Rick Hege

West River school district questions: a yes to both

In the upcoming general election on Nov. 6, voters in Brookline, Jamaica, Newfane, Townshend, and Windham will be handed an additional ballot. The purpose of this ballot is to change certain sections of the articles of agreement of the West River Modified Unified Education District.

The ballot will be confusing, so I want to clarify things for general public a bit concerning what the articles will change if they pass.

Article One deals with the method in which all representatives to the board will be elected. A vote in favor of this will allow the residents of all the involved towns to nominate and vote for town-specific representatives in the same manner that those towns vote for other public officials.

In Newfane, this would not change anything. In the other four towns, it would allow us to nominate and vote from the floor as we do with all other elections on the annual warning.

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We did not get paid to move here

Moving to Vermont might be easy, especially with some state incentives for telecommuters. Becoming a Vermonter? That process is more complicated.

My Facebook feed has been lit up with friends posting links to articles about how we are going to pay people $10,000 to move to Vermont. It has been great fun. I have a limited number of friends, by design, and they are scattered all across the country. Many,

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I’m leaving on all the lights

‘Don’t waste power’ used to be secret code for ‘don’t waste money.’ Not anymore, thanks to the Vermont Public Service Board.

When you have been on this earth for over a half a century, you can expect assorted traumatic events over that period of time, events that make you reexamine all your most basic beliefs. The only thing left to do is to get your act together and move on...

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Story’s source not that clueless

I need to make a correction, but not to in any way, criticize the reporter. We had a nice chat, and it is not easy to talk on a phone and take notes at the same time. No, I have to make a correction in order to prevent being labeled as “clueless” here in Townshend, though many will have a good time at my expense anyway. The gazebo, as most of the world now knows, was taken down by an...

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A worthless and idiotic excuse

My wife and I have been in Vermont since 1977. We filed our 1977 tax returns and paid Vermont tax on what was, at the time, income generated in New Hampshire. We currently live in the same house, we use the same post office box, and our Social Security numbers are the same. The only thing that has changed in 39 years is that our road was given a name when E911 came in to being. We started paying a...

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State senator’s attention to Townshend: not the norm

At Town Meeting in Townshend, I made an error in a statement that I made about the lack of visits from Windham County senators. Senator Becca Balint was there, and I - and the rest of those in attendance - thanked her for understanding that Townshend was part of Windham County and for actually dropping by for Town Meeting. She came with State Representative Emily Long. Later in the day, when I saw former Windham County Senator Peter Galbraith, I...

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Important to read differing sides of issues

Part of the problem with political issues these days is we refuse to even listen to the other side. The country is extremely polarized, as is the media, which plays to one side or another. The Commons has been responsible, in my view, by publishing a side that might not be popular in the area that it serves. To even suggest that they may be “on the take” does them a great disservice. You have one opinion of the closing...

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What’s the 411 on the 404?

I have no right to speak on behalf of the town of Townshend. I do, however, have a right to speak to the recent, rambling comments by Senator Jeanette White regarding Townshend's decision to take its website down. While some believe I controlled the website and the content, I did not. I built it, I maintained it, and I am the only person in town who has been involved with it from the beginning to its current archived state. Any...

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