By Guy Page

Today is General Pulaski Memorial Day, commemorating Revolutionary War hero Casimir Pulaski, for whom a hill was named in the Orange County town of Newbury, the Journal-Opinion reports. 

“On September 11, 1777, Casimir Pulaski rode into battle with the Continental Army, led a skillful counterattack to slow the British advance, and helped save George Washington’s life,” proclaimed President Joe Biden last year. “Known as the ‘Father of the American Cavalry,’ he would rise to the rank of Brigadier General, continue fighting for American independence in battles across the colonies, and eventually make the ultimate sacrifice in pursuit of revolutionary ideas: freedom, equality, and democracy.”

He died at the Siege of Savannah in 1779.

Moved by Pulaski’s dedication to American ideals, local residents, in 1825, christened a prominent hill overlooking Newbury village in his honor. The 922-foot Mount Pulaski retains his name to this day. There’s also a Pulaski Street within the town limits.

Plan to cut professors, increasing student ratios at VSU – the Vermont State University budget-reduction plan announced this week calls for programs to be either maintained, sunset, moved, or consolidated to save as much as $3.35 million annually. This plan seeks to increase student-to-faculty ratios from approximately 1 to 13 today to 1 to 18 in the coming years. The plan involves the reduction of between 20-33 full-time faculty positions out of the current 207.

Another racial equity/traffic stop session – the next community listening session to review Vermont’s traffic statutes for impact on racial equity is scheduled for Wednesday evening 6-8 pm, October. 11, at the St. Johnsbury School on Western Ave. in St. Johnsbury.

In 2022, the Vermont Legislature passed Act 106 of 2022, which “requires the Executive Director of Racial Equity, the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles, and the Commissioner of Public Safety to jointly examine all motor vehicle violations for the purpose of making recommendations on whether or not statutes should be repealed, modified, or limited to secondary enforcement.” 

Act 106 was watered down from a proposed law that would prohibit police from making motor vehicle stops for ‘minor’ infractions like broken lights, not having registration, etc.. DEI advocates say these stops are used by police to target minorities for more serious crimes.

As part of this process, the equity commission working group wants to learn about Vermonters’ experiences with traffic enforcement. Specifically, we hope to learn about how traffic laws affect your communities.