Chance to win a copy of 'Wrongly Executed?'

Three author-signed trade paperback copies of Wrongly Executed? The Long-Forgotten Context of Charles Sberna's 1939 Electrocution will be awarded through a promotional drawing on Goodreads.com. No purchase is necessary to enter. Entries will be accepted until Jan. 5, 2017, the anniversary of Charles Sberna's meeting with the Sing Sing Prison electric chair. Details are available on the Goodreads.com website.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wrongly Executed? - The Long-Forgotten Context of Charles Sberna's 1939 Electrocution

by Thomas Hunt

Giveaway ends January 05, 2017.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Whiting to open its own website

Last month, the Select Board of the Town of Whiting gave its official OK to Elizabeth Curran's proposal for a municipal website. 

The site's official opening is scheduled for January, but much of it is already online. It includes meeting agendas and minutes, important announcements, a calendar of events and meetings, and a slideshow with high-definition aerial views of Whiting foliage. There is also a link to a history of Whiting.

Preview the website at http://whitingvt.com/
The Town of Whiting is now also on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TownofWhiting/

'Wrongly Executed?' book now available

Thomas Hunt: 'Wrongly Executed?' book now available:

"Sing Sing Warden Lewis Lawes had no doubt on the evening of January 5, 1939: He had just presided over the electric-chair-execution of an innocent man..."

My latest book is now available in hardcover, paperback and ebook (Kindle and Epub) formats. Read more about it at the link above or from the book website: http://mafiahistory.us/wronglyexecuted/

Turkey Bingo Time!

The Friends of Whiting School will hold their annual Turkey Bingo fundraiser at the Whiting Town Hall this Friday, November 18, 2016. 
Doors open at 6 p.m., and the Bingo begins at 6:30. There will be turkeys to win, along with refreshments and a raffle.

Next Tuesday, November 22, a Thanksgiving Community Potluck Dinner is scheduled at the Whiting Town Hall beginning at noon. Everyone is welcome. Please bring a dish to share with the community. Call Whiting School at 623-7991 for additional information.

The Whiting School's Holiday Program will be presented at Whiting Town Hall at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 13. The next meeting of the Friends of Whiting School will be 7 p.m. on Wednesday, December 14.

Supermoon

The Supermoon rises over the Green Mountains to shine on Whiting on November 13, 2016.

General Election is Tuesday, Nov. 8

Voters across the country on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, will decide races for the positions of U.S. President and Vice President. The Vermont general election ballot contains six selections, plus write-in. 

They are (in order shown on the ballot):

• Democratic Party - Hillary Clinton of New York and Tim Kaine of Virginia, 
• Independent Party - Rocky De La Fuente of Florida and Michael A. Steinberg of Florida, 
• Libertarian Party - Gary Johnson of New Mexico and William F. Weld of Massachusetts, 
• Liberty Union Party - Gloria Lariva of California and Eugene Puryear of Washingon D.C., 
• Green Party - Jill Stein of Massachusetts and Ajuma Baraka of Georgia, and 
• Republican Party - Donald J. Trump of New York and Michael R. Pence of Indiana. 

Vermont also permits voters to write in the name of any person in a write-in space provided for each race in the election.

There are five named choices in Vermont's U.S. Senate Race: Liberty Union Party - Pete Diamondstone of Dummerston, United States Marijuana Party - Cris Ericson of Chester, Democratic Party - Patrick Leahy of Middlesex (incumbent), Republican Party - Scott Milne of Pomfret, Independent Party - Jerry Trudell of Derby.

Two named individuals compete for the position of Representative to the U.S. Congress: Liberty Union Party  - Erica Clawson of Charleston, Democratic Party - Peter Welch of Norwich (incumbent).

The offices of Vermont Governor and Lieutenant Governor also will be decided. There are three named Governor candidates on the ballot: Liberty Union Party - Bill "Spaceman" Lee of Craftsbury, Democratic Party - Sue Minter of Waterbury, Republican Party - Phil Scott of Berlin. There are also three named Lieutenant Governor candidates: Republican Party - Randy Brock of Swanton, Liberty Union Party - Boots Wardinski of Newbury, Prog./Dem. Party David Zuckerman of Hinesburg.

The image below shows the contents of the ballot, including other state and local races, that will be filled out by Whiting, Vermont, residents. The sample was obtained through the Secretary of the State's Office.

The actual ballot will contain instructions. Justice of the Peace
candidates appear on the reverse of the actual ballot.

Autumn color

 Early afternoon of Oct. 11, 2016. Above, looking northeast. Below, looking west.

Good morning from Whiting

Just before sunrise on August 16, 2016.

Tuesday, Aug. 9, is Primary Election Day

Registered voters will be able to vote in state political party primaries on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016. Polls are scheduled to be open at the Town Hall from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The primaries will decide party nominees for governor, lieutenant governor, U.S. senator, attorney general, state treasurer, high bailiff and other races around the state.

Sample ballots for all election districts are available online through the Vermont Secretary of State Office's "My Voter" Page.

Library open house Saturday

The Whiting Free Library 

will hold its open house 

on Saturday, June 4, 

from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. 

The open house kicks off the summer season. During the summer, the library will be open on Saturdays from 9:30 to 11 a.m. and Mondays from 6 to 7 p.m., with children's storytime on Wednesday mornings (June 15 to Aug. 3) at 10 a.m.

Good morning

School-related events in March, April

Several events related to Whiting Elementary School are on the calendar for March and April.

March 18: HOLIDAY HAM BINGO 
Compete to win hams at this Friday, March 18, fundraiser for the Friends of Whiting School. There's also a 50/50 raffle and a bake sale at this event, held at the Whiting Town Hall. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the event is scheduled to begin at 6:30.

March 30: ANNUAL PANCAKE BREAKFAST 
For $3, you get an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast at the Whiting Elementary School on Wednesday morning, March 30. Breakfast will be served from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m.

April 12: ALL SCHOOL MUSICAL 
"Lets Sing, America!" The All School Musical presentation will be held in Whiting Town Hall at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 12. The program will celebrate America's dreams, symbols and freedom.

Busy March 1 for VT voters

Voters will be kept busy on March 1.

Democratic and Republican Presidential Primaries will be held during the day. Vermont balloting is part of Super Tuesday, when a dozen states and one territory express their preferences for party nominees for President. In addition to Vermont, the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia will hold primaries. Alaska Republicans will caucus. Democrats in Colorado and American Samoa will indicate their Presidential preferences through caucuses.
(See Burlington Free Press story.)

Australian ballot voting on the 2016-17 Otter Valley Unified Union School District budget of $22.6 million will be held in district towns. Whiting voters will vote at the Whiting Town Hall from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The annual school meeting for the Whiting Town School District will begin at 7:15 p.m. at the Town Hall. Attendees will consider a $633,161 spending plan.

The annual Town Meeting will immediately follow the school meeting. A proposed municipal budget of $365,602 will be decided. Spending in the plan has increased by $65,350 over the 2015 budget. The amount funded through local taxes is to decrease, however, by an amount of $16,842. The town selectmen anticipates that the town tax rate will drop from $0.53 to $0.49.

In addition, the Town Meeting will elect the following officers:

• Select board member for a term of three years, 
• Lister for a term of three years,
• Auditor for a term of three years,
• Collector of delinquent taxes
• Library trustee for a term of three years
• Road commissioner
• First constable
• Second constable
• Town Juror
• Town Agent

Voters to decide school budgets

Whiting voters will assemble at the Town Hall at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 29, 2016, to hear a presentation of the Otter Valley Unified Union School District budget for the 2016-17 year. The meeting will be recessed to Australian ballot voting on the budget from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1, at the Town Hall.

The Otter Valley Unified Union School District, according to a plan approved by the towns of Brandon, Goshen, Leicester, Pittsford, Sudbury and Whiting, is scheduled to begin operation on July 1, 2016. Its proposed budget for 2016-17 is $22.6 million, an equalized per pupil rate of $14,495.

At 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1, the annual school meeting will be held. Voters will elect a moderator for a term of one year, a school district treasurer for a term of one year and a school director for a term of three years. In addition, voters will be asked to approve the expenditure of $633,161 ($12,606 per equalized pupil) by the Whiting Town School District. This amount represents a 9.24 percent spending decrease per equalized pupil as compared with the current year.

School district vote Jan. 19

On Jan. 18 and 19, 2016, the region's voters will discuss and vote on a new governance model for two unified union school districts in the Rutland Northeast Supervisory Union (RNESU). 

Whiting voters will gather for a Special School District Meeting at the Whiting Town Hall at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 18 to discuss the report of the Act 46 Study Committee and the details of the new governance model. The meeting will be recessed to an Australian ballot vote, conducted from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 19, on articles relating to the formation of the Otter Valley Unified Union School District.

The RNESU Act 46 Study Committee has recommended the creation of two new unified union school districts through merging the governance of existing member districts in a Side-by-Side Merger process outlined by the state legislature. The two districts will be the Otter Valley Unified Union School District, serving the towns of Brandon, Goshen, Leicester, Pittsfield, Sudbury and Whiting, and the Barstow Unified Union School District, serving the towns of Chittenden and Mendon.

Under the proposal, the Otter Valley Unified Union School District (OVUUSD) would unify six town school districts and the union high school district into a single unified union school district with a single 13-member governing board. Nine of the board seats would be apportioned to the six member towns according to town population. The remaining four would be at-large seats. At present, town populations would result in three seats designated for Brandon representatives, two for Pittsford and one each for Goshen, Leicester, Sudbury and Whiting.

Becky Bertrand and Ellen L. Kurrelmeyer are competing for the two-year Whiting seat on the board.

None of the five existing elementary schools in the Otter Valley region would be closed for at least four years, according to the proposal, unless closure is approved by the voters of the town where the school is located. After the four-year period, a school could be closed with a two-thirds vote of the OVUUSD board. If a school is closed, its town would have the right to purchase the property for $1, provided it is used for public purposes for a minimum of five years.

If the proposal is approved by all member towns, the OVUUSD would begin operation on July 1, 2016.

For more information:

•  Otter Valley Unified Plan and Articles.
•  Otter Valley Special Meeting Warning.
•  Otter Valley School Board Candidate Ballot.
•  Consolidation FAQ.