The Valley Reporter goes to the dogs (and cats)
The Valley Reporter’s year started with its annual Valley Reporter Goes to the Dogs (And Cats) issue and features pages of reader pet pictures plus tributes to passed that crossed the rainbow bridge. There were features about an extreme quilling impacting two dogs and two humans as well as features about an award-winning Inuit dog and just some very good dogs.
MRVAS gets state of the art electric snowmobile
The Mad River Valley Ambulance Service began using a new all electric (no noise, no exhaust) snowmobile this year, thanks to a donation made by the Mad River Valley Rotary Club plus donations from local folks and subscribers. The new rig operates in a way that allows it to move along at a slow walking pace (as well as at speeds) allowing rescuers to walk along and stabilize the rescue litter in real time, something a gas machine could not do.
Fayston alone faced education tax increases last year
Why was Fayston an outlier in seeing taxpayers’ education taxes increase last year while rates for all other towns in the school district went down? It had to do with the town’s Common Level of Appraisal being so low that the formula for calculating tax rates resulted in lower taxes for most taxpayers and higher taxes for Fayston property owners.
Here’s how the Harwood Unified Union School District Board’s 2.75% budget increase played out. Most taxpayers saw education tax decreases ranging from $651 for a $350,000 house in Duxbury to $26 for a similar house in Warren. In Fayston a $350,000 house saw $751 education tax increase. The HUUSD school board is currently budgeting for the coming year and it remains to be seen how that will impact Fayston taxpayers and those throughout the district. Property in Fayston has not been reappraised which means the CLA will not likely have changed much since last year. The CLA reflects a rolling three-year average of fair market value (based on real estate sales) compared to the town’s appraised values.
Moretown students take third in statewide robotics challenge
A newly formed Moretown Elementary School robotics team took third place in a statewide competition last January, competing against 39 teams that included private schools, public schools, STEM schools and other academies.
The Moretown LEGO Robotics team is The Valley’s first-ever LEGO-Robotics team and its members placed in the top three in a regional competition which landed them in the state finals this weekend where they took third on January 18 in competition at Global Foundries.
The team was formed with the help of faculty members including fifth- and six-grade teacher Mish Boreanaz and Jason Stevenson, school counselor. Stevenson had been using LEGOs in his work with kids and the idea of LEGO Robotics was birthed from there.
Moretown resident deployed to Red Cross shelter in California
Moretown’s Cheri Lundblad was deployed to the LA fires for the American Red Cross last January to work in a Red Cross facility in Pasadena. This was her 48th deployment. She’s been with the American Red Cross for 27 years. With this deployment she worked primarily with people affected by the recent wildfires across the Los Angeles area.
“Most people here had to evacuate and can’t go back to their neighborhoods yet or they have lost everything. I’ve heard a lot of stories and hugged a lot of people. I just ask them if they’d like a hug and if so, I give them one. It’s called compassion care,” Lundblad said.
Canteen Creemee chef Charlie Menard is James Beard semifinalist
Charlie Menard, founder of and chef at Canteen Creemee in Waitsfield, was nominated as a James Beard semifinalist for best chef, New England. “It was 100% unexpected. I had no idea, and it didn’t seem possible,” said Menard, who created Canteen Creemee in May 2016 after a long career in the culinary arts, including a lengthy stint as head chef at the Round Barn in Waitsfield. He said he was taken by surprise and never expected such an honor, having thought that his career as a chef was replete in terms of awards and aspirations.
“I thought that part of my life was long over as far as aspirations go. Last summer I got a mention in Food and Wine and I thought, ‘this is it.’ I’ve reached the pinnacle, this is my crowning achievement, and then this falls into my lap,” the chef said.
Moretown votes to join the rec district
Thirty-years after it was created, the Mad River Valley Recreation District (MRVRD) got a new member town when Moretown voters approved joining as a half-member at Town Meeting in March. The Mad River Valley Recreation District was founded in 1994 with Warren, Waitsfield, and Fayston as members. In 2017 when the rec district purchased the Mad River Park playing fields in Waitsfield, Moretown began contributing a share to the maintenance costs of those fields. Fast forward to 2025. Moretown voters approved joining the district as a half-member effective next month. Member towns pay $40,000 per year and Moretown will pay $20,000. Since Moretown began contributing to the Mad River Park fields costs, the town has most recently paid $3,000 per year. In 2026 Moretown will begin paying $20,000.
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