57 TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2002
Journal of the House
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2002
At ten o'clock minutes in the forenoon the Speaker called the House to order.
Devotional Exercises
Devotional exercises were conducted by Mr. Marcelle Gagnon of the Church of God, St. Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec.
Pledge of Allegiance
Page Kate Sease of Montpelier led the House in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Message from the Senate No. 5
A message was received from the Senate by Mr. Marshall, its Assistant Secretary, as follows:
Mr. Speaker:
I am directed to inform the House that. the Senate has on its part adopted joint resolutions of the following titles:
J.R.S. 88. Joint resolution congratulating former Representative Arthur Williams on receipt of the 2001 Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
J.R.S. 89. Joint resolution congratulating Pauline Ayers Slack on her centennial birthday.
J.R.S. 90. Joint resolution strongly urging that every Vermont public school provide the opportunity for all students to recite the pledge of allegiance to the American flag at the beginning of each school day.
J.R.S. 91. Joint resolution honoring Peter Hawksworth of Enosburg for his pioneering work as an Agri-Artist.
The Senate has considered joint resolutions originating in the House of the following titles:
J.R.H. 159. Joint resolution congratulating Florence and Maurice Pennock on the occasion of their 60th wedding anniversary.
J.R.H. 160. Joint resolution honoring the Men of Maple Corner Calendar.
J.R.H. 161. Joint resolution congratulating the Mount Anthony Union High School Patriots Division II 2001 championship lacrosse team.
J.R.H. 162. Joint resolution in memory of Abenaki Chief Homer St. Francis.
J.R.H. 163. Joint resolution warmly remembering the victims, proudly honoring the heroes and severely condemning the perpetrators of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.
J.R.H. 164. Joint resolution in memory of U. S. Marine Corps Sergeant Bryon Lane of White River Junction.
J.R.H. 165. Joint resolution honoring State Senator Barbara Snelling.
J.R.H. 166. Joint resolution congratulating Tara Chaplin on winning the 2001 NCAA Division I cross country national championship.
J.R.H. 167. Joint resolution congratulating the 2001 Mt. Abraham Union High School Eagles Division II championship baseball team.
J.R.H. 168. Joint resolution congratulating the Bellows Falls woman’s club on the occasion of the club’s centennial anniversary.
And has adopted the same in concurrence.
Joint Resolution Placed on Calendar
J.R.H. 174
Reps. Obuchowski of Rockingham and Partridge of Windham offered a joint resolution, entitled
Joint resolution congratulating the town of Rockingham on the celebration of its 250th anniversary;
Whereas, the royal province of New Hampshire granted a charter authorizing the establishment of the new town of Rockingham on the 28th day of December in the year 1752, and
Whereas, this charter granted to the grantees, 74 equal shares in “a new plantation” in the future state of Vermont, then known as the “New Hampshire Grants within the old Equivalent Lands,” and
Whereas, the town’s geographic boundaries were to begin “at the North East Corner of Westminster & running up by Connecticut River till it Extends Six Miles upon a Strait Line Northerly to A Stake & Stones upon the Bank of Said River in Hickup Meadow Thence running Due West Six Miles to A Stake & Stones, Thence running Southerly Six Miles to the North West Corner of Westminster thence running Due East to the Bounds first mentioned”, and
Whereas, the town was named in honor of New Hampshire Governor’s Benning Wentworth’s relative, Charles Watson Wentworth, the Marquis of Rockingham, who would later twice serve as Great Britain’s prime minister and was an early advocate of American independence, and
Whereas, unlike many other newly-established municipalities in the New Hampshire Grants, the enthusiastic proprietors of the newly-established town of Rockingham assembled for an organizational meeting as provided for in the charter and elected Benjamin Bellows as the first Rockingham moderator, and
Whereas, the early center of the town was Rockingham Village and its magnificent meeting house, constructed in 1787, and
Whereas, with the 19th century growth of commerce along the Connecticut River, and by rail, the village of Bellows Falls, named after Rockingham’s first moderator, became the town’s center of activity, and
Whereas, three other villages were later established in the town at Saxtons River, Cambridgeport and Bartonsville, and
Whereas, on December 28, 2002, the town of Rockingham will mark a special milestone in its history as it joyously celebrates the 250th anniversary of its establishment, and will continue the commemoration throughout the year 2003, now therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly congratulates the town of Rockingham on the occasion of its 250th anniversary, and be it further
Resolved: That December 28, 2002 is declared Rockingham Day in Vermont in honor of the town’s incorporation, and be it further
Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to the Rockingham Selectboard.
Which was read and, in the Speaker’s discretion, placed on the Calendar for action tomorrow under Rule 52.
Joint Resolution Adopted
J.R.H. 175
The House committee on Transportation offered a joint resolution, entitled
Joint resolution congratulating Representative William “Bill” Aswad, the senior member of the General Assembly, on his 80th birthday;
Whereas, birthdays are a wonderful occasion for the celebration of an individual’s life in the presence of friends and family, and
Whereas, for a member of the General Assembly, a very special group of friends is comprised of the representative’s or senator’s legislative colleagues, and
Whereas, Representative William “Bill” Aswad of Burlington is an always dapperly dressed legislator whose youthful vim and vigor has graced the well of the House since January 1995, and
Whereas, he has employed his educational background, as a chemical engineering graduate of Clarkson University, to systematically mix divergent political elements into unifying legislative formulae that transcend political parties, and
Whereas, Bill Aswad was a legislator extraordinaire before he ever reached the State House, having served with distinction on the Burlington City Council, and
Whereas, his extended tenure on the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission has enabled him to contribute a special expertise on topics related to planning and development on the regional level, and
Whereas, as a member of the House Transportation Committee, Bill Aswad has been an essential player in developing this legislature’s policies on various modes of locomotion and their accompanying pathways, and
Whereas, Bill Aswad has won the respect of his colleagues for his diligence, attentiveness and readiness to seek reasonable accommodation in legislative debates, and
Whereas, on January 15, 2002, Bill Aswad marks a milestone in his young life as he celebrates his 80th birthday, and
Whereas, birthday greetings on this momentous occasion deserve the special recognition which only the formality of this legislative joint resolution may bestow, now therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly extends the warmest of 80th birthday wishes to its esteemed colleague and friend, Representative William “Bill” Aswad of Burlington, and be it further
Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to Representative William Aswad in Burlington.
Which was read and adopted on the part of the House.
Joint Resolutions Placed on Calendar
The Speaker placed before the House the following resolutions which were read and in the Speaker’s discretion, placed on the Calendar for action tomorrow under Rule 52.
J.R.S. 88
By Senators Doyle, Cummings and Scott,
Joint resolution congratulating former Representative Arthur Williams on receipt of the 2001 Governor's Lifetime Achievement Award.
Whereas, Arthur Williams’ lifetime of public service is best embodied in the historic, cultural and recreational buildings, facilities and programs on whose behalf he has labored, and
Whereas, after military service in World War II, and graduating from Bowdoin College in his native Maine, he heeded the wise words of Horace Greeley to “Go West, Young Man” and settled in the Mad River Valley municipality of Fayston, and
Whereas, he began his professional life in Vermont as an educator, teaming with his wife Hanne as a one-room schoolhouse teaching duo, and
Whereas, Arthur Williams’ introduction to the State House, an edifice destined to play a major role in his life, was as the House member from Fayston for the years 1961-1966, and
Whereas, in 1966, the Vermont Arts Council selected him as the new organization’s first executive director, where he was instrumental in the establishment of the public arts program, the placement of sculpture along the state’s interstate highways, and was repeatedly asked to return on an interim basis between the tenure of subsequent directors, and
Whereas, the magnificent restoration of the Vermont State House owes much to Arthur Williams who, for over a decade starting in 1969, served as the “acting State House Curator,” and
Whereas, recognizing the importance of private financial and community support to spur the General Assembly to appropriate the necessary dollars to properly restore and refurbish the State House, in 1981, he cofounded and became the volunteer executive director of the Friends of the Vermont State House, and
Whereas, under his leadership, the Friends have raised over $1 million toward completing the State House restoration project, and
Whereas, Arthur Williams has augmented his work with the Friends through membership on the Capitol Complex Commission, and
Whereas, he has served on the boards of the Central Vermont Home Health and Hospice Agency, the Central Vermont Retired Senior Volunteer Program, the Maine Maritime Museum and the Bundy Gallery, and
Whereas, Arthur Williams has been active in the civic life of the Mad River Valley, serving as cofounder and first chair of the Fayston Planning Commission, a recycling volunteer, a cofounder and board member of the Mad River Valley Recreation Path Association and a volunteer driver to ferry persons to medical and dental appointments, and
Whereas, for all these good deeds, Arthur Williams was selected as a 2001 recipient of the Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Award, now therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly is pleased to recognize Arthur Williams’ many contributions to enhancing life in Vermont, and to congratulate him on receipt of the 2001 Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and be it further
Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to Arthur Williams in Fayston.
J.R.S. 89
By Senator Corrow,
Joint resolution congratulating Pauline Ayers Slack on her centennial birthday.
Whereas, Pauline Ayers was born in Waterbury Village a century ago, and
Whereas, in 1918, upon graduating from the former Waterbury High School, she entered the University of Vermont where she distinguished herself by graduating in 1922 magna cum laude and earning admission to the prestigious Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society, and
Whereas, Pauline Ayers began her pedagogic career as a science teacher at Burlington High School, and she subsequently taught at her alma mater, Waterbury High School, of which she is now the oldest living member of its alumni, and
Whereas, seeking to further her education, in 1928, she earned a master’s degree in botany from the University of Vermont, and
Whereas, in 1936, Pauline Ayers married Charles J. Slack and eventually relocated to Brookfield, the town in which she still resides, and
Whereas, on November 6, 2001, she joyously celebrated her centennial birthday, a most momentous personal milestone that very few individuals are fortunate enough to observe, now therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly is most delighted to congratulate Pauline Ayers Slack on her 100th birthday and wishes her many more, and be it further
Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to Pauline Ayers Slack in Brookfield.
J.R.S. 90
By Senators Bahre, Bartlett, Bloomer, Campbell, Canns, Chard, Condos, Corrow, Costes, Crowley, Cummings, Doyle, Gossens, Greenwood, Ide, Illuzzi, Kittell, Leddy, Lyons, Maynard, Mazza, McCormack, Morrissey, Munt, Scott, Sears, Shumlin, and Snelling,
Joint resolution strongly urging that every Vermont public school provide the opportunity for all students to recite the pledge of allegiance to the American flag at the beginning of each school day.
Whereas, when Americans recite the pledge of allegiance to the American flag, they are expressing their strong dedication to our republic, and to the fundamental American principles of “liberty and justice and freedom for all,” and
Whereas, the pledge of allegiance is regularly recited at numerous public events and in both Houses of the Vermont General Assembly, and
Whereas, historically, public school classes in Vermont began each day by reciting the pledge of allegiance, and
Whereas, the brief moment required to recite the pledge enabled school children to develop a lasting respect for their country and a deep sense of patriotism, and
Whereas, this patriotic practice has been discontinued in many public schools in Vermont, and
Whereas, since our nation was viciously attacked on September 11, 2001, many Americans are more frequently, and with increased enthusiasm, reciting the pledge of allegiance, as an expression of their renewed sense of patriotic pride and abiding belief in the principles that form the core of our nation’s values, and
Whereas, unlike millions of other Americans, many school children of Vermont are being unfairly denied the opportunity to regularly reaffirm their love of country, and
Whereas, the daily recitation of the pledge of allegiance in the state’s public school classrooms would make each school day a more meaningful experience for students and teachers alike, now therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly strongly urges every school in the state to provide for the opening of each school day with the recitation of the pledge of allegiance to the American flag, and be it further
Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to the Commissioner of Education, and to the executive directors of the Vermont School Board Association, the Vermont Principals Association, the Vermont Superintendents Association and the Vermont National Education Association.
J.R.S. 91
By Senators Costes and Kittell,