Vermonter.com

If you’ve driven along Rte 7. through Shelburne Village during fall foliage season, you’ve probably seen the (in)famous “Leaf People”. They were a sporadically placed group of colorful scarecrows strategically placed close the the roadside by business people in Shelburne. During the day, the leaf people with their beads, hats and clothing from what appeared to be a thrift shop, welcomed people to town with a stationary wave and a smile. The problem is (according to local news reports) that they were within the highway right of way and therefore illegal. I’ve always said that most criminals are dummies but in this case, its entirely true. However, the leaf people weren’t a malicious lot and were probably a lot safer than some of the human “dummies” walking or biking along the roadside in a careless manner.
I can see where CCTA bus drivers would occasionally be fooled into thinking that the leaf people were flagging them down for a ride. With the leafy folks so close to the road, often times, they looked like real people.
(Read on …)

More bad news from IBM in Essex Jct. as (at least) 100 people lose their jobs. Rumors are that more layoffs are on the way but only Big Blue knows for sure. Election Day this year will mark a much more personal experience for some than the Presidential election. The local talk is that IBM’s days in Vermont are numbered but discussion with some who work at IBM say they are busier than ever. In any case, the layoffs might be a bellwether of things to come, which doesn’t look promising for any Vermonter. As anyone in Vermont knows, good paying manufacturing jobs are on their way out and low paying service jobs don’t pay the mortgage.

As a former UPS driver of 10 years, I was astounded to see what level of pay UPS is offering for seasonal workers. These are the drivers helpers and folks who load/unload trucks. The pay is $9.50 per hour which is the same as what it was when I started working for UPS back in 1987. Back then, that was considered VERY good pay. These days, it’s more of a joke. Also, I believe that once hired, you must join the Teamsters Union, which means a deduction for dues from your meager earnings. Temporary, seasonal drivers might do a little better at $10.50 per hour. So much for the good old days and good old pay.

The best part of Election Day is when it’s over. No more of those tiresome ads on TV and even more annoying signs plastered just about everywhere. The Shelburne Road intersection was particularly bad this year with a massive amount of illegally placed signs, distractingly plastered everywhere. Why didn’t the State of Vermont Highway Dept. confiscate all those signs? They did take the Shelburne “Leaf People” hostage along with some real estate signs, etc. in the village but better hunting would have been in front of the plazas on Shelburne Road. On the day before and during the election, there were human signs adding to the distraction and eye pollution. I was at a meeting and one person mentioned that he got distracted for a moment and veered dangerously towards the crowd of waving, smiling “sign people”. He said they really scrambled when they thought they were going to get hit.
It would be really funny to see the State of Vermont kidnap “sign people” instead of “leaf people”. Would they still be smiling and waving as they were piled ito the back of a dump truck?

Congratulations to Jim Douglas and thank God he was re-elected. I’ve met the other two candidates and they seem to be nice people but in times like this, Vermont really needs someone a bit conservative to keep an eye on spending and important issues such as jobs and the economy. There are those who have been slamming Jim Douglas for some time about the loss of jobs in Vermont, many of which have gone overseas. If I remember correctly, wasn’t it Bill Clinton who signed that wonderful Free Trade Agreement that allowed our jobs to leave the country? I don’t think Jim could have stopped him but maybe Monica Lewinsky could have.

Congratulations to Scott Wheeler, of Orleans County too for keeping his seat in the Vermont House. We need native born Vermonters with good common sense working for the State of Vermont.