Justin Willis

Development Review Board

Justin Willis spent over two decades volunteering on a state-wide committee. When he finally left that position, he decided to do something closer to home and in 2023 he joined the Jericho Development Review Board. “I wanted to serve my community,” Willis said, “and I also believed I had a lot to offer based on my profession and experience. I felt that those skills could benefit the board and the town.”

In his professional life, Willis interacts with other towns’ Development Review Boards, and he believes that Jericho’s board is well-balanced and talented. “I’m amazed at the variety of expertise we have compared to other towns,” he said. Willis enjoys being part of the process of reviewing applications that come before the board. “Our job is to see that the regulations are being followed, and that people are treated fairly,” he said, “and I think we accomplish that.”

Willis was working in the mechanical engineering field and his wife Barb, a former Jericho Zoning Administrator, was a civil engineer. The couple started working in water and wastewater design and became licensed by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. In 1990, they formed Willis Design Associates. Their work included doing subdivision plans, water and wastewater design, and wastewater replacement systems.

These days, most of Willis’s work is helping people permit and construct apartments and accessory dwelling units or ADUs. “I feel like I’m on a mission is to help ease the housing crisis,” he said. “Some of the engineers call me the ADU guy.” Willis said most of the ADUs are designed for changing family dynamics, rather than being used as an Airbnb. “It seems like every family has someone who doesn’t have housing,” he said. “We’re helping people age in place.” Willis noted that often people want to stay in their homes but sometimes there are too many stairs so they’ll move into a wheelchair accessible ADU and their kids will take over the main house. He said there is a high demand for these types of dwellings, and he has helped out on a number of homes in Richmond, Jericho, and Underhill.

For over 20 years, Willis was on the Technical Advisory Committee which advised the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources regarding standards for potable water supplies and wastewater systems. He described the board as one composed of experts in the field. Willis was first appointed by Governor Dean and later by Governors Douglas, Shumlin, and Scott. After resigning from the TAC, he felt he had the time to serve on the Jericho DRB. A native Vermonter, Willis, was born at what was then called Mary Fletcher Hospital. He grew up in Stowe and spent more than 40 years living in Richmond. During that time, he served on their Planning Commission and Zoning Board of Adjustment. In 1999, he and his wife bought land in Jericho, and they built their home in 2012. Willis already had strong ties to the community. His sister, Linda St. Amour, owned the Jericho Center Country Store for many years.

After his years in Richmond, Willis is happy to be out of the valley and living at a higher elevation. He enjoys the proximity to outdoor recreation like skiing at Smugglers’ Notch. In the summer, he likes spending time at the family camp on Lake Iroquois.

Willis believes that improvements can be made to the town’s zoning regulations, but he is pleased to be part of the group that works with them. “Our board is a fair and friendly board,” he said. “We do our best to accommodate the applicants who come before us.”

Willis is glad to be doing his volunteering close to home. “I get a lot of satisfaction from being part of the community,” he said. “There are so many committees and board opportunities. If you’re cut out for it and have something to offer you should do it at some point in your life.”

Terry Hook Wears a Multitude of Volunteer Hats

Death is nobody’s favorite topic, but it is inevitable. When one of Terry Hook’s friends passed away without having made final arrangements, he and his wife Andrea bought plots at the Jericho Center Cemetery. The Hooks had purchased their Jericho Center home from the Lindholm Family and roughly ten years ago, Bert Lindholm asked Hook if he would like to be involved in overseeing the facility as a member of the Cemetery Commission. Hook agreed and became a commissioner and treasurer of the board. He recently took over from Lindholm as the chair.

Hook stresses that he is merely the point person for contact, noting that Lindholm is still doing a lot of the work, as is Isabella Martin who has been involved for years. Another commissioner, Jim Adams, is also stepping up to take on more responsibilities. Hook explained that the cemetery is partially private and partially owned by the town which pays half the expenses. Those expenses are primarily for mowing and taking care of downed trees.

Some of that work is done by volunteers but other tasks require hiring experts. The primary role for commissioners is selling plots and filing paperwork with the state. The cemetery contains hundreds of graves with the earliest ones dating back to the 1790’s. Thanks to some acreage recently purchased from a neighbor, there is room for additional burials for the next 50 to 100 years.

Hook met his wife in Vermont, but they left when he went to graduate school in Connecticut. Previously, he had lived in Essex but on their return in 1986, they moved to the Riverside area, falling in love with an 1870 townhouse. Soon Hook realized he would prefer living in a smaller community and in 1990, the couple moved to Jericho Center, in part so they would have more room for their horse. The last thing Hook did after they had loaded the moving truck was to saddle that horse and ride to Jericho Center, sticking to dirt roads wherever possible.

The Cemetery Commission is hardly Hook’s first foray into municipal volunteer work. He joined the Planning Commission in 1988 when he lived in Underhill Flats. He speculated that he was chosen because that part of town was underrepresented but notes that nobody kicked him off after he moved to Jericho Center. He served for roughly 15 years.

Living in Jericho Center was a defining factor in Hook’s involvement with the Jericho Center Preservation Association which owns the building housing the Community Center. Hook joined in the mid 1990’s when the Association purchased the building. His wife has served on the Community Center’s board. A love of history led to Hook’s decision to help with the Third History of Jericho. He wrote some of the chapters, contacted the Library of Congress for the copyright, and helped with the financial aspects of publishing.

Hook’s most recent volunteerism is on the board of the Mobbs Farm Committee. He was approached about ten years ago because the committee had people representing cyclists, runners, and dog walkers, but nobody from the equestrian community. “I’ve been there ever since,” Hook said. “It’s a really good committee and we get a lot done including some physical work.” An electrical engineer by trade, Hook spent his entire career at IBM, first in New York and then in Essex Junction working on semiconductors. When IBM was sold to Global Foundries, he had already switched to reporting to IBM Research in Albany, working remotely from home. In 2018, Hook retired after 38 years of service, but he has subsequently begun consulting part-time for IBM Research for ten to 20 hours a week.

Hook revels in the changing seasons in Vermont, golfing in the summer and skiing in the winter with his wife. Their two daughters have moved to Pelham, New York, and Los Angeles, respectively, and Hook is the proud grandfather of two. In addition to skiing and golfing, the couple enjoy riding their horses. Hook cuts his own hay and has experienced his share of weather and equipment-related failures. Thanks to the latter, he owns four tractors. He’s also the owner of a 1964 Austin Healy Sprite and a 1978 Land Rover and takes responsibility for repairing both vehicles.

Hook spent 13 years as one of the Masters of the Green Mountain Hounds which is based in Addison County. Two or even three times a week in the late summer and autumn a dozen or so horseback riders take roughly a dozen hounds out and follow them as they follow a scent laid by a volunteer, to mimic a traditional fox hunt. Hook is still involved but has resigned from his position as Master.

“One of the things I really like about living in a relatively small town,” Hook said “is that you get to know a lot of people. You may not necessarily like them all, but they are real people and not cardboard characters.” Hook believes that he and his Jericho Center neighbors have a better understanding of each other than many suburbanites might, and he credits his volunteerism with helping him engage with more people. “If you’re just living here, you’re missing out on some of the community. The community lies in knowing people in various dimensions.”

Laura Markowitz

Jericho Food Hub Task Force

Laura Markowitz is passionate about supporting local farmers. When the Jericho Food Hub Task Force was formed in 2023, she became a member and was thrilled when the group merged with a similar group in Underhill last year.

Markowitz said the Food Hub has close to 15 committed members and meets monthly. Those meetings are generally used as forums for overseeing the activities of the hub’s many pods. One of those pods organized a community brunch at the Covered Bridge Blueberry Farm in Underhill featuring produce from several local farms. Roughly 120 people attended including a number of local farmers. A second community event is being planned for January 8 at Browns River Middle School from 4:30 to 7:00 pm.

Another successful project of the Food Hub was the creation and mailing of a flyer which featured information on local farms. There have also been three forums with farmers, activists, and community members to talk about what farmers might need to better serve their communities. The hub is hoping to find ways to further promote the farmers of Jericho and Underhill. “They are our heroes and leaders and need to be acknowledged and honored,” Markowitz said.

Markowitz has a history of activism around local issues. When she lived in Burlington, she was active in promoting the local bartering currency called Burlington Bread. After moving to Jericho, she got involved in a gardening group designed to help its members learn from one another. When Transition Town Jericho was founded in 2016, Markowitz enthusiastically became a member. She continues to be part of that group but notes that are trying to find new goals now that the Food Hub has been formed. Transition Town Jericho meets semi-regularly and brings in speakers who talk about sustainability issues. They hold garden contests for children and encourage people to take part in the Extra Row program to grow food for those in need.

Markowitz has a long career as a musician and music teacher. She teaches both adults and children to play the violin and fiddle. For many years she shared a studio in Richmond with her life and music partner John Dunlop and some opera singers. Most of her work has been as an orchestral musician with some chamber music.

Markowitz was part of the Burlington Chamber Orchestra and Symphony Reel which have since disbanded. She is a long-time member of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra. She also performs with the Opera Company of Middlebury and local choral groups. Markowitz and Dunlop have played on the recordings of some local legends, including Pete Sutherland, Deb Flanders, and Phish. They’ve also performed live with Lyle Lovett, the Moody Blues, and Bernadette Peters among others.

Although she has thought about retiring from performing, some recent events have re-energized Markowitz. One of those was a Holocaust Remembrance Day concert three years ago. Together with a violist and cellist, Markowitz was part of a trio which memorialized composers who died in the Holocaust. More recently, she joined the Burlington Choral Society for a concert called “Birds, Byrd, and Birding to Change the World.” As an avid birder Markowitz was excited about the event and confesses that she almost got sick from the stress. “At the ripe old age of 63 it was my first time as a soloist in front of a string orchestra,” she said.” It’s the kind of thing where you’re very nervous but when you’re doing it, it’s a release. Butterflies are mental monsters. It was a thrill to be part of that and very rewarding.”

Markowitz enjoys performing for seniors either at activity centers or residences where she plays 45 minutes of solo violin. “I did that as a young person and have come back to it,” she said. “I really love doing it. There is a lot of dialogue and communication. With the state of the world, music seems more important than ever.”

Markowitz lives at the Barber Farm Homestead and loves seeing an open sky and having access to fields and woods for hiking. She has grown close to other families in the enclave which has about fifteen homes. Markowitz said that most of her Jericho friends are people she has met through organizing. “I love the people here,” she said. “There are a lot of truly committed people.”

For Markowitz, the Food Hub is energizing, and she is impressed that farmers and young people have been coming to meetings. “My hopes and dreams are that more and more people will understand the significance of the people growing our food,” she said. “We’re trying to fulfill the needs of the farmers and community members who need access to better health and affordable foods.”

Angelike Contis

Mount Mansfield Community Television

Angelike Contis is comfortable behind the camera. The Jericho native spent years as a documentary filmmaker before returning to her hometown and taking the helm at Mount Mansfield Community Television, a job she has held since 2012.

MMCTV, a non-profit organization, was founded in 1997. The majority of the station’s output involves filming municipal meetings in Jericho, Underhill, and Richmond. Since starting work as Executive Director, Contis has presided over a number of changes. Initially, all the meetings were just shown on cable television but now, everything except for some copyrighted events like concerts, are available online. MMCTV used to be funded through cable subscribers but with this change, they have requested and received additional funding from the towns they cover.

The station also does media education and partners with local non-profits including schools, libraries, and senior centers, filming events for them and also editing work that they submit. Often middle school students help out as volunteers and become paid workers when they reach high school. MMCTV also takes part in a number of community events.

After graduating from MMU, Contis got a degree in Social Studies from Harvard and then worked for an Argentinian documentary filmmaker in the Boston area. When her sister moved to Greece, Contis decided to follow for a year to do a documentary on the island of Tinos. One year turned into eleven during which she made videos about people behind the scenes at the Olympics, Greek dancing in the United States, and a film about stray dogs which was called Muttumentary.

Contis also wrote for the English language version of the Athens News. Her first assignment was doing movie reviews. “We were like vampires,” she said. “It was mostly American films and we’d be sitting in the dark during the day eating tiropita (cheese pies).” Contis praised the Athens News as one paper which wasn’t connected to a political party.

Contis eventually moved back to the US, settling in New York City. She wrote for Fodors, Edible Queens, Odyssey, and the English language version of the Greek National Herald. When her son was born, she decided to move back to Jericho so he would have access to green space and more time with his grandparents.

Contis continues to make documentaries but has cut back a bit on that work. She is proud of a film she made about the late Jericho artist Marcia Rosberg, and she is working on one about Deborah Rawson, the namesake for one of our libraries. “I love how documentary filmmaking lets you step into people’s lives and find another way of looking at the world,” she said.

Contis is a member of the Vermont Access Network which is a consortium of the 24 public access television stations in the state. She is currently the chair of the advocacy committee after several years as president of the organization. “These are the nicest people you’ve ever met,” she said, noting that public access TV employees were deemed essential during the pandemic.

“I think the thing that’s interesting in our field is how everything is really changing,” Contis said. In the pre-cell phone days, people would come to the MMCTV studio to film things but these days, they are more likely to borrow equipment and do the project themselves. To help get more people into the field, MMCTV leads summer camps and workshops during the February break for students. Some of the students Contis taught in those workshops are now graduating high school with plans to get involved in media. In addition to her work with MMCTV and Vermont Access Network, Contis serves on Jericho’s Town Meeting Reimagined Task Force and the Chittenden County Communication Union District.

To help connect with the past, Contis has been spending time digitalizing old shows. “I’m an archival nerd,” she said. “We’re really good at putting things online but I also have about a bazillion hard drives.” She is excited about MMCTV’s newest project. They have just received their FCC license to start a low power radio station. As the only full-time staff person for the station, Contis is just beginning the process of trying to pull together volunteers for the project, but she is looking forward to expanding the organization’s work and bringing information and entertainment to even more people.

Chris Shaheen: Jericho’s new Town Planner

Chris Shaheen, Jericho’s new Town Planner, spent the majority of his career in Washington DC. That city has a population of almost 690,000. In contrast, Jericho has just over 5,000 residents. Nevertheless, Shaheen says that a lot of the issues Jericho is facing are similar to those he encountered in DC.

Shaheen worked for over two decades in Washington at the local, not federal, level. “I was ready for a change,” he said. “I had accomplished a lot, and I was ready to try something new. Jericho seemed like a good place to do something new and different.” Shaheen’s husband grew up in Burlington and the couple had long-term plans of moving to the area. When Shaheen’s mother-in-law, a resident of Newark, Vermont, sent him a newspaper ad showing the Jericho job opening, he decided to apply. “I was really thrilled to be offered the position,” he said.

Shaheen has a Bachelors of Landscape Architecture with a minor in Urban Planning from Ball State University, and a Masters of American Studies from George Washington University. He started his career in the private sector with a landscape architecture firm in Maryland. “That’s where I learned accountability and staying on task,” he said. Shaheen followed that job with a stint of four and half years as a preservation planner for the National Park Service and then as a Neighborhood Planner for Arlington County. From there he began work in Washington DC, finishing his urban career as DC’s Lead Community Planner.

Despite the obvious differences between Washington and Jericho, Shaheen said he was surprised at how easy the transition has been and how many similarities there are between the two locales. Working in DC involved multiple levels of bureaucracy, but planning at the town level also requires cooperation with county, state, and federal entities.

Shaheen said that everyone he has met has been very friendly and inviting. He enjoys the relative lack of traffic for his commute, particularly since he travels from Burlington to Jericho while most drivers are going the opposite direction. “I’m really impressed with the professionalism of the zoning regulations and planning in Vermont, in general,” he said. Although he has never worked at the municipal level, he believes that his position as Jericho Town Planner combines his early work protecting agricultural land, his park service work, and his urban planning.

Shaheen said the two major issues facing DC are affordable housing and climate change and he was pleased to see those two items flagged in the new Jericho Town Plan. He praised the breadth of knowledge of Planning Commission members. “There are so many people here who are so passionate,” he said. “I’m excited to work with all the people I’ve met.” Shaheen stressed that he will be creating his own work plan, but Planning Commission members will be partners. “I want to work with them on Jericho’s journey forward,” he said. Shaheen has a lot of experience designing pedestrian thoroughfares and recognizes that Jericho does not have many sidewalks. “That’s an area we can improve on,” he said. “We’ve got plans for walkable village centers, so this gives us a great opportunity.” Shaheen noted that sometimes it’s better to start from scratch than to have to improve on substandard facilities. “This gives us a chance to do it right the first time,” he said.

In his spare time, Shaheen likes to read, bake, and go to the gym. In Washington he was a member of the Virginia Bronze handbell group, and he has joined the Northern Bronze ensemble. He just bought his first ever set of snow tires. “I’m looking forward to exploring all the natural beauty Vermont has to offer,” he said. Shaheen has been taken on walking tours by several members of the Planning Commission and hopes to find time to visit the rest of the town.

With his background in historic preservation, Shaheen is pleased to see so many of Vermont’s historic structures still intact. “I think all of Vermont’s planning involves conservation,” he said. “That’s something I found really appealing about the job. You get to do it all. It’s great to work on village centers and great to work on the conservation of natural resources but they go together and the strength of one makes the other more meaningful.”

Susan Harritt: Using her legal training to help her town

In 2014, when it appeared that the Underhill Jericho Fire Department was going to convey land they owned to the town of Jericho, the town responded by creating the Jericho Community Development Corporation to see if the parcel might be suitable for development. The JCDC is a public benefit, non-profit corporation whose purpose is to “foster, encourage, and assist the Selectboard in the development of projects that contribute to the economic, cultural, recreational, and environmental well-being of the community.”

Attorney Susan Harritt was one of the people invited to join the group. When the project did not come to fruition, the committee became inactive but when John Abbott was hired as Town Administrator, he asked the group if they would like to start meeting again. “I tip my hat to him,” Harritt said “because he got us moving again.”

There have been some personnel changes on what was originally a five-person board and Harritt praises the addition of Joe Flynn as having helped revitalize the group thanks to his background in surveying and land development. Harritt said the JCDC is working on creating guidelines and developing procedural steps for looking at property. “We want to help the town reach its goal of adding to the housing stock so the population can reflect diversity and affordability,” she said. Harritt described the group’s goals as mirroring those of the Town Plan in wanting to protect the environment and the character of the community while also adding to the housing stock to bring in younger families who might have children attending our public schools.

For the last five years, Harritt has also been a member of the state’s Human Services Board which reviews recommendations made by hearing officers after evidentiary hearings. Those recommendations include determinations on whether someone belongs on a state registry and issues of entitlement to programs like SNAP or housing benefits. The Board hears the appeals of people who disagree with the officers’ recommendations.

Harritt and her husband Bill Butler moved to Jericho in 1980 after renting a house in Hinesburg. They happened to be walking around the Nashville area when they met a homeowner who was looking to sell his home. They admired the view and the Mill Brook which ran behind the house and were happy to be able to purchase the property. The couple has a garden with flowers and vegetables and Harritt enjoys making pesto and tomato jam with the fruits of their labors. She has been a member of the same book group for 40 years and enjoys traveling, particularly in the colder months.

Harrit’s first encounter with the legal system in Vermont was while attending Northeastern Law School. The school’s model alternates quarters of work with regular study after the first year and Harritt’s first assignment was in the Vermont Attorney General’s Office. After graduating, she applied for a job clerking at the Vermont Supreme Court. From there she moved to the Public Defender’s Office, the Chittenden County State’s Attorney’s Office, and then back to the Attorney General’s office where she spent the majority of her career. She then joined the Agency of Human Services before retiring after 32 years with the state.

The JCDC isn’t Harritt’s first brush with volunteering in Vermont. She served several terms on the Jericho Elementary School’s Board many years ago. “Jericho is just spectacularly beautiful,” she said. “It’s an exquisite place to live and it’s nice to be able to serve. I’m happy to donate my time and energy to the town. I’m in a position to make a contribution and I’m happy to do it.”

Jacob Johnson: Jericho’s New Highway Foreman

Jacob Johnson has been here before. He worked for the Jericho Highway Department from 2015 to 2018 before leaving to take a job in his hometown of Huntington as a highway maintenance worker. He did that for a year and a half before becoming Bolton’s Road Commissioner, but when the position of Highway Foreman opened up here, he was happy to return. “I have some family here,” Johnson said “and Jericho is a town I enjoyed working in.” Johnson enjoys the fact that Jericho has both rural areas and a busier section on Route 15 although he admits that he prefers the rural parts because of the lack of traffic and the opportunity to enjoy the natural environment.

Johnson presides over a six-person department. He said all the employees can be considered jack-of-all-trades although there is one person who is a designated mechanic and two who specialize in using the grader and excavator. The department has four tandem dump trucks, two pick-up trucks, and an International low pro which is in between the sizes of the other trucks.

Johnson enjoys the fact that his job has many different aspects. “I generally have a plan of what we’re doing throughout the week,” he said. “Even with that plan, it can change based on weather or some other road emergency that occurs.” Johnson noted that storm damage can vary from road to road. “One road might receive a lot of wind damage or tree debris,” he said “while others might have washouts or erosion. We’re only six guys and we have to figure out where we’re needed the most.”

Jericho has 65 miles of roads and Johnson said each member of the department has a route they clear of snow during the winter. “We try to do it safely for ourselves and the others on the road,” he said. “When people are in a rush that can make it difficult, but safety is our priority.” Johnson said he appreciates the feedback he gets from residents who may alert the department to downed trees or debris that the crew might not otherwise be aware of.

Storms don’t necessarily occur on schedule and Johnson notes that the crew will work on Christmas eve or the Fourth of July if the weather requires their presence. “That’s time that is taken away from our families,” he said. “It might be 2 am or 10 pm but we’re doing everything we can to make sure everyone is safe. We’re there when any storm happens.”

In his spare time, Johnson enjoys spending time with his family. He is a hunter and angler and likes to travel to New Hampshire where he goes side-by-siding in his four-wheeler.

Johnson is glad to have returned to Jericho. “I’m very happy to have come to a town where the highway department has a great team,” he said. “The folks in the office are very helpful and everyone is very focused on trying to listen to the residents, hear their opinions and look out for the best interest of the town itself.”

Karina Dailey Provides Protection for Jericho’s Environment and Beyond

(Conservation Commission)

Karina Dailey moved to Jericho in 2007. She was working on her master’s thesis at Antioch University New England and wanted to connect with her community, so she approached the Conservation Commission to see if she could help out. Chair Tom Baribault introduced her to the Town Forest and Dailey did an inventory of the natural resources there which she presented to the Commission. They invited her to become a member and the Select Board appointed her the following year.

Dailey is very proud of the work the Conservation Commission has done. In particular, she is pleased with the wildlife habitat overlay which is relevant to development throughout the town. She is also proud of the fact that the Conservation Commission helped spearhead a Conservation Reserve Fund which was used to help conserve Mobbs Farm and the Farm Upstream, a new agricultural venture on Lee River Road.

Dailey is a Restoration Ecologist at Vermont Natural Resources Council (VNRC). She describes her job as having two distinct parts. One involves groundwork managing dam removal. That includes managing projects all over the state, particularly those in the Lake Champlain basin, and dealing with engineers, contractors, excavators, designers, community members, landowners, neighbors, funders, and Vermont Emergency Management. In that capacity, Dailey writes grants, provides design comments, and organizes meetings.

The second part of Dailey’s job involves trying to improve state policy for water resource management. “VNRC is a convening organization,” she explained, “so we meet with other groups to share research and concerns and draft legislation as a team.” Dailey is particularly proud of this year’s Senate Bill 213 which included provisions banning building in floodplains and adding 15 new positions at the Agency of Natural Resources.

Dailey is a member of the Water Caucus, a group which meets weekly when the legislature is in session. She is a registered lobbyist but also provides outreach education related to the policies the group proposes. After the 2023 floods, the caucus organized community conversations on climate resilience in three of the hardest hit communities: Johnson, Ludlow, and Plainfield.

Dailey wears many hats including Chair of the Vermont Dam Task Force which prioritizes projects for dam removal and provides education and outreach. The task force is made up of scientists, regulators, and others who are interested in the issue. Dailey said Vermont has over 1,000 dams and at least 800 of them are derelict old mill dams which are no longer in use.

In 2021, Governor Scott appointed Dailey to be Vice Chair of the Vermont Citizens Advisory Committee on Lake Champlain’s Future. The Committee is tasked with creating an annual action plan for the future of Lake Champlain. They meet monthly, and twice a year they hold joint meetings with their counterparts in New York and Quebec.

Dailey loves the mountains which was a draw in moving to Jericho. Years ago, she taught skiing to adults at Jackson Hole and later to kids at Stowe. These days, you can find her on the lifts at Smugglers’ Notch or skinning up at other areas during off hours. Dailey also appreciates another facet of living in Jericho. “When we moved here, we knew we wanted to raise a family,” she said, “but we didn’t realize that the schools here were so good.”

Dailey said Vermont Emergency Management has an influx of funds which she is hoping to tap into. “I think there is a tremendous opportunity for flood mitigation and climate resilience work,” she said. “I think we need to be thinking about identifying those projects which might allow us to look closer at the Browns River and Mill Brook.”

Dailey would like people to look at rivers with a wider lens and see things on a watershed scale rather than just individual bodies of water. Most people will look at a river laterally and perhaps longitudinally, but she wants them to also think of them vertically regarding the ground water underneath and temporally which measures how they change over time.

Dailey would love to use her professional expertise here in Jericho to remove the dam at the Jericho Town Forest. The Conservation Commission has already written one grant to raise funds for a proposal which will be followed by another grant for implementation. “It’s a small dam,” Dailey said, “and it may not seem hugely significant, but the education and outreach component is important, and it might lead to other projects.”

Paula Carrier Wears Many Hats to Help her Hometown

(Interim Town Administrator)

Paula Carrier has a lot on her plate these days. The 18-year veteran of Jericho’s Town Offices has just begun her second stint as Interim Town Administrator. Carrier was born and raised in Jericho. Her grandfather was the owner of the now-conserved Mobbs Farm, and she is thrilled that it has been preserved for future generations. She had been working for the American Lung Association when that organization decided to merge a number of regional offices, leaving her without a position. It was 2006 and Carrier thought she would take some time to figure out what she wanted to do next, but Town Clerk Jessica Alexander suggested that Carrier apply to be her assistant. The two had gone to school together and their horses were boarded at the same barn, so Carrier decided to give it a try and was hired in May of that year.

In 2008, Selectboard member Bob Penniman told Carrier that the town was looking for an Administrative Assistant. “I love to have a challenge,” Carrier said, “and it seemed like a job where I could continuously learn things.” Carrier stayed in that role until Tood Odit resigned from the Town Administrator position in April of 2021. She was appointed Interim Town Administrator and held that post until September when John Abbott was hired. Carrier served as Assistant Town Administrator while Abbott was at the helm but since his recent departure, she has again assumed the Interim title.

Carrier praises the town as a great place to work. “Even though there has been some turnover, the staff is a really good group of people to work with,” she said. “We all get along and we all work together as a team, and I really appreciate that. You learn a lot of things from different departments.” Although Carrier enjoyed her time as Assistant Town Clerk, she really enjoys the challenges presented in the Town Administrator’s Office. “Every day is something different,” she said. “There is always some new thing you didn’t realize, and you have to deal with it. It keeps me busy and keeps me going all day long.”

One of Carrier’s favorite parts of the job is talking to residents who come in with issues. She believes that talking with people can create a good relationship, put them at ease, and convince them that she is trying to help solve their problems. She enjoys seeing many of the same people she knew when she was growing up in town. “It’s good to see people who stayed here,” she said. “It’s nice to see familiar faces and to talk about the past and the present.” Carrier said that one of the strengths of the town is the number of residents who care about what goes on and are willing to serve on boards and committees “They make sure that we, as a town, are in the best place we can be,” she said. She would like to see the town be more transparent and do more to make people aware of some of the things that are going on so that perhaps even more residents can become active participants in their future.

In her spare time, Carrier loves riding horses and going on motorcycle rides with her significant other to see other parts of the state. “Mostly,” she said, “I love hanging out with friends, laughing and enjoying our time together.”

Carrier is happy to have picked up a number of new skills during her time in the Town Administrator’s office. “Writing grants was a huge one,” she said. “I didn’t know how to write grants and when Todd [Odit] left, I had to get some grants out for the highway department. It was huge to learn how to do that.” Carrier also noted that the legal status of a municipality is very different from for-profit or non-profit entities. “Municipal law is a beast of its own,” she said. “It has very different rules.” Carrier is proud of the fact that she has learned to put together the town budget. “That was a huge learning curve,” she said, “but I loved it because it helped me understand the monetary side of the town.”

When Carrier joined the town staff in 2006, she wasn’t sure she was going to be in it for the long haul but almost two decades later, she has a different view. “Back then I didn’t think this would be forever,” she said, “but it seems like that’s where it’s going.”

Erik Johnson: Carrying on a Family Tradition

Erik Johnson grew up steeped in Jericho tradition. His grandparents lived on the Fay Farm at the corner of Barber Farm Road and Route 117, and his parents lived just up the road. Johnson’s great-great-grandfather bought the land in 1876 and the family lived there until 2004. Johnson and his wife were living in the Foothills section of Jericho when the farm came up for sale in 2020. “We’d been looking for something on the other side of town,” Johnson said. “We thought it was probably a little crazy to take on an older home, but we also thought it would be fun to do.”

Moving into that house was one of the reasons Johnson ran for his first term on the Select Board in 2021. His grandfather had been a long-time Select Board member, and his uncle served on the Zoning Board of Adjustment and then the Select Board. “I’d only been in the house for four months when I was asked to run,” Johnson said. “Living here was a huge factor in making that decision.”

In March, Johnson was elected to his second term on the board. The achievement that he is most proud of from his first term was navigating the question of whether masking should be required since the governor had left it up to the towns to decide whether or not to mandate masks. Johnson was working for UVM Health Network at the time and was worried about how overworked health care providers were and how many people were ending up in hospital emergency rooms. He recognized that he lacked expertise in the field of epidemiology, so he tried his best to listen to voices on both sides of the debate. “In the end I decided that if it kept one person out of the hospital, it was worth it,” he said. “That was a tough decision but I’m proud of the way we navigated it and gave everyone a chance to be heard.”

For his upcoming term, Johnson said the Select Board will work on trying to increase access to affordable housing. With the new Town Plan and a wastewater study in the works, he hopes the board will be able to find ways to make Jericho affordable for people from a wide range of backgrounds.

Johnson noted that Jericho has a number of independent entities like the Underhill Jericho Fire Department, the Deborah Rawson Memorial Library, and Mills Riverside Park but they all seem to be able to work together. That’s one of the things he likes about the town. One area where he would like to see improvement is the speed at which things get done. He is hoping that during his second term he can help the board make quicker decisions and move at a faster pace.

Johnson has spent the last 15 years in health care IT. He’s currently the manager of a team of software developers at a company which is a vendor for the U.S. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. They work on a website which collects and distributes data on long term care facilities to help people make informed decisions for themselves and their family when it’s time to consider care options.

In his spare time, Johnson enjoys skiing, camping, baking, and cooking. He has recently gotten into making sourdough bread. He has a saltwater aquarium and spends a fair amount of time on home improvement projects. On that front, Johnson noted that his house is actually in better shape than he remembers it and credits Jason Cheney with having done a good deal of structural work including adding cement floors and lighting in the basement and levelling out the kitchen floor which used to have a sizeable dip in the middle.

Johnson believes it really takes a full term for a new Select Board member to get up to speed. He said this was particularly true for him because he had not previously been a member of any board or committee. Additionally, his first term started during the height of the Covid epidemic, so all meetings were virtual. He thinks this term will be more fun because he has a better idea of what he’s doing. He admits he sometimes questions his decision to run when dealing with some of the more challenging members of the public. “I deal with conflict all day,” he said. Nevertheless, he thinks that because he knows more people and has a better idea of the job, he’ll be able to get more done.

Johnson believes that by being on the board he has taken the family tradition full circle. His grandfather was in charge of buying Mobbs Farm with the goal of turning it into a landfill. That never came to pass, and Johnson is proud that he was on the Select Board when the property was permanently conserved.