The seizure of more than 400 children from a polygamous
Latter Day Saints sect in Texas has many
Vermonters recalling Vermont’s
1984 raid on a religious community in Island Pond, in which 112 children were
seized. We compare and contrast the legal
and social issues surrounding the two cases with Jean Swantko-Wiseman, a former
Northeast Kingdom Public Defender who became a member of the Twelve Tribes
Community. And we check in on how the community has evolved since 1984. Also with us is former newsman Jack Hoffman,
who reported on the Island Pond Raid and its aftermath. (Listen)
Also on the program, how Green Up Day got started. For nearly 40 years, Vermonters have headed out on a designated spring day to pick up trash from roadsides. We talk with Robert Babcock, the mastermind behind the first Green Up Day, about his inspiration and how then-Governor Deane Davis mobilized state government to make the first Green Up Day the beginning of a long tradition. (Listen)
Photo: 24 years later: Tribe members Niflaah and Melevav from
the Basin Farm in Bellows Falls. They operate the Common Loaf Bakery in
Brattleboro.