This Week in History March 5 - 11

10 years ago:
Readsboro voters rejected their school budget, despite a budget that was lower by $11,000 and a lower projected school tax rate. During the annual school district meeting the previous evening, some voters questioned salary increases that were included in the reduced budget.
Wilmington School Board members told voters that Twin Valley’s full K-12 merger saved taxpayers a significant amount. The budget was down by more than $200,000 over the previous year, and $700,000 lower than the two towns’ combined pre-consolidation budget.
15 years ago:
Wilmington voters approved a $340,000 bond for a new town garage in a 249 to 103 vote. The new garage was to be located off Haystack Road, replacing the 1960s-era town garage located on Beaver Street. The Beaver Street location is currently the site of a proposed fire/police facility.
Readsboro voters ousted their town clerk and treasurer who had served for six years. The new town clerk and treasurer said the outgoing clerk and treasurer refused to assist in the transition, and didn’t share any of the computer passwords needed for the job.
20 years ago:
Rep. Bob Rusten, of Halifax, announced that he wouldn’t seek reelection to a sixth term, ending his 10-year run in the Legislature. Rusten said the combination of part-time legislative work and part-time professional work was financially unsustainable. Rusten went on to become Wilmington Town Manager. Ann Manwaring, of Wilmington, was elected to the Legislature in the fall.
25 years ago:
Road conditions on Route 9 between Wilmington and Brattleboro were so bad that at least one accident had been attributed to frost heaves that were said to toss cars about like a leaf on the wind. State highway officials said they were trying to keep up with demand for patches, but repairs couldn’t be carried out until after winter. Attempts to fill voids with cold patch failed, and the state eventually hired a company to patch the road with hot mix. The road had been scheduled for major road repairs, but funding for the project fell through.
30 years ago:
In a special February 29 leap year edition, The Deerfield Valley News explored several leap year traditions, including that of a kind of Sadie Hawkins Day when, in a role reversal, women were “allowed” to propose marriage to men. If a man refused, he was obligated to give the woman a gift, traditionally a pair of fine gloves.
35 years ago:
Residents of Whitingham and Wilmington were facing a school “merger” vote, and there were heated opinions for and against the proposal. One Whitingham resident was concerned that Wilmington’s school bond (for renovations in 1980) wasn’t scheduled to be paid off until 2002. After touring Wilmington High School, she warned Whitingham voters that they “have no idea as to the expenses you will be faced with in future renovations to that building.”
A television crew from WCAX visited the offices of The Deerfield Valley News and The Green Mountain Courier for an upcoming story on newspaper competition. According to WCAX, The Deerfield Valley News and The Green Mountain Courier were the only two competing newspapers in the entire state.
40 years ago:
Dover held its 197th Town Meeting. The residents of the town that would become Dover held their first Town Meeting on February 3, 1789. At that time, Dover was the “south district” of Wardsboro. Because it was too difficult for residents of the south district to get to the north district of Wardsboro for Town Meeting, the Vermont General Assembly passed a bill in 1788 separating the districts. Residents held their own Town Meetings and elected their own officers. In 1810, the Legislature regranted the south district as a separate town named Dover. The town of Dover held its first annual Town Meeting in 1811.
45 years ago:
Junios Chambers, of New York, was shot by a New York corrections officer during an attempted armed robbery at an apartment in West Dover. According to police, Chambers forced his way into the apartment, handcuffed the two occupants, as well as three occupants of another apartment, and began robbing the apartments. The corrections officer broke loose and struggled with Chambers. During the struggle, Chambers was shot in the chest with his own gun. Police were investigating the possibility that Chambers was involved in a similar break-in a year earlier.
55 years ago:
Bill Palumbo resigned as general manager of Haystack Mountain. Palumbo said he was leaving to devote more time to his sales firm, which sold Meuller ski lifts. He had been at Haystack since 1961 and served as general manager since 1966. He remained as a member of the company’s board of directors.
Bob Grinold won a seat on the selectboard by one vote at Wilmington’s Town Meeting. In Dover, “Rexford Bartlett, a youthful East Dover man,” scored a two-vote victory to win a one-year position on the Dover Selectboard. Readsboro voters blocked a plan to demolish their historic 1829 town hall, instructing selectboard members to investigate a means of repairing and retaining the building.