ICE is causing problems throughout the country and most recently in South Burlington, but the ice causing problems for the Gazette was at the bottom of my steps last Thursday when I stepped out on my way to teach a Tai Chi for fall prevention class.
My feet slipped out from under me and I landed square on my sitbones and tailbone. I somehow managed to make it to class, though I sat for a considerable portion while my co-teacher led much of it.
Afterward, I managed to load the car and make the 3-½ hour drive to Portsmouth, N.H., where I spent Friday and Saturday at the New England Newspaper & Press Association’s annual conference, skipping meals to rest as much as I could and not writing stories I’d planned for this week.
Home now, I’ve spent the last two days in bed, unable to sit or lie on my back. This morning, folks at the Hardwick Area Health Center told me to rest, apply cold, then hot, take painkillers, then repeat as needed. I’ve order a special pillow to aid coccyx injury recovery, so hope to work relatively normally soon.
Sadly, because of that a small pile of stories that we’d hoped to have for you this week will have to wait for a future edition. An interesting story about Hardwick’s Bridge 31, across the Lamoille River before Greensboro Bend, will have to wait too. There, the bridge was destroyed in flooding and the Greensboro Bridge not far away is handling all the traffic.
A story about construction in downtown Hardwick and how it’s affecting parking and businesses there will be delayed too. Employees are being asked to park in remote lots to keep more downtown parking spots open for shoppers and the Galaxy Bookshop has teamed up with the Jeudevine Library for library donations to purchase books from the local bookshop.
I met with a group of Woodbury residents last week at a home overlooking the hill where Swenson Granite plans a big expansion, adding a crusher and doubling the number of loaded trucks leaving the quarry there. The Woodbury Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBA) has begun hearings and a future Act 250 process is likely. It’s an ongoing process as the ZBA has yet to report on its deliberations. There’s a story to be written about that too.
Area legislators have shared comments with The Gazette about a proposed Vermont House bill, H.849, which creates a legal mechanism that allows Vermonters to seek accountability if their state or federal constitutional rights are violated by government employees. Current legislation allows state, but not federal accountability. This legislation closes that gap. You’ll see that story next week.
I’ve been glad to hear from some readers lately that The Gazette is too big to read ach week. We never know until we’re done how big an issue we’ll have, but maybe you’ll get a break this week.
Meanwhile, let’s hope the ice on my backside solves the problem there.
Paul Fixx, editor
Paul Fixx is editor of The Hardwick Gazette and lives in Hardwick.
