http://www.rutlandherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=201002270351 # # # # Gibson hopes to unseat Blanchard on board • Rutland Herald • By Susan Smallheer STAFF WRITER - Published: February 27, 2010 • SPRINGFIELD – Stephanie Gibson hopes she becomes the first of many young people in Springfield getting more involved in their hometown. • Gibson, 25, is running for the open three-year seat on the Springfield Select Board, a seat currently held by Mark Blanchard. • Gibson, who lives on Litchfield Street and graduated from Springfield High School in 2003, is a fulltime college student now, having lost her job in December as an insurance agent for AAA. Before that, she had been a full-time reporter for the Connecticut Valley Spectator, based in Lebanon, N.H., which was closed last year by its owner, Eagle Publications. • Gibson is using Facebook to connect with Springfield residents, and after a recent candidates' forum the other night, more people recognize her. • She said she plans on spending Saturday at the recycling center, talking with people, and handing out fliers. • "I've owned a home on Litchfield Street almost three years now," said Gibson. She is seeking to complete her degree in liberal studies from Johnson State College. • "I think it's time to have younger representation on the board. It's something I've always wanted to do," she said. "I think I can make a difference." • Gibson said one thing she would do would be to make herself more available to townspeople with their concerns. • "People can call me, we can meet. People can e-mail me, anything like that, any source of communication," she said. • Gibson said she had become convinced, after talking to people during her campaign, that the big issue this town meeting is whether to sell the town-owned reservoir in Weathersfield. • Gibson believes it should not be sold, something that Blanchard supports along with other members of the Select Board. • "I'm going to vote to keep it for now," said Gibson, while noting it would "cost millions of dollars to be useable." • "Enough people are worried" about selling it, and losing a potential backup water source for the town, she said. • "I think we have enough time. Let's step back and see other options," said Gibson. • Gibson said that the town didn't even have a current evaluation of how much the property might sell for. • The two pieces of property in Weathersfield are assessed at $187,600 for the 87.5 acre property, which includes the dam and reservoir, and $44,000 for a 5.2 acre property, located upstream from the reservoir. • "We still don't know whether we can sell it for what it's assessed for," she said, adding the current board hasn't done enough research on that issue. "What would the town gain?" • "Mark voted to sell it. He sees that potentially as a way to make some money off the land," said Gibson. • Blanchard, who is currently the board chairman and running for another term on the board, didn't return several phone calls Thursday and Friday seeking an interview. He has been board chairman for the past two years and is completing his second, three-year term. • Gibson said that she started attending board meetings and has been studying the proposed town budget and going over the town report. • She hasn't decided whether she will support the town budget. • • "All the department heads did a good job cutting things. I think there are other areas, money we're spending, that I question. Why do we need $41,000 in maintenance at our brand new police station?" she said. • "I think when people go to the polls on Tuesday they will vote what they can afford. If people vote down the budget they are saying, 'We can't afford this,'" she said. She said if the budget is defeated, services will be cut, and townspeople have to decide whether they want to cut services and whether the town can get along with fewer police patrols or less highway workers. • "I'm in the middle of reading the annual report and I'm scouring the budget every day. I still haven't made up my mind," she said. • The two candidates have only had one forum, and have been thwarted by recent snowstorms in holding other forums, she said. •
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Gibson hopes to unseat Blanchard on board
Stephanie Gibson hopes she becomes the first of many young people in Springfield getting more involved in their hometown.
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