West Canaan
The Mascoma Valley Regional School Board voted unanimously to appoint Isabelle interim superintendent earlier this month. She will take the reins on July 1, according to an email announcing the decision to faculty and staff.
“I am pleased to have the opportunity to plan a smooth transition of district leadership with Ms. Isabelle over the next six months,” Andrew said in the email. “I am also pleased to know that the district affairs will be in such capable hands.”
Isabelle, 45, came to Canaan Elementary in 2015 after serving in a number of teaching and administrative roles in New Hampshire’s Seacoast communities.
She holds a master’s degree in education from the University of New Hampshire and will soon be completing a certificate of advanced graduate studies for leadership from Plymouth State University.
Isabelle, a Canaan resident with two children in the district, also has participated for the last two years in the Granite State Leadership training program, which prepares participants for district leadership roles, according to Andrew’s email.
“I have enormously enjoyed my time here as a principal at Mascoma,” Isabelle said in an interview on Monday.
The district, she said, has a “very kind, family sort of atmosphere” that is known for caring about students, parents and faculty.
She said she hopes to continue that reputation into the future.
“I am really excited about being given this opportunity and looking at how this district can become even better,” Isabelle said.
The next school year is meant to serve as a trial run for both Isabelle and the School Board, Vice Chairman Timothy Josephson said.
“That allows us freedom on both ends,” he said, adding either can decide to part ways if the arrangement doesn’t work out.
However, Josephson isn’t expecting that will be the case.
“I am very happy with Amanda and the work she’s done at Canaan Elementary,” he said. “I think that she’s really committed to this district.”
Andrew, the current superintendent, has announced he will leave this spring to take a position as superintendent in Moultonborough, N.H. He came to Mascoma as a high school science teacher in 1997, and was promoted through the ranks before becoming superintendent in 2012.
Windsor — The Selectboard is inviting residents to a forum at the visitors’ center to present and discuss specific ideas on using the former prison property.
Town Manager Tom Marsh said last week that the forum will explain the “vetting process” and include representatives from the Selectboard, town zoning department, the regional planning commission and regional development corporation.
Marsh emphasized what state officials said at a meeting last month in Windsor about proposals being specific and having “broad community support.” At the same meeting, it also was said that financing must be part of any proposal.
Proposals also should have a three- to five-page overview and must be submitted to the town by Jan. 12 for review by local boards and commissions, Marsh said.
Criteria to be considered include regulatory compliance, fiscal practicality and community benefit.
The forum will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 20.
White River Junction
Austin Scott was scheduled to be arraigned on Monday on charges of larceny of person and unlawful mischief, but he failed to appear in Windsor Superior Court, according to court documents.
Police said responded to the Sharon Trading Post on Route 14 around 5 p.m. on Sunday for a report of a robbery, according to a news release.
Scott allegedly “forcibly” took the cash drawer from the store and fled on foot.
When police arrived, he was being “detained” by two people, the release said.
The release said Scott is from Barre, Vt., while the docket sheet said he lives in Canaan, Vt.
— Staff reports