction-curling! In fact, he recruited others in town to play on his team. In fact, when the US Men's Olympic Curling team won in February, we were only too happy to direct people to Rich who wanted to know more about the sport and how they could participate.

Many have asked about services. At the family’s request, we are posting the following information: There are no services at this time. However, early in the summer there will be a celebration of life for Rich. It will be piggybacked with the dedication of the Proctorsville Town Green, as it will be the twentieth anniversary of his much loved community project. 

If you wish to make a donation in his memory, the family has selected the following, that were very near and dear to him: 

• Upper Valley Curling Club 69 Kings Highway West Windsor, Vermont 05089

• Cavendish Family Fund. Checks should be made payable to the Town of Cavendish, with the reference/subject listing: Cavendish Family Fund. They can be mailed to Cavendish Town Office,  PO Box 126, Cavendish, Vermont  05142. Donations can also be dropped off at the Town Office during normal working hours

As much as Cavendish is grieving the loss of Rich, we know how much harder it is for his wife, children and family. We send to them are sympathies, love and the knowledge that we will be for them in the same way Rich was always there for the town.

An obituary will be forth coming and we will keep the town informed about the Celebration of Life.

Town Meeting-March 5

The Annual Town Meeting began on a very somber note when Town Moderator, Mike Ripley, related that former town manager, Rich Svec, had died suddenly that afternoon. For many in attendance they couldn’t remember a time where they attended town meeting and Rich wasn’t present. Through out the evening their were private conversations about the many contributions Rich had made to the town. Wendy Regier, in presenting the completed Cavendish Tapestry to the town, summed up what a lot of people were thinking, The Proctorsville Town Green, depicted in the tapestry, was the handiwork of Town Manager Richard Svec. Without his encouragement and support neither the Green, a community gathering place, nor the tapestry, a shared community art project, would have happened. The tapestry will hang in the Community Library and is dedicated to him. Thank you Richard for giving so much of yourself to Cavendish.

Town: All articles were passed (page 8-9 of the Annual Report). The budget was amended to take $200 from the Red Cross and give it to Black River Good Neighbor.  Motions that were made, but failed to gain a majority vote, included the elimination of the Windsor County Sheriff, who primarily provides traffic control, and changing the article for dissolving the position of Town Constable to just changing it for a year.

A number of people voiced their frustration with the Sheriffs in how they carry out their duties. These included lack of courtesy for those being stopped; not getting out of their car to control traffic at the intersection of 103 and 131 during rush hour; and basically targeting locals with unnecessary tickets. Town manager, Brendan McNamara, asked that people bring their concerns directly to the select board so they in turn can see that problems are corrected.

Under “other business,” the voters were asked how many were having problems with Internet. More than half of those in attendance raised their hands. More hands were raised when the question was asked if they wanted fiber wired to the home. However, some people lowered their hand when the question was then posed about whether they would be willing to pay if a bond vote was needed to make this possible. These questions were being asked to help the Telecommunications Committee as they work on trying to bring high speed Internet town wide.

School: All articles were passed (page 59 of the Annual Report). Meg Powden, Two Rivers Supervisory Union’s (TRSU) superintendent and CTES principal George Thomson,  made a presentation on the proposed budget. The overwhelming sentiment of those in attendance was that the budget should be voted down for the following reasons:

• Does not meet the promises of Act 46.

• While there are increases in spending for administrators, there are decreases for students

• There was a considerable lack of transparency in the process

• The budget was rushed and not well thought out

There was a handout at the meeting encouraging people to vote no, which summarized much of what people were saying. The over riding point is that people are in support of their school and teachers, yet the process has been rushed to meet dead lines set by those outside the community-e.g. VT Dept. of Education. Basically, the sentiment, as noted in the handout is,  We need to slow this process down and work together as parents, community members, voters, teachers and staff to define what models are working now, and what changes can be made to maintain and improve services while potentially cutting costs. This process needs to be led by local stakeholders – the same people impacted by our schools’ performance, budget and long range impact on our communities. People in our towns need time to heal from the Act 46 process and to come together again to build common goals for our children and our communities.  

 Board member Doug McBride has consistently voted no to the various budget proposals, but Fred Marin, who has voted yes, noted that the budget is not as good as it could be and that the process was severely hampered by lack of time and trust. He thought it could be tweaked however and was in favor of a “yes” vote.

Another issue raised was that are no specific quantifiable goals and objectives for the GMUSD and TRSU boards to help them in setting budgets as well as gauge performance. McBride stated what his over riding goal would be, an exceptional school, not one that’s “just good enough.”

Town Meeting was filmed by Okemo Valley TV and is available on Comcast as well as at their website.

Cavendish Update 3/2/18: News/Town Mtg/Events

Cornelia Otis Skinner

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3/2/18 Cavendish Update

1. Town Meeting

2. Cavendish Related News

3. Get Your Girl Scout Cookies

4. Cavendish Library Events

5. Events

1. TOWN MEETING: Town meeting takes place on Monday, March 5, 7 pm at Cavendish Town Elementary School’s multi purpose room. The town budget will be voted on at this meeting. Download a copy of the Town Report,  that includes the Town Meeting Warning, or stop by the Town Office to pick up a copy.

The school portion of the meeting will be informational. This is the time to ask questions about the budget and how the Two Rivers Supervisory Union (TRSU) and Green Mountain Unified School Districts (GMUSD) have been operating.

Voting by Australian Ballot will take place on March 6 (Tuesday), 10-7 at the CTES Arts room. This is when you will vote on school budgets and elect town officers. There are no contested races this year.

2. CAVENDISH RELATED NEWS

Editorial: Vote No on GMUSD Budget: It’s Not for the Kids: The Chester Telegraph urges the voters of Andover, Baltimore, Cavendish and Chester to vote NO on Tuesday, March 6 on the proposed $12.5 million school budget for the new Green Mountain Unified School District. The GMUSD school board needs time to retool its budget to offer the added educational opportunities promised under Act 46. From the very beginning, this budget has been plagued by a lack of transparency, questionable spending priorities and obfuscation by Superintendent Meg Powden. Several school board members have even said privately that if the voters rejected the budget they would have more time to go back and fix it. Chester Telegraph

 The Raptors Around Us Learning Program Rescheduled: The CCCA’s Raptors Around Us program had to be cancelled because of snow. The talk has been rescheduled for Wednesday, March 7 at 1 p.m. at the Cavendish Town Elementary School on Main Street in Proctorsville. For more information about the program, please call Claire Walker at 802-226-7259. Refreshments will be served.

Cavendish Historical Society News: The Winter edition of the CHS newsletter Scribbler II is now available on-line at the CHS Blog. As March is Women’s History Month, the CHS annual meeting on March 18 (Sunday), 2-4 at the Cavendish Baptist Church, will begin with the presentation Cavendish Women You Should Know. Throughout the month, CHS will be posting to their blog, biographies of  women who have made a difference in our town. When the Museum opens in May, there will be a special display Women in Cavendish History featuring Phyllis Bont, Ethel Roosevelt Derby, Natalia Solzhenitsyn, Mrs. Svetlova and Mary van Schaik. Today’s post is an overview of women in Cavendish history, including the “keepers” of Cavendish history, which has been predominately women.

3. GET YOUR GIRL SCOUT COOKIES: The Cavendish/Ludlow Girl Scout Troop 51406 is selling cookies the next two weekends as follows:

• March 2 Singletons 4-6 pm

• March 3 Next to Brewfest 4-6 pm

• March 9 Shaw’s, Ludlow 3-6 pm

• March 10 Next to Brewfest 4-6 pm

 4. CAVENDISH LIBRARY EVENTS

• Murder on the Orient Express movie and dinner is scheduled for 1pm Sunday March 11th. Menu is an outstanding collection of Eastern European dishes from Hungary, Austria, Turkey and Germany -- To make it even more fun, if you like, dress for the train trip!

• Sit & Knit every Thursday evening from 5-7...Show us what you're working on..knit, crochet, hooking--rugs or tapestries, embroidery, crewel, needlepoint....so many to choose from...refreshments provided....

• Saturday 3/24  6:30 pm: Paint & Munch Party/Fundraiser to raise funds for a event marquis sign for the library. It will feature heavy appetizers and desserts
 Donation of $35.00 per person includes painting supplies, a guided painting lesson, food and non-alcoholic drinks. Tickets go on sale on March 1. for info call 226-7503

5 EVENTS

MARCH 2 (FRIDAY): Girl Scout Cookies sale, 4-6 pm at Singletons.

 MARCH 3 (SATURDAY): Girl Scout Cookies sale, 4-6 pm next to Brewfest

 MARCH 5 (MONDAY): TOWN MEETING, 7 pm at the CTES multi purpose room

MARCH 6 (TUESDAY): ELECTION DAY 10am-7 pm at CTES

• Community lunch at Gethsemane church on Depot St at noon.  The menu is meatballs and Italian bolognaise sauce served with pasta, Caesar’s salad, rolls and dessert made by the first graders.  Everyone is welcome.  

MARCH 7 (WEDNESDAY): The Raptors Around Us Program, 1 pm at CTES

MARCH 8 (THURSDAY): Sit & Knit from 5-7 at the Cavendish Library in Proctorsville. Show us what you're working on..knit, crochet, hooking--rugs or tapestries, embroidery, crewel, needlepoint....so many to choose from...refreshments provided....

MARCH 9 (FRIDAY):  Girl Scout Cookies sale, 3-6 PM Shaw’s in Ludlow

MARCH 10 (SATURDAY): Girl Scout Cookies sale, 4-6 pm next to Brewfest in Ludlow

MARCH 11 (SUNDAY): DAY LIGHT SAVINGS begins

• Murder on the Orient Express movie and dinner, 1 pm at the Cavendish Library. Menu is an outstanding collection of Eastern European dishes from Hungary, Austria, Turkey and Germany -- To make it even more fun, if you like, dress for the train trip!

For information on upcoming events, go to the Cavendish Connects Calendar. For area events, check the Okemo Valley Chamber of Commerce calendar.  

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Cavendish Update 2/23/18: TRSU Budget/Rabies Vaccine Clinics/News

It's been a red sky morning today so not surprising a winter weather advisory is in affect starting at 1 pm this afternoon.

CHECK THE CAVENDISH VT FACEBOOK PAGE DAILY FOR THE LATEST NEWS You don’t have to be a Facebook subscriber to see this page. 

2/23/18 Cavendish Update

1. TRSU Budget Passes

2. Cavendish Related News

3. Rabies Vaccination Clinics

4. Events

TRSU BUDGET PASSES: At the Semi-annual meeting of the full Two Rivers Supervisory Union (TRSU) board on Feb. 1, board members overwhelmingly rejected the Supervisory Union budget due to its lacking detail, including previously unseen budget items, and falsely presenting the budget as a decrease compared to last year. A meeting was scheduled for February 15, but was cancelled the afternoon of the meeting because the TRSU had failed to properly warn it.

Last night’s meeting, Feb. 22,  resulted in an approved budget, which came after a heavily debated discussion. By a vote of 9 to 6, a TRSU budget of $6,018,132 was approved.

After the vote was completed two members of the audience voiced concerns that were reflective of some of the discussion.

A Mt. Holly resident commented, “I was surprised that the budget passed. I thought it could be cut a lot more. There is not a ton of money around here. There are a lot of services that are not educational…..administration creating their own demands.   We could have cut a lot more.” Earlier in the meeting this same person noted, “It seems strange to me that you would vote a budget down and then come back to meet again with the budget not changing.  Either the budget goes up or goes down….it is apparent that the budget needs to go down...so basically you didn’t do your job.”

Cavendish Town Elementary School (CTES) parent Denise Hughes stated I appreciate the job that you all do.  This is about the kids, for the kids. There is less than half of the budget going to the kids. You cut out little things. Things that don’t matter, things that have nothing to do with our kids. You are still not meeting the Act 46 requirements. We need to look at Supervisory Union size. 

 The recommended national standards stated in Act 46 list 2000-4000 students per SU. I know we got some waivers, but we all know those are temporary.  We don’t meet those requirements.  We are less than half of the minimum recommended student size. We are spending close to $100k to house the offices for TRSU. That’s a very expensive workplace to house 10 people. These are the things you need to be thinking about. This budget is all about central office costs. 

 We’re talking salary increase for TRSU staff and benefits that are non-negotiable in this budget discussion.  These are people who already have a much higher salary than our teachers.

 I appreciate Doug’s comments [Doug McBride is one of the TRSU board members from Cavendish] questioning the need of the dental plan that was negotiated in the TRSU Central office (not Special Ed staff) budget, and staff from central office receive this benefit. What’s important for this board to know is that our own teachers don’t have dental. 

Going back to my original point, the average recommended SU size is 2000-4000 students.  If this board wants to start looking at really saving money for taxpayers and finding ways to fund better educational programs, we need to stop looking at nickel or diming schools and start looking at SU consolidation…..I still think we totally missed the mark.

As one board member noted, after a meeting that stretched over two hours, ultimately it’s the town voters who decide what the budget will be. Given how confusing it has been for the boards of the Green Mountain Unified School District (GMUSD), TRSU and the respective schools, to say nothing of the merger votes that have taken place among towns that are part of the TRSU, the voter needs as much help as possible to make a decision.

There are two upcoming meetings where the public can discuss budgets, per pupil costs, impact on taxes, changes being made at the TRSU, ACT 46, and other aspects of the educational system:

• Feb. 27 (Tuesday): Green Mountain Unified School District annual meeting, 7 pm at Green Mountain Union High School in Chester. See the Cavendish Connects Calendar for more information.

• March 5 (Monday): Cavendish Town Meeting, 7 pm at Cavendish Town Elementary School’s Multi Purpose room.

Voting on the school budget takes place on March 6 (Tuesday) by Australian Ballot. Polls are open from 10-7 in the CTES Art Room. 

TRSU meetings are taped and available at the Okemo Valley TV website. Minutes are posted to the TRSU website.

2. CAVENDISH RELATED NEWS

Save the Date-CHS Annual Meeting: The Cavendish Historical Society (CHS) will hold its annual meeting on March 18 (Sunday) 2-4 pm. As March is Women’s History Month, this year’s program will be on Cavendish women. During March, there will be biographies of different women posted to the CHS blog with a summary included in the Cavendish Update. FMI: 802-226-7807 or margocaulfield@icloud.com

 Proctorsville Resident Running in the Boston Marathon: On April 16, Lisa Marks from Proctorsville, Vt. is running to conquer cancer as a member of the Dana-Farber Marathon. Marks, along with more than 500 Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge teammates from across the United States and around the world, will run Massachusetts’ historic marathon route from Hopkinton to Boston to raise $5.5 million for cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Challenge team in the 122nd Boston Marathon. VT Journal

How Long Are you Contagious With the Flu? The CDC says you are contagious one day before you start feeling sick and up to seven days after. If you're a kid, elderly, or have a weak immune system, you can be contagious for even longer. There appears to be a spike in flu in our area. If you or someone you know could use a Cavendish Cares Package (provides items to both prevent flu as well as help deal with symptoms) please send an e-mail to cavendishconnects@gmail.com or call 226-7131 VPR

3. RABIES VACCINATION CLINICS: Springfield Animal Hospital is offering rabies vaccination clinics for cats, dogs and ferrets for $10 per pet-cash or check only at the following times and locations

March 5 (Monday): 6-7:30 pm at Springfield Animal Hospital

March 10 (Saturday) 9-11 am, Springfield Fire Department

March 17 (Saturday) 9-11 am, Baltimore Town Office

March 28 (Wednesday) 6-7:30 pm, Springfield Animal Hospital

Please bring proof of prior vaccination for 3-year certificate, otherwise a 1-year certificate will be issued.

 4. EVENTS

FEBRUARY 26 (MONDAY): CTES board meeting, 5:30 pm in the Arts Room

 FEBRUARY 27 (TUESDAY): ANNUAL MEETING GMUSD 7 pm Green Mountain Union High School auditorium

• Hydroponic Gardening Workshop, 6 pm at the Cavendish Town Office, Free, Sponsored by the Cavendish Energy Committee

 MARCH 1 (THURSDAY): Spaghetti Dinner & Silent Auction to Benefit the Kauffman Family. Drew Kauffman a father of a CTES student has undergone surgery for a brain tumor and the funds from this evening will help offset medical costs and treatment while Drew recovers 5-7pm at CTES. Price is $10 a person and $25 per family.  Dinner includes all you can eat spaghetti and meatballs, garlic bread, salad, lasagna while it lasts, dessert, lemonade, iced tea, and a feeling of fullness for helping out the Kauffman family.

For information on upcoming events, go to the Cavendish Connects Calendar. For area events, check the Okemo Valley Chamber of Commerce calendar.  

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