Hanover
Since as early as 2014, Vincelette has been at odds with Hanover officials over the wood pallets, discarded machinery and metal scrap that spilled from his three contiguous properties on Mink Brook onto a trail running through the abutting Tanzi Natural Area, a recreational preserve owned by the town.
Town workers cleared the trail in November with the support of a Superior Court order, and in December erected a fence on town land surrounding Vincelette’s parcels.
Vincelette owns three properties, 91, 93 and 95 Lebanon Street, with three houses on two acres of land mostly covered in firewood and miscellaneous scrap that he uses to barter for supplies.
Hanover officials say the barrier, which has two openings for Vincelette to come and go, is necessary to keep his belongings on his own land.
“We simply installed a fence earlier this winter along the property line to delineate his property from ours in order to ensure that he does not place his belongings on town property,” Town Manager Julia Griffin said. “He still has his two driveway openings from our property onto his.”
She added later, “I have heard from many residents who love that we cleaned up the property.”
The trail that runs through the Tanzi tract, which Hanover residents use for walking, snowshoeing and other forms of recreation, was completely clear during a visit to the property on Thursday.
After months of battles with Vincelette in court — with degrees from Dartmouth College and Vermont Law School, Vincelette has often represented himself — and on the trail, Hanover appears to have succeeded in its efforts to clear the land.
The victory has come at a personal cost for Vincelette, who calls the fence a “barricade” that, together with the snow on the access road to his property, effectively trapped him at home this winter, he says.
He considers the town’s fence a contributor to a “hostage” situation that he says is meant to punish him for accusing the town of environmental violations.
“They put me a cage,” Vincelette said in a recent interview. “They held me hostage for over 100 days.”
He also faces several pending court cases, the most serious of which include charges of contempt of court and assault stemming from multiple incidents last year where he allegedly interfered with municipal employees carrying out the court order that allows the town to clear the land.
Vincelette contends that the criminal charges, the fence and long legal battle over his scrap are all part of a conspiracy to cover up water pollution in which he believes the town government engages.
Vincelette believes that Hanover is contaminating public waterways with its practice of dumping on Moose Mountain the crushed asphalt used to shore up municipal roads.
Tests conducted by the town, however, have revealed negligible levels of petroleum byproducts in the water, and a judge in 2011 dismissed a suit from Vincelette, saying he had not proven there was a risk for “immediate harm” to the water quality at his home.
For the three months since the fence went up, Vincelette has been calling every authority he can reach — police, the state attorney general, the FBI — alleging that he has been illegally blockaded in his home.
The town says it is within its rights, however.
The 38-inch, $8,500 wire fence is located on town land, about a foot from Vincelette’s property, and has two openings corresponding to the paths that Vincelette and his tenants, some of them formerly homeless, already were accustomed to using.
Those paths are established by legal right of way in the deeds to his and the town’s land.
Vincelette contends Hanover is violating those deeds by not giving him three openings in the fence, or one for each property, but town officials last month said the deeds describe only two rights of way, one of them covering two of the Vincelette properties.
The trail that leads into the Tanzi Natural Area descends a steep hill from Lebanon Street, and in the winter it quickly becomes treacherous.
As part of his contention that he is being blockaded, Vincelette says that the same deeds require Hanover officials to plow the trail so that he can drive on it. A Superior Court judge has ruled that the town has no such obligation, however.
By Thursday’s visit, the snow had begun to melt away from the trail. “No Parking” signs had been posted in areas on town land where Vincelette and his tenants used to leave their vehicles, and a red sedan was parked on the other side of the fence, just off of town property.
Vincelette, who is 60, says he maintained the road for more than 30 years, but is no longer able to do the work by himself because of injuries to his hip and ankles.
Since the fence went up and his mobility has been compromised, Vincelette’s physical and mental state have deteriorated, he said.
“I’m challenged,” he said last week. “It’s been a long, long battle, and I was already having difficulties before.”
Thanks to the poor condition of the access road to his property, Vincelette said, he has been unable to bring contractors in to fix his water pump. He said he has gone two weeks without running water.
In February, Vincelette placed a call to the FBI. After hearing his allegations about pollution and a hostage situation, the official on the other end of the phone contacted local police, fearing he could be suicidal, he said.
Hanover police arrived to check on him and ended up arresting him on outstanding court charges, according to Hanover Police Chief Charlie Dennis.
“We responded out there to see that he was safe and to check on his welfare,” Dennis said, “and at the same time he had warrants and we had to take care of that, too.”
Dennis declined to say what assessment responding officers had made of Vincelette’s health, citing medical privacy regulations.
Vincelette is defending himself in several cases pending in Grafton Superior and Lebanon District courts.
In Lebanon District Court, he faces misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and simple assault stemming from his interactions with town employees; in Grafton Superior, another simple assault charge, as well as a misdemeanor contempt of court charge based on his alleged interference with municipal workers clearing the trail.
Despite the worsening of his situation, Vincelette said he remains resolved to continue fighting the town.
“I’m in a strong place,” he said. “Yes, it’s painful, but everybody has to stand up where they are.”
Rob Wolfe can be reached at rwolfe@vnews.com or at 603-727-3242.
Clarification
Bicycles are not allowed in the Tanzi Natural Area in Hanover. An earlier version of this story was unclear on that point.