Vermont seeking comment about Hud Programs: Each year the State of Vermont - Agency of Commerce and Community Development, Agency of Human Services and Vermont Housing and Conservation Board receives funding for HUD programs through the Consolidated Plan or Annual Plan update process which identifies priorities based on needs from the housing needs assessment, market analysis, citizen and stakeholder input.  At the end of the program year the state is required to report on the performance outcomes outlined from those plans in their Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER).  They have completed the FY22 Program Year DRAFT CAPER which includes the outcomes for the following programs: Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) HOME Investment Partnership Program (HOME) Housing Trust Fund (HTF) Emergency Solutions Grant Program (ESG); and Community Development Block Grant CARES Act (CDBG-CV) Emergency Solutions Grant Program CARES Act (ESG-CV).   As a representative for a unit of general local government, please share the attached notice with your local residents including minorities,The state is seeking comments by September 27, 2023.

TEST TW WEATHER

‘Hunt’ing down history, Part 11

By Barbara Emery Moseley

NOTE: This series chronicles the generations of Vernon’s Hunt family, all related to Jonathan Hunt of “Governor Hunt Road” fame. If you’ve missed any installments in this series, you can catch up here!

Imagine Brattleboro’s Main Street in the Spring of 1822. There are three hotels along its unpaved length. The stagecoach stop is at the Brattleboro House, on the north corner of Main and Elliot. Teams of oxen haul goods from the river landing. Salt cod, sugar, molasses, spices, cloth, glass, black powder, and cigars have been delivered by flatboats. Products going downriver will be lumber, grain, tallow, and pork. A stop may be made in Vernon to pick up roofing slate, brought to the river from the quarries at the Guilford/Vernon border. (It will be a quarter-century before steam trains will deliver passengers and freight to the locality, making commerce and travel easier.)

At the north corner of High and Main Streets, Brattleboro’s downtown residential area begins. First is an imposing two-story white house surrounded by green lawns and shaded by tall elms. It is the new house of Jonathan Hunt II, who was born in Vernon in 1787. He had graduated from Dartmouth, studied law and was admitted to the bar, and married Jane Maria Leavitt of Suffield, Connecticut, in 1821. It will become the birthplace of a remarkable family whose members will experience great acclaim and devastating tragedy.

Jonathan II was president of the first bank established in Brattleboro, along with Epaphro Seymour, cashier. Called the Brattleboro Bank, it was opened in 1821. It “enjoyed a high character,” and the two men retained their positions until their deaths.

Like his father, Jonathan II held prominent posts in government. He was judge at the County Court, and Brattleboro’s representative to the Vermont Legislature in 1816 and 1824. That was followed by his election to Congress in 1827. During his second term, he died suddenly, on May 11, 1832, aged 40. His wife and five children were with him, the youngest being not quite 4 years old.

His funeral in Washington, D.C., was attended by members of the House. A spokesperson commented that “he had been a useful member of the House” and “had displayed an ability superior to that shown by an average Congressman.”

The young widow soon left Brattleboro, moving to New Haven, Connecticut, to be with her mother. However, the eldest son, William, became ill, and the family’s physician urged the move to a warmer climate, like the American South or Italy. The latter was chosen. There, and in Paris, the talents of William and his brothers were developed.

Within a day’s trip from Vernon, even within a 15-minute ride, evidence of their skills can be found. Have you guessed what the “things” are?

(Stay tuned!)