Bergstein retires after more than three decades at Fayston Elementary School
Fayston fifth- and sixth-grade teacher Doug Bergstein retired in June
Doug Bergstein retired after 34 years at Fayston Elementary School. He grew up in Colchester and attended UVM and UNH, receiving a business administration degree with a concentration in marketing. Not long after college, he shifted years, began substitute teaching and ultimately went back to school for an education degree. He started in Fayston in January 1991, and never looked back. Bergstein will miss the kids he said, and he’ll miss how the teaching slate gets wiped clean not just every year, but also every day.
“One great thing about education is not only do you wipe the slate clean every year but really every day. If you have a bad day, we’re going to start again tomorrow and we're going to cover some of the same stuff. We’re going to review. It’s okay to have a bad day and you can learn from that and move on,” he said.
As he completed his final few weeks at the school, Bergstein said he never anticipated this would be a career, and said he wasn’t sure when it became one – maybe after 20 years when his co-workers gave him a wooden rocking chair that they’d all signed, or maybe now that he’s retiring.
June 12 , 2025
Meadow Road bridge issue rears its head in June
Waitsfield’s Meadow Road bridge which spans the Mad River north of town, was in the news a lot this year. In June the select board began the first of what would be many discussions about the bridge which is deteriorating and needs to be addressed.
The Waitsfield Select Board is exploring whether a temporary bridge over the Mad River on Meadow Road might be possible as the existing bridge continues to deteriorate.
In 2024 the town posted Meadow Road bridge after VTrans raised concerns about the condition of the one-lane bridge that links the east side of the Mad River to Route 100 on the west side of the river. After that the town began looking into temporary bridges as well as state and federal funding options. This summer local farmers expressed concern about the possibility of closing that bridge and what it would mean for farm operations. Agricultural vehicles up to 60,000 pounds are exempt from locally posted bridge weight limits.
Since July 2024 flooding the town has been working with VTrans on FEMA funding for that bridge. During that July flooding, Dowsville Brook in Duxbury took out three bridges, including two state bridges on Route 100 and Route 100B, both in Moretown. While those roads were closed, all Route 100/Route 100B traffic was routed away from those closures. One was immediately north of Ward Hill on Route 100, and the other was just north of Maynards on Route 100B. During that time, Meadow Road bridge was heavily used as a bypass and detour, in addition to its regular farm traffic (which can’t use Waitsfield’s covered bridge due to height limits).
June 19, 2025
Heidi Ringer leaves Warren School after decades-long career
Heidi Ringer moved on to her next act this summer after 30-plus years at the Warren School. A native of Fayetteville, NY, she began teaching in private schools and later got a teaching license from UVM as well as a masters.
She started in Warren teaching second and third grade, covering a maternity leave and then joined two other teachers in creating a fourth-, fifth- and sixth-grade unit. She took a three-year break and returned to Warren in 1991, teaching in the upper unit until 2022. Then she became the school interventionist until she started as the school’s librarian.
Ringer also worked as co-director for the National Writing Project, helping teachers learn to teach writing to kids and become researchers and writers. She was awarded the Outstanding Vermont Teacher Award in 2002.
Her favorite thing about the job? Feeling she’s a tiny vestibule in the formation of a massive cathedral. Even if she doesn’t see how the cathedral turns out, she likes knowing she had a part in it. She also loves seeing former students, as parents of students, colleagues or just visiting.
What will be her new adventure? “Maybe baking. Following a brain injury, I baked for a senior center. All these 80-year-olds called me ‘the dessert lady.’ I loved it. Or maybe return to teaching writing.”
