Nothing…nothing at all.  I was not prepared to be here, not programmed and raised to be part of this future, this place, these people.  And then it happened.  What brought me to Vermont from the fast pace of life in Paris to the slow, steady, almost undetectable speed of changes in our parts, is nothing short of an epiphany.

 

For starters, take the surroundings - trees, rivers, mountains, seasons, climate – none of these was of any interest to me at all, until I reached my 30s and had a child.  Would you like to raise a child in the confined surroundings of concrete and asphalt, in the anonymous, cold and brutal ways of city life?  I thought I did, but I didn’t.  The search for the ideal place commenced in the late 70’s, and took me to many places around the world.  Of all those, at the end, only one stood out – Vermont. 

 

What attracted me to this great state, and a lot of others, the dreaded so-called flatlanders, is that what we see and love about Vermont is as well what we fear and resent.  The lack of real convenience, the poor shape of our roadways and telecommunications, the real effects of nature which can sometimes bring everything to a stand-still.  All this and more create in us the idea that we could help Vermont become a better place, change it in a way that would make it feel more in line with what we are accustomed to.  A lot of us come, few stay, and the reality is, we do not change Vermont.  Vermont changes us.  If you are not ready to be transformed, you will not be able to live here and enjoy this wonderful way of life.

 

The first time I visited this magical place, I knew in my heart that I would someday be living here.  If one needs reasons to do so, what are they?  You can talk endlessly about the fact that Vermont somehow has been able to slow down progress, enough, that rather than being overwhelmed by it, it just assimilates and digests and uses it in a way that does not change its basic nature.  The wildfire of change is tamed and contained and although inevitable, it is done for the most part in a way that is acceptable at a human level.

 

You cannot talk about Vermont without talking about Vermonters.  What has the most influence?  The land or the people, the people or land, one in the same, so much part of each other that you can’t really tell which rules the other the most.  So ingrained is the desire to preserve as much as possible of the heritage and traditions, and way of thinking. 

 

Being a legislator means that you have to constantly walk the line of what you feel will improve the quality of life for all of us, with the need to prepare for the future.  A difficult task if there is one, but so rewarding in so many ways.  I hope that I will continue the work of the people, as they are, at the end, the ultimate judges of one’s accomplishments.

 

Representative Michel Consejo

Sheldon & Swanton

 

July 2008
So you want and expect creative thinking from your politicians. You would like to say that they have common sense and care about your concerns. So here is an idea tied up with our situation on energy. Let’s take a struggling town in Franklin County, Richford, for example. Richford has an out-of-the-way location that has been a negative for a long time, but it also has affordable housing, a good quality of life and people that are improving it and looking for a positive future.

There has been some talk lately about the Department of Corrections putting a work camp in Richford. This would create jobs and serve the community in many ways. But if we think one step or two further, how about making this work camp a forestry management plant? The cost of construction would be a little higher but the benefits would far outweigh the downside. We could use that plant to make woodchips and pellets, and products related to renewable energy. The fact that we would have a constant available and inexpensive workforce, i.e. inmates that want to learn a trade, would render the cost of production competitive and therefore the product could be part of our fuel assistance program, and fill a gap very much needed. Our state being about 78% forest and 15% farmland, we have access to publicly owned resources that desperately need comprehensive management, i.e. sensible cutting of overgrown forest. We could tap this resource readily available.

The simple fact that the state-owned plant would be located in Franklin County would considerably cut the cost of transportation and would be more than profitable over a long and short period of time. It would also create a multitude of peripheral jobs, directly affecting the local economy.

I could go on and on about why this would be such a no-brainer, but I will give you, the reader, a chance to explore your own business plan. So the thinking is there, the idea and possibility is there. All we need is the vision and the political courage to make it happen. Let’s hope I am not the only one that thinks it can be done.

Representative Michel Consejo
Sheldon & Swanton