Governor Scott visited summer school in 2018
Appreciating a Girl with Grit - Tara Ditch (Walker and Runner)
Walking Wednesday leader - Deb Bushey
Appreciating a Girl with Grit - Tara Ditch (Walker and Runner)
Walking Wednesday leader - Deb Bushey
August 9th, 2018
Guns, education, opiates
Governor talks about state’s challenges By MICHELLE MONROE Messenger Staff ST. ALBANS — Gov. Phil Scott was remarkably cool and collected when he stopped by the Messenger offices on Tuesday, considering he had just been playing kickball with kids at St. Albans City School. His team defeated a team from RiseVT, 14-0, for those keeping score. The game was part of a day of events throughout the county in which Scott and various members of his administration visited communities for discussions on the opiate crisis, economic development, the environment, education and agriculture. This was the fourth Capital in Your Community the administration has held. “When you go to some of these places, they feel as if they’re forgotten,” said Scott. Infrastructure always comes to the forefront during these visits, said Scott, adding he also hears about property taxes. A need for people and economic activity in communities is also a recurring theme, Scott said. “There’s a lot of pride out there, Rutland especially,” said Scott. “Economically, they sense they need some help.’ With Scott was Secretary of Human Services Al Gobeille and Administration Secretary Susanne Young. As part of the trip Gobeille and Scott visited BAART, an area treatment hub for opiates. See Wednesday’s Messenger for full coverage of that visit. “There is treatment available for those who want it, no waiting list,” said Scott. “I felt as though we’re somewhat holding our own, but we need to do more,” said Scott, adding the more encompassed education, treatment and enforcement. “Fentanyl has made it a Russian roulette game,” said Gobeille. “If you shoot up, you could die.” Fentanyl, a powerful opioid, is being mixed with heroin, sometimes without the purchasers’ knowledge. His agency officially reports that it is spending $75 million a year on opiate addiction. However, the costs of opiate addiction can be found throughout the human services budget, said Gobeille. “It’s in everything.” The state now has 500 kids aged five and under in custody of the Dept. of Children and Families (DCF). Historically, DCF has primarily had custody of older children. “Six-month-old kids, the number is alarming,” he said. Prior to the kickball game, Scott and Gobeille had lunch with kids who take advantage of St. Albans City School’s free summer lunch program. Gobeille said one of the adults present, who works with the program, told him not to ask kids what they did over the weekend or what they got for Christmas because “you may not want to hear the answers.” Discussion of addiction inevitably turned to discussion of prisons. On July 1, the state began providing treatment to incarcerated inmates. The Dept. of Corrections budget is $160 million, $20 million of which is health care, said Gobeille. “We don’t have a lot of misdemeanor offenders that are staying in prison,” said Gobeille. “Those that are in prison now need to be.” Vermont has shifted away from imprisoning people for nonviolent offenses and is mostly imprisoning violent offenders, he explained. Overall, Vermont has 600 fewer inmates than previously projected, with 207 incarcerated out of state. A proposal to build a large facility somewhere in the state, with St. Albans a leading potential site, is still on the table, Gobeille said. The initial discussion was sidetracked by the possible use of private contractors to build but not operate the facility. That was just one of several funding options DOC put forward, but it was the one which drew headlines. A privately operated prison was “never, ever” considered, said Scott. “We need to have something that has some efficiency to it,” said Gobeille, describing the state’s current system as “a Christmas village” of prisons. “We’re not saying it has to be in Franklin County,” added Scott. The proposal is for a facility that would house 925 prisoners, to be built and staffed over 10 years, and includes units for aging and infirm prisoners as well as those with mental health needs. It would return to Vermont all of the state’s out of state prisoners. Shifting to health care, Goebeille said the all-payer system is “stood up and it’s functioning.” Although all-payer sounds like single payer, the two are different. Under all-payer, Medicaid and Medicare – and potentially private insurers, should they wish to join – pay health care providers not for each x-ray taken or exam given, but a set fee per person. Proponents argue this payment method gives providers an incentive to help patients stay healthy and avoid expensive, chronic illnesses. The challenge now is to get more health care providers to agree to be paid this way. Gobeille said the fact that most people don’t understand how all-payer works isn’t an issue. “Nobody knows how their credit card works at a gas station,” he pointed out. “People just want good, accessible health care at a price they can afford,” said Scott. There are still some fundamental disconnects in the system, said Gobeille, suggesting doctors, in particular, often don’t understand what it costs families to have insurance. A family of four earning $100,400, four times the federal poverty level, will pay the price of a new Honda Accord ($23,500) to purchase health insurance, he said. “The problem with the docs is… They don’t know how much they make,” said Gobeille. Nurses from the UVM Medical Center are seeking a 24 percent pay increase, which they say is needed to bring their pay in line with others in their profession. Gobeille, the former head of the Green Mountain Care Board (GMCB), which approves hospital budgets, was asked how the board would respond to such an increase. “I honestly believe John (Brumsted, CEO of UVM) could live on a trend and make the nurses happy,” said Gobeille. With large budgets like UVM’s there is always places where savings can be found, Gobeille said, leaving unspoken the implication that those savings could be used to pay the nurses. “I believe that everybody has a responsibility to keep their budget in tact,” added Scott. Bonuses for Brumsted and other top UVM executives will be released in the next few weeks. Those bonuses are expected to be substantial. Brumsted, for example, has previously received bonuses of a half million dollars with his total compensation package topping $2 million. “It’s very hard to defend,” Scott said of the anticipated bonuses. What Scott doesn’t find hard to defend is his decision to sign a bill requiring universal background checks for gun purchases, requiring those under the age of 21 to take a gun safety course before purchasing a gun (unless they are in the military or a police officer), banning bump stocks and high capacity magazines. Scott’s decision has been characterized as a betrayal by gun rights supporters, although a recent poll by Vermont Public Radio and Vermont Public Television found that only 25 percent of Vermonters opposed the bill. “There’s still a lot of anger and disappointment,” said Scott, along with a lot of confusion about what the bill does and doesn’t do. “There are gun groups, gun owners who are angry and need to take it out on me,” said Scott. Although they may be a minority of Vermonters, Scott is concerned they will be voting on August 14, when he faces Keith Stern of Springfield in a primary. “Many people avoid going to the polls when they’re content,” said Scott. “Anger drives people to the polls.” “I have many people who are happy with what’s happening,” he said, citing in particular his efforts to keep property tax rates down and end income taxes on Social Security benefits. But many of those supporters don’t know about the primary or even when it is. “People who care about politics, don’t know when the primary is,” said Scott. Asked about Act 46, which in some parts of Franklin County has become even more contentious since the Agency of Education released its proposal for school district mergers in June, Scott said, “Act 46 is a governance consolidation. We’re not trying to close schools.” Vermont, he said, needs to bring more people to the state, and one of the ways to do that is to have a strong education system. Scott praised his new education secretary, Dan French, saying he was “really enthusiastic” about the selection. French, who has been a teacher, principal and superintendent in Vermont is “ready to hit the ground running,” said Scott. “He commands some respect, so I think he can bring people together.” On the crisis hitting Vermont’s dairy farmers, Scott said he’s “concerned about the struggles farmers are enduring.” The price of milk needs to come up, but it is beyond the control of state government, he noted. Asked about alternatives, such as state support for processing facilities, Scott said, “Our Secretary of Agriculture is very enterprising. I believe we’ll have some new approaches.” |
August 7th, 2018
Appreciating a girl with grit
By MITCH CRAIB Special to the Messenger Many Vermont towns lack extensive sidewalks, making walking to schools or shopping districts dangerous and unpleasant. Here in St. Albans there are miles of city sidewalks that make walking and biking within the city a pleasant and viable option for travel. As the city continues to build new sidewalks, there are more and more opportunities for students to get to school, residential areas and shopping and recreation centers safely. Tara Ditch, an incoming eighth grader and star distance runner at St. Albans City School loves being able to walk to school and around the community. “I think it is good exercise to walk around. I did a lot of walks with my dad and I soon realized it is better to walk around and see nature instead of riding on the school bus. I just don’t like bus riding. Walking to school gets me there a lot faster and I like to get to school before the bus comes to my house,” Tara said. Tara says she lives just about a mile away from school, and riding the bus is unnecessary. “It takes a lot of time for people to get on and off the bus. Waiting and sitting is just not my thing,” Tara said. “My parents sometimes worry about me when it gets really cold outside. I walk anyways. It does not matter whether it is negative five degrees or negative ten degrees. I still walk. That is why they call me the stubborn one. I just like to walk and I will be doing the same for BFA too. To be honest, I like being an outdoors person.” Tara’s grit and positive attitude is shown, as she walks to school each day with a wide smile on her face- a true role model for us all. Mitch Craib is a resident of St. Albans City and works as St. Albans City School’s Wellness Coordinator |
April 3rd, 2018
RiseVT Active voices
Deb Bushey, St. Albans City School teacher, speaks about Walking Wednesdays, in which teachers, parents and community members walk to school with students. “My initial reason for being a walking school bus leader for St. Albans City School was to get students to be physically active and get fresh air. I believe it also helps them get the ants out of their pants before they get to school. Over the years I came to value visiting with the kids and having conversations about life and school in general and getting to know them outside the classroom. The kids love the social part. I noticed they are visiting with people that they know and visiting with people they don’t know and talking to teachers. They make friendships with people along the way and look forward to conversation. I am not sure physical activity is what motivates them as much as the social stimulation. She also walked to school as a student. “I lived right here in St. Albans on Russell Street, and I did walk to school as a child. I had to walk to my grade schools and walk to city school as an 8th grader. There was no busing until that year. When busing came I did catch the bus a couple of times but I preferred walking with my friends for the social aspect.” “I am a walker. I walk at home. I walk for exercise. I walk for wellness. I just enjoy walking” |