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| Home Front: Culture Wars |
| Vermont town wants to secede, join New Hampshire |
| 2004-03-02 |
| Hat tip: Drudge. Edited for brevity. Voting with a thunderous "aye," Killington residents endorsed a plan Tuesday for the ski resort town to secede from Vermont. The overwhelming voice vote inside the elementary school opened the next chapter in what could be a long and costly push to join New Hampshire, a state 25 miles to the east. Town officials estimated between 200-300 people attended the meeting, and that about two-thirds of them supported the idea in the voice vote. "Other towns have been sitting back and waiting for Killington to break ground," said Jim Blackman, 46. "It is Killington's obligation to break that ground." Blackman's comments were echoed by many of the dozen-odd residents who spoke at the town meeting. Their comments mirrored Killington's long-standing frustration over how much the town of roughly 1,000 pays the state in taxes and how little residents say they get in return to pay for the town's school and municipal services. That frustration drove town officials to launch the secession movement last fall. The town already has spent about $20,000 studying the feasibility and potential advantages of joining New Hampshire, the state where it was originally chartered in 1761. Secession activists say the legality and economic rationale behind the plan are sound. Vermont lawmakers have given the plan a lukewarm reception. They have said it is largely symbolic and probably will be voted down by the Legislature. "The state is treating us like a cash cow," said David Lewis, the town manager. Not everyone at the meeting was in favor of the plan, however. "I was born and raised a Vermonter, and I hope to always be," said resident Julie Thomas, 38. At the heart of the displeasure with Vermont is the state's new system of financing education, adopted in 1997 under order of the Supreme Court, which dramatically increased property taxes in communities, like Killington, deemed to be property wealthy. The last time we had a secession, it wasn't pretty... |
| Posted by:Dar |
| #11 Cyber Sarge---That idea has been batted around for many years, as I remember from my growing up in Northern California. Everyone would have to agree...do not see that happening any time soon. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-3-2 10:40:32 PM |
| #10 I kind of like the idea! Can Northern California break from Southern (and San Frnacisco)? Trust me we would vote that way in a micro-second! |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter) 2004-3-2 7:34:43 PM |
| #9 Mike - Stop it! You're killing me! Before we get all fuzzy over Killington just remember they give as good as they got. When I was there last I was charged $5.95 for something called a lotay or capitchino or some like that. To me it was just a cup 'o Joe. |
| Posted by: Doc8404 2004-3-2 7:33:05 PM |
| #8 Before they make a final decision, they ought to consider that the winters in New Hampshire are considerably colder, so their heating costs might go up. |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-3-2 6:11:29 PM |
| #7 good for them - if i lived in a state where dean was gov i would want to get out too...plus no income tax in Hew Hamshire is a plus |
| Posted by: Dan 2004-3-2 5:32:51 PM |
| #6 Vermont State Motto: "Freedom and Unity" New Hampshire State Motto: "Live Free or Die" Killington statement to Vermont: F--k off and die" |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-3-2 5:32:11 PM |
| #5 Heh heh hehhhh.... Our Nefarious Plan to take over the eastern seaboard is proceeding apace. |
| Posted by: Carl in N.H 2004-3-2 4:42:38 PM |
| #4 Yep, across the country, the courts are out of control - legislating from the bench on the one hand (as in this case) while selectively upholding the law on the other. California has been the model for this experiment and the infection is spreading. It's an interesting question OP. This has the makings of both a civil war and a revolution. The two may in fact erupt simultaneously. At this pace something's gonna blow....people are really gettin' pissed at having so much crap rammed down their throats. |
| Posted by: Rex Mundi 2004-3-2 4:38:59 PM |
| #3 Or is that the whole point? What do you expect from the state that gave us Howling Howard Dean? |
| Posted by: Steve 2004-3-2 3:45:53 PM |
| #2 The term "self-government" has been tossed around a lot lately, mostly designed to be inplemented elsewhere. The problem is, our lawyer class had created a nation where self-rule is almost a thing of the past. It may take another civil war - or a true revolution - to return this nation to its original roots, and dump the nanny state imposed government coming from the lips of judges and lawyers. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2004-3-2 3:43:08 PM |
| #1 "At the heart of the displeasure with Vermont is the state's new system of financing education, adopted in 1997 under order of the Supreme Court, which dramatically increased property taxes in communities, like Killington, deemed to be property wealthy." Does it matter at all to the socialists that they are tearing us apart? Or is that the whole point? |
| Posted by: BH 2004-3-2 3:39:33 PM |