August 3:

7 a.m. An abandoned vehicle on Route 116 was investigated.

6 p.m. A late-reported incident on Mechanicsville Road was investigated. Trever Kunze, 21, of Hinesburg was arrested for domestic assault.

6:23 p.m. A fraud was reported and investigated.

August 4:

12:22 p.m. A temporary relief order was served.

August 5:

10:42 a.m. Property damage was reported on Beaver Pond Road.

2:53 p.m. An officer assisted another agency with the service of paperwork.

9:21 p.m. Suspicious activity on Turkey Lane was investigated.

August 6:

1:54 p.m. Officers assisted another agency with a death notification.

5:34 p.m. Suspicious activity was reported on Kailey’s Way.

6:44 p.m. An animal problem was reported and investigated on Lyman Meadows.

August 7:

10:50 a.m. An officer assisted another agency with the service of paperwork.

5:56 p.m. An officer responded to Bear Lane for a domestic dispute.

Thousands turned out across the state to elect Democratic, Republican or Progressive party candidates for the general election in a variety of state races. Many were uncontested. Hinesburg had a steady voter turnout all day and the count wasn’t completed until 10:40 p.m.

Here are the statewide primary results as of Wednesday Aug. 12 at 2:45 p.m. Virtually all ballots (99%) had been counted. Declared party winners are denoted with an asterisk and are in bold. Hinesburg results in parentheses after totals.

U.S. House

GOP (99 percent of vote counted)
*Gerald Malloy: 15,597 (Hinesburg: 66)
Mark Coester: 4,506 (H: 18)

Democrat
*Incumbent U.S. Rep. Becca Balint (unopposed)

Governor

GOP
*Incumbent Phil Scott (unopposed)

Democrat (99 percent)
*Amanda Janoo: 39,405 (H: 416)
Aly Richards: 37,290 (H: 440)

Lt. Governor

*Incumbent John Rodgers (unopposed)

Democrat (99 percent)
*Molly Gray: 50,590 (H: 527)
Ryan McLaren: 22,979 (H: 283)
Esther Charlestin: 9,081 (H: 100)

State Auditor

Democrat (99 percent)

*Tim Ashe: 52,775 (H: 653)
Nicholas Graeter: 8,858 (H: 85)
Dan Towle: 8,502 (H: 96)

Chittenden County States Attorney

Democrat (99%)
*Sarah F. George: 15,931 (H: 543)
Bram Kranichfeld: 14,923 (H: 379)

Chittenden Southeast State Senate

Democrat (99 percent)
*Thomas Chittenden: 9,332 (H: 540)
*Virginia Lyons: 9,149 (H:582)
*Kesha Ram Hinsdale: 8,425 (H: 540)
Elizabeth Ann Hunt: 6,571 (H: 414)
Joanna Grossman: 5,131 (H: 296)

Chittenden County Sheriff

Democrat (99%)
*Daniel Gamelin: 15,876 (H: 492)
Kevin Bloom: 12,135 (H: 360)

Chittenden County High Bailiff

Democrat
*Amy Payne: 8,603 (H: 224)
Paul McManus: 5,248 (H: 124)
Michael “Mikey” Roberts: 2,584 (H: 136)
Helaine “Lainey” Rappaport: 1,778 (H: 41)
Augustus Barkyoumb: 1,691 (H: 27)

Editor’s note: Many thanks to those who gathered votes for the Hinesburg Town Clerk’s Office; Vermont Secretary of State; Associated Press; Vermont Public and VTDigger.org. All primary races not listed were uncontested.

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Jean Aldena Aube Miner, 96, of Hinesburg passed away peacefully after a brief illness at the McClure-Miller Respite House on July 27, 2026.

She was born in her grandparents’ home on Pond Road in Hinesburg and was the oldest of Hector and Mildred Harvey Aube’s 11 children. All their family grew up there, enjoying the security of loving parents, siblings and neighbors. She walked across the farm’s fields to the one room school #9 in Mechanicsville, was a delegate to 1947 Girl’s State, graduated the valedictorian of Hinesburg High School class of 1948. After high school she worked in an insurance office in Burlington.

Jean married John Miner on May 16, 1949. They enjoyed 58 years together before his death in December 2006. Their family of six children were raised on their farm on the border of Hinesburg and Charlotte. She cherished time spent with her grands and great-grands.

Jean was very active in the Hinesburg Historical Society, reviving it in 2008 after several years as older members passed away. She did research in the town records for families researching genealogy and spoke about Hinesburg’s history to schoolchildren. She enjoyed her honorary title of “Town Historian and President for life” of the Historical Society.

She was very proud of her work with the Cemetery Commission. She worked for 25 years charting and recording graves in all the cemeteries in Hinesburg. She also sold lots and arranged for burials, retiring in 2018.

She is survived by her children, Kathleen (Kitty) LaClair and husband Norris, Matthew Miner and wife Melody, Thomas Miner and wife Nancy, Joseph Miner and Nathan Miner. She also leaves behind 10 grandchildren, Benjamin Miner and wife Liz, Jay Miner and wife Amanda, Christopher LaClair and wife Stephanie, Chad LaClair and wife Jennie, Morgan Fay and husband Richard, Devon Ferland and husband Tyler, Patrick Miner and partner Jamie, Travis Miner, Lily Miner and Ali Miner; 12 great-grandchildren, Daniel Miner, Ezra Miner, Elliot Miner, Linus LaClair, Eliana LaClair, Emelia Fay, Connor Fay, Carson Ferland, Parker Ferland, Charlie Miner, Jack Miner and Marzley Miner; her siblings, Corrine Bissonette and husband Charlie, Pete Aube and wife Caroline, Steve Aube and wife Terry, Rachel Griggs and husband Scott, Daniel Aube and wife Shiela, Martha Cota and husband Ralph, and sister-in-law Gail Aube. She also has a very large family of cherished nieces, nephews and cousins.

Jean was predeceased by her husband, John; oldest son Michael and wife Kathryn (Kathy); parents Hector and Mildred Aube; and siblings Ann Muse, Elaine Aube Devoid, Fred Aube and Mick Aube.

The family would like to thank Harbor Village Assisted Living and the McClure-Miller Respite House for providing great care and comfort to Mom in her final days.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Sept. 12, 2026, at 11 a.m. in St. Jude the Apostle Parish, Hinesburg. Visitation will be held in the church hall at 10 a.m. prior to the Mass. Interment will follow in the Hinesburg Village Cemetery, Mechanicsville Road. The family is hosting a reception in the church hall immediately following the interment. All are welcome to join us to share fond memories of Jean.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the McClure-Miller Respite House.

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By Cathy Ryan

This week’s Word of the Week is ponderous. Often, I’ll read a word and think I have an idea of the meaning, but look it up just to be sure, and find that I was wrong. This is one of those cases. Thinking of the word ponder, which most of us know, I was thinking ponderous described someone who ponders, or contemplates things. Someone might ponder weighty decisions, but ponderous is more literal – it means something heavy. It can also mean something dull and boring. Both ponder and ponderous come from the Latin word for “weight,” pondus.

I read this word in a short story by Philip K. Dick called “Beyond Lies the Wub.” Some of Dick’s short stories, including this one, are in the public domain, and you can read the story online here. A collection of all his public domain stories is available here.

“We are a very old race,” the wub said. “Very old and very ponderous. It is difficult for us to move around. You can appreciate that anything so slow and heavy would be at the mercy of more agile forms of life.

You may or may not have heard of Philip K. Dick, but you have certainly heard of some movies that have been adapted from his novels and stories, including:

• Blade Runner (1982), based on Dick’s 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?

• Total Recall (1990), based on the short story “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale.”

• Minority Report (2002), based on the short story of the same name.

• The series The Man in the High Castle, based on the novel of the same name.

Philip K. Dick was born in Chicago in 1928. He began publishing novels and stories in the 1950s. He did not earn much acclaim until he published his alternative history novel The Man in the High Castle in 1962, which earned a Hugo Award. But even then, he was primarily only known by dedicated science fiction fans.

Dick had a tumultuous life. He married five times, suffered from anxiety, was a heavy drug user, attempted suicide, and suffered from hallucinations (or, had paranormal experiences, depending on whether you believe what he claimed to see). He had financial difficulties for much of his life, and in the introduction to the 1980 short story collection The Golden Man, he wrote:

Several years ago, when I was ill, Heinlein [author Robert A. Heinlein] offered his help, anything he could do, and we had never met; he would phone me to cheer me up and see how I was doing. He wanted to buy me an electric typewriter, God bless him – one of the few true gentlemen in this world. I don’t agree with any ideas he puts forth in his writing, but that is neither here nor there. One time when I owed the IRS a lot of money and couldn’t raise it, Heinlein loaned the money to me. I think a great deal of him and his wife; I dedicated a book to them in appreciation. Robert Heinlein is a fine-looking man, very impressive and very military in stance; you can tell he has a military background, even to the haircut. He knows I’m a flipped-out freak and still he helped me and my wife when we were in trouble. That is the best in humanity, there; that is who and what I love.

Dick died in 1982, at the age of 53, as a result of a stroke. After his death, his work became much more well-known, primarily because of the movies and series made from his work. In 2005, Time magazine named Ubik (1969) one of the hundred greatest English-language novels published since 1923. He was also inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2005.

Philip K. Dick now has legions of fans, and this article in The Guardian, in which three writers describe their favorite book by him, confirms that his diehard fans call themselves Dickheads. He is also known by his initials, PKD, and many of his books now have a cover emblazoned with “PKD.” I’ve enjoyed many of his stories, and recommend him, especially to science fiction fans.

You can read previous Word of the Week articles here.

CORRECTION: The Vermont State Primary election will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 11. Polls at Hinesburg Town Hall will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Look for results here Tuesday night. For a host of links to information about the primary and the candidates, visit VTDigger’s primary election guide. While local primary candidates are uncontested, there are multiple candidates in each party for some of the statewide offices. (Note: The polls open at 7 a.m. NOT 9 a.m. as originally stated.)

Hinesburg Then & Now – Photo Challenge #2

This is a new regular feature in The Record. We’ll share a historical photo and ask you to guess what it is, where it is or, if it’s a person, who it is. You’ll have a week to guess (or tell us what you know) in the comments of the full article here. This building burned down in 1904 but was rebuilt to the same specifications – width, length, height – as this one and in the exact same place and is still standing today. What building is it? And where is it located?

Hinesburg’s First National Night Out

Hinesburg joined almost 17,000 other communities across the country on Tuesday, Aug. 4, in hosting National Night Out – an initiative led by police departments that seeks to build and strengthen relationships between public safety agencies and the neighborhoods they serve. Read all about it in the full article here.

Support The Record’s advertisers and you support us.

Dennis Willmott’s Celebration of Life

Dennis Willmott’s Celebration of Life on Friday, July 31, paid tribute to the musician’s rich, energetic life and all those he touched during it. Speakers, such as close friend of Willmott’s Dan Whalen, remembered Willmott’s vigor and humor. Read the full article here.

The Recreation Department’s Fall Recreation Guide is Available

The Hinesburg Recreation Dept. has published their Fall Recreation Guide in PDF form, which is available here.

Turf Field Updates

Lawyer Makes a Declaration and CVSD Board Responds

After a lawyer, representing Responsible Growth Hinesburg and several residents, declared that the board’s actions at its June 30 meeting were illegal, the board responded saying that its actions were proper.

August 5 Selectboard Meeting Discussion

The selectboard meeting on Aug. 5 included a discussion about the turf field. Read more in this article. Adam Bunting, CVSD Superintendent, read a statement at that meeting. You can read his full statement here.

If you support our advertisers, you are supporting The Record.

Life on the Head of a Pin: A Passive Choice

What does it mean when a medical protocol becomes a routine, something you just do, something you don’t notice? Nate’s latest article discusses defaults and choice. You can read it here.

“Life on the Head of a Pin” is a monthly column. The author was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) nearly 15 years ago.

Word of the Week – Ponderous

It might not mean what you think. Plus, a discussion of author Philip K. Dick, whom you may not have heard of, but you’ve heard of movie adaptations of his books (such as Total Recall and Minority Report). Read the full article here.

In case you missed it …

The Leavenworths Return Home

Two early 1800s paintings of Hinesburg residents Betsy Hurlbut Leavenworth and her stepson, Henry Levin Wentworth have been gifted to the Town of Hinesburg, and have been hung at Town Hall. Read more in the full article here.

Kinney’s AI Has Led to Delays, Incorrect Information and Privacy Concerns

Earlier this summer, amid a nationwide wave of AI technology entering healthcare systems, Kinney Drugs implemented a new AI assistant for prescription refill services, lauding the tool as a way to improve communication and efficiency. But customers say it’s doing the opposite – it’s causing problems. Read the full article here.

Upcoming:

Monday, Aug. 10

• VT State Archives Speaker Series: “Lost Graves: Burials on the Grounds of the Vermont State Hospital, 1891-1913” by Anne Donahue. 1:30–3:30 p.m. in Room 11 at the Vermont State House and streaming live here. More info here and here.

• Music Monday at the East Monkton Church, 7-8 p.m. Paul Lyons will be performing. More info here.

Tuesday, Aug. 11

• DEIB Committee Meeting, 6-7:30 p.m. Town Hall

• Recreation Commission meeting, 6-8 p.m. Town Hall

• Conservation Commission Meeting, 7-9 p.m. Carpenter-Carse Library. Details and agenda here.

Wednesday, Aug. 12

• Planning Commission Meeting, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Town Hall, lower-level conference room and via Zoom. Details and agenda here.

• Hinesburg Concerts in the Park Series, 6:30-8:30 p.m. behind the Hinesburg Community School. This week, The Fog is performing. More info here.

Thursday, Aug. 13

• Town Forest Committee meeting, 7-9 p.m. Town Hall.

• Comedy Open Mic Night: Unfiltered Summer Edition, 7:30-9 p.m. Frost Beer Works, Commerce Street, Hinesburg. More info here.

“Life on the Head of a Pin” is a monthly column. The author was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) nearly 15 years ago. He writes about his life and its challenges the first full week of every month. A Hinesburg resident, he currently serves as a mentor at Hinesburg Community School. To read his other columns, click here.)

By Nate Methot
For The Record

I started on Wellbutrin last year, and upped the dose a few days ago. I was out of refills and could only ignore the voicemails and emails so long.

A little white cylinder has been part of my morning routine for a year. And that’s what it was: Routine. Automatic. Without thought. Finally prompted, forced to check in with my doctor, I considered a change, a double or nothing.

I had been prescribed an antidepressant the day I was diagnosed, almost 15 years ago. Part of the protocol. I don’t, and didn’t, know what it was, but I took it. I did what they told me – for a time.

In that first go-around, I pondered antidepressants vis-à-vis my particular predicament: I was just diagnosed with a terminal illness. I should be depressed. Right? Anything else would be unnatural. These things mattered to me. There was a difference between someone leading an outwardly fulfilling, hopeful and contented life (or even, potentially so) struggling with depression, and someone with every reason to spend his days in bed, sit and cry in the dark, and generally collapse in on himself. A big difference.

It felt phony. I didn’t want to put on their rose-colored glasses. Like the therapy and the Riluzole I was taking to ever-so-slightly prolong the inevitable, any antidepressant seemed useless, like showing up at a homeless shelter with movie tickets. I only cared about one thing (and still do) – my health – and a mood-altering prescription drug would do squat.

I stopped that first drug after a couple of years, and replaced it with another. Its trial period was much shorter due to heavy side effects. Besides zoning out in traffic, it made my already unsteady gait far worse. I could never take something that posed any risk to my mobility. I stopped and didn’t find a substitute.

Until the Wellbutrin a dozen years later. To think of all that happened in between: I was coerced to move out my apartment above a garage, whose staircase I tumbled down only once; my live-in fiancée left me a month before the wedding day and just after I’d closed on a house; I began to fall with increasing frequency and danger, resulting in two separate stitch-ups, one 9-1-1 call and ambulance ride, and an unknown quantity of concussions; and finally, I was forced to sell my house and car and move in with my parents – not to mention actually live with them, through a pandemic and otherwise. None of this got me back on an antidepressant. I don’t even remember considering it. But had I been on one, I likely would have taken that little pill every morning.

What am I getting at? I think it’s this: The default is powerful. It doesn’t feel like a choice, but it is. A passive one. How many things do we just do, without thought? Do our defaults – whether self-generated or from the outside, protocol – still serve us? Large and small, they’re worth considering. Noticing. We should do more noticing. (Not on your phone. Stop noticing your phone so much.)

So, why did I start back with an antidepressant? The power of suggestion. Has it done any good? I don’t know. Maybe?

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By Mary Jo Brace
The Record Staff Writer

This building burned down in 1904, but was rebuilt to the same specifications – width, length, height – as the original and in the exact same place and is still standing today.

What building is it? And where is it located?

Comment below. Answers on this post next week.

To see last week’s challenge, click here.

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Hinesburg joined almost 17,000 other communities across the country on Tuesday, Aug. 4, in hosting National Night Out – an initiative led by police departments that seeks to build and strengthen relationships between public safety agencies and the neighborhoods they serve.

The event, spearheaded by Chief of Police Christopher Romance and held in conjunction with the Hinesburg Fire Department, also featured representatives from Richmond Rescue, the Vermont National Guard, and Vermont Emergency Management.

Several vehicles were opened up to tour: three firetrucks, an ambulance, and a pickup-truck-style Humvee were all on display. A table offered free, informative flyers and graphics from Vermont Emergency Management.

Richmond Rescue EMTs invited attendees inside the ambulance to turn on the lights and sirens.

Firefighter Alex Seigo participated in previous National Night Out events when he volunteered for the Essex Junction Fire Department.

He said his own interest in the career began when he was young, watching his dad as a volunteer firefighter.

“I would hang out at the fire station or watch them go on calls,” he said. “Part of our job is to pass [interest] along to the next generation, and if I can even just get it started for somebody else, that’s pretty cool for me.”

National Guard representatives Josh Fish and James Varian had also been involved in National Night Out in their former states of residence.

“It’s nice … to put the faces to the names of the officers and see what kind of stuff we [have] available,” Varian said.

Fish noted that in many other states, almost every town opts into the event.

“I think it’s good to get it started [here],” he said. “Especially with the climate now, it’s nice just saying hey, come see what we do and who we are.”

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By Claire MacDonald
Hinesburg Record Staff Reporter

The vast majority of the selectboard meeting on Aug. 5, 2026, focused on a discussion about the proposed artificial turf field project at Champlain Valley Union High School.

Superintendent Adam Bunting, CVSD Chief Operations Officer Gary Marckres and Hinesburg representative for the CVU school board Keith Roberts were in attendance.

Additionally, 11 members of the public were present, with more participating via Zoom. Per the selectboard’s ground rules established toward the beginning of the meeting, Bunting was given five minutes to read his prepared letter to the Hinesburg community, and additional time to answer questions. Individuals were allotted between two to three minutes to make statements or ask questions of Bunting.

Chairperson Merrily Lovell stressed the importance of the meeting being a discussion.

“[This] is on purpose, because we haven’t really had that opportunity,” she said. “In our country today, in our culture, we have far too much butting heads, people not listening to each other, people being stuck in their point of view and getting angry with each other…so my hope tonight is that we can really listen.”

In keeping with the nature of the meeting, Lovell added that there would be no decision made by the selectboard that night about taking any kind of action.

Bunting’s letter to the community (click here to read full copy) – where he noted that he was not speaking on behalf of the CVSD board, but rather from an individual perspective – emphasized his desire to prioritize students and forge a path forward towards a compromise for the entire community, with “greater opportunities for students, stronger environmental protections, and a project shaped and improved by public engagement.”

He added that he takes exception to characterizations that CVSD intentionally withheld information from the public. He hopes Responsible Growth Hinesburg will extend the board the same generosity of interpretation that has been granted to them, referencing the fact that a review of the petition presented to CVSD in opposition of the field – frequently described as containing nearly a thousand signatures – identified 122 duplicate names and 341 signatures from individuals identified as Hinesburg residents.

“I could interpret these discrepancies as an effort to misrepresent the level of support. I do not,” he said. “I believe the petitions were presented in good faith … I do not presume bad intent, and I hope others will extend that same presumption of good faith to the district, the board, and me.”

Bunting noted that this process has been hard.

“This is not what I envisioned when I think about the community conversations and what we want to build together,” he said.

Several members of the public asked questions of Bunting. Most concerned next steps, health and environmental implications of the project, and considerations of alternatives.

Bunting repeatedly noted the infancy of the project in his responses.

“I think one thing people are unaware of is how early we are in this process,” he said. “I think folks thought there were already donations raised for this field [and] that the second this was voted for, all of a sudden, a turf field would appear … that’s not the case.”

He added that, to his knowledge, no funds have been raised at this point for the project. No manufacturer has been selected. Once funds have been raised, a public bidding process would begin; however, he reiterated that this could be a very long process.

Margaret McNurlan addressed the selectboard in her question, asking if they had discussed what can be done to answer concerns raised about the field – specifically, as they relate to PFAS, microplastics and nanoplastics.

“As an individual and a selectboard member, this has been very heavy on my mind. But I’m reluctant to start spending town resources on it,” selectboard member Paul Lamberson said. “I think there’s a great process unfolding. I’m more confident in that process with Adam’s comments … what I’m hearing is that [the project] is in such infancy and incubation right now that I don’t have a proposal to respond to.”

Several comments were made about a lack of response from the school board when messaged.

Roberts reminded attendees that the school board must speak as a collective, and that the board acknowledges all input as received and then discusses that input at open school board meetings.

“I don’t know that anyone is going to get any specific substantive return to their submissions, because the school board isn’t going to do that collectively for each submitted communication,” he said.

Additionally, the board:

• Thanked former Development Review Coordinator Mitchel Cypes for his decade of service;

• approved the Vermont Electric Company’s ROW occupancy request; and,

• approved three public questions to appear on the general election ballot in November, all relating to the town assessing a tax on sales, hotel rooms, meals, and alcoholic beverages, pursuant of 24 V.S.A § 138(b).

By Adam Bunting
Superintendent of CVSD

Dear Hinesburg Community,

I have remained relatively quiet in recent weeks about the proposed turf field at CVU. In that silence, I believe I have allowed others to attribute positions or motives to me that are not accurate.

I am not writing on behalf of the CVSD board. I am speaking solely for myself, as an educator who has had the privilege of serving this community for more than 25 years.

Part of the reason for my silence has been my own discomfort and uncertainty. I was initially enthusiastic about the proposed gift and the opportunities it could create for our students and broader community, and I assumed others would share that enthusiasm. As I learned more about PFAS, in part because of the advocacy of Responsible Growth Hinesburg, I became increasingly concerned and more aware of the questions that needed to be answered.

I love this community, and I love our kids. The last thing I want is to contribute to harming either. I also believe that our shared care for this community can help us find a responsible path forward.

Despite a recent comment from a Hinesburg resident that the community merely “tolerates” CVU, I believe the school contributes meaningfully to an already vibrant town. Nearly 1,300 students and approximately 400 faculty and staff engage in learning and work at CVU each day. The school also has longstanding relationships with the community through local partnerships, programs, events, and shared spaces. I remain proud of those relationships and hopeful that they can continue to grow.

In the years I have worked in this community, I have tried to build trust, sometimes successfully and sometimes imperfectly. What I believe I have consistently tried to be is authentic, thoughtful, and committed to doing what is best for students and the community.

There are certainly things I could have done better or differently throughout this process, and I continue to reflect on those lessons. At the same time, I take exception to allegations that CVSD intentionally withheld information or attempted to conceal its actions. It is easy to assume the worst about another person’s decisions and then construct a narrative around those assumptions. It is also one of the quickest ways to polarize a community and make productive dialogue more difficult.

It is my hope that Responsible Growth Hinesburg will extend to us the same generosity of interpretation that we should extend to them. The petitions presented to the District offer one example. They have frequently been described as containing nearly 1,000 signatures from Hinesburg residents. Our review identified 122 duplicate names and 341 signatures from individuals identified as Hinesburg residents.

I could interpret those discrepancies as an effort to misrepresent the level of support. I do not.

Instead, I believe the petitions were presented in good faith. There were three separate petitions, and some individuals signed more than one. I do not presume bad intent, and I hope others will extend that same presumption of good faith to the District, the board, and me.

The preliminary term sheet referenced in the Gift Agreement is another example. It was not a final agreement to build or accept a turf field. It was a preliminary roadmap identifying the topics the parties expected to explore and negotiate before any definitive agreement could be brought forward.

I understood the term sheet to be a standard preliminary negotiating document, particularly because it was publicly known that the District and donor group were exploring and negotiating a possible agreement. I recognize that others may view the document differently, particularly in hindsight. I also understand that making more information available earlier may have helped build greater confidence in the process. That is a fair lesson for me to carry forward. But it is not accurate to characterize the term sheet as a secret agreement approving the project or as evidence of an intentional effort to deceive the public.

We may not always agree, but I believe most people involved in this conversation are motivated by a sincere desire to protect and strengthen our community.

So, where do I stand?

I believe a turf field in the Northeast can provide significantly greater access and opportunity for students. It could expand playing and practice time, reduce cancellations, support a wider range of school and community activities, and create a more consistent and reliable surface than our current fields.

At the same time, I believe we have a responsibility to ensure that any field we accept reflects our community’s values and our commitment to environmental and human health. Just as the proposed field in South Burlington has been presented as a new standard for environmental and human-health protections, ours should be held to an equally high standard.

Part of the reason I was eager to have the Gift Agreement released as soon as it was signed was so you could see that CVSD retains control over the selection of the manufacturer. We should be able to state proudly, and support with evidence, that the field contains no intentionally added PFAS; that it includes strong systems for limiting the migration of microplastics and responsibly managing runoff; and that we have used our purchasing power to push manufacturers toward safer products, greater transparency, and stronger regulation.

To me, that is the path toward compromise and toward a meaningful win for our entire community: greater opportunities for students, stronger environmental protections, and a project shaped and improved by public engagement.

To the residents of Hinesburg, particularly those who have invested significant time and energy in pushing this project toward greater safety: We have heard you. Your advocacy has influenced this process, and we will continue to listen.

I remain hopeful that we can move forward with care, humility, and a shared commitment to the community we all value.

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The lawyer, James Dumont of Bristol, had written the board on July 31 saying it had violated law when it voted on June 30 to go into executive session to discuss a proposed Gift Agreement with a private group that proposed to finance an artificial field, stands, lights and access. He also said it erred in voting to enter into the agreement.

Not so, says the district.

In a statement released Tuesday, CVSD Board Chair Megan Metzler said the “allegations” were reviewed by the district’s lawyer and were found not to have merit. She outlined why the votes followed the law.

Dumont responded to the response saying that when violations of the state’s Open Meeting Law are alleged, a public board must hold a public meeting to discuss the issue and must give notice of such a meeting and he knew of and saw no notice of any such meeting being held.

Metzler’s statement

Here is CVSD’s statement which was signed by Metzler:

“The CVSD board takes seriously its responsibility to the public and its obligations under Vermont’s Open Meeting Law. After receiving a letter from James Dumont Esq. this weekend, the board promptly reviewed the allegations and its process and consulted with legal counsel.

“Based on that review, the board determined that no violation occurred and that no cure is necessary for the following reasons:

“The board discussed the Gift Agreement in executive session on June 30, 2026, because it involved a contract that remained subject to negotiation. The executive session was therefore proper under 1 V.S.A. § 313(a)(1)(A), and the board properly moved into executive session pursuant to 1 V.S.A. § 313(a)(1). No action was taken in executive session. The final Gift Agreement was subsequently made public after being signed. Accordingly, the board is confident that its process complied with Vermont’s Open Meeting Law.

“The letter also raised concerns regarding a nonbinding term sheet authorized by the superintendent in August 2025. The board did not review, discuss, or take action on that nonbinding preliminary agreement. Such agreements are commonly used to establish a framework for further exploration and negotiation before a proposed contract is brought to the board for consideration.

“Over the following months, the parties engaged in a substantive negotiation process. Because the Gift Agreement remained under negotiation, publicly discussing draft terms could have compromised the negotiating position of either party and created confusion by disclosing provisions that were still subject to change.”

Lawyer responds

Later on Tuesday night, Dumont issued this statement in an email to Supt. Adam Bunting:

“In my experience, the standard procedure when an [Open Meeting Law] violation has been alleged is for a public body to include the claim in its agenda for a noticed meeting, meet in open meeting, make a motion to enter executive session to discuss the claimed OML violation, discuss the claimed OML violation in executive session, and then return to the open meeting to vote on what response to make to the claimed OML violation. This standard procedure conforms to the OML.

“In “emergency” situations, the statute allows modification of the standard notice requirements “provided some public notice thereof is given as soon as possible before any such meeting.”

“I checked your website, and there is no notice of any board meeting that occurred between Friday and this afternoon. Nor is there an agenda or any minutes.

“Pursuant to the OML and the Public Records Act:

1) Please produce copies of the notice of the meeting at which the determination was made, a record of when and where the notice was posted, the audio or video record of the meeting, the agenda for the meeting, and the minutes showing the determination that was made by the Board, including the wording of the determination and the vote on the determination;

2) If there was no notice, no agenda, no minutes, and no audio or video record of the meeting, please produce all emails, letter, texts and all other documents that constitute the determination that the letter refers to, including a record of the vote that was taken by the board in reaching that determination;

3) If there are no documents that constitute the determination, and it there exists no record of the vote that was taken, please state that no such documents exist; and

4) Pursuant to the OML, I request that the Board provide me with written notice of all special meetings of the Board this calendar year.”

Original Dumontletter

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Cvsd Response2

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By Claire MacDonald
Hinesburg Record Staff Reporter

Dennis Willmott’s Celebration of Life on Friday, July 31, 2026, paid tribute to the musician’s rich, energetic life and all those he touched during it.

As a testament to the far reach of Willmott’s love, the large, well-lit round room of Meach Cove Farms was packed, with every chair occupied. Others stood against the wall, and more still drew up folding chairs to watch from outside of the open doors.

Speakers, such as close friend of Willmott’s Dan Whalen, remembered Willmott’s vigor and humor.

“Most positive guy I know. Always encouraging. Always had a good thing to say,” Whalen said. “Go down the streets of Burlington, it might take 40 minutes to go a block. I always called him the unofficial mayor of Burlington, ‘cause man, he loved people and engaged with them.”

Family members remembered Willmott’s deep care for those around him.

“My grandpa Dennis loved getting to the point,” Willmott’s granddaughter Anika said. “I’ve never known someone to so often skip straight past the bullshit and tell you precisely how and why he loved you in the fewest words.”

In keeping with Willmott’s life passion, the celebration featured performances from several different musicians, including his musical partners and friends Dwight Ritscher and Nicole Nelson.

The group songs Do Lord and Up Above My Head involved the entire crowd, and the room filled with joyful melody and clapping.

“I think Dennis was in the room with us,” Whalen said.

Last week, we published this photo of a building, and asked readers to guess, in the comments, where it had been located:

This week, we’ve revealed where it is, and give a bit of history in this article.

Lawyer Declares CVSD Board Vote Not Legal

A Bristol lawyer representing 10 Hinesburg residents and Responsible Growth Hinesburg wrote to the CVSD board Friday that its votes at its meeting on June 30, 2026, to go into an executive session and then, in open session, to enter into a Gift Agreement for a turf field at CVU, were illegal. Read the full article here.

Hinesburg To Participate in Town’s First National Night Out

Chief of Police Christopher Romance will open up the Hinesburg Police Department for members of the public to tour emergency vehicles, see the premises and speak with law enforcement officers on Tuesday, Aug. 4, from 5 to 7 p.m. The event will mark Hinesburg’s first time opting into a nationwide effort, National Night Out: a free, annual event held by police departments around the country. Find out more here.

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The Leavenworths Return Home

Two early 1800s paintings of Hinesburg residents Betsy Hurlbut Leavenworth and her stepson, Henry Levin Wentworth have been gifted to the Town of Hinesburg, and have been hung at Town Hall. Read more in the full article here.

Kinney’s AI Has Led to Delays, Incorrect Information and Privacy Concerns

Earlier this summer, amid a nationwide wave of AI technology entering healthcare systems, Kinney Drugs implemented a new AI assistant for prescription refill services, lauding the tool as a way to improve communication and efficiency. But customers say it’s doing the opposite – it’s causing problems. Read the full article here.

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Word of the Week – Abjure

Nowadays, we do it casually, but centuries ago it could mean life or death. Learn about this, and another very similar word, adjure, in the full article.

In case you missed it …

My Story: From England to TV to Flying to Hinesburg

Joe Gannon has had a wide variety of occupations in widely varied locations, always following his heart. Listen to this audio story (or read it) here.

Hinesburg Artists on Exhibit at Birds of Vermont Museum Art Show

Five Hinesburg artists have artwork on display at Wings • Waters • Ways, the Birds of Vermont Museum’s curated art exhibit, which asks the question, How do artists perceive birds, waters, and the ways we interact? Read the full article, and get details on the exhibit here.

Upcoming:

Monday, Aug. 3

• Energy & Climate Action Committee work session meeting, 7-8:30 p.m. Town Hall, lower-level conference room, or Zoom. Agenda and details here.

Tuesday, Aug. 4

• Hinesburg Police Department National Night Out, 5-7 p.m. More info here.

• Development Review Board Meeting, 6:30- 8:30 p.m. Town Hall, lower-level conference room and via Zoom. Agenda and details here.

Wednesday, Aug. 5

• Hinesburg Concerts in the Park Series, 6:30-8:30 p.m. behind the Hinesburg Community School. This week, The Hinesburg Community Band is performing. More info here.

• Selectboard Meeting, 6-8 p.m. Town Hall, lower-level conference room and via Zoom.

Thursday, Aug. 6

• Affordable Housing Committee meeting, 7-9 p.m. Town Hall.

• Folk Jam: Live music with Songfarmers of Hinesburg, 6-8 p.m. at Carpenter-Carse Library. More info here.

By Cathy Ryan

This week’s Word of the Week is abjure. It means to renounce or reject something – to give it up. Merriam-Webster’s webpage on abjure explains how abjure and jury come from the same Latin root:

Just as a jury swears to produce an unbiased verdict, and a witness swears to tell the truth on pain of perjury, those who abjure their former ways “swear them away.” Abjure (as well as jury and perjury) comes from Latin jurare, which means “to swear” (and which in turn is based on the root jus, meaning “law”), plus the prefix ab-, meaning “away.” These days, we can casually abjure (that is, abstain from) various vices, but in the 15th and 16th centuries to abjure was a matter of renouncing something under oath – and sometimes a matter of life and death. For example, during the Spanish Inquisition, individuals were given the choice between abjuring unacceptable beliefs and being burned at the stake.

I’ve read this word in two different books – The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman, which is the second volume of his trilogy The Book of Dust; and Not So Much, Said the Cat, a collection of short stories by Michael Swanwick.

The word’s usage in The Secret Commonwealth emphasizes the seriousness of abjuring something (or not):

I have a distant cousin in Yerevan, Your Blessedness, whose family were put to the sword by a band of men who wanted them to abjure the Holy Church and the doctrine of the Incarnation in particular.

I enjoyed reading Pullman’s series, which starts with the book The Golden Compass. A young girl goes on a daring adventure to the Arctic with her dæmon by her side. This is yet another series of books that was written for youth, but that many adults love. You can always read The Golden Compass and then decide for yourself whether to continue with the rest of the series.

Unfortunately, I don’t know whether to recommend the short story collection Not So Much, Said the Cat, because I don’t remember a thing about it! I bought the ebook in 2016 and finished reading the book (reading progress is saved on the Kindle) but I don’t remember it at all. You’d think the opening line of the story Tawny Petticoats would be unique enough to dredge up some recollection, but unfortunately not:

The independent port city and (some said) pirate haven of New Orleans was home to many a strange sight. It was a place where sea serpents hauled ships past fields worked by zombie laborers to docks where cargo was loaded onto wooden wagons to be pulled through streets of crushed oyster shells by teams of pygmy mastodons as small as Percheron horses.

I guess the up-side of my poor memory is that I can now read and enjoy this story a second time. The word abjure appears in a disagreement between two fellows:

“Working with an amateur is one thing – but this woman is a professional. She will sleep with both of us, turn us against each other, and in the end abscond with the swag, leaving us with nothing but embarrassment and regret for all our efforts.”

“That is a sexist and, if I may dare say so, ungallant slander upon the fair sex, and I am astonished to hear it coming from your mouth.”

Darger shook his head sadly. “It is not all women but all female confidence tricksters I abjure. I speak from sad – and repeated – experience.”

Bonus Word: Adjure

Note that abjure is very similar in spelling to adjure, but they are quite different. Adjure means to beg, command, or beseech with insistence. They both have the same Latin root, but, as noted above, the prefix “ab” means “away” whereas “ad” means “toward.” So abjure means to swear off something, whereas adjure means you want someone to swear to something – to agree to something.

You can read previous Word of the Week articles here.

By Geoffrey Gevalt
The Record staff reporter

A Bristol lawyer representing 10 Hinesburg residents and Responsible Growth Hinesburg wrote to the CVSD board Friday that its votes at its meeting on June 30, 2026, to go into an executive session and then, in open session, to enter into a Gift Agreement for a turf field at CVU, were illegal.

The board’s June 30 “meeting clearly violated Vermont’s Open Meeting Law in several important and highly prejudicial respects,” James A. Dumont wrote in his July 31, 2026, letter. (Full letter attached at bottom of story.)

A key factual point in his argument is that the district had, on Aug. 13, 2025, entered into a previously undisclosed “non-binding term sheet” with a private “association” led by Eli Lesser-Goldsmith, owner of a local health food store and lead spokesman and organizer for the privately financed project.

The existence of that 2025 term sheet was revealed in the Gift Agreement that was signed in July 2026 and released to the public. Since the term sheet was not discussed in the board’s public meeting of Aug. 12, 2025, and no vote was taken, “clearly the board met and decided [at some point] to execute the term sheet outside of an open meeting and without any notice to the public.”

He added that the 2025 term sheet formed the basis of the Gift Agreement signed in July 2026 and for that reason the board did not have legal grounding to go into executive session on June 30, 2026, to discuss details of the Gift Agreement. While executive sessions are allowed to discuss contracts where public discussion would put the district at a disadvantage, Dumont noted there was no disadvantage to the agreement being discussed in public since Lesser-Goldsmith knew all its details and the district’s position.

He also disputed whether the agreement was a contract, particularly since it was made with an “association,” not a legal entity. Friends of CVU, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, is the fiscal agent for the unincorporated group Community Field Project.

The subsequent June 30, 2026, 8-3 vote (board chair Meghan Metzler abstained) to enter into the Gift Agreement “was a travesty,” Dumont said, because, in essence, the board had made its determinations in closed session on “modifications of” the 2025 term sheet and offer without disclosing details of the offer to the public.

Dumont also noted weaknesses in the Gift Agreement, particularly in regard to indemnification.

The Aug. 12, 2025, Meeting

As the video above shows, the school board’s meeting began with CVSD Supt. Adam Bunting bringing the board up to date about a proposal for an artificial field at CVU.

He said the district had reopened discussions about a turf field in 2023 when the district re-formed a Turf Field Committee to look at reviving a plan for a bond vote or private financing of a turf field. Two bond issues for a turf field were defeated by district voters in 2013 and 2015. Bunting said that after the renewed discussions, the idea “was put on hold” given the economic climate and financial unknowns.

But in the fall of 2024, Lesser-Goldsmith approached the district with an offer of a privately financed turf field as well as stands, lighting, access, parking and a concession stand. Bunting said that the district and officials from CVU had “a series of meetings throughout last year (2024/25) that basically culminated in an initial term sheet. It’s a kind of precursor to signing anything; just outlining responsibilities for the turf group, some of the mechanics for how we might move forward.”

Bunting then turned the meeting over to Lesser-Goldsmith, who was present on Zoom.

To read all of The Record’s coverage of the turf field project, click here.

He said he “was invited to come by Megan (Metzler, board chair).” He explained he was “a person that wants to make Vermont and this community better. I’m always trying to help wherever I can.

“I don’t know how I became so passionate about it … but it just became evident that this project was really needed.”

In late fall, he said, he assembled a group, worked with various officials in the school and district, enlisted a landscape architect, worked with the “district’s civil engineer,” and got “Field Turf [manufacturer] involved. I feel the team is excellent.”

After a short discussion, a board member asked him, “How can we help?”

The biggest “barriers,” he said, are raising the money needed, and the permitting process.

“We’re going to need everyone in the community to participate,” said Lesser-Goldsmith, but he told the board to hold off until he was ready to “launch.” “I think when the time comes, we’re gonna need … everyone in the community to participate from you know, just getting the word out, giving of dollars, talking to … community members with the means to really help, [who have] the horsepower behind this project to get it fundraised to where we need it to be.”

Metzler followed up by thanking Lesser-Goldsmith and saying that “Eli has come to me, and I know that he is working with counsel. We’re making sure that we’re doing everything that we need to do from a board perspective and making sure that there’s an agreement between the two so that everything is all set, but at this point there is no need for board action.”

The next day, Aug. 13, 2025, the district entered into a “term sheet” with Lesser-Goldsmith and his group, according to a section of the Gift Agreement signed last month. The Record has requested a copy of that term sheet.

District officials could not be reached for comment. This story will be updated when and if the district issues a response to Dumont’s letter.

Turf Field Update 8

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Letter To Cvsd 7

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Chief of Police Christopher Romance will open up the Hinesburg Police Department for members of the public to tour emergency vehicles, see the premises and speak with law enforcement officers on Tuesday, Aug. 4, from 5 to 7 p.m.

The event will mark Hinesburg’s first time opting into a nationwide effort, National Night Out: a free, annual event held by police departments around the country on the first Tuesday of August.

National Night Out describes itself as a community-building campaign that intends to foster connection between the public and their law enforcement, with the aim of making neighborhoods “safer, stronger, and more caring places to live.”

Hinesburg’s National Night Out will include representatives from the Hinesburg Fire Department, Richmond Rescue, Vermont Emergency Management, and the Vermont National Guard.

Chief Romance noted that only a few departments in the surrounding area participate in the event.

“I thought it would be important to interact with the community, invite them to the police station to speak to our officers, and look at our equipment,” he said.

The fire department will have a couple of their vehicles available for attendees to tour. Richmond Rescue will bring an ambulance as well.

When Romance worked as the training director for Oyster Bay’s Department of Public Safety, he was involved in the event every year. He said he found it to be worthwhile, and thought it would be beneficial to introduce it to Hinesburg.

“This is a less stressful way for [people] to meet the police than if we’re responding to a call,” he said. “This is an opportunity for them to come to the police department in a relaxed setting [and] ask questions they may be thinking, but are afraid to ask at other times … It’s also an opportunity for children in the community to come and have positive interactions with the police department at an early age.”

National Night Out is one element of Romance’s broader mission to increase engagement between the community and the police department; something he saw in Hinesburg already, but wanted to enhance upon his arrival.

“We’re starting off small, being that it’s our first one. If it’s successful, then we’ll expand for next year,” he said.

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By Tsehai Alfred
VTDigger

In voicemails, spam folders and text messages across Vermont, an artificial intelligence tool is filing through years of pharmaceutical records, incoherently listing drugs and requesting the wrong refills on sensitive medication.

And customers often have no idea they agreed to it.

“He calls you all the time, and he doesn’t say what the drug is,” said Kathy Callaghan, a Vermont customer of Kinney Drugs, referring to a new AI tool recently put to use by the Vermont and New York pharmacy chain.

Nearly every day, she recalled, her phone rings, and she hears an incomprehensive mutter of a drug from the AI voice. Confused, she approves the refill order, thinking the request is legitimate and she really is out of a prescription.

So far, it hasn’t been, she said.

“I’ve got four bottles of something that I take twice a week sitting here,” Callaghan said.

Earlier this summer, amid a nationwide wave of AI technology entering healthcare systems, Kinney Drugs implemented a new AI assistant for prescription refill services, lauding the tool as a way to improve communication and efficiency. But customers say it’s doing the opposite.

According to nearly a dozen Kinney Drugs customers across its stores in Vermont and New York who spoke to VTDigger, the AI rollout has coincided with a range of problems. Delays have grown between physicians ordering drugs and the pharmacy processing them. The system has been unable to locate longtime customer accounts, has ordered incorrect dosages and has failed to notify customers when refills were ready for pickup. And these inaccuracies are raising privacy concerns amongst customers.

Their mounting frustrations toward the AI is leading some customers to leave the pharmacy entirely, they said, and forcing others to continue using a system they distrust due to a lack of pharmaceutical options in rural areas.

As AI pops up in healthcare systems across the country, several lawyers told VTDigger that the technology is outpacing regulation, leaving consumer protections thin.

“There’s a delay in laws that are coming onto the books, so we’ve not seen a detailed picture of how companies are going to comply or how states are going to enforce the laws,” said Cody Venzke, a senior staff attorney at the ACLU.

In Vermont, a new data privacy bill, S.71, signed by Gov. Phil Scott on June 16, takes effect in two years. That delay creates a gap in compliance to a bill that privacy advocates say is already too weak to protect consumers.

“Even if it were in effect, I’m not sure that it would necessarily cover the situation,” said Ryan Kriger, a Vermont lawyer and resident who testified on the bill.

‘No value, no benefit’

Kinney Drugs implemented the AI virtual assistant for patient communication and refill services in May. Soon after, its customers began to experience problems, they said.

“My first impression was it was just more complicated and cumbersome than the previous recording and service,” said Matt Penney, who’s been receiving medication at a Kinney Drugs in Vermont for around two years.

Previously, to refill a prescription at Kinney Drugs, a customer would call a prompt-based, touch-tone, phone system that would give them the opportunity to navigate a keypad to reach a pharmacist. Customers who spoke to VTDigger said this old system worked smoothly, and they had no problems.

Not so much with the new system, they said.

“It’s just something that wastes time and delays customer service. As far as I’m concerned, it has absolutely no value, no benefit to the customer,” Vermont Kinney Drugs customer Dave Bellini said.

The AI assistant, which Kinney Drugs named Burt, after its founder, was built by third-party AI pharmaceutical company, Synerio. In the pharmacy’s terms, Kinney Drugs states that “Burt may not be accurate, complete or up-to-date and may be misleading or contain errors and omissions.”

Any customer who provides their telephone number to Kinney Drugs automatically consents to interacting with the tool, though they may later opt out, according to the pharmacy’s terms. While some customers recalled signing onto a new refill system earlier this summer, others said they didn’t realize the company implemented the new tool until they called for a refill and heard the AI voice.

“Burt demands that you talk to him,” said Maria Aveni, a Vermont Kinney Drugs customer who has worked in healthcare as an anesthesiologist. “There’s no option to use a keypad to enter what you want to, which has been the case with other telephone interactions I’ve had. So it’s more of a talk to Burt or don’t get your drugs.”

According to Aveni and other customers who spoke to VTDigger, Kinney Drugs did not communicate about the tool before implementation.

When this month Aveni experienced a delay in receiving medication that her physician had ordered, she felt grateful it was not a lifesaving drug. Nevertheless, she was alarmed. Since then, she said she only goes in person to her pharmacy for refills in order to avoid AI interactions.

But for others, who live in rural areas and have limited access to transportation, going in person to receive refills as a way around the AI is impossible.

A Kinney Drugs representative who did not want to be identified by name, wrote in a statement to VTDigger that the company is “aware that some patients have experienced frustration with Burt, especially during rollout,” and that it is reviewing each concern and attempting to reach each patient.

While customers said they were confused over why Kinney Drugs switched to the AI, the company cited a clear reason: to eliminate repetitive tasks and free up time for its pharmacists.

Its leaders believe the AI has helped in achieving this goal, with one director saying that “it’s definitely doing the trick and handling those phone calls in such a nice manner that it’s reducing the calls to our pharmacy.”

But customers’ experience with the tool has led to an oftentimes opposite effect. As they encounter problems with the AI, many are turning to pharmacists more for help. In Vermont, pharmacists are already overburdened due to a chronic worker shortage.

“It’s slowing down productivity of an already stressed staff, and because that staff has treated me for a long time, and I feel loyalty, it isn’t just a financial concern for me, it’s an inhumane way to treat the staff,” Aveni said.

‘Privacy is just about out the window’

While the AI tool’s reported inaccuracies are the primary frustration for many customers, others are citing privacy concerns for leaving the chain.

“Once I went into the store and actually read the privacy policy, I was shocked, and immediately transferred my prescriptions to UVM Hospital,” Tuan Green, a former Vermont Kinney Drugs customer, said.

The pharmacy’s privacy policy, released the same month as the AI assistant, discloses, for example, that customers’ protected health information may be used in AI tools to improve the pharmacy’s operations.

“These days, privacy is just about out the window,” Stephen McArthur, a Vermont Kinney Drugs customer, said.

Beyond Kinney Drugs, customers and privacy experts have also raised concerns with Synerio, the Texas-based technology company that supplies the AI tool to the pharmacy.

Joseph Near, an associate professor of computer science at the University of Vermont, said that, privacy-wise, the AI tool is worse than the pharmacy’s previous refill system because this additional company, Synerio, now also has access to customers’ health data.

“If I just interact with my healthcare provider, I’m relying on the security that they have. If they now start interacting with many other organizations, I now have to start worrying about all the security issues with each of them,” Bradley Malin, a professor of biomedical informatics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said, referring to Synerio.

The Kinney Drugs representative said that the company maintains “multiple layers of security controls,” invests in “information security technologies to help protect sensitive data” and has the protocols in place to respond to potential data breaches.

AI in healthcare settings also raises a host of concerns surrounding the federal health privacy law HIPAA, several lawyers and data privacy experts said, pointing to possible data sharing of protected health information.

However, as long as the pharmacy has a business associate agreement — the contract under HIPAA that establishes that third-party vendors securely handle protected health information — the companies are contractually obliged to handle data securely. The Kinney Drugs representative declined to share the agreement, citing an inability to disclose private vendor contracts, but wrote that the company “maintains the appropriate agreements.”

Synerio did not respond to multiple requests for comment, but also says on its webpages that the tools it creates are built to be compliant with HIPAA.

While Synerio did not respond to VTDigger’s questions about customer protections, Kinney Drugs’ pharmacy management system, McKesson, acknowledged them in public filings, writing that “reliance on third-party AI tools and solutions may expose us to risks that are outside of our control, including compliance gaps.”

‘Consent is not a realistic solution’

As states move to create laws aimed at protecting data privacy, burgeoning AI tools, like the one Kinney Drug’s implemented, could serve as a test case for how effective these laws are.

Zach Tomanelli, a privacy advocate with the Vermont Public Interest Research Group, said that customers’ experience with AI is an example of why the Vermont data privacy bill should have gone further. The law gives residents the right to know what information is being collected about them, correct inaccurate data and opt out of their data being sold. But lawyers and advocates say it includes too many exemptions for companies collecting data.

Near, the UVM computer science professor, said that regulations like the new Vermont law are inherently flawed simply because they are based on consumer consent. Kinney Drugs, for instance, spreads its terms and conditions across 11 documents.

“I think that people absolutely do not understand what they’re consenting to, and so basing our regulation and what we think is okay on the idea of consent is not a realistic solution to these kinds of privacy concerns nowadays,” he said.

Stacey Tovino, a University of Oklahoma professor who teaches HIPAA, said the privacy law lets patients petition to correct inaccurate health information. But the process is so cumbersome that Tovino herself said she would just switch pharmacies to avoid the exposure.

Customers in rural areas of Vermont, however, may not have an accessible option to switch to, and even those who do say they don’t want to, citing the personal connection they’ve built with the small-scale pharmacy chain and the people who work there.

“I don’t want to leave the pharmacy that I can walk to, that I really like,” Aveni said. “But I will if it doesn’t sort itself out.”

By Penrose Jackson
For The Record

Betsy Hurlbut Leavenworth and her stepson, Henry Leavenworth, have come home to Hinesburg after nearly 200 years.

Early this year the town received their portraits from their descendant, Wright Preston, to hang in Town Hall, not far from their 1795 Federalist home built by Betsy’s husband and Henry’s father, General Nathan Leavenworth.

Betsy’s portrait was likely painted by Charles Curtis, according to the National Archives. Henry’s was likely painted by an itinerant artist. Many of these early 1800 paintings are considered masterpieces of American folk art. The portraits were not signed, and the Shelburne Museum could not authenticate them.

Henry lost his wife in childbirth and never remarried, and it appears that the portraits went to the care of his stepsister, Rachel, and later to her granddaughter, Marjorie Perry Clark, who died in 1992.

Marjorie’s daughters, in turn, bequeathed the pieces to their children. Last year, Betsy’s great-great-great-great grandson, Wright Preston, became their custodian, and reached out to Town Manager Todd Odit who happily accepted the gift.

“It seemed like a natural fit to have them hang here somewhere in Town Hall, since we don’t have a historical society where they could be displayed otherwise,” Odit said. The paintings arrived and were hung in late spring. “We just wanted to get them hung up somewhere in the event we find a better place for them.”

Their histories

Betsy was born Jan. 17, 1782, in Arlington, Vermont, lived in Burlington, and became the second wife of General Nathan Leavenworth of Hinesburg. They lived in Hinesburg, where the general was a prominent farmer and landholder. Nathan was born in 1764 in New Milford, Connecticut, and died in Hinesburg in 1849.

Betsy was the stepmother of and raised Henry, who was born in Hinesburg Aug. 1, 1798, the son of Nathan and Anna Buck Buckingham who died in 1805.

Henry graduated from the University of Vermont in 1821 and earned a second degree in 1824. Henry practiced law in Burlington and served as Chittenden County State’s attorney from 1842 to 1843 and also represented Burlington in the state legislature. Henry was a director of the Farmers and Mechanics Bank in Burlington. He developed Leavenworth Block on College Street in Burlington.

Henry died in Burlington on May 10, 1854.

The Leavenworth home was built in 1795 and is located on the north side of Leavensworth Road. (No one is quite sure when the ‘s’ appeared in town maps.) The original farm was comprised of over 500 acres.

The house and farm were sold by Frances Wilson Perry in 1920. The family owned the Wilson House (on the corner of Route 116 and Charlotte Road), which was razed to improve that intersection some years ago.

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By Cathy Ryan

I was playing a word game recently, and in a bout of desperation, entered dicta. To my surprise, it was accepted! But then, of course, I had to go look it up. Dicta is the plural of dictum. A dictum is a short statement that expresses a general truth, principle, or authoritative rule, such as “You are what you eat,” “First, do no harm,” and “Honesty is the best policy.”

Here’s another example, from Stephen King’s short story “Lunch at the Gotham Café” in the collection Everything’s Eventual:

My father’s dictum: If you need to be there, show up five minutes early. If they need you to be there, show up five minutes late.

As I’ve mentioned before, I like Stephen King, but I can’t really recommend his writing in general, because… it’s Stephen King. It’s gory horror, which isn’t for everyone. And this short story is no exception.

The plural of dictum is dicta, which makes it an irregular plural noun. It’s because this word derives from Latin. It actually has a lot of company in English, such as atrium, datum, bacterium, forum, momentum, millennium, curriculum, and memorandum. With all of these words, to make the plural, remove “um” and add “a”: data, bacteria, etc. Did you know the plural of forum is fora? You’re welcome, Scrabble players – fora is a playable word! This also means that the version ending with “a” is plural. So technically, you should say, “The data indicate...” not “The data indicates…”

There are some cases where words have been more fully “Englishized” (that IS a word, according to Merriam-Webster, although my spell checker is throwing fits) and a more typical plural is also acceptable, such as the plural of atrium being either atria or atriums.

Dictums also hold a huge place in history in the form of law decrees. As the above definition graphic describes, dictum also means a statement made by a judge, that is not part of the binding law decision, but is often referred to in the future by lawyers and judges. Obiter dictum (plural orbiter dicta) is Latin for “said in passing.”

One famous obiter dictum occurred in Jacobellis v. Ohio, which was a landmark 1964 Supreme Court case that overturned the obscenity conviction of a Cleveland Heights, Ohio, theater manager who showed the French film Les Amants (The Lovers). Justice Potter Stewart, in his concurrence, stated that the Constitution protected all obscenity except “hard-core pornography.” He wrote, “I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that.”

Another very significant dictum comes from the 1886 Supreme Court case Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad Co. In this case, even before oral arguments began, Chief Justice Morrison R. Waite made a casual statement to the court reporter. He stated that the court did not wish to hear arguments on whether the Fourteenth Amendment applied to corporations because the members were all of the view that it did. Court reporter J.C. Bancroft Davis included this statement in the decision’s headnote, which is part of the official decision. This recognized corporate personhood, and we’ve had to deal with the ramifications of this ever since.

On a funner note (Merriam-Webster seems to say this is a word, and the Scrabble player’s dictionary agrees, so I’m using it henceforth), perhaps you’ll be able to use dicta, fora, or funner in some word games in the future, and score a ton of points.

You can read previous Word of the Week articles here.

Joe Gannon has had a wide variety of occupations in widely varied locations, always following his heart. Listen to this audio story (or read it) here.

Hinesburg Artists on Exhibit at Birds of Vermont Museum Art Show

Five Hinesburg artists have artwork on display at Wings • Waters • Ways, the Birds of Vermont Museum’s curated art exhibit, which asks the question, How do artists perceive birds, waters, and the ways we interact? Read the full article, and get details on the exhibit here.

Vermont Secretary of State Announces New Videos from Voting Accessibility Task Force

Vermont Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hanzas has shared new informational video resources with voters. The videos describe Vermont’s tablet-based Accessible Voting System, and information about how to vote while experiencing homelessness. Read the full article, with links to the videos, here.

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Hinesburg Then & Now – Photo Contest

We will be regularly posting local photos to test your knowledge of Hinesburg’s history. Put your guess in the comments at the full article and after a week, we’ll update this post to tell you the facts. Have fun!

Obituary: Wayne Barr

Wayne Richmond Barr of Williston, Vermont, passed away on July 5, 2026, after a period of failing health. Read the full obituary here.

Obituary: Leo Fortin

Lionel “Leo” N. Fortin, 80, of Hinesburg passed away peacefully on July 20, 2026. Born on Sept. 16, 1945, to Rene and Muriel Fortin, Leo was a lifelong resident of Hinesburg, a town he proudly called home throughout his entire life. Services will be held July 27 and 28. Details and the full obituary here.

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Word of the Week – Dicta

Dicta is the plural of a slightly more common word. Learn about irregular plurals, a bit of Latin, and how this relates to “I know it when I see it” and “Corporate Personhood” in the full article

In case you missed it …

Wetland Restoration in Hinesburg Complete

Lewis Creek Association (LCA) is pleased to announce the completion of a major water quality restoration project behind the United Church of Hinesburg (UCH). Read the full story here.

District Releases Agreement on Turf Field

CVSD signed an agreement with the group Community Field Project to move forward with a privately-financed artificial turf field, grandstands, lighting, scoreboard, access and parking at CVU. Read the “memorandum of understanding” (MOU), and The Record reporting on the issue, here.

Upcoming:

Tuesday, July 28

• Energy & Climate Action Committee Meeting, 7:30-9 p.m. Town Hall, lower level conference room and via Zoom.

Wednesday, July 29

• Hinesburg Concerts in the Park Series, 6:30-8:30 p.m. behind the Hinesburg Community School. This week, “The Fog” is performing, weather permitting (which isn’t looking good). More info here.

Thursday, July 30

• Small Town, Big Picture: Norman Rockwell and the Arlington Artists, Free talk, in-person and via Zoom, at the Shelburne Museum. Registration required. More info here.

Friday, July 31

• Celebration of Life for Dennis Willmott at 3:30 p.m. at Meach Cove Farm, 291 Bostwick Farm Road, Shelburne. Read full obituary here.