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The Commons is the public face of a larger nonprofit organization, Vermont Independent Media, Inc.

We came to life from the ground up in 2004, as members of the community became increasingly concerned about the consequences of absent corporate ownership of the daily newspaper in town and the need for local people to have access to the skills to create their own grassroots media.

VIM came to life lovingly and carefully thanks to indefatigable volunteers. The first public programs of the Media Mentoring Project began in 2005, and the first issue of The Commons was published in 2006. The newspaper was published monthly until 2010, when we began a weekly schedule. We are published on Wednesdays 51 times a year.

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Recognizing that a vigorous exchange of ideas and information allows democracy to function and is the lifeblood of a community, Vermont Independent Media:

• creates a forum for community participation,

• promotes local independent journalism,

• fosters civic engagement by building media skills

through publication of The Commons and commonsnews.org, and through the Media Mentoring Project.

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Town and Village

Huber named to fill Selectboard vacancy

By Wendy M. Levy/The Commons

NEWFANE—At the Dec. 18 regular Selectboard meeting, the Board voted to appoint Shelly Huber to the vacant seat left by former Selectboard Chair Carol Hatcher.

Hatcher resigned in early December, citing health concerns.

Huber expressed interest in the position, and told Board members, “I’m civic-minded, and I love Newfane, and want to contribute.”

“We really appreciate that you stepped up and offered your assistance, because we really need it,” Board Chair Marion Dowling said.

After the Town Clerk administered the oath of office to Huber, she joined her colleagues at the Selectboard table.

Huber’s term ends on March 6 at Town Meeting.

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Editor’s note: Our terms of service require you to use your real names. We will remove anonymous or pseudonymous comments that come to our attention. We rely on our readers’ personal integrity to stand behind what they say; please do not write anything to someone that you wouldn’t say to his or her face without your needing to wear a ski mask while saying it. Thanks for doing your part to make your responses forceful, thoughtful, provocative, and civil. We also consider your comments for the letters column in the print newspaper.

Comments

We are currently reconfiguring our comments software. Please check back if you’d like to read or leave comments on this story. —The editors

Originally published in The Commons issue #440 (Wednesday, January 3, 2018). This story appeared on page A5.

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