MONTPELIER -- Gov. Peter Shumlin on Thursday signed into law a bill that allows up to four medical marijuana dispensaries to set up shop in Vermont. The bill passed the Legislature this year amid opposition from some leaders in the state's law enforcement community, and Vermont is now the eighth state in the country to give registered medical marijuana users a place to get the drug. Vermont has allowed medical marijuana since 2004 and there are more than 300 people on the state's registry. The law allows patients or caregivers to grow a limited amount of marijuana, but advocates for the dispensary bill argue it can be difficult to grow marijuana and it's dangerous to buy it on the black market. [continues 237 words]
The "Peoples' Republic of Burlington" stands at a crossroads. Two issues now before it exemplify distinctly different paths of economic, political and environmental development: Legal weed or Lockheed? We can either adopt and adapt to an emerging eco-sustainable cannabis and hemp economy capable of employing the unemployed, saving Vermont farms and generating desperately needed revenue to avoid drastic cuts in human services or resign ourselves to a no-growth, morally dubious dependency in a thinly-disguised scheme by corporate capitalism to "green-wash" its policies of global conquest, market domination and biospheric destruction. [continues 566 words]
MONTPELIER -- Rep. Patti Komline was going to vote for a bill that would allow medical marijuana dispensaries in Vermont until a letter from Vermont's top federal prosecutor landed on her desk hours before the vote Wednesday. The last-minute letter threw a speed bump in front of a bill headed for passage, but appeared unlikely to halt it. U.S. Attorney Tristram Coffin warned in the letter that marijuana remains illegal under federal law and those associated with a dispensary were at risk of prosecution. [continues 593 words]
MONTPELIER -- Sen. Philip Baruth stood on the Senate floor Thursday evening and told the story of how two relatives -- his grandmother and aunt -- had cancer and doctors told them marijuana might help them. His grandmother was too horrified to consider it, the Chittenden County Democrat said. In the case of his aunt, he was a college student and found himself in a tough spot. "I was in the strange position of having my mother come to me and ask me if I knew any way we could procure marijuana," he said. He told her he did, he said, though he was jeopardizing his student loan, his place at college and his record. [continues 358 words]
MONTPELIER -- Here's what Shayne Lynn envisions somewhere in Chittenden County: an office as non-descript as a doctor's office or a pharmacy from which he would sell marijuana to those with qualifying medical conditions. There'd be a waiting room. Clients would be seen by appointment only. There'd be security. He might also offer clients yoga, acupuncture and Reiki. He'd probably grow the marijuana somewhere else, at an indoor facility. Lynn could become one of the first people to run such an operation in Vermont if proposed legislation the Senate is expected to consider this week passes. [continues 1607 words]
An East Wallingford woman will not be able to tell a jury that she needed to grow 30 marijuana plants in her backyard to save the life of her ill son, following a split decision by the Vermont Supreme Court released Friday. Sue Thayer was driving her son, Winter Maxwell Thayer, to college Friday and could not be reached. The mother lost her appeal of Rutland District Court Judge Thomas Zonay's ruling that forbade her to use a necessity argument to fight a 2007 felony marijuana cultivation charge. [continues 609 words]
Of all of the claims in print about marijuana, this is the most revealing, yet the most ignored quote of all: "Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man." -- administrative law, Judge Francis L. Young (1988), Drug Enforcement Administration. I envy the day when we can say with certitude that freedom, though inconvenient to the powers that be, has found its way into the hearts and minds of our fellow Americans. That day is not now. Instead, we live under an entrenched and tyrannical coalition of prevention, prohibition, incarceration and probation that continues to dominate U.S. drug policy despite the fact that the majority of marijuana consumers are moderate and responsible adults. [continues 688 words]
BURLINGTON -- Most of those vying to become the next governor have been in many candidate forums around the state. But in an election dominated by talk of the economy, jobs and the state budget, Wednesday morning's version stood out for its subject matter. The forum at the Turning Point Center of Chittenden County was about substance abuse in Vermont, and candidates fielded questions on alcohol use, drug addiction and the problem of illegal substances in prisons during the event, co-hosted by Friends of Recovery Vermont. [continues 669 words]
A grassroots effort to decriminalize marijuana has the backing of a Democratic candidate for governor. Peter Shumlin, a Windham County senator in the thick of a five-way primary, said he'll throw his support behind a burgeoning decriminalization movement sparked by a former legislator from Brattleboro. "Here's the difference between Pete Shumlin and other candidates: I think the public is turned off by politicians who don't stand for what they believe," Shumlin said this week. "Vermonters won't always agree with me, but they know I'll fight for what I believe in." [continues 965 words]
In regards to Senate Bill S. 226 on medical marijuana dispensaries, I'd like to make the following points. While it's great that patients are no longer subject to arrest for medical marijuana, many still have to turn to drug dealers to get access to the medicine they need. Since Vermont has no legal distribution system, patients who purchase their medicine have to pay black market prices, more than they would pay if they could buy it legally. Patients with debilitating diseases like cancer or HIV/AIDS aren't physically able to grow their own marijuana or wait three months for plants to mature, and the last thing we should be doing is putting them in harms way by sending them to drug dealers. [continues 140 words]
MONTPELIER -- A legislative effort to provide nearly 200 eligible Vermonters with safe and legal access to medical marijuana ended this week when Senate leaders scuttled the bill due to lack of support in the House. The Senate legislation would have established up to five so-called "compassion centers" at which patients suffering from multiple sclerosis, cancer or other pain-inducing conditions could have obtained their doctor-approved cannabis. While the bill got considerable attention this session in a Senate committee room, it was "ordered to lie" last week and almost certainly won't see a floor vote this year. [continues 794 words]
In regard to Senate Bill 226, I'd like to make the following points. While it's great that patients are no longer subject to arrest for medical marijuana, many still have to turn to drug dealers to get access to the medicine they need. Since Vermont has no legal distribution system, patients who purchase their medicine have to pay black market prices, more than they would pay if they could buy it legally. Patients with debilitating diseases like cancer or HIV/AIDS aren't physically able to grow their own marijuana or wait three months for plants to mature, and the last thing we should be doing is putting them in harm's way by sending them to drug dealers. [continues 140 words]
MONTPELIER - A legislative effort to provide eligible patients with safe and legal access to medical marijuana could inch forward this week when a Senate committee decides whether to create state-sanctioned dispensaries for the drug. The Senate Committee on Government Operations is scheduled to vote Thursday on a bill that would establish up to five so-called "compassion centers" at which patients could obtain medical marijuana. Sen. Jeanette White, a Windham County Democrat, chairs the government operations committee and is the lead sponsor of the bill. She said Monday that she hopes the legislation will see a vote on the full Senate floor before the crossover deadline Friday to send bills to the House. [continues 479 words]
MONTPELIER - Buoyed by the overwhelming Town Meeting Day vote in Montpelier supporting a nonbinding referendum for decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana, backers of the Vermont Alliance for Intelligent Drug Laws on Wednesday urged lawmakers to listen up. "This vote demonstrates that support for decriminalizing the possession of marijuana in Vermont is very strong," said Nancy Lynch, founder of VALID, in a news release. "And, frankly, we are not surprised," she added. "It simply doesn't make sense to arrest people, give them a criminal record for life and potentially send them to jail for simple marijuana possession. We don't need to arrest marijuana users when a fine could easily be instated. We hope our legislators agree and pass the decriminalization bill in the near future." [continues 647 words]
MONTPELIER - Rep. Joe Baker is about as unlikely an advocate for marijuana-reform legislation as one could find. The husky West Rutland lawmaker calls himself a law-and-order Republican who has never smoked the drug in his life. "I'm the original nerd," Baker says. "I wouldn't know what the processed stuff looks like if it was sitting on a table in front of me." In 2004, when legislators legalized the use of medical marijuana for eligible patients, the military veteran cast his vote against the measure. [continues 644 words]
A 2009 survey of 11,000 Vermont students in eighth through 12th grades found a change in attitude about the risks of smoking and marijuana that worries state health officials. In the Department of Health's Youth Risk Behavior Survey two years ago, 72 percent of Vermont school-age teenagers said they believed there was "great risk in people harming themselves" from smoking one or more packs of cigarettes a day. In this year's survey, the percentage dropped to 67 percent. [continues 699 words]
Some Yearn For The Old Days As Patrols Soar Near Canada NEWPORT, Vt. - The seaplane burst out of nowhere Tuesday in the skies above Lake Memphremagog, swooping low across the Canadian border and banking over a stand of bare trees. In the past, such a flight over the still waters might have attracted little notice. But on this day, three US Border Patrol agents in a small boat spotted the plane and sprang into action, taking pictures, radioing authorities on land, and alerting specialists in California to track it on radar. [continues 1117 words]
In the interest of being clear and honest (I know, it's a radical concept), let's acknowledge that the war on drugs does not work and never has. We could advance our efforts toward better health care, lower crime rates, more jobs and increased state revenue by decriminalizing the use of marijuana. We know the time and money spent on law enforcement in this area does not result in ending marijuana use. Why continue to follow a failed program? Our tax dollars should be actually helping folks instead of funding the prosecution of otherwise law abiding citizens. Denise Connally Berlin [end]
In regards to your July 13 letter to the editor, "It's time to legalize pot": While I do agree with Mr. Hoyt, that it is time to stop creating criminals out of hard-working and in many cases, professional men and women, with the Feds war on drugs, i.e. "pot," boy, this government seems to always have to have a war with someone, any way. The fact of the matter is, they are making far more money with their confiscations and forfeitures, than they ever could by legalizing pot. Yes, capitalism rears its ugly head once again. [continues 180 words]
Vermont ranked highest nationwide for marijuana use in a new survey released Thursday by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The survey, conducted in 2006 and 2007, compares drug use by age and by type across all 50 states. While Vermont doesn't have the highest level of drug use -- that distinction goes to Rhode Island where 12.5 percent of the populace reported illicit drug use in the past month -- the Green Mountain State was cited in the report for having the highest incidence rate of marijuana use among people aged 12 and older. [continues 310 words]
We're far away from it here in the Northeast, but if you pay any attention to national news you'll know that Mexico is rapidly falling into chaos with drug gangs taking over. Murdering judges, policemen, and their competitors; kidnapping their family members to intimidate and coerce them. Where are the AK-47s and other weapons coming from? The good ole US of A, thanks to the National Rifle Association and weak-kneed politicians. Sadly, I have to include President Obama in that last category. After a recent meeting with the Mexican president, Mr. Obama spoke of the tragedy in Mexico and of America's role in stoking it -- with our demand for their drugs and as a supplier of guns. Yet he promised to combat it by enforcing laws currently on the books, and said he would not pursue a resurrection of the assault weapons ban that was rolled back in 2004. He admitted that the politics of that was too tough. [continues 456 words]
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is right to point out the role of Americans and United States government policy in the creation of powerful and viscous Mexico drug cartels and the violence they have spawned in that country and ours. The secretary, during a visit to Mexico, said Americans have provided a huge market for the drugs supplied by the gangs and, thereby providing huge sums of money to bribe Mexican officials and guns to kill police officers and army personnel. [continues 249 words]
Drink and drive and it's grrrrrrrr-eat! Smoke pot and your flakes are frosted, dude. So seems the message from Kellogg, which has decided not to renew its sponsorship contract with Michael Phelps after the Olympian was photographed smoking marijuana at a party in South Carolina. That's show biz, of course, but the cereal company had no problem signing Phelps despite a prior alcohol-related arrest. In 2004, Phelps was fined and sentenced to 18 months probation and community service after pleading guilty to driving while impaired. [continues 681 words]
Editor of the Reformer: An open letter to President Obama: Dear Mr. President, Not one American belongs in prison for drug use alone, in absence of a real crime. Using any drug in and of itself should not constitute criminal activity. Laws criminalizing personal behavior in which no one harms others or their property are arbitrary and subjective means that impose the will of one group of people on another. American jurisprudence too often omits the laws of nature in favor of harsh legal judgments that one-sidedly interpret some human behavior as being unlawful. [continues 366 words]
In response to "Drug units notch 500 arrests" Jan. 25, if the drug war was working then arrests should be going down to the point of nonexistence because no one would be selling or using drugs. But, every year there are more arrests and more drugs, which is a pretty clear indication that drug prohibition has failed and will continue to fail. I'd like to ask readers to name one stated objective of the drug war that has been achieved in the 70+ years that we have had drug prohibition. [continues 231 words]
CABOT - People who live in close-knit villages with clapboard buildings around a green share a problem with those who live in decaying inner cities: Their children use alcohol and drugs. Ten years ago, Cabot School parents and staff confronted the issue head-on and formed the Cabot Coalition, involving the whole community - - businesses, parents, churches, retirees, the schools - in addressing substance abuse by young people. Over the past decade, the Coalition has won more than $1 million in federal and state drug-prevention funding, become recognized as a model and learned how difficult it is to protect children from omnipresent temptations. [continues 1847 words]
The Dodge minivan with Quebec license plates came to a stop late last month at the Highgate Springs border crossing, traveling south toward the stretch of Interstate 89 through Vermont that lay just ahead. Behind the steering wheel was a short, stocky man with long, thick hair and a beard, both graying. Next to him sat his fiancee, a taller, blonde-haired woman who had rented the van with her credit card the day before. Montreal residents [redacted], told a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent they were headed to Long Island to visit friends for Thanksgiving, according to court papers an investigator would file later. [continues 1799 words]
HIGHGATE SPRINGS, Vt. - U. S. Customs says 145 pounds of ecatary was seized at the Highgate Springs port of entry. The Wednesday seizure was the largest ever by federal agents at a New England ground crossing. [end]
A Burlington minister and a South Burlington police officer, both of whom claimed victory in a racial-profiling lawsuit this summer, have appealed the verdict, triggering a new round of legal maneuvering in the divisive case. Attorneys for the Rev. Rico Diamond and policeman Jack O'Connor have filed separate claims related to the federal civil-rights case with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York. The appellate court is the middle step between U.S. District Court in Burlington, where the matter was tried this summer, and the U.S. Supreme Court, which either side could ask to consider further appeals. [continues 489 words]
MONTPELIER - A Windsor lawyer who served as a part-time family court judge will lose her license to practice law for three months and be placed on probation for a year, according to a lawyers' decision. The disciplinary panel from the Professional Responsibility Board said her actions undermined the public's confidence in the Vermont legal profession. Martha Davis, 62, of Windsor can appeal the decision by the board within the next 30 days, according to Beth DeBernardi, the deputy disciplinary counsel for the Professional Responsibility Board. A three-person hearing panel issued the recommendation on Davis on Friday. [continues 538 words]
I am Ben Mitchell, the Liberty Union candidate for lieutenant governor in the state of Vermont. If I am elected and the governor leaves the state for even 10 minutes, I will pardon all nonviolent drug offenders serving time in Vermont or Kentucky prisons. I think it is stupid to pay $45,000 a year to lock up drug users when we won't spend more than $7,000 a year to educate our young people. Besides, I thought this was a free country. [continues 407 words]
BRATTLEBORO -- While it is up for debate whether marijuana is a gateway drug, Brattleboro Police have found it to be a gateway for investigations. The initiative started as a way to get drug dealers out of the Harmony Parking Lot and downtown area, most of whom were selling marijuana or pills. Now, it has expanded to include cocaine and heroine sales in downtown bars. This expansion led to the arrest of Pedro Santiago, 36, of Brattleboro earlier this month for possession of cocaine. The drugs seized had been broken down and packaged for sale, police said. [continues 758 words]
MONTPELIER - A constitutional dispute surrounding the so-called hemp bill has finally been resolved, paving the way for Vermont to become only the second state in the country to allow its farmers to grow the crop. Gov. James Douglas, a critic of the hemp bill, had said the measure flies in the face of federal statutes and could ultimately complicate marijuana eradication efforts in the state. Despite his opposition, a Douglas spokesman said that the bill didn't rise to the level of a gubernatorial veto. And though he wasn't willing to sign the bill himself, Douglas forwarded the legislation in early June to the secretary of state for her to enact the bill into law without his signature. [continues 357 words]
I congratulate Lou Magnini on his thoughtful, sensible and rational letter (Rutland Herald, June 7) on drugs and the uselessness of busts and incarceration. We have been fighting "the War on Drugs" for four decades. Has it worked? I think not. Why? Because it is too politically charged, emotionally exhausting and never, never thought over in ways that are useful or "out of the box." Some are trying (Attorney Sands among others) but they are always met with "in the box" thinkers and an older generation that is never intellectually agile enough to have any other way but to "lock 'em up." [continues 112 words]
MONTPELIER - A bill that was poised to legalize the cultivation of industrial hemp in Vermont is now the subject of a constitutional dispute over whether the legislation can become law without the governor's signature. Gov. James Douglas, a critic of the hemp bill, has said the measure flies in the face of federal statute and could ultimately complicate marijuana eradication efforts in the state. Despite his opposition, a Douglas spokesman said that the bill doesn't rise to the level of a gubernatorial veto. And though he wasn't willing to sign the bill himself, Douglas forwarded the legislation last week to the Secretary of State for her to enact the bill into law without his signature. [continues 809 words]
MIDDLEBURY -- A high school teacher said he hopes to spark discussion on how to best supervise the student newspaper. A publishing class that would focus on putting out the paper is tentatively on next year's schedule, according to Principal William Lawson. Timothy O'Leary, an English teacher who ran the journalism class that put out the paper this year, said he hopes to take advantage of a School Board discussion of the class to talk about censorship issues. The board meets at 5:30 p.m. today at the high school. [continues 486 words]
BRANDON -- Almost a quarter of those named in the drug sweeps Wednesday were from Brandon. Brandon Police Chief Chris Brickell said the 10 people were 60 percent to 70 percent of the known drug dealers in town. "I'm hoping it's going to be a big deal," he said. "Several people on the outskirts who were doing things are not looking over their shoulders. Temporarily, we've put a dent in the trade." Eleven police agencies from the local to federal level cooperated to bring drug and weapons charges against 41 people in the Rutland area Wednesday. Some were already in custody and others were still at large. The effort was described as the culmination of a months-long investigation prompted by drug-related violence. [continues 310 words]
MONTPELIER - Gov. James Douglas will allow a bill legalizing hemp to become law despite concerns from the law enforcement community about its impact on marijuana eradication efforts in the state. The legislation, which legalizes the cultivation of industrial hemp in Vermont, won nearly unanimous support in the both the House and Senate this session. Though Douglas doesn't support the bill, and has refused to attach his signature to it, he will nonetheless forward the legislation to the Secretary of State, which will effectively enact the law. [continues 745 words]
According to Vermont Grassroots Party leader Denny Lane, when alcohol prohibition came to an end in the 1930s, the individuals who had once enforced the measure were left with a woeful quantity of time on their hands. "So they all got together to create this boogey-man marijuana, this evil demon weed that will make you go berserk and rape your grandmother," Lane said. "What they didn't realize is that it's the most versatile, premiere plant on the planet." [continues 1231 words]
What exactly is the big deal here? It seems incredible that there's been such a drawn-out debate - actually encompassing several years - over whether to make hemp a legal crop in Vermont. At last, however, the bill seems close to passage in the Legislature and could be on its way to the governor's desk soon. Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, had been urged by numerous farmers and others to usher the bill along to the full Senate. He now has agreed to do that, and the bill was expected to be voted on late Thursday or today. [continues 270 words]
I am so tired of hearing that we are sending "the wrong message" about marijuana to our youth. In my 68 years of living I have learned that often the "experts" are in error and also that the public is often way ahead of its legislators. I think that is the case with marijuana. Case in point: Lt. Gov. Brian Dubie says "the bill proposes to solve a nonexistent problem" ("Marijuana bill headed in wrong direction," Feb. 17). If it's not a problem, then why are we discussing it? In the Free Press editorial on Feb. 17, the question was asked about why supporters don't "have the guts" to say they want marijuana to become a legal, recreational drug. At the hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Jan. 30, State's Attorney Bobby Sand stated that that decriminalization is his goal. He does have the courage to say what he wants, but he is also smart enough to know that movements like this are done in small incremental steps. [continues 262 words]
State legislators have included $50,000 in its major spending bill to help Rutland with its drug problem. But whether the appropriation weathers what promises to be a tight budget year remains to be seen. Last week, the House Appropriations Committee unanimously approved an appropriation bill containing $50,000 explicitly for the city. The appropriation is intended to pay for overtime in drug interdiction cases, according to the bill. "I think everyone has read the news stories and Sen. (Patrick) Leahy's visit attracted a lot of attention," Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Rep. Martha Heath, D-Westford, said Sunday when asked why the city was singled out. "The appropriation was supported by the whole committee." [continues 353 words]
MONTPELIER -- The Vermont Supreme Court today ruled that a helicopter surveillance of a man's property during a marijuana investigation violated his constitutional right to privacy that includes the airspace above a person's home and property. The case involved a man who was convicted of felony possession and cultivation of marijuana. In the 4-1 decision, the court concluded that the National Guard helicopter that flew over the man's property in the Goshen area to detect marijuana cultivation flew too low -- at 100 feet above the groud for up to 30 minutes -- and was "an unreasonable intrusion of privacy that triggers constitutional protection." [end]
Leahy, Specter Praise Local Involvement The two most prominent members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee picked up tips Monday for dealing with drugs and violence on a national level from examples being set in Rutland and Vermont. Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Arlen Specter, R-Pa., convened a rare meeting of the powerful committee outside Washington on Monday. Gathered before an audience of roughly 200 people who stood when the seating ran out inside the Franklin Center, the senators and seven witnesses tried to get at the heart of a national problem by looking at what has been taking place in Rutland and other communities in Vermont. [continues 1329 words]
Mark Miller didn't testify Monday before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee at a hearing held in Rutland. But his T-shirt did. "Keep Rutland Beautiful/Keep Out The Drug Dealers," read the words emblazoned across his chest and printed on his white and green short-sleeved shirt. Miller took time off Monday from work at his business, Marble Valley Reprographics, to attend the hearing. The Rutland resident wasn't alone. However, his early arrival allowed him to sit in the front row among the standing-room-only crowd of more than 200 people gathered in the Franklin Center for the Senate hearing, "The Rise of Drug-Related Violent Crime in Rural America: Finding Solutions to a Growing Problem." [continues 699 words]
New sentencing guidelines mean that a handful of convicted drug dealers may spend less time in prison than their earlier sentences might have indicated. Some of these inmates had done business in the Rutland region, and their potential release may be raising alarms. But the new guidelines do not represent a sudden surrender on drugs. Rather, they mean that our drug laws are not as warped as they were by inequities caused by racism. Convicted drug dealers do time in prison, and then they are released. The new guidelines bring greater fairness to the duration of the inmates' imprisonment. [continues 460 words]
Slowly but surely, the progressive forces that control the power in the Vermont Legislature are doing what they can to weaken the quality of life that makes Vermont a unique place to live. With their support of the marijuana decriminalization bill, their attitude seems to be that smoking pot is such a casual indiscretion there is no harm in letting users have their way with it. Perhaps this could be added to the legislation: The warning to teenagers that smoking pot is OK, but when your concentration levels fall to the point where your grades in school suffer, or if you are out on your own and can't keep a job, then you should know where your problems have originated. [continues 455 words]
Law enforcement officers from three agencies in Rutland County, along with aerial support from the Vermont National Guard, conducted a roving war on drugs in the city Friday afternoon. Officers from Rutland police, Vermont State Police and the Rutland County Sheriff's Department patrolled the streets pulling over more than 100 motorists whose vehicles were subjected to cursory searches for illegal drugs. Police were looking for any plainly evident signs of drug trafficking within the vehicles. The stops appeared to be taking place all over the city, according to residents who noted the high volume of police activity on the streets. [continues 217 words]
I'm writing about Laura Zink's letter: "Why encourage drug use?" (2-25-08). Harsh drug laws do not deter drug use, they encourage it. I'd like to add that if tough-on-drugs policies worked, the idealistic goal of a drug-free America would have been reached a long time ago. And if tolerant drug policies created more drug use, the Netherlands would have much higher drug usage rates than the United States. They do not. In fact, the Dutch use marijuana and other recreational drugs at much lower rates than Americans do. See the Web site: www.drugwarfacts. org/thenethe.htm. [continues 151 words]
Vermont state Senator Dick McCormack of Windsor was quoted in the Banner regarding the marijuana bill as saying, "The harm that is done to actual people's lives because they're pot smokers is not done by pot smoking ... It comes from getting caught." That is the same reasoning offered to my husband many years ago when he served our community as a law enforcement officer. Having made an arrest, the person charged with a crime told my husband that the only crime was in getting caught. [continues 171 words]
Inside Vermont
