(no subject)
In Burlington, sadness and fear follow word of discovery
By John Curran, Associated Press Writer | October 13, 2006
BURLINGTON, Vt. --At J.P.'s Pub, bartender Amy Delorme pulled the missing person fliers off the walls. The mystery of what happened to Michelle Gardner-Quinn was over.
"I saw it on the TV, so I just took `em down," she said, shaking her head. "People are just so sad."
A week ago, Gardner-Quinn was reveling at the bar with friends, celebrating one's birthday.
Soon after leaving, she vanished as she walked up hilly Main Street, en route to her University of Vermont dormitory, plunging Vermont's biggest city and the college community that calls it home into seven days of worry and waiting.
On Friday, the 21-year-old senior's body turned up along a rural road in nearby Richmond. Police believe she was murdered.
"Everybody was fearing the worst news possible, and we got it today," said resident Bob Smith, 53, as he walked along Main Street.
It was the kind of crime that happens someplace else.
Not in Vermont, the neo-hippie state where Ben & Jerry got their start, people leave their doors unlocked and even young children walk to school unaccompanied.
Not in Burlington, the state's biggest city, where students roam the streets day and night and the 2 a.m. closing of bars triggers a mass exodus up the hill to campus -- along the same route Gardner-Quinn took.
"You'd be fine walking here at anytime of day or night," said Scott Braaten, 21, a senior at the university, standing on Main Street smoking a cigarette Friday night. "And when the bars let out, it's like a Mardi Gras parade."
That has changed since Gardner-Quinn's disappearance, some said. Now, women look for escorts rather than walk alone at night.
"We're college students. We don't always make the best decisions," said Sasha Provost, 20, of Burlington, a community college student, getting up from her table at Muddy Waters, a popular cafe. "Now, going out to parties, all of us are like, `All right, no one's going to be alone.'"
Outside the cafe Friday, Hallie Boz, 20, a University of Vermont junior, rode her bicycle along the sidewalk.
"I'm riding my bike everywhere now. I'm never walking anywhere alone in this town again.
"I'm from New York City. I never thought I'd be scared in Vermont," she said.
On campus, the mood was somber.
"It's on everybody's mind," said Austin Danforth, 20, a junior who is editor of the Cynic, the school newspaper. "In general, UVM is peaceful, laid-back and safe. Everybody is walking around and you never worry about anything."
Not anymore.
"It's a pretty melancholy mood," said Dave Sachs, 22, of Alexandria, Va.
By John Curran, Associated Press Writer | October 13, 2006
BURLINGTON, Vt. --At J.P.'s Pub, bartender Amy Delorme pulled the missing person fliers off the walls. The mystery of what happened to Michelle Gardner-Quinn was over.
"I saw it on the TV, so I just took `em down," she said, shaking her head. "People are just so sad."
A week ago, Gardner-Quinn was reveling at the bar with friends, celebrating one's birthday.
Soon after leaving, she vanished as she walked up hilly Main Street, en route to her University of Vermont dormitory, plunging Vermont's biggest city and the college community that calls it home into seven days of worry and waiting.
On Friday, the 21-year-old senior's body turned up along a rural road in nearby Richmond. Police believe she was murdered.
"Everybody was fearing the worst news possible, and we got it today," said resident Bob Smith, 53, as he walked along Main Street.
It was the kind of crime that happens someplace else.
Not in Vermont, the neo-hippie state where Ben & Jerry got their start, people leave their doors unlocked and even young children walk to school unaccompanied.
Not in Burlington, the state's biggest city, where students roam the streets day and night and the 2 a.m. closing of bars triggers a mass exodus up the hill to campus -- along the same route Gardner-Quinn took.
"You'd be fine walking here at anytime of day or night," said Scott Braaten, 21, a senior at the university, standing on Main Street smoking a cigarette Friday night. "And when the bars let out, it's like a Mardi Gras parade."
That has changed since Gardner-Quinn's disappearance, some said. Now, women look for escorts rather than walk alone at night.
"We're college students. We don't always make the best decisions," said Sasha Provost, 20, of Burlington, a community college student, getting up from her table at Muddy Waters, a popular cafe. "Now, going out to parties, all of us are like, `All right, no one's going to be alone.'"
Outside the cafe Friday, Hallie Boz, 20, a University of Vermont junior, rode her bicycle along the sidewalk.
"I'm riding my bike everywhere now. I'm never walking anywhere alone in this town again.
"I'm from New York City. I never thought I'd be scared in Vermont," she said.
On campus, the mood was somber.
"It's on everybody's mind," said Austin Danforth, 20, a junior who is editor of the Cynic, the school newspaper. "In general, UVM is peaceful, laid-back and safe. Everybody is walking around and you never worry about anything."
Not anymore.
"It's a pretty melancholy mood," said Dave Sachs, 22, of Alexandria, Va.