Big Picture reopening announced
Last May, the Bigger Picture reopened as a nonprofit with a 12-member board and 501C3 nonprofit status. The theater closed its door in November 2024.
The new Bigger Picture Community Fund nonprofit was created by local folks in collaboration with Waitsfield residents Claudia Becker and Eugene Jarecki who purchased the theater and renovated it over two decades ago. COVID closed the Big Picture and the business faced the same challenges as many did after the pandemic, according to Becker. Those challenges included rising costs and staffing issues among others.
The new nonprofit has a three-year lease with Becker and Jarecki who are not charging the entity rent. The Bigger Picture is subleasing to the Big Picture Theater and Café, to be managed by former 18-year veteran Kevin McMillion. McMillion will split his time between the restaurant/theater and the new nonprofit, working two-thirds for the Big Pic and one-third for The Bigger Picture.
Mad River Glen Freeski team heads to CA for freeride championships
The Mad River Glen Freeski Team traveled to the IFSA Junior Freeride Championships (JFCs) in April in Kirkwood, California. The team that traveled to Kirkwood included U15 Women; Addison Brooks (fifth), Adeline Lazorchak (13th), U15 Men; Evers Gladchun (29th), U19 Women; Lynsey Nagle (fourth), Tara Nagle (13th), Ava Killian (26th), Sadie Haskell (27th), Cailin Brooks (35th), U19 Men; Seamus O’Neill (first), Wyatt Babic (ninth), Oscar Andersson (11th)*, Rob Burton (21st), Charlie Lamonia (40th)*, Ryan Lacey (44th) and Jack Guy (64th).
Ladies U19 podium from left to right: Cailin Brooks (MRG Freeski), Sadie Haskell (MRG Freeski), Aurora Cherney (Aspen Valley Freeski), Lynsey Nagle (MRG Freeski), Imogen Schaberg (Jay Peak Freeski).
Joining the Mad River Glen Freeski Team at JFCs were U12 competitors Quinn Killian and Kassidy Karpinski along with non-team athletes totaling 17 juniors representing the Mad River Valley.
“Mad River Glen’s team will be representing Vermont on the international stage. The IFSA Junior Championships bring together the top junior freeski and snowboard athletes from the Americas which is comprised of riders from Canada, the United States, Chile, and Argentina,” Ry Young, Mad River Glen marketing and events manager said.
The team’s preparation was extensive, with 16 weeks of intensive training at Mad River Glen. The athletes have been focusing on their technical skills, air awareness and line selection, all of which will be put to the test as they navigate the Cirque at Kirkwood.
School district insurance costs up due to repeated flooding
Repeated flooding at schools in the Harwood Unified Union School District, (HUUSD) including two floods at Moretown Elementary School, two at Crossett Brook Middle School and one impacting the cross-country trails at Harwood Union, resulted in higher insurance costs for the school district. That news came as work was underway at Crossett Brook to clean up after flooding in March that closed the school for three days and has sections of the school still closed. Repeated flooding is not without financial impacts. HUUSD property insurance went up 17.4% in the current year (FY25) due to the December 2023 flood in Moretown and in FY24 it went up by 30.8% due to the Harwood gym flood that was not caused by a weather incident. The district faced $50,000 in costs to repair the cross-country trails from flooding this summer. Those repairs are not covered by insurance.
For FY26 finance director Lisa Estler projected it to go up again for the two July floods (Crossett Brook Middle School (CBMS), Moretown and the recent flood in CBMS). She budgeted for a 10% increase in insurance costs next year.
The cost of insurance for property insurance for the district has increased from $94,704 in FY2023 to $123,837 FY2024 and now to $145,342 in FY2025, Estler reported.
Waitsfield wastewater project receives another $1M grant
In April, Waitsfield’s municipal wastewater system received a $1 million tranche of state American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding through the state’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund.
This new funding came as the town’s wastewater planning task force continues to advance the final design of the project and seek additional state and federal funding. The $15 million project will bring municipal wastewater to Waitsfield Village and Irasville with treatment taking place at the Munn field.
Last summer the town received $2.5 million from the state’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund. Planning, engineering, and testing costs have been covered by grants to date.
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