.___»§. y as.- j _ If you have heard what a gay community we have here in Vermont, but looked during your isolation -ififthe ice—storm and saw no " I neighbors, then you may { ghtfully question that term of c ijnmunity. It’ s true there is a population of gay men lesbians, but community there is not. Many cities and towns across the country do have gay commu- nity and have set the definition clearly: Piiovincetown, Ogunquit, Key West, Montreal's gay Village, Northhampton gay area, San Francisco Castro area, Minneapolis Steven's Square area, et al. The point is you must create community by physical proximity. That means that a section of town gradually is bought by gays and becomes gay only domain. Since there is a large population of gays in the Burl- ington metro area, it would be community building to start having individuals buy voices from the mountains m.__m _l_I_ :1 _i_.U_ 0'“ WHAT? by Kathleen Kalina houses, apt buildings all in the same area. If you are commit- ted to community, then this is the way it happens. The first obstacle is the high price of real estate in Bur- lington. But other gay commu- nities have found ways to con- trol and put a ceiling on prices. For example, the Steven's Square area of Minneapolis - was a dying former upper class to security increased and dete- rioration disappeared, a very upscale neighborhood became the pride of urban renewal. The city openly credits the gay community for renewing the neighborhood and it has grown exponentially in gay ownership. Now, within the neighborhood are gay cafes, bookstores, restaurants and other small gay owned busi- It isla politically correct use of real if estate money to put gay money _ into our own neighborhood. area that had slipped into a deteriorating slum. Several gay couples bought ‘houses at low prices and fixed them up to their former beauty. Gradually, an apartment building was bought and rented only to gays at low prices. More moved in and purchased property. As detail continued from left help them meet this need! I would guess that I am the ”very motivated woman in the Springfield area with the resources lined up to start a group there." For over three months I have been trying to get contacts with other gay and lesbian parents andztheir kids from this area. Where is every- one? Why doesn’t anyone call the number on the posters and flyers? Our kids need to know each other and we can all help them and ourselves if we only unite! Before I get on my soap- box and become the militant activist for Gay Rights I was in the ‘70’s when I first discov- ered Gay Pride, I just want to again thank Barbara for point- ing out the fact that our kids do need to be reminded that indeed, ”we really are every- where." Keep up the Great Work!” Donna 0 Democrats Defended In his letter to OITM, Steve Hingten, co—chair of the Burling- ton Progressive Coalition argues that hisipénty ,d.esI=;I:\(e:s the votes °f sate. Y-at the-Democrats have [Ed. Note: The letter to the editor _ published last month beginning “What does George Michael have to do with it? " was written by Steven Kopstein. I the best record on proposing and passing legislation helpful to gays and lesbians. Moreover, the Democratic Party at this point is the only one with openly gay office-holders and candidates: Ed Flanagan, Democratic Auditor of Ac- counts, and Democratic Repre- sentatives Bill Li ppert and Steve Howard. The record on gay and les- bian issues is clear: Democrats like Mary Sullivan and Tom Al- derman and others under the leadership of then Speaker of the House, Ralph Wright and Govenor Howard Dean, passed the famous Gay Civil Rights Bill against the enormous opposi- tion of the radical right. Demo- crats sponsored and passed the new adoption bill which allows same—sex couples to adopt chil- dren. Democrats are now in the forefront of the struggle for same—sex marriage. I Hingten rightly suggests that the records of all candidates be examined on the very impor- tant issues of the civil rights of gays and lesbians. When that examination occurs, Democrats will be shown to be the solid supporters of the gay commu- nity. ' i 1 .'~ (,-I..__ :‘.'r'. .‘l 3 '~ nesses. A park and center for gathering is a nice touch to the community. It could happen here if several people with real estate access could begin a coInmu— nity and help others purchase next door. ltis a politically cor- rect use of real estate money to put gay money into our own neighborhood. Controlling a fair low price of real estate and only selling to gays creates a healthy idealistic neighbor- hood. Our businesses would be a safe place to hang out. The safety of your own neighbor- hood allows you to be who you are when you like. Then dur- ing the next week—long power outage, the only neighbors you will solely enjoy would be your gay community. Goddard Wedding contimied from front page dents, Alexia Blankenship and Amy Needleman. Although it began shortly after spring break as a practical joke, the. idea for a marriage between two seem- ingly dissimilar people quickly gained a life of its own. Dur- ing the break, Needleman em- barked on a brief tour of New England in order to attend sev- eral concerts by Phish, a popu- lar band that formed in Ver- mont. In the process, she met Scott W., an America Online chat buddy whom she had never seen’ before. The two knew a lot about each other from their conversations on the computer, and upon meeting in person, there was an imme- diate- connection. t M ’ "she" ‘returned *toi;s¢hool> . ~.-:vl.‘l;.;'I.;’I:a . ' 1»- .‘?hin:.?SP?_C*$ of Fbé'.'9§11ss}¢.-'. 7 ' ' 1» 3'' —~~‘— -» ‘-r.«.;......»..s..s.i..«.m.s,...:..-.+;r;s..».-inuu.:.‘..:;«.e.-..-....:..,.u.............4......t..-.Iu.~..~..v..-..» OUT IN THE MOUNTAINS — JUNE 1998 — 5 dining (802) 524-6135 FRESH SEAFOOD. LUNCHE5. 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Leslie, M.Div. 11+ White Birch Lane - Williston, VT 05495 802-860-7106 - Email: revcsl@aol.com‘ http://members.aol.com/revcsl feeling refreshed and invigo- rated by her new love, and could not help but share thejoy’ with the rest of her dorrnmates, including Blankenship. ”I was happy for her,” stated Alexia, "and I began teasing her, say- ing that I thought she was go- ing to marry me. Then, I pro- posed to her outside one day.” It did not take long for the ru- mors to circulate throughout the entire student body, and according to Blankenship, ”We kept joking about when the wedding was going to be and who was going to be in it. [Fi- nally] we decided to actually do it as a community event.” After committing them- selves to the idea, the two sle- cided to hold the ceremony at the conclusion of Work Day, a time when classes are canceled and the entire student body ‘spends the dayinip,rovingvcer7-_.‘ , ,V ,. "Ames” and When the idea was proposed to Olivia Gay, the director of work program, she immedi- ately agreed that it would be a perfect opportunity for uniting the student body. To further support the effort, Gay autho- rized a crew of six students to spend their Work Day assisting the couple with preparations. Finding themselves with only two weeks in which to plan the entire affair, the couple spent many nights making arrangements. After much deliberation, it was de- cided to dress the wedding party in patchwork clothing, including the men in dresses. Two people from each dorm were chosen to fulfill the nec- essary roles, and blue was se— I lected as the wedding color. "The Dollar Store” were _both selected for Q 4:.» I. .L I I : 9- 4